This page contains a list of information and tropes about the Servants of Fate/Prototype.
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Servants of Fate/Prototype
Saber
The Knight of Sky Silver
Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai
The Servant of Ayaka Sajyou. His true name is Arthur Pendragon, the legendary King of Knights who once ruled over the Kingdom of Camelot, but fell to betrayal thanks to the schemes of his half-sister Morgan and offspring Mordred. A heroic individual with a strong sense of justice, he has made it his personal mission to protect Ayaka during the events of the second Tokyo Holy Grail War.
He is also one of the two main characters of Fate/Prototype: Fragments of Sky Silver, where it details Saber's experiences in the first Tokyo Holy Grail War as the Servant of Ayaka's older sister, Manaka Sajyou.
- The Anti-Nihilist: Saber is overflowing with hope and determination, and is sworn to fight for protection of the world's future, making him a rather stark contrast than how F/SN-Saber was. He started out much more similar to her, however, before the young Ayaka made him understand that he didn't need to spend his days mourning his Britain and trying to undo the past.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: Manaka gave him an all-black suit and gloves when she summoned him in Fragments, which he rocks just as well if not far better than the casual clothes Ayaka had for him.
- Badass in Distress: At some point during Prototype, he's stolen away from Ayaka by Sancraid Phahn and turned into Saber Alter. She later manages to get him back with the help of Lancer.
- Blow You Away: Invisible Air has the ability to do this.
- Bodyguard Betrayal: After seeing firsthand Manaka's atrocities in the first Holy Grail War, Saber's response was to kill her immediately.
- Casting Gag: Shares the same voice actor as the Fate/Stay Night incarnation of Merlin. Humorously, Prototype Merlin also shares the same voice actor as his Altria, who is Arthur's Fate/Stay Night Gender Flip.
- Chick Magnet: He gains the affections of Brynhild, Manaka, and Ayaka.
- Comically Missing the Point: Part of what makes him a ditz. In the Hanafuda scenario for Team Prototype, the team eventually encounters Manaka as the final boss. When Manaka describes what she'll do with Saber via innuendo laced dialogue, Saber tells her that's he prepared for her revenge but then says that a girl her age shouldn't say such dirty words and that she should be more heroine like. Both Ayaka and Lancer snark at him for this.Ayaka: I’ve been thinking about it since back then, but could it be that you actually are a perfect match for Big Sister, Saber?Lancer: Well, they’re both airheads, after all. Maybe they could work out as lovebirds.
- Covert Pervert: For all the prince charming vibes Saber gives off, the Hanafuda scenario for Team Prototype in the 2012 re-release of Fate/stay night reveals that he's something of a pervert as he's rather enthusiastic about seeing Ayaka naked in the hot springs. When Ayaka uses her wish to create a wall that separates her from the guys, Saber is the first to actually suggest that he and Lancer blow it up with their Noble Phantasms. It actually takes Archer of all people to put a stop to both.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Downplayed. In side materials featuring the Prototype characters, Saber is shown to not be all too pleased whenever Lancer and Archer drop by to pay Ayaka a visit, though he does keep himself civil. In one bonus story, where Ayaka is de-aged back to an eight-year-old thanks to Archer's machinations, Saber can be seen getting visibly irritated when both Lancer and Archer start playing around with little Ayaka, murmuring to himself how unfair it is that they get to do so with her.
- Deadpan Snarker: Has his fair share of snark which is especially seen in the script for the OVA.
- After her accidental summoning of him, Ayaka repeatedly makes it clear that she has no interest in taking part in the grail war and admits that she doesn't care if innocent people are hurt in the crossfire. While he admits that he understands Ayaka's viewpoint, Saber asks if her life was simply made to make sensible decisions which promptly shuts her up.
- When rejecting Misaya's offer to become his new Master, Saber points out that despite proclaiming that the strongest Servant should go to the highest ranked Master, she herself is actually just the second ranked Master which renders her offer completely null in the first place. Misaya was not amused by this to say the least.
- Declaration of Protection: Not long after Ayaka summons him, he says he'll protect her. This is actually the second time he tells her this, however — and the first time he swore to protect her world on top of it.
- Decomposite Character: Being the original concept for Saber, his original Character Material Portrait shows him wearing plated armor, blue clothing and with a white kilt jutting below from it, suggesting where Artoria's look would evolve from, at the same time appearing as a Palette Swap of what Gilgamesh will eventually wear.
- The Ditz: Ayaka describes him as such in Team Prototype's Hanafuda scenario and the Drama CD.
- Friend to All Children:
- Described to be the type of hero that children dream of. During the prequel novel, it's shown that prior to their falling out, he was quite friendly with Manaka as her Servant. He even gave her a kiss on the forehead at one point much to her embarrassment.
- Arthur's wish for the grail was also motivated by a young boy passing away in his arms after failing to save him and his village. This resulted in Arthur wanting to create an eternal kingdom of peace so that no other innocents would be needlessly be sacrificed. When he finds out that Manaka was sacrificing children to the grail for the sake of his wish, his immediate response was to kill her on the spot.
- The Gadfly: Noted to like teasing Ayaka somewhat. He even steals Ayaka's glasses with a clear grin on his face just to mess with her despite her protests.
- Godzilla Threshold: Excalibur-Proto in general. The sword is bound by the "Restraints of the Round Table" that were placed on it by Arthur and the members of the Round Table in order to restrict its power. In order to use its full potential, Saber would need to unlock at least seven seals. So far, as noted in the OVA script, he has only managed to achieve it once during his battle against Archer in the city skylines of Tokyo in the second Holy Grail War.
