Saber

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Saber (Japanese: セイバー, Hepburn: Seibā), whose real name is Artoria Pendragon (アルトリア・ペンドラゴン, Arutoria Pendoragon) (alternatively, Altria Pendragon), is a fictional character from the Japanese 2004 visual novel Fate/stay night by Type-Moon. Saber is a heroic warrior who is summoned by a teenager named Shirou Emiya to participate in a war between masters and servants who are fighting to accomplish their dreams using the mythical Holy Grail. Saber's relationship with the story's other characters depends on the player's decisions; she becomes a love interest to Shirou in the novel's first route and also serves as that route's servant protagonist, a supporting character in the second and a villain called "Saber Alter" (セイバー・オルタ, Seibā Oruta) in the third route.

Saber is an agile and powerful warrior who is loyal, independent, and reserved; she appears emotionally cold but is actually suppressing her emotions to focus on her goals. She is also present in the prequel light novel Fate/Zero, in which she is the servant of Shirou's guardian Kiritsugu Emiya during the previous Holy Grail war, and in the sequel Fate/hollow ataraxia. Saber also appears in the novel's printed and animated adaptations, reprising her role in the game.

Saber was created by Kinoko Nasu after the series' main illustrator suggested having an armored woman as a protagonist for the visual novel; writer Gen Urobuchi commented on her character becoming darker depending on the scenarios. Urobuchi created his own scenario involving interactions between Saber and Kiritsugu because their relationship was little explored in the original visual novel. Saber has been voiced by Ayako Kawasumi in her Japanese appearances and multiple actresses took the role in English-language dubs of the series' animated adaptations.

Critical reception to Saber's characterization and role in the series, and her relationship with Shirou, has been generally positive. Her characterization as well as her relationship with the characters in Fate/Zero has also been met with positive response. Saber's lack of character focus in the Unlimited Blade Works anime adaptation, however, was met with negative response. Additionally, Saber has been popular within the Fate series and anime in general.

Saber's real name is Altria Pendragon (sometimes written as Artoria, Arthuria or Arturia). The character was inspired by the legends of King Arthur. At her birth, Uther decides to not publicly announce Altria's birth or gender, fearing his subjects will never accept a woman as a legitimate ruler. Merlin entrusts Altria to Sir Ector, a loyal knight who raises her as a surrogate son. When Altria is fifteen, King Uther dies, leaving no known, eligible heir to the throne. Britain enters a period of turmoil following the growing threat of invasion by the Saxons. Merlin approaches Altria, explaining that the British people will recognize her as a destined ruler if she draws Caliburn, a ceremonial sword, from the rock in which it is embedded. Pulling this sword, however, means accepting the hardships of a monarch; Altria will be responsible for preserving the welfare of her people. Without hesitation and despite her gender, she draws Caliburn and becomes king of Britain.

Altria is plagued by feelings of guilt and inferiority throughout her reign; she sacrifices her emotions for the good of Britain but many of her subjects and knights become critical of her lack of humanity and cold calculation. Altria is mortally wounded by a traitorous knight, a homunculus named Mordred who is born of her blood, during the Battle of Camlann. Morgan le Fay and Sir Bedivere escort the dying king to a holy isle; Altria orders Bedivere to dispose of Excalibur by throwing it back to Vivian. In her absence, she reflects on her personal failures, regretting her life as king. Before taking her last breath, she appeals to the world; in exchange for her services as a Heroic Spirit, she asks to be allowed to relive her life, in which someone more suitable and effective would lead Britain in her stead. Altria possesses the Noble Phantasm Excalibur: Sword of Promised Victory (約束された勝利の剣（エクスカリバー）, Ekusukaribā), a celestial sword constructed from the collective wishes of mankind. She also possesses Invisible Air: Barrier of the Wind King (風王結界（インビジブル・エア）, Inbijiburu Ea), another Noble Phantasm, which compresses and gyrates the air around Saber's blade, turning it invisible, and the holy lance Rhongomyniad: The Spear that Shines to the Ends of the World (最果てにて輝ける槍（ロンゴミニアド）, Rongominiado) which she possesses if summoned in Lancer class.

In Fate/stay night[edit]
Saber Alter as seen in Heaven's Feel. Due to her darker personality, she has been referred as an anti-heroine by the developers. In the visual novel Fate/stay night, Saber is accidentally summoned by a young mage named Shirou Emiya, stopping the servant Lancer in the process.

Fate route[edit]
In the Fate route of Fate/stay night, Shirou and Saber often clash because of their methods of fighting. Despite this, Shirou tries to persuade Saber that the past cannot be changed and that trying to change it is foolish. Once Saber discovers the Holy Grail she believed to be omnipotent is actually corrupt and causes only death, she accepts that her wish is indeed impossible to accomplish and works with Shirou to save the world she was summoned into.

Saber and Shirou develop romantic feelings for one another but decide they will end their relationship once the Holy Grail War is finished. Having realized Kiritsugu Emiya sealed Excalibur's scabbard, Avalon: The Everdistant Utopia ((全て遠き理想郷（アヴァロン）, Avaron), inside his body, Shirou passes it to his Servant so that she could defeat the Servant Gilgamesh. Saber and Shirou win their respective fights against Gilgamesh and his master Kirei Kotomine. Saber destroys the Holy Grail with Excalibur and, after accepting Shirou's feelings and confessing her own, is sent back to her original time and dies. In the PlayStation 2 remake, an extra ending in which Shirou and Saber reunite following their deaths was added. After accepting her own identity and dying, Saber forgoes becoming a Heroic Spirit so she can wait for Shirou in Avalon, the mystical land where only true heroes may reside. After waiting for many lifetimes for Shirou to earn the right to ascend to Avalon, they are finally reunited forever.

