Lancer (Fate/Prototype: Fragments)

Lancer (ランサー) is the Lancer-class Servant in the First Holy Grail War of Fate/Prototype: Fragments of Blue and Silver. She is one of the Servants able to be summoned by the Protagonist in the Grand Orders of Fate/Grand Order.

Identity
Lancer's True Name is Buryunhirude a goddess of war from Scandinavia. She is the daughter of, the Great God of Northern Europe, and one of the shieldmaiden Valkyries. A tragic woman from.

A shieldmaiden regarded in the same light as Shigurudorīva (シグルドリーヴァ), the fated person of the great hero Sigurd in the "'"; she is also similarly portrayed as a Valkyrie who fell in love with Sigurd in the "'" and the "" from Elder Edda. (She is the eldest sister of the Valkyries in the "" of the German Middle Ages.)

Brynhildr is regarded as the younger sister of Attila (King Atli) in the "Volsunga Saga", the "'" and "'" from, etc.

She is treated as Brünnhilde (ブリュンヒルト) in 's opera "Der Ring des Nibelungen", a story of a knight equal to the legend of King Arthur. She is a Valkyrie, a shieldmaiden, who escorts the souls of the departed to. She was a queen who was not able to join hands with her beloved hero and invited ruin from her sadness. In the, she is the queen of Iceland. Kriemhild and Brünnhilde got into conflict with each other and Siegfried was cornered into a situation where he had no choice but to die in order to prevent a fight.

When she was guiding to Valhalla warriors who died as faithful servants to the Great God, at some time, Brynhildr allowed a warrior to gain victory that differed from Odin's intentions. She experienced the Great God's anger, had much of her Divinity taken away, and it resulted in her taking a curse of sleep at a hall engulfed in flames. Manifesting there was the hero Sigurd, who was for sure a heroic figure who released the curse with his demonic sword Gram. All knowledge that she herself holds, and even also Rune Magic, was gifted to Sigurd, and she blesses that hero with happiness on the path he walks on. But this happiness was only for a short time. After that, Sigurd lost his memories—betrayed, she, who was abandoned and saddened with grief, deliberately murdered her beloved Sigurd. And then, she gave up her life afterwards as well.

Legend
Brynhildr was a goddess of war, a daughter of Odin and, a shieldmaiden and a Valkyrie as well. The Valkyries were Odin's automata, automatic beings who continued to conduct themselves according to the Great God's inclinations. Brynhildr was tasked to provide the many souls for while carrying them into the noble hall, bestowing victory on them occassionally, whilst continuing to guide the souls of heroes as one of the Lord's Valkyries since ancient times. One time however, she changed. She supported the young warrior Agnar in the country of the Goths by having him defeat the old Hjalmgunnar who should’ve been promised victory due to being blessed by the god Odin. Her father God dealt with this betrayal by taking away much of her Divinity from her, and bestowing on her the Pale Rune of Punishment that placed her into a suspended state which resembled death in a circle of flames situated on the summit of Mt. Hindarfjall, an inhuman devil cave, she was enclosed in a “hall of flames” that brought flames that reached the heavens. The apparent death effect brought by the pale punishing, thorn rune was absolute. She sleeps in the eternal, unvanquished flames, waiting for the destined hero that would awaken her from her sleep and tell her of his love.

A hero coming to awaken her was but a mere possibility predicted by Odin, and Brynhildr resolved herself that such things would never come to her; that in the flames where no one is allowed to enter, she realized that she had no choice but to continue to lie down like a corpse until the time when the world would be ended by 's and 's fury.

But that destined person came, a fearless hero bravely riding through the flames with his steed to reach her. Sigurd. He came to the "hall of flames" despite knowing all about the he heard from King Gripir. He skillfully cuts through the shackles that bounded her body and the mythril armor that had absorbed the thorn rune as it changed into Odin's last curse. And just after that, Brynhildr awakens. She was not a Valkyrie anymore, but she had completed changed into a mortal human that possessed a perfect body. She questions why Sigurd is doing this, and the hero replies that despite knowing all of it, he is doing this act because he is carrying out what he must do as love is unnecessary and feelings are useless on the path he walks. This was the hero's way of opposing the prophecy; save her, but not love her. Unfortunately, both of them realized that they had fallen in love the moment they first laid sight on each other. They knew that their love had started here. Sigurd proposed to her to be his wife.

During the time they had spend together on their honeymoon, Brynhildr bestowed onto Sigurd much knowledge, including the original runes she had learnt from her father Odin, and as time went by, Sigurd left her and descended the mountain to continue his hero's journey for more glory and fortune until his return. However, Sigurd would later completely lose his memories, including those involving Brynhildr, and he would be wedded to. That woman would use her schemes to have Brynhildr marry another man,, Sigurd's brother-in-law. Sigurd would return to Brynhildr under the guise of Gunnar due to the power of the runes that Brynhildr told him about and proposed to her in marriage as Gunnar. Brynhildr knew it was Sigurd, but agreed anyways, although only if she lost in a fight with their swords. However, that was said to be sophistry as she had no reason whatsoever to win and Sigurd was by then more stronger than her. She was defeated by him, who persisted in dressing up as Gunnar, and it progressed to the conduction of her marriage ceremony to the real, cowardly Gunnar.

