Saber of Red


 * This page is about the Fate/Apocrypha Servant. For the nickname of the Fate/Extra Servant, see Playable Saber (Fate/Extra).

Saber of "Red" ("赤"のセイバー) is the Saber-class Servant of Kairi Sisigou of the Red Faction in the Great Holy Grail War of Fate/Apocrypha.

Identity
Saber's identity is Morudoreddo (モルドレッド), The Knight of Treachery (叛逆の騎士), and the "son" of King Arthur, but she is actually female despite being raised as the secret male heir to the throne. She became known as a "rare villain" who managed to tarnish a glorious legend at the end of her life. She was conceived between Artoria and her sister, Morgan le Fay, through unorthodox circumstances. Artoria, normally female, was a pseudo-male at the time due to Merlin's magecraft, so Morgan enchanted her with a spell to extract sperm from her. Morgan developed it within her own ovary, and made the child into a homunculus clone of Artoria. Due to her status as a homunculus, she was given a much faster growth period than a regular human being, and her life span was far shorter. She was raised in secret and told to hide her status and obey the king until the time was right.

Told that it is her right to inherit the throne, Morgan bid her to one day defeat the King of Knights and take "his" place. She did bare that same obsession as her mother, but before all that was her adoration for King Arthur. She felt ashamed of her twisted birth, unconsciously acting jealous of normal people, and, with the special innocence that children possess, she worshipped the "perfect king." Given a helmet she was told never to remove in front of others, she was eventually sent to Camelot under Morgan's recommendation, and through a presentation of her own superb swordsmanship, became one of the. She was given her sword despite her unknown origins because of her abilities and straightforward mental chivalry.

She protected the way of the knights much like that which could only be found in picture books, working hard daily in being the ideal knight, all while hiding her dislike of others. In the end, even that innocence was shattered by Morgan, who revealed the secrets of her birth. She learned of her parentage and was told that the King didn't know either. Morgan tried to instill that the King would never accept such a filthy child, but she was, while shocked, wrapped in joy. While not a proper human being, sharing the same blood as the King, being the "son" of a superior king, she was proud of the fact that she was not human. She felt that in name, reality, mind, and body that she was fit to be the true successor of the King of Knights.

She went without having the slightest feelings of rebellion, spurred on by the truth, and approached the King with delight. Raised without a father, the King was the very form of a godlike "father" to her, but Artoria rejected her very clearly. She said that, while Mordred is certainly born from her and her sister's plotting, that she will not recognize Mordred as her "son" or give her the throne. Mordred believed that it was all due to the King's hatred for Morgan, that it would be impossible for her "son" to be accepted. Thinking that was the reason her title was the weakest, believing that no matter how hard she tried, even if she excelled over everyone, that the King would forever view her as a dirtied child from the moment she was born from Morgan, her great love for the king up until then made her hatred burn.

Resulting from that, the distrust of the Round Table towards the King spread, and the reigns of power in Camelot were seized once the King departed for the Rome expedition. Mordred became the leader of the rebellion, representing the national discontent towards Arthur. After the King finally returned from a long and tiresome battle, Mordred raged, claiming that she hated the King and that only she was fit for the throne. The truth of the matter was that she only wanted to be accepted by Artoria and wanted to be called "son" by her. The conflict eventually lead towards a final fight, the Battle of Camlann, where both armies were dying in heated battle. The few knights that stayed with the King soon died off, leaving only the two of them standing.

The two faced each other on a hill of swords in the middle of a blazing battledield, where Mordred pointed out that the country had ended and that the victor no longer mattered because everything was gone. Blaming the situation on the King for not giving her the crown, she asked if the King hated the "son of Morgan" that much. Artoria emotionlessly replied, "Not once did I despise you. There was only one reason I would not give you the throne. You didn't have the capacity of a King." Mordred charged forward while driven on by passion, and was eventually defeated in single combat, collapsing while still pierced by the holy spear Rhongomyniad. Freed of the mask forced upon her, with a face identical to her "father", she said "....Father", all while reaching out to touch the King with blood-soaked hands at least once, but was not even granted that wish as she fell. Due to being bound by a strong curse, Mordred still swung her sword after her death, leaving a fatal wound on Artoria who later died of her wounds.

The citation does not detail the curse. And is incorrect to then link after this sentence.

Appearances
Saber is small in stature, covered completely in thick armor that entirely wraps her small frame. The single mass of steel and her face-covering helm conceal both her race and gender, so those seeing her face are often surprised by her being female. She needs to remove her helm to use her Noble Phantasm, so she cannot help revealing her appearance when utilizing it. Though she has the face of a young girl, Kairi also sees the possibility of her being male when first seeing her face.

Due to only having her armor, she cannot remain materialized in public without modern clothing. In Sighisoara, Kairi buys her a tube top that exposes her abdomen and a crimson leather jacket. While not providing enough coverage for the cold autumn season, her status as a Servant makes weather a non-issue for her.

