| “ | So, this is the choice you have made. You are just another failure. Your presence soils this Holy Tomb and disgraces my brethren. I will not allow one who would lend our enemies strength to wield the power of the goddess Sothis! I have passed judgement! And now, I shall now rip your chest open, and TAKE BACK YOUR HEART MYSELF! | „ |
| ~ Rhea's villainous breakdown upon seeing Byleth side with Edelgard von Hresvelg. |
| “ | I have no patience for foolish questions. I shall sacrifice as many lives as it takes! That apostate who insists on taking everything from me WILL BE CRUSHED BY MY OWN HANDS! | „ |
| ~ Rhea/Seiros to Catherine regarding Byleth. |
Seiros, also known as Archbishop Rhea and the Immaculate One, is the tritagonist within the Fódlan Saga of Nintendo's Fire Emblem franchise.
She is one of the two secondary antagonists (alongside the Flame Emperor) of the 2019 tactical video game Fire Emblem: Three Houses and one of the two main antagonists (alongside Thales) of its 2022 spin-off sequel Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes.
She serves as the founding saint and archbishop of the Church of Seiros and is also revealed to be the daughter of Sothis. While she isn't exactly evil and does have good intentions, her actions still caused a lot of problems in the story, especially her false propaganda of Crests, which motivated the actions of Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude to change the Crest system.
If the player decides to oppose Seiros, she will serve as the main antagonist of the Crimson Flower route in Three Houses, while in Three Hopes, she will serve as one of the two main antagonists (alongside Thales) of the Scarlet Blaze route and the main antagonist of the Golden Wildfire route.
She is voiced by Kikuko Inoue in Japanese and Cherami Leigh in English.
Her Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Her Heinous[]
In General[]
- Despite her status as a benevolent archbishop, she is way too ruthless and extreme in her actions to punish enemies of the church. While she does have a good reason, she also has a darker aspect , as she refuses to acknowledge any of her sympathetic enemies despite their good motives and tends to slander them without any remorse.
- This would rather make her hypocritical, because she proves to be no better than them due to her actions, especially during the Crimson Flower route.
- She is also noted to be an impulsive liar because over 955 years, she created lies after lies, refusing to tell the truth to what actually happened during the War of Heroes and about her personal vendetta towards Nemesis.
- Her lies even made Wilhem I, the founder and first emperor of the Adrestian Empire and Rhea's greatest ally, believed that they were battling Nemesis for ideological reasons and create what he personally knew about the Children of the Goddess, with one record showing that he believed the Immaculate One was a great ally to Seiros, unaware that she is one and the same.
- Because of her lies, this created more conflict in the saga, with Edelgard von Hresvelg in particular, becoming resolved enough to tear down the Church due to Serios' impulsive lies. Had Seiros been truthful from the very beginning, none of the conflict would need to happen.
- Despite the high heinous standards in the Fódlan Saga, Seiros easily passes due to the fact that she was responsible for the problems within the saga, such as the Crest System that would lead to the long conflict in the entire saga, as well as her unique actions of fabricating false propaganda about the history of Fódlan and burning an entire city full of innocents just to kill Byleth.
Background[]
- After defeating Nemesis at the Battle of the Tailtean Plains, she fabricated the actual history of Fódlan, including spreading the propaganda of Nemesis being a hero who was corrupted by power and fell from grace, the Ten Elites being heroes, and most importantly, creating the Crest system, calling them "divine gifts" from the Goddess given to humanity.
- Despite her well-intentioned motives, Seiros is ultimately one of the catalysts behind the problems of the Crest System, which had led to corrupted nobles abusing the system to further achieve their selfish desires, as well as causing many characters, Crest or no Crest, to suffer as a result. This would also lead to a conflict between the Three Houses, with Edelgard in particular becoming a ruthless extremist to rid the Crest system and the Church of Seiros from Fódlan, as Those Who Slither in the Dark used the Crest system to horribly torture her and her siblings.
