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Cornelia (backstory character)

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Cornelia is a non-playable character appearing Fire Emblem: Three Houses. She is a court mage in service of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus.

Cornelia Arnim

Small portrait cornelia fe16.png

Gender

Female

Race

Human

Nationality

Adrestia

Starting class

Gremory

Voiced by

Appearance(s)

Biography

Cornelia Arnim was originally an Imperial scholar invited into the Kingdom by King Lambert, who was later appointed the high position of court mage of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus in recognition of her deeds in saving the people of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus from an epidemic. She is first mentioned by Sylvain during Part I.

On the Crimson Flower route, Cornelia alongside Rodrigue guard Fort Arianrhod when they get the news the Edelgard and the Adrestian Army is about to lay siege on them. Cornelia at first shocked upon hearing this, as she had not been given any prior intel of the Empire's sudden change of plans, but later calmly accepts this situation and choses to prepare for the upcoming fight by unleashing her Titanus on the invading army, secretly hoping some of the Kingdom forces would end up killed by them in the ensuing chaos. Once she's finally defeated, Cornelia takes her death with grace and simply laughs as she realizes everything that has happened has gone according to the Empire's plans, calling it a "delightful dance". Once Edelgard and her army arrive back to Garreg Mach, Arundel suddently shows up and confronts her for her rash decision in concealing their true target from her allies, as Cornelia used to work for him and could've been potentially spared and even taken down Arianrhod in their stead had she been alerted before.

During Part II of the Azure Moon, Verdant Wind and Silver Snow routes, Cornelia frames up Dimitri for the murder of his uncle Rufus, the Kingdom's regent, and has him apparently executed. With him gone, Cornelia pledges her loyalty to the Empire and turns the Holy Kingdom of Farghus into the Farghus Dukedom.

On the Azure Moon route, the Dimitri and Kingdom Army eventually marches towards Fhirdiad, which causes the oppressed citizens in her rule to revolt against her tyrany. Unable to divert forces to suppress the rebellion in the face of Dimitri's army, Cornelia grumbles about how he and Edelgard should have just killed each other and deploys Titanus as well some Viksams to face his forces. Once Cornelia is defeated and mortally wounded and, right before perishing, Dimitri's demands her to reveal the truth about the Tragedy of Duscur, as he suspects she may have been involved in it. Upon hearing Dimitri's request, Cornelia claims Dimitri's stepmother Patricia had a key role in the Tragedy of Duscur and confesses to helping her orchestrate the massacre in excange of the promise of seeing her daughter again.

On the Verdant Wind route, NPC dialogue mentions Cornelia suddently vanished from the Farghus Dukedom right after Edelgard's death, leaving her whereabouts unknown. The same applies to Silver Snow as both routes share a similar storyline.

It is mentioned Cornelia had sudden shift in personality sometime after being granted her new position in the Kingdom, and considering her connections to "those who slither in the dark" and her access to their resources is consistent with other characters killed and replaced by Agarthan infiltrators, this suggests she was murdered sometime after solving the Kingdom's epidemy and before the Tragedy of Duscur, and the woman the player has known as Cornelia is actually a high-ranking Agarthan impersonating her.

Role

Cornelia is a non-playable character on the Silver Snow and Verdant Wind routes, and the boss of Chapter 16 on the Crimson Flower route and Chapter 18 of the Azure Moon route.

Stats

Enemy - Crimson Flower Chapter 16

Normal Hard Maddening

Enemy - Azure Moon Chapter 18

Main article: Cornelia

Normal Hard Maddening

Personality and character

While presenting a front of an affable servant of the Kingdom, Cornelia is in reality a cruel woman who's willing to do whatever it takes to ensure her dominance of the Kingdom should the situation present itself, views the Dukedom Forces as nothing but pawns and has no care for the people living in it. In contrast, it is mentioned by multiple NPCs as well by Dimitri she used to be more kind in the past, and that she even had different likes and dislikes compared to the woman seen in the story.

Quotes

Battle quotes

Death quote

So this is as far as I go...
— Cornelia's defeat quote in Crimson Flower Chapter 16 and Azure Moon Chapter 18.

Other appearances

Trivia

Etymology and other languages

Names, etymology, and in other regions
Language Name Definition, etymology, and notes
English

