Garreg Mach Monastery

Garreg Mach Monastery (ガルグ＝マク大修導院 Garugu Maku-daishūdōin) is a location in Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

Profile

Located in central Fódlan amidst the mountains, Garreg Mach Monastery is the headquarters of two separate entities: the Church of Seiros and the Officers Academy. It is a neutral territory, not governed by any of the three nations of Fódlan. In addition to being a religious site, the monastery is home to an elite order of knights.

Garreg Mach Monastery can be freely roamed and explored, and once Byleth has visited a part of the monastery, the player can use fast-travel to transition to that location instantly. While roaming the monastery, Byleth can take part in numerous activities to affect their training as well as the training of the students under their tutelage.

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Underneath Garreg Mach is a massive underground complex known as Abyss, which can be accessed through the monastery's secret tunnels. However, it has been more of a rumor than truth, though this is due to the fact that anyone coming to the Abyss is locked up and the Abyssians who live inside seal off all entrances. The Abyssians are people who have been wronged in life or wish to get away from it all, and only a few select members of the Church are privy to their existence.

"End of spoilers. It's a pleasure doing business with you!"

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Academy Phase

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With the sudden rebellion instigated by the Adrestian Empire, Garreg Mach Monastery is besieged by the Imperial army, leading to a fight between the Empire and the Knights of Seiros along with representatives of the Leicester Alliance and Holy Kingdom of Faerghus there to help ward them off. Depending on which house Byleth leads, they find themselves on different sides.

Azure Moon, Verdant Wind, and Silver Snow

While Byleth and the students are able to halt much of the initial wave lead by new Emperor Edelgard, the next wave proves to be too great for the forces currently in the monastery. Left with no other options Rhea transforms into a dragon in order to fend of as much of the forces as she can. Seeing her piled on by demonic beasts, Byleth steps into the fray to help but Thales appears and hits them with a spell, causing them to careen into the valley below. Rhea, weakened disappeared in the ensuing chaos, leading to the Adrestian Empire overtaking the Monastery and seizing it. For five years, neither Byleth nor Rhea could be found.

Crimson Flower

Byleth and the Black Eagle students join Edelgard in their attack on the monastery. After defeating Rhea, she transforms into a dragon and destroys a building to send rubble down to trap Byleth. Despite this, the Adrestian Empire annexes the monastery and forces Rhea and the church forces to flee to the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus.

"End of spoilers. It's a pleasure doing business with you!"

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War Phase

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Azure Moon/Verdant Wind/Silver Snow

Over the course of five years, the monastery falls into disrepair, becoming a haven for thieves who pillage the nearby towns relentlessly. Eventually, the thieves were taken out by the combined efforts of Byleth, the House leaders, and all of their former students.

In all routes, the Empire continued to keep a watchful eye on the monastery in the event that the Church would try to use it as a base. Randolph was tasked with this duty, and when he learned that the monastery had been repaired with signs of life, he led an army of Imperial soldiers to drive them off. This was a disaster for the Empire, and Randolph was killed in the ensuing battle. The monastery would then be used as a base of operations for Byleth and their associates.

Crimson Flower

Now used by the Empire as a staging ground in their attempt to unite Fódlan, Byleth returns to the monastery after their five-year coma, finding Edelgard and the others, who have now formed the Black Eagle Strike Force, an elite military unit consisting of their students. They were locked in a three-way stalemate with the Church and the Alliance, and Edelgard took Byleth's reemergence as a great morale booster for everyone.

With Byleth's aid, the Empire is able to annex the Alliance into their territory, allowing them to focus on the Kingdom and the Church. Being the original owners of the monastery, Rhea leads the Knights of Seiros into battle, attacking with two forces; a main force to distract the bulk of the Imperial army, while an expedition force would sneak around to the side, led by Seteth. The Black Eagle Strike Force intercepts the expeditionary unit and routs them, forcing Rhea to abandon the fight and order a full retreat.

Following the end of the war, the Empire reforms the Church and reinstates Garreg Mach as a learning institution.

"End of spoilers. It's a pleasure doing business with you!"

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Gameplay Features

Various activities, facilities, and events occur in the Monastery, allowing the player to earn rewards and improve relationships with the students and faculty.

