KriemhildWP (クリームヒルトWP, Kurīmuhiruto?), Class Name Berserker (バーサーカー, Bāsākā?), is a Berserker-class Servant summoned by Ritsuka Fujimaru in the Grand Orders of Fate/Grand Order.
Profile[]
Background[]
The wife of Siegfried. Their legend was told of within the epic poem, The Nibelungenlied, in which Kriemhild was the principal character rather than Siegfried. The poem was said to be a "great revenge tragedy brought about by her despair and hatred." As it was focused on her, much of the adventures of Siegfried were not depicted directly within the poem.[3] She vowed revenge after he was assassinated and accomplished it with every measure of tactics and obsession. A noble and beautiful queen that combines mad vengeance with cold brutality.[1]
Kriemhild was the princess of BurgundyWP, younger sister to King Gunther, during the 5thWP or 6thWP century.[4][3] After the prince Siegfried, who had slain the dragon Fafnir and obtained Das Rheingold, heard rumors of her beauty, he sought her out to propose marriage. Later, through the machinations of her brother, Siegfried used trickery to bring about a marriage between Gunther and the queen of Iceland, Brunnhilde.[5] After it became known publicly, the wound to Brunnhilde's pride caused her to come into conflict with Kriemhild, each wounding the other's honor. Siegfried, seeing the feud as inevitable, took it upon himself to work out a plan with his close friend Hagen to set about his own death to end the conflict.[4][5]
Despite Siegfried's hope that his sacrifice would end the conflict, he failed to understand his wife's emotions, leading to the death of many men at her hands.[5] Turning her hatred towards both Hagen and her brother Gunther, she remarried Etzel, better known as Attila the Hun, to fulfill her ambitions. As Attila was actually a woman who was so focused on fulfilling her destructive impulses that she can only barely recall Kriemhild's name, it was likely a political marriage formulated by one of Attila's subordinates. It was not a marriage of love, and Kriemhild was merely using Attila and the Huns for part of her revenge.[6]
One of her attempts to kill Gunther and Hagen was setting them and their soldiers on fire. However thanks to Hagen the attempt was a failure and the men suffered only minor casualties.[1]
After over 20 years,[1] she eventually killed her brother and Hagen, who was felled by Siegfried's sword Balmung. Due to that, some people said that "Siegfried has fulfilled his revenge" despite the two actually having been close friends.[5] When Kriemhild killed Hagen, Hagen revealed to her that Siegfried's death had been arranged by Siegfried himself. She realized that her 20 years of hatred and vengeance were caused by her husband in the first place, and she could therefore never truly have her revenge. Kriemhild cut off Hagen's head.[1]
Trapped in her hatred, Kriemhild was later defeated by a chivalrous attack from a man who was outraged by her actions.[1][5]
Appearance[]
Personality[]
Kriemhild held a "deep‐rooted and blind love" for Siegfried, such that it's described as "passionate love that repays the murder of one’s loved one with twice the payback." Siegfried's death, rather than assuage the feud with Brunhild, caused Kriemhild to "burn with the flames of revenge."[5] For her revenge, she thought that it did not matter if she "sells her soul to the devil", as that was the extent to which she loved Siegfried.[3]
Extremely cunning and vindictive, she never forgets the grudge she once received and tries to achieve revenge even if it involves those close to her. Kriemhild spent more than 20 years vying for her husband’s vengeance, and never gave up on the idea of revenge.[1]
The Kriemhild summoned to Chaldea is a bit milder, perhaps because the situation is different than a normal Holy Grail War. However, to Siegfried, she has an old-fashioned, nostalgic, yet unsociable attitude towards him.[1]
She ignores his existence, cites hated personality traits that are clearly modeled after him, and glares at her former love with a grudge. Hagen, the target of her vengeance, revealed shortly before his death that the only reason he wanted Siegfried dead was for Siegfried’s own sake. She learned that her years of vengeance for her love had been caused by none other than her husband himself, and with the knowledge that she couldn’t truly have her revenge, she ground her teeth every day in frustration.[1]
She wants to see Siegfried again and talk to him, though it is hard for her to admit.[2]
