Maria is a playable character in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Mystery of the Emblem, Shadow Dragon, and New Mystery of the Emblem. She is the youngest member of the royal family of Macedon and the younger sister of Michalis and Minerva. She is also a Cleric who becomes a hostage to secure Macedon's allegiance with Dolhr.

Quick Answers

How does Maria's role change throughout Fire Emblem games?

In the Fire Emblem series, Maria's role involves recruitment and family ties. In 'Mystery of the Emblem,' she is recruited by Marth, and if defeated, her sister Minerva will attack. Maria wears a pendant with the House Macedon crest, shared with her siblings. In 'Fire Emblem Heroes,' she is a staff unit with shared voice acting.

Provided by: Fandom

Why was Maria taken hostage in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon?

In Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, Maria was held hostage at Castle Deil to coerce her sister Minerva into servitude. Zharov, stationed at a nearby fortress, ensured Minerva's compliance by keeping Maria captive. Marth rescued Maria, enabling Minerva to join his army. While captive, Maria showed resourcefulness by attacking a soldier with her staff.

Provided by: Fandom

What are Maria's key abilities as a Cleric in Fire Emblem?

Maria, as a Cleric in Fire Emblem, excels in healing and support roles. She uses Physic to heal allies from afar, restoring about 19 HP. Her Miracle skill lets her survive a fatal hit once charged. Panic reverses enemy buffs, aiding against buff-heavy foes. Fortify Resistance boosts adjacent allies' Resistance. Despite limited combat skills, her high Weapon Level growth allows her to use stronger staves.

Provided by: Fandom

What is Maria's relationship with her siblings Michalis and Minerva?

Maria is the younger sister of Michalis and Minerva of Macedon. Her relationship with Michalis is strained due to his ambitions and the murder of their father. Minerva opposed Michalis, furthering family conflict. Despite this, Maria loves her siblings. She was held hostage by the Dolhr Empire to deter Minerva's rebellion but was rescued by Prince Marth. Afterward, Maria and Minerva joined the Altean army. Michalis later supported them from the shadows after his defeat.

Provided by: Fandom

How does Maria's character develop in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem?

Maria's character in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem develops through her loyalty and determination. Initially a cleric locked in Castle Deil, she is recruited by Marth. Maria's dedication is evident as she becomes a hostage for Michalis to help her siblings. Despite being new to battle, she insists on staying with Minerva to grow stronger. Her ability to use the Aum Staff, usually Elice's role, shows her potential when trained.

Provided by: Fandom

Profile

War of Shadows

Before the war, Maria lived in peace in Macedon, which was quiet and prosperous. She adored her father and older siblings, Michalis and Minerva. As Dolhr rose to power, Michalis murdered their father, King Osmond. According to the designers notes, Michalis said that it was the work of an Archanean assassin, justifying his alliance with Dolhr. Maria was unaware of the true nature of her father's death at the time of Michalis' coronation, and supported him.

After Michalis seized control of Macedon, he approached Maria, explaining to her that Macedon would have faced a crisis if Macedon did not become Dolhr's ally, and resolves to make Maria a hostage for Dolhr. Maria agrees, trying to protect the citizens of Macedon for her brother. However, Michalis lied, as his primary reason for imprisoning Maria was to keep Minerva under control.

When Minerva discovered that Maria was taken hostage, she realized that Michalis murdered their father, but is forced to fight with Macedon to keep Maria alive. Maria then stays as a hostage in Castle Deil in occupied Archanea. According to the timelines, this may have been a period of six years.

Minerva continues to serve Dolhr and concedes to her superior generals, such as Harmein, and the general of Castle Deil, Zharov, until she decides to lead a revolt against her brother. She sends her subordinate Catria to Marth to request that he rescue Maria from Castle Deil. When Marth releases Maria from her imprisonment, she thanks him and decides that she is going to join him in battle, as she is tired of feeling helpless. After Maria is rescued, Minerva is able to join Marth as well.

