Katarina (Fire Emblem)

Katarina is a supporting protagonist of Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem, the remake of Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem. Originally named Reese (アイネ Eine), she was raised by Eremiya to be an assassin. Tasked with killing Prince Marth, Katarina infiltrated the Altean knights, but grew to care for her fellow recruits in the 7th Platoon. Ultimately, she fled after her attempt on Marth's life failed, but reencountered him and the platoon late into the War of Heroes, and was persuaded to rejoin by Kris.
Katarina is voiced in Japanese by Kana Yūki, who also voices Nino. In English, Katarina is voiced by Kira Buckland, who also voices Eirika.
==Appearance==
Katarina is a young woman with short purple hair. She wears a dark purple coat over a lavender shirt and black shorts. She also wears long black boots and a magenta scarf.
==Personality==
In contrast to her fellow assassins, Katarina is a sensitive individual. Though Eremiya enforced absolute obedience in her underlings, Katarina was motivated to serve out of gratitude for being spared a worse life on the streets. Even after turning on Eremiya, Katarina felt great anguish over facing her in battle. Katarina was also close to her fellow assassins, particularly Clarisse, who she considered a sister. Her death and those of Legion and his clones contributed to Katarina's decision to join Marth. 
Likely due to her upbringing, Katarina suffers from low confidence, which in conjunction her compassion towards others, undermines her capacities as a killer. Upon joining Marth, she gains enough self-esteem through her bonds with Marth and the 7th Platoon, particularly Kris, to demonstrate strong magic capabilities. 
==Biography==
===Backstory===
Orphaned in the town of Norda, Reese grew up on the streets, where she was beaten and treated with scorn by passerby. Eventually, Eremiya found Reese and took her to her orphanage in the mountains, where she subjected her to a life in darkness and a brutal training regimen, both intended to mold Reese into an obedient assassin for Eremiya's master, the Dark Pontifex Gharnef. When Eremiya sent Reese on missions, she often paired her with Clarisse and Legion. Shortly after the War of Shadows, the three were led into the Soothsire Mountains, where Eremiya and Gharnef tasked them with eliminating remnants of the Soothsire bandits and rescuing their captured children. Reese was eager to help liberate the prisoners, not knowing that Eremiya planned on molding them into more assassins, or that she and Gharnef were using the mission to determine if the three were strong enough to serve the latter. As Reese, Clarisse, and Legion effortlessly routed the bandits, the two determined that they would prove useful for Gharnef's plans to come.
After completing the mission, Reese and Clarisse entered the bandit hideout, which turned out to be Clarisse's childhood home. While Clarisse looked at an old painting and recalled vague memories of her parents, Reese went deeper into the house and freed the young prisoners. One girl thanked her and said her name was Katarina, a name which Reese felt compelled to say was hers as well. 
===The 7th Platoon===
One day, Reese was given orders to assassinate none other than Prince Marth of Altea. She would pose as a new recruit, ingratiate herself with the Altean knights, and after gaining their trust, incapacitate the guards and lead accomplices straight to the prince. At the gates of Altea castle, Reese met a fresh recruit named Kris. Once again assuming the name Katarina, Reese claimed that she had little combat experience but wanted to serve her country as a tactician. Kris agreed to partner with her, and with their strengths the two passed their first trial, and along with recruits Luke, Roderick, and Ryan, were designated members of the 7th platoon. Advancing to the next level of training, both Kris and Katarina were placed in the 7th Platoon along with recruits Luke, Roderick, and Ryan. Luke immediately nominated himself as leader, but Katarina stated that Kris was a better fit for the role, leading the two to settle their differences with a mock battle. Roderick and Ryan assisted Luke and Kris, respectively, but Kris and Ryan's superior teamwork gave Kris the victory. Days later, Kris got the 7th Platoon lost while the team was on march duty. While Kris tried to lead their team back to Altea castle, Katarina pointed out a nearby village besieged by bandits. Determined to help the townspeople, the platoon successfully routed the ruffians. Katarina may have learned from Kris that a masked man initially present among the bandits vanished when the fighting began, but regardless the matter was swept aside when Marth himself personally praised the duo for their selflessness and offered to make them his Royal Guards should they successfully achieve knighthood. 
