Lancer (Fate/Prototype: Fragments)

Lancer (ランサー) is the Lancer-class Servant in the First Holy Grail War of Fate/Prototype: Fragments of Blue and Silver. She is able to be summoned by the Protagonist in the Grand Orders of Fate/Grand Order.

Identity
Lancer's True Name is Buryunhirude is the goddess of war from Northern Europe. She is the daughter of, the Great God of Northern Europe, and one of the shieldmaiden Valkyries. A tragic woman from.

A shieldmaiden regarded in the same light as Shigurudorīva (シグルドリーヴァ), the fated person of the great hero Sigurd in the "", she is also similarly portrayed as a Valkyrie who fell in love with Sigurd in the "" and the "" from Elder Edda.

She is regarded as the younger sister of Attila (King Atli) in the "Volsunga Saga", the "" and "" from and etc.

She is treated as Brünnhilde (ブリュンヒルト) in 's opera "" a legend of a knight equal to that of King Arthur. She is a Valkyrie, a shieldmaiden, who escorts the souls of the departed to. She was a queen who was not able to join hands with her beloved hero and invited ruin from her sadness.

Background
Once she was the goddess of war, a daughter of and, seemingly a shieldmaiden, and a Valkyrie as well. She was ordered to decide a fight between two kings, Hjalmgunnar and Agnar, and knew that Odin preferred the older king, Hjalmgunnar, yet she decided the battle for Agnar. Because of that act; she was labelled a traitor and had her divinity stripped off by her father Odin. Then she was tossed aside to be imprisoned on top the summit of Mt. Hindarfjall, an inhuman devil cave, she was enclosed in a “hall of flames” that brought flames that reached the heavens. She was condemned to live the life of a mortal woman. Her armor was enchanted by her father with the pale rune of punishment that placed her into a suspended state which resembled death She sleeps there, waiting for the man who will rescue her and profess his love to her.

Later a fearless hero bravely rides through the flame with his steed to reach her. The hero came before her, cutting off her mithril armor with his sword that absorbed the rune as it changed into the last curse of Odin. From that act she awakens from her long sleep, but questions him why is he doing this. He should have already knew of the prophecy from uncle that foretold of the, which is that if both of them were to meet each other, ruin would await upon both of them in the future. The hero replies that, he knew of it and is doing this act because he's only doing what has to be done. As love and emotion are not necessary for him. The hero's plan was to go against the prophecy only to save her and not love her then. Brynhild felt glad, but at the same time she felt sadness inside as well, the hero said this to her that he intends to do just that. But unfortunately he had fallen in love with her in first sight, the hero gave a smile to her, Brynhild felt her heart go, from the smile the hero gave her as it pierced her very center. That hero was Sigurd. Who proposed to her, taking her as his wife.

After a time they had spent together in their honey moon, she taught him the original runes she had learnt from her father Odin, as time went by he left her to seek more glory and fortune until his return. But soon enough he betrayed her by the one she loved the most in the world. He disguised himself with runes in the guise of his brother-in-law's shape. Sigurd rode forth through the flames with his steed, proposing to her again in the guise of his brother-in-law, however Brynhild knew it was Sigurd. Challenging him into a fight, although this was sophistry as Sigurd was already much stronger than her. As a result, he won the fight from the combat skills she provided to him from their time together, presenting her as his brother-in-law's wife, having lost his memories after drinking a special alcohol. Although she accepted the events as her immutable fate, she later learned he had already regained his memories by that point, eventually, raising her own hand against her beloved one, killing him by slicing him in half while his family and followers were killed as well through a conspiracy and taking her own life to follow after him to the afterlife.

Although she never stopped loving Sigurd more than anyone else, she came to embrace the flames of killing intent at the end of a cursed tragic fate, eventually ending up killing him and also burning herself to ashes.

Appearance
Lancer has a delicate body, and mystical long white hair with a teal accent reminiscent to the night sky, as she enters battle clad in armor unrecognizable to Saber. Beautiful as there was a night being there that was so beautiful that it was to the point that she could steal men's eyes. Noted by Archer as he had felt it like it was obvious. If that, was not a person who was properly alive under the midday sun. Some didn't mean to call her a phantasmal beast, they only said it because they were implicating that she suited the quietness and darkness of the night. They grasped that she was a woman of the night, a shadow woman. Her gorgeous mithril armor was shining beautifully on the woman's figure. Her huge lance looked heavy and huge to an impossible point, and yet it was being lightly carried in her hands. The woman, weakly smiled. An ordinary man would've been a goner from that smile. It was a beautiful smile that the woman expressed. Despite the feeling the end of that sorrow and grief in that smile. Her long eyelashes vibrated. Even her eyes which are exposed were like amethysts. She was a woman who suited the silence of the night, even now, she was a woman whose body was drenched by the night itself.

Personality
Calm and devoted. There is some loneliness mixed in the gentle smile of this unfortunate shieldmaiden. Despite behaving like a "doll" with a weak sense of self back when she was a Divine Spirit as the eldest of the Valkyries, after falling on earth upon incurring the wrath of her fatherly Great God, she became endowed with human nature and personality due to the incidental meeting with Sigurd. Compassionate and full of affection, she thoroughly devotes herself to the person she came to love. A woman who was supposed to spend her lifetime as good wife if it was not for that tragedy.

Lancer speaks very politely and fights with respect. She does not appear to be the kind of person who would fight with dishonor, and she demonstrates sincerity, recognizing the qualities of her opponents, like when she fights with Saber and praise his heroism and gentlemanly attitude.