Cornelia Arnim

Gallery

References

  This article is part of Project Characters, a project focused on writing articles for every character present in the Fire Emblem series.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Playable characters Black Eagles BernadettaCasparDorotheaEdelgardFerdinandHubertLinhardtPetra
Blue Lions AnnetteAsheDedueDimitriFelixIngridMercedesSylvain
Golden Deer ClaudeHildaIgnatzLeonieLorenzLysitheaMarianneRaphael
Other AloisAnnaDLCBylethCatherineCyrilFlaynGilbertHannemanJeritzaManuelaSetethShamir
Ashen WolvesDLC BalthusConstanceHapiYuri
Non-playable characters AbysskeeperDLCDuke AegirFlecheGatekeeperDuke GerthIonius IXJeraltJudithLadislavaNaderRandolphRheaRodrigueSothis
Bosses AcheronAelfricDLCAloisLord ArundelBiasBlaiddydCasparCatherineCharonChilonClaudeCorneliaDaphnelDedueDeath KnightDimitriDominicBaron DominicEdelgardFelixFerdinandFlame EmperorFlaynFraldariusGautierGloucesterGonerilGwendalHubertIngridThe Immaculate OneThe ImmovableJudithKostasKronyaLadislavaLamineLinhardtLonatoLorenzMercedesMetodeyMiklanMysonNaderNemesisBaron OchsDLCOdessePallardóPittacusRandolphRheaRieganRodrigueSetethShamirSolonSylvainThalesWandering BeastThe Wind Caller
Background characters Lord ArundelCount BergliezCorneliaMargrave GautierGlennCount GloucesterCount HevringHolstLambertMonicaPatriciaRufusSeirosSitriTomasTianaCount Varley
Personal weapons and regalia Aegis ShieldAreadbharAsclepiusAthameAxe of UkonvasaraAymrBlutgangCaduceus StaffCirce StaffCrusherFailnaughtFetters of DromiFreikugelThe InexhaustibleLance of RuinLúinOchain ShieldRafail GemScythe of SarielSeiros ShieldSpear of AssalSword of BegaltaSword of MoraltaSword of SeirosSword of the CreatorTathlum BowThunderbrandThyrsusVajra-Mushti
Chapters Part I
 
P: An Inevitable Encounter • 1: Three Houses • 2: Familiar Scenery • 3: Mutiny in the Mist • 4: The Goddess's Rite of Rebirth • 5: Tower of Black Winds • 6: Rumors of a Reaper • 7: Field of the Eagle and Lion • 8: The Flame in the Darkness • 9: The Cause of Sorrow • 10: Where the Goddess Dwells • 11: Throne of Knowledge • 12: To War     / Outset of a Power Struggle  
Part II Silver Snow
 
13: Reunion at Dawn • 14: A King Without a Kingdom • 15: Valley of Torment • 16: The Rose-Colored River • 17: The Impregnable Fortress • 18: The Chaos of War • 19: Conclusion of the Crossing Roads • 20: The City Without Light • 21: Following a Dream
Azure Moon
 
13: Reunion at Dawn • 14: The Delusional Prince • 15: Valley of Torment • 16: The Rose-Colored River • 17: Blood of the Eagle and Lion • 18: The King's Triumphant Return • 19: The Golden Deer's Plea • 20: The Impregnable Fortress • 21: Our Chosen Paths • 22: Oath of the Dagger
Verdant Wind
 
13: Reunion at Dawn • 14: The Alliance Leader's Ambitions • 15: Valley of Torment • 16: The Rose-Colored River • 17: Blood of the Eagle and Lion • 18: The Golden Scheme • 19: The Chaos of War • 20: Conclusion of the Crossing Roads • 21: The City Without Light • 22: Fódlan's New Dawn
Crimson Flower
 
13: Beyond Escape • 14: The Master Tactician • 15: Tempest of Swords and Shields • 16: Lady of Deceit • 17: Field of Revenge • 18: To the End of a Dream
Paralogues   Part I Black Market SchemeDLCA Cursed RelicDLCDeath TollDividing the World    Falling Short of HeavenThe ForgottenLand of the Golden DeerAn Ocean ViewOil and WaterRumored NuptialsThe Secret MerchantDLC   Sword and Shield of SeirosTales of the Red CanyonTrue ChivalryWar for the Weak  
Part II Darkness Beneath the Earth  Dividing the World    Eternal Guardian    The Face Beneath    Foreign Land and SkyForgotten HeroInsurmountable  Legend of the LakeRetribution    The Secret MerchantDLC  The Silver Maiden  The Sleeping Sand Legend  Weathervanes of Fódlan  
Cindered Shadows
 
1: The Fourth House • 2: What Lies Beneath • 3: The Rite of Rising • 4: Danger in the Dark • 5: Betrayal • 6: Return to Me • 7: Wolf Pack
Locations FódlanAdrestiaFaerghusGarreg Mach Monastery (Abyss) • LeicesterAlmyraBrigidDagdaSrengZahras
Groups, objects and concepts 10 ElitesAshen WolvesBlack Eagles (Black Eagle Strike Force) • Blue LionsChildren of the GoddessChurch of Seiros (Knights of Seiros) • Crests (Crest Stone) • Divine PulseGolden DeerHeroes' RelicsInsurrection of the SevenMonstersThose who slither in the darkTragedy of DuscurWar of Heroes
Lists AbilitiesChaptersCharactersClasses (Class change) • Hidden treasureItems (Monastery items) • QuestsScriptsSupportsWeapons
Related topics Music LibraryName chart • Other games (Warriors: Three Hopes) • Pre-release informationUnused contentDownloadable contentClass mastery