Linus

Linus, full name Linus Reed, is a non-playable character in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade. He is the younger son of Brendan Reed and the brother of Lloyd. Linus' title is the Mad Dog, and he is one the Four Fangs.

He does not trust Sonia and her influence in the Black Fang, though he is very fond of her "daughter", his step-sister Nino. The official players' guide for The Blazing Blade says that Linus is the more level-headed between him and Lloyd, when he is actually the brasher one.

Profile

Not much is known of Linus' childhood, though what is known is that, when his father, Brendan Reed, formed and became head of the Black Fang, an assassin guild situated in Bern, he and his brother, the White Wolf Lloyd, quickly flew through the ranks and became one of the legendary Four Fangs. Despite being skilled, he is also rash and impulsive, tending to misjudge his opponents before charging into battle. Because of this, he and Lloyd were nearly inseparable as the latter usually watched over the former. He and Lloyd were quickly joined by the Valkyrie, Ursula, who is cold and ruthless, and the Assassin, Jerme, who was obsessed with his craft. Later, when Nergal and Sonia began to take a hold of the Black Fang, Jerme was replaced with Jaffar. Shortly after Nergal is gravely wounded by Lord Elbert of Pherae, he orders Sonia to bring together the Four Fangs to hunt down the Lycian lords, Eliwood, Hector, and Lyndis. She complies, but, after she gives her orders, Linus, Lloyd, and Ursula remain suspicious of the Sage. Nevertheless, they carry out their orders.

If the total level of the lords is above 50, then Linus will confront them in a town in Bern. Accusing them of their crimes, he summons a contingent of Black Fang assassins and engages the lords inside the town. After a brief but intense skirmish, Linus is defeated by the lords, but finally hears them out and learns that they are good-natured and not what Sonia had depicted them as. Before he could relay this information to Lloyd, though, he is confronted by the morph Limstella and killed.

If the total level of the lords is below 50, then Lloyd will have confronted the lords in a foggy valley and be killed by Limstella after being spared by the lords. Linus, after encountering the body of his slain brother, goes into a bloodthirsty rage and swears vengeance on the lords and their companions. He is later seen guarding the Bern shrine, attempting to kill any of the lords or their companions, including his beloved step-sister Nino and former acquaintance Legault. He is killed after the struggle.

Regardless of whether he is killed in the town or in the shrine, he is resurrected as a morph by Nergal along with his father, his brother, Uhai, Kenneth, Jerme, Darin, and Ursula.

Personality

Linus is best described as rash, impulsive, and extremely loyal to his siblings and loved ones. He shows deep respect to his brother, Lloyd, abiding his orders, though he is wrought with grief after Lloyd's death and loses the ability to reason, evident as he attempts to kill his step-sister, Nino, despite having a close relationship with her. However, with his brother's reasoning, he is shown to be a caring and compassionate individual, changing his beliefs of the lords if he is defeated early in the game and offering to make amends with his brother and to tell him of the lords' sincerity. This would have converted both him and Lloyd to the lords' side had Limstella not killed him. Before the conflict with the lords, he and his brother got along well with several of the Black Fang members, including all of the Four Fangs and several other high-ranking members, such as Uhai. He also doted on his younger step-sister, Nino.

In-Game

The Blazing Blade

Boss Stats

Chapter 23E/24H: Four-Fanged Offense

Help Description: The Rabid Hound of the Four Fangs. Brendan's second son.

• Normal Modes and Eliwood Hard Mode
• Hector Hard Mode

Starting Class						Affinity
Hero						Thunder
Level	HP	Str	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Con	Mov
12	45	21	18	12	14	14	12	14	6
Weapon					Starting Items
Sword - A Axe - A					Silver Blade Hand Axe

Starting Class						Affinity
Hero						Thunder
Level	HP	Str	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Con	Mov
12	49	23	20	13	14	15	13	14	6
Weapon					Starting Items
Sword - A Axe - A					Silver Blade Hand Axe

Chapter 27E/29H: Cog of Destiny

• Normal Modes and Eliwood Hard Mode
• Hector Hard Mode

Starting Class						Affinity
Hero						Thunder
Level	HP	Str	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Con	Mov
18	58	24	20	15	14	19	15	14	6
Weapon					Starting Items
Sword - S Axe - A					Light Brand Iron Rune*

Starting Class						Affinity
Hero						Thunder
Level	HP	Str	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Con	Mov
18	62	25	22	16	14	20	16	14	6
Weapon					Starting Items
Sword - S Axe - A					Light Brand Iron Rune*

* Dropped when defeated

Final Chapter: Light

Help Description (Morph): A morph made in the form of the Rabid Hound, Linus.

