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The Heroic Games are the gladiatorial tournament at the center of Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave. They are held in Dagsion, capital of the Dagdan Empire, in tribute to Dagda, the empire's first and founding king, and the Divine Sovereign Solel promises the victor whatever wish they desire. Structurally the tournament is what the game is built around: matches take the place of the usual chapter cadence, and the stretches between them are where preparation happens.

Purpose

In public the Games honor Dagda. The stated purpose behind them goes further: powerful warriors are gathered from across the continent so that their holy battles can be offered up, hastening the awakening of the Divine Emperor. Dagda founded the empire, is worshipped along with his descendants as a god, and lies in a deep slumber, with Solel ruling the throne in his place. The Games are therefore an act of worship as much as a spectacle.

The Prize

Solel presides in person. His opening declaration tells the assembled fighters to draw upon their strength and hold fast to the devotion in their beating hearts, and promises that for those who stand upon the final stage, he will grant whatever wish they may desire: "So say I, the Divine Sovereign. That, I vow to you." He then declares the Games begun to the people of Dagsion. Every one of the four Heroes enters for the sake of that wish.

Where They Are Held

The venue is the Grand Arena, a colossal structure in Dagsion where fierce battles between gladiators take place day and night and which serves as the tournament's grand stage. The Games are the reason the capital fills with fighters, and the rest of the city works around them for the player too: the arena plaza, the shopping arcade, temple row and the inns all serve the run-up to the next match. See Between-Match Preparation.

Entering

Entry is capped. Sign-ups close once the maximum number of teams has been reached, extra places open at the end of a month, and candidates are tested to see whether they have what it takes to join. Every group that enters registers under a clan name, and the player chooses it: Theodora is reported to name hers after a lighthouse at Megaira, the Saramian capital. The clans that appear across the four routes are covered on Factions.

Structure

The tournament runs about six months, and the routes that relive it cover more than half a year of in-world time. Fighters work through numbered qualifiers before reaching the main matches and, at the end, a final match. Objectives read in the preview build refer to passing the third qualifier, fighting the first main match and fighting the final match, which implies earlier rounds resolved in the months before.

Because matches are spaced across months rather than run back to back, the calendar between them is the game's other half. Time passes as the player trains, shops, takes quests and travels, and match dates are fixed deadlines to prepare against.

Matches

A match is not an abstract duel between two teams. Each one restages a battle from the empire's history, announced with both sides playing the role of the historical armies. One documented example is the Mons Uprising of Dagdan year 1232, roughly two centuries before the Games, when the fourth prince Helmeric raised an army at the fortress city of Mons in the Kingdom of Brezarant with the support of the Chetaur people.

On match days the player can watch battles between other participants to research an upcoming opponent, and useful intel about the next opponent arrives between matches. Accounts of the preview build say units defeated during a Games match retreat rather than die, which fits a tournament rather than a war.

Why the Four Heroes Enter

Other Competitors

Beyond the four Heroes, Bertrand is the most prominent fighter attached to the Games. He is the White-Maned Demon, a living legend in Dagsion and a member of the Mane of Flames, and Dietrich names him on camera as the opponent he has burned to duel. Nathan, Creek and Benditz are also listed among the participants, and Cruaidín, an assassin the temples kept hidden from the public, wins the opening exhibition fight against Bertrand.

Accounts of the aftermath describe statues in Dagsion commemorating eight fighters from the 1449 Games: the four Heroes plus Bertrand, Anatolia, Talimun and Orchel. That eight-name framing rests on a single account and is not confirmed.

Five Years Later

The Games are already over when the game begins. By 1454 the four Heroes who played a significant role in them have vanished, Dagsion lies in ruins, and the protagonist can only reach the tournament by going back into the past. See Story and Plot Structure, Routes and Dagdan Calendar.