At first, Brynhildr believed that this was due to Sigurd drinking a fearsome alcoholic and magical drug which caused him to lose his memories, and accepted these events as her immutable fate. However, she came to know that, in reality, Sigurd had already regained his memories by the time of coming back to the mountain under the guise of Gunnar. Brynhildr would fall into a godly insanity that resulted from an explosion of her severe emotions regarding all the tragic events that happened, including her love that she had lost towards Sigurd, that woman who devoted all her love to Sigurd, and Gunnar's love to Brynhildr. At the beginning of her madness, she had killed Sigurd by slicing him right in half, and wiped out all of his wife's family and followers. Although she strived to kill only warriors as much as possible, she might've laid her hands on women and children by some chance in her madness. She made the "hall of flames" again with the fiery mana overflowing from right inside of her body, and thrusted her blade into her very being in an act of suicide. As red tears flowed down, Brynhildr's life that started in flames, ended in flames. In the end, Brynhildr killed the man she loved the most in the entire world via a conspiracy and then freely took her own life in order to follow after him to the.

Even now (in her present condition as a Heroic Spirit) where she had killed him, Brynhildr still loves Sigurd. She loves him very much. After her suicide, her love is to the extent that she would challenge the in order to take back Sigurd. If one tears off all of her husks, like the paths she had crossed, her sadness, her resentments, and her betrayed sentiments, what remains is nothing but her pure love towards Sigurd. Her true feelings understands how Sigurd himself loves her, of how he was strict on himself more than anyone else, and how he even resolved to reciprocate to her with nothing but his love. However, even so, having felt the moment of "being betrayed", she moved all of her being automatically. For this reason, she moves automatically, even now.

"Let us meet once more, to cuddle closely together for sure next time. Even if I think in that way, this body craves for that life of your's automatically. It is very possible that, this is the cruel curse brought upon by the Great God."

Appearance
Brynhildr has a delicate body and mystical long white hair with a teal accent reminiscent of the night sky as she enters battle clad in silver armor unrecognizable to Saber. Formerly a Valkyrie, she is now a mortal human that possesses a perfect body.

Brynhildr is beautiful, as if there was a night there that was so beautiful, it was to the point that she could steal men's eyes; this was noted by Archer who had felt like it was something obvious to the eye of the beholder. It is as if that she was not a person who was properly alive under the midday sun. Some didn't mean to call her a Phantasmal Beast, they only said it because they were implicating that she suited the quietness and darkness of the night. They grasped that she was a woman of the night, a shadow woman. Her gorgeous mythril armor shines beautifully on the woman's figure. Her huge lance looked heavy and huge to an impossible point, and yet it was being lightly carried in her hands. The woman shows a weakly smile. An ordinary man would've been a goner from that smile. It was a beautiful smile that the woman expressed, despite one feeling the end of that sorrow and grief in that smile. When she opens her bound eyelids, her long eyelashes vibrates. When she exposes her eyes, they were like amethysts. She was a woman who suited the silence of the night, even now, and she was a woman whose body was drenched by the night itself.

After Brynhildr is corrupted by the Holy Grail, she takes on a darker appearance. Her armor is now primarily black. She has gold eyes and she now wears a collar which has vials filled with the Grail's black muck in it. The vials are also directly injected into the back of her neck through the needles at the back of the vials.

Personality
Calm and devoted. There is some loneliness mixed in the gentle smile of this unfortunate shieldmaiden. Despite behaving like a "doll" with a weak sense of self back when she was a Divine Spirit as the eldest of the Valkyries, after falling on earth upon incurring the wrath of her fatherly Great God, Brynhildr became endowed with human nature and personality due to the incidental meeting with Sigurd. Compassionate and full of affection, she thoroughly devotes herself to the person she came to love. A woman who was supposed to spend her lifetime as a good wife if it wasn't for that tragedy. Although she never stopped loving Sigurd more than anyone else, she came to embrace the flames of killing intent at the end of a cursed tragic fate, eventually ending up killing him and also burning herself to ashes.

Brynhildr speaks very politely and fights with respect. She does not appear to be the kind of person who would fight with dishonor, and she demonstrates sincerity, recognizing the qualities of her opponents, like when she fights with Saber and praises his heroism and gentlemanly attitude.

