Rider (Fate/Zero)

Rider (ライダー) is the Rider-class Servant of Waver Velvet in the Fourth Holy Grail War of Fate/Zero.

Identity
Iskandar, Alexander the Great, Al-Iskandar, The Lord of War, the Maharaorajah. The King of Conquerors who almost ruled the world. Usurping the throne of Macedonia, the young king had since then subdued the neighboring countries in the blink of an eye. His ambition crossed over the Straits, and he had wanted to extend his insolent neck into this great empire of Persia.

The King spoke of his reasons. His goal was the end of the world. His destination the furthest border of the East. He wanted to behold Oceanus with his own two eyes. He wanted to leave his footprints at the beach beside that endless sea. No one believed him, but this man brought his army away with him continuing towards the East. The defeated generals finally understood... the tyrant wasn't lying.

Even looking pitiful and deplorable, the soldiers suddenly thought. What would they see behind that mountain –? What would they see at the other side of the sky –? And they went after the back of the great king traveling to the east. The army of the King increased endlessly with his victories on his road of progress, towards the east, towards Oceanus, the endless sea. Until, together with the king, they behold the legendary beach. Across boiling deserts, over chilling snow-capped mountains, fording billowing rivers, chasing away ferocious beasts, and fighting for their lives for times out of count with those alien tribes never seen before and the unknown weapons and strategies they deployed, they continued towards Oceanus.

Even when they died in battle after giving all they had, their faces still held a proud smile until the end. They’d be able to return to the image in their dreams, the evening-mist-covered seashore that they had once seen. A scene that they continued to long for in their hearts during their heroic crusading lives.



Their bodies may return to ash but they are loyal followers, they are true companions, one flawless cooperation with their king. The king had stronger desires than anyone else, was more magnificent than anyone else, was more easily angered than anyone else, pure and chaotic, a man who was more real than any other man.

At his death, Alexander's kingdom became four separate warring factions that quickly disappeared into the sands of history. He can grieve for it, he can shed tears... but never regret.

Appearance
Rider is a tall man standing over two meters in height. He has large muscles that give the impression of being able to kill a bear with his bare hands. He has sternly chiseled features with eyes that give off a dazzling glow, able to overtake Waver's soul in an instant with their sharpness, and burning red hair and beard. He wears bronze armor with cuffs and greaves with fringes that leaves his arms and thighs unprotected. He wears a thick mantle, with fringes like his cuffs, dyed in a similar red to his hair. It is luxuriously decorated, and looks like a curtain wrapping the stage of a theater. Takashi Takeuchi feels that without his mantle, Rider gives off an intimate feeling that puts him in style with commoners.

While historical records called him short because he couldn't reach the foot stool of Darius' throne after conquering the Persian empire and had to swap it for a table to sit on the throne, he claims that it is because he was truly short when compared to Darius. Towering over three meters tall, Rider calls him a emperor of majestic caliber and figure, fitting as a ruler over the mighty Persian Empire. In the end, he considers that history written by random people cannot completely and accurately describe the situation back then, so he has no problems with the inaccuracy.

During life, Alexander took the lead in wearing Asiatic clothing due to his interest in cultures of his conquered land, causing his followers to avert him like the plague. He does the same in the present, changing into contemporary styled clothes while in public because of trying not to lag behind Saber and her suit. He orders an XL sized t-shirt based on the "The Admiral’s Great Tactics" videogame he takes to playing in his free time. It is white shirt with the logo of the game imprinted on top of the world map, looking much like a cheapskate product from the games segment published on the front page of the special edition a magazine.

He is very happy with it because it gives him "the effect of having the whole world on my chest" and goes well with the conqueror outfit. Due to his pride in the shirt, he first attempts to move around in public without any pants or undergarments, which he doesn't find to be strange in the least. He refers to pants as "that thing that causes you to stumble", and hates the idea of having to wear them. Takeuchi felt like a loincloth may have been suitable for him. Waver eventually buys him large jeans, so that he can actually go out without troubles. Out of his initial designs, Takeuchi likes the one with the "three feelers" in the center.

Personality
Rider is noble and physically overbearing. He is not pragmatic, but is a person who lets history run its course and acts according to his impulses. While he is wild and somewhat inconsiderate to others, his greed ultimately resulted in the happiness of the people he ruled over.

In his lifetime he wanted to reach the edge of the world but when he found out that the world was sphere, he was in disbelief yet he looks forward to conquer the world. He desires for his incarnation not bounded as a servant but as a human again so he can conquer the world with his army. In the fourth Grail War, he wanted Saber, Archer and Lancer to join his conquest. He prefers to conquer his enemies by winning without killing and controlling without humiliating them. He admires Saber abilities as an individual and believes her to be an amazing asset of his army but he looks down on her kingship and believes her to be naive to consider changing the past to save her country. He has a mutual rivalry with Gilgamesh, they both share a certain view of being tyrant king but Rider wants Gilgamesh to join his conquest as his Gate of Babylon possess mass amount of powerful weapons which he wants his army to use them for his conquest.