After three months of trials, only twenty recruits remained. Among the failures included all but one of the 9th Platoon, leading Katatina to recruit its sole holdout, Cecil, into the 7th Platoon. Katarina also had Cecil deliver new steel-grade weaponry she acquired to the platoon, which the group used to overcome their tests going forward. On the day of the final trial, Kris found a crying Katarina. They worried that Katarina was bullied, but she said that was not a case and would explain the true cause of her sorrow later. The 7th Platoon passed the final test, and received their ultimate score, which varied based on their performance in each mock battle. Regardless of the exact score, Kris' platoon did well enough to graduate to full knighthood. Too excited to sleep that knight, Kris conversed with Katarina about their pasts. Katarina noted their shared desire to do things for the sake of others, and gave Kris a headband that Cecil gave to her. 
On the day of the 7th Platoon's graduation, an unknown number of assailants besieged Altea castle. It was then that Katarina revealed her real name was Reese, she was an assassin sent to kill Marth, her accomplices staged the earlier village attack, and she drugged the castle guards to allow them easier access inside. Shocked, the rest of the platoon, particularly Kris, fought to defend Marth's life. They successfully injured Reese and forced her to retreat. Despite being her target, Marth generously believed that Reese acted as she did because she was the victim of unfortunate circumstances. He again asked Kris to become a Royal Guard, as well as to help Reese should they encounter her again. Later, a heartbroken Kris and Cecil talked, and Kris may or may not have kept the headband. Either way, they ultimately promised to bring Reese back and complete the 7th Platoon once more. 
===War of Heroes===
Following Reese's failed assassination attempt, Katarina laid low as Eremiya sent underlings to abduct Princess Maria and the cleric Lena of Macedon for Gharnef, who plotted to resurrect the Earth Dragon Medeus using four pure-hearted clerics of noble blood. Eventually, Eremiya tasked Reese, Clarisse, and Legion to kill members of the War of Shadows' Archanean League. Clarisse learned the cleric Wrys was on a journey, and led a squad of assassins, including Reese, on an ambush. However, Marth's advisor, the veteran night Jagen, sent informants to gather any information on the assassins after the attempted killing of Marth. With the help of Jagen's contacts, Marth's army intercepted Clarisse's group as they prepared to kill their target. Clarisse dismissed them as a bunch of weaklings, leading Reese to warn her not to underestimate them. Reese spoke about her days as the 7th Platoon's tactician, and how the group was capable of pulling through trials even when her advice was lacking. Annoyed with Reese's praise of the enemy, Clarisse dismissed her from the battle; Marth's army swiftly defeated the assassins and rescued Wrys. In the aftermath, Reese reminded Clarisse that she warned her about the enemy's strength, but an annoyed Clarisse questioned if Reese was secretly on the side of Altea. Reese firmly denied any thoughts of betrayal, and stated that for Eremiya, she would defeat Marth and his allies, particularly Kris.
As the War of Heroes progressed, Legion led a squad of his clones to capture and kill the Arcanean knight Horace. His mission ended in failure as Marth's army again interrupted the murder, successfully picked out the true Legion, and slew him. Reese reported this news to Eremiya, and suggested that they abandon any further attempts to target Marth or any other former League members. Eremiya dismisses Reese's suggestion, orders Clarisse to hunt down Marth, and commands Reese to dispose of Legion's clones, who were rendered useless with the original's death. Clarisse mocks Reese's horror at her orders and offers to eliminate the clones instead; Eremiya praises her for her initiative and derides Reese as a failure. Much later, Clarisse led another group of assassins through a blizzard to Marth's army, but the soldier Athena foiled their ambush, and a battle ensued which left Clarisse mortally wounded. To her shock, Reese appeared and carried her back to Eremiya's hideout, explaining that despite their recent friction, she considered Clarisse her sister. However, Erimiya refused to heal Clarisse as punishment for her failure. Clarisse asked Reese to stay with her as she died, and finally called her sister with her last words.
Reese finally reunited with Marth and the 7th Platoon in Altea castle, leading a band of assassins and intent on completing her mission. As she attacked the group, Reese told Kris she once had a wonderful dream where the two were Royal Guards who helped and were loved by the populace. For their part, Kris refused to attack Reese, despite the latter insisting she would kill them. Kris noted Reese's tears, and asked why she was crying if everything between them was a lie. They claimed that Reese belonged to them and Marth, and that they could still atone for their sins. Overwhelmed, Reese finally stopped fighting, defected to Marth's side, and adopted the name Katarina for good. Marth "punished" her by ordering her to find a path in life and thereby atone. After Marth successfully reclaimed his homeland, the White Sage Gotoh notified him of Gharnef's return, and his abduction of Maria, Lena, and Marth's sister Elice. Concerned that Gharnef's next target would be Archanea's Princess Nyna, Marth's army stormed the country to prevent her kidnapping, only to learn from her husband, a corrupted Emperor Hardin, that he personally handed her to the Dark Pontifex ages ago. Katarina assisted with a gruelling campaign that ended with Hardin's killing, though in his last moments he was freed of his corruption.