- The Hero: Of Fragments of Sky Silver as one of its two main leads.
- Hidden Depths: You'd think that Arthur would be the quintessential example of a Nice Guy and a Knight in Shining Armor, and while he does pull off those two tropes well enough, he has shown of moments of being snarky and nihilistic, akin to a certain well-meaning, but sarcastic and cynical Archer clad in red.
- I Am Not Left-Handed: Pulls this off twice, both times in a clash of Noble Phantasms with his opponent.
- The first time it chronologically happens is in Fragments of Sky Silver during Saber's final battle against Paracelsus. After they both unleash their Noble Phantasms, Saber proceeds to unlock an additional seal on Excalibur which completely overpowers the Sword of Paracelsus and allows him to claim victory.
- The second time it happens was against Archer in the second Holy Grail War. After having unleashed his Noble Phantasm and flooded the city with Saber in it, Archer believes victory was already his. However, Saber is quick to turn the tables as he reveals himself to have survived the flood by evaporating the water with Excalibur and unleashes its full power against Archer, seizing victory by destroying Enki's Star of Destruction and cleaving Archer in half.
- The Idealist: His wish for the Holy Grail is or rather, was to create a kingdom of everlasting peace, where people no longer need to suffer. Even when that wish is broken and he must accept he can never make it come true, he still believes in his dream, putting his faith in the future instead of the past. Sound familiar?note
- Idiot Hair: Not immediately noticeable compared to Artoria's, but it's there.
- In the Hood: His Servant attire features one. Most notably he puts it on when he killed Manaka and unleashes Excalibur-Proto on the partially awakened Beast of Revelation at the end of Fragments.
- Knight in Shining Armor: Particularly for Ayaka who considers him her personal prince who always protects her.
- Leitmotif: Knight of Sky Silver, along with its variations, serves as this for Arthur in the Drama CD releases of the prequel novels.
- Meaningful Echo: When first summoned, his first words to Ayaka is to declare his intention to protect her as her Servant. This takes on a whole new meaning when Fragments of Sky Silver reveals that Saber once made that same declaration to a young Ayaka after she unknowingly helped him come to terms with his past.
- My Greatest Failure: Like Altria, Camelot's fall is this to Arthur. His inability to keep it going along with the numerous innocents he couldn't save during his rule weigh heavily on his mind. Like her, most of his character development involves coming to terms with his past and moving on from it.
- Power Limiter: Excalibur-Proto's power is sealed away by the "Restraints of the Round Table", thirteen seals placed upon it by Arthur and his knights to prevent potential misuse. Though not all seals need to be released in order to use it, over seven seals need to be lifted in order to unleash Excalibur's full potential. Some of the seals are as follows:"Thou must be fighting someone stronger than yourself." - Bedivere
—>"Thou must not fight an inhumane battle." - Gareth
—>"Thou must be fighting one on one." - Palamedes.
—>"Thou must not be fighting against an Elemental." - Lancelot.
—>"Thou must be fighting against evil." - Mordred.
—>"Thou must be fighting without self-interest." - Galahad.
—>"Thou must be fighting to save the world." - Arthur. - Razor Wind: Invisible Air, the very same one that Artoria would use herself.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Much like Artoria, Saber desires to save Britain. But as revealed in the prequel novels, the way he goes about it actually helps differentiate the two. Whereas Artoria initially wishes to redo her rule and later changes it to wishing someone else had become King, Arthur desires to create "an eternal kingdom of peace where the people no longer have to suffer". After meeting the young Ayaka in Fragments, however, Arthur decides to abandon the idea of changing the past, and work to protect the world in the here and now, that it may one day become the kind of world he dreamed of.
- Superpowered Evil Side: As some point he would be corrupted by Sancraid Phahn when he steals Ayaka's Command Seal, becoming the prototype to Saber Alter and serving as the base for FSN-Gilgamesh's personality.
- Took a Level in Cheerfulness: Compared to his behavior as Manaka's Servant in Fragments of Sky Silver, Arthur is shown to act in a much more friendly and cheerful manner as Ayaka's Servant by the time of Fate/Prototype.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Despite his taking a level in cheerfulness, Arthur's also noted to be somewhat more cynical in Fate/Prototype than he was in Fragments of Sky Silver. He's even shown to be much more blunt and sarcastic, even snarking at both Ayaka and Misaya during some of his interactions with them in ways not unlike EMIYA would.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Though it's not really his fault, Manaka falling in love with him is what sets off her Start of Darkness which in turn drives the overall main plot of both Fate/Prototype and its prequel Fragments of Sky Silver.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Archer and Lancer in extra materials. Ayaka notes that despite the way they act, the trio are able to get along surprisingly well.
- Waistcoat of Style: As Manaka's Servant, he wore a black vest with his dark suit in the Spin-off Novel—something Saber herself would similarly do in the Fourth Holy Grail War. This contrasts with him wearing rather informal civilian clothing as Ayaka's Servant.
- Wave Motion Sword: It wouldn't be King Arthur without EX... CALIBUUUURRRRR!!! Based on the OVA, this Saber's Excalibur is way more powerful than what we eventually get, considering it seemingly levels an entire city block in its wake, which is stated to have been at half power. His is also EX ranked compared to Artoria's A++ rank.
- Worf Had the Flu:
- Happens during his battle against Ozymandias in Fragments of Sky Silver. Saber had the potential to defeat Rider by himself had he been able to unlock at least 7 of Excalibur's seals. However, he was only able to unlock 6 seals, thereby necessitating the aide of Arash as they both use their Noble Phantasms to defeat Ozymandias's Dendara Lightbulb.
