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“Your Majesty you know that I will gladly lay down my life for an honorable cause! But these orders- and all of our recent actions- they are not just! If I saw any way in which this invasion protected Grado, I would hold my tongue. But now, Renais is left ungoverned to drown in chaos, and we gain nothing! Why do you wage this war? What is it you hope to achieve? You've sent our men to fight and die for nothing! This isn't war- it's murder!”
—Duessel to Vigarde

Duessel (デュッセル Dyusseru, Dussel in the Japanese version and Duenell in the German version) is a playable character in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.

Profile

Known as the "Obsidian", Duessel is one of Grado's Six Generals. Along with Selena and Glen, Duessel is one of the Imperial Three, the three original Generals before the invasion of Renais. He is characterized by his martial prowess, honor, and his will to fight for the greater good. He trained Ephraim at one point, and both of them are good friends. In Ephraim's path, he appears in Chapter 10, where he and a small group attempt to make a last stand after being branded traitors. In Eirika's path, he is seen with Ephraim and Knoll.

To recruit Duessel in Ephraim's path, have Ephraim speak to Duessel or wait until the end of the chapter. He is playable as soon as he appears on Eirika's route.

Through a support conversation with Cormag, it is revealed that Duessel possesses two special lances; one, a small, beautiful lance designed by the famous armorer Gavaleus, Duessel tells Cormag he will "never dull its shine with blood or dirt. If I ever use this lance, I vow that it will be only in my own final hour." The other is "a magic weapon of dark design that's been in my family for ages." Duessel tells Cormag that a member of his family must always bear the lance but never use it; Valter once got his hands on this lance, which caused him to go insane. Duessel promises to bequeath it to Cormag since he has no son, seeing that Cormag has a "discerning eye" and no desire to use it.

It is also revealed that Duessel knows where Amelia's lost mother Melina is. Some years after the raids that deprived Amelia from both of her parents, during a patrol he and his squad fought some bandits that kept Melina as their prisoner. She had lost her memories due to trauma, so Duessel took her to a peaceful village where she was welcomed and given a home. Melina recovered rather steadily, but remained amnesiac for years; only a few months before the events of the game, she managed to remember that she was a widow from Silva and had a daughter. Duessel then went to Silva, but by then Amelia had already joined the army. When he met Amelia herself, he noticed the extreme physical similarity between the girl and "someone he knew", but only by the time their A support rolled in he remembered everything. Their common ending says that after the war, Duessel made sure mother and daughter were reunited, and in gratitude Amelia became his number two.

Duessel's supports with Knoll, additionally, are among the ones giving more insight into Lyon's research and experiments. Knoll is reluctant at first, but Duessel insists on knowing the truth; then Knoll explains in all detail the process leading to Lyon's seer powers, attempts to prevent the disasters that would befall Grado in the future and revival of his father, and possession by the Dark Lord.

Throughout the game, Duessel had been questioning the Emperor's actions, such as making Riev, Caellach, and Valter generals, and the war itself. This indicates that he has high moral values.

In Game

Base Stats

Starting ClassAffinity
FE8 Great Knight Map Sprite Great KnightGBAAnima Anima
LevelHPStrSklSpdLckDefResConMov
10*4217121281710156
WeaponStarting Items
Sword Sword - A
Lance Lance - A
Axe Axe - A
SilveraxeSilver Axe
SteelLanceSteel Lance**
SilverLanceSilver Lance***
VulneraryVulnerary

* Level 8 in Ephraim's route
** In Ephraim's route
*** In Eirika's route

Growth Rates

HP S/M Skl Spd Lck Def Res
85% 55% 40% 30% 20% 45% 30%

Supports

See also: Duessel/Supports

Overall

Duessel's HP, Strength, Resistance, and Defense bases are altogether unmatched for his join time, and his Skill and Speed, while low, are high enough that he will not have significant issue with them. He is exceptionally useful in some of the most difficult maps, such as Phantom Ship, where his high survivability against all manner of attacks types make him one of the best characters available.

Because Duessel has very high A ranks in all weapon types, the player may choose whichever one they wish to S rank for him. In particular, he is one of the best users of Grado's axe Garm, which fixes his shaky Speed with its +5 bonus and leaves him in top shape for endgame. He can also choose to go with Audhulma to improve his already impressive Resistance, or Vidofnir to make him even more physically durable.

Duessel's weaknesses are his mediocre Speed, which will not allow him to double the few faster enemies, and his low movement. Despite being mounted, Great Knight has the same movement as most promoted foot classes, only with greater terrain penalties. His constitution, while allowing him to use even brave weaponry with little speed loss, also makes him difficult, if not impossible to rescue, which makes his low movement all the worse.

Overall, Duessel's incredible durability and decent stats all around make him one of the strongest characters in Ephraim's route. Even with his minor Speed issues, he has no problem keeping up the entire game and doing heavy work even in the lategame.

Quotes

“This... This is nothing!”
—Death Quote

Endings

  • Duessel, Obsidian General (不滅の黒曜石 Fumetsu no kokuyōseki)

Following the war, Duessel returned to Grado, where he was instrumental in its rebuilding. He spent his remaining years watching over Grado and sharing his wisdom with other nations as an expert combat instructor.

  • (A Support with Amelia)

Upon their return to Grado, Duessel reunited Amelia with her mother. The two wept with joy, giving thanks to Duessel. Afterward, Amelia became the most trusted companion of the man once known as Obsidian.

Trivia

  • Duessel is the only one of Grado's six Generals that become a player unit in the main path (the other five join later in the Creature Campaign).

Etymology

The Düssel is a river in Germany, a tributary of the Rhine on which is located in Düsseldorf. It flows through the Neander Valley, where the first fossils of Neanderthals were found. However, if you play the game in German, his name will be switched to "Duenell", probably because it sounds similar to "Dussel", which is German for "fool".

Gallery

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