Ruler (Fate/Apocrypha)

Ruler (ルーラー), the Standard-Bearer who Correctly Guides the Holy Grail War (聖杯戦争を正しく導く旗手), is the Ruler-class Servant in the Holy Grail War of Fate/Apocrypha.

Identity
Ruler's identity is Joan of Arc (ジャンヌ・ダルク), a Catholic saint born in Domrémy, France, and the heroine of France who liberated Orléans in the Hundred Years' War.

She fought alongside with Gilles de Rais and they were decorated as saviors and national heroes by King Charles.

She is noted to be one of the Heroic Spirits in recent history who utilized the power of the Counter Force to accomplish her deeds as a hero.

Personality
In the material book, she described as a taciturn and cool girl when acting as a Servant, but her natural self is a plain and quiet sixteen-year-old girl. She puts order first, and will wield a sword for the sake of the rules, but fundamentally believes "all people and Heroic Spirits participating in the Holy Grail War are important".

In the novel, she is unable to take spirit form and eats a lot, similar to Arthuria. She is also bad at math and must hitchhike around Romania, which where the war occurs, to get to the battle due to a lack of Riding skill.

Development
Ruler was designed by Kinoko Nasu and illustrated by Takashi Takeuchi for the original canceled Fate/Apocrypha online game project. She would have been the main aspect of the repeating war, where she would act as a counterforce who wishes to safeguard the framework of the Holy Grail War. Summoned as a Ruler class, this aspect allows her to retain the memories of each repeating "game" unlike other Servants. Though other Servants would only focus on protecting their respective Masters, she would only want to protect the Holy Grail War. While the overall story would change depending upon the Servants' relationship with the Masters, the story would conclude with her activating her ultimate Noble Phantasm that she had been stubbornly witholding, thus creating a world with a complete story despite its nature as an online game.

Fate/Apocrypha
"“I am Ruler, by my name of Joan of Arc. I order with a command spell that the Servants shall gather in this place!”"

- Ruler

She retains her role as Ruler in the novel reimagining of the setting.

Fate/Zero
While the design for Joan wasn't made during the production of the Fate/Zero novels, she is referenced by Caster, whose identity is her former comrade Gilles de Rais, who, in his crazed mind, mistakes Saber for Joan. He witnesses the battle between Lancer and Saber through his magic crystal, and believing that his wish of bringing Joan back to life was granted by the Holy Grail, he succumbs to tears. He believes Saber's denial of Joan's identity is a curse laid upon her by God, that her heart has been sealed through her devotion. She who gave everything to God was not given salvation by Him, so he wishes to "free" her by proving that no such God exists.

The design was completed around the time of the anime adaptation of Fate/Zero, so it was included in Caster's flashback and an artwork of the anime's news in a magazine. Recalling his past while bathed in the annihilating light of Excalibur, he remembers events before he began his forays into murder and the occult, back when he still served alongside Joan of Arc. She is shown standing at a church altar where she turns back to Caster and gives reaches her hand out to him, making him realize the mistakes of his life before he is destroyed.

Abilities
Ruler has the qualifications for the Saber class. Under the special Ruler class, she is a special Heroic Spirit summoned by the Holy Grail itself to act as the administrator of the Holy Grail War and has the ability to use Command Spells, which is normally only usable by Masters, to command the Servants. Unlike the standard Saber class Servants that has a moderate Riding skills, she is lack of this one.

Magic Resistance (対魔力): EX

In addition to the Magic Resistance of the Saber Class, she demonstrates a high anti-magic from her unwavering piety. However, since it is just averting (evading) the Magecraft, only Joan will be saved against a wide-range magic attack. It cannot cope with the sacraments of the Church.

Revelation (啓示): N/A

A Skill equivalent to "Instinct". Instinct is a sixth sense regarding battles, but "Revelation" accommodates all matters related to the achievement of a goal (for instance, choosing the most suitable path while traveling). Because there is no basis (so she thinks), it cannot be explained well to others.

Charisma (カリスマ): N/A

The natural talent to command an army. Joan's figure participating in the assaults hoisting a flag raised the morale of the soldiers to the limit and united the troops. Thanks to her charisma, it is possible to make others believe in the contents of the "revelations" without basis.

Saint (聖人): N/A

Indicates being acknowledged as a saint. When summoned as a Servant, the ability of saint is selected one among "raising the effectiveness of sacraments", "automatic HP recovery", "1 Rank-Up to Charisma" and "production of a holy shroud is possible".

Noble Phantasms
La Pucelle: The Crimson Holy Virgin

A holy sword that manifest flames which uses the line of a death poem "O Lord, I entrust this body to you---" as activation incantation. A conceptual crystallization weapon that interpreted Joan's burning at the stake in an attack-like fashion. A subspecies of Reality Marble, an imagined landscape crystallized as a sword. This sword is Heroic Spirit Joan of Arc herself and after the battle in which this Noble Phantasm was manifested, Joan will be extinguished.