- After establishing the Church of Seiros, she began experimenting in order to bring back Sothis so she could reunite with her, while believing she could bring order back in Fódlan. She tried making artificial homunculi to serve as vessels for the Goddess, but her attempts were never successful. Twelve times has she done this, and with every experiment withering and dying, Rhea simply dismissed them as failures. (although possibly, she made a exception of Sitri, whom she treated as a daughter)
- She faked her death and later became Rhea and resumed direct control as the church's archbishop, continuing to force people into accepting Sothis as their goddess.
- She also used her position in order to continue on with her experiments in order to bring back her mother, with her latest attempt being yet again another failure.
- She suppressed so much technological and scientific advancements discovered by humans so that the people would remain oblivious and depend solely on the goddess and her church. Blueprints for useful inventions like printers and whatnot were restricted from public access and were stored in the Shadow Library of the Abyss within Garreg Mach. This even included books with basic trivia.
- She would send assassins to silence and kill anyone that dared to question the church and its teachings.
- Although it was partially to save the baby Byleth's life and Sitri request it, she implanted the heart of Sothis within Byleth, which led to Byleth feeling emotionless, not even crying, which worried Jeralt gravely. This got even more complicated because she did not tell Jeralt the circumstances behind what happened, which led to Jeralt faking his death and leaving the monastery.
- Jeralt even writes in his personal diary about Rhea, with most of his words expressing his distrust towards her, which can be one of the potential reasons for Byleth to turn against her and join Edelgard in the Crimson Flower route.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses[]
The Academy Phase (White Clouds)[]
- She would recruit Jeralt as a Knight of Seiros and their child Byleth as an academy teacher, albeit with some force, to test and observe Byleth's potential as a vessel of Sothis.
- She portrayed Lord Lonato as a dangerous and unreasonable traitor and shows no remorse for it, despite the fact that Lonato was a tragic and broken man who wanted to avenge his late eldest son, whose death was covered by Rhea in the first place.
- She mocked Miklan for his horrific transformation into a Demonic Beast, believing him to be completely evil and deserving of his painful transformation. While Miklan was a horrible man who deserved to be punished for his crimes, it is important to note that he became this way because he was mistreated for not having a Crest, and his fate was simply too horrible to receive. Even his younger brother Slyvain, who rightfully despises Miklan for his abuse of him, feels empathy for him and believes he did not deserve to die and undergo such a horrific transformation.
The Crimson Flower Route[]
- When Byleth refused to kill Edelgard on Rhea's orders, the latter coldly insults them, calling them "another failure", and vows to make them suffer for their betrayal. She then transforms into the Immaculate One and tries to kill both Byleth and Edelgard before they were recused by Hubert von Vestra.
- She tries to kill Edelgard, Byleth, and their allies during the Battle of Garegg Mach. When the Adrestian Empire overruns the monastery, Rhea attacks Byleth, leading them to fall into a ravine and disappear for five years while escaping the empire.
- Launched a sudden attack on the Garreg Mach Monastery resulting in Randolph and Ladislava's deaths. If Seteth and Flayn were killed, she will swear to torture Byleth for eternity.
- She gave Catherine and Cyril the order to burn the city of Fhirdiad during the final battle, disregarding the people of the capital city of Faerghus and willing to sacrifice many lives, allies and enemies alike, in order to kill Byleth. Even Catherine was shocked and reluctant to do this.
- Unlike the other routes, she shows no remorse for her actions, continuously blaming Byleth, Edelgard and the rest of humanity for the crisis despite her indirect role in causing the war in the first place.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes[]
Prologue[]
TBA
The Scarlet Blaze route[]
TBA
The Golden Windfire route[]
TBA
What Makes Her Inconsistent?[]
- She is genuinely too tragic and sympathetic, as she lost her mother and was a survivor of a genocide that annihilated most of her people caused by Nemesis and TWSITD, an event that Seiros witnessed first-hand. Losing her mother and the majority of her people took a toll on her sanity, and it drove her to extreme methods to protect her remaining people and the nation of Fódlan.
- She is very well-intentioned, as she sincerely cares for Fódlan, despite her ruthless nature. Seiros is determined to keep peace and harmony in Fódlan and defend herself and her surviving people from hostile threats such as Edelgard and TWSITD in order to get ready for her mother Sothis's eventual return.
