Goddess Rhongomyniad (女神ロンゴミニアド, Megami Rongominiado?), also known as the Lion King (獅子王, Shishi-Ō?), is the wandering goddess version of Artoria Pendragon from the same world as the alternate world Bedivere. She appears in the Camelot Singularity of Fate/Grand Order and forms the Knights of the Lion King. Within Fate/Grand Order Arcade, she manifests as a Lancer-class Servant in the Lost Jerusalem Singularity.
Profile[]
Background[]
Goddess Rhongomyniad is an alternate form of Artoria Pendragon from a Parallel World where Bedivere never returned Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake after the Battle of CamlannWP.[6] The “Lion King”, who has the same appearance as Lancer Artoria, was not able to die when she was fated to die, and as a result, has become a wandering ghost while keeping onto the Holy Lance. The "Lion King" retained the Holy Lance and transformed into "Goddess Rhongomyniad," becoming a complete Divine Spirit. As a result, this version of her differs internally from her Lancer class. Although she shares the physical appearance of Lancer Artoria, "Goddess Rhongomyniad" is essentially a distinct individual.[1]
Appearance[]
Goddess Rhongomyniad closely resembles Artoria, particularly her Lancer version. However, there are distinct differences in her appearance. Her helmet, unlike Lancer's, is adorned with white fur. Notably, while Lancer possesses strong, serene, and compassionate emerald eyes, Goddess Rