Roderick

“	So we'll decide with a battle. That'll let us see who's got the skill to be commander.	„
	~ Roderick proposing that Kris and Luke settle their leadership dispute through a mock battle

Roderick (ロディ, Rody) is a supporting protagonist from Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem and its remake Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem. Hailing from an impoverished family, Roderick took up knighthood to support them. He successfully completed his training and became a knight of the 7th platoon.

In Japanese, Roderick is voiced by Taku Yashiro, who also voices Ephraim. In English, he is voiced by Christian La Monte, who also voices Seliph and Ignatz.

Appearance[]

Roderick is a young man with short brown hair. He wears upper green armor with gold accents over a matching green coat with gold trim. He also wears dark brown pants and green armored boots with gold accents.

Personality[]

In contrast with his good friend and rival, the cocky Luke, Roderick has a calm and level-headed demeanor. In addition, Roderick is like most Altean knights in that he is very loyal to both his country and liege, to the point of trying to impress Prince Marth with both his attitude and skills on the battlefield.

Biography[]

The 7th Platoon[]

Roderick was born in Altea to a poor family. His mother died when he was very young, forcing him to raise his younger sisters. While the siblings grew up, Roderick prepared meals for his sisters and repaired their clothes. He also befriended the hot-headed and free-spirited Luke, in spite of their conflicting personalities. When Luke begrudgingly applies for knighthood, having been coerced into it to uphold his family's legacy, Roderick decides to join him to better financially support his sisters. After successfully completing their first trial, the two were assigned to the 7th Platoon, which also consisted of Kris, Ryan, and Katarina. When ordered to select the platoon's leader, Luke immediately nominated himself, but was challenged by Katarina, who completed her first trial alongside Kris and believed they were the best fit as leader. Annoyed, Luke challenged Kris to a mock battle to with the position of platoon leader as the prize; Roderick and Ryan served as their respective backup units. In the end, Kris and Ryan defeated Luke and Roderick due to their superior teamwork, and Kris was instated as leader with no further complaints.

During a later march duty, Kris' poor sense of direction resulted in the 7th Platoon becoming lost. While they tried to find their way back to Altea castle, Katarina pointed out a village besieged by bandits. Roderick assisted the rest of his teammates as they successfully routed the marauders. Afterwards, they successfully managed to find Altea castle. Over the next three months, the hundreds of new recruits dwindled down to 20. Those that failed included all but one of the 9th Platoon, leading Katarina to recruit its sole holdout, Cecil, into the 7th Platoon. While the knighthood tests continued, Roderick's bonds deepened with the other platoon members. Ultimately, the 7th Platoon overcame their last trial and received their final score, which varied depending on their performance in each mock battle. Regardless of their exact score, the 7th Platoon did well enough for all members to graduate to full knighthood.

An unknown number of assailants besieged Altea castle on the day of the 7th Platoon's graduation ceremony. It was then that Katarina revealed her true identity as Reese, an assassin sent to kill Marth. Stunned, the other platoon members, including Roderick, rallied to defend their liege's life. All succeeded in fending off Reese's attack, forcing her to retreat.

War of Heroes[]

After officially becoming an Altean knight, Luke's first real mission took him to Grust, which was occupied by the newly formed Archanean Empire. Archanea's first Emperor and Marth's good friend, Hardin, requested that Marth help suppress an uprising against Grust's occupying leader, General Lang. As the Holy Empire of Archanea was a more powerful country than Altea, Marth was obligated to obey Hardin's request; he departed with his advisor Jagen, many seasoned knights, and the 7th Platoon. In Grust, Marth, Roderick, and the rest of Marth's army grew to despise Lang for his oppressive nature. Furthermore, the leader of the rebellion was General Lorenz, a great ally of Marth, which stoked Marth's suspicions about the whole affair. Roderick was with Marth when the latter confronted Lorenz, who revealed that the Archanean Empire's treatment of the region was abhorrent, and he launched the rebellion to protect Grust's heirs Yubello and Yumina. Lorenz succumbed to wounds he received in a previous fight, his last words warning Marth of Hardin's corruption.

After taking the royal siblings into custody, Lang demanded that Marth stop a coup in Macedon. Roderick accompanied Marth as he fought to save Macedon's ruler and old ally Princess Minerva. While Marth's army was successfully quelled the coup, they could not find the princess, as she was previously rescued by her brother Michalis. Returning to General Lang, Marth was instructed to retrieve the royal heirs, who were rescued by the mercenary Ogma while the Altean army was in Macedon. Having enough of Lang, Marth declared that he would no longer follow any more of the general's orders. Lang considered Marth's defiance an act of war, but fled when Jagen challenged him. Jagen then notified Marth that his sources found assassins connected to the attempt on Marth's life in Macedon's northern mountains. Roderick was among those in Marth's army who help prevent the slaying of the cleric Wrys. After Wrys' rescue, Roderick helped Marth search for Ogma and the Grustian heirs; the three were found surrounded by bandits. Marth's forces successfully rescued the three, but were interrupted by the arrival of Caeda, who claimed that the Archanean Empire launched a surprise attack on Altea; she only escaped thanks to Marth's sister Princess Elice staying behind to fend them off.

