Part 3/3 of the Garon Boys Analysis!
Finally, last and certainly not least, we have our funny Nohrian jester, Zola. Absolutely love this dude more than I thought I would.
Okay that’s a partial lie. I love clowns, this was an inevitable fate.
But like, I played Birthright in high school and for whatever reason, he never picked up on my radar. Wasn’t until maybe a few years ago when I replayed Fates that I just fell in love with him. And ever since that time, I’ve been absolutely fixated on this goblin.
Won’t lie though, this took longer then I thought. Guess I just had too many thoughts about the lil guy!
Right off the bat, even though I group him in with Iago and Hans, he’s definitely not on their level. In more ways then one.
For one, rank wise, he’s more than your average mage. Pretty sure he’s like a general of sorts. But Iago and Hans (for some reason idk), they’re way above him. He reports to Iago on things, that’s his manager at Walmart.
Also I think out of the three of them, Zola is probably the nicest? Which isn’t saying a lot, it’s like being the tallest dwarf out of the seven dwarves.
I feel like he wouldn’t just kill someone for no reason. Which is already high marks compared to the other two, and that’s just sad. The bar is so low that not killing innocents just because you feel like it makes you a saint.
It’s a little more tricky to describe him compared to the other two, because unlike them, he differs slightly depending on the path you take.
In all of the routes, he uses his shapeshifting illusion magic in order to pose as the Duke of Izumo. This is to cause conflict between them and Hoshido, giving the latter another enemy to deal with in the war.
In Conquest, he’s a bad guy. The gang get to Izumo and it seems normal. Izana is there inviting all of the nobility to a dinner, both Hoshido and Nohr’s siblings and Corrin and their crew. But Xander learns quickly that he’s actually Not the Duke. And that he’s going to assassinate the Hoshidan nobles to end the war. Seeing this as dishonorable (which…there’s not really an honorable way to end a war but go off king) and the fact that this would break Izumo’s neutrality act (a much more pressing matter), the gang gotta stop him.
In Revelations, Gunter finds him out pretty quickly, having probably dealt with him before. And he quickly turns the village in Izumo to ice as he hides away in the back. And when he’s finally cornered, he stoops even lower and takes Sakura as a hostage!
He has a clear distrust towards the Hoshidans, and especially towards the nobility. Which makes sense, they’re at war with his home country. And given the opportunity, he would want to kill them just to end the war quickly.
Which, on paper, and from his perspective, it sounds noble. The lives of the many outweighs the lives of the few. Ending a war without bloodshed at all would be nice, but that’s not realistic. It’s better that as few lives are taken as possible in order to end a war faster.
HOWEVER! There is the circumstance to consider - which is that, he is in disguise of the Duke of Izumo while doing this, and he’s on Izumo’s soil. If the Hoshidan nobility die, you know how Fucked Izumo is gonna be? Hoshido is gonna be out for their blood, blaming them for their death and it’s gonna insight bloody war between those two.
Either Zola is too blinded by his ambition for glory or he straight up does not give a fuck what happens to either side (given that Nohr is no longer involved). I wanna say it’s a mix of both.
Birthright…is actually a little different. Unlike in Conquest where Leo executes Zola, Corrin is able to convince him to spare the little mage’s life. He’s taken in as a hostage rather then executed right then and there, but there’s very little mercy involved anyways from everyone else. Just about everyone distrusts him and Hinoka and Takumi are eager enough to kill him if he steps out of line.
This period of time between his abduction and his death in Birthright shows quite a bit more to his character then just being a baddie. He’s very grateful to Corrin for sparing his life and while he doesn’t do a lot initially, he ends up risking his life to protect Takumi from an attack - a surprisingly noble gesture from this jester. And he even helps Azura disguise herself as the songstress Layla for their plan…until he terminated the spell after the performance and reveals the gang to Garon.
Of course, it’s revealed that he had been deceiving them all along when they get to the Opera House. He was trying to gain their trust in order to lure them to where Garon is after they captured him.
But what’s interesting about this is that, he still begs for Corrin’s life to be spared. He has so much gratitude for sparing his life, vouching for him the entire time in the group. He genuinely believes that Corrin is being brainwashed or manipulated by the Hoshidans, and he begs for Garon to spare Corrin as they had spared him. It’s honestly surprisingly touching for a crooked fellow like him.
He’s a truly cowardly sort who bows to the orders of those above him or whoever has power over him. Like he’s capable enough to lead on his own, but I don’t think he would do well without an already coordinated plan or someone else taking the reigns.
Not to mention that he’s willing to flee at any chance when he’s cornered or pitifully cower for his life. Or worse yet, even threaten someone else’s life just to spare his own, like what he did with Sakura. He has no shame or morals with it, as long as he can live another day.
