|
| “ | Let the lesson begin! | „ |
| ~ Byleth |
| “ | Here is something to believe in! | „ |
| ~ Byleth |
| “ | Each battle, a chance to grow. | „ |
| ~ Byleth |
| “ | How many times have we fought now? Either way, this will be the last. | „ |
| ~ Byleth to Shez in Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. |
Byleth Eisner, also known as the Ashen Demon and Professor, is one of the main protagonists of Nintendo's Fire Emblem franchise.
They are the main protagonist of the Fódlan Saga, being the main protagonist of the 2019 tactical video game Fire Emblem: Three Houses and the anti-heroic secondary antagonist of its 2022 spin-off sequel Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes.
Byleth is the lieutenant of a mercenary group led by their father, Jeralt Eisner, a former Knight of the Church of Seiros and the famous "Blade Breaker". Byleth is known for their incredible swordsmanship and skills, but due to their lack of emotions, they are often seen as a demon on the battlefield.
After rescuing three noble house leaders from bandits, they accept a position as a professor at the Officer's Academy offered by Archbishop Rhea, and begin teaching one of the three student houses: the Black Eagles House led by Edelgard von Hresvelg, the Blue Lions House led by Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, or the Golden Deer House led by Claude von Riegan. They are also guided by Sothis, a mysterious girl who only they can see and who gives them the ability to turn back time.
In Japanese, male Byleth is voiced by Yūsuke Kobayashi, while female Byleth is voiced by Shizuka Itō and Tomoyo Kurosawa for the fallen varient. In English, male Byleth was originally voiced by Chris Niosi and is now voiced by Zach Aguilar, while female Byleth is voiced by Jeannie Tirado and Cassandra Lee Morris for the fallen varient.
Appearance
Both
Byleth has blue hair (short for Male, long for Female) and blue eyes. After fusing with Sothis, Byleth's hair and eyes turn green.
Male
Male Byleth is a tall and well built man, who usually wears black robe, black armor on his torso, black pants and long black boots. There is also belt-like armor on his waist with golden emblem and purple knife holder.
Female
Female Byleth is a tall beautiful woman, who usually wears grey and black robes, paper with an amulet around her neck, arm armor, armor bib which exposes her navel, patterned tights and black boots. There is also belt-like armor on her waist with golden emblem and purple knife holder.
History
Background
Byleth Eisner is the child of Jeralt Reus Eisner, the former captain of the Knights of Seiros, and his wife, Sitri. They are the ultimate product of Saint Seiros' millennia-long efforts to resurrect her mother, the goddess Sothis.
Sitri was an artificial being created by Seiros under the alias Rhea to act as a vessel for Sothis; while Sitri proved to be a failure, she was raised by Rhea as her own daughter. Byleth was born without a pulse, causing Sitri to beg Rhea to save her child's life; Rhea did so by transferring Sothis' heart to them. As a result, Sitri died and Byleth had no heartbeat and never laughed or cried; Jeralt, fearing Rhea, took advantage of a fire to flee the Church and went into hiding.
Jeralt and Byleth spent the next two decades wandering the continent as mercenaries. Due to Byleth's strength and skill in battle and emotionless demeanor, they eventually earned the nickname "Ashen Demon".
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Part I (White Clouds/The Academy Phase)
Byleth rescues the nobles Edelgard von Hresvelg, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, and Claude von Riegan from a bandit attack, awakening Sothis within them and earning the attention of the Church of Seiros. They are taken to Garreg Mach Monastery, where Rhea reinstates Jeralt as a Knight of Seiros and grants Byleth a post as a teacher at the Officer's Academy. Byleth chooses one of the three lords to teach and spends the next year opposing the mysterious Flame Emperor in their efforts to destroy the Church. During one of their time with the house of their choosing, the house leaders begins to reveal their disdain for the Crest System.
- The Crimson Flower Route: Edelgard reveals her hatred of the Crest System, believing it to be the root cause of the corruption surrounding the land of Fódlan.
- The Azure Moon Route: Dimitri believes that the Crest System shouldn't be the only way to measure someone's worth. While he acknowledges the importance of the Crest System, he also recognizes its flaws.
- The Verdant Wind Route: Claude wants to know more about the Crest System and the Heroes' Relics, from their origins to their importance.
Eventually, an assassin murders Jeralt; an enraged Byleth pursues her into a forest, but is lured into a trap and banished into a dark abyss. Sothis sacrifices herself to grant Byleth her full power, allowing them to escape. In the aftermath, Rhea takes them to the Holy Tomb to receive a divine revelation, but they are attacked by the Flame Emperor, who is revealed to be Edelgard. If Byleth chose the Black Eagles and accepted an invitation to witness Edelgard's coronation as emperor of Adrestia, they have the option of defecting to her side; otherwise, they remain allied with the Church. Edelgard attacks the monastery and defeats Rhea, and Byleth is injured and sent into a coma for the next five years.
