Caster of Black

Caster of "Black" ("黒"のキャスター) is the Caster-class Servant of Roche Frain Yggdmillennia of the Black Faction in the Great Holy Grail War of Fate/Apocrypha. He also becomes the proxy Master of Berserker of Red after capturing him. He was not part of the designs for the original canceled online game project.

Identity
Caster's True Name is Avikeburon (アヴィケブロン), also known as Solomon ibn Gabirol (ソロモン・イブン・ガビーロール), a twelfth-century poet and philosopher. He was born in Malaga, Spain, and although he did not have the glory of a knight or king or the recognition of having produced works of art that would prosper for thousands of years, he was the father of an entire thaumaturgical system, Kabbalah, and one of the starting points of the process leading up to the European through bringing Greco-Arabic and Jewish lore and enlightenment to the cultural circles of Europe. He is recognized as a "hero" who heavily influenced both the history of the world and thaumaturgy.

He had suffered from many illnesses during his life, and had spent his days with almost zero contact with other humans. He had even purposefully created maid-type golems to take care of the housework in order to maintain his isolation.

Appearance
Caster wears a featureless mask without openings for eyes or a mouth, a full-body suit, and a blue mantle. Due to the mask he wore, it was impossible to tell whether he was afraid or even felt any emotion at all.

Personality
Caster is noted to be eccentric, and he sometimes does not speak even when addressed, simply nodding in affirmation. He had a poor constitution and pessimistic bent in life, so he had been reluctant to come in contact with other people. He was able to hold conversation with others, but never placed any emotion into the exchange. Due to his specialty in a single type of thaumaturgy as a magus, he never had worries about the miscellaneous chores of his abode. His wish was to complete his Noble Phantasm, Golem Keter Malkuth.

Roche refers to him as master (先生) out of respect. Caster is impressed with Roche's passion for golems, when he gave advice to Roche, he would immediately try to correct those points and aim to make them better. If Roche has existed in Caster's lifetime, Roche might have been able to serve as his pupil with his outstanding talent. Roche is similarly cynical, but the two have a good working relationship. However Caster is bad with children due to his poor health in his lifetime and he had never had any contact with children, and a situation where a child adored and idolized him like this was simply baffling and uncomfortable for him. Caster liked that there was a family lineage that still continued to pass on the mysteries of golem-making that he and his forefathers had created. Although Roche is an ideal Master for him, he seems to have plans of his own, noting that it is only ideal for the time being.

Fate/Apocrypha
Caster is summoned by Roche two months before the Holy Grail War, around the same time as Lancer of Black. They spend the majority of their time manufacturing golems as a war force within their workshop in the Fortress of Millennia. He is busy designing his Noble Phantasm, so it takes him longer to prepare for the multiple summoning ritual to bring forth the remaining Servants. Appearing silently before Roche's side, they watch the ritual and then return to their work.

Darnic meets with Caster to discuss the arrival of materials for golems, and he is told that they had just arrived after having been delayed due to the conflict with the Mage's Association. They also discuss Caster's Noble Phantasm, Golem Keter Malkuth, and the need for a core. As Darnic recommends being more prudent in their selection, Caster agrees he has been haste in his need to complete it, deciding to refine its material components so that the core can be inserted afterward. Roche arrives with the delivered materials as Darnic leaves, and Caster continues his instructions on golem construction.

With the scouting of Kairi Sisigou and Saber of Red, several of his golems are sent to match them. Though their quality is enough to withstand multiple hits from Saber's sword, they easily fall to her blade. His scrying allows for him to later show the events to the rest of the Black Faction. They later return to their work, proceeding with their work on the insertion of Magic Circuit into golems, viewed by one of the homunculi who has recently gained as sense of self. The homunculus is one of three chosen for the experiment, but he later manages to escape before it can begin. Although homunculi are sent out to find the escapee on his orders, Rider finds and hides the homunculus from them.

As part of Darnic's plan to capture Berserker of Red, Several of Caster's golems are sent along with Rider to capture Berserker. However, neither Rider nor the golems are able to match Berserker, even after his legs are reverted to spirit form by Rider's Trap of Argalia. Berserker is then impaled by Lancer's Kazikli Bey yet still advances, but Caster commands his golems to meld together to imprison Berserker. After Berserker's contract is anulled, Caster is made into his Master by proxy. Soon afterwards though, Caster alerts Darnic that Rider is escaping the castle with the Homunculus, which prompts Darnic to send Gordes and Saber after them.

When the Red Faction arrive in Yggmillenia's territory with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Caster joins the other Servants of Black as they look upon the Gardens and the impending army of Dragon Tooth Warriors. As Lancer gives out his orders to everyone, he tells Caster to stay back and discern himself the opportune moment to release Berserker from his shackles and send him into battle. As the battle rages on between the factions, Caster watches Rider of Red easily tear through the homunculi with his chariot, which he easily stops by commanding his golems to entangle the horses' legs. Later Caster decides to release Berserker, relieved he was able to convince him to fight his former comrades since he wouldn't have survived one hit from Berserker. But as he walks back into the castle he notice that Roche is outside, which prompts Caster to ask his Master as to what he is doing outside the castle. Roche answers that he wanted to see Caster's golems in action, and that he would like him to look over his golems. Answering Roche that he will look at his golems later, Caster thinks about how ideal of a student Roche is and the irony of how he's bad with children.

