Lancer (Fate/stay night)

Lancer is a fictional character from the Japanese visual novel and anime series "Fate/stay night" by TYPE-MOON.

The first hostile Servant to appear in this story, Lancer is a fierce but balanced warrior who enjoys combating a worthy opponent. He has a blunt, playful attitude and takes a very carefree approach to life, but is quick to work himself into a frenzy during a heated battle. As revealed in the Unlimited Blade Works, he also has a tendency to tease people and seems to develop a crush on Rin Tosaka. Lancers are hailed as the "Most Agile" of Servant classes.

The voice acting for Lancer is done by Nobutoshi Canna in Japanese and Tony Oliver in English. [cite web| url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=5394| title=fate/stay night (TV)| publisher=Anime News Network]

ervant Status

Abilities

*Magic Resistance:Rank: B :Nullifies all magic that requires less than three verses. Cannot block large-scale magic such as great magic or ritual magic.

*Battle Continuation:Rank: A :Does not give up easily. It allows for battle even on the verge of death, and allows the user to stay alive until they receive a clearly fatal blow.

*Disengage:Rank: C :The ability to escape battle. It can also turn an unfavorable battle to the beginning (turn 1), and restores the conditions of techniques to their initial states.

*Divinity:Rank: B :Strength of one's god-like nature. The more godlike blood possessed, the higher this stat becomes.

*Rune Magic:Rank: B :Knowledge of this ancient European sorcery, rank B grants usage of over 18 runes. Lancer's most well known spell is Ath nGabla: Cú Chulainn's rune of death matches. Made up of Algiz, Nauthiz, Ansuz, and Inguz, retreat is forbidden for the one who writes it and the one who sees it cannot withdraw from battle.

*Protection from Arrows:Rank: B :Improved defense against ranged attacks due to accurate prediction of its trajectory by extraordinaire means such as hearing the sound of the projectile cutting the wind or feeling the enemy's killing intent. At the current level, as long as the shooter is within his field of vision, Lancer can track down the shot with his eyes and defend against it. This does not apply to attacks from super long range or that have a large area-of-effect.

Noble Phantasms

*nihongo|Gáe Bolg|ゲイ・ボルク|Gei Boruku: nihongo|"The Spear of Impaling Barbed Death"|刺し穿つ死棘の槍|Sashi ugatsu shikyoku no yari : Rank: B : Type: Anti-Unit.: An ability that inverts the concept of causality, creating a phenomenon where the spear is thrust only after it has made contact with a target. When the true name of Gáe Bolg is invoked, the opponent has already been pierced before the attack is initiated, regardless of the path the strike must follow to reach its target. Agility is meaningless in avoiding this ability; the only defense is a high degree of luck, which alters fate ahead of time. In spite of this destiny-interference property and its accuracy, use of Gáe Bolg is economical, consuming so little Mana it can be used seven times without pause for recharge. This weapon derives its name from Gáe Bolg, the barbed spear of Cú Chulainn.

*nihongo|Gáe Bolg|ゲイ・ボルク|Gei Boruku: nihongo|"The Spear of Striking Death Flight"|突き穿つ死翔の槍|Tsuki ugatsu shishō no yari : Rank: B+ : Type: Anti-Fort.: This technique utilizes the full potential of Gáe Bolg's curse, converting Mana into energy and releasing the accumulated power on contact after the spear is hurled. In contrast to the "Impaling Barbed Death" property, the "Striking Death Flight" is far less accurate, but it puts greater emphasis on raw power and has a wider area of impact, similar in concept to detonating an explosive device. The two functions of Gáe Bolg are said to be based on the legendary spear of Odin, Gungnir.

True Identity

Lancer is really Cú Chulainn, a hero from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He is a demigod, the offspring of a mortal woman, Dechtire, and the deity, Lugh. Although born with the name Sétanta, he adopted Cú Chulainn after killing the hound of a smith, Culann, and promising to replace the slain canine while another was reared. Cú is the Irish Gaelic word for "hound." During Cú Chulainn's expedition to the Land of Shadows in Scotland, he trained under a sorceress named Scáthach and acquired his signature weapon, the cursed javelin, Gáe Bolg. With his heroic exploits, Cú Chulainn acquired a reputation of savagery in battle, though he was a well-meaning and courageous young man. However, above all, he is best known for keeping his word. He once tells Shirou that he also could have been summoned as a Berserker class because of his savagery.

Role

Lancer was originally summoned by Bazett Fraga McRemitz, an Irish representative of the Mage's Association. However, Kirei Kotomine murdered Bazett, and severed her left arm; he then used her stolen command seals to gain the allegiance of Lancer and enter into the 5th Holy Grail War. Lancer is disgruntled at having to serve a cowardly Master, but he obeys Kirei's wishes faithfully.

Kirei originally had Lancer serve on reconnaissance, scouting out the locations of other Masters and gauging how dangerous their Servants were. During his fight with Archer, Lancer noticed that Emiya Shirō had witnessed his entire battle. To preserve secrecy of the Holy Grail War, Lancer tracks and silences Shirō by stabbing him through his heart.

Later, Lancer realizes that Shirō has recovered from his mortal wound, so he tracks and corners the young mage within the cellar of his home. Just before getting killed again, Shirō is rescued by a recently summoned Saber, who battles back Lancer and engages him in combat. Outmatched, Lancer flees the scene just before the arrival of Archer and then Berserker.

During the rest of the story, Lancer is generally inactive. In Fate, Lancer defies Kotomine and stops Gilgamesh from killing Shirō and Saber. Choosing to fight for his own beliefs, Lancer is killed by Gilgamesh soon after Shirō and Saber escape. In Unlimited Blade Works, Lancer's role is slightly expanded, as he is seen aiding Shiro, Rin and Saber during their struggles against Archer. In the Einzbern Castle, Kotomine later uses his Command Spell to force Lancer to commit suicide, but Lancer still continued to defy him even after being commanded, by killing Kotomine afterwards and scared Shinji Matou from his attempt to violate Rin (By backhanding him across the room). After setting her free, Lancer set fire to the castle as he perishes. Finally, in Heaven's Feel, Lancer is defeated early in the war by Zōken and True Assassin.

In "Fate/hollow ataraxia", Lancer's role is expanded far beyond "Fate/stay night". He is normally spotted fishing at the Fuyuki docks, but he is frequently seen wandering the city or at his part-time job as a grocer. He is quite amiable, chatting with many of the former Holy Grail War participants, and is well liked. He makes no attempt to combat the Shadow Wolf Beasts during the Fuyuki eclipse, instead quietly presiding over Avenger's ascent into Heaven's Feel from a distance.

References