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Dökkálfheimr
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Dökkálfheimr is the realm of nightmares within the Realm of the Dreams in Fire Emblem Heroes Book IV, sharing the realm with its dream counterpart, Ljósálfheimr. The realm, like its counterpart, is made up from the nightmares of mortals,[1] its army included.[2] Its ruler, Lady Freyja, traps mortals within the realm, torturing them while they sleep. It is also home to the dökkálfar (singular: dökkálfr) or dark elves.
History
Dökkálfheimr and Ljósálfheimr used to be united within the Realm of Dream, being ruled by Lady Freyja and her brother, Dream-king Freyr, who left their home realm of Vanaheimr.[3] During their time ruling together, the Nothingness, Ginnungagap, began to destroy the dream realm itself while it was weakened by mortals, who had turned away from dream.[4] King Freyr and Lady Freyja needed people pure of heart to become their champions and fight the darkness, recruiting children who still dreamed for their pureness.[5] They fed them dream nectar, which turned them into álfr, but making them forget their pasts. Because of this price, they only recruited children from unloving homes,[6][7] Lady Freyja choosing a young Triandra and Plumeria. With their champions, the Nothingness was driven back.
It was after this battle that Freyja began to feud with Freyr. Freyja was in love with her brother,[8][9], and grew jealous of humanity when Freyr seemed to love mortals more than her.[10] She moved to the Nightmare realm Dökkálfheimr,[11] and began torturing mortals in their dreams.
Book IV
Lady Freyja enacts a plot to take over the dream realm in book IV. A sleeping sickness begins to afflict a village in Askr, trapping its citizens in eternal nightmares. When its Order of Heroes investigates and falls to the illness, they wake up in Ljósálfheimr, the realm of dreams, which has started to succumb to the nightmare's influence. Freyja sends her dökkálfar, Triandra and Plumeria to infiltrate the dream. The Order, guided by the ljósálfr Peony, meet the Dream-King Freyr, seeking a way out of their dream and answers to finding the lost Summoner. Freyr gives them the horn Gullinkambi, capable of waking them up from their dream and driving the nightmare out of the realm, and they leave the King to sound the horn at the Dream Gate. This was part of Freyja's plan however, who seizes the Dream-King, now defenseless without the waking horn to drive out her forces.[12]
When the Order awaken, they find themselves still within the nightmare, as the dream realm begins the others an event called the Waking Dream.[13] In Dökkálfheimr, Freyja gives Freyr the necklace Brísingamen, which grants her his power and thus, over the entire dream realm.[14] In an attempt to stop his mad sister, Freyr has the Order kill him, halfing Freyja's power and ending the dream realms's invasion of reality. Distraught by her brother's death, Frejya orders her dökkálfar to fight the Order to the death, chasing them herself when they fall. When the Order find the waking horn once more and escape the dream, Freyja realizes what she had done to her dökkálfar, her children. She decides to give them life once more, trading her own life for theirs. The book ends with Plumeria and Triandra setting off to find a way to revive the Nightmare Queen.
After book IV's ending, Lif and Thrasir approach the dökkálfar, telling them of a group of gods whom they are in service too, and that they may be able to revive Freyja.[15]
Nihility and Dream
The dökkálfar take up the offer presented by Lif, and when Plumeria and Peony find themselves within Lady Frejya's dream, they assume that Freyja as returned. However, Ginnungagap invades to ensure that Freyja does not return to her reign. She finds the dream queen within the realm, who has been reborn as a young version of herself named Eitr, with no memory of her identity. Ginnungagap sends her to slay the álfr duo, seeking their aid when defeated. They join with Triandra and Mirabilis, who are hurt from the Nothingness's force. Eitr unknowingly gives them power, and after Peony deduces that Freyja must be alive despite Ginnungagap claiming to have killed her, Eitr assumes her elderly form and dispels the Nothingness. She tells the dökkálfar that they are not to hold up their end of whatever bargain to higher powers, as she is their master.
Geography
Like the realm of dreams, the realm of nightmare is made up of the unpleasant dreams of mortals, and can vary depending on instance. However, Dökkálfheimr is typically depicted as a fantastical, spooky landscape.
Characters from Dökkálfheimr
| Character | Description | Appears in |
|---|---|---|
 Triandra |
Dökkálfr of Nightmare. Servant of Lady Freyja | Heroes |
 Plumeria |
Dökkálfr of lewd dreams. Servant of Lady Freyja | Heroes |
 Freyja |
Ruler of Dökkálfheimr. Known to mortals as the Goddess of Love. | Heroes |
 Eitr |
A reborn Freyja, assuming her appearance from her youth. | Heroes |
Resplendents
Etymology and other languages
| Names, etymology, and in other regions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Name | Definition, etymology, and notes |
| English |
Dökkálfheimr |
From old Norse, Dökkálfr meaning "dark elves" and Heimr meaning "Home" |
Gallery
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Background during combat in Dökkálfheimr -
Background during combat in Dökkálfheimr
