Playable Saber (Fate/Extra)

Saber (セイバー) is the Saber-class Servant available to be chosen by Hakuno Kishinami, along with Archer, Caster, and Gilgamesh, in the Moon Cell Holy Grail War in Fate/Extra and Fate/Extra CCC.

Identity
Saber's identity is Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the Fifth Roman Emperor. She had the reputation of a notorious tyrant whose rule was made up of schemes and poison as she oppressed all religious forces, especially Christians, and the Roman Senate during the period from 50 to 60 AD. It is believed in one theory that the Book of Revelation was written as a reaction against said oppression. She was regarded in the same light as the devil, as the assumed Hebrew pronunciation of of her name as a emperor, Nero Caesar pronounced as "NRVN QSR", equates with the "Number of the Beast". This name and the "Beast of Babylon" refers to Rome itself and it is not an alias given to her as an individual.

History
Nero's father was the lewd Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, cousin of the Fourth Emperor, Claudius; and her mother, Julia Augusta Agrippina, was the younger sister of Emperor Caligula. Because Nero's father was considered to be a weak man, Nero was barred from succeeding to the throne. Agrippina eventually remarried to Emperor Claudius (Agrippina's uncle) and convinced him to adopt Nero as his heir, leading Nero down the path to becoming emperor by her own evil designs but started by her own mother's debauchery. Agrippina, through her plotting and manipulating, pressured Octavia to marry Nero, (she was Claudius' daughter, and Nero's step-sister). Nero's relatives resented her illegitimate birthright and relations became strain. Nero had more affection for the nameless masses than her relatives.

During her youth, Nero was revered as a very competent judge who brought in several important lawsuits with her fairness and efficiency, though Claudius had forbidden her from doing so due to her young age. Nero eventually succeeded her stepfather after Agrippina murdered Claudius in the year 54 AD, she was enthroned emperor at the age of seventeen, which would have been extremely difficult with her origins.

After claiming the throne, Nero gave out money to all citizens in celebration. She then abolished all indirect taxes. Predictably, the public adored Nero's generosity. Nero attempted to reform a depraved government and the corrupt senate, but her reforms were stalled and met with hostility. Conflicts with the senate erupted when Nero tried to unify the Roman Empire with some troublesome provinces. In contrast, Nero boasted tremendous popularity from the citizens, thanks to her generous policies; her care for diplomacy caused Britannia's relations in Rome to improve during later years, essentially making her the person who built the opportunity for the legend of King Arthur to be born. She was also highly praised by Persia, which lead it to being considered "the country of Nero" by Rome after her death.

Nero had to bicker between a corrupt Senate and her predatory mother who made policies in self-interest. Agrippina only saw Nero as a tool to become the mother of the emperor. Conflicts with her mother became more pronounced at this time. As a result, Nero hired an assassin to end her mother's life before she could deal with a troublesome senate. But the assassination failed, and the only thing she could do was cut her mother down publicly, proclaiming that her own mother tried to poison her. The year was 59 AD, that was the year that Nero's reputation as a tyrant was cemented. Nero states that since that day, she has been afflicted with headaches. Nero suffered from chronic hysteria, a result from constantly using a silver cup. Nero had been poisoned as a child, so as not to defy her mother she was given the antidote in tandem. When her mother died, she also took the antidote with her to the grave, so Nero lapsed into a fevered delirium.

Nero's life then took a radical shift after her ascension. Nero's wife, Octavia, committed suicide. Her younger stepbrother was murdered in order to secure her influence and then drove her sole mentor, the philosopher Seneca, to suicide. Seneca's death affected Nero deeply, she considered him a father figure. According to Nero, she told him that she would forgive him over and over again, but Seneca was skeptical of Nero's word and he ended his life in Nero's house. It pained Nero that Seneca disbelieved her words. Through her selfish actions, Nero was a monster to her relatives, but she boasted popularity with the masses.

