Why Alvis is Awesome

[Jotari]

Alvis appears in three chapters of one game. He has only a handful of lines compared to many other characters in the series, yet to this day he stands as one of the most notable villains the franchise. What makes him work so damn well? A multitude of things that I’m going spend way too much of my valuable time analysing (and yes, I’m going to be calling him Alvis and not Arvis, and you should too, because Arvis just sounds silly).

First, I’d like to start with his character designs. The first, his younger portrait

He has long red hair and dresses in red clothes. This very obviously plays to his fire theming. Fire is something seen as powerful, dangerous and volatile, which is pretty much how his role in the story plays out. A player will get this impression of him from a first glance, even if it’s only subconscious. The more subtle thing about him here however, is his facial expression. His head is tilted up slightly, giving him the impression he’s looking down at people, yet the long bishonen hair and arrogant expression don’t immediately peg him as a villain. His hair has just enough bounce to it, and there’s just something a little two serious about his disdain to indicate he’s the smug monster you’d commonly find with these design traits. Compare and contrast his son, who has the same elements, but comes off as looking much more like an overt dick.

Next, we have his post time skip portrait.

He’s still rocking the red colour scheme, now adding some awesome bulky red armour that he should totally bring to Heroes some time. He’s quite clearly older, maybe even looking too much older for time skip lasting less than twenty years. It might just be me projecting the writing on to the design, but I think there’s a certain tiredness to him now. His head no longer tilts up and his lips seem to be trying to smile and frown at the same time. His brow is also much more pronounced. And yet despite this stress appearance, he also looks very regal and dignified (the fur trimmed coat he stole from Hardin certainly assists with this). He’s still tough and proud looking, but this design is also more likely to elicit sympathy from the player, unlike say, this grey skinned sourpuss.

Now, onto the meat of the subject. The writing and what Alvis actually does on the game. His first lines really set the tone.

“His Majesty wants me to check on things… The savages sure aren’t going down easy. Sheesh… Sigurd, you don’t impress me much.”

He’s here to help us, but he outright insults our main protagonist, though not to his face. He’s not overly malicious with his insult, in fact, it’d be hard to find a milder way to try and offend someone, but this is immediately making the player form an opinion of him.

Next, he’ll (probably) move southwards and roast a bandit. The player is one rounding these bandits, but Alvis is one shotting them, and he’s not even going into a map screen to do it. At this point the player might take a glance at his stat screen and see that he is far beyond anyone currently on the battle field. It’s the player’s first glimpse at a Holy Weapon.  Subconsciously, this might make the player feel either nervous or impressed, possibly both. We don’t exactly know his motivations yet, he said he was sent here to help, but he hasn’t displayed any friendship towards Sigurd. Bear in mind, this is also the first time the series has ever had allied units appear on the battle field. It fits in with the core of Alvis’ writing, invoking conflicting feelings from the player.

Next, he talks to Sigurd and gives him a sweet Silver Sword. Despite his earlier disregard for Sigurd’s efforts, he’s actually quite cordial and friendly to Sigurd. Giving him a weapon is a very good way of combining gameplay and writing, as the player will appreciate the gesture and put Alvis in their good graces. He also shows concern for one of the player’s units, so right now, any of their concerns or worries about Alvis becoming an enemy have most likely been dissuaded.

Alvis doesn’t show up again until Chapter 5, but we later hear his backstory in Chapter 2 (described by an utterly throw away character called Filat. They absolutely should have combined him with Palmark, the guy who protects the children and Tyrfing in chapter 10, that would have worked so well with him first disclosing Alvis’ backstory and Alvis later trusting him with such an important job, but I digress). It’s pretty tragic and monumentally important to the story, his father was a womanizer who couldn’t hack it when his wife, Cigyun, had an affair so he killed himself. Alvis’ mother then abandoned him leaving him to become a duke at the age of seven. It’s never stated in game, but it’s clear by his actions that this gave Alvis some mommy issues. Namely, the fact that his heart was immediately captivated by a woman that looks like his mother. Kaga’s notes also says that young Alvis was fiercely protective about Cigyun’s reputation even going so far as to kill people who openly insulted her. They don’t dwell on the backstory and try to milk the tragedy however, in fact, Alvis barely gets a mention in it. A new player might not even actively connect that this love affair story involved the parents of the guy in the prologue who gave them a sweet sword. This down play is important as Alvis is meant to be a character of contrasts and we don’t want his evil actions being depicted as a Freudian Excuse. What is clear however, is that this tragedy happening so young, and then having a lot of power and responsibility thrusted onto him, would definitely have built him into a very serious individual.