Unlimited Blade Works route[edit]
In the Unlimited Blade Works route of Fate/stay night, Saber is stabbed by Caster's Rule Breaker and is forced to become her Servant. Caster then forces Saber to kill Shirou and Rin Tohsaka, but Saber resists the spell, giving Rin and Shirou time to escape. After Caster is killed by Archer, Rin then forges a contract with her, becoming her new Master. Saber, Shirou and Rin remain conflicted in how to deal with Gilgamesh. Eventually they decide that Shirou should fight their enemy as he possess the same powers as the missing Archer while Saber and Rin go to stop the Holy Grail, facing the Servant Assassin in the process. After defeating Assassin, Saber destroys the Holy Grail with Excalibur with Archer's help. In the Good End of this scenario, Saber lives on as one of Rin's familiars along with Shirou in a polyamorous relationship with the two. In the True End, she disappears after destroying the Holy Grail.

Heaven's Feel route[edit]
In the Heaven's Feel route of Fate/stay night, Saber is consumed by the Holy Grail during a battle with True Assassin and becomes a stronger, corrupted version of her former self, known as Saber Alter, and a Servant under Sakura Matou, the heroine of this route. While Shirou is on his way to seek an alliance with Ilya and Berserker, Saber appears in her Alter form and defeats Berserker, making herself known to Shirou while nearly killing her former allies. Shirou returns to Illya's home and defeats Berserker, who is now working for Sakura. Saber approaches the weakened Shirou but refuses to kill him, since she feels honored by his recent fight. In the Normal End and True End, Sakura orders Saber to kill Shirou and the servant Rider. However, the duo manages to overpower Saber, with Shirou killing his former comrade.

In Fate/hollow ataraxia[edit]
In the sequel video game Fate/hollow ataraxia, Saber continues to protect Shirou but dominates their relationship; if the player chooses, Saber can pursue Shirou romantically once more. She kills Archer when he attacks Shirou in one loop. In another loop, Saber is killed by Bazett Fraga McRemitz's Fragrach when she tried to use Excalibur on him. In the final loop of Fate/hollow ataraxia, Saber aids Shirou/Avenger to reach the Grail by fending off mysterious monsters with other Heroic Spirits. When the stray hair on Saber's head is pulled, she reverts to her Alter form. Saber Alter is portrayed here as crude and obsessed with fast food in direct opposition to Saber's love of Shirou's cooking.

Fate/Zero[edit]
In the prequel light novel series Fate/Zero, Kiritsugu Emiya summons Saber to participate in the 4th Holy Grail War. To prepare for the war, Kiritsugu persuades his wife Irisviel von Einzbern to act as Saber's guide while he aids her in secret. As in the original visual novel, Saber wishes to obtain the Holy Grail to change her kingdom's past, which results in Gilgamesh and Alexander the Great mocking her ideals. During a fight against Lancer, Kiritsugu ignores knightly ideals and forces Lancer's Master to commit suicide, angering Saber. Shortly afterwards, Kirei Kotomine kidnaps Irisviel and Saber goes to find her. On the way, Saber confronts Berserker who is revealed to be her former ally Lancelot. After Lancelot's death, Saber is ordered to destroy the Holy Grail by her then-master, Kiritsugu using two back-to-back Command Seals, but she only succeeds in destroying its physical form. Saber returns to her world, still aiming to take the Holy Grail for her people.

Fate/Grand Order[edit]
Altria Pendragon appears in Fate/Grand Order as a recurring Servant. She is one of the Servants of Ritsuka Fujimaru of the Grand Order conflicts of Fate/Grand Order. She appears as Saber, along with her multiple forms Saber Alter and Saber Lily, as well as her newer forms Lancer and Lancer Alter, and gag forms an Archer, Rider Alter and Ruler form wearing a swimsuit, maid outfit and bunny girl costume respectively, as well as another rider form as "Santa Alter" introduced in the game and a Caster form introduced for the game's 5th anniversary. Another gag iterations of her are the Assassin-class Mysterious Heroine X, Berserker-class Mysterious Heroine X Alter, and Foreigner-class Mysterious Heroine XX, all are stated to be Altrias who came from space.

In the main story, Saber Alter appears in Fuyuki chapter as the main antagonist, Lancer Alter appears in London chapter, and Lancer in form of "Lion King/Goddess Rhongomyniad" served as the major villain of Camelot chapter. Heroine X made an appearance in the Grand Time Temple chapter as one of "event and gag Servants".

Other appearances[edit]
Saber appears in the anime and manga versions of Fate/stay night, and the movie Unlimited Blade Works. Three of versions of Saber—regular, Saber Alter, and Saber Lily—appear in the fighting game Fate/unlimited codes. The Lily form is based on Saber's alternative outfit from Unlimited Blade Works, which development staff noted was well-received by fans. A Lion form of Saber also appeared in Fate/tiger colosseum. Saber, along with other characters from Tsukihime, Melty Blood, and the other characters of Fate/stay night, appears in the 2011 anime Carnival Phantasm. Saber also appears in the series Fate/Labyrinth as Manaka's Servant during the Subcategory Holy Grail. Together, they defeat many opponents and the bosses of each of the floor levels in Caubac Alcatraz's labyrinth. She also appears in Fate/Extella as a secret playable character. Saber is also present in the manga and anime adaptations Today's Menu for the Emiya Family, in which she is living with Shirou, who teaches her to cook. Outside Type-Moon's works and adaptations, Saber appears in the video games Divine Gate and Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel. To promote the animated adaptations of the routes, Saber was added to the video games Summons Board, Puzzle & Dragons, and The Alchemist Code. She is also present in Phantasy Star Online 2 and Hortensia Saga. Two videogame adaptations for smartphones, Fate/Zero The Adventure and Fate/Zero Next Encounter, feature Saber.