She established the "Nero Festival" in 59 or 60 AD, which was an athletic conference that took after the Greek Olympics and happened once every five years. She opened three fields for music, gymnastics, and horse riding and openly participated in the events herself. During July 19, 64 AD., there was a large conflagration that occurred to the extent of reducing Rome to ashes. The victims were contained to a bare minimum thanks to Nero's swift and adequate response as an administrator, and she earned immense popularity with the citizens by thoroughly carrying out her subsequent pledges. These measures are highly praised as "effective measures that exhausted the bounds of human intellect" even by the many historians who criticize her. She later established the Domus Aurea theater designed by herself. She was eventually driven out of her position during a revolt in 69 AD, lead by Vindex in Gallia. At first, Nero ignored the situation, perhaps she still trusted Vindex, the inciter of the rebellion. More likely she was suffering from despair and she wished for the situation to go away. Two years later, Vindex would incite another rebellion and by then the senate had enough with Nero. The senate was so displeased with Nero's mishandling of the revolt that they called her a traitor and she was forced to escape from Rome. Nero was convinced that her popular policies and her popularity with the people would protect her from being forced to abdicate the throne. However, the public was silent and they did nothing to protect her. The Roman people had abandoned her, after she had devoted so much for them. She acknowledges that she had made an error in judgement in relying on the people. Still, Nero did not resent them, instead she was saddened by their lack of uproar, "it was my greatest error to love them in a way that they could not understand."

She eventually decided to kill herself, though such an end was considered unsportsmanlike by her. She stopped herself many times, having cried about "how can such a magnificent artist disappear from this world?", but as those who betrayed her closed in she quoted a line from Homer's Iliad, "Hark, now strikes on my ear the trampling of swift-footed coursers!", before finally stabbing her own throat with a knife. After Nero's suicide, a soldier delicately wrapped a cloak around Nero's body, "too late. This is fidelity," Nero said. Those were her last words.

Appearance
Saber is a blond-haired young woman of short stature, who typically appears dressed in a military-styled red dress with a translucent portion in the front of the lower skirt. She claims the dress itself is not see-through, but rather she is letting people see. She has a great resemblance to another Saber, King Arthur, though there is no blood relationship between them. King Arthur was said to be a fusion between two individuals, one of whom was the Roman general Artorius, so there is some form of a link. She has the Saber Bride outfit in Fate/Extra CCC. She appears in a Santa outfit as Saber Santa (セイバーサンタ) in the second TYPE-MOON MOVIE Ace 2nd episode.

Personality
Saber has a haughtiness that seems to more than compensate for her short stature. She refrains from asking how privileged the Protagonist feels by summoning her, and grants them the honor of being her Master. She feels that, as her Master, they can be allowed to act as her equal without having to use honorifics. Often when given the choice to answer to her, only a single affirmative choice is offered rather than allowing for a negative response. She believes that anything she does must be perfect down to the smallest detail, such as a number of flawless victories to make her feel on top of the world after displaying perfection in her swordplay. If the Protagonist denies to be her Master, she claims she cannot understand what they are speaking about, believing it to be some form of Oriental humility. She refuses to accept the answer, and declares that her tolerance allows for a single mistake from them. When recounting the Servant Classes, she names some, and then claims that the rest aren't of any importance. Only the Saber class has any worth, and as it is known as the best of the classes, it should be obvious that she is Saber.

Saber has a different definition for love as she understood it. According to her, her type of love was selfish. When she gave it, she expected something in return for it was not unconditional. To Saber, the more tender type of love was foreign and incomprehensible. She acknowledges that she has a different value system than the people. Nero's love burnt out offering and devoting everything. Her passion burned brightly, without regards to permanence. Nero loved her citizens as she thought was right. But, the love her citizens proffered was different, and the difference invited Nero's fall. Saber regrets that she could not share in the love that the masses embraced so naturally. Because she could not express her love in a way that can be understood, she did not receive love in return, "while this woman could love more than any other person, she could not experience the joy of being loved. Her lavish expressions of love were not enough to satisfy her people." The thought of dying without anyone loving her could be one of the reasons why she hesitated pushing the dagger into her own throat.

She identifies herself as being short, but claims it does not matter in determining superiority. As she does not mind it, she firmly believes others should also not mind as well, and declares that no comments about her height, especially the terms petite or short, should be made. She finds being addressed as "princess" to be an insult because she is a grown woman, and instead prefers to be addressed as empress by her enemies.

