—Micaiah
The Branded (印付き, Shirushi-Tsuki lit. Marked) are individuals of the Tellius Series who have both beorc and laguz parents. Branded individuals are treated as a separate race.
Quick Answers
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Characteristics
The Branded are a special race in Tellius as they are the result of a union between a beorc and a laguz. As the name suggests, the Branded are literally marked by a brand somewhere on their body and they are born with this mark. Physiologically, they are more akin to beorc as they lack the ability to transform into a beast and lack any sort of bestial features that laguz have, though they may have unusual hair and eye colors akin to their laguz heritage.
Branded do inherit special powers and blessings, namely a longer life span than beorc. While they age normally like humans up until adulthood, they usually retain their prime adulthood appearances far longer than a beorc would. Some Branded are also imbued with special powers such as Micaiah's Sacrifice skill as well as explaining the aptitudes of Zelgius, Stefan, Soren, and Petrine.
A Branded can further produce children, most cases with other branded or with beorc. Children of a branded may also be branded as well as Meshua, the first branded, has a descendant in each generation, usually the first born female, who inherited the branded. Micaiah is the current generation of branded descended from her. However it is not always inherited as Micaiah's younger sister, Sanaki, is pure beorc.
The siring of a Branded for the laguz parent has an immediate consequence. That parent permanently loses their ability to transform, likely upon conception, though some bestial features may remain as Lehran retained his wings even though he cannot transform any longer.
History
The Branded, as the union of beorc and laguz, is sometimes seen as an unholy union and are shunned, possibly even persecuted, by both races. The laguz are slightly less hostile as they are simply referred to as "Parentless" and are ignored once their status is revealed. At worst, they are hunted down like prey. The beorc often refer to them as "Half-Breeds" and have openly executed Branded once they are revealed. Branded usually have a much easier time integrating into beorc society as they are easier to blend in with. However, due to the constant risk of being revealed, they tend to live in solitude as they can only hide their decelerated aging to a certain degree.
As a result of persecution, there is a small commune of Branded that live in the Grann Desert where they live a mostly secret life away from the other nations. The lost kingdom of Hatari is the sole known country that does not persecute the Branded as they were unaware of the edict that banned the union of the beorc from the laguz.
However, this edict was not truly the wish of the original goddess Ashunera, but rather a fabricated lie by Ashera's Three Heroes to prevent Lehran's fate from being discovered. It also was meant as a means to prevent another war between the beorc and laguz, but ironically helped to further foster their millennium of tension. Yune herself commented that such a notion was "silly", and that she had "never heard anything of the sort.".
Despite being the source of the claim that the birth of a Branded is an abomination to be avoided at all cost, each of Ashera's Three Heroes is direct ancestor to a line of Branded. Altina was the mother of the very first Branded, whose own daughter, Yoram, was the first recognized Apostle. Their direct descendants include the first Empress Meshua, Misaha, and Micaiah. For an unknown reason, their brand always appears on the firstborn daughter of each generation. Dheginsea is the maternal grandfather of Soren, the only modern Branded known to have a laguz parent rather than a more distant ancestor. Soan is heavily implied to be an ancestor of Stefan. It is unknown if Soan himself fathered a Branded child as Lehran did, or if it was a later descendant as in the case of Dheginsea.
Branded that live in most nations are forced to keep their brands concealed, though there are a few that are unavoidable like Soren's Brand, which appears on his forehead. However, some have managed to disguise theirs as they greatly resemble the marks on Spirit Charmers. Others, like Petrine, who display them openly may claim that it is a tattoo. In an ironic twist, the sigil of a Blood Pact greatly resembles a Brand and was convincing enough to fool Almedha of Pelleas's supposed Branded status and possibility of being her son.
One curious feature of the Branded is that they were immediately exempt from Ashera's Judgement as it only petrified all of the beorc and laguz, but not any of the Branded. Even Amy, a little girl was spared for her status as branded while her adoptive father Largo, a retired former warrior, was affected. Even Stefan's commune of branded were completely unaware of it until it was later told to him. They were only spared on the technicality that they are neither beorc and laguz, thus lay outside her judgement's parameters.
Known Branded
- Soren - Ashnard's true son. Black Dragon Heritage. His brand is on his forehead.
- Stefan - The leader of the only known community of Branded. Lion Heritage. His brand is on his forehead.
- Micaiah - The fifteenth ruler of Daein. Heron Heritage. Her brand is on her right hand.
- Misaha - The Apostle of Begnion whose murder eventually led to the Serenes Massacre and the grandmother of Sanaki and Micaiah. Heron Heritage. Her brand was on her right hand.
- Meshua - The first Empress of Begnion. Heron Heritage. Her brand was on her right hand.
- Amy - The adopted daughter of Largo and Calill. Unknown Heritage.
- Zelgius - Commander of the Begnion Central Army who serves under Sephiran. Implied Raven Heritage. His brand is on the left side of his back.
- Petrine - The lone woman serving as one of the Four Riders and hostile toward laguz. Tiger Heritage. Her official artwork shows a green mark on her right breast, which is likely her brand.
- Yoram - Granddaughter of Altina and the first Apostle of Begnion. Heron Heritage. Her brand was on her right hand.
Trivia
- The first volume of Tellius Recollection goes into some detail to the average lifespan of Branded based on which laguz tribe they share heritage with. It states that Branded with black dragon heritage have an average lifespan of 185 years, those of lion heritage 94 years, and tiger heritage 65 years. However, this chart contradicts in-game information about how Branded and Laguz age, so it is likely a remnant of an earlier story build and not canon to the final script.
- The marks of the Branded bear a similarity to the Brand, a concept that appears in Genealogy of the Holy War, Awakening, and Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.
- It's possible that each brand not only marks whether they're of laguz descent, but also which laguz tribe they're descendants of. Micaiah's brand, for instance, is identical to Misaha's brand, since they are both of Heron descent.
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