Personality
Saber is extremely prideful and haughty, boasting herself to be equal or better than her father in the ways of ruling and swordsmanship, and believes only her status as the child of Morgan caused her to be rejected. Rather than simply wish on the Grail to become king, she instead wishes to use it to challenge the sword of appointment as a method of proving kingship that even her father could not deny. She does not even think of failure, boasting overpowering words from a clear and unclouded voice that shows dignity befitting of a king. She abhors any discussion of her gender, displaying clear killing intent even towards her own Master. She says with no uncertainty that the topic is never to be brought up before her. She does display no issue in wearing clothing that shows off her body.

Kairi is unable to determine her true thoughts about her father, believing them to be on the thin line between love and hate. He feels that she was certainly greatly influenced by her father, leading to the rebellion. He cannot tell if it was out of wishing to become more like her father or to deny the way of the king or whether it was right or wrong, but considers it to have been a courageous act either way. She is seen in history as the antagonist who deceived the the legendary King of Knights, whose name remains carved in Britain even in modern times. He feels that the one who attempted rebellion with the King's men is more interesting than Arthur, the "very manifestation of chivalry."

While she has the face of a fair, young girl, that does nothing to hide her brutal nature. She is filled with pure rage over the events of her life, and she does not bother to conceal it in the first place. She can be likened to a Berserker during battle, her glaring eyes displaying a mix of joy for battle and cruelty. While Noble Phantasms are normally a source of pride, hers, crowned with the name of her father, it is closer to a sort of grudge. While there were many Knights of the Round Table who were divided into allies and enemies towards the end of their country, it had been a place of lively discussion for them all. It was not by design that those events had transpired, so it would be odd for most of them to hate it. Saber, who rebelled against the king, is likely the only one to revile it, hating it with such a passion that even a shard of it brings out rage in her.

Due to their affinity with each other, she is able to get along well with her Master, and he believes they are very alike in their over-abundance of confidence. Used to the eccentricities of magi from being with her mother, she still manages to find displeasure with his morbid tastes as a necromancer, but can do little to argue with him about them. As being in spiritual form makes her feel uneasy, claiming that she cannot calm herself without having her feet firmly planted on the ground, he agrees to buy her clothing. She is only used to wearing her uncomfortable armor, so she feels much more free without having to wear it.

Development
Mordred first made appearance in Type-moon's Character material book, Takashi Takeuchi was responsible for the character design. At that time Kinoko Nasu hasn't decided for Mordred's gender until Fate/Apocrypha. It was Takeuchi idea to put Mordred as a new addition to Fate/Apocrypha. As Saber of Red Mordred was originally going to be male like the legend, but it was thought that having two male characters look feminine, the other being Rider of Black, was too much. Takeuchi calls her the crowning achievement of the culture created by TYPE-MOON.

Yuuichirou Higashide was torn over whether to make her a man or woman but it became more certainty for him when he looked at the draft of her personal everyday clothes. It was his idea to integrate the helmet to be part of the armor. Ototsugu Konoe has redesigned Mordred's armor in Fate/Apocrypha. When Konoe heard the idea about the helmet from Higashide, the proposal left him at his wits end. Konoe was nervous about getting her design right as she is part of the Saber series, he had an unexpectly satisflying feeling when he finished drawing her.

Fate/Apocrypha
Kairi Sisigou receives a shard of the Round Table from Rocco Belfaban to act as the catalyst for his Servant. Upon arriving in Bucharest, Romania, he chooses the cemetery in Stavropoleos Church for his summoning ritual. Due to the general nature of the catalyst, he has no idea as to which of the Heroic Spirits connected to it will be summoned, and at around the same time as the Black Faction summons their remaining Servants, Saber is brought into the world. She refuses to shake his hand when he introduces himself, initially displeased by the location in which she was summoned. As she deduces his status as a necromancer, they banter until he asks about her true name.

As she is wearing her helmet, Secret of Pedigree, he cannot see her statistics clearly even though he is her Master. After she removes it, his clear shock at her being female causes him to remark on it, earning a murderous gaze from her. As he promises to never again bring it up, she is somewhat placated as he moves back onto the topic of her name. She is confused because he should know from having called for her, but learns that it was a shard of the Round Table that was used. Her regained mood once again gone, she slashes it apart and stomps on it with pure anger towards it in her voice. This act allows him to deduce her identity, causing her to feel some shame at it being discovered from such actions.

They discuss her rebellion, which she speaks of with great rage and animosity. As her pedigree as the child of Morgan was too great a flaw, she claims she let the country end in rebellion to let all others see there was no meaning to King Arthur's reign. As she speaks of her wish, Kairi sees the flaw in that it is not guaranteed even with her bloodline that she will be able to draw the sword, but the certainty in her words causes him to think that she may even be able to easily draw it out. Saber then immediately decides that it is time for them to act, and as Kairi attempts to dissuade her from acting without knowledge, they are given a message from one of Assassin of Red's doves to arrange a meeting.