Basically, she only recognizes the Master as a tank to supply magical energy. However, if her bond is developed to a certain point, then they’ll be recognized as a comrade in her revenge plot. But as the relationship grows, she’ll suddenly develop a cold-hearted attitude towards them. It seems to be a lingering regret regarding the involvement of her faithful brother GiselherWP.[1]
Relationships[]
- Siegfried
- "…! …What is it? Siegfried-sama? Do you have any business with the wife you didn't even love, you bastard? …Please don't touch me, your heroism will infect me! I have the body of a Berserker after all so!! I'm not someone that a greaaatly splendid mister hero like you should be concerned about so well then if you will excuse meee!!"[2]
- "Kyaaaah! …I apologize, I lost my composure…! Dea-… No, Siegfried-sama. It's not, like I was, concerned about anything…!! That you snuggled up to me in that state was obviously well within my calculations… For the sake of revenge. … Hey, what is with that face of having lost your focus?! Ah, sheesh, dear! Give it a rest already, you dimwit! …Master, don't you just nod with satisfaction from behind! … Do something about this situation!"[2]
- Sieg
- "You, you smell like someone related to me… Your name is…? I see… Sieg. Sieg, you say…? For your own good, change your name right now. Give in and change it to something like Hans or Schmidt. …If you don't… you will end up acting like a sort of hero and dying satisfied, you know? ─── Wait. Did you just look away…? Wait, wait a minute, OKAY SIT DOWN!! I'll have you tell me thoroughly. About the mistake that you made…!"'[2]
- Sigurd
- "Ah… So that hero with the glasses is Sigurd…. …For some reason he ticks me off, so can I decapitate him a bit…? It's fine, is it not…? He's a hero anyway… He won't die just because I do something to him. Maybe!!"[2]
- Brynhildr
- "Eeh… Brynhildr… Eeh, Brynhildr… Haaah, it's fine, she's a different woman, she's a different woman. Because her looks and her voice and her contents and everything about her is different… Fuuu… ─── No. Rather, she's too different! You, were you so fleeting in that other mythology?! … So, the person you loved there ─── I see… Yes, I'm sorry… So, would you like to have some tea…? Well, only if you want…"[2]
- Brynhildr (Swimsuit)
- "Hey Master, is there not a Brynhildr from another mythology that I don't know about? …Yes yes, that, sort of… person with a wonderful chainsaw Noble Phantasm… It is so nice, that chainsaw…!! I want Balmung to have a gimmick a bit more like that… But… I think she should be more moderate about stabbing the man she loves night after night… in a chaste way…"[2]
Role[]
Fate/Grand Order[]
Dying Thoughts Manifestation Realm Traum: Life and Death of a Certain Fantasy[]
Kriemhild becomes a villain in the hope that the Counter Force will summon Siegfried to oppose her, so that the two of them can finally speak and reconcile.
Wandjina World Tour[]
Abilities[]
Kriemhild wields the demonic sword Balmung which once belonged to Siegfried. The sword can change attributes between being a holy sword or a demonic sword depending on who wields it.[4]
Skills[]
Class Skills[]
- Mad Enhancement (EX Rank)
Personal Skills[]
- Revenge Plan (Rampaging) (B++ Rank): Kriemhild not only mourned the death of her beloved Siegfried, but found herself trapped within the delusion of revenge. She married the King of the Huns and even instigated war against Gunther, her own brother.[1]
- Reciprocated Slaughter (A Rank): The battle between camps naturally intensifies. The range and density of such horrors will change depending on the rank of madness. Kriemhild’s rank of ‘A’ is almost the highest peak. If you become involved with her revenge plot, it is unlikely that you’ll be spared from the sight of blood.[1]
- Affection of Hohe Minne (EX Rank): The love of a noble maiden is what loyal knights pursued. In the Nibelungenlied, it can be said to be the foundation of Kriemhild’s underlying madness.[1]
Noble Phantasm[]
Kriemhild's Noble Phantasms are Balmung Kriemhild and Hört Glut Rachegötter.
Development[]
Before appearing in person in 2022, Kriemhild had been talked about as part of Siegfried's backstory several times for years before then. She was first briefly mentioned in his profile in Fate/complete material IV, and received further elaboration in Fate/Apocrypha volume 2, Fate/Apocrypha material, and Altera's Interlude "My Memories" in Fate/Grand Order.
