Would this count as "special blood"?

[Augestein]

58 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

To be fair, they didn't quite proved themselves to Roland or Durban. Roland was more than happy to help once hearing Eliwood was his descendant, and Durban hated the idea of Armads just resting in an altar without seeing battle again, so Hector only came asking (or more like demanding) and he accepted.

The Divine Weapons aren't actually restricted to something like bloodlines. Removing them from their altars is restricted (and not all of them in terms of bloodlines), but not using the weapons themselves.

And we specifically know that because of Binding Blade at that where they are just regular weapons that any person that trains hard enough can use them. 

 

3 hours ago, Anacybele said:

And having more physical strength isn't? Why does Ike become a pretty damn good fighter then? He had to have gotten something to be that good!

I'm saying that Azura having inherited more magical prowess than physical from her parents is no different from Ike having gotten his strength and swordsmanship from his dad and Mist probably getting her magic from Elena.

Ike becomes a good fighter because of what Greil taught him and the drive to defeat the black knight. You aren't born a good fighter. That's something that you have to refine. Whether that be through sparring with others, getting a teacher, or just fighting. There's something that has to hone that instinct. Physical strength, while needed to be a fighter, is not the only component of being a good fighter. 

But it is! Ike isn't any stronger than any normal human, and we see quite a few people that are stronger than him, or just as strong. So his strength isn't actually special at all. Just like Mist's magic isn't special at all. Mist even tries that at one point claiming "I can fight too, I'm the daughter of general Gawain," and the person honestly takes it as a joke, and why wouldn't they? She's a girl that walked out on the battle field with a scarf and a mini-skirt. Mist also isn't reasonably powerfully talented as a caster either. Stat wise I have nothing, and no one mentions her powers in the story which leads me to believe that she's not very remarkable in combat.  

If she has more magical prowess because she just so happens to be a child of magical parents, that's fine. However, as I stated before, if that's something that can happen for anyone, then it's not a special thing. Otherwise it is.  Perhaps she's like Lilina from the Binding Blade that had great magical aptitude but unlike Lilina she chose to use conventional weaponry. If that's the case, then there's not much reason to bring attention to the fact that she has good res unless you think it's important. 

[Acacia Sgt]

9 minutes ago, Augestein said:

If she has more magical prowess because she just so happens to be a child of magical parents, that's fine. However, as I stated before, if that's something that can happen for anyone, then it's not a special thing. Otherwise it is.  Perhaps she's like Lilina from the Binding Blade that had great magical aptitude but unlike Lilina she chose to use conventional weaponry. If that's the case, then there's not much reason to bring attention to the fact that she has good res unless you think it's important. 

I would think if Mist inherited anything from her parents, it was having perfect Order-Chaos balance, like Elena. Maybe it's just me, but I think it's too much of a coincience that a mother-daughter pair had the same state of being.

[Jotari]

1 hour ago, Acacia Sgt said:

I would think if Mist inherited anything from her parents, it was having perfect Order-Chaos balance, like Elena. Maybe it's just me, but I think it's too much of a coincience that a mother-daughter pair had the same state of being.

Yeah I was about to bring that up. Mist did seem to inherit something special with that. Which is sort of funny if you think about it. Ike isn't special but his sister is. Then again thinking on it I suppose there's the possibility that Ike does have balance in him just like Mist and we just never found out because he never risked touching the medallion (and for a damn good reason). That particular plot point felt weird over all in how little it actually matters. Kind of makes me assume Mist was originally going to play Micahiah's role when Path of Radiance was conceived as one game.

 

Back on the topic of Ana's character, how big a plot point is it that she becomes a lord? Is it just to have a gameplay style promotion? Because it seems to be a bit of a rehash of what Ike went through in Path of Radiance. If she's suitably proven herself then I reckon she could lead armies without being granted a lordship (as mentioned already Griel managed to do it without ever being considered noble and that was even before the Ashnard era). Admittedly I haven't read your fix but it sounds like the ancient tribe is a bit of a shoehorn just to force the lordship plot point. I say if you're going to use the idea then go fully with it and use it but if it's only sort of there not affecting anything then drop it (or make it an innocuous reveal when nothing matters to add layers in the same vein as Soren's parentage).

Edited February 18, 2017 by Jotari

[Sunwoo]

47 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Yeah I was about to bring that up. Mist did seem to inherit something special with that. Which is sort of funny if you think about it. Ike isn't special but his sister is. Then again thinking on it I suppose there's the possibility that Ike does have balance in him just like Mist and we just never found out because he never risked touching the medallion (and for a damn good reason).

I thought it was basically confirmed that Ike didn't have the same balance as Mist and his mother when he wasn't affected in RD 3-E. The herons and Mist all fainted, but Ike was fine.

[Anacybele]

Well, okay then. I just figured I might've made Azura a bit Sueish or something, which needs to be avoided.

[Jotari]

1 hour ago, Anacybele said:

Well, okay then. I just figured I might've made Azura a bit Sueish or something, which needs to be avoided.

To be honest I feel like someone will come across as more sueish if they attain something by virtue of their birth rather than their own individual personality traits and achievements. Not saying that inheriting something will automatically make a character a sue, just that it could easily feel shoehorned if it's not given due relevance (though once again I mention I haven't read your story so I can only talk about the plot point at a conceptual level. Practically anything can be pulled off with decent enough writing).

Edited February 18, 2017 by Jotari

[SullyMcGully]

In the real world, you decide how great you become, not your parents. Fact of the matter is, many people with a wealth of "special blood" turn out to be jerks in the end, because having good parents doesn't mean you will automatically be good as well. While it is true that the conditions you are raised in does affect your choices later in life, ultimately, they are your choices, and in every situation it's up to you to decide what is good for you and what is not.

That said, I think Azura should decide for herself whether or not she embraces her parent's strengths or decides to take on other talents. It does make sense that she'd have a built in aptitude to do what her parents could do due to genetics and such, but just because her parents were important leaders doesn't mean that their skills are more valuable than those of others.

[saisymbolic]

I might be echoing what some others have said, but I only consider a character having "special blood" if their lineage grants them attributes that can't be obtained otherwise. I suppose an exception would be if certain "special" traits didn't surface in a parent, but they surfaced in their offspring due to genetics, I would still consider the parents having "special blood." I personally wouldn't consider Ike having "special blood," despite having a famous general of a father, because Ike had to work in order to get as far as he did. If, however, the opposite is true, I didn't know being able to wield a sword deftly was genetic and wasn't gained through years of training. 

On the subject of Mary Sue, I avoid using the term. It's so vague and subjective these days—the term is thrown around so much that the qualifications and meaning behind it are muddled. But, once you hear it, it seems as if you have to scrap your entire character and start from scratch. Most of the time, what people call a Mary Sue is only an undeveloped character. I would personally work on solidifying your character's backstory and personality so as to explain about your character should any misunderstandings come up. If they still insist on calling your character a Mary Sue, but you know you put in the work and effort, I would say just screw them and be proud of your work.