- She shows genuine care and even love for many others, such as:
- Her mother, Sothis. Seiros loved her mother so much that her death is one of the major catalysts behind her sanity slippage. She has been making vessels in hopes of reviving her, not just because she could restore order in Fódlan but to reunite with her.
- Seteth and Flayn, to whom Seiros frequently extends patience and kindness, particularly with the former, who occasionally has a propensity to question her. She maintains her composure, but as soon as Flayn vanishes, she orders Byleth and the house students to search for her and even expresses concern for her. If Seteth and Flayn die in the Crimson Flower route, she is devastated and vows to make Byleth suffer. But if they survive but leave Rhea because Seteth prioritizes Flayn's safety, she bears no ill will towards them and lets them go without any compliments. In the Scarlet Blaze route, Seiros gives the two permission to leave if their fight against the empire fails, and she does not retaliate when they flee the battlefield.
- Byleth Eisner, and their parents, Jeralt and Sitri.
- Despite being manipulative with them, Seiros/Rhea does sincerely care for Byleth, even being cordial with them and being (sometimes) honest with them. She often praises Byleth for their hard work in completing their missions and looking after the students. She even expressed her sympathy for Byleth after their father, Jeralt, died. If Byleth was able to get the S-Support with her, Seiros acknowledges that she truly fell in love with them and that her interest in them went beyond their ability to serve as a vessel for her mother.
- Even though their relationship is currently complicated and Jeralt even mistrusts her, Seiros still cared for him and was thankful that he saved her life when he took a fatal blow for her. She even quickly saved Jeralt's life with a blood transfusion, giving him a pro-long life and first-generation Crest as repayment for protecting her. She also experiences some sadness after Kronya kills Jeralt, nearly shedding tears when talking about it.
- Sitri was intended to be a vessel but was unable to obtain the Crest of Flames. Despite this, Seiros grew to love and care for her, treating her as a daughter, while Sitri contentedly considered Rhea to be her mother. When Sitri died, Seiros was emotionally devastated and unable to find the strength to bury her. Instead, she hid her body in the Abyss and occasionally returned to her resting place to pay her respects.
- She also sincerely cares about her followers, as evidenced by her kindness to Catherine and Cyril, who became incredibly loyal to her. She frequently shows concern for them if they endure too much pressure, and if they are killed in combat, she shows her sorrow and gratitude for their loyal service.
- In the Verdant Wind and Silver Snow routes, after five years of being imprisoned, she heavily expresses her remorse and regrets for her actions, realizing the damage she has caused. She finally decides to reveal the truth about Fódlan's actual past after being released from prison, including details about the Nabateans, the Agarthans, the Crests and relics, and Nemesis.
- Rhea decides to quit her position as the archbishop out of guilt in the Azure Moon and Silver Snow routes of Three Houses. While she changes her mind if she has a S Suport with Byleth in the Silver Snow route, it's only because Byleth convinces her to help them change Fodlan's society. Byleth and Rhea's shared ending confirms that Rhea kept her word.
- If Byleth gets a S Suport with Rhea in the Siver Snow route, Rhea becomes co-ruler of Fodlan after her change of heart and uses her influence to improve Fodlan's society. Also, this time around, Rhea's actions are motivated by guilt and by a genuine desire to help Byleth and to make Fodlan better.
Trivia[]
- There is a chance that Seiros/Rhea's Inconsistently Heinous status maybe be affected or changed if she is to reappear with her mother Sothis in the upcoming 2026 video game Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave.
- Seiros and Edelgard mirror each other in a way, which is ironic as they're both Inconsistently Heinous. They have both gone through genuine and unspeakable tragedies, and such tragedies have molded them into what they are now: Well-intentioned, extreme, and ruthless. They both did what they believed was right for all of Fódlan.
External Links[]
- Seiros/Rhea on the Fire Emblem Wiki
- Seiros on the Villains Wiki
- Rhea on the Heroes Wiki
- Seiros/Rhea on the Nintendo Wiki
[]
 Inconsistently Heinous
| ||
|
Donkey Kong Films Dragalia Lost Fire Emblem Kid Icarus Fanon Miitopia Pikmin Rare Xenoblade Chronicles See Also | ||