- This would happen again during his time as Ayaka's Servant. Due to being an average mage who was in no way prepared to take part in the Holy Grail War, Saber's abilities are weaker than they were when he was Manaka's Servant which causes his performance to take a dive.
- Would Hit a Girl: Though Arthur mentions that a knight should never raise their blade against a lady, he has no qualms about hitting the opposite sex when it comes down to it. In the prequels, he's responsible for taking out both Lancer and Assassin, the only two female Servants in the last Holy Grail War he participated in, as well as having no problems stabbing Manaka from behind after discovering the true nature of the Holy Grail and what she plans on doing with it.
Archer
Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura
The Servant of the Fifth-Ranked Master. His true name is Gilgamesh, the titular main character of the The Epic of Gilgamesh. A Servant who's become accustomed to the modern world thanks to his Master, he's interested in proving himself the strongest among the seven Servants and acts as a rival to Saber during the second Tokyo Holy Grail War. During the story, he also meets and becomes smitten with Saber's Master, Ayaka Sajyou, and seeks to win her over.
- Adaptational Badass: Zig-Zagged Trope. His general Servant stats are shown to be actually lower than that of regular Gilgamesh, but at the same time it's shown he averts that glaring weakness of his main counterpart by being far more adept at close combat as seen during his battle with Saber in the OVA. He also doesn't rely on his version of the Gate of Babylon as much, preferring to use it as a sidearm that he uses when fighting at a distance.
- Badass Boast: Declares himself the most powerful hero in existence during the OVA.
- Bling of War: While exposing his top, Proto-Gilgamesh's Servant attire actually comes off as just as fancy, if not even more so, than F/SN-Gilgamesh by being more intricately designed in comparison.
- Blood Knight: In comparison to his F/SN-Gilgamesh, he's thrilled at the idea of the Holy Grail War, where various heroes of legend get to do battle against each other for the sake of the ultimate prize.
- Friendly Enemy: With Saber. If the OVA is any indication, he does seem to conduct himself on equal footing with Saber/King Arthur, in contrast to his colossal haughtiness against almost everyone in F/SN. Gag scenarios like the Hanafuda story even show the two, along with Lancer, getting along albeit with some snark, which is a far cry from the relationship their counterparts in Fate/stay night have with one another.
- The Great Flood: As opposed to the Gilgamesh we got who's Signature Move is blasting his opponent to smithereens with the rock-drill the freshwater and earth deity Enki used to carve out the world with, this one weaponizes the The Surge of Utnapishtim, the great deluge that carried over into mythologies across the world (Noah's flood, the flooding of the world in Hinduism and Greek Myth that King Manu and Deucalion respectively lived through) by shooting an arrow that marks exactly where the gods should re-submerge the earth from a portal in the sky opening up over wherever Gilgamesh decides.
- Hidden Depths: The Hanafuda story reveals that Archer is quite respectful to a woman's privacy. When Saber and Lancer tried to bathe with Ayaka in the hot spring despite her protests, Archer is quick to defend her honor and lambasts the former two for their inappropriate behavior and lectures them over hot spring etiquette.
- Hyperspace Arsenal: Bab-ilu: Key of the King's Law allows him to access his endless treasury, which is carried to his F/SN incarnation.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: He's an Archer who's an actual archer, this go around. His aim's good enough that he can miss the earth-planted Saber's head by mere inches from the top of a skyscraper — because he deliberately intended to miss by that much.
- It's All About Me: Outside of his later infatuation with Ayaka, his entire rivalry with Saber stems from annoyance at being considered the third strongest Servant class wise after Saber and Berserker respectively. In response, Archer decides to take part in the Holy Grail War solely to prove his status as the strongest hero in existence.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While he's still arrogant and possessive of Ayaka, he gives Saber an elixir that can cure any poison or disease so he can cure Ayaka (not without a fight, because hey, it is the Holy Grail War and Gil loves fighting Saber, but he's still perfectly willing to part with it and even if Saber had lost, it's all but certain Archer would've gone and tended to Ayaka anyway) and just, in general, he seems a lot more sensible than his Fate/stay night counterpart.
- Large Ham: It wouldn't be Gilgamesh if he wasn't one.
- Love at First Sight: With Ayaka, he claims she's more beautiful than the women of his own kingdom. Unlike his Fate/stay night counterpart, he doesn't act like Ayaka is a possession, and in fact, tries to court her. This is probably why F/SN Gil is often mentioned as having surprisingly high compatibility with Rin in supplementary materials, and relatedly why Ishtar appears looking like Rin in Grand Order - it's all echoes of Gil's attraction to Ayaka.
- Made of Iron: One of his original Noble Phantasms mentioned in the side material is the ability to "Absolutely Survive". It's currently unknown whether or not he still has this ability in the final product, but it's worth noting that he survives getting cleaved in half by Saber's Excalibur during their climactic battle against each other. That alone should say something about his durability.
- The Nicknamer: Calls Saber "Holy Sword Wielder".
- No One Could Survive That!: In the climax of his battle with Saber, the partially-unsealed Excalibur tears through his Enki and carves Gilgamesh himself right down the middle. Not only does Gilgamesh manage to survive this, but he also takes Heracles head-on despite his condition, in what would later become EMIYA's battle against the Berserker in Fate/stay night, killing the "Strongest Hero" and ridding Ayaka and Lancer of their greatest obstacle in saving Arthur from Sancraid Phahn.