When Marth's armies begin to enter Macedon. If Maria enters battle with Michalis, he is shocked to see her on the battlefield. Maria then continues to assist Marth and his army until the war is over.

War of Heroes

Once the war ends, Maria travels to Khadein to study there before returning to her Macedon to serve her people as a cleric. Once she returns, she devotes herself to ensuring her brother Michalis recovers from the grievous injuries he sustained from battling Minerva, who could not bring herself to kill him. Despite what he has done, Maria still cares about Michalis and she stays by his bedside until he recovers, often crying and praying. When Michalis awakes, Maria reminds him of an angel, and he has a change of heart.

Soon after, she is captured by assassins sent by Gharnef. Michalis attempts to rescue her and battles Gharnef, but Maria does not see the outcome as she is hypnotized by Gharnef before the battle ends. As she is of pure noble blood, Gharnef plans to use her life force, along with that of Elice, Lena, and Nyna to fully resurrect Medeus.

If the Shield of Seals has not been obtained, Maria and the other kidnapped Bishops come to Marth after Hardin has been defeated and tell him that they have defeated Gharnef with their combined strength. They urge Marth to return to Altea and live with what time he has left. In reality, however, Maria and the other Bishops are illusions, and Maria and the Bishops are sacrificed to Medeus, who revives and takes over the world. If the Shield of Seals is restored, Marth and his army attempt to defeat Medeus, who is protected by Maria and the other hypnotized bishops. As Maria is to be sacrificed to Medeus, Marth and his army are able to intervene, during which Minerva wakes her from Gharnef's hypnosis.

After the defeat of Medeus, Maria likely learns that Michalis has died. After accepting the loss, Maria lives peacefully at Lena's monastery with Minerva and Julian, caring for orphans. In New Mystery of the Emblem, Michalis can survive, and Maria wishes to talk with him and Minerva after the war.

Personality

Maria is cheerful, optimistic, and stubborn. She loves her siblings and will do anything she can to help them, even willingly becoming a hostage for Michalis. Maria is new to the battlefield, but her determination is shown when she refuses to leave the battlefield despite Minerva's concern, insisting that she wants to stay with her sister and become strong enough to protect herself. Even though she does not enjoy fighting, she dreams of becoming as strong as her older siblings, aspiring to be like them to be able to protect them.

Maria does all she can to assist her sister and Marth's army in the war, and even participates in encouraging Jake to join them with several other females. This prompts Minerva to say that she is naïve, telling her that war is not like the stories of princes and damsels that Maria enjoys, which is supported by Maria calling Marth dashing. Maria counters Minerva by saying that she is sick of being helpless, and she will not leave the battlefield because she wants to stay with her. Additionally, Maria may have something of a crush on Marth.

Maria's benevolent and selfless nature is shown as well when she later nurses her brother back to health, holding no ill will against him, despite his killing of their father and keeping her in jeopardy during the first war. Maria's love for her brother is so great that she does not leave his bedside, desperately praying over him until she cries. Her empathy serves as the biggest catalyst for Michalis' subsequent change of heart, which makes her indirectly responsible for Minerva's rescue by his hands and his assist in the defeat of Gharnef in the second war.

Maria's love for her sister is equally great, as Maria is eager to share with Minerva that she has become a soldier, and Minerva is able to wake her from Gharnef's hypnosis. Maria reveals to Minerva that she genuinely cares about her and Michalis and she just wants her and her siblings to be a happy family again. Despite her incredible benevolence, Maria is, however, still young. She is also honest and outspoken, and her catchphrase is "No protesting!"

In-Game

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

Recruitment

• Details: Maria is locked in the central room of Castle Deil, so a Door Key or a Thief should be brought to free her.
• Note: Maria must be recruited to recruit Minerva.