The next time we see Alvis proper, he’s being depicted as our enemy. This isn’t coming as a plot twist or anything, all of Grandvale sees Sigurd as an enemy by this point in the story. However it is quickly made clear that Alvis is in the know about the truth of Sigurd’s innocence and is a proper antagonist, not just a stooge. What follows is perhaps the worst writing in the game (hell I might even say the entire series) as both Alvis and the King espouse a tonne of really important information about events that happened off screen. This scene is why I really wish Alvis was in Gen 1 more, still, as painful as it is, the massive plot dump does its job of getting us quickly up to speed with where Alvis currently stands. He’s stolen Sigurd’s wife and is now right next to the throne. A short time later we see him with Manfroy (who we know just from looking at him is bad news) and he gives us this line.

“Hmph… Manfroy, I’ll say this once and only once, so listen good. I haven’t the slightest intention of rebuilding your Lopt Empire. I have no problem with your Lopt Sect existing, but I’m not leaving the world in the hands of the Dark Lord. You follow!? I don’t care if I have the Lopt Clan’s blood in me. I have Saint Maira’s blood and he fought for the good of the people. The Fire God Fala is also one of my ancestors. I will use my power to create a world which is free of prejudice. One where all peoples can live without fear of repression! Of course, Sigurd knows way too much. Consider him a sacrifice to the greater good.”

So the emotional flip flop of audience response to Alvis turns again. First, he appears and insults us, then he gives us a sword, next he appears plotting to destroy us, but then definitely states his intentions to create a world of peace, free of prejudice, but he still wants to destroy us. Manfroy makes failed threats against Alvis, but Alvis is having none of it. Manfroy is not blackmailing Alvis, Alvis is working on his own volition to achieve his own goals. It’s at this point we also discover Alvis has Loptyr blood in him, but we’re also reminded that he has the blood of great heroes who fought against the Lopt Empire too.

So at this point the player might be thinking Alvis will be the final boss of this chapter after Reptor is defeated, but Alvis isn’t finished making us question his allegiances. He had his forces backstab Sigurd’s enemies and help take down the most threatening boss in the game thus far. Sigurd is evidently relieved and exhausted, but the player will still be feeling suspicious, and rightfully so. The build up to the Battle of Barhara is masterfully done. The characters all have conversations with their friends and lovers about the ominous feeling they have that things will not go well. We know what they don’t about Alvis’ intentions (dramatic irony). So it’s not surprising when Alvis betrays Sigurd. What is surprising is the magnitude of the betrayal and how devastating it is. I’m going to go outright and say it, from a narrative standpoint, the Battle of Barhara is the best thing in the entire franchise. It’s a ballsy move and it works well. I think Alvis is a great character, but even if this was his only scene, he’d still be one of the most notable villains in the franchise.

It’s not only the magnitude of how bad the betrayal is, but Alvis’ character also shifts here as we the audience didn’t expect him to be this much of a dick about it. He said Sigurd was only being disposed of because he was an inconvenience, but then he twists the knife. Once again, opening by being friendly to Sigurd, but then openly sentencing him to death. Parading Sigurd wife around in front of Sigurd, but not letting him get a word in to reveal the truth to her. We know why Alvis does this on retrospect, he wanted to confirm his suspicions that Deirdre was Sigurd’s wife, but it doesn’t make it any less painful for Sigurd and by proxy the player. Among this, we get these lines

“Diadora, this is the son of the man who murdered your father. It’s Lord Vylon’s son, Sigurd. Go ahead. Let him know how you feel.”

"That’ll be enough from you{Sigurd}. Diadora, take a step back. This man is dangerous. He is guilty of treason and is to be punished.”

Once again, it could be me projecting an opinion based on bias, but these lines come across as much gentler than the way he spoke to Sigurd. Yet still firm. It helps that at this moment the music has swapped from the dire peril theme it had before, to Deirdre’s theme, which is softer.

Sigurd dies in despair, hating Alvis, but I don’t think the player has feelings of hate at this point. Alvis’ portrayal throughout the story has had too many subtle positive moments, and while the negatives currently far outweigh them, the scale of this event will make the player have feelings more resembling surprise and sorrow (once again the music as the characters obituaries are read helps to convey this tone).

