Matthew
| |
| Matthew | |
| Species | Human |
| Class | Thief |
| Promotion | Assassin |
| Affiliation | Ostia |
| Hair color | Brown |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Age | 20's |
| Base | Ostia |
| Debut | Fire Emblem |
Matthew was a playable unit in Fire Emblem. Though he appeared to be a thief, Matthew was actually an undercover spy for House Ostia. He was sly and cunning, traits that helped him to survive his occupation.
Background[edit]
Matthew was initially dispatched by Uther to examine Lyn's plight. He met up with their group at Araphen in "Chapter 6: The Blood of Pride". He claimed he wanted to join Lyn's group because they looked like the stronger team. Matthew lent his talents as a thief to the group throughout their journey. He was only absent in "Chapter 8: Vortex of Strategy" when he departed to gather information (and possibly meet with his Ostian contacts). After Lyn's journey was successful, Matthew returned to Ostia without any of his former group members knowing (except for Serra, who was also working for Ostia).
One year later, Uther's brother Hector enlisted Matthew's help when he wanted to sneak out of the castle to go on an adventure with Eliwood in "Another Journey" (Hector Chapter 11). Matthew succeeded in packing provisions and keeping the guards busy, but Hector refused to let Matthew accompany him because he was one of his brother's spies and Hector thought Matthew would turn him in for a favor. After Matthew helped Hector to fight off a group of assassins hired by Nergal, Hector decided to let Matthew come with him on the condition that Matthew now worked for Hector instead of Uther. They were later joined by Serra and Oswin. In Hector's Story, Matthew and Serra wound up joining in on the battle in "Chapter 12: Birds of a Feather", but in Eliwood's Story they were not playable until "Chapter 13: In Search of Truth". In that chapter, Matthew could blackmail Guy the myrmidon into joining their group (as Matthew had once saved Guy's life in the past by feeding him when he was lying hungry in Sacae).
However, Matthew suffered his own tragedy during the adventure. He was in love with a fellow Ostian spy, Leila. She had been assigned to infilitrate the Black Fang, the same organization that Eliwood and Hector's group were battling. Matthew had planned to ask Leila to retire from the dangerous life of a spy after that mission was complete, but he never got a chance to. They briefly met in "Whereabouts Unknown" (Eliwood Chapter 16, Hector Chapter 17), which was, unbeknownst to either of them, their last meeting. Leila directed them to the Black Fang's operations on Valor Island, and Matthew invited her to visit his hometown after her mission was complete.
Soon after arriving on Valor Isle in "The Dread Isle" (Eliwood Chapter 18, Hector Chapter 19), they came across Leila's dead body. She had been executed by the Black Fang and her body left there to taunt them. Matthew understood that Leila had blundered and then left the others to give her a proper burial. However, he returned in time for the next battle and was still willing to join in since he knew the others in Eliwood and Hector's group still needed him, especially to see through the dense fog in that chapter.
Possible Fates[edit]
Matthew has two possible endings, depending on whether or not he gets an A Rank Support with Serra.
- Default Ending- Matthew continued serving House Ostia, but Leila's death weighed heavily on his heart.
- Matthew and Serra's Ending- Matthew became the head of Ostia's network of spies under Hector after Hector became marquess. He became comforted by thoughts of Serra, which slowly decreased the pain Matthew felt from losing Leila. It is unknown exactly what becomes of Matthew and Serra's relationship.
Support Conversation Summaries[edit]
Matthew is capable of having Support conversations with six other characters.
- Hector- Matthew is eager to serve Hector, although Hector becomes angry when he realizes that Matthew has been storing his rations in Hector's bag, and he laments having "lame henchmen". Afterwards, Matthew offers to join Hector on the front lines, and Hector reluctantly allows him but instructs him not to overdo it. In the third conversation, Matthew says he had a change of heart on this journey which has prompted him to fight the enemy directly instead of sneaking around in the back lines. Hector then challenges Matthew to a sparring match, but Matthew is too afraid to go through with it.