Gotoh magically warped to Marth and revealed that Gharnef brainwashed the four maidens before taking them to the Dragon's Table to assist with Medeus' resurrection. Marth and Kris also learned that the assassins' base of operations was an orphanage in the Archanean mountains. Kris vowed to destroy the assassins for good, while Katarina told them of a shortcut to reach the place. Inside the orphanage, Katarina explained her terrible upbringing, and how now that she had Kris, she finally had a mind of her own. Together, Marth, Katarina, and the 7th Platoon mortally defeat Eremiya, thus preventing the victimization of any more orphans like young Reese. After reaching the Dragon's Table, Katarina helped Marth's army fell 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 and end the War of Heroes. In it's aftermath, Marth became Hero-King of the unified Archanean Alliance, while Katarina continued to serve him as a tactician to atone for her past sins.
==Other Media==
===Fire Emblem Awakening===
Chrom's Shepherds encountered multiple Einherjar of Katarina. One Einherjar is available through SpotPass, while a second joined the Shepherds after they braved the normal gauntlet of Castle Apotheosis. A third Katarina Einherjar appeared in all three Lost Bloodlines DLC xenologue. She allies with the Shepherds in the first xenologue, believing they were summoned to help combat Jugdral Einherjar. However, Katarina battles Chrom's group in the second xenologue (after Jugral becomes convinced they summoned the Shepards to combat the Archanean and Valentian Einherjar). and the third xenologue (when the Shepherds fight all three continent's Einherjar to seal them back into the cards they spawned from). Another Katarina Einherjar fights the Shepherds in all three Rogues & Redeemers xenologues, initially as a villain when they join a group of heroic Einherjar. However, in the second Rogues & Redeemers xenologue a redeemed Katarina leads the heroes to battle while the other villains thought they summoned the Shepherds to help them fight their enemies, while in the third xenologue the Shepherds fight both groups to seal them into their cards. 
===Fire Emblem Heroes===
Katarina is a playable character who was made available to summon on June 14, 2017. Her outfit is based on her design in New Mystery of the Emblem. A plegian variation of Katarina was added on January 18, 2021 under the "Dark Desert Rituals" banner.
==Quotes==
==Gallery==
KatarinaPortrait FE12.png|Katarina's portrait in Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem.
KatarinaCutscene1 FE12.png|Katarina revealing her true identity during the 7th Platoon's graduation.
KatarinaCutscene2 FE12.png|Katarina crying while confronting Marth for the second time.
KatarinaPortrait FE13.png|The Katarina SpotPass Einherjar's portrait in Fire Emblem Awakening.
KatarinaBattle FEH.png|Katarina's battle portrait in Fire Emblem Heroes.
KatarinaSpecial FEH.png|Katarina's portrait when executing a Special attack in Fire Emblem Heroes.
KatarinaInjured FEH.png|Katarina's injured portrait in Fire Emblem Heroes.
KatarinaSprite FEH.png|Katarina's sprite in Fire Emblem Heroes.
PlegianKatarinaNeutral FEH.png|Katarina's Torchlit Wanderer design.
PlegianKatarinaBattle FEH.png
PlegianKatarinaSpecial FEH.png
PlegianKatarinaInjured FEH.png
PlegianKatarinaSprite FEH.png
KatarinaArt FE12.png|Official artwork of Katarina from Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem.
MarthArmy FE12.jpg|Official artwork featuring Katarina and other assorted characters from Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem.
KatarinaArt FE13.png|Official artwork of Katarina from Fire Emblem Awakening.
KatarinaConcept FE12.png|Concept art of Katarina from Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem.
KatarinaArt1 FE0.png|Artwork for a Fire Emblem 0 trading card of Katarina.
KatarinaArt2 FE0.png|Combined artwork for Fire Emblem 0 trading cards of Katarina.
==External Links==
*Katarina on the Fire Emblem Wiki
==Navigation==
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