—Greil to the Black Knight, shortly before his defeat
Greil is the father of Ike and Mist and the founder of the Greil Mercenaries. He was once known as General Gawain, one of Daein's 'Four Riders'. For a time, he and Elena lived peacefully in Gallia. During this time, they had two children, Ike and Mist. Greil also met Titania, who had been sent by Crimea to study in an officer exchange program.
Originally known as Gawain, he was one of the Four Riders of Daein, once called the "Divine Knight".
Contents
Profile[]
He was remembered as the premier swordsman of his generation and his name was famous throughout Tellius. It was during this time he trained Zelgius, who called Gawain "invincible" during this period. However, in the year 626, he fled his homeland with his fiancee, the priestess Elena, after she was entrusted with Lehran's Medallion, and the melody Galdr of Release by the heron Lillia, the elder sister of Prince Reyson. They lived in Gallia with Gawain taking on the name Greil, and it was there that Ike and Mist were born.
Greil killing Elena under the influence of Lehran's Medallion.
One day, tragedy struck when Greil made the mistake of taking hold of the medallion, and immediately went berserk. After engaging in a mindless slaughter, the medallion was eventually pulled from his grasp by Elena. When he returned to his sane mind, he found his wife impaled on his sword. After her death, he hired the assassin, Volke, for the purpose of killing him should he lose his mind again, and slashed the tendons on his dominant sword hand so that he would no longer be able to wield a sword. He entrusted the medallion to Mist, who had the same gentle spirit as her mother and was immune to its effects. He forbade Ike from ever touching the medallion as he was not.
Greil eventually founded the Greil Mercenaries and earned a living by performing tasks for various villages in Crimea. Sensing the danger that Daein posed upon news of the invasion, he quickly had Ike take on more responsibility within the company, and eventually fled with the mercenaries to Gallia in order to protect Princess Elincia from Daein during the Mad King's War.
Ike and Mist mourning over Greil's grave after his death.
Following Chapter 7, in the midst of the night, Greil engages in a duel with his former pupil from his days as General Gawain, the Black Knight. Ike shows up during the middle of the battle, when The Black Knight throws the sword Ragnell to Greil, saying that he wishes to fight General Gawain at his full strength. Greil tosses the sword aside, saying that he has thrown the name of Gawain away, but the real reason is he cannot use swords anymore. He instead chooses to fight with his axe Urvan. Ultimately losing to the Black Knight, Greil is mortally wounded and dies as Ike hauls him back to the mercenary encampment. In an A rank support between Ike and Titania, it is revealed that Titania loved Greil.
In Game[]
Boss Appearance[]
- Prologue
Base Stats[]
Growth Rates (Unused)[]
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70% | 50% | 20% | 80% | 40% | 35% | 40% | 25% |
Fire Emblem Heroes[]
- Heroic Exemplar
- The first leader of the Greil Mercenaries. Father of Ike and Mist. Will meet his family again at the Day of Devotion festival. Appears in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
Base Stats[]
Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯
 | Title | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heroic Exemplar | |||||
| Group | |||||
 Armored | |||||
| Level | HP | Atk | Spd | Def | Res |
| 1 40 | 22/23/24 44/47/50 | 10/11/12 38/41/45 | 4/5/6 14/18/21 | 9/10/11 35/38/41 | 5/6/7 27/30/33 |
| Skills | Weapon | ||||
 Faithful Axe+ New Moon |  Axe | ||||
Skills[]
| Type | Name | Prerequisite | Default | Unlocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Iron Axe | - | - | - |
| Steel Axe | - | - | - | |
| Faithful Axe | - | - | - | |
| Faithful Axe+ | - |  | - | |
 | New Moon | - | | - |
| Luna | New Moon | - | | |
| Aether | Luna | - | | |
| A |  Fury 1 | - | - | |
 Fury 2 | Fury 1 | - | ||
 Fury 3 | Fury 2 | | ||
 Fury 4 | Fury 3 | | ||
| B |  Wary Fighter 1 | - | - | |
 Wary Fighter 2 | Wary Fighter 1 | - | ||
 Wary Fighter 3 | Wary Fighter 2 | | ||
| C |  Armor March 1 | - | - | |
 Armor March 2 | Armor March 1 | - | ||
 Armor March 3 | Armor March 2 | |
Quotes[]
—Greil, to Ike when he was defeated by the Black Knight
Heroes[]
Non-Canon Appearances[]
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[]
Greil appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a Sticker.
Sticker Info
| Name | Image | Artwork from | Effect in The Subspace Emissary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greil |  |
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance | [Throwing] - Attack +14 Usable by: Marth, Ike |
Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)[]
Greil is illustrated in the trading card game Fire Emblem Cipher with the following cards:
Choose Your Legends Placement History[]
| Round | Placement | Character Version | Votes |
|---|
| CYL1 | 281 |  |
762 | ||
| CYL2 | 161 ↑80 |
|
1,550 ↑788 | ||
| CYL3 saw the transition to different counting mechanisms involving versions of characters and ties, so change measured between CYL2 and CYL3 shouldn't be taken at face value. | |||||
| CYL3 | 119 ↑42 |
|
2,258 ↑1,008 | ||
| CYL4 | 221 ↓102 |
|
674 ↓1,584 | ||
| CYL5 | 222 ↓1 |
|
401 ↓273 |
Etymology[]
'Greil' may refer to the 'Holy Grail' of Arthurian legend which Sir Perceval seeks.
'Gawain' is the name of King Arthur's nephew and most trusted knight. In earlier Arthurian stories he is portrayed as the quintessential knight, but in later versions his portrayals become more negative, especially in regard to his treatment of women. All sources agree that he is killed in Arthur's second-to-last battle against Mordred. Later writers say that his death there was due to a wound he had received from Lancelot (see Alondite). Gawain had challenged Lancelot because Lancelot accidentally killed Gawain's younger brother, Gareth. Interestingly, in legend, Sir Gawain fights the Green Knight in a duel, whereas Greil fights the Black Knight.
Trivia[]
- Ike's second coloration in the Super Smash Bros. series is based on Greil's outfit.
- Ike's Brave Heroes appearance is based strongly on Greil.
- If hacked on to a playable unit, Greil is able to use Aether. This makes him one of only two characters able to use Aether in Path of Radiance, along with Ike.
- Greil's use of an axe to fight the Black Knight, who was using a sword, put him at a disadvantage in accordance with the Weapons Triangle.
- Greil's English voice actor in Fire Emblem Heroes, Frank Torado, shared his role with Reyson in Heroes as well.
Gallery[]
- See main article: Greil/Gallery.