- Oh, Crap!: His reaction in a nutshell when he realizes that Saber survived his Noble Phantasm being unleashed in the OVA.
- The Rival: Rather than invoked by romantic interest —at least, not but for some small part— Gilgamesh takes exception to Saber ranking as the greatest player in the Grail War, and seeks to defeat him to prove his superiority.
- Storm of Blades: As to be expected. That said, Gil here doesn't use his Hyperspace Arsenal as a crutch in the same way as FSN-Gil, instead preferring to take opponents head-on and using his Bab-ilu as a sidearm rather than a primary means of offense.
- Swiss-Army Weapon: Enki, which normally functions as a pair of dual swords and acts as a bow when both swords are joined together at the pommel. It can also turn into a pair of Tonfa-Style weapons as revealed in material.
- Readings Are Off the Scale: His Noble Phantasm, ''Enki: Sword of the End'' is an EX ranked Noble Phantasm capable of flooding the entire world.note
- World's Strongest Man: As with his counterpart in Fate/stay night, Archer is an incredibly powerful Heroic Spirit and Servant. His main objective in the Holy Grail War is to prove this fact, and indeed, he's strong enough that he's able to put Saber under heel during the battle against each other in Tokyo. In fact, Archer's so powerful that he's so far noted to be the only individual in both Fate/Prototype and Fragments of Sky Silver that was able to force Saber to unleash Excalibur's full power.
Lancer
Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai
The Servant of Misaya Reiroukan. His true name is Cu Chulainn, one of the most renowned heroes of Celtic mythology. A Servant with a strong sense of loyalty to his Master, he's ordered by Misaya to assassinate Ayaka before she could potentially summon a Servant at the beginning of the story. Though he nearly succeeds, he fails once Ayaka summons Saber and Lancer's forced to retreat.
- Adaptational Badass: If his stats are anything to go by, Proto-Cu is actually stronger than his counterpart was in FSN. Having higher overall strength (A to FSN-Cu's B), agility (A+ to FSN-Cu's A), mana (B to FSN-Cu's C), and finally, of all things, higher luck as well (D to FSN-Cu's E).
- Animal Motif: Of a Hunting Dog much like his counterpart, but he's a bit closer to a wolf (even wears a protective amulet in the shape of a wolf's head with a crescent moon in its mouth).
- The Beastmaster: He has excellent compatibility with the canine familiars that Misaya creates.
- Butt-Monkey: Much like FSN-Cu, he's treated as such in certain gag scenarios.
- Heel–Face Turn: Eventually contracts with Ayaka when his Master dies, not unlike how Cu Chulainn eventually chooses to ally with Shirou and Rin after Saber was stolen by Caster in the Unlimited Blade Works route of Fate/stay night.
- Nice Guy: Despite his attempted assassination of Ayaka and loyalty to the morally ambiguous Misaya, Lancer himself is quite friendly and affable person.
- Odd Friendship: With Misaya. She considers him her dog and purposely weakens him by sealing away Gae Bolg, but despite this, Lancer actually likes her and decides to serve her faithfully in order to help Misaya be cured of her curse.
- One-Hit Kill: Much like with his Fate/stay night counterpart, Gae Bolg is still this.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Despite being sent to assassinate Ayaka, he shows enough respect for her efforts to ward him off with her magic, even commending how old and sophisticated hers is.
- Wrecked Weapon: As seen in the OVA, his spear was cut in half by Saber after his summoning quite immediately. The impact is lessened by him later saying it was a hastily-made weapon, since his actual spear, the iconic Gae Bolg, was sealed away by Misaya.
- Younger and Hipper: In a sense. When compared to FSN-Lancer, this version is stated to be somewhat younger in both mind and body.
Rider
Perseus as he appears in Fragments of Sky Silver
Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano
The Servant of Aro Isemi. A mysterious Servant who wears a mask in battle, his true name is Perseus, a hero from Ancient Greece who once slew the creature known as the Gorgon. He disguises himself as a student at Ayaka's school for reasons unknown. He seeks the grail to revive his fallen Master and is willing to do whatever it takes.
- Adaptational Villainy: Perseus is one of the few more or less straight-up heroes in Greek myth, with the worst thing you can really say about him is that he killed his grandfather, the king, after his whole adventure was over during a discus throwing event where he accidentally domed his poor old man. With Medusa being a decidedly Tragic Monster in the rest of Fate, Perseus was cast as a decidedly noble but simultaneously ruthess and selfish Byronic Villain.
- Anti-Villain: Rider took a while to warm up to his kind and apparently unassuming Master Isemi, but ultimately came to care for him. Since Isemi turned out to be Too Good for This Sinful Earth, now he will do anything to bring him Back from the Dead.
- Ascended Extra: Medusa mentions him in Fate/hollow ataraxia. He finally gets a proper appearance in this series.
- Born Lucky: His Luck is Rank A+. Makes sense since in life, the gods favored him and provided five Noble Phantasms so he could defeat the Gorgon.
- Classical Anti-Hero: While he is a hero of Greek Legend, Perseus in life was filled with self-doubt and lacked a real knack for fighting, even when in the possession of five Noble Phantasms. He even calls himself a coward and acknowledges that had Gorgon not tried to use Breaker Gorgon and got it reflected back at her, she'd have killed him easily.
- Cool Mask: Uses one to conceal his identity. It also acts a pseudo-Master for him after Isemi's death according to material, which is apparently what allows him to participate in the Holy Grail War.