Base Stats

Starting Class
Curate
Level	HP	Str	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Wlv	Mov
3	19	2	2	2	Varies	4	0	8	5
Weapon					Starting Items
Staff					Heal

Growth Rates

Promotion

Item Required	Promoted Class
Bishop's Ring	Bishop

Overall

Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.

In Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Maria is comparable to Lena, the earlier Priest, since both characters have nonexistent growth rates for HP, Magic, Skill, and Defense. Maria has marginally better starting stats in HP, Magic, and Defense though, while Lena bests her in Skill, Speed, and Luck. Since Maria joins later than both Lena and Wrys and is rather under-leveled, players may often bypass her. While being more defensive than Lena, Maria is nearly identical to Lena in terms of utility, except for being unable to use Hammerne. However, Maria is noted for having a high growth rate for Weapon Level, which gives her somewhat of an advantage over Lena, as she can gain faster levels for wielding stronger staves, though this assumes the player is willing to train a cleric, which is not very rewarding.

Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem

Recruitment

Book 1

• Details: Maria is locked in the central room of Castle Deil, so a Door Key or a Thief should be brought to free her.
• Note: Maria must be recruited to recruit Minerva. If she is killed as an enemy, Minerva will begin to attack the player units.

Book 2

• Details: Maria is adjacent to Medeus's right side.
• Note: If Medeus is killed while Maria is still an enemy, Medeus may devour her and recover Health Points.

Base Stats

• Book 1
• Book 2

Starting Class
Cleric
Level	HP	Str	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Wlv	Mov
3	17	2	2	3	5	4	5	8	5
Weapon					Starting Items
Staff					Heal

Starting Class
Bishop
Level	HP	Str	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Wlv	Mov
1	17	3	3	5	8	3	7	12	6
Weapon					Starting Items
Staff Magic					Recover

Growth Rates

Promotion Gains

Note: Relevant in Book 1 only

Item Required				Promoted Class
Bishop Ring				Bishop
1	+2	+2	+2	+1	+2	Varies	+1

Support Relationships

• Supports give a bonus to Hit, Critical and Avoid
• Characters must be within a three tile radius to receive support bonuses

Overall

Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.

In Mystery of the Emblem Book 1, Maria's growth rates have been slightly raised, possibly to improve her low base stats. Earlier healers are still available, however, and Lena has better base stats. Statistically, Maria has worse Magic, Skill, Luck, and Defense compared to Lena, but superior growth rates for Speed and Weapon Level. Despite her relative weaknesses, Maria can support her sister Minerva whenever she is in range, which can be useful if the player is using Minerva. In Book 2, recruiting Maria prevents her from being devoured by Medeus to recover health points. Maria is only available in the last part of the last chapter with poor base stats, so she must be immediately moved to safety to heal with her Recover Staff. Once again she gives Minerva support bonuses.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

Recruitment

*Maria is the only member of House Macedon

• Details: Maria locked inside a cell in the castle, so a Door Key or a Thief should be brought to free her.
• Note: As she is only a hostage, Maria is not an active enemy unit - she will not move, talk to Marth on her own accord, or heal wounded enemy units, even if they are adjacent to her. Maria must be recruited to recruit Minerva, and if she is killed as an enemy, Minerva will attack the player units in her range.

Base Stats

Starting Class
Cleric
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
3	17	0	2	2	3	0	4	8	5
Weapon					Starting Items
Staff - D (+10)					Heal

Growth Rates

Reclassing Options

Support Relationships

Supports

Supported by

Overall

Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.

In Shadow Dragon, Maria's late joining time and poor staff rank make her an overall weak unit. Maria has very poor base stats for a character that joins as late as she does. High stats aren't very important for staff users in Shadow Dragon; Heal, Mend, and Physic all only heal one more point of HP for every 2 points of the user's magic. Beyond healing, Warp can send units to any tile on the map regardless of the user's Magic, making Warp an extremely useful staff regardless of its user's stats. However, Maria's starting D rank in staves means that she cannot use Warp until relatively late in the game.