So right after Alvis’ greatest act of evil, we jump into Chapter 6 which wastes no time telling us that he achieved his goals. The ends actually did justify the means and Alvis got his golden age of peace and prosperity, albeit, only briefly. It’s not until Chapter 10 does Alvis appear again, by that time we’ve firmly seen the evils of the Lopt cult headed by Manfroy, they become the target of the players ire and blame for the current condition of the world. Alvis is not blameless, but he’s seen more as misguided than evil.

His first on screen appearance since killing Sigurd is this exchange with Ishtar.

“Ishtar, it’s good to see you. How are things?”

 “Your Majesty! What brings you here?”

“Ishtar… I know you can do better than this. Now release the children.”

“But I have orders from Prince Yurius…”

“I’ll inform Yurius myself. Don’t you worry about him.”

 “But…”

 “That’s an order, Ishtar! Do you have a problem taking orders from me!?”

We see two things here. One, that he’s against the child hunts, the most heinous thing we’ve seen in the game, once again, putting him in our good graces after time enough has passed for his betrayal to be mitigated somewhat. Two, we also see that he’s quick to anger. This is very unlike the pretime skip Alvis. Even when it looked like Sigurd would be able to disclose the truth to Deirdre, he didn’t shout like this, instead, curtly succeeding to send Deirdre away. I said in the opening that Alvis represented fire in his role in the story, but his personality has never been what one would describe as fiery. Instead, he was more cold and pragmatic, willing to do whatever he needs to in order to achieve his ambitions. This sudden change tells us that he’s a very different man to the one we seen before.

His evil son Julius shows up and we discover Alvis tried to banish Julius, but Julius didn’t listen to him. This references is brief, but I think it implies a lot. Alvis is a dowager emperor, his power comes from Julius, but Alvis is still ostensibly the one on charge. The people were also once on Alvis’ side, so it seems that in all likelihood, Alvis could have started a civil war against Julius (Julius also has no legal right to the throne until he manifests a mark of Naga on his body, which he never will), but when Julius put it to him, and refused to leave the Kingdom on Alvis’ orders, Alvis backed down and let Julius do as he please. Because the only alternative would be to kill his son. Alvis never loses the title of emperor, and even after he’s dead, Julius still holds the title of Dark Prince. Alvis had power, but he couldn’t use it. Alvis in this chapter is someone who has both been utterly defeated, yet also refuses to give in. He opposes Julius at every opportunity, yet he still obeys and fights Seliph nonetheless.

His next scene is with his daughter, Julia. It’s very brief, but we see how much Alvis loves Julia, he is concerned for her safety and admits what a fool he’s been. Manfroy takes Julia away and threatens her for good measure to ensure Alvis stays in line. It’s quite clear that Alvis now has regrets. He hates how things have turned out and hates himself because of it. Alvis gets someone to give Tyfring to Seliph (a weapon that gives Seliph a tonne of resistance and Alvis uses a magic weapon) and faces Seliph in battle. His battle quote against Seliph is much like first line of the game.

 “Emperor Alvis! Why did you kill my father…”

“Celice… So you made it. I commend your bravery. But you will, nonetheless, be incinerated by my fire. You’re just as pathetic as your father was…”

He praises Seliph, but then also insults him. A final juxtaposition before his death quote.

 “Diadora… …Yuria…”

This death quote doesn’t end him squarely on the side of good guy. Love is certainly a redeeming feature, but it’s also selfish. The ones he cared about on his death bed were his own family, he doesn’t voice regrets about killing Sigurd or ruining the continent, although he almost certainly does regret these things, it’s just that’s not what’s most important to him.