• Normal Modes and Eliwood Hard Mode
• Hector Hard Mode

Starting Class						Affinity
Hero						Thunder
Level	HP	Str	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Con	Mov
20	60	24	23	19	0	21	19	14	6
Weapon					Starting Items
Sword - S Axe - A					Brave Sword Tomahawk

Starting Class						Affinity
Hero						Thunder
Level	HP	Str	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Con	Mov
20	64	25	25	20	0	22	20	14	6
Weapon					Starting Items
Sword - S Axe - A					Brave Sword Tomahawk

Overview

Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.

If the level of the lords combined is above 50, then Linus will be the boss of Four-Fanged Offense.

If the level of the lords combined is under 50, then Linus will be the boss of Cog of Destiny. It is recommended not to confront the Hero with Nino, as he, unlike his brother, will show no hesitation and slay his step-sister.

Linus also appears in Light with an A support with his resurrected brother. He should not be taken lightly as, due to his Brave Sword, he is able to double any party member and, if the party member has low speed, such as a General, then Linus has the potential to strike up to four times. However, he is considered the weakest of the Reed family and should be taken down first.

Awakening

SpotPass

Starting Class
Hero
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
20	68	37	7	38	34	18	28	15	6
Skills			Weapon			Starting Items
Armsthrift Prescience Sol Axebreaker Counter			Sword - A Axe - B			Brave Sword*

*Enemy only, joins unequipped

Fire Emblem Heroes

• Original
• Depths of Despair

Mad Dog

A member of the Black Fang known as Mad Dog, and an equal match for his brother Lloyd. He brings judgement down on those he deems evil. Appears in Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword.

Base Stats

Rarity:

✯✯✯

		Title
		Mad Dog
		Group
		Infantry
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	17 38	16 41	8 39	7 28	3 16
Skills			Weapon
Steel Axe			Axe

✯✯✯✯

		Title
		Mad Dog
		Group
		Infantry
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	17 39	20 48	9 31	7 29	3 17
Skills			Weapon
Silver Axe New Moon			Axe

✯✯✯✯✯

		Title
		Mad Dog
		Group
		Infantry
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	18 42	25 53	9 33	8 32	4 19
Skills			Weapon
Fanged Basilikos New Moon			Axe

Skills

Type	Name	Prerequisite	Default	Unlocked
	Iron Axe	-	-	-
	Steel Axe	-		-
	Silver Axe	Steel Axe
	Basilikos	Silver Axe	-
	Fanged Basilikos	-	-
	New Moon	-
	Luna	New Moon	-
A	Brazen Atk/Spd 1	-
	Brazen Atk/Spd 2	Brazen Atk/Spd 1
	Brazen Atk/Spd 3	Brazen Atk/Spd 2
C	Spur Def 1	-		-
	Drive Def 1	Spur Def 1
	Drive Def 2	Drive Def 1

Overall

Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.

Base Set

Counters

Skill Inheritance

Meet Some of the Heroes

Mad Dog Linus
	Here's Linus, or, as some like to call him, the Mad Dog! He's a leading member of the Black Fang, an organization of assassins that targets wicked nobles who prey on the common folk.
	Linus is included among the top members of the Black Fang, known as the Four Fangs. His brother Lloyd is right up there with him, and they've carried out countless dangerous missions together.
	Linus faced off against Eliwood in Bern, but soon learned that he had been misled about his opponent's true nature. It was then that he swore he would find out who was plotting behind the scenes to control the Black Fang's actions.
	With his raw strength, Linus can swing a weapon as if it were light as a feather. He's fearless, too, and won't back down from a fight no matter how strong his foes are. Maybe some of that bravery will rub off on me now that he's helping the Order of Heroes!
Closely Associated Characters
Lloyd	A member of the Black Fang assassins. Delivers justice to those they deem criminals. Known as the White Wolf. Son of the group's leader. Linus's brother.
Eliwood	A sincere noble of Pherae. His friends Lyn and Hector serve him loyally. He fends off an attack by the Black Fang.

Savage Dog

Member of the Black Fang assassins. Following his death and now made into a morph, a living construct, by Nergal. Appears in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade.