After Assassin of Red steals the Greater Grail with the Gardens, Caster with Lancer and Archer is sent into the gardens to take it back. Inside they soon encounter the Servants of Red and do battle against them, with Caster using his golems to fight Archer of Red. When Darnic suddenly appears into the Gardens though, he and the other Servants watch as Lancer is forced by Darnic into becoming the Nameless Vampire. However, Ruler arrives and, after discerning the situation for herself, uses her Command Spells to empower Caster and the other Servants against the Vampire. Joining the others, Caster sends his golems to attack the Vampire, and using them to at dull its movements. However the fight ends when the Servants of Red suddenly collapse and the Vampire runs off at the opportunity, and Caster is left behind with the Servants of Red as Ruler and Archer chase after the Vampire. Later Caster and the Servants of Red appear where Ruler and Archer are confronting Shirou Kotomine, who has revealed himself the Ruler from the third war as welll as now the Master of the Servants of Red. Shirou tries to convince the Black Faction to surrender, and while Archer refuses, Caster decides to join on the condition that his Master remain unharmed. Agreeing to these terms, Shirou begins to form a contract with Caster, whom is fired upon by Archer but the arrow is intercepted by Lancer of Red. After completing the contract Shirou orders Caster to surround Ruler and Archer, which Caster promptly follows and prepares to kill the pair with golems when Shirou orders him to. However, Saber of Red suddenly appears and helps the two escape, which prompts Caster to chase after them but he's unable to catch them. Caster then contacts Roche and has him meet him at the lake where his Noble Phantasm is being kept.

Abilities
Caster claims he is weak and that he would have been killed by a single blow from Berserker of Red.

Caster is able to scry using thaumaturgy and familiars, he is able to project images from the flame of a Menorah, allowing for live viewing when projected onto a wall in a manner similar to a film. This technique, utilizing airborne golems as a relay, far exceeded the maximum viewing range of the normal remote surveillance thaumaturgy used by magi. He can communicate telepathically amongst his allies.

Golems
Caster has the ability to manufacture golems, doll servants, through his Kabbalistic techniques, Territory Creation, and Item Construction. Golems has the word meaning ‘embryo’ or ‘moulded being’. Therefore, golems were nothing other than an attempt to reproduce the secret mystery of how God created the human Adam. His workshop within the fortress is not one specialized in defense, but rather more like a factory specialized in golem construction. His skill in Item Construction is specialized towards golems, making it impossible to construct anything else. Devoting himself to their creation, he can produce thirty golems in a single day, and over a two-month period he is able to manufacture over a thousand of them with Roche. He uses them to work around the workshop, organizing tools and cleaning as needed. He also uses his workshop to design his Noble Phantasm, Golem Keter Malkuth.

They are inhuman creations of stone and bronze compared to humanoid homunculi. Their quality is such that a modern magus would barely be able to build a single one of them in a year's time, and they possess fluid movements without a trace of the typical awkwardness displayed by other golems. They come in various shapes and types, both humanoid and non-humanoid. Examples include a slender one made from spirit wood, those in the exact form of humans, those with limbs like spiders, those capable of flight that are modeled after dragonflies, and many others. He created a horse golem for Lancer, it was made of a combination of iron and bronze with an uneven design. Its eyes consisted of a red ruby and blue sapphire, which each carried a bewitching shine. He uses materials like jewels for organs and parchment for their skin, each at least eight hundred years old, in great quantities. Mercury is used for applying parchment, and the larger models need their joints reinforced when it is applied. Magic Circuits taken from living beings can be inserted for the creation of golems able to perform magecraft, harvesting them from the Black Faction's homunculi.

Those meant for battle are divided into three groups by size, and they are noted to be eagerly awaiting battle. Using his Numerology, multiple commands can be given to multiple golems instantly by combining shortened arias due to Notarikon. They are an incomparable war force able to easily match average magi in combat, though they will never be a match for a strong Servant. Though they lack in numbers, their sheer recklessness utilizing their large bodies and stone fists to destroy their enemies makes up for that. They are still valuable enough as stumbling blocks for Servants, and they have the potential to fight evenly with low-ranking Servants and defeat those unsuited to close combat like Caster or Assassin. Compared to one of Roche's golems that could not withstand a hit from a Servant, his can withstand up to three hits from Saber of Red in certain cases. Upon being destroyed, their remains shortly burst into flame and turn to ash.

He can give direct command to his golems, he can manipulate ten golems for each fingers. The golems can be converted to a fluid form that coil and shackle around enemies. Though he used this to imprison Berserker of Red, it is ineffective to the Nameless Vampire as he can changes form into mist or bats and it can only dull his movements. He can temporary stop Rider of Red's chariot by ordering his golems to split apart and each entwined themselves with the legs of the chariot's horses and then instantly hardened themselves.