Micaiah
| |
| Priestess of Dawn | |
| Micaiah | |
| Species | Branded |
| Class | Light Mage |
| Promotion | Light Sage Light Priestess |
| Affiliation | Dawn Brigade |
| Hair color | Silver |
| Eye color | Yellow |
| Base | Daein |
| Relatives | Lehran (ancestor) Altina (ancestor) Misaha (grandmother) Sanaki (sister) Sothe (possible husband) |
| Debut | Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn |
Micaiah is a main character of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and the first playable character in the game.
Background
Micaiah was the eldest granddaughter of Misaha, the empress/apostle of Begnion at the time. Micaiah bore the Branded of mixed beorc and laguz blood due to the relation between her ancestors, the beorc Altina and the heron laguz Lehran. She did not know her birth parents, as she went missing when her grandmother was assassinated, and the public did not know of her existence. Micaiah was raised by an old woman who knew that she was one of The Branded, and before she died the old woman told Micaiah the meaning of her brand and that she should never show it to others in order to avoid the social backlash received by one of The Branded. Her mixed blood also gave her special powers, the most notable being her Sacrifice, which allowed her to heal wounds without use of staves or magic tomes, although the move drained Micaiah's own health in exchange, and she also had a limited foresight.
Being the first-born female of her generation, she was able to hear the goddess Yune, who usually appeared to her as a bird. Yune became like an older sister to Micaiah, although she did know know Yune's true nature. She was the true apostle, but her younger sister Sanaki was later appointed apostle instead. This also made Micaiah the only person capable of awakening Yune from Lehran's Medallion by singing the galdr of release. Unaware of her noble background, Micaiah initially made her living as a fortune teller and separated herself from humanity, but she never stayed in one place for too long so that people did not notice her slow aging. At one point she found a small boy watching her uneasily day after day in the back alleys of Nevassa, Daein's capital. One day she decided to hold out her hands to him, at which point he gripped it. Micaiah came to raise the boy, Sothe, and together they traveled throughout Tellius.
During the Mad King's War in Path of Radiance, Micaiah thought she would be unable to live with Sothe much longer because he did not want him to suffer from the curse of her Brand. So she ditched him at Crimea and took a ship back to Begnion. Sothe went through great lengths to find her, only to wind up serving in the Crimean Liberation Army led by Ike. Micaiah tried searching in Daein and Crimea to find Sothe again, but she did not find him. Soon after the war, Micaiah was reunited in Sothe in the back alleys of Nevassa, where they had met. Sothe became angry and delivered a very emotional response after Micaiah revealed her reasons for leaving them, but the two reconciled and agreed not to keep secrets from each other any more. She was surprised to see how Sothe had matured, but she often became annoyed at his admiration of Ike.
Daein had lost the Mad King's War. It was at this point that Micaiah realized how much she loved her country. Afterwards it was inhabited by corrupt Begnion officials who took what they wanted from the people of Daein, who faced poverty and constant oppression. So she joined up with an underground group called the Dawn Brigade formed to steal from the corrupt officials and give to the poor. Micaiah was the most well-known of the group, as she became like an urban legend to many for the miracles she performed with Sacrifice (despite Sothe warning her not to use that power in public), known as the "Silver-Haired Maiden".
Part 1: Silver-Haired Maiden
Three years after the Mad King's War, in Radiant Dawn, she wound up revealing the Dawn Brigade's presence in Nevassa when she, Edward and Leonardo fought off bandits in "Prologue: Under Gray Skies". This caused them to escape Nevassa in "Chapter 1: Burden of Miracles" until the heat died down, and they were helped by the sympathetic villagers. Micaiah at one point lagged behind and used Sacrifice to heal a young boy whom had been mortally wounded by the Begnion soldiers. They then helped a cleric named Laura to retrieve medicine for a priest from Begnion officials in "Chapter 2: The Dispossessed". However, afterwards Micaiah and Laura were ambushed by General Jarod, the Begnion soldier whom had been hunting them, and he sent them to Glaive Prison. There they met the merchant Aimee, her cohort Ilyana and the mysterious robed figure who called himself only Kurth. However, they were saved by Sothe and the others in "Chapter 3: A Faint Hope".