Base Stats

Rarity:

✯✯✯

		Title
		Savage Dog
		Group
		Infantry
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	16/17/18 35/38/41	9/10/11 38/41/44	11/12/13 36/39/42	6/7/8 29/32/35	3/4/5 14/17/20
Skills			Weapon
Steel Axe			Axe

✯✯✯✯

		Title
		Savage Dog
		Group
		Infantry
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	16/17/18 36/39/42	10/11/12 41/44/47	12/13/14 38/41/45	6/7/8 30/33/36	3/4/5 15/18/21
Skills			Weapon
Silver Axe Dragon Gaze			Axe

✯✯✯✯✯

		Title
		Savage Dog
		Group
		Infantry
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	17/18/19 38/41/44	10/11/12 42/45/49	12/13/14 43/46/49	7/8/9 26/29/32	4/5/6 17/20/23
Skills			Weapon
Dead-Fang Axe Dragon Gaze			Axe

Skills

Type	Name	Prerequisite	Default	Unlocked
	Iron Axe	-	-	-
	Steel Axe	-	-	-
	Silver Axe	-	-	-
	Dead-Fang Axe	-
	Dragon Gaze	-	-	-
	Dragon Fang	Dragon Gaze	-	-
B	Guard 1	-		-
	Guard 2	Guard 1		-
	Guard 3	Guard 2
C	Panic Smoke 1	-
	Panic Smoke 2	Panic Smoke 1
	Panic Smoke 3	Panic Smoke 2

Overall

Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.

Base Set

Counters

Skill Inheritance

Meet Some of the Heroes

Savage Dog Linus
	Hey, isn't that Linus, one of the Black Fang assassins? There's something off about him, though... He might be an assassin, but I've never seen him look so bloodthirsty. He's also got a strange gold tint to his eyes...
	I see... It turns out that the real Linus died under suspicious circumstances, and he was brought back as a puppet-like "morph" at the hands of Nergal, who's secretly controlling the Black Fang!
	Unlike the real Linus, though, this morph doesn't share any of his hearty zest for life. I hear that the only thing morphs think about is defeating the enemy placed in front of them...
	Linus continues to fight, now in the form of an inhuman morph. It looks to me like he's in pain... When will he finally be able to stop fighting?
Closely Associated Characters
Lloyd	A member of the Black Fang assassins. Delivers justice to those they deem criminals. Known as the White Wolf. Son of the group's leader. Linus's brother.
Nino	A kindhearted member of the Black Fang assassins. Longed to help her mother. Adoptive younger sister of Linus.

Quotes

The Blazing Blade

Linus/The Blazing Blade Quotes

Heroes

Linus/Heroes Quotes

Non-Canon Appearances

Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)

Linus is illustrated in the trading card game Fire Emblem Cipher with the following cards:

B07-046HN

Choose Your Legends Placement History

Round	Placement	Character Version	Votes

CYL1	447	The Blazing Blade	284
CYL2	326 ↑81	The Blazing Blade	635 ↑351
CYL3	407 ↓81	The Blazing Blade	322 ↓313
CYL4	401 ↑6	The Blazing Blade	224 ↓98
CYL5	394 ↑7	The Blazing Blade	116 ↓108
CYL6	390 ↑4	The Blazing Blade	133 ↑17
CYL7	321 ↑69	The Blazing Blade	113 ↓20

CYL8

349 ↓28

The Blazing Blade

93 ↓20

Etymology

'Linus' means 'flax' in Greek. Flax is a greyish-yellow color. See also Lloyd, whose name also means 'grey.' Reed is a variant of the English name 'Reid', meaning 'red'.

Trivia

• In the game, Linus is also mentioned as the Rabid Hound based on his help screen information, but he is never addressed as that name in the game (his true honorific being "Mad Dog").
• Despite the fact that he avoids attacking innocents in villages as it goes against his honorable nature (to the point he drew Eliwood's army to the center of town not to harm the villagers), the Black Fang units he leads seem to have no problem doing so.
• Linus, Raven, and Echidna are the only characters in any GBA Fire Emblem game to have unique battle sprites as the Hero Class. As opposed to the breastplate and spiked shoulder plates, Linus and Raven both wear knee-length jackets resembling their clothes in their respective official art.
• In the official art, he is shown wearing dark brown trousers while in his battle sprites, he is shown wearing a white pair.
• Linus shares his English voice actor, Joe Brogie, with Sylvain.
• In Heroes, Linus's artwork depicts him wielding Basilikos, despite the fact that he never wielded it in-game. The axe instead was used by his father, Brendan, who was given it after being revived as a morph following his death.

Gallery

See main article: Linus/Gallery.