Something about him that I find kind of charming is that he seems like a playful guy. He takes pride in his illusions and loves being able to trick people with them, giggling gleefully when he’s fooled someone.
Definitely seems like the type to use his powers for pranks and trickery, at the expense of those around him for a laugh. Probably commits identity fraud as a hobby.
Best way I could describe him is being Tricky. He’s not easy to predict, both with his illusion magic and with his general nature. He’s not very trusting, but certainly not a trustful sort himself. He’s a cowardly prick who will get the hell out of dodge if he can, but he’s also genuinely gracious to even enemies who are willing to help him. That sort of gray morality is really refreshing to see with a villain character, especially for a more minor villain in Fire Emblem.
Something else of note that’s minor but interesting is that canonically, he’s considered kind of ugly. Kotaro refers to him as “the deformed one” when they arrive and he ambushes.
Normally this isn’t that notable and honestly, Kotaro could just be an asshole - until you remember that Zola is a shapeshifter. If he so wanted to, he could change his form to hide his true self, appearing more handsome than he might be.
On top of that, he’s far from being well respected in Nohr despite his status. Gunter refers to him as an infamous mage and a cretin, and the Nohrian siblings don’t seem to tolerate him much either. It’s far from unwarranted though - mans is shady af.
But it makes me wonder more about his desire for glory. And his time as Izana in Izumo. Izana is sort of the opposite of Zola - he’s handsome and well loved, and he’s on neutral terms up until Zola’s involvement. Meanwhile Zola is rather shaggy and not that good looking in universe, and people look down on him for his cowardly, dishonorable ways. Not to mention his desire for glory within his kingdom and determination to end the war as swift as possible.
Which would hail him a hero, someone finally worthy of respect. He’s the guy who gets no respect from anyone, and while he has his position in the army, he’s nothing compared to Hans or Iago. To have that glory, getting the praise he so craves from those above him - that’s what drives his ambitions, which he will achieve by Any means necessary.
Which is kind of Why he’s not as well respected. He’s a coward, he’s a trickster, a charlatan and a bitch. He’s dishonest and dishonorable, and his ambitions are solely for his own glory rather then what might be “right”.
But he’s not a monster or irredeemable. Birthright shows that Zola is capable of showing genuine gratitude to those who were his enemies, for sparing his life. He was even willing to put himself in harm’s way for one of them. Which most likely was to illicit more trust from them, but he didn’t really Have to go to that extent. And by the end of it all, despite the inevitable betrayal, his last moments are him pleading to the king to spare Corrin’s life, and his last words are asking for their forgiveness for what he’s done.
Had he had survived, I could definitely see him having genuine character development. I don’t think he would change completely into a good guy, but he’d at least try to change his dishonest ways and be a better person. Trying to make up for his past actions. It would have been wonderful to see that kind of character growth out of a guy who, on all other routes, is just another bad guy to deal with.
I’m never gonna be over him dying in Birthright. We really could have had it all. I’m so upset.
Now onto the Misc. HCs, cuz I have a few for him.
He is an agent of chaos. An absolute mad lad. On top of being infamous for being a bastard, he’s infamous for his more playful trickery. And he’s gotten into hot water for it before, but it doesn’t stop him from using his magic to trick and swindle and fool others.
Definitely a pun lord. Makes awful puns solely to piss people off at times.
When he’s not being a lil shit though on and off the battlefield, he’s actually a rather nervous sort. I don’t know why, but he reads to me like a rather anxious person.
Getting deeper into it, along with his whole desire for glory and praise, I can’t help but think that he doesn’t have the best self esteem. He seems like a rather insecure sort, which is shown through how much he tries to prove himself and succeed to get the king’s praises.
Being considered ugly and “deformed” looking doesn’t help. I don’t think many people in universe would consider him very attractive or good looking, and it leads back to my initial thought about him shape shifting to hide his actual appearance to others.
He seems like the type who, underneath the trickery, needs praise and validation from others. He might be proud of his illusions and magic, but I don’t think he’s as proud of himself, and that’s why he’s so desperate to do whatever for that glory. To finally be on top, seen and regarded as a hero, someone worthy of respect.
I gave sexuality HCs to Hans and Iago, so I might as well for Zola: He’s probably Bi but gets no bitches.
I know if he were a playable character though, he’d be straight and a Corrinsexual. But I dunno, I could see him playing for both teams, IS are just cowards.
I also like to think, as a cute thought, that he probably babysat some of the Nohrian siblings before, like what Yukimura did for the Hoshidan siblings. Which is kind of how he knows Corrin, probably sent on duty to watch over them and Leo and Elise. Uses his magic to entertain them. Just a cute idea.
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