Initially, there was just one expression on Brynhildr's face: Sorrow, and it was only just that. Brilliant, cheerful, and bright. She was a woman who had abandoned all of those things herself. Even if she had witnessed countless hells, she floated a smile; while everything and anything about her was the same, anything and everything about her was also different too. However, it was not just sorrow on her facial expression, and someone with eyes like Arash's would be able to see more than the sorrowful expression on her face.

Bynhildr was also a woman of love who adored everything from heroes. The water, the earth, and the city of Tokyo too. However, she appears to go into madness from taking the love potion as she reaches her maximum love. She smiles with some sort of delight, but it was a terribly warped expression. She was crying while smiling, angry whilst crying, smiling whilst being angry. Animosity, hatred, resentment. It was both near to her and it was also far from her. Sorrow, grief, regrets. It was both far from her and it was also near to her. Frankly speaking, this woman, was definitely, broken from the inside. Whether it was an expression that was guided by some kind of emotion, it was very difficult to recognize. Even if one couldn't catch a glimpse of the Mental Pollution and Mad Enhancement Skills or a warning to show her bad status effects when taking a glance through her Heroic Spirit parameters, her sense of self is completely broken in such a state.

Even now, having turned into a Heroic Spirit, Brynhildr still loves Sigurd deeply. Nevertheless, if by any chance he is summoned before her, she will automatically point her spear towards him. This is because, upon being shaped as a Heroic Spirit, both she herself and her Noble Phantasm ended up being given the definition of "something that kills Sigurd."

In regards to the "Dragon Slayer" hero Siegfried, who possesses similar origins as Sigurd, although Brynhildr recognizes him as "someone different from Sigurd", it seems that she somehow senses something close to him and thus feverishly gazes at him, while trying to get alone together, just the two of them (and then tries to kill him). And also, sometimes towards the Master as well...

Initially, coming into contact with the Master is well-behaved. Brynhildr obeys commands quietly. Basically, she does not defy the Master's instructions. She follows the Master. Regarding herself during her lifetime, it may not be known that she has a past tendency in becoming intertwined with several key factors, such as showing passivity in having no intentions in going against the system called the summoning of Heroic Spirits, having a habit during her time as a Valkyrie in acting in accordance to the Great God's missions, and feeling a sense of helplessness.

Brynhildr will not embrace affection, particularly a profound courtesy, to somebody from herself if the love she has does not exist to a large extent towards that person. She is strongly self-conscious of herself embracing love as it seems that she will kill her companion in the end because of her Noble Phantasm. Besides, above all else, her love is already consecrated to Sigurd—because, that is what's exactly certain. She is extremely afraid of "getting to love somebody." Of course, although it is because of the situation with Sigurd, she is caught in an obstructive thought called "I am killing the person I have grown to love." Though, even if it is the Master, the inside of her wants to at least avoid exchanging conversations with him to the best of her abilities.

Brynhildr has one goal in wishing upon the Holy Grail. A reunion with her beloved Sigurd. But then, whereupon this wish comes true, she will start to automatically attempt to murder him.

Relationships

 * In General
 * Brynhildr will react towards Heroic Spirits if they do something hero-like that will make her remember Sigurd. Meaning, she will react badly. She will also somewhat react towards male Heroic Spirits that has a lot of romantic love that would move a woman to tears.


 * Sigurd
 * "I love you I love you I love you very much please die together with me, dear———"


 * Siegfried
 * "You are awfully very similar to that man. Therefore, yes, I am very sorry."


 * Arthur (Proto Saber)
 * "I am quite troubled. You, are very kind, so... I am quite troubled..."


 * Altera
 * "Your scent is similar to that man...?"


 * Jeanne d'Arc (Alter)

Fate/Prototype: Fragments of Blue and Silver
Lancer is the first opponent faced by Manaka Sajyou and Saber. She allied with Archer to eliminate Saber. But she disappears somewhere whilst Saber and Archer are fighting Rider. When they were in danger, she appears with the "The Philosopher's Stone", neutralizing Ramesseum Tentyris' curse of the gods that seals Noble Phantasms. Lancer received it from Caster who was commanded by Manaka Sajyou to deliver it to Saber. Lancer uses her lance to crack Ramesseum Tentyris in order to deliver it to Saber.

Lancer's Master, Nigel Sayward, knows that she loves Saber as she cries out for her beloved Sigurd. He acknowledges her feelings, but is unsympathetic and just bluntly "tells her the truth." Nigel then commands Lancer to drink his drug. Lancer refuses to obey his order. As Nigel attempts to use his Command Spells to force her to comply, Lancer goes absolutely crazy, destroying the building with her Master in it, and then wanders around Sunshine City in order to kill Saber and Manaka. Caster reports this to Manaka, before Caster and Assassin then attacks Lancer, who negates his Magecraft with the runes she had learnt from her father Odin. She attacks Saber and mistakes him for Sigurd due to her madness from taking in the love potion. But Lancer knew Manaka was manipulating her mind and that she could not go against her command. She begs Saber to stop her, resulting in him penetrating Lancer's heart with Excalibur. Before Lancer fades away, she thanks him for stopping her madness and warns him not to let the thing in the Holy Grail be awakened.

