Vera

Here goes, Lucina x Robin Chrom x Sumia Frederick x Lissa

For me it's Lucina and Azura. I find that my personality and struggles are pretty similar to them. Azura's loner and introspective attitude and her style + artistic flair. Not having a secure setting growing up and not smiling much til finding the light.

Doesn't that more accurately align with Russia? I've been to Salzburg and am relatively familiar with Austrian culture but I just don't get where people get Germanic influence in Bern other than just the fact that its European. Russia is better known than Austria for military might and strength. Also the more mountainous east is a perfect allegory for the Ural mountains that separate European vs Asian Russia.

Turns out I wasn't right about Valla, but someone else found the perfect fit! In what is now Xianjiang China there are the remains of the Loulan Kingdom. Which is actually the name of Castle Gyges in the Japanese version of the game. It was a major part of the silk road and considered the link between east and west. Sound familar? Worth nothing that Arete is also named Shenmei in the Japanese version which in Mandarin relates to the arts. It was once prosperous kingdom that suddenly disappeared and was entirely forgotten and nearly unheard of until its rediscovery more than 10 centuries later. I got this information from a post from reddit and repeated some of that here but this is the full post and it's absolutely amazing.

My pick is Lissa (note, characters that start out as a pre promoted healer or a class that upon promotion don't count. No Sage, Priestess, Bishop, Valkyrie, Maid, Strategist, Falcon Knights etc.)

I know that there are no perfect real world equivalents. I just really like the way Fire Emblem takes inspo from cultures as I've always been a geek for that kinda thing. Nohr is a solid mix of France, Germany and Scandinavia. So I agree that pinning it down is hard. I've also considered Russia due to climate and their relations with Hoshido vaguely resembling Feudal Japanese/Russian relations. Mark and Leon are famous communist names but Marx was German. It's like they tried to combine all of Europe while making Hoshido solely Japan. Ferox could be Roman due to the names being Latin (Ferox=Fierce, Flavia=Blonde, Basillo, Basil, Regna,=Kingdom.) The city states of warriors fighting for power lead me to Greece. But Regna Ferox has the coliseum for political duels so Roman might be the answer. Ylisse becomes kinda hard to place though.

I realize now that Ostia is actually a town in Italy that I believe dates back to Ancient Rome. So I goofed that one up. I think you're right about Eturia being Elibean France. Plus, Bern not being part of the Lycian league is similar to Russia not being in the E.U. , not that that's extra evidence.

Note: There are plenty of games I haven't played. Feel free to add your takes on those. This post will cover Blazing Blade, Awakening and Fates. And borders don't apply the same way they do in the real world. For instance, An Indian based nation could border a French based nation. Blazing Blade Sacae-Mongolia. The clothing style and nomad lifestyle that the Sacaen's use is reminiscent of old Mongolia. Bern- Russia. Bern is a war torn kingdom on the eastern skirts of Elibe. With it's cold temperatures to the north and the look of Bern characters, Russia is my pick. Pherae - Spain. Not super confident about this one but going loosely based on the general European atmosphere, climate and character names Spain is my choice. Ostia- France. Same reasoning as Pherae. Nabata - Holy land in a desert? Imma say Israel Awakening Halidom of Ylisse- Roman Empire. Ylisse seems to take some design from Latin based culture. Simple enough. Regna Ferox - Ancient Greece. While Khan is certainly a Mongolian term, the way Regna Ferox is split, the way it's set up led me to think that it's probably more like Sparta. Valmese Empire - This ones a mess. Chon'sin is clearly based off of Japan. Virion speaks with a Frence accent, and Cherche and Cervantes are French names. It's like a split between the French area and Japan. Plegia - Ancient Egypt. The Plegian architecture, clothes and landscape have strong ties to Ancient Egypt. The markings and sorcerer outfits especially. Fates Hoshido- Feudal Japan. Nohr - Germany with splashes of the UK and Scandinavia. While it also takes some pretty heavy Norse influences (Mijolnir, BiFrost, Bolverk, Brynhildr) I choose Germany as the ultimate winner partially due to Askr's existence. Askr is just a pile of Norwegian overload. While there can certainly be two nations based on the same country, Nohr has so much European influence that Germany ultimately stands out. The architecture is far closer to Germany than Norway. Castle Krakenburg and the village areas all could pass for Germany easily. Krakenburg is a German style name, though it is made up. Elise is named after the German song "Fur Elise," and Xander's sword "Siegfried," is named after a prince from a German myth. The Nohrian music doesn't sound German. The music seems more based on the UK. Dusk Falls practically shout UK and Dark Wastes has some solid hints of it. Crykensia- Turkey. The small city between Nohr and Hoshido is home to many dancers and a lively culture. We barely see Crykensia but its theme, architecture and notable features as a nation resmble Turkey. Valla- Sumerian Empire. Sumeria was an Ancient Empire based in Modern day Iraq. They were a highly advanced civilization that fell in around 1700 B.C. . Castle Gyges looks like the Ziggurats made by the Sumerians. The interior isn't as clear a comparison but it fits. Seems like a good fit. Hopefully this was laid out well enough and was an interesting read. I've always enjoyed looking at cultures in fiction and hope that others find this intriguing as well.

Garon clearly loved Arete (as confirmed in the Birthright script posted) I've always assumed Garon wasn't a war monger like he is post possesion. Albeit with a bit of a grudge towards Hoshido. Xander implies that things "got bad," after Arete died. I saw a fan written post about Garon actually getting some backstory at the end of revelations. Unfortunately I don't have a link. I gather that Arete's death was the final straw for Garon that made it so that Anankos could make him his vessel. The fanfic went into more detail but given Xander's statement along with Casita's story and the timing of everything that seems likely. It's unlikely we'll ever get a satisfactory answer about Arete herself. My gut is that she had some affection for Garon but not head over heels like he was. I imagine she and Azura's father were deeply in love. Supposedly Garon and Katerina were but Garon is ... Garon.

I'm think Fate's has a really good story, but there's a lot we don't know. Esp. with the whole Garon pre Anankos and his army of psychotic concubines. Arete and Azura fled to Nohr from Valla when Anankos destroyed it. Sumeragi and Mikoto had already met and Sumeragi adored Mikoto the minute he saw her. It's implied that King Garon was also infatuated with Arete as soon as he saw (and heard,)her. It's clear that Garon is a man who loves love, and sex. I do believe that he loved Arete and Katerina dearly, but since Garon is a polygamous lover, it makes sense that he'd fall in love with the elegant Queen of Valla. But what about Arete? Did she love Garon? Did she just marry him as a way to protect her and Azura? Obviously a lot of issues arose when Arete became the Queen of Nohr, but perhaps it was still better than the alternative. We never meet Azura's father but I imagine he and Arete were deeply in love given what little we know. I'm pretty sure Mikoto loved Sumeragi, due to his kindness and acceptance of her and Corrin. Plus he wasn't insane like The Silent Dragon. Though Mikoto probably loved Anankos deeply as well. So, what do you think?