Saber (Fate/Extra)


 * ''This page is about a NPC Fate/Extra servant. For playable servant, see Playable Saber (Fate/Extra)

Gawain appears as a Saber-class Servant in Fate/Extra. He is the last servant to fight in order to win the Holy Grail.

Knight of the Sun
Compared to King Arthur's providence from night (Alto, Artemis, the pedigree of goddess of the moon), Sir Gawain is the knight who receives graces from the sun. This power is displayed at its maximum during the noon.

Excalibur
Arthur - the king of Britain said to have existed sometime in the 5th~6th Century.

The holy sword that appears in the story that make him the theme, "King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table". Originally, its owner was the Elemental called Lady of the Lake.

In the 20th Century, it is treated as a classic example of holy sword.

Background
One of the Knights of the Round Table that appeared in the Arthurian legends.

King Arthur's nephew.

A knight who was equal to Sir Lancelot - said to be King Arthur's right-hand man - but was also incompatible with him due being unable to forget that Lancelot killed his brothers, Gareth and Gaheris. With a pure personality, he was an ideal young warrior and thus his affection towards his relatives was greater than in others. However, that grudge not only costed Sir Gawain's status as a knight, but in the end even connected with the King's ruin.

During King Arthur's final battle at the hill of Camlann, Sir Gawain died after being struck by an enemy in old wound inflicted by Sir Lancelot. In his deathbed, he regretted that his grudge invited the ruin of the King and accepted his enmity towards Sir Lancelot - and even Lancelot's disloyalty - as coming from his own lack of virtue.

To begin with, Sir Gawain would have been the perfect knight if it wasn't for his hatred towards Sir Lancelot. He never looked down on not insulted his enemies, confronting them with politeness and maintaining his fighting spirit and resolve even when the the opponent lacks capacity. Remaining as the shadow of the King, he gallantly proceeds to the battlefield once the command is given and triumphs with a refreshing smile.... naturally he was described as the ideal knight.

Thus, he was brought back as a Heroic Spirit. Now set free from all doubts, Sir Gawain regained his proper figure as a literal "Knight of the Sun".

The White Knight of the Round Table
The White Knight of the Round Table.

Said to be King Arthur's impersonator (in the sense) and the other bearer of the holy sword. However, in his blind adoration for the King, he remained unaware of the King's agony. A loyal knight just like Sir Bedivere who took care of King Arthur in his final moments, but unlike Bedivere that wished for the King to attain happiness as a person from the bottom of his heart, Gawain wished for him to flourish as a king.

If King Arthur was the night, the symbol of the moon itself, then Sir Gawain was the day, which shoulders the sun. Because his figure is also beautiful, he acted as King Arthur's impersonator in the royal castle of Camelot, in other words he was one of the candidates to substitute the King after his fall. Unmindful of such evaluation and intentions from those who surrounded him, Sir Gawain remained as King Arthur's right-hand to the end. His greatest regret was his dispute with Sir Lancelot.

"Sir Lancelot not only killed my brothers, that black knight even betrayed the King. Kidnapped the King's wife. How expect that to be forgiven?"

But in the end, King Arthur forgave Sir Lancelot.

He said "I was at fault for everything".

But Sir Gawain never forgave Sir Lancelot's betrayal and remained hostile towards him to the end. Sir Gawain continued to reject Sir Lancelot when he attempted to participate in the Battle of Camlann even after being excommunicated and, consequentially, caused the death of both the King and himself.

From this conclusion, the Heroic Spirit Gawain seems to perceive "being of assistance to the king" as his absolute mission. Just like the King Arthur reproached himself in the hill of Camlann, Sir Gawain too cried in his deathbed. His passion invited the King to death.

"...in the chance there is a next time. If there is an opportunity to restore my honor - a second life - then at that time I will devote my everything to the king..."

Having become a Servant while retaining such oath in his chest, in order to correct his mistake, the regret of his past life, Sir Gawain serves his Master as an even more perfect "knight".

All is for the sake of becoming the cornerstone of a single, lonely king.