Lena joins before Maria with base C rank staves. Lena is a much better staff unit overall than Maria, with much higher Magic at base and access to the Hammerne staff, which only Lena can use. Even if Lena is unavailable, Maria has stiff competition- Wendell joins 5 chapters before Maria with base D staves and can reach C well before Maria does, and Boah joins 2 chapters after Maria with base C staves, which Maria is unlikely to reach by then. Even Jagen could theoretically reclass to Bishop and reach C rank in staves before Maria can.

Overall, it is still definitely possible to use Maria, as it is possible to use pretty much any staff user in Shadow Dragon, but she's among the player's worst options for her role. Reclassing will not do much for Maria either. Her low level and weak personal bases will make Maria very weak after reclassing, and her lack of weapon ranks will make her a very weak combat unit. Even if the player chooses to take on the difficult task of leveling Maria, her only noteworthy personal growth is a 75% luck growth, which is not going to make up for her other shortcomings, and she also suffers a -10% personal HP growth that will make her extremely frail in any class.

Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

Recruitment

• Details: Maria is adjacent to Medeus's right side.
• Note: As an enemy Bishop, Maria may heal the dragons in the chapter with her Physic staff, but she will not move or attack. If Medeus is killed while Maria is still an enemy, he may devour her to replenish his Health Points.

Base Stats

Starting Class
Bishop
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
1	24	1	5	5	5	8	3	9	6*
Weapon					Starting Items
Staff - C Tome - E					Fire Physic**

*0 as an enemy unit **Dropped if killed.

Growth Rates

Bishop

Reclassing Options (Unused)

• Note: As Maria is recruited in the Final Chapter, she cannot be reclassed while she still has the opportunity to Level Up. She can be reclassed after the game's conclusion in various modes, and she will receive the bonuses and deductions appropriate for the class, but as she cannot Level in those modes, so her growth rates in these classes are inaccessible.

Support Relationships

Supports

Supported by

Overall

Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.

In New Mystery of the Emblem, recruiting Maria will prevent Medeus from devouring her for health points. Despite her base stats and growths being raised from the original game, she is only available in the very last chapter with very low base stats, so she must again be immediately moved to safety, where she can heal with her Physic Staff. Recruiting Maria may be useful due to her having an automatic A rank support with both Minerva and Michalis, if they are to be used in the Final chapter and in other modes.

Fire Emblem Heroes

• Original
• Hop-and-Go-Seek
• Depths of Despair

Minerva's Sister

Princess of Macedon. Younger sister of Minerva and Michalis, whom she loves dearly. Appears in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem.

Base Stats

Rarity:

✯✯✯

		Title
		Minerva's Sister
		Group
		Infantry
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	15/16/17 30/33/36	3/4/5 20/23/26	6/7/8 27/30/33	2/3/4 13/16/19	8/9/10 25/28/31
Skills			Weapon
Heal			Staff

✯✯✯✯

		Title
		Minerva's Sister
		Group
		Infantry
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	15/16/17 31/34/37	3/4/5 21/24/27	7/8/9 29/32/35	2/3/4 14/17/20	9/10/11 27/30/33
Skills			Weapon
Mend Imbue			Staff

✯✯✯✯✯

		Title
		Minerva's Sister
		Group
		Infantry
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	16/17/18 33/36/40	4/5/6 23/27/30	7/8/9 31/34/37	3/4/5 16/19/22	9/10/11 28/32/35
Skills			Weapon
Physic Miracle			Staff

Skills

Type	Name	Prerequisite	Default	Unlocked
	Assault	-	-	-
	Panic	Assault	-
	Panic+	Panic	-
	Heal	-		-
	Mend	Heal
	Physic	Mend
	Physic+	Physic	-
	Imbue	-		-
	Miracle	-
C	Fortify Res 1	-
	Fortify Res 2	Fortify Res 1
	Fortify Res 3	Fortify Res 2

Overall

Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.