She gives off the impression of a valiant young man in crimson, and she has a masculine bearing and tone of voice, leading the Protagonist to think she may have been raised a boy. She acknowledges that the reason she wears men's clothes is not that she is trying to project an imperial image, but because she actually enjoys wearing men's clothes. While her brusque attitude and gallant actions would imply that she values valor above all, she actually identifies her core as a maiden due to her adoration for beauty. She still does not allow gender to sway her preferences, and believes the true orientation of her soul to be half and half. Firmly routed in the middle of the two genders, she personally finds her ability to go either way admirable. She becomes attracted to the Protagonist regardless of their gender, and eventually even declares her love for them.

She often refers to her Master as Praetor, which was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army or an elected magistrate. She comes to develop feelings for the Protagonist, and discloses her true identity to them for that reason. She is worried about the negative connotations that come with her identity, and does not mind if she is called a tyrant or the Whore of Babylon by them. Even if she is disliked, she will simply work hard to become worthy of the Protagonist's love and take their heart. While she claims to be able to endure the pain, she looks like a child who is trying really hard not to cry while stating it.

Arts
She feels she is an artist before an emperor, truly thinking that she is the pinnacle of the arts and "an artist who rivals the god of arts Apollo." Citing it as her true calling, she boasts various accomplishments, such as writing and singing songs, painting, sculpting, writing, fashion design, architecture, acting, and metalwork. She cherishes the theater the most, but still prides herself on the rest of her works. She feels that only through art can she express what she feels, as she finds it difficult to do so in a normal way. It was said that in her final hours that she expressed her anguish that an artist such as herself had to die. Her main concern was that her act of suicide was punishing the public by having "such a magnificent artist disappear from this world." She is sensitive to praises and can be quite easy to manipulate when flattered.

She claims to have been popular, citing a small girl laying a crown of flowers upon her head after returning from a triumphant battle even though that has all to do with her being an emperor. She acknowledges that not all of her works were masterpieces, but thinks some of them were quite good. She knows that not many people appreciated or understood her artistic talents, but simply suggests that her critics were not advanced enough to understand her artistic vision. She claims she mastered it all in the name of art, so even if no one valued them, she was satisfied just having them made. She was able to express her love for her people through her works. She eventually decided that no one understands genius, so, having grown accustomed to the public lacking understanding in her art, decided that faith in herself is enough.

Despite her "humility", she does not like to be criticized, and will go to great lengths to protect her artistic integrity. They were panned by her friends, and she was once told, "We are friends and I support your government, but I cannot understand eighty percent of your art!" by her dear friend. She almost murdered him in an outburst of rage afterward, but managed to stop herself. She would often perform for the masses at her Domus Aurea, but spectators would frequently leave midway through her performances. She was so enraged by this obvious act of disrespect that she ordered all entrances to the theater to be sealed, forcing the audience to sit through her entire performance until the final curtain fell.

She praises beauty above all, stating that "Beautiful young boys are good. Beautiful young girls are better. My singular preference is beauty!" She greatly expresses a desire to fight Greek Heroic Spirits like Atalante, because of their beauty. She has a certain fixation on Heracles, causing her to create a legend after publicly strangling a lion with a in an attempt to emulate him by reenacting his exploits. While she was trying to prove her own might was as great as that of Heracles, her citizens were left unimpressed by the display and attempting to view Heracles as a rival causes the protagonist to think of her as a megalomaniac. She felt the achievement could potentially have been surpassed by the Protagonist if they had been in a public colosseum upon defeating a large number of rare enemies. She likes beautiful speech, commenting that the Protagonist speaks with few, but beautiful words when she was first summoned, either that or she is greatly unconcerned with their laconic speech.

Emperor
Her characteristic anecdote is that she was an administrator for the citizens. She believes herself that she was a tyrannical emperor who injured the lives of many and met an ugly end. She does not deny that is the truth of her rule, but she is not ashamed of it either. While she has regrets about her life and moments where she went too far, she feels all that matters is that she was true to herself in everything. She is not one to cave to others' assessments, but she values the opinions of the Protagonist.

She doesn't like to be directly called a tyrant, even by her Master, and while the assertion is true, she would rather be thought of as an earnest emperor incapable of separating business and pleasure. It makes her slightly angry, but she quickly calms down once her position is is understood. She claims that even a poorly regarded emperor is still an emperor, and that she will defend her Master proudly as the best of Servants. Due to her legend, others, such as Gawain, refer to her as the "Whore of Babylon" as an insult.