- David vs. Goliath: Gorgon was something of an Eldritch Abomination Kaiju while Perseus had only five Noble Phantasms to his name (a pair of boots that afforded him speed and flight, a shield that could negate her petrifying gaze and act as a Magic Compass, a mantle that made him temporarily invisible, a sword that would wound her in a way that would negate her ability to heal, and a Bag of Holding that could also create an inverse Bounded Field). Suffice to say, his gifts were of dubious utility against such a behemoth of a foe and he only managed to triumph because he frustrated the beast enough that it was tricked into using Breaker Gorgon, allowing him to use Kibisis to bounce the attack back at her. If the fight had gone any longer, it's likely she would have killed him through sheer attrition and his own dwindling confidence.
- Early-Bird Cameo: As with the rest of the Fate/Prototype cast, Perseus appears in Fragments of Sky Silver via Flash Forward moments throughout the story.
- Fake Ultimate Hero: Downplayed. He was completely terrified during his battle with Gorgon and only managed to win by turning her own powers against her in a last-minute gamble. He's similarly aware that his heinous acts are unbecoming of the hero everyone believes him to be and that his Master wouldn't want him killing for the sake of his resurrection. At the same time, he did ultimately do all of the things he’s famous for doing, it was just harder for and on him than his inflated reputation implies.
- Irony: In life, Perseus was the one to put down Medusa after the latter had become a monster and began killing everyone around her all for the sake of protecting her sisters. As a Servant, he ends up doing the exact same thing as Medusa did and becomes a monster himself thanks to his desire to resurrect his fallen Master even at the cost of innocent lives.
- Living with the Villain: He disguises himself as one of Ayaka's classmates and friends.
- Mythology Gag: Back in Nasu's original script for Old Fate, Rider was originally suppose to be Theseus. Following the reimagining into Fate/Prototype, Rider's identity has since been changed to Perseus instead. This is reference to the fact that the Rider in Fate/Stay Night was actually Medusa.
- Nice Guy: Perseus is a rather kind fellow, coming to greatly care for his master Isemi in the week they knew each other before his passing, and his wish is simply to revive him from an unjust fate. He takes no pleasure in fighting his classmate and friend Ayaka, nor does he find happiness in having to do more heinous actions for the sake of reviving Isemi.
- Off with His Head!: After he defeated Gorgon, she was reduced to her much more human and vulnerable form of Medusa who was helpless before him. He decapitated her without hesitation.
- One Hero, Hold the Weaksauce: His mask allows him to exist without a Master, but he still needs to regularly consume souls to replenish his Mana.
- Summon Magic: Much like FSN-Rider, one of his Noble Phantasms is summoning a Pegasus.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He is fundamentally a good person, and he takes no pleasure in killing, but he will do ANYTHING to bring his master back.
Berserker
The Servant of Sancraid Phahn. His true name is Heracles, a great hero turned into a maddened killing machine by his class, and attached to a Master all too eager to make use of his killing potential.
- Expy: Pretty much the Berserker we all came to know from F/SN, with surprisingly little changed about the man himself (even his visual design was pretty much locked down this early on). The main difference lies in his relationship with his Master; Sancraid was going to mostly use him as a fire-and-forget missile (i.e. the same eventual relationship between Kirei and Lancer—particularly in Heaven's Feel), basically, to cause maximum destruction, while Ilya ends up having a much deeper relationship with Berserker.
The Beast
The second Servant of Manaka Sajyou. As the name implies, it's true identity is that of the Beast of Revelation spoken in the Bible. The embodiment of the sins and desires of humanity, its materialization is apparently the true purpose of the Holy Grail War.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: As a non-human being that exists to devour others, it has no real concept of good or evil. To it, all the sacrifices are simply tasty and delicious food.
- The Dragon: It will serve as this to Manaka once it is summoned.
- Eldritch Abomination: Its true form is the red seven-headed, ten-horned Beast ridden by the golden Whore of Babylon. Its initial form is a sea of black mud that is desperately attempting to give shape to its body, starting with its seven brains and jaws.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Sees Manaka as its mother, and flips out when Arthur kills her.
- Enfante Terrible: Has a mentality comparable to that of a young child, albeit one that wants to devour humans and spread death.
- Human Sacrifice: In order for it to fully manifest, seven Heroic Spirits are needed to serve as sacrifices. However, to prevent Arthur from serving as one himself, Manaka opts to use over six hundred people instead as a substitute.
- Made of Evil: From the few descriptions we have, it shares this trait with Angra Mainyu of the published F/SN.
- Number of the Beast: This was going to be a factor in some fashion, but it's not totally clear how it would've worked in Proto proper; in Fragments, between six Servants and six hundred humans being sacrificed to try bringing it into being, the number comes close to appearing but doesn't quite make it.
- Seven Deadly Sins: Unlike the normal Evils of Humanity it represents an actual human sin, in this case, Greed.
- The Unseen: No proper design for it has ever been revealed; it's been vaguely described but never depicted on-camera in any work to date.
Servants of Fragments of Sky Silver
In General
- Back from the Dead: A natural occurrence in a Holy Grail War setup. However, later on by the time of the second Holy Grail War, Manaka brings them all back as part of her personal force.
- The Beautiful Elite: It's rather notable that when compared to other Grail War settings in the franchise which has at least one unattractive or older looking Servant, every single one of the Fragments Servants, Arthur included, is quite the looker.
- The Corruption: As seen in the final illustration
◊ of the last volume of Fragments, all six of them have been corrupted into Alters by Manaka. Especially notable with Ramesses, as he managed to resist being taken over by a Demon God during the Sixth Singularity of Fate/Grand Order. As with all Alters, they've also become more aggressive in nature which is most notable in Arash.