Rider highly values friendship as he regards the bond with all of his followers in Ionioi Hetairoi as his greatest treasure. They all, in turn, gives him their undivided loyalty and adoration. He also admires people who treat friendship with sincerity especially when he meets Taiga Fujimura.

Despite his Master's shortcomings and their vast differences in goals and personalities, Rider is very quick to start bonding with Waver on a personal level. During their first encounter with the other Servants, Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi, who was originally planning to summon Rider, begins to berate and torment Waver by calling him incompetent. Rider instantly defends Waver's dignity by rebuffing Kayneth for only speaking to them while in hiding. Only someone who will ride onto the battlefield with him is worthy of being his Master, so a coward who only hides in the shadows is a true shame to their battle.

Rider is bisexual, so it is possible he would have attempted sexual relationships with both Kayneth and Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri if he had been summoned by them.

Development
Takashi Takeuchi considers Rider to be the key character of Fate/Zero due to the time and energy that went into his design. He considers it difficult to draw due to its complexity and detail. Gen Urobuchi compares him to a heavy tank and the Rider of Fate/stay night to a racecar. His Gordius Wheel embodies the "tank-ness", but it is too large to enter sewers. The original idea for it was to give it the ability to change sizes by substituting its parts and transforming, but it still would have been too large.

Nasu claims that if he wrote Fate/Zero, Iskander would of been more like Red Saber. In his mind, he viewed Iskander as a worthy opponent to Gilgamesh but the Iskandar Urobuchi created was an excellent, wild, and unprecedented character that even he could have never thought up.

Fate/Zero
Rider was summoned by Waver Velvet with an artifact; a mantle once worn by Iskander. This artifact was originally Lord El-Melloi's and was stolen by Waver, who intends to prove that his teacher is wrong.

Iskander, the King of Conquerors, is noble and physically overbearing. He is an enormous man who has little interest in the Holy Grail and cares more about conquering the world again, especially now that he realizes the world is much bigger than he was aware of during his life. He is especially fascinated by ordinary aspects of modern life and intends to inform the world of his return, much to Waver's chagrin.

He arranged a King's Meeting at Einzbern castle to discuss with the other Heroric spirit Kings about their desire for the Holy Grail. In the Kings Meeting, he expressed his desire for the Holy Grail isn't for conquering the world but his true incarnation so that he can become a human again and not bound as a servant. However after learning from Saber wish to change the past to save her country, Rider was disappointed and does not acknowledge Saber as a King.

In a battle with Saber prior to his final engagement with Gilgamesh, Rider gambled using Gordius Wheel against Saber but his chariot was destroyed by Excalibur. Rider would not manifest Ionioi Hetairoi as he saving it for Gilgamesh.

Before the final fight, Rider asked Gilgamesh whether he can join forces together as Rider has his armies and Gilgamesh has his weapons and they can conquer the world easily but Gilgamesh declined, stating that there was only one comrade he would ever have and there could be only one king.

He fought against Gilgamesh on a bridge, Rider used Ionioi Hetairoi: Army of the King as a final move. However, Gilgamesh wipes out half of the army with his Enuma Elish, causing the bounded field to dissipate. As a result of the instability, the rest of the army fades, leaving Rider with no choice but to charge him head on. Rider rushes bathing in the curtain fire of Gate of Babylon. Upon nearing him, Rider is captured by Enkidu, and slain by Ea. Gilgamesh appears to have had great amounts of respect for Iskander, stating that he would be ready to accept his opponent's challenge at any given moment.

Abilities
In combat, Rider mostly uses his Noble Phantasm Gordius Wheel to trample the enemies; the chariot is surrounded by lightning: this factor and its high speed are what make its charge a powerful attack, which takes the name of Via. Even without activating the Noble Phantasm, it is strong enough to almost knock out Berserker after one strike, forcing him to retreat. To summon the chariot, Iskandar slashes the air apart with his sword.

The sword that Rider wields is a supata (スパタ) referred to as the Sword of the Kupriotes (キュプリオトの剣), gifted to him in life by the King of the Cypriots; its hilt was decorated with the likeness of a lion. Strong and light-weight, the blade can be wielded with great dexterity, and in the course of the story, it was able to deflect the Assassins' dirks with demonstrable ease. Though it is not noted to be a Noble Phantasm itself, it is utilized in the invocation of both of Iskander's known Noble Phantasms. Incidentally, the historical Iskander is said to have used a  instead.

Iskandar's trump card and ultimate Noble Phantasm is Ionioi Hetairoi. Rider summons a Reality Marble that consists in a vast desert under a cloudless sky; in this place makes its entrance an immense army: every soldier is a Servant that, after dying and becoming a Heroic Spirit, still follows Iskander's lead. Exploiting the plain and shelterless battleground, the King of Conquerors rides his horse Bucephalus and charges forward, followed by his army, in order to crush the enemies.