Afterwards, they heard rumors that the heir of Ashnard, the previous king of Daein, was hiding in the Desert of Death and building up an army to overthrow Begnion's rule. The Dawn Brigade decided to investigate the rumors and began exploring the Desert of Death in "Chapter 4: A Distant Voice". At first Micaiah was guided towards a certain temple by Yune's voice, and there she met Rafiel, a long-lost heron whom had been guided there by the same voice. They also met with Nailah and Volug, members of the lost wolf tribe of Hatari. They then found the camp of Ashnard's son, Pelleas, in "Chapter 5: The Lost Heir". Izuka immediately appointed her Vice-General of the Daein Liberation Army. Micaiah then began leading the army into various clashes with the Begnion Occupation Army. However, she became distrustful of Izuka and criticized his attempts at initiating dirty tactics as well as his manipulation of Pelleas. She also found that Pelleas also had a Brand, and he had seen her's, but he had been led to believe the brands were signs of a Spirit's Protection. Adding to Micaiah's worries, she began to feel more tired and her visions became more foggy.
After various victories against the Begnion forces, Micaiah had become a powerful figure and was celebrated as the Priestess of Dawn. She had come to see the kindness of humanity, but at the same time was afraid that she could lose it easily if they found out she was one of The Branded. In "Chapter 8: Glory Unwanted", Micaiah decided to investigate reports of Begnion soldiers executing prisoners in Shifu Swamp. Izuka insisted it was a trap, so instead of taking more of the army with her she only brought the Dawn Patrol, Tormod, and the laguz allies they had built up during the journey. It was a trap, but they successfully overpowered the soldiers and escaped. At that point they discovered that Sephiran, the kind-hearted prime minister of Begnion, was being sent with an investigative team to look into their case. The war was practically over, and all the Daein Army began celebrating. However, in "Chapter 9: One Survives", Micaiah, still uneasy from her growing fatigue, slipped away from the camp to be by herself. At this point General Jarod ambushed her in a spiteful attempt at revenge because of how hard Sephiran would crash down on him. However, the Black Knight appeared to help Micaiah, as he saw her as essential to Daein's future. Together they were able to fight off Jarod's men, and she then chose to spare Jarod, but she then received a vision which alerted her that letting him go will cause more darkness.
In "Endgame: Daein, Arise!", Jarod had taken control of Daein Keep and sent his soldiers on a mad rampage to kill everything in sight. Hostilities had officially ended until Sephiran arrived, but Micaiah did not want to wait that long while people were dying in Nevassa. So she convinced Pelleas to move the Daein Liberation Army again in an attack on Jarod and his men. The battle was successful, and Pelleas was soon crowned king of Daein. Afterwards, he appointed Micaiah the Supreme Commander of Daein's army (at which point she changed class accordingly). She also gained a new companion, as when Rafiel and Nailah departed, they left behind Volug (whom had halfshifted and appeared to be a normal wolf) to take care of her.
Part 3: Intersecting Vows
Micaiah did not grow accustomed to court life and still spent most of her time in the village for the next few months. She was later called into action by Pelleas in "Chapter 6: A Reason to Fight" and assigned to lead the army into battle with the Laguz Alliance's army, which was at war with Begnion. She and her troops were hesitant about this command since the Laguz Alliance had shown Daein no harm, and fighting the Laguz would mean supporting the Begnion senators whom they had just warred against. But Micaiah trusted Pelleas and so accepted her duty. They successfully fought off the laguz and then battled Ike and his men in "Chapter 7: Rivals Collide". However, the battle with Ike turned out to only be a diversion while the rest of the laguz forces escaped. Micaiah continued to feel unwell due to the stress from commanding the army and trying to live up to Pelleas's expectations, which eventually led her to collapse in "Chapter 12: The Price". Then, when Sothe was ready to desert the army with Micaiah, Pelleas convinced them to stay by admitting his true reason for aiding Begnion: Lekain had tricked him into signing a blood pact that he would use to unleash a curse that slowly kill everyone in Daein unless Pelleas followed Lekain's orders.