Part II (War Phase)
If Byleth sided with the Church, they awaken to find that Rhea has been captured by the Empire, the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus has been reduced to a puppet state, the Leicester Alliance is fractured between pro-Imperial and pro-Church factions, and the Empire is on the verge of conquering all of Fodlan. Byleth raises an army to battle the Empire, with the exact details depending on which house they chose at the beginning. After a brutal three-way battle between the Empire, Kingdom, and Alliance known as the Battle at Gronder, Byleth invades the Empire, besieges the capital Enbarr, and kills Edelgard. If they chose the Blue Lions, the war ends here; Rhea appoints them to succeed her as Archbishop as the Church of Seiros, and they help Dimitri lead Fodlan into a new golden age. If they chose the Black Eagles or Golden Deer, Edelgard's vassal Hubert warns them about the true masterminds behind the war, "those who slither in the dark". Byleth invades their stronghold and defeats them. After defeating either Rhea after she suffers a draconic degeneration-induced mental breakdown (Black Eagles) or Nemesis, an ancient warlord (who killed Sothis and slaughtered the Nabateans) resurrected by "those who slither in the dark" as a last act of spite against Fodlan (Golden Deer), they unite the continent as the first ruler of the United Kingdom of Fodlan. If the Golden Deer were chosen, Byleth and Claude, who becomes the king of Almyra, form an alliance and open up Fodlan's broders, ending the continent's isolation from the outside world.
If Byleth sided with the Empire, they awaken to find that Rhea and the Church of Seiros have been granted asylum in the Kingdom, which has fought the Empire to a stalemate. Byleth and Edelgard lead Imperial forces and conquer the Alliance to eliminate them from the war, either killing or exiling Claude in the process. After beating back a counterattack by the Knights of Seiros and killing a high-ranking member of "those who slither in the dark", Byleth and Edelgard invade the Kingdom and kill Dimitri. Rhea retreats to the Kingdom capital of Fhirdiad and orders it burned to the ground to slow down the Imperial advance and kill Byleth, but Byleth finally slays her. After Rhea is killed, Byleth collapses as their heart stops beating. However, the Crest from their heart vanishes, causing it to be able to beat again. Though in exchange, Byleth loses Sothis' power and goes back to being a normal human, as their hair and eyes turn back into their blue color. They then turn their attention to "those who slither in the dark", defeat them, and help Edelgard lead Fodlan into a new golden age.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes
In an alternate timeline from Three Houses, Byleth and Jeralt's mercenaries face rival mercenary Berling's forces during a job. Byleth almost single handedly wipes out the opposing force, including Berling herself, except for a young mercenary named Shez. Before Byleth can kill them, Shez is given a mysterious power by a being named Arval, but even with this new power, they are still no match for the Ashen Demon. Eventually, Jeralt orders his forces to withdraw, their job completed, at which point Byleth calls off their fight with Shez and leaves. Shez vows to become stronger until one day they will be able to defeat the Ashen Demon.
Following the timeskip, Byleth and Jeralt, joined by Alois, are hired by the factions that oppose Shez's during the war. During one encounter, Sothis awakens and takes control of Byleth's body, overpowering Shez and causing them to flee. Before Sothis can give chase, Byleth resists her and regains control of their body.
Defeating the Ashen Demon Path
In the next encounter between Byleth and Shez, the player's actions have a large impact on the story; if Shez focuses on fighting Byleth, they ultimately kill Jeralt; Sothis once again takes control of Byleth and kills one of Shez's allies in retribution (Randolph in Scarlet Blaze, Rodrigue in Azure Gleam, and Judith in Golden Wildfire). Sothis convinces Byleth to give her complete control of their body in order to avenge Jeralt, with Byleth leaving Jeralt's mercenaries under Alois's command. In the penultimate battle, Sothis appears and attacks Shez, only to discover that she does not fully control Byelth's body as she believed. This allows Shez to gain the upper hand and ultimately kill both the Ashen Demon and the goddess inhabiting them, though they find no relief or fulfillment in the deed and lament on how things could have gone differently.
Recruiting the Ashen Demon Path
If Shez instead focuses on their main objective and ignores Byleth, they surrender alongside Jeralt and Alois and are recruited into Shez's faction. Before the final battle, Arval, in reality a vessel for the soul of Epimenides, suddenly possesses Shez and attempts to kill Byleth; before he can land a killing blow, Shez resists him and urges Byleth to flee. When Epimenides regains control of Shez, he continues his pursuit of and attempt on Byleth's life, only to be interrupted by Shez's allies. Following Epimenides defeat, Byleth holds no ill will toward Shez, recognizing that they were not in control of their actions.