Facilities

• Training Grounds - Fight in Monthly weapon themed battles to win gold and items.
• Dining Hall - Byleth can eat meals with students and fellow faculty, granting bonus opportunities to improve Support ranks.
• Fishing Pond- Catch fish at the Monastery lake to be used for making Dining Hall Meals or to sell for Gold. Does not use activity points, grants Professor level when done, and requires bait.
• Greenhouse - Cultivate various vegetables to use in the Dining Hall or to use organically grown stat modifiers or flowers to be given as gifts to students.
• Sauna - Added through DLC. Spend time in the sauna with others to build Support ranks. Byleth can also earn Professor Level experience, and their invited guest will earn a bonus for being refreshed. Success is based on a small minigame in which the player chooses to increase the steam level, stay in the sauna as it is, or leave before it becomes too intense.
• Church
  • Saint Statues - Restoring these using Renown provides improved results for tutoring, grant flat stat increases, and additional Divine Pulse charges.
  • Choir Practice - Byleth can hold a choir session with students and fellow faculty, granting bonus opportunities to improve Faith skill progression for the people involved, while Byleth additionally gaining Authority skill progression.
• amiibo Gazebo - Location that allows the player to scan amiibo for various rewards. In New Game+, also serves as a portal to the Holy Tomb, which can be visited to collect rare item drops.
• Marketplace - A collection of various shops and services gathered in one place.
  • Armory - Sells battle equipment
  • Shop - Sells various items to be used in battle or Seals for Certification Exams
  • Battalion - Hire and replenish battalions for battles.
  • Blacksmith - Repair and forge weapons for battle.
  • Foreign Market - A collection of shops unlocked by completing quests, including Anna's shop, two foreign merchants, and a dark mage. Collectively, these merchants sell cooking ingredients, fishing bait, seeds, tea leaves, forging materials, gift items, stat-boosting accessories and other rare items.

Character Interactions

• Recruit - Byleth is able to recruit students from other houses into their own. To recruit a student, Byleth must meet proficiency requirements in a weapon skill the student is interested in, as well as a particular core stat. Recruitment requirements decrease based on the student's Support level with Byleth. It is also possible that students may approach Byleth of their own accord to ask to transfer classes if the prerequisites are met.
  • Certain non-student monastery residents can join Byleth's class provided they reach a specific chapter and have reached a certain level.
• Counseling - Byleth provides counseling for a student. Their relationship with said student can improve if the right counseling is given.
• Gifting - Byleth can give various gifts to characters to increase their support and motivation. Items have a varying degree of effectiveness with each individual.
• Lost Item - Byleth can find a lost item and return it to its owner to improve their support with them and increasing motivation.
• Tea Party - Byleth can invite a student to have a Tea Party, granting a one-on-one session with said student to improve their Support relationship and potentially increase both units' Charm stat.
• Faculty Tutoring - Limited to faculty characters during the Academy Phase of the story, Byleth can be tutored by them to improve one of the subject areas that faculty member excels in. Similar to Tutoring, Byleth can get various results from doing a session. Choosing to be tutored takes up one activity point and each faculty character can tutor Byleth only once per free day.
• Advanced Drills - During the War Phase, all characters can tutor Byleth in a subject area of their own strengths. Each session takes up one activity point and each character can tutor Byleth once per free day.

Non-Canon Appearances

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Garreg Mach Monastery was added to the game as a DLC stage alongside Byleth. The stage is generally on a flat plane with no fall zones, but also transitions into different layouts and locations about every two minutes. The stage transitions between four different areas of the monastery:

• Marketplace - The Marketplace features shops which serves as additional platforms, however they can be destroyed. The Gatekeeper appears in the background as well as Dimitri, Dedue, and Ingrid of the Blue Lions house.
• Reception Hall - The Reception Hall features hanging chandeliers which serve as platforms, but are extremely high. These can be damaged enough to drop, damaging enemies underneath when they come crashing down. Characters who fall near the tables with aesthetically smash them as well. Edelgard, Petra, and Dorothea of the Black Eagles house appears as background characters here.
• Bridge - The Bridge features no terrain differences, however it this area is significantly longer than other areas. Claude, Lorenz, and Hilda of the Golden Deer appear as background characters.
• Cathedral - The Cathedral features two floating platforms that can be passed through. Rhea, Seteth, and Flayn appear as background characters.
• Transition Platform - An intermediate platform that appears during the transitions between the Monastery locations. Fighters are temporarily taken into the skies above Fódlan.

Gallery

Concept artwork of the Garreg Mach Monastery

Additional concept art