Lancer (Fate/stay night)

File:FSN Lancer.jpg

Lancer

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 playful attitude and takes a very carefree approach to life, but is quick to work himself into a frenzy during a heated battle. 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.

Servant Status

Master:	Kotomine Kirei	Sex:	Male	Color:	Blue
Alignment:	Lawful Neutral	Height:	185 cm	Talents:	Diving, fishing, rock climbing
Noble Phantasm:	B+	Weight:	70 kg	Likes:	Assertive women, absurd promises
Strength:	B	Magic Resistance:	B	Dislikes:	Cunning, betrayal
Endurance:	C	Battle Continuation:	A	Nemesis:	Gilgamesh, Archer
Agility:	A	Revive:	C
Mana:	C	Divinity:	B
Luck:	E	Rune Magic:	B

Noble Phantasms

File:Gae Bolg.jpg

Gáe Bolg

• Gáe Bolg: The Spear of Impaling Barbed Death
  

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.

File:Gae-Bolg.jpg

Lancer, hurling Gáe Bolg with all his might.

• Gáe Bolg: The Spear of Striking Death Flight
  

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 severing 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 aided Shirō against Gilgamesh, and was killed by Gilgamesh. In Unlimited Blade Works, Kotomine uses a command seal to force Lancer to kill himself, but not before Lancer killed Kotomine as well. Finally, in Heaven's Feel, Lancer is defeated early in the war by Zōken and True Assassin. In the anime adaptation, 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 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 Fall from a distance.