Archer of Black

Archer of "Black" ("黒"のアーチャー) is the Archer-class Servant of Fiore Forvedge Yggdmillennia of the Black Faction in the Great Holy Grail War of Fate/Apocrypha.

Identity
Archer is Keirōn (ケイローン), a centaur, half man and half horse, who was known as a great sage among his kind. He mentored numerous famous heroes starting with Heracles,, , and later also mentoring Achilles, in Greek mythology, and he became the model for Sagittarius, the Archer in the sky. He is the son of the Titan, patron of the harvest and the earth, and the deity , making him a Divine Spirit that would not normally qualify for the status of Heroic Spirit.

He was caught in a conflict between the Heracles and his fellow Centaurs, Chiron was mistakenly shot by Heracles with an arrow tipped in Hydra poison, and due to the extreme agony it caused him, he gave up his immortality to be released from it. He lost his complete Divinity along with his immortality, allowing him to become an existence that could be summoned by the Grail.

Personality
Archer is noble and caring, and Fiore notes his presence to be like that of a massive forest, its cool and clear air engulfing her miniscule existence. He is well mannered and treats everyone with courtesy. In his lifetime, he taught many heroes, and within the black faction, he is well respected by his peers for his wisdom and advice. Lancer of Black addresses him as a sage, entrusting him with the command of the front lines and with helping to better fortify their fortress. From time to time, he provides advice and counsel to Rider of Black and Sieg.

Development
He was not part of the designs for the original canceled online game project. He was planned by Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi, Ototsugu Konoe was responsible for the character design.

Fate/Apocrypha
Archer is summoned in a multiple Servant summoning with an ancient arrow covered with his old blood acting as a catalyst. Rider of Black quickly takes to learning the others' names, causing Archer to be momentarily taken aback before introducing himself. After the end of the ritual and returning to Fiore's quarters, he explains his appearance and the necessity for appearing as such. He tells her he will not bring shame upon his name and promises that, rather than simply requiring her to trust words of his strength, he will show her his worth as her Servant with his bow on the battlefield. With the scouting of Kairi Sisigou and Saber of Red, Lancer asks for his opinion on the Saber, and he concludes that the Servant will bring them no great trouble should they figure out her Noble Phantasm.

Soon after, Rider appears at his room with the homunculus that escaped from Caster of Black. Having heard of the situation of the escapee, he is able to quickly deduce the situation and attend to the homunculus. Rider asks him to use his healing expertise to look at the homunculus' condition, and Rider is saddened upon learning that the homunculus will have a difficult time even living normally and likely expire within three years. As the downtrodden Rider apologizes for dirtying Archer's bed with the various fluids from the homunculus' tank, Archer inquires as to his reason for saving the homunculus, Rider answering without hesitation that it was because it was what he wished. Archer agrees that it was the correct decision as a Heroic Spirit, believing that either saving or overlooking him is the right course of action. He decides to leave the room to Rider for moment, asking him if he will take responsibility for the homunculus' life until the end. Rider responds that he will not abandon the homunculus.

Abilities
Archer has taken the form of a human in exchange for some of his parameters being reduced, but it does not particularly affect his skill with a bow. There is no problem with being summoned in his centaur form, but appearing as a centaur is enough to quickly narrow down possible identities from the more famous heroes. His name would be the first to appear, especially with the bow in his hand due to being the Heroic Spirit model for Sagittarius. Other than his archaic style of dress, he looks only like a gentle man without any traits to reveal his identity.

Due to Wisdom from the Gods, the various wisdoms bestowed upon him by the Greek gods, he can display proficiency in all skills not characteristic to other heroes at a level ranging from B to A rank; this is shown greatly where,unexpected of his class, Archer is also skilled in close combat where he can fight bare handedly, as a master of Pankration, where he was able to counter the charging Saber of Red with a throwing technique. He can also grant skills to other Servants with his Master's permission. Having taught many heroes as a sage, including Asclepius who later became the god of medicine, he is an expert on healing. He can easily diagnose Sieg in an instant by scanning over every part of his body with his marksman's eyes, checking his pulse, and placing a hand over his heart. He is able to tell the reasons for his condition and estimate his lifespan just from that information.

He has an extremely high tactical eye, and as a result, he has been entrusted with the command of the front lines from Lancer of Black. He utilizes a good strategy to save Saber and Berserker through his judgment and skill.