Base Set

Maria is a easily accessible staff infantry unit from Book I. Her stat spread is decent, but not particularly strong when compared to the growing roster of staff units. Her Spd is her strongest sitting at a decent 34, but nothing that particularly stops the mid-high tier units from double attacking her. Her magical bulk is somewhat decent as she scores a 68 total in this regard. Unfortunately her physical bulk is extremely low and can go down to most physical units in a single round while her Atk is on the low side, hampering her damage and healing capabilities. For a Book I staff unit, Maria performs admirably, but as time progressed, she quickly lost footing but those devoted to investing into her may find at least some mediocre results.
Panic reverses buffs into penalties of the unit she attacks and any unit within two spaces of that target. This can help against buff heavy teams, especially bladetomes and turn off their massive power output as a result.
Physic allows Maria to heal an ally from range, though her neutral Atk will heal about 19 HP. Miracle allows Maria to survive a fatal blow once it is fully charged, giving her slight durability. Fortify Resistance increases the Res of adjacent allies by 4 at the start of her turn.

Counters

Maria's physical bulk is utterly abysmal and will die from most if not all physical units who can get to her first. If she is not running the standard Dazzling Staff/Wrathful Staff combo, Distant Counter units are incredibly dangerous for her to even attempt to attack, especially those who run Null C-Disrupt. Her low Atk causes high res units to shrug off her attacks with little effort and even some mediocre ones can completely resist damage from her. Bridal Fjorm and Mila both negate her ability to heal through their unique weapon and skill respectively.

Skill Inheritance

Maria needs almost an entire overhaul of her kit to fix her many problems. Due to her low Atk, Pain serves as a better damage option due to the after battle splash damage to her target and foes within two spaces of her target. Running Wrathful Staff and Dazzling Staff as her Skill B and staff refine are advised as it is the only means to ensure that she can attack safely. Savage Blow for her Skill C and Seal on top of pain ensures that she can deal 24 splash damage to her enemies. Skill A can be Attack Speed Push to give her some much needed offense, though taking the flat Attack +3 or Speed +3 are easily inheritable options that staff units can actually inherit.

Meet Some of the Heroes

Minerva's Sister Maria
	Here's Maria! Does that flaming red hair of hers remind you of someone? That's right, she's the younger sister of Princess Minerva of Macedon!
	Maria's a sweet girl who cares about her family. When the relationship between Michalis and Minerva turned sour, Maria worried about whether they would ever be a happy family again.
	Later on, Maria was taken hostage by the opposing Dolhr Empire to prevent rebellion by Minerva.
	After Marth saved Maria from her captors, she and Minerva joined the Altean army and fought their hardest for peace!
Closely Associated Characters
Michalis	King of Macedon who had great ambitions for his country. Murdered his father. Brother to Minerva and Maria.
Minerva	Princess of Macedon who took up arms against her brother, Michalis. Maria's older sister.

Sunny Smile

Youngest princess of Macedon. Her ready smile adds a touch of joy to the spring festival. Appears in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem.

Base Stats

Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯

		Title
		Sunny Smile
		Group
		Flying
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	15/16/17 32/35/39	10/11/12 34/37/40	11/12/13 37/40/43	9/10/11 37/40/44	2/3/4 21/25/28
Skills			Weapon
Pastel Poleaxe Rally Defense			Axe

Skills

Type	Name	Prerequisite	Default	Unlocked
	Iron Axe	-	-	-
	Steel Axe	-	-	-
	Silver Axe	-	-	-
	Pastel Poleaxe	-		-
	Rally Defense	-	-	-
	Rally Speed Defense	Rally Speed Defense	-	-
	Rally Speed Defense+	Rally Speed Defense	-	-
A	Atk Def Push 1	-		-
	Atk Def Push 2	Atk Def Push 1		-
	Atk Def Push 3	Atk Def Push 2		-
	Atk Def Push 4	Atk Def Push 3
B	Flow Flight 1	-		-
	Flow Flight 2	Flow Flight 1		-
	Flow Flight 3	Flow Flight 2		-

Base Set

Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.