Archer
Arash as he appears in Fragments of Sky Silver
Voiced by: Satoshi Tsuruoka
The Servant of Elza Saijo. His true name is Arash, a famed bowman sung in Persian myths who accomplished the great feat of saving thousands of people with a single arrow at the cost of his life.
- Bash Brothers: With Arthur, particularly when they unite to bring down Ozymandias together.
- Boring, but Practical: Besides his infamously powerful Noble Phantasm, Arash lacks any of the "gimmicks" other Archers have in the franchise whether it be a case of ability such as the ability to summon weapons out of thin air and whatnot to use as projectiles. He is instead simply an incredibly tough, brave, and capable bowman and that's all he really needs to keep up with the likes of King Arthur and Ozymandias.
- Fish out of Temporal Water: He is shown confused by modern food and a train, calling the train a tamed steel dragon that harmlessly carries people in its mouth.
- Friendly Sniper: A friendly individual at heart who attacks at range with his bow.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He uses Stella: The Lone Meteor to help Saber defeat Rider at the cost of his own life.
- Ideal Hero: Archer believes in and follows the path of the ideal hero. He will do whatever he can to protect the people when they are in need even at the cost of his life.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Noted by Arthur who compares Archer's bow skills with that of Tristan. As seen in Fate/Grand Order, Tristan's bow Failnaught is a magic bow that is essentially near impossible to avoid. To put it simply, Archer is so skilled with a bow that it's equal to that of a person who basically has a weapon that gives him a 99% hit rate.
- Made of Iron: He has A ranked Endurance and the EX ranked Robust Health skill. This is due to being born in the Age of Gods.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Another illustration shows them
happily drinking beer◊ with his Master, Elza. It includes a bit of Fridge Brilliance: Arash is a hero of Iranian oral tradition and folklore, and beer was already being produced in the lands now occupied by modern Iran around 3,500 BC. - Too Awesome to Use: His Noble Phantasm, Stella, the usage of which costs him his life.
Lancer
Brynhild as she appears in Fragments of Sky Silver
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto
The Servant of Nigel Saward. Her true name is Brynhild, a Valkyrie and daughter of Odin who became mortal after she defied him. She fell in love with the hero Sigurd, but eventually killed him after she fell to madness due to a plan set up by the amnesiac Sigurd and his brother-in-law Gunnar.
- Action Girl: Lancer's one of the three strongest Servants in the 1st Tokyo Holy Grail War together with Saber and Rider, and she gets even stronger the more she loves her opponent.
- Born Unlucky: Much like other Lancers in the franchise Brynhild's luck rank is very low. In fact, it tops out at E. Considering what happens to her by the end of Fragments and afterward, it could even be said that she has the worst luck among them all.
- BFS: Not only is her spear large, but it also grows larger and heavier the more she loves her opponent.
- Geometric Magic: She has a powerful Origin Rune upon her chest given by her father Odin. It has enough power to destroy Tokyo.
- I Cannot Self-Terminate: After being hijacked by the world or her father Odin to stop Manaka, she asks Saber to end her life before she kills the people of Tokyo.
- Lightning Bruiser: Going from her stats alone she's this and it shows.
- No-Sell: Hassan's poison has no effect on her due to her flames being hot enough to burn away the poison.
- The Power of Love: Her Noble Phantasm, Brynhild Romantia, is powered by love. If she loves something the more powerful it is and the more damage it does to the target. She loves almost everything in the world on some level except for Manaka and can't harm the evil dragon she sees before her.
- Sanity Slippage: Being subjected to Nigel's love potion and her father Odin forcing her to take action against Manaka does a number on her psyche which resulted in her going on a rampage. Luckily, she's able to snap out of it long enough to let Saber kill her.
- Second Love: While Lancer gets heated over anybody who reminds her of Sigurd, she genuinely falls for Arthur at some point after he cut her down to save Tokyo in the interim while her soul remained with the others in the Greater Grail. Which becomes very unfortunate when she's revived through the black mud of it.
- Semi-Divine: Being a former goddess, she counts. Though her divinity is ranked at E due to her falling out with her father Odin.
- Man on Fire: She's able to wrap her body in fire.
- World's Most Beautiful Woman: Described as being such in the prequel novels.
- Yandere:
- One of the first and most famous examples, but also weaponized. Her spear becomes heavier and more powerful the more she loves her target. She loves nature, the world, and all people to a certain extent, but against heroes, who can swiftly evoke powerful feelings in her especially when they remind her of Sigurd, it becomes extremely powerful. Lancer's essentially a born Hero Killer.
- Arthur, in particular, evokes it the strongest among the Servants. Come the epilogue set during the final act of Prototype's story, wherein she and the other first-war participants are revived as Alters, and this trope is in full effect, with Brynhild being wholly in love with Arthur rather than just projecting Sigurd onto him, and wanting to kill him no less.
Rider
Ozymandias as he appears in Fragments of Sky Silver
Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu
The Servant of Shizuri Isemi. His true name is Ozymandias, also known as Ramesses II, and he is the Egyptian Pharaoh commonly associated with Moses.
- Alternate History: Moses was his best friend. While the events of the Book of Exodus would still play out (Moses becomes God's prophet and the Ten Plagues are unleashed on Egypt when Ramesses refuses to free the Israelites), the parting of the Red Sea ultimately convinces Ramesses to not pursue Moses and the Israelites. The original story had the Pharaoh and his army chase the Israelites down the open path only to be swallowed by the Red Sea when it closes up.
- The Beast Master: He has a palace-like Reality Marble filled with Phantasmal Beasts of all kinds.
