Elena is a character mentioned in the backstory of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. She was Greil's wife and the mother of Ike and Mist. Like Mist, she was highly attuned to the forces of Order.
Profile
Elena was once a resident of Daein along with her husband, and a priestess serving at Palmeni Temple. She did her best to take care of Lillia, a heron laguz and Reyson's older sister, whom Ashnard had captured and imprisoned within Palmeni Temple.
Elena came to be a good friend of Lillia's, and although they shared no common tongue, Lillia was eventually able to give her both Lehran's Medallion and the Galdr of Release necessary to release the dark god within it. The ultimate goal was to return the medallion to Serenes Forest, but Elena and Greil spent several years on the run from Daein. For a time, they lived in Gallia, and it was there that she gave birth to Ike and Mist, raising them both into early childhood. Unaware of the true nature of the Galdr of Release, she hummed its melody as a lullaby for her children.
Unfortunately, after Greil made the mistake of taking hold of the medallion and went berserk, he impaled Elena with his sword as she wrestled the medallion from his grasp. Though mortally wounded, she was able to take the medallion back, stopping his rampage. In her final moments, she forgave Greil as he returned to his senses.
Personality
Elena was a kind and compassionate woman who did her best to care for the political prisoner Lillia and gain her trust despite neither understanding the other's language. Her attunement to the forces of Order made her one of the few people capable of holding Lehran's Medallion without losing sanity or turning violent. She kept the medallion safe at her own personal risk for a number of years, birthing Ike and Mist in that time and raising them into early childhood before Greil made the fatal mistake of holding it himself.
Non-Canon Appearances
Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)
Elena is illustrated in the trading card game with the following cards:
Choose Your Legends Placement History
| Round | Placement | Character Version | Votes |
|---|
| CYL1 | 479 |  Path of Radiance |
250 |
| CYL2 | 423 ↑56 |
Path of Radiance |
377 ↑127 |
| CYL3 | 415 ↑8 |
Path of Radiance |
300 ↓77 |
| CYL4 | 379 ↑36 |
Path of Radiance |
262 ↓38 |
| CYL5 | 350 ↑19 |
Path of Radiance |
168 ↓94 |
| CYL6 | 322 ↑28 |
Path of Radiance |
220 ↑52 |
| CYL7 | 284 ↑38 |
Path of Radiance |
152 ↓68 |
| CYL8 | 193 ↑91 |
Path of Radiance |
325 ↑173 |
| CYL9 | 185 ↑8 |
Path of Radiance |
263 ↓62 |
Etymology
Elena is a European variant of the Greek name Helen, which means 'torch' or 'corposant.'
In Greek mythology, Helen is the daughter of Zeus and Leda and the most beautiful woman in the world. Although married to Menelaus of Sparta, she was given to Paris of Troy by the goddess of love, Aphrodite, in return for being named the most beautiful of the goddess. Some differing accounts claim she went with Paris willingly. Menelaus' attempts to reclaim his wife resulted in the Trojan War.
In Christian hagiography, Saint Helena of Constantinople was either the lover or the common-law wife of the Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus and later the mother of Emperor Constantinus, who made Christianity a legal religion in the Roman Empire after centuries of persecution. She is also said to have found the True Holy Cross of Jesus.
Trivia
- Elena's portrait used in the Fire Emblem Heroes' Choose Your Legends polls was originally created during the development of Path of Radiance but was not used in the final game. She is currently the only character eligible for Choose Your Legends ballots represented by such artwork.
- Elena, who appears in the opening CG cinematic in Path of Radiance, is by extension the first Fire Emblem character to appear in a CG-produced animation.
Gallery