Counters

Skill Inheritance

Meet Some of the Heroes

Sunny Smile Maria
	Did anyone lose a cute little bunny on the festival grounds? Just kidding—here's Maria, one of the two princesses of Macedon!
	For her spring festival outfit, Maria's wearing a pristine white dress and a pair of rabbit ears that stand straight up. She's even accessorized her dress with a polka-dot skirt made from sheer fabric!
	And would you look at that! There's another cute little bunny peering out from Maria's festive axe. Come to think of it, it's just like the bunny decoration that her sister, Minerva, had on her spring festival lance!
	Minerva did say that Maria would love the festival... I bet she'll have the time of her life hopping around with all the happy little spring bunnies!
Closely Associated Characters
Minerva	Princess of Macedon who took up arms against her brother, Michalis. Maria's older sister who has previously attended the spring festival.
Michalis	King of Macedon who had great ambitions for his country. Murdered his father. Brother to Minerva and Maria.

Ritual Sacrifice

Youngest princess of Macedon, kidnapped and robbed of her consciousness by Gharnef for use as a sacrifice to Medeus. Appears in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem.

Base Stats

Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯

		Title
		Ritual Sacrifice
		Group
		Infantry
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	14/15/16 33/37/40	10/11/12 40/44/47	14/15/16 42/45/49	2/3/4 12/16/19	6/7/8 32/35/38
Skills			Weapon
Sacrifice Staff Nudge+ Miracle			Staff

Skills

Type	Name	Prerequisite	Default	Unlocked
	Assault	-	-	-
	Sacrifice Staff	-
	Heal	-	-	-
	Reconcile	-	-	-
	Nudge	-	-	-
	Nudge+	-	-	-
	Imbue	-	-	-
	Miracle	Imbue		-
	Holy Panic	Miracle	-
A	Atk Spd Bond 1	-		-
	Atk Spd Bond 2	Atk Spd Bond 1		-
	Atk Spd Bond 3	Atk Spd Bond 2		-
	Atk Spd Unity	Atk Spd Bond 3
B	Wrathful Staff 1	-		-
	Wrathful Staff 2	Wrathful Staff 1		-
	Wrathful Staff 3	Wrathful Staff 2		-
	Poetic Justice	Wrathful Staff 3
C	Even Recovery 1	-		-
	Even Recovery 2	Even Recovery 1		-
	Even Recovery 3	Even Recovery 2		-

Overall

Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.

Base Set

Counters

Skill Inheritance

Meet Some of the Heroes

Ritual Sacrifice Maria
	Maria's normally cheerful, so it doesn't take much to notice how gloomy she seems today... It's like she's turned into someone else entirely!
	...Oh no, bad news! Maria's been hypnotized and turned into a loyal servant of Medeus, the Shadow Dragon!
	She won't listen to a word anyone else says, no matter how much you call out to her. Actually, you should probably avoid getting her attention, or she might fling powerful spells at you!
	H-how are we going to get Maria back to normal?! Maybe if someone from her family were here, they might be able to get through to her...
Closely Associated Characters
Michalis	King of Macedon who had great ambitions for his country. Murdered his father. Brother to Minerva and Maria.
Minerva	Princess of Macedon who took up arms against her brother, Michalis. Maria's older sister.

Quotes

Recruitment in Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

Recruitment in Mystery of the Emblem Book 1

Event Recap (Shadow Dragon)

No protesting!