Personality
Byleth displays little to no emotion at the beginning of the game and remains a composed and focused individual throughout the story. Jeralt noted in his diary that his child neither laughed nor cried at all during their infancy. However, upon taking the position of teacher at the Officer's Academy, they begin to slowly open up to their students and form close bonds with them; by the time of the Battle of the Eagle and Lion, they begin to smile.
Even before their arrival at Garreg Mach, Byleth is compassionate to others despite not expressing emotion, as they are interested in helping and listening to people; their other affinities include swords, reliable allies, smiles, and being trusted, displaying no apparent dislikes. Additionally, they detest senseless killing. Despite showing a seeming indifference towards their father most of the time, including referring to him by name, Byleth cares deeply for Jeralt and would never forgive anyone who brings harm to him, and is stricken with grief upon his death.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Crest of Flames power/Power of Goddess Sothis:
- Superhuman Strength:
- Superhuman Durability:
- Superhuman Speed:
- Superhuman Reflexes:
- Enhanced Sences:
- Magic:
- Time Manipulation: Due to His/Her connection with Sothis, Byleth can rewind the course of a battle to correct costly mistakes. When activated, Byleth can reverse previous actions performed up to a specific point. Both Byleth and enemies actions are rewound. If Divine Pulse has at least one charge remaining and Byleth dies, then Divine Pulse automatically activates to allow Byleth an opportunity to rewind immediately to a desired spot during the battle, thus preventing their death unless all charges are used. Byleth can have a maximum of 13 charges.
- Elemantal Manipulation:
- Pyro Magic/Pyrokinesis:
- Bolganone:
- Ragnarok:
- Thunder Magic/Electrokinesis:
- Pyro Magic/Pyrokinesis:
- Healing:
- Portal Creation:
- Nosferatu:
- Recover:
- Aura:
- Immortality:
Abilities
- Master Swordsman:
- Master Mage:
Equipment
- Sword of the Creator: Byleth wields the legendary Sword of the Creator, attuned to their Crest of Flames, the blade of which is able to retract and used like a whip for ranged attacks. While wielding the sword, Byleth is capable of using the Combat Art Ruptured Heaven; upon fusing with Sothis and the Sword becoming the Sublime Creator Sword, the Combat Art is replaced with Sublime Heaven.
- Knight-Captain's Sword: In the Three Hopes timeline, due to never acquiring the Sword of the Creator, Byleth instead wields the Knight-Captain's Sword, originally given to their father Jeralt during his time as Captain of the Knights of Seiros, which he passes on to his child.
Other Media
Super Smash Bros.
Byleth appears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as the last downloadable character in the first Fighters Pass. Both the male and female versions of Byleth are playable.
Fire Emblem: Engage
Male Byleth appears as one of the thirteen Emblem characters in the 2023 tactical video game Fire Emblem: Engage.
Trivia
- Byleth's default name in Japanese differs slightly between genders, as a male Byleth is spelled "ベレト" (Bereto), while the female is "ベレス" (Beresu).
- Three Houses updated on September 10th 2019 to change Male Byleth's voice actor from Chris Niosi to Zach Aguilar. This is the only instance where a character's voice actor was changed post release in a main series Fire Emblem title.
- The male version of Byleth is the first, and so far the only character in Heroes to become available through recognition of another game's data. At the launch of Three Houses, Heroes players that played both games on the same Nintendo Account would have received a free Byleth: Tested Professor unit if they registered their copy of Three Houses for gold points. This offer was active through one year after the game's launch, likely because gold points can only be earned from physical copies of Switch games within the first year of their release.
- Byleth is the first and only Avatar character to be referred to with neutral pronouns in the game. Because the game is fully voiced, the use of titles and neutral pronouns allows the same dialogue to be used for both genders of Byleth without the need to record separate lines. Gendered pronouns are used in the game's epilogue and some tutorial text, which are not voiced.
- Byleth's death quote is the same as Azura's voiced defeat quote in Fates.
- Byleth is the second protagonist whose defeat in Casual Mode doesn't cause a Game Over. The first was Corrin.
- Byleth's artworks for Three Houses depict them wielding the Sword of the Creator.
- Byleth was implied to be 20/21, but with the Cindered Shadows story released, it's been confirmed that they're indeed of said age by Sitri's date of death, which has been added on her grave.
- In Byleth's trailer for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Sothis gives them the Heroes' Relics used by the house leaders, Aymr included, and while that's only a story mechanic, it's ironic considering that the axe shouldn't have been created yet.
External Links
- Byleth on the Koei Wiki
- Byleth on the Nintendo Wiki
- Byleth on the Fire Emblem Wiki
- Byleth on the Super Smash Bros. Wiki
- Byleth (Crimson Flower Route) on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
- Byleth on The Wiki
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