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ada-tan · 7 months

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Dynamics Between the Nations of Elyos

Was gonna make this a thread on Twitter, but uh. It would have ended up WAY too long. So... here we go! The dynamics between the nations of Elyos, and my personal understanding of them from story/support dialogue, flavor text, and exploration lines scattered throughout the game.

Long post incoming!

Firene and Solm

Everything is prefaced with the non-aggression treaty between Firene, Brodia, and Solm. Firene and Solm have always had generally good relations, as stated by Alfred early in the game. The border between them seems easy to travel through, with Solm's Azure Coast being a popular tourist spot for Firenese visitors. (Alfred's comment on the Azure Coast map.)

Which is beneficial for Solm, as through tourism and trade, they can benefit from Firene's wealth and abundance of resources—particularly foodstuffs (crops, dairy, etc), teas, medicines, and dyes.

However, this relationship isn't quite so mutual, as Firene's bounty makes the country incredibly self-sufficient; in Fogado's support with Celine, he paints them in a somewhat isolated light, business-wise. Since they don't require resources from other countries, they don't do much in the way of importing, which is likely a detriment to Solm's economy.

As a desert nation with rather inhospitable conditions, it's perfectly sensible that Solm's prosperity and wealth is dependent on trade with other countries, hence their trade-based economy, and commitment to neutrality—it wouldn't be good for business to make enemies, and it falls in line with the Solmic ideology of living free, by your own rules, and being yourself.

Brodia and Firene

Brodia and Firene's relationship comes off as a bit more... tenuous. There is a connection there, as the Firene royals have visited with the Brodians in the past. But Alfred and Diamant's estrangement implies that, before the war, there had never been many chances for the two nations to form a proper friendship.

They have an alliance, but not one without tension. Alfred states early on that it "took some doing" for his mother to hash out a peace treaty with Morion, as he—and Brodians, as said by Diamant in his Alfred support—is known to be incredibly ambitious. Brodia has a reputation for warmongering and claiming surrounding territories, one of the primary motivators for their ongoing war with Elusia.

This violent reputation has existed long enough that it's even recorded in history books (Diamant & Framme support).

As such, they're likely seen by Firene and Solm as a potentially dangerous, unpredictable threat. Solm doesn't have as much to worry about as Firene would, due to its distance from Brodia, and lack of valuable resources. (Still, Solm is wary enough to actively spy on them.)

But Firene is the most abundant land in Elyos, and a veritable breadbasket. Similarly to Solm, Brodia is situated in very inhospitable lands. And even though that land hones the self-sufficiency and strength of its people (Amber/Merrin support), poverty and starvation is a prevalent issue amongst the common populace.

If Brodia ever turned its aggressions away from Elusia, then Firene could be the next prime target. The non-aggression pact, of course, prevents that. For now.

Even Diamant cites this as a possibility in his supports with Alfred, one he worries for and genuinely thinks is possible, due to the ambitions and needs of his people.

What's likely deterred Brodia all this time is Firene's connection to Lythos. As the nation most devout to the Divine Dragon, Firene and Lythos have an incredibly strong alliance and friendship. So no matter how tempting their territory might be, it wouldn't be the smartest idea to launch an invasion on a country that has the backing of the all-powerful Divine Dragon.

Brodia and Elusia

Brodia and Elusia's relationship is the one that probably gets the most focus in the plot, and will be the one people are most aware of without having to dig into supplementary dialogue and information. Still, that makes it no less interesting—even though Brodia is painted as an ally, and Elusia the enemy, I genuinely think their conflict is far less black and white than that.

Let's be clear. Brodia's primary reason for invading Elusia IS to claim the nation's territory as their own. They are the aggressors of the war between them, and it is unequivocally wrong. Not exactly the actions of a heroic nation, and definitely in line with the classic Red Empire archetype of Fire Emblem.

But there's also another reason, a motivator that definitely varies in sincerity—the Elusians' worship of the Fell Dragon, and Brodia taking it upon themselves to keep that worship in check, while Firene, Solm, and Lythos are far more tolerant of the Elusians fostering their beliefs (whether they agree with them or not; Alfred himself admits that it's "concerning").

For many ambitious Brodians (particularly the nobility, who are often painted as a problem in Diamant's supports), I feel as though the Fell worship offers a convenient excuse for them to continue and push for the war efforts, lining their own pockets in the process.

But also for many, I think the fear of Elusia, their worship, the Fell Dragon and what both are capable of is very much real amongst the Brodian populace. Of course, that fear is shared in Elusia, with one example being that children are taught to watch out for Brodian armor (Ivy/Alcryst support).

As for Elusia, one would think that people who worshipped an evil dragon were inclined to villainy and violence. And with Elusia's incredibly insular culture, it's easy for those sorts of rumors and perceptions to spread.

In some cases, it's true. There are sects of the Fell Dragon faith that are extremely violent, in the brainwashing and abuse of their followers, their glorification of pain, and tendency toward blood sacrifices. You see it in how its warped the perspective of people like Griss and Marni, in the comments of the characters in locations like Destinea Cathedral and Elusia Castle (centers of deep Fell worship), where they often note the unsettling sight and smell of blood.