Maria Steps Up

Talk with Minerva in Shadow Dragon

• Maria: Sister!
• Minerva: Maria... Are you all right?
• Maria: Fine. Have you heard? Marth made me one of his soldiers! Well... I made him make me one.
• Minerva: ...What am I going to do with you? Listen to me, Maria... You cannot stay here. It's too dangerous. Real war is nothing like your stories of princes and damsels.
• Maria: I'm not going anywhere! I want to stay with you!
• Minerva: Maria, you're being selfish-
• Maria: I am not! I'm just...sick of being helpless. I've burdened you long enough. How can I ever help you if you don't give me a chance to be strong? I'm staying here and fighting! No protesting!
• Minerva: ...Ha ha. Somehow I knew you would say that. All right, Maria. If you feel that strongly about it, who am I to stop you? All I ask is that you be careful. If you need help, you come find me. Understood?
• Maria: Of course! Thank you, Sister!

Maria vs Michalis

Maria Illusion

As an Enemy in Mystery of the Emblem Book 2

Recruitment in Mystery of the Emblem Book 2

• Minerva: Maria! Please open your eyes. It's me, Minerva! Be strong!
• Maria: Uh... Oh... Minerva, sister... Ahh, Medeus, he...
• Minerva: Everything's alright now, relax. I'm sorry, Maria, for letting you experience all this...
• Maria: Sister... I'm scared... so scared. Oh! How is brother? He fought with Gharnef to rescue me.
• Minerva: Michalis, he... He's alright, Maria, don't worry.
• Maria: Really? Then, when we return home, will we be like one big family again? That's great, sister. Oh, I really want to see brother again.
• Minerva: Maria...

Regarding Maria

Death Quotes

Heroes

Maria/Heroes Quotes

Endings

Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

Her enthusiasm for Marth has not diminished.

Mystery of the Emblem

Book 1

Minerva's sister Maria

She studied at Khadein and then returned to Macedon. As a sister she served her citizens.

Book 2

Minerva's sister Maria

At Lena's monastery she cared for the orphans who had lost their parents.

Shadow Dragon

Petit Princess

After studying in Khadein for a spell, Maria returned to Macedon to serve her people as a cleric.

New Mystery of the Emblem

Minerva's Sister

Maria cared after war orphans at a convent. The children loved her as a big sister.

Non-Canon Appearances

Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light Manga

In the Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light manga, Maria's role is identical to that of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light; she is held hostage to force Minerva into servitude, and is rescued by Marth, which allows Minerva to join him. After which, Maria assists with healing along with the army's other clerics for the remainder of Marth's quest.

While being held hostage, Maria responds only to Marth. When she sees a soldier foreign to her enter her cell, she hides behinds the door and waits for him to enter, jumping out from behind the door and hitting him over the head with her staff, knocking him to the floor. This may be a reference to her being an Enemy Unit before being approached by Marth, as she does not know who to trust. Maria also ignores Caeda, as she does not know her, and Marth has to introduce himself before Maria realizes that she is being rescued, which may be a reference to how Maria is recruited. Maria then, almost immediately, asks Marth if he has a girlfriend; a question he is saved from answering by Minerva's appearance, as Maria runs up to Minerva and hugs her. Maria later assists Lena in healing Cain, but is slightly unnerved by Abel, as his demeanor reminds her of Michalis. Nevertheless, Maria is extremely energetic, and insists on knowing if Marth has a girlfriend, much to Caeda's discomfort.

When Marth and party enter a town, she dons a red dress as a "disguise", but nearly gives away the party's cover with her enthusiasm, which Gordin scolds her for. Ultimately, Gordin and Draug are unable to hold her, and she approaches Caeda, who she addresses as "Big Sister" in hopes of playing with her, catching Caeda off-guard with her friendliness. On the whole, in the manga she assists with healing, and is seen the most with Minerva.