Until a way to stop the blood pact could be found, Micaiah continued to lead Daein's army in battle with the Laguz Alliance and so she sought a quick but brutal end to the war. In "Chapter 12: The Price", she used Ike's tactics against him and sent part of her forces to distract Ike's men and then went after the Holy Guards to get the apostle Sanaki. Micaiah employed ruthless tactics and attempted to burn down Sanaki along with the other soldiers she had cornered. But she was led to stop when Tibarn arrived and held Sothe hostage. Micaiah had been determined to preserve Daein at any cost, but that incident led her to realize that there were some things she would not be able to give up. Micaiah retreated, and returned to find Pelleas had a solution to the blood contract in "Chapter 13: Blood Contract". He saw that the contract could only be absolved by his death and asked Micaiah to put an end to him. Depending on the player's choice (and the playthrough), either Micaiah or Tauroneo killed Pelleas, or Pelleas was spared. Regardless of the path, they soon entered battle with Ike's group again, but this time the battle was broken up when Kurthnaga arrived. They soon learned the truth about Almedha and the solution to the blood contract, as the actual contract would have to be destroyed in addition to the person bound to it. They also learned the true nature of Kurthnaga, who was prince of Goldoa's dragon tribe. After hearing of their plight, Kurthnaga decided to aid Micaiah's army. Nailah and Rafiel also chose to rejoin her.
Ike and Micaiah's army clashed for the last time in "Endgame: From Pain, Awakening". However, part-way through the battle Micaiah wandered off after hearing Yune's voice in her head again, and Sothe followed. This eventually brought both of them to the altar containing Lehran's Medallion where Ike and the other war's leaders were gathered as they feared the dark god would soon be released from the medallion. It was believed that the medallion's seal could be broken if Sanaki, a descendant of Altina, sang the song of release before the medallion. But Micaiah realized that Sanaki only knew the melody; while Micaiah suddenly knew the lyrics sung the complete song to awaken Yune from the medallion, and Ashera was awoken at the same time. Yune began periodically possessing Micaiah in order to explain her role and instruct the others in how to combat Ashera.
Part 4: Gods and Men
The blood contract was no longer a concern after Ashera turned most of the world into stone statues. So Micaiah was able to work alongside Ike and her other former enemies to fight the greater enemy of Ashera. Yune divided the combination of the Laguz Alliance, the Crimean army, the Greil Mercenaries and Daein Army into three groups that would each individually proceed towards the Tower of Guidance in Begnion, where they could do battle with Ashera. Micaiah was assigned to lead the Silver Army. In "Chapter 3: Distortions", they battled Lekain in the Grann Desert, but they were unable to get the blood contract from him. The Black Knight appeared to her again and offered to take her to safety in the Tower of Guidance, but he was working with Ashera so Micaiah refused.
Everyone met at the Tower in "Final Chapter: Rebirth". At this point Yune gave Micaiah further power, which turned her into a Light Priestess. Early on in their scaling of the tower, they did battle with Lekain. He was finally killed, after which Micaiah was able to destroy the blood contract and free them from its curse. She also confided in Ike her past with Sothe, which helped Micaiah, as reminiscing made her stop her plans to leave Sothe for good after the war was over. While in the tower, she also "heard the voices of many hearths", which led her to realize her true ancestry. They were then successful in defeating Ashera. Afterwards, Micaiah decided to return to Daein with Sothe and begin to rebuild again. Sanaki had realized Micaiah was her sister and asked her to come to Begnion so she could become the real empress. But Micaiah refused, saying that Daein was her home and needed her, but Begnion already had Sanaki as a capable leader. She also suggested that Sanaki form a treaty with Daein declaring Daein and Begnion as equals, which Sanaki eagerly agreed to.
Afterwards, Micaiah was appointed the fifteenth queen of Daein at the demand of Daein's subjects (or by Pelleas's entreaty if he was still alive). She ushered in a new era of prosperity and peace, with Sothe acting as a pillar of support to her. If the two had an A Rank Support together, Sothe and Micaiah were married.
Abilities
As a Light Mage, Micaiah specializes in performing light magic. She also had her unique ability, Sacrifice. Through Sacrifice, Micaiah can heal someone by touching them, although this drained the same amount of health from her so it is more like transferring her health to another. Micaiah also possessed foresight, likely provided by Yune, which allowed her to see visions of the future occasionally. Although, she could not choose when to use this power nor could she see clearly sometimes.
Trivia
- She appears as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.