But in many cases, it's not. There are certainly those who worship the Fell Dragon and are more adjusted in their lives, merely viewing it as an alternative faith to others they either don't believe in, or have been disillusioned by. And there are Elusians who don't worship anything at all. Alfred himself points out that not all Fell worshippers should be lumped under the same brush.

It's implied that Brodia's continued aggressions pushed Hyacinth into unsealing Sombron (and influences from Gradlon and Zephia as well), which leads to his return and a war that engulfs the entirety of Elyos, using the Elusian army as the main force.

Both countries have done deplorable things, but neither are fully evil—there's a level of humanity to each, exhibited in the characters that hail from each nation, that certainly paint the situation as more nuanced than it appears on paper.

But relations are certainly hostile between both.

Elusia and Solm (& Firene)

If Elusia had a positive relation to any other nation before the war, then it would seem to be Solm. And even then, it's more of a neutral, transactional relationship, seemingly based on trade.

At Givre Port, Bunet will mention that he often sought out food sent from Givre to Solm (likely to his hometown, a port city), establishing a relationship of trade between the two countries. But unlike with Firene, it seems to be mutual. Where Firene doesn't have to import because of its bounty and self-sufficiency (Fogado/Celine support), Elusia—being a cold, harsh land—very likely has to. And that, of course, benefits Solm.

Past that? They don't appear to have much of a relationship. The royal families don't seem friendly, and Solm is actively spying on Elusia (as they are with the other countries), so clearly there isn't much in the way of trust, despite the appearance of neutrality.

For Firene and Elusia, Alfred says so himself: there's very little that Firene knows about Elusia due to their distance from each other, and the latter's insular culture. What knowledge they do have seems to be from hearsay, mostly regarding some of its more notable features: the cold climate, and leaning towards Fell worship.

Neither Firene or Solm has stepped in to interfere with (or stop) the war between Brodia and Elusia, and with the recently established non-aggression pact, that possibility becomes even slimmer. I wouldn't be surprised if Elusia feels something of a distrust for the two because of it—it's certainly given them no qualms in invading both nations for their rings.

Solm and Brodia

Similarly to Elusia and Firene, both Solm and Brodia are extremely far from each other, so there's very little connection. They are members of the same non-aggression alliance, and the Brodian royals have visited the country in the past... but despite their similarly inhospitable lands, the two nations share very little common ground when it comes to ideology and values. (Saphir's comment in Tullah Desert)

I can only assume that, at the very least, both countries do trade with each other. After all, Solm is known for its spices, and it's a staple of Brodian culture to put spices in tea...

Plus, Solm's love of meat roasts? And Brodia having a deluxe brand of beef as a popular export? Where do you think THAT'S going.

But anyway, it isn't until the Fell Dragon war that more of a relationship is established, through the developing friendships of Diamant/Timerra and Alcryst/Fogado.

Lythos and Everyone

Last, but certainly not least, the Holy Land of Lythos! It is the center of Divine Dragon worship on the continent, where the ruler of Elyos resides, and a neutral force amongst the nations.

With Firene, Lythos has a very close relationship—it is the nation most devout to the Divine Dragon, with Lumera and Queen Eve having shared a friendship. This was likely the case for Firene's king as well, and the royals who came before them. Firene's throne room is specially built to accommodate Lumera's dragon form during visits.

Brodia and Solm, while respectful of the Divine Dragon, even having churches of their own, seem more neutral. Solm is stated to be a very secular culture, not deeply religious, but still fostering love and respect for Lumera as a ruler and dragon.

And Brodia respects the Divine Dragon as well, often accepting Lumera's invitations to visit the sleeping Alear at the Somniel. Diamant even states that it was through Lumera's help that Brodia was able to be established (Diamant/Framme support), so clearly they hold a certain level of respect for her and her faith, even if they aren't extremely devout followers.

With Elusia, there seems to be an indifference to the Divine Dragon at the very least, or outright rejection at most. So much that Ivy's worship of the Divine is something she sees as rebellion, and feels she has to keep secret. Some who live there are disillusioned with the Divine Dragon (Mauvier/Ivy supports), and others simply grew up with the Fell faith.

Like with other nations, Lumera is said to have invited Elusia to Lythos in order to visit with Alear (Ivy's wake up lines), but those requests were declined every time.

Though... Lumera, a living 'god', doing nothing to prevent Brodia's attacks likely did her little favors in that regard.

This is all my personal perception, of course, formed from different lines and bits of flavor text in the game. I personally think there's a lot to digest in Engage, while still giving us room to interpret and extrapolate, as long as you care enough to look.

#fire emblem #fire emblem engage #[ 'engage has no worldbuilding' lol ]#[ a criticism i can never take seriously tbh ]#[ it might not be offered up to you in loredumps ]#[ and could definitely do with more details -crosses fingers for some accordion/recollection type artbook- ]#[ but there's absolutely enough in the game that forms a solid picture of the world imho... you just have to care to look for it ]

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