Fire Emblem Trading Card Game

Maria appears as a Unit card in Sets 5 and 6 of the Fire Emblem Trading Card Game. She appears as Card 35 in Set 5 as a Cleric and has no stars in rarity, meaning she is a fairly common card. In Set 6 Maria is card 70 and appears as a Bishop but only with a staff as her starting weapon, and 1 star in rarity. Her staff looks most like the Trading Card Game version of the Fortify staff, but it holds a striking resemblance to the Aum Staff in its in-game depiction, but Maria can not use the Aum Staff in this appearance.

Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)

Maria is illustrated in the trading card game with the following cards:

B01-032HN

B01-033N

B15-039SR

B15-040N

In Cipher, in addition to appearing as a Cleric, Maria appears as a Bishop based off her Mystery of the Emblem Book 2 appearance. She also has a super-rare card reclassed as a magic-wielding Dracoknight with Hauteclere, insisting that all of Macedon's royalty can fight while riding a wyvern.

Choose Your Legends Placement History

Round	Placement	Character Version	Votes

CYL1	454	Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon	278
	589	Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem	134
CYL2	474 ↓20	Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon	274 ↓4
	609 ↓20	Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem	123 ↓9
CYL3	358 ↑116 (From highest)	Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem	454 ↑57 (From combined)
CYL4	387 ↓29	Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem	250 ↓204
CYL5	367 ↑20	Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem	147 ↓103
CYL6	338 ↑29	Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem	197 ↑50
CYL7	336 ↑2	Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem	97 ↓100
CYL8	336	Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem	106 ↑9

CYL9

300 ↑36

Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem

100 ↓6

Etymology

Maria is an alternate spelling of the name Mary from the New Testament of the Bible, and is the usual form of Mary in many European languages. Its meaning is unknown, but its Egyptian origins suggest loved or beloved, while other theories suggest sea of bitterness, rebelliousness, and wished for child.

Mary is a name held by many people in the New Testament, most importantly the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. This caused the name to become almost too holy for use before becoming a very widely used feminine name, even appearing as a masculine middle name.

Maria, its namesake, and its alternate spelling Marie, has been a name held by of many Queens in many European countries, including England, Scotland, France, Portugal, Romania, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Sicily.

Trivia

• In the Event Recap of Shadow Dragon, Maria's recruitment is shown to take place outdoors, a possible mistake by the developers.
• Maria, along with Lena and Elice, has been both a Priest and a Cleric. While they are essentially the same class, Priests are usually male.
• In New Mystery of the Emblem, Maria drops her Physic staff if killed as an enemy, a reference to her only having a Recover staff in Mystery of the Emblem.
• Strangely, in New Mystery of the Emblem, Maria can only be recruited by Minerva, even if Michalis was recruited, even though he spends the majority of the war searching for her and only wanted Minerva to rescue Maria in his place.
  • It is revealed in a Base Conversation between Michalis and Kris that Michalis intended to leave Macedon after saving Maria. He had concluded that he had lost the right to speak to Maria and that only Minerva deserved to speak to her after her rescue.
• In Takayashiki Hideo's novel adaptation of Mystery of the Emblem, Michalis is at least 25 years old in Book 2. While Minerva is younger than him, their similar statures suggests that they are not very far apart, but Maria appears much younger, in stature and in facial features, than both of them. Book 2 is only 2 to 3 years after Book 1, where Maria is referred to as a child, and in Book 2 Maria still has a childlike disposition and appearance. Thus, according to the novel, Maria may be at at a very large age difference from her siblings.
• According to Minerva's support with Kris in New Mystery of the Emblem, all three siblings possess the same pendant with the House Macedon crest. This is likely the pendant Maria wears around her neck.
• In Fire Emblem Heroes, Maria shares her English voice actress, Wendee Lee, with Veronica, Sophia and Lyn.
• in Fire Emblem Heroes, Maria, like all staff units, has unused lines for performing a critical strike, where she references her older siblings. These lines can be heard in the Illusory Dungeon mode, or when randomly entering a map with Maria deployed.
  • as of the introduction of Holy Pressure, these lines no longer go unused.

Gallery

See main article: Maria/Gallery.