Surtr (Fire Emblem)

"So much pain I've inflicted on her! Still, she refuses to divulge anything. Tell me! What are you planning? Perhaps she hopes to shield her little sister from my wrath. Writhing in the dirt, yet still a princess..."

- Surtr as he proceeds to kill Gunnthra.

Surtr is the main antagonist of Fire Emblem Heroes Book ll, and one of the main antagonists of Fire Emblem Heroes overall. He is the the ruler of the kingdom of Múspell, the kingdom of flame, and holds the blood of the Flame Dragon. His personal skill known as Múspellflame makes him immune to all damage.

He is voiced by Kirk Thornton in the English version and Genda Tessh in the Japanese version.

profile
Surtr is the king of Múspell, a kingdom engulfed in fire, which rivals the kingdom of Nifl, a kingdom bathed in ice and snow. Prior to the events of Book ll, Surtr and his army destroyed an unnamed kingdom and killed the mother of Fjorm and Gunnthra, leading Fjorm, the youngest princess of Nifl, to seek revenge against him.

Surtr's army consists of thousands of soldiers, including heroes from other worlds, as well as Laevatein and Laegjarn, two of his daughters, and his tactician, Loki. He also gains the aid of the previous antagonist, Veronica of Embla. Despite this, Surtr doesn't seem to trust or care for any of them - a fact that becomes more notable as the story progresses.

Prior to the first chapter of Book ll, Fjorm and Surtr engage in battle, but Fjorm is quickly overwhelmed due to Surtr's monstrous power and his invincibilty granted to him by Múspellflame. After being rescued by the Order of Heroes, she explains the situation to them, telling them that Múspell destroyed her homeland and that Surtr killed her mother right before her eyes.

Fjorm, now joined with the Order of Heroes, manages to confront Surtr during the final map of chapter 2. Upon seeing them, Surtr immediately declares himself as their king. When asked by Alfonse what gives him the right to commit the atrocities that he has, Surtr responds by calling Alfonse "tepid" and "dull", and stating that a true ruler seizes power for himself and that there could only be one kingdom. With no other peaceful options at their disposal, the Order of Heroes engage Surtr, Loki and Laevatein in battle.

While they're successful in defeating Loki and Laevatein, the Order of Heroes is unable to even scratch Surtr. As the Order flees, Surtr gloats about his success in destroying Nifl and the unnamed kingdom, which he claims took 6 months and 3 months to destroy respectively.

During chapter 3, Surtr's newly forged alliance with Veronica begins to sway, due to Veronica and Surtr's ambitions greatly differing. As Veronica leaves, stating that she only pledged to offer Surtr her heroes, Surtr vows to destroy Embla and Veronica after he destroys Askr, taking pleasure in the thought of watching Veronica suffer as she burns.

Surtr appears again during the final map of chapter 4, ambushing the Order of Heroes as they attempt to journey into Nifl. He is seemingly willing to allow them to pass, but warns that in doing so, they would abandon a village of innocent Askran citizens, which Surtr threatens to burn to the ground. Afterwards, Surtr explains in disturbing detail how being burned alive is "one of the most painful ways to die".

Despite his threats, the Order of Heroes are able to deceive Surtr by signalling the townsfolk to escape before he can attack, allowing the Order to proceed into Nifl simultaneously. Seemingly undeterred, Surtr sends his youngest daughter, Laevatein, to track them down.

Surtr is strangely abscent for the next two chapters, but makes a shocking appearance in the final map of chapter 7, where he has already arrived at Snjárhof and inflicted significant damage on Gunnthra, calling her a "hunk of roasted meat". Fjorm becomes incredibly angry at Surtr, who encourages her to be furious so she may provide fuel for his flames. Before Gunnthra dies, however, she grants the Summoner the power needed to begin the Rite of Frost, a ritual capable of stripping Surtr of his invulnerability. Seeing as everyone has placed their hopes into the Summoner, Surtr pledges to destroy him/her next before the Order of Heroes flees. After the Order of Heroes successfully performs the Rite of Frost, powering up Breidablik into an icy state, they begin preparations for their final battle with Surtr. During the epilogue of the chapter, Surtr and Loki attack Veronica and Xander, with Surtr threatening to aim for his head during his next strike. To save Xander, Veronica bregrudingly allows the duo to take her back to Múspell, plotting to cast her into the kingdom's fire as an offering of some sort.

Personality
Surtr is an unrelenting and despicable man who is motivated solely by his bloodlust and thirst for destruction. He is insane and relishes in the destruction he leaves behind. Surtr seems to take pleasure in seeing his victims suffer - especially Fjorm - as he has no second thoughts in killing her mother and elder sister in front of her eyes.

Despite being a king, he values nobody in his kingdom, stating that a true ruler "puts his people to the flame". He also appears to be incredibly untrusting towards any of his subordiants. However, in the pursuit of ultimate conquest, he's willing to put up with whoever he needs to work with until their use comes to an end.

Trivia

 * It's implied that Surtr doesn't even care for Laegjarn and Laevatein, and is possibly even abusive towards them, as Laegjarn states that Surtr would never bargain for her life upon being captured by the Order of Heroes.
 * Although gameplay-wise, Múspellflame and its Emblian counterpart "Embla's Ward" are functionally the same, the story stats that Múspellflame is permanent, while Embla's Ward is temporary.
 * Surtr appears in the most amount of chapters as an invincible unit
 * Surtr's personal weapon, Sinmara, is a flaming axe that boosts his defense stat and inflicts 20 damage on foes within two spaces of Surtr at the start of his turn, regardless of their defense or resistance, making it one of the most dangerous weapons in the game for the player to face.