Fanfic / Memoirs Of The Holy War

Due to the nature of this fanfic, namely its heavy use of Dramatic Irony in the plot, all spoilers for Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War will be unmarked. You Have Been Warned!

Memoirs of the Holy War is a Fire Emblem fanfic written by katriona_subasa on Archive of Our Own, otherwise known as Naryfiel Lilith on fanfiction.net.

The fic is a novelization of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, with the first generation told from the perspective of Alicia, an Original Character who is the half-sister of Arvis and Azelle of Velthomer, and the second generation in the perspective of her daughter, Riona (real name Caitriona). It is part of the Memoirs of Jugdral series, which expand on multiple smaller events in the world, including moments during the timeskip between generations involving Conall, Riona's twin brother.

The fic received a rewrite in 2020, which can be found on AO3 and FanFiction.net. The original version is archived but still available on AO3 and FanFiction.net

Note: Due to the rewrite, yet without the other parts of the Memoirs of Jugdral series being discontinued, any mentions of the second generation characters will be based on their depictions in the original fic.

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Memoirs of the Holy War contains examples of the following tropes:

• Adaptational Badass:
  • In the original game, holy blood only gave their bearers improved growth rates and weapon ranks. Here, not only do the magically inclined holy bloods allow their bearers to summon and wield their respective element without tomes (with the exception of Alicia), some holy weapons have extra abilities that were not in the game:
    • Mystletainn emphasises its existing epithet "Demon Blade" by gaining the ability to heal the user with every hit, similar to the Earth Sword.
    • Balmung gained the epithet "Phantasmal Blade", and with it, the ability to render the user invisible.
    • Downplayed with the Valkyrie Staff: It retains its original property of reviving people given that certain conditions are met, but since having that alone would limit its usage heavily, it has gained the ability to completely replenish HP and status for all allies, similar to the Staff of the Saint for FE 6 and Latona for FE 8.
  • Downplayed with Edain and Claude. Neither of them had skills in the original game. Here, Edain gained the Bargin skill, having learnt it from Dew. Claude is stated to have a skill as well, but it is unknown as of the time of writing.
• Adaptation Expansion: The fic includes numerous smaller events that occur both between the events in each in-game chapter and during the timeskips of each in-game chapter, such as Alicia tending to patients, or the events leading up to Sigurd and Deirdre's wedding, including an attempt on Shannan's life.
• Adaptational Villainy: Inspired by his Oosawa counterpart, Clement is significantly more hostile and antagonistic, willing to consider drugging and holding Deirdre hostage to present her to the winner, and actively holding Deirdre, Alicia and Ayra hostage.
• Birds of a Feather: Alicia and Sigurd are both known to be recklessly dedicated to their ideals, to the point of often ignoring conventional common sense in favour of doing what they think is right. Quan, who is significantly more pragmatic, is throughly exasperated by this.
• Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: By chapter 13, a fifth of the rumours assume that Alicia is Sigurd's mistress. Another fifth assumes that Alicia is Deirdre's mistress. As such:
  Alicia: Dare I ask what the remaining three-fifths think?
  Chulainn: They share you, obviously.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Alicia started off distant from the majority of the army, not out of cruelty, but rather due to hiding her Fjalar holy blood to protect Arvis and Azelle, along with the assumption that she would be left behind by them after the Verdane campaign, as others have many times before. The only exception to this was Azelle, who knew she was his sister. It took a concentrated effort from the others, particularly Sigurd, to get her to open up over time. By the time in-game chapter 2 starts, she's far more open with the group, though she remains rather reserved.
• Dramatic Irony: Given that the original plot was a tragedy, it should be no surprise that the fic practically runs on this:
  • During her visit to Velthomer, Alicia claims that Arvis would never hurt her, unaware that Arvis' ambitions would eventually involve killing most of her loved ones in Sigurd's army, including Chulainn.
  • Before Sigurd and Deirdre's wedding, Lachesis claimed that Eldigan could never be angry or exasperated with Sigurd. In-game chapter 3 says otherwise.
• Everyone Can See It:
  • Edain and Midir have so much Unresolved Sexual Tension that Azelle doesn't try to confess (and not just because his terrible self-esteem), and even Duke Ring, Edain's father, is a Shipper on Deck. Midir refuses to confess due to believing himself to be unworthy of her and feeling it to be a betrayal of Lord Ring's trust in him, while Edain's concern about Yngvi's status due to losing Brigid makes her hesitate on risking her people's stability for love.
  Lex (Exasperated): Yes, now imagine those longing gazes at every social event. All of them. For the past four years.
  • Due to not expecting to be romantically interested in anyone, everyone suspected that Alicia had feelings for Chulainn long before she did, except Chulainn himself, due to her lack of reaction to his more honest and accidentally flirtatious statements.
• Foregone Conclusion: Given that this is a novelization based on Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War that covers both Gen 1 and Gen 2, it is very clear to anyone familiar with the game that the major tragedies that occurred in the original will still happen, including the Belhalla Massacre.
• Gameplay and Story Integration:
  • The effects of the improved growth rates and weapon ranks from holy blood are emphasised further in the story:
    • There are numerous occasions where holy blood is stated to give their bearers an instinctual grasp for their respective weapon.
    • Individuals with boosted strength growths from holy blood typically end up physically stronger than most, to the point that those with Hoðr blood have Super-Strength. Examples include baby Altena (Who has +30% to strength growth) ripping out Calf's beard or Lachesis slamming Elliot's head against a wall hard enough to crack it and effectively render him brain dead.
    • Individuals with Nál blood are capable of blocking attacks that would normally lead to them losing limbs with minimal injury; they also have higher pain tolerance to endure the attacks they receive.
    • Individuals with Ullr blood have a reputation for being Born Lucky, to the point that Riona (who had grown up with three people with Ullr luck) swears that the laws of physics break before them.
  • Alicia has a very high HP growth at 80%, as a result of her working very long hours as a healer and the increased stamina from holy blood. However, her refusal to wear armour or learn self-defence in any capacity means that she also has the absolute worst defence growth possible, at 5%.
  • Several skills that characters have occasionally occur within the story as well, such as Alicia and her children surviving many close calls in their stories due to having the Miracle skill.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In-universe, Clement has a reputation for caution and neutrality, so many find it unusual that he would attempt a plan as risky as kidnapping and drugging a high-ranked noble from another country, as well as undergoing it in such a haphazard manner.

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