If you look at things from a wide scope, Alvis’ actions in the game involve giving the player a sword, mercilessly slaughtering a bunch of people he knows are innocent, and then fighting to the death rather than doing what is right and stopping his evil son. This should put him squarely in the monstrous villain camp, but what makes him work so well is that he has subtlety. It’s clear he once had good intentions and even in his final days opposed the child hunts, but it’s the manner in which he’s written that makes him so good. In every appearance, in every conversation, the story never once abandons the idea that Alvis is both fundamentally a good person, and a bad person. He embodies both the traits to their core. Have you ever considered, did he really even need to kill Sigurd? The truth that Sigurd knew too much about were that Langbolt and Reptor were traitors, this wouldn’t have actually affected Alvis standing as future emperor (Sigurd being Deirdre’s husband certainly would have but Alvis didn’t know that). Killing Sigurd was a shrewd move, but from Alvis’ perspective, it also should have been avoidable. He’s not simply a good man who acted badly; or someone who has good intentions, but horrible methods. He’s a good man who acts goodly and a bad man who acts badly. He is a man of contrasts. Nobody calls Alvis a Camus, as no one ever expected him to join Seliph, yet at the same time, no one ever derides him as a monster.

Alvis is remembered for two reasons, because his impact on Genealogy of the Holy war is massive, and because there’s really no other character like him in the series. We have sympathetic villains who do evil things, like Lehran. We have evil villains who do nice things, like Zephiel’s treatment of Guinevere. But no villain that I can recall before or since, has straddled the line between good and bad so closely. When you kill him in Chapter 10, you probably don’t feel good about yourself (in fact, Sigurd’s ghost outright tells Seliph not to celebrate it), but nor will you feel particularly bad. I don't think that conclusion will be much of a revelation for people, but I did want to show how the game conveys those ideas in a nuanced way. I hope you enjoyed this three thousand word break down of a character who probably doesn’t even speak that many words.

Edited June 1, 2018 by Jotari

[eclipse]

Why are your pictures so big?  Your post is already an essay (to the point where I'd recommend a blog), but the unnecessarily large character mugs just make it seem even longer.

[Etrurian emperor]

2 hours ago, Jotari said:

(Julius also has no legal right to the throne until he manifests a mark of Naga on his body, which he never will)

I don't think that's entirely correct. There's more to suggest that inheriting the throne in Jugdral has more to do with seniority than with the level of holy blood. Hezul's heir was his eldest kid while the one that got mayor holy blood merely got Nodion. The king also said that Arvis was to rule ''until their son came of age''.

Legally speaking Julius probably has more right than Arvis since he's the great grandson of Azmur and Arvis isn't. Arvis didn't really start a new dynasty, he merely married into an existing one. From his conversation with Azmur it becomes clear Arvis was always meant to be a temporary ruler until Azmur's family could take the reigns back again.

[Jotari]

1 hour ago, eclipse said:

Why are your pictures so big?  Your post is already an essay (to the point where I'd recommend a blog), but the unnecessarily large character mugs just make it seem even longer.

I'm not sure. They were standard size when I wrote them up on word, but all but Julius' ones blew up when I copied it over (I then intentionally made his bigger for continuity's sake). In the interests of saving space, I've shrunk all but the ones that are focusing on the character's design.

29 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I don't think that's entirely correct. There's more to suggest that inheriting the throne in Jugdral has more to do with seniority than with the level of holy blood. Hezul's heir was his eldest kid while the one that got mayor holy blood merely got Nodion. The king also said that Arvis was to rule ''until their son came of age''.

Legally speaking Julius probably has more right than Arvis since he's the great grandson of Azmur and Arvis isn't. Arvis didn't really start a new dynasty, he merely married into an existing one. From his conversation with Azmur it becomes clear Arvis was always meant to be a temporary ruler until Azmur's family could take the reigns back again.

The exact quote is

“Lord Narga’s lineage through Saint Heim must not be allowed to perish! I want the two of you to bear a son as soon as possible! If the child inherits the power of Narga, he shall be Prince of Grandbell. And once I pass on he’ll become the King of Grandbell. Lord Alvis, until the boy is old enough to rule, you shall be the provisional king. Do raise him well. I hope you understand all of what I’ve told you. (cough.. Ah…ack..)”

He says "If the son inherits the power of Naga" and that Naga's lineage must not perish. That's pretty clear to me that the blood is more important to Azmur at least. Agustria is an entirely different country, so Grandvale has no obligation to follow their rules, and just look at Munster which has four houses of equal standing and only one has Holy Blood. Obviously who can and can't become Emperor comes down to who can convince the most people that they deserve it, and Julius does have a good claim by being the only known living grandchild of Azmur (with Julia being missing and Seliph being a rumor), but going strictly by Azmur's words (which I imagine were recorded or put down in some official way) Julius doesn't have a legitimate claim without Naga blood.