- Berserk Button: He flips his shit upon being summoned due to his catalyst being his wife Nefertari's necklace, which could have only been obtained by raiding her tomb.
- BFG: His Ramesseum Tentyris has the ability to utilize the Dendera Light as a massive beam cannon capable of flattening cities.
- Blood Knight: His narration points out that he actively forgave and praised warriors with the courage to challenge him during his life, even forgiving them for their rebellion against him if they provided him a good match.
- Breath Weapon: His Sphinx has this in the form of a fire tornado.
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: To even make it possible for Saber to defeat Rider, Manaka has his Master's entire clan murdered with the help of Assassin's poison. Rider is still so invincible that Saber had the full assistance of Lancer, Archer, and Caster, and even then only Arash's suicidal Noble Phantasm could even the odds enough for Excalibur to match Ramesses' Dendera Light.
- Expy: Of Gilgamesh, as he is a Heroic Spirit from a distant time period, having been a ruler in his life, an arrogance that belies his Hidden Depths, as well as being incredibly powerful.
- Invincible Villain: Or Invincible Hero rather, given that Manaka is a Villain Protagonist. Manaka holds Rider in such high regard that she believes not even the Three Knight Classes united could bring him down, but has faith that Saber will pull through regardless.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He talks a big game and possesses a very high opinion of himself, but he forgives his Master for desecrating his wife's tomb, offers the Isemi child a Mercy Kill if he should desire so and genuinely wishes to rule the modern world as to bring it into a new golden era. Not for nothing is the line "The Pharaoh's heart is as noble as the sun" used in his first POV sequence.
- Large Ham: He likes talking, that's for sure.Rider: “Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Rejoice in it! Observe it! I will seek it! I have surely remembered your tenacity; there is nothing else in the world which hadn’t change since the world where I also ruled here! I want it! Because, I am the person that is destined to govern this world!”
Rider: “Anut and Set, it is good that you dwell in both of my arms! Astarte, wish me well so that the earth will be soaked in the blood of my battles after my glorious victory! I who am Horus and Ra will give happiness to the world when I get another life, from here on! O’ my beloved Nefertari, you will bless the call of Ozymandias as Hathor!” - Magic Knight: He possesses an abnormal talent in the ways of Magecraft, being able to knock Misaya unconscious by just looking at her Familiar, and uses a crystal orb to view the battle between Saber and his Sphinx from afar. Additionally, he possesses a Reality Marble-like ability.
- Mental World: Possibly with Ramesseum Tentyris, which summons a massive amount of great Egyptian temples in a complex spanning miles from end to end. It is noted that many of the temples in it were not build in his lifetime, but as he is the King of Kings, the greatest king of Egypt, he naturally rules over the domain of lesser kings, including their temples.
- Mythology Gag:
- Nasu mentioned that in his original vision of Fate/Zero, Iskandar would have had an arrogant and narcissistic streak not unlike the future Red Saber - however, Gen Urobuchi wrote a far more charismatic version that Nasu liked so much that he shelved his Iskandar in favor of Urobuchi's. Given his own temperament as well as the niche of being a powerful Rider-class king, it's easy to say that Ozymandias is this original vision of Iskandar that Nasu had in mind, albeit applied to a different historical figure.
- From his own backstory, his actions of not following Moses into the parted sea call in mind how the scene was handled in The Ten Commandments.
- The Power of the Sun: As "Ra's Mighty Truth", he possesses Ra's almighty solar barge as a Noble Phantasm. It can supposedly reduce all of Tokyo to dust in the span of a couple of hours.
- Odd Friendship: Seems to have sort-of struck one with a boy who is strongly implied to be the Isemi who would become the next Holy War's Master of Rider. At very least the little boy managed to calm Rider down from his anger upon being summoned through Nefertari's necklace, and then he properly joined the Grail War.
- Readings Are Off the Scale: He possesses an EX-rank in the Noble Phantasm parameter.
- Red Baron: "King of Kings", a title historically attributed to Ozymandias/Ramesses II.
- Story-Breaker Power: To say Ozymandias is the Gilgamesh of the First Grail War would be criminally understating just how powerful he is. Even on top of Saber-grade Magical Resistance, even on top of B-Rank Divinity, even on top of his Imperial Privilege, even on top of his A+ Protection of the Sun God, he has three Noble Phantasms and the most powerful of them all is an EX-Rank Reality Marble. That it took Excalibur Proto and Stella to defeat him after Manaka had his mana supply cut off just further proves how unbelievably strong he is.
- Super Power Lottery: In addition to his skill Imperial Privilege that lets him obtain any other skill that he should desire, he possesses three Noble Phantasms, the weakest of which is compared to 3 Servants in strength.
- Two Guys and a Girl: Him, Moses, and Nefertari◊ were this in the past.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Rider's standard getup as a Servant has him bear his torso out in the open. It's also present when he wears civilian clothes.
Caster
Paracelsus as he appears in Fragments of Sky Silver
Voiced by: Shin-ichiro Miki
The Servant of Master Reiroukan. His true name is Paracelsus von Hohenheim, an alchemist from the Renaissance period and the one responsible both for creating the Alchemic system that is used by most alchemists of the modern era, as well as creating the Azoth sword.
- Alchemy Is Magic: Considered to be the father of modern alchemy. He, in turn, considers all alchemists to be his children.
- Elemental Powers: Like Tohsaka Rin, he is an Average One possessing an elemental affinity for five different elements.
- Energy Absorption: His Noble Phantasm can perform this, being able to power itself up by absorbing prana emitted from the user's opponents.