- Guy- In the first conversation, Matthew reveals that Guy still owes Matthew three favors, since their deal was one favor for each piece of meat Matthew gave Guy. Guy then challenges Matthew to a fight which would nullify his debt if he won. Matthew agrees but requests to choose the timing of the battle. In the second conversation, Matthew had won the battle by attacking Guy in his sleep. Matthew replies by telling him the story of a famous knight who arranged a duel with another knight, but he was then stabbed in the back by the other knight when he left. Guy says that is cowardice, but Matthew tells him it is the true nature of combat, and Guy should stop complaining about it. In the third conversation, Guy had received a bump on his head after trying to attack Matthew while he was sleeping, and Matthew tells Guy how predictable he is. He then asks Guy if his yearnings to be the greatest knight in Sacae was a dream or just a goal. Matthew tells Guy about all the dreamers who have had their hopes shattered, but Guy insists that he will see his goal through to the end and be successful.
- Jaffar- Matthew confronts Jaffar looking for clues as to who killed Leila. He realizes that only one of the Four Fangs could have killed someone with Leila's skill, and he then realizes that Jaffar must have done it. Matthew then swears to kill Jaffar. In the second conversation, Matthew attempts to kill Jaffar, but Jaffar is able to get behind Matthew. But Jaffar does not kill Matthew. This only makes Matthew angrier, and he redoubles his vow. In the final Support conversation, Matthew comes to Jaffar saying his friends have Nino held captive and will kill her if he makes a move. Jaffar obeys Matthew, and Matthew moves in to kill but he stops at the last moment, saying that Leila stopped him. Matthew recalled what Eliwood had said about Jaffar being Nergal's puppet, so it was actually Nergal who killed Leila, but Matthew had ignored this to pursue his revenge. Matthew then releases Jaffar, telling him he was lying about capturing Nino. But before leaving Jaffar tells Matthew that Leila had whispered Matthew's name in her dying breath.
- Legault- Matthew is immediately suspicious of Legault and threatens to watch his every move to see if he will betray them. In the second conversation, Legault tells Matthew about his job in the Black Fang after Matthew questions him about it. Finally, Matthew asks Legault why he quit the Black Fang. Legault tells Matthew about the Black Fang's corruption by Sonia and his forced assassination of Aesha. Matthew apologizes and says that he still distrusts Legault, but he realized that he had made Legault expose a piece of his heart that he didn't want touched. Legault tells Matthew he is a good kid and is wasted working as a spy.
- Oswin- Throughout their conversations, Matthew and Oswin primarily discuss Hector. In the first conversation, neither can find Hector. Oswin is annoyed at Hector always trying to do things himself, but Matthew says that's why he likes Hector, since things are never dull when he's around. In the next conversation, Matthew wonders why they need to be with Hector on his quest when Uther might need their help in Ostia. They both come up with their own answers, with Oswin saying that Hector can't change his mind when it's made up and Oswin bound himself to serve Hector, while Matthew says that Hector needs them to watch over him because he is faithful and brave at his best, but a spoiled child at his worst. They then both accuse each other of appraising Hector more than usual. In the final conversation, they talk about how Eliwood and Hector will fare in the future after becoming marquesses. They both show concern for Hector, but Oswin remarks that Hector can win people with his inventiveness and has great skill because he does not follow the main path but paves new ones. Oswin then asks Matthew not to tell Hector what he said, because it was unbecoming of a knight.
- Serra- In the first conversation, Serra tries coercing Matthew into protecting her, but Matthew insists that he is a thief and does not get involved in brawls. She promises to heal Matthew if he gets hurt, at which point he asks her if she follows some evil dark god instead of St. Elimine. In the second conversation, Serra rants on about her wishes for her own vassals and what tasks she would make them do, while Matthew sees no need for vassals for himself. In the final conversation, Serra complains that Hector ignored her when she requested her own vassals, and Matthew actually agrees with her and mentions how Hector had ignored his own request (which seemed to be to separate him from Serra). Serra says that the two of them should make their complaints to Hector together, and Matthew notes to himself that Serra is actually pretty good looking if she'd just shut up.