She has great pride in herself and her actions. Even though she does not wish to give her name, simply being asked about it brings her great happiness. She claims that it is the pleasure of those with regal natures to dignify the queries of those around them with answers, and gets so caught up in the mood that she almost gives her birth name without even thinking about it. She feels that she must always speak with the air of an emperor, speaking according to her parents' expectations of her in childhood and how she was raised. She was never allowed to speak plainly since leaving childhood, and speaking casually would be denying what she has become, throwing away all that to which she has devoted herself. While doing so would allow her to regain her humanity, she speaks with certainty that such a day had never occurred and will never come.

She lived a luxurious lifestyle. She voices her disappointment over the scenery of the underwater arena, exclaiming that view it offers simply looks too much like the aquarium she owned during life. She has no direct interest in monetary gain, but admires the trappings of wealth and believes that treasure cannot be ignored.

Development
Saber was given a personality similar to Nasu's original idea of Alexander the Great. Nasu enjoyed Gen Urobuchi's rendition of the character, so Saber may have been born out of his drive to surpass him and create a different tyrant from Alexander. She was made to look like Saber because they wanted to trick people into thinking they were the same character and surprise them upon actually playing the game.

Saber by a Hair’s Breadth
Saber by a Hair’s Breadth (セイバー危機一髪) is a promotional flash game set during Saber's life. Wishing to take a bath after working up a sweat, she has an unnamed Roman soldier heat it for her. While he initially gets it right, he quickly breaks the oven and overheats it, causing him to run in after hearing her shouting and see her in the bath. She doesn't have any issues with him viewing her, and instead, asking if she fascinates him, comments that he must have a heart that admires beauty. She asks about his particular likes, and says that, as long as he has no wicked thoughts, that she will forgive him.

There is no need for her to run away or hide as his emperor, so she even offers to model for him. After she gets out of the bath to do so, the soldier faints from embarrassment, causing Saber to have him taken out. She chides him for causing her trouble, but says there is nothing wrong with having the spirit to admire beauty. Commenting that they would have gotten along, she says they may meet in another time and place, and says she will leave things to him at that time.

Fate/Extra
Saber is one of the selectable Servants in Fate/Extra along with Archer and Caster. After the Saber class is selected, she first appears upon hearing Hakuno Kishinami will to continue striving to live. She admires and respects their attempt to embrace the fear of death and fight on regardless of the fate that may await them. Deciding that she'll hear it even if the world doesn't, she exclaims their destiny begins right at that moment.

She finds their first fight together against the effigy to be unsatisfying given how long she had waited for such a moment. After explaining the details of the Holy Grail War, she says she will keep her identity a secret for the time being to avoid having enemies find out. She will eventually reveal it as she gets to know them more. She turns the private room into her audience chamber to answer any grievances they may have for her.

They face Shinji Matou and Rider in the first week. She hates Shinji, and compares him to a talking rat. Once they finally reach the battle, she finds the Coliseum to be lacking, as it bears little resemblance to the Roman Coliseum and lacks even a single spectator. She believes she has to make up for the tackiness of the stage with a brilliant display of bravery. After Shinji and Rider's defeat, she claims that she wanted to hang Rider, but chooses to drop her ill will after she comes to feels pity for her instead.

After the battle, she comforts the Protagonist over their feelings towards Shinji's death. She understands the need to lament over Shinji's death even if their friendship was only brief. While someone like Rin will abandon her civility to be emotionless towards the deaths of others, she claims that she won't do such a thing. She has come to like the Protagonist even more after their recent ordeals though she is unsure of the exact reason.

She likes those who are kind, and while their tears have no beauty in them, she is still moved by them nonetheless. She encourages them to forge onward towards the end of the Grail War. The stronger wish is not that which triumphs in the end, but rather the wish that is more beautiful. Their wish may be a small and frail seed, but it will blossom beautifully by the end as long as they keep winning and let resolution bloom in their mind.

After the second round begins, she is wary of Dan Blackmore due to his great experience and the Protagonist's lack of motivation. She dislikes Archer's style of battle, as she prefers direct combat and hates those who attack from the shadows without any refinement. She thinks his actions lack any beauty, and takes a particular dislike for his poisons, only for the fact that she thinks he could have used better ones.