Creation and Conception[]
Kriemhild was designed by Ototsugu Konoe in Fate/Grand Order.
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Fate/Grand Order - Kriemhild Profile - Translated by Lapithae
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Fate/Grand Order - Kriemhild My Room lines
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Fate/Grand Order material I - Siegfried, p.052-061, translated by Mazyrian & GundamFSN at Beast's Lair.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2
[] Fate/Apocrypha material - Encyclopedia: Saber of “Black” [Servant], p.162 [T] Saber of “Black” [Servant]
One of the Servants of the Black camp. His true name is Siegfried. He is an undisputed great hero and “dragon slayer” who appears in the “Nibelungenlied”. His tall stature, slender body and tanned-colored skin are proof of him having been soaked in the blood of a dragon. The reason the weak point on his back is exposed is because of a “curse” that forces him to do so. It conceptually prevents him from protecting his back. Even if Siegfried were to be protected by something like a spherical barrier, a hole in it would definitely open facing his back. However, there aren’t many heroes who possess the skill to pull off the tricky feat of aiming for Siegfried’s back while fighting him in the first place.
Just as the impression of his face gives off, he is reticent, but his bearing, which overflows with dignity, makes him seem well-bred. He is the type to talk with a simple, unsophisticated tone and hold back his words to the absolute minimum needed. That is the foundation of his personality, and it deepened the antagonism between him and his Master Gordes.
Siegfried’s legend came into existence around the 5~6th century and spread to many lands. At nearly the same time as the “Nibelungenlied”, the story of the hero Sigurd, the “Volsunga Saga”, came into existence. Wagner’s opera “Der Ring des Nibelungen” is a masterpiece work that compiles these legends together.
In the light novels, Siegfried as he was portrayed in the “Nibelungenlied” forms the basic essentials of his character, and he only knows about the Norse Valkyries from second-hand knowledge.
With him possessing the noble lineage of royalty, being known for various his adventures and heroic tales and having met a tragic end, there are few heroes who are as heroic as him.
But it is precisely because he is such a heroic hero that he was unconsciously burdened by binds. A hero acts out of the supplications of the people, and therefore should not act without being asked. This is because a hero is such a being. Because they possess overwhelmingly immense power, they must not act out of their own will and try to grant their own wish. A hero is a being that fulfills the wishes of others, and must not ever tread any further than that.
When his wife and the wife of his brother-in-law wounded each other’s honor and a collision between them became inevitable, he once more granted everyone’s wish. He thought that it would be resolved if he, the cause of it all, died. In the end, it called forth even more tragedy, so it seems the curse of the Rhine gold took effect perfectly.
As a Servant, he is basically hard, solid and tough. “Armor of Fafnir: Blood Armor of the Evil Dragon” blocks all regular attacks up to B rank and all Noble Phantasm attacks up to B+ rank and, in addition, “Balmung: Phantasmal Greatsword, Felling of the Sky Demon” unleashes a wide-range attack that displays its true worth against an army. The blue jewel encased in the hilt of the sword contains prana from the Age of Gods, and it is possible to pull out the sword’s power to the maximum with just small quantity of it. During his battle with Karna, Sieg managed to use the Noble Phantasm so many times consecutively only because he continued instantaneously pulling out the sword’s power while replenishing his prana with “Galvanism”. The Servant version of Siegfried cannot instantly replenish the prana he expends, so his sword’s accumulation of prana is overwhelmingly faster than that of an average Anti-Army Noble Phantasm, though still not as fast as Sieg.
In the initial plans of the Yggdmillennia team, Siegfried would go out to the front lines and receive the attacks of enemy Servants as Vlad III’s protector. Vlad would be positioned to control the battlefield with “Kaziklu Bey: Lord of Execution”. Jack the Ripper would kill the enemy Masters and cause chaos in the enemy’s rear guard along with Frankenstein. Astolfo would guide the golems and control the situation with Avicebron, while Chiron would act as support by shooting at areas where a hole in the enemy lines could be made.
It was truly a perfect formation as an academic theory, but they were forced to tearfully change tactics due to Siegfried unbelievably leaving the battlefield before the war actually began.“黒”のセイバー【サーヴァント】
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Fate/Apocrypha Volume 2: Round Dance of Black / Festival of Red - Chapter 3
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order - Altera Interlude II: My Memories