There was just one expression on that face: Sorrow, and only just that. Brilliant, cheerful, and bright. She was a woman who had abandoned all of those things herself. Even if she had witnessed countless hells she floated a smile, while everything and anything about her was the same, anything and everything was also different too. It was not just sorrow.

She also a woman of love adoring everything from heroes. The water, the earth, and the city of Tokyo too. However she appears to go into madness from taking the love potion as she smiled with an expression of delight, but it was terribly warped expression. She was crying while smiling, angry whilst crying, smiling whilst being angry. Animosity, hatred, resentment. It was both near to them, but it was also far from them. Sorrow, grief, regrets. It was both far from them, but it was also near them. Frankly speaking this woman, was definitely, broken from the inside.

Even now, having turned into a Heroic Spirit, she still loves Sigurd deeply. Nevertheless, if by any chance he is summoned before her, she will automatically point her spear towards him. This is because, upon being shaped as a Heroic Spirit, both she herself and her Noble Phantasm ended up being given the definition of "something that kills Sigurd". In regards to the "dragon-slayer" hero Siegfried, who possesses the similar origins as Sigurd, although she recognizes him as "someone different from Sigurd", it seems that she somehow senses something close to him and thus feverishly gazes at him, while trying to get alone together, just the two of them (and then tries to kill him). And also, sometimes towards the Master as well.

Her wish for the Holy Grail is to be with Sigurd.

Fate/Prototype: Fragments of Blue and Silver
Lancer is the first opponent faced by Manaka Sajyou and Saber. She allied with Archer to eliminate Saber. But she disappears somewhere whilst Saber and Archer are fighting Rider. When they were in danger, she appears with "Lapis Philosophorum" otherwise known as "The Philosopher's Stone", neutralizing the Reality Marble. Lancer received it from Caster who was commanded by Manaka Sajyou to deliver it to Saber. Lancer uses her lance to crack Ramesseum Tentyris to deliver it to Saber.

Lancer's master knows that she loves Saber as she cries out for her beloved Sigurd. He acknowledges her feelings, but is unsympathetic and just bluntly "tells her the truth." Nigel then commands Lancer to drink his drug. Lancer refuses to obey his order. As Nigel attempts to use his Command Spells to force her to comply, Lancer goes absolutely crazy, destroying the building with her Master in it (although according to Manaka, he didn't die), and then wanders around Sunshine City in order to kill Saber and Manaka. Caster reports this to Manaka, as Caster then attacks Lancer who negates his magecraft with runes she learned from her father Odin. She attacks Saber and mistakes him for Sigurd due to her madness from taking in the love potion. But Lancer knew Manaka was manipulating her mind and that she could not go against her command. She begs Saber to stop her, resulting in him penetrating Lancer's heart with Excalibur. Before Lancer fades away, she thanks him for stopping her madness and warns him not to let the thing in the Holy Grail be awakened.

Other appearances
Brynhild makes up one third of the existence of Passionlip in Fate/Extra CCC, which she is referred to as a goddess of war from Scandinavia. Her emotions are used in Passionlip's Noble Phantasm, Brynhild Romantia.

Abilities
Lancer utilizes a long, gigantic and heavy spear with a large blade vaguely shaped to the reminiscent of a heart as her Noble Phantasm, calling it Brynhild Romantia. She also has another Noble Phantasm called Brynhild Komédia. She is noted as being very fast, to the point of almost disappearing from sight entirely and even Saber has difficulties keeping up with her at first, before getting used to her speed. She has an attack pattern in which her spear comes down on her opponent from five different directions, all with different speeds. However, she seems to make a habit of repeating this pattern, which leads to enemies who survive the very first rounds being able to find a gap in her attacks, after a time.

During the Tokyo Holy Grail War, she is given a small bottle with a red liquid inside by her master. Its purpose is to cause Lancer to see Saber as Sigurd hence strengthens her spear, increasing its size and the mass of the spearhead as it deals more damage. Being an expert of hand-to-hand combat, she was able to lightly kicked Assassin who had commenced with a drop attack to intercept her. For Lancer who had continued to stare at the skills of the many heroes as a Valkyrie, there in her short fencing and her very refined martial arts, was just one of the foreign skills recorded on tens of thousands of battlefields. While avoiding the clash first, in the air, all of the attacks that had been maneuvered back and forth as they passed each other at high speed were being handled with one arm and both legs.

Due to her Mana Burst (Flames) skill, she is able to wrap herself in fire to burn away the arrows shot by Archer, salvos of up to twenty arrows at the same time and each of these has enough power to easily shatter boulders.

The Primordial Rune Skill she possesses is enough to negate Caster's Magecraft as her runes are said to be million times more powerful than what modern mages use. When activated, it strengthens her rune magic, allowing her to fly and even attain demi-god status. Though its use requires sealing her second Noble Phantasm which has area of effect attack, the Rune itself is so potent that it could be classified as her third Noble Phantasm, and could destroy Tokyo when fully powered. However even a Master like Nigel Sayward would be unable to provide so much prana. She is shown to freeze objects and summon gigantic boulder with Rune.

Her Hero's Bridesmaid Skill allows her to view another Heroic Spirit's legend; seeing their skills and identity causes her to adore them if their legend had love in it.

Development
Shirow Miwa is the character designer for Brynhild. Her design was first revealed for Fate/Grand Order.