She suggests that Archer and Dan cannot communicate soul to soul, so their defeat lies in observing the differences in their philosophies. She prefers the Protagonist, who only relies on willpower rather than ability or philosophy, and she entrusts herself to it without question.

Fate/Extra CCC
In the prologue, Hakuno hears Saber's voice who begs Hakuno to wake up and remember her but Hakuno has no memory on who the voice belongs to. Once Hakuno was devoured by BB's shadows, Hakuno once again hears Saber's voice and reaches out to her. Saber breaks the barrier to save Hakuno and took Hakuno to the new school. When she reached to the Far side of Moon cell, she wore her new costume "Saber Bride."

In Chapter bad end, BB separates Hakuno from Saber. Hakuno travels to the World of Logo to search for her. Hakuno eventually regains Saber, unseals her noble phantasm and they both face BB's shadow Requiem.

She develops a rivalry relationship with Elizabeth. In chapter 7 Hakuno enters inside Saber to her Innercore Harmonics. Hakuno temporary formed a contract with Elizabeth, they fought against the Zero Model of Saber.

In Saber's ending, Hakuno restores the Mooncell Holy Grail war and the story follows the Fate/Extra route. Before Hakuno gets deleted, Saber saves Hakuno from the process. Saber Hakuno kept their promise to get married. She activates her hidden noble phantasm, the environment changes to a church and Saber wearing her wedding dress.

Carnival Phantasm
Saber makes a brief appearance in Episode 8, during Taiga Dojo segment. She is called Red Saber (赤 セイバー). Like in Fate/Extra, she is arrogant, proud and shamelessly flaunts her sexuality, noting that her transparent skirt does not bare her flesh, but rather 'deliberately allows others to see it'. She was also disappointed that the delayed release of Fate/Extra made her too late enjoy the huge carnival she had rushed to join and that she will not be in the third season. She makes another brief appearance in the bonus episode, citing it as her debut even though Rider points out her previous appearance. She later asks if she will soon get her own show, and becomes disappointed that her screen time is ending.

Abilities
She wields a scarlet long sword called Aestus Estus: The Embryonic Flame. It is a hand-crafted crimson sword brought with her when summoned under the Saber Class by a Master. It has the following inscription carved on it: regnum caelorum et gehenna (the kingdom of heaven and hell). She feels it is the ultimate instrument, and that muses would bow before the sound it makes. While she is a skilled charioteer that "rivals the solar deity Sol", she feels that she would not be suitable for the Rider class because of her general dislike for them. Even before becoming a Heroic Spirit, she had the skill and strength to grapple a lion and asphyxiate it with her bare arms.

Due to the Protagonist's status as a "pseudo-magus" who didn't actively enter the Grail War, all of her parameters are an extremely low E rank at the beginning. She has lost use of much of her power, including her Noble Phantasm. She claims the magic in her blade is weak due to that, and wishes for her Master to devote to strengthening her with haste. She can be returned to her proper level of power by increasing the bond between their souls. Aozaki Aoko offers Alteration of the Soul to increase this bond and her parameters by hacking their souls.

The skills she develops include powerful sword blows and support skills. Her skills appear to be named after aspects of her personality such as her love of flowers and her status. Her most powerful attack after her Noble phantasm is called Blossom of the Court, it is a powerful strike in which she dashes forward and performs a slash that seems to create an effect of petals flowing with it thus following her theme of flowers. It can only be performed when her Noble Phantasm is activated, however, a less powerful version of it known as Veil of petals can be utilized outside of her Noble Phantasm. She also possesses an ability to revive herself if she falls in battle called Thrice-setting Sun, it is similar in nature to God Hand, but it must be prepared beforehand and will only bring her back once per activation(meaning in order to use it again she must prepare it once more).

Her Noble Phantasm is unavailable to her for a number of rounds in the war. It is Aestus Domus Aurea (Theater of the Deranged), she performs three powerful strikes and implants her sword into the ground thus activating it. It is an "absolute imperial zone" that resembles a Reality Marble and allows the owner to achieve their aspirations. It boosts Saber's parameters and negates an opponents defence, though its true effect as a phantasm is unclear.