- Manipulative Bastard: He attempts to manipulate Hassan of Serenity and Arthur to make them leave Manaka's side.
- Mook Maker: He can create artificial Phantasmal Beasts from the remnants of Elementals.
- My God, What Have I Done?: He regrets betraying Misaya and her father after he does it.
- Pretty Boy: Just look at him.
- Start of Darkness: Learning Manaka was connected to the Root caused him to place his nature as a Magus over his own morals, eventually helping her to release the Beast upon humanity.
- The Stoic: Though smiling and seemingly kind, he never exudes any particularly strong emotions.
- Tears of Blood: He starts crying these during his final confrontation with Saber.
- Wave Motion Sword: His Noble Phantasm, the Sword of Paracelsus, functions like this. Unfortunately for him, it's not enough to take down Saber when he unleashes Excalibur.
Assassin
Serenity as she appears in Fragments of Sky Silver
Voiced by: Sayaka Senbongi
The Servant of Seiji Jinga who goes rogue after killing her Master right after she was summoned. Her true identity is the Hassan of Serenity, one of the nineteen individuals to have taken up the identity of Hassan-I-Sabbah.
- Action Girl: The only other female Servant in the story aside from Lancer. And while Assassin doesn't directly win any fights, she still does plenty in the story to warrant her title as an Assassin.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Her wish for the grail is to have someone she can touch without killing with her poison. She gets her wish in the form of Manaka, who proceeds to use Serenity's infatuation with her for her own ends. Paracelsus also later gives her another person in the form of Tatsumi Kitano's zombified corpse.
- Cool Mask: She wears the typical Hassan bone mask. Though unlike the others a face is beneath it.
- Friend to All Children: She loves kids and made sure in life to avoid killing them every time they appear and could complicate her job.
- Gotta Kill 'Em All: Under Manaka's orders, Assassin proceeds to kill off the Master of Rider and all of his clansmen in order to cut off Rider's supply of mana so that he might be beaten during the Battle of Tokyo Bay.
- Kiss of Death: Her preferred method of using her poison is to kiss the target while draining mana from them. The kiss melts the target's brain while filling them with so much bliss they are unable to feel the pain.
- Mercy Kill: Kills the living corpse Tatsumi after realizing he had been worried about her.
- Off with His Head!: Her backstory. She had revealed her identity to the general she had as both a target and her current lover in the hopes he would kill her, causing her ally to appear and behead her in a split second. Said person is strongly implied to be the First Hassan, who kills all Hassans who stray from the path of Hassan.
- Poisonous Person: Her Noble Phantasm is Zabaniya: Delusional Poison Body. As the name implies, her entire body is basically poison incarnate. Anyone who touches her, let alone comes near her, will be exposed to the poison and die immediately without proper protection.
- Shapeshifting: One of her abilities, which allows her to masquerade as either a cute white-clad woman or as Ayaka's black kitty.
- Start of Darkness: Meeting Manaka, the first person whom she's able to touch without dying to her poison, causes Assassin to become infatuated with and follow Manaka's commands as she manipulates the grail war to her favor.
- Stripperiffic: As part of her seduction gimmick.
Berserker
Henry Jekyll as he appears in Fragments of Sky Silver
Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano
The Servant of Tatsumi Kitano. His true name is Henry Jekyll, the main character of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. His Noble Phantasm gives him the ability to switch his personality over to Mr. Hyde. As a Berserker, he also transforms into a werewolf like creature in the process when doing so.
- Alchemy Is Magic: Though no Magus, he's skilled enough in the subject that he'd be willing to teach Tatsumi if the latter wanted. It's also how he managed to create the elixir that turns him into Hyde though that wasn't the intended effect.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: The elixir he made that turned him into Hyde was his attempt to become like the heroic spirits of legend.
- Breakout Character: Of Fragments of Sky Silver. While one of the more minor Servants of the work due to his early death, his popularity with fans and Sakurai's regret in not giving him more of a role led to him getting a short story in which he was the main character and becoming one of the promotional Servants for Fate/Grand Order and a main character in the London Singularity.
- Do Not Go Gentle: Rather than allowing himself to simply vanish after Tatsumi is killed, Berserker instead opts to go out swinging and does so by attempting to take out Caster's Master himself in one last charge. Unfortunately for him, he fails.
- Made of Iron: Though he's no great hero of legend compared to most of the other Servants, Berserker is surprisingly quite durable given his true identity as seen during his Last Stand in the story.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: As Hyde, Berserker an appearance similar to a werewolf with black fur covering his body, a large jaw, sharp fangs, and a beast-like, humanoid form. His eyes glow upon seeing the full moon.
- Older Than They Look: He looks like a young man, but is said to be much older. In the original novella, Dr. Henry Jekyll was said to be in his 50's but fairly spry for a man of such an age, but as a Servant he looks to be in his early 20's tops. Considering that in the novella, part of the Jekyll's Power High about his wonder drug was that it made him feel like a virile young man physically, even if it polluted his mind and made him a kill, there may be a heavy amount of Dramatic Irony in Jekyll appearing this young.
- Rasputinian Death: He dies via a combination of attacks from Archer, Lancer, and Rider before being finally taken down by Saber.
- Pretty Boy: As the profile image shows, very much so.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: His standard get up wouldn't look out of place in a high society gathering or as a university student that stepped out of the 1880's.
- Split-Personality Takeover: His Noble Phantasm is the elixir that allows him to pull this. Later on by the time of Fate/Prototype Hyde has become the main personality after Jekyll turned into an Alter Servant.