As they proceed towards the church in Sighisoara, Saber brings up the topic of clothing to wear in public, surprising her Master at the unexpectedness of the request, and he agrees to purchase them after the meeting. Arriving at the arranged time of nine in the morning, they are greeted by Shirou Kotomine, and though Saber cannot sense other Servants, she warns Kairi that she has a bad feeling about the situation. As Kairi and Shirou introduce themselves, Shirou asks for Saber to be materialized, and when Kairi starts to object, she tells him to proceed due to her feeling of unease. She appears on guard, and due to her Secret of Pedigree, Shirou is surprised when he cannot tell her statistics using his Ruler-class abilities.

After Shirou has Assassin materialize, Saber is angered at her presence, thinking her to be a "foul hag." As Shirou and Kairi speak of the strength of Lancer of Red and Rider of Red, Saber momentarily thinks that one could potentially be her father. Kairi dismisses the thought, hoping that their forces won't be divided from the very start by such an event. She is annoyed by Shirou requesting her true name to be revealed, but notes that Assassin's laughter bothers her even more. Completely against the idea on instinct, she is pleased that her Master is of the same mind. As they leave, she cannot sense any followers, and compares Assassin's treacherousness to that of her mother. Pleased with the personality of her Master in not placing a price on possible trickery and deceit, she claims that facing all of the Servants alone is nothing for her who was the only knight to surpass her father.

Kairi buys her clothing before they depart to Trifas, allowing her to stay materialized. She once again displays great eagerness to jump right into battle, but Kairi manages to dissuade her. Upon arriving at the location for his workshop, she is disparaged to find it to be catacombs. Although she tries to argue, saying that even if she had not been a knight that the location is unsuitable for anyone, he simply passes it off by giving her the better of their two sleeping bags. Realizing that arguing is worthless, she follows the adage of "the key to dealing with a magus is to give up." Conceding that it is a suitable location despite it being a tomb, she watches as he begins to process his hydra into a poison. Disinterested in the process, she asks about his wish for the Grail.

She is finds his answer to be boring, but is somewhat upset when he brings up that sons looks to succeed the dreams of their fathers. Going to sleep, Kairi muses over her past and becomes slightly depressed upon seeing that she has the face of an innocent child as she sleeps. Upon searching for a suitable vantage point to scout the Black Faction's fortress, they trip a detection field and become attacked by Caster of Black's golems and homunculi. Fighting with her characteristic wild style of fighting, she easily destroys golems while Kairi fights the homunculi. Impressed with his abilities, they examine the remains of the golems, getting some idea as to their maker and a possible identity. They decide to retreat for the moment, and though they had been watched, Secret of Pedigree protected her identity. She inquires how he rates her abilities, proudly boasting at his praise.

She later fights with the shapeshifted Sieg who takes the form of Saber of Black during a large battle, she was disappointed with his strength as a Saber-class Servant and even pointed out that Saber of Black was a fake. After numerous clashes, he decides to utilize his Noble Phantasm Balmung, and she responds with Clarent. She emerges victorious, but only due to the special properties of the weapons and the distance from which they attacked. She is angry with the fact that he managed to survive, enraged by the unforgivable fact. Simply continuing to grip his sword is enough to earn her hatred, and raising his head and attempting to stand is something she could never accept even if given the chance to slash him apart a hundred times. She decides to lop off his head and run her sword through his heart, a privilege only allowed for her.

Other Appearances
Mordred was briefly mentioned in Fate/stay night and during flashbacks to Saber's past in anime adaptation in episode 21.

Mordred received an entry in the Character material booklet.

Mordred made a brief appearance in the first season ending credits of Fate/Zero. The Ufotable anime adaptation portrays Mordred being impaled by Saber's spear in a brutal battle.

Abilities
Saber is an exceptional Servant befitting her class, taking a large amount of energy as payment for her great strength. She possesses Prana Burst like her "father", allowing her to release magic energy carried in one's arms or one's flesh to move with sudden speed or strength. She displays the ability to jump to the top of a building with a single leap, the force of her jumping is great enough to blow away a multitude of warriors and pulverize a battle tank with ease, and her augmented physical strength is enough to overwhelm fighters of much greater stature.

Saber's Noble Phantasms are Secret of Pedigree, her helmet that conceals her true name, Noble Phantasms, and Personal Skills, and Clarent, her silver sword capable of an Anti-Army attack, Clarent Blood Arthur. She does not move with the elegance of a knight or display the beauty of swordsmanship, but instead fights with abandon like a wild beast. This trait allows her to be summoned as Berserker. She uses her two handed sword with a single hand, and rather than simply doing so as to punch an opponent, she will even go as far as throwing her sword should it grant her victory over her opponent. Normally the very heart and soul of the knight, she views swordsmanship as only another means of victory, and she is willing to punch, kick, or bite to win over her opponent.