Zihark

Blade of Unity
Zihark
Species	Beorc
Class	FE 9 Myrmidon FE 10 Swordmaster
Promotion	FE 9 Swordmaster FE 10 Marshall
Origin	Daein
Hair color	Silver
Debut	Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

Zihark is a playable unit in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and its sequel, Radiant Dawn.

Background

Zihark once was involved with a laguz women, and he was madly in love with her. However, this relationship was not approved by society. They could not marry, and the great pressure eventually caused Zihark's girlfriend to leave him. Afterwards, Zihark never loved a woman as much as her. This inspired Zihark to promote peace between the beorcs and the laguz. He came to Crimea after hearing that it had better relations between beorcs and laguz, only to find that the situation there was as bad as it was in any beorc nation. Eventually he joined a group of anti-laguz vigilantes stationed at Port Toha in hopes of secretly helping out the laguz that they persecuted.

In "Chapter 11: Blood Runs Red" of Path of Radiance, the vigilantes went into action when laguz were spotted in Port Toha with Ike's group of mercenaries. If the laguz Mordecai or Lethe spoke to Zihark, Zihark revealed his true intentions to them and decided to prove his honesty by joining Ike's group to fight off the vigilantes. He remained with Ike's group for the rest of the war. He tutored Ike in swordsmanship. He also spoke with Brom, who persisted that Zihark should marry one of his daughters despite Zihark's attempts to protest. Afterwards, Zihark decided to travel to Daein.

Three years later, Zihark got joined with the Daein Liberation Army, because he actually liked his country and wanted to see it restored. He was first seen fighting off soldiers of the Begnion Occupation Army with the aid of Tauroneo and Jill in "Chapter 5: The Lost Heir" of "Part 1: Silver-Haired Maiden". Zihark then fought under Micaiah’s command in "Chapter 6: Raise the Standard" and "Chapter 7: Gathering Hope". He also was able to join Micaiah and the Dawn Brigade in the battle of Chapter 8: Glory Unwanted. He finally joined in the final battle of "Endgame: Daein, Arise!". Along the way, he also met with Meg, the daughter of Brom, who thought Zihark was her fiancee due to Brom's misunderstanding three years ago.

After the war was over and Pelleas gained control of Daein, Zihark remained in the Daein Royal Army. He had hope that Daein would change for the better, but he was to be proven wrong. He was part of Micaiah’s army when Pelleas sent them to battle the retreating Laguz Alliance Army in "Chapter 6: A Reason to Fight" of "Part 3: Intersecting Vows". Zihark was uncomfortable about battling laguz, and he would not strike Mordecai or Lethe (nor Ranulf and Ilyana in the following chapter) if he entered battle with them. In "Chapter 7: Rivals Collide", he could be convinced to switch over to the Laguz Alliance if Mordecai or Lethe spoke with him (Brom or Ilyana could also recruit him if they had an A Rank Support with Zihark transferred from Path of Radiance).

After the war ended, Zihark traveled Tellius as a mercenary and solved disputes between beorc and laguz. It is said that he eventually settled down in Gallia, possibly with the laguz woman he had been been in love with.

Support Conversation Summaries

Zihark is capable of having Support conversations with three other characters.

• Brom- In the first conversation, Zihark helps Brom fix his shoulder strap, and Brom learns about the resourcefulness of mercenaries. Brom mentions his number of children, and Zihark says he'd expect many children from Brom because he is a big man with a big heart, the perfect father. In the second conversation, Brom had treated Zihark to a meal, but Zihark insists on paying his half since he didn't have much money on him at the time. Brom then asks Zihark is he is popular among the ladies and offers to set him up with his oldest daughter, but Zihark is reluctant. In the third conversation, Brom continues trying to convince Zihark to marry his daughters and doesn't hide their manliness. Zihark attempts to explain that he was still trying to get over his previous relationship, but then he makes the mistake of saying that the idea of him joining Brom's family is somewhat appealing, so Brom wouldn't feel bad, but then Brom continues trying to advertise his daughters.
• Ilyana- In the first conversation, Ilyana asks Zihark about the contents of his bag, smelling something delicious in there. He says he has some dried meat in there, and Ilyana expresses interest in it, but Zihark recalls the roast rabbit he recently saw her consuming and leaves. Ilyana realizes she should have told him she was starving and about to collapse from hunger pains. In the second conversation, Ilyana comes to Zihark while hungry again, and they discuss the large amount of food Ilyana ate at dinner. He then decides to leave, and Ilyana asks him if he forgot something, but he does not think he did and leaves. Ilyana notes that Zihark was the only person who didn't share food with her. In the final conversation, Zihark tells Ilyana that he knows about how she always lures men in with her cute face and then has them by her food but doesn't remember their names afterwards. Ilyana says its because she falls into comas when she gets too hungry, but Zihark tells her she should at least remember their names if she has ulterior motives. Ilyana apologizes, and Zihark decides to buy her dinner because he feels bad about preaching to her. Ilyana then finds she can't remember her name, but Zihark then tells her.
• Muarim- In the first conversation, Zihark can't find his bag of sword powder and describes what it looks like, at which point Muarim says he doesn't know where it was but has seen it before. Zihark envies Muarim as the laguz always have their weapons at the ready. In the second conversation, Muarim brings Zihark some of his own sword powder. Zihark is confused as to why Muarim is carrying around sword powder, and Muarim mentions how his slave master had always made him keep the materials for sharpening his sword nearby, and even after being freed Muarim had a habit of carrying sword-sharpening materials nearby. Zihark apologizes for making him reveal the painful memory, and also thanks him for the sword powder, then invites him to dinner. In the third conversation, Zihark brings Muarim a herb that he thinks Muarim will like, only to find it is not a scent he enjoys. He apologizes and says his girlfriend had liked that type of herb. This leads Zihark to tell the story of him and his girlfriend. Muarim then decides to accept the herbs because it is a gift of kindness and apologizes for making him bring up his painful memory, which causes Zihark to jokingly observe that they were even.

Trivia

• Apparently, at one point Zihark was also intended to have a set of Support Conversations with Ike. Alternate Epilogue lines were found for Zihark where, if he had an A Support for Ike, he mentioned that they never finished their match (likely alluding to some event from the canceled Support conversations) and decided to train hard in order to match Ike.