Marth decided to liberate the Grustian people, and Roderick assisted with the taking of Lang's headquarters, Olbern Keep. Once Lang was finally dealt with, Marth freed his old ally Bishop Wendell from imprisonment. Wendell entreated Marth to reconstruct the mystical Starsphere, as its shattering threatened the very integrity of the world. On the way to Chiasmir's Fane of Raman, where the Starsphere shards were likely held, Marth's army was ambushed by mercenaries. Marth and Kris quickly realized that these mercenaries were hired by one of Reese's accomplices, the masked assassin Legion. The following battle resulted in Legion's (or rather, one of his clone's) deaths, and Marth's army reached to the Fane of Raman. It quickly became apparent that no shards would be found in the Fane, as it was plundered by a band of marauders. While attempting to return to Archanea via the Chiasmir Bridge, Marth's army was confronted by Emperor Hardin himself, who made plain his intention to punish all dissent. While Roderick served as part of the rearguard, Kris attacked the deranged Emperor, discovering an impenetrable shield of dark magic that made him invincible. They told Marth that he and the vanguard must escape on a ship while the rearguard held off the Archanean army. Marth refused to leave any of his retinue behind, but Kris insisted that the rearguard would regroup with him later. Jagen insisted that Kris was more than capable, finally convincing Marth to flee Hardin. Kris, Roderick, and the rest of the rearguard successfully evaded Hardin, though how easy this was depended on Kris' luck. They reunited with the vanguard in the magic city of Khadein, to Marth's joy.

Marth sought the School of Khadein, determined to find magic that could counteract Hardin's shield. He also discovered his old ally Horace in the city, threatened by Legion and a horde of his clones. Roderick assisted in the ensuing battle against the clones, which resulted in the true Legion's death. After the fight, the White Sage Gotoh magically contacted Marth, explaining that both Hardin's protection and his fall from grace were caused by the powerful Darksphere. He requested that Marth journey to the Ice Dragon Temple, where he waited with the Lightsphere, which was capable of countering the Darksphere's magic. Marth's army traveled to the temple through Anri's Way, a path named for Marth's ancestor who traversed it a century ago. Roderick was among those who helped collect Starsphere shards during their trek. Near the end of their journey, they were caught in a raging blizzard; Marth's ally Athena spotted enemies in the flurry, thwarting an ambush by the assassin Clarisse. The ensuing battle left Clarisse fatally wounded, and Marth's army reached the Ice Dragon Temple, where Gotoh bequeathed the Lightsphere to Marth, reconstructed the Starsphere, and magically teleported everyone back to Altea.

Eager to liberate his homeland, Roderick helped Marth kill any Archanean occupiers who menaced them. After successfully reclaiming Altea castle, Kris sensed more enemies hidden within, which turned out to be a band of assassins led by none other than Reese. As Roderick helped fight their assailants, Reese told Kris about a wonderful dream she had, where she served as a Royal Guard with them, and both helped and were loved by the populace. For their part, Kris refused to attack Reese, despite the latter insisting she would kill them. Kris claimed that Reese belonged to them and Marth, and that they could still atone for their sins. Overwhelmed, Reese finally stopped fighting and defected to Marth's side, reuniting the 7th Platoon once more. Marth "punished" Reese by ordering her to find a path in life and thereby atone, while Reese adopted the name Katarina for good. Gotoh contacted Marth again, alerting him to the revival of his old nemesis Gharnef. The Dark Pontifex abducted Princess Elice after Altea's fall, and used the assassins dogging Marth to abduct both Minerva and Michalis' sister Maria and the Macedonian cleric Lena. Gotoh warned Marth that Gharnef was likely planning to kidnap Hardin's wife Nyna as well.

Marth's army, including Roderick, marched upon Archanea to prevent Nyna's capture, only to learn from the Emperor that he personally gave her away to Gharnef ages ago. After a long campaign through the Holy Empire, Hardin finally fell, but was freed from the Darksphere's influence. With his dying breath, Hardin regretted all he had done and begged Marth to save Nyna. Gotoh magically warped to Marth and revealed that Gharnef brainwashed the four maidens before taking them to the Dragon's Table to assist in the resurrection of the Earth Dragon Medeus. Marth and the 7th Platoon also learned the location of the assassins' base of operations: an orphanage in the Archanean mountains. Katarina told them of a shortcut to reach the place. Inside the orphanage, Katarina explained to Marth and her fellow platoon members of terrible upbringing at the hands of Eremiya, including confinement in darkness, but now thanks to people like Kris, she finally had a mind of her own. Together, Marth's forces mortally wounded Eremiya, thus preventing the victimization of any more orphans like Katarina.

Upon reaching The Dragon's Table, Roderick helped Marth and the rest of the army defeat Gharnef. The revived Medeus, now a powerful Shadow Dragon, awaited them in the next room with the four maidens, who he intended to sacrifice should he be slain by Falchion. However, the were released from their trances by their loved ones, allowing Marth to kill him for a second time, ending the War of Heroes. Upon the war's conclusion, Roderick continued to serve in the 7th Platoon, eventually becoming one of Altea's most highly regarded paladins.

Other Media[]

Fire Emblem Heroes[]

Roderick is a playable character who was made available to summon on June 14, 2017. His outfit is based on his design in New Mystery of the Emblem.

Quotes[]

“	...Luke. Do you think you could stop giving me bizarre nicknames? Also, stop staring at me like that.	„
	~ Roderick to Luke

“	...My family is poor. It's simple really. If I want my family to eat, I need to earn money for them. So, if you're asking for my reason, it would be family... That's the gist of it, I suppose.	„
	~ Roderick explaining to Luke why he volunteered for knighthood with him

“	Indeed. I can't deny that your performance has been stellar. But the thought that you've only come this far because of the "lay-deez" sends shivers down my spine... You're an idiot.	„
	~ Roderick annoyed with Luke's stated reason for volunteering with him

“	So you volunteered to become a knight in place of your older brother, who became bedridden right when he was about to receive the title himself. That's a splendid reason: one you should be proud of. Why lie?	„
	~ Roderick when Luke admits his real reason for volunteering