Catherine is a powerful figure in the story of Fire Emblem: Three Houses. No matter the path the player chooses Catherine will appear as a powerful warrior fighting alongside Rhea to defend the church and right perceived wrongs.

It’s impossible for the average player not to be aware of who this woman is and what she’s capable of, but there are some things that can pass by for those who aren’t paying attention. Here are some details about Catherine and her past that are only known to those who go looking for them.

10 Can Identify A Crest By Sight

Catherine has this special ability to identify a person’s Crest merely by looking at them. It’s unclear where this ability came from or how she developed it, but it’s proven useful for a number of reasons.

First and foremost it’s enabled her to identify the true identity of others, as was the case with Lysithea when she discovered they shared a Crest of Charon. It’s also useful in battle as Catherine can obtain a rough idea of what her opponent might be capable of based on the Crest they bear.

9 Was Once Cassandra

Catherine wasn’t always Catherine. She was once Cassandra, a member of the House Charon in the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. She was attending the Officers Academy and charged with killing monsters.

Catherine shed the Cassandra identity after she was branded an outlaw and forced to flea to the Garreg Mach Monastery. Indebted to Rhea for saving her life on multiple occasions and wanted in her homeland, Cassandra become Catherine and started a new life as a knight.

8 Falsely Branded As A Traitor

Catherine became an outlaw when she was falsely accused of participating in a plot to assassinate the king of Faerghus. This was part of the infamous Tragedy of Duscur when the Duscur people were believed to be behind the assassinations of various nobles and royals.

Catherine was able to escape the pogroms being carried out but was branded an assassin and traitor by the people. If it wasn’t for Rhea she likely would have been killed in the massacres or remained on the run for the rest of her life.

7 Saved Twice By Rhea

The main reason for Catherin’s extreme devotion to the church and Rhea is due to Rhea saving her life twice. The first time was while she was at the Officers Academy. Her class was sent to slaughter some monsters only to be ambushed and nearly killed before Rhea saved her.

The second time was when Rhea helped her escape the previously mentioned pogroms and find asylum at the church. This has resulted in one of the fiercest champions the church has ever known and Catherine becoming a powerful leader and warrior.

6 Cleared Her Name, At Great Cost

Catherine was great friends with another member of the Officers Academy, Christophe. The two shared a close bond and Catherine considered him to be a trusting and sincere individual. He too was accused of participating in the assassination attempt of the king.

Catherine captured Cristophe and presented him before the Knights of Seiros, the act led to his execution and the clearing of Catherine’s name. It was a moment that scared Catherine forever given their friendship and the event only became darker when it was revealed he was innocent of that crime, but was in fact participating in an attempt on Rhea’s life. This event would lead to his father, Lord Lonato’s rebellion against the church.

5 Isn’t Afraid To Fight Dirty

Despite being a pious and upstanding individual Catherine isn’t opposed to fighting dirty. When instructing Ingrid on how to become a better fighter she makes a point to mention that dirty tactics should be used as a last resort.

The reasoning being that war is ugly and fighting dirty is a reality when defending one’s life in combat. Perhaps the greatest example of this is when Catherine torches Fhirdiad under Rhea’s orders. Though reluctant to do so it does provide some assistance in the battle.

4 Wields Thunderbrand

Catherine is known to wield the powerful Thunderbrand. It’s a legendary sword that’s one of the Heroes’ Relics. It’s modeled after the real-life Seven-Branched Sword which is a standard sword with six branch-like protrusions on the side of the blade.

The Thunderbrand is unique in that it is never given to the player during any paths in the game. The only way to obtain it is off of Catherine’s corpse in Chapter 18 of the Crimson Flower storyline. It’s also the only Hero Relic that can be used 30 times rather than the standard 20.

3 Disappears After Crimson Flower

There are a number of endings possible for Catherine with her fate at the end of Crimson Flower being one of the more interesting. If the player manages to kill the Immaculate One without killing Catherine then she’ll be spared during the battle.

But then she vanishes. There’s no mention of what happened to her or where she went, she merely disappears. It’s possible that after Rhea’s death and the restructuring of the church she was left without purpose and either took her own life or entered into exile. A similarly dark theory suggests she was quietly executed to ensure that political and religious reforms could be carried out without opposition from her.

2 Can Become A Mercenary

Most of Catherine’s ending result in her devoting her time to the church and Rhea or fighting alongside a noble spouse. One interesting ending can occur if she hasn’t developed a relationship with anyone and Rhea dies during the Verdant Wind or Silver Snow paths.

Left without a purpose she takes Thunderbrand and begins wandering the realm. For the rest of her life she earned a living with the tip of her sword defending the innocent and punishing the wicked. For the rest of her life and sometime after she becomes a figure of folklore.

1 Can Live A Normal Life

The other interesting ending that can occur for Catherine is during the Azure Moon and Silver Snow questlines. Rhea must give up the mantle of archbishop and Catherine must have a relationship with Caspar.

What happens is that Catherine settles down with Caspar in the Red Canyon. For the rest of her life she puts down her sword and becomes a farmer and hunter. Even in this life of peace she still spends her free time sparring with Caspar, but it’s the only one where she lives a life of true peace and settles down.

NEXT: Fire Emblem Three Houses: 5 Reasons To Recruit Catherine (& 5 Reasons To Skip Her)