 

Edited June 1, 2018 by Jotari

[Ertrick36]

7 hours ago, Jotari said:

I'm not sure. They were standard size when I wrote them up on word, but all but Julius' ones blew up when I copied it over (I then intentionally made his bigger for continuity's sake). In the interests of saving space, I've shrunk all but the ones that are focusing on the character's design.

All of Ishtar's pics are still really big, at least on my end.  Also interesting that you used her FE5 portrait instead of her FE4 one like you did with the others.

The main things I like about Alvis:

• He isn't in that lump of FE villain archetypes that has no motives for actually committing heinous besides mere religious zealotry (like a good number of the "cult leader" characters in games) or other such singular, impersonal reasons.  He kills Sigurd mostly because he doesn't want there to be any chance at all of Diadora going back to him.  It could be argued that he doesn't want Sigurd to become Emperor, but that still seems insignificant compared to the simple fact that he loves Diadora and doesn't want her to leave his side.
• He has enough moments that make him sympathetic to be a properly nuanced villain.  You just can't outright hate him even though he kills the main character you control, and in the end you might even feel pity for him when you defeat him in Gen 2.  Not even Sigurd's celebrating his death, and the dude straight up killed him and took his wife.
• He's the one antagonist whose foolishness (falling right into Manfroy's trap) actually seems in-character.  He's a character whose flaws seem believable and relevant to his character.  He is in a way like story!Xander in that his flaws allow for the true enemy to triumph, except the story doesn't try to portray him as this infallible person who is always just and honorable, nor does it treat said flaws as positives.
• He never intended for things to go the way they did.  The truly great thing about his flaws leading to all the terrible things that happened is that he actually didn't like that those things happened.  It isn't like a lot of villains who just gradually settle in with the chaos; he still thrashes against his fate and his demon child till the very end, even choosing to fight Seliph with all of his might instead of merely handing him Tyrfing and committing suicide.  It makes him seem actually human, because that state of powerlessness is something so many people go through at some point in their lives.  Obviously not in that exact way, but it's still something people can relate to.

[Jotari]

4 hours ago, Ertrick36 said:

All of Ishtar's pics are still really big, at least on my end.  Also interesting that you used her FE5 portrait instead of her FE4 one like you did with the others.

The main things I like about Alvis:

• He isn't in that lump of FE villain archetypes that has no motives for actually committing heinous besides mere religious zealotry (like a good number of the "cult leader" characters in games) or other such singular, impersonal reasons.  He kills Sigurd mostly because he doesn't want there to be any chance at all of Diadora going back to him.  It could be argued that he doesn't want Sigurd to become Emperor, but that still seems insignificant compared to the simple fact that he loves Diadora and doesn't want her to leave his side.
• He has enough moments that make him sympathetic to be a properly nuanced villain.  You just can't outright hate him even though he kills the main character you control, and in the end you might even feel pity for him when you defeat him in Gen 2.  Not even Sigurd's celebrating his death, and the dude straight up killed him and took his wife.
• He's the one antagonist whose foolishness (falling right into Manfroy's trap) actually seems in-character.  He's a character whose flaws seem believable and relevant to his character.  He is in a way like story!Xander in that his flaws allow for the true enemy to triumph, except the story doesn't try to portray him as this infallible person who is always just and honorable, nor does it treat said flaws as positives.
• He never intended for things to go the way they did.  The truly great thing about his flaws leading to all the terrible things that happened is that he actually didn't like that those things happened.  It isn't like a lot of villains who just gradually settle in with the chaos; he still thrashes against his fate and his demon child till the very end, even choosing to fight Seliph with all of his might instead of merely handing him Tyrfing and committing suicide.  It makes him seem actually human, because that state of powerlessness is something so many people go through at some point in their lives.  Obviously not in that exact way, but it's still something people can relate to.

I actually used her FE5 pic instead of her standard one in an effort to make it smaller. For some reason the pics on the Fire Emblem wiki where I copied them from have been blown up to the enlarged size.

[NinjaMonkey]

I find it disappointing that you left out that Arvis is the best Fire Emblem character at hosting barbeques.

Edited June 2, 2018 by NinjaMonkey

[Shinwoo]

4 hours ago, NinjaMonkey said:

I find it disappointing that you left out that Arvis is the best Fire Emblem character at hosting barbeques.

He’s the grill master of fire emblem ;)