During Saber's battle with the Beast, Lancer appears again in Saber's mind. She encourages Saber to fight and then becomes one of the Servants who lends Saber her power when he activates Excalibur.

8 years later, a shadow of Lancer is seen again as one of Manaka's Grail corrupted Servants.

Salomon: The Grand Time Temple
Brynhildr is amongst the "special events" Servants to aid Chaldea against the Demon Gods Pillars.

Other appearances
Brynhildr makes up one-third of the existence of Passionlip in Fate/Extra CCC, which she is referred to as a goddess of war from Scandinavia. Her emotions are used in Passionlip's Noble Phantasm, Brynhildr Romantia.

Abilities
Brynhildr utilizes a long, gigantic and heavy spear with a large blade vaguely shaped to be reminiscent of a heart as her Noble Phantasm, calling it Brynhildr Romantia. She also has another Noble Phantasm called Brynhildr Komédia. She is noted as being very fast, to the point of almost disappearing from sight entirely and even Saber has difficulties keeping up with her at first, before getting used to her speed. She has an attack pattern in which her spear comes down on her opponent from five different directions, all with different speeds. However, she seems to make a habit of repeating this pattern, which leads to enemies who survive the very first rounds being able to find a gap in her attacks after a time.

During the Tokyo Holy Grail War, she is given a small bottle with a red liquid inside by her Master, Nigel Sayward, a potion that forces one to enter a state of "forced love". Its purpose is to cause Brynhildr to see Saber as Sigurd; hence, it strengthens her spear, increasing its size and the mass of the spearhead as it deals more damage due to the ability of Brynhildr Romantia.

Being an expert of hand-to-hand combat, she was able to lightly kick Assassin away with ease, who had commenced with a drop attack to intercept her. For Brynhildr, who had continued to stare at the skills of many heroes as a Valkyrie, her short fencing and her very refined martial arts were just a couple of the many foreign skills recorded on tens of thousands of battlefields she had observed and learned. While avoiding the clash first in the air against Assassin, all of the attacks that had been maneuvered back and forth as they passed through each other at high speed were being handled with one arm and both legs.

Brynhildr was given the Riding Skill due to the anecdote that Valkyries rode on horseback. While the fame of her anecdote would have given her the Skill Rank of A+, her Riding has declined due to being summoned as a Lancer. It would become A+ if she was summoned as a Rider.

Although there is once a high aptitude as a Divine Spirit, her Divinity is currently quite low. She was once a member of the shieldmaiden group, the Valkyries, and the daughter of the Great God, but the latter has deprived her of most of her Divinity.

Due to her Mana Burst (Flames) Skill, she is able to wrap herself in fire to burn away the arrows shot by Archer, salvos of up to twenty arrows at the same time and each of these arrows had enough power to easily shatter boulders. It is a Skill that came from the anecdote where she fell asleep, surrounded by a ring of flames in a fire-packed pavilion. As her passion gets deeper, the flame becomes stronger, burning on the basis of her magical energy.

The Primordial Rune Skill she possesses is enough to negate Caster's Magecraft as her runes are said to be a million times more powerful than what modern mages use. Referred to as the Rune of Origin, when activated, it strengthens her Rune Magic, allows her to fly, temporarily amplifies her parameters, and even enables her to attain demi-god status. Though its use requires sealing her second Noble Phantasm, Brynhildr Komédia, the Runes itself are so potent that it could be classified as her third Noble Phantasm, and it could destroy Tokyo when fully powered. However, even a Master like Nigel Sayward would be unable to provide so much mana. She is shown to freeze objects and summon gigantic boulders with these Runes, including a great, majestic lump of rock clad in flames that is large enough to conceal the moon, referred to as Freyja: Venus.

These Primordial Runes are Runes hailing from Scandinavia, almost known as Scandinavian Magic Crests. It is said that she, a first-rate magus, has taught Rune Magic to her beloved Sigurd. Originally, it was a Skill that shows the power of the Primal Runes granted to her by her father Odin, but her power is being suppressed. If she demonstrates the true power of this Skill without possessing a Divinity Rank of A or higher, in addition to receiving restrictions on the use of her second Noble Phantasm, severe damage enters her spiritual core and Brynhildr will soon disappear.

Hero's Bridesmaid is a Skill that represents the nature of a that leads a hero to victory. It allows her to synchronize magical energy and give a plus modifier to every successful check made by the target of her choice.

Development
Shirow Miwa is the character illustrator for Brynhildr. Hikaru Sakurai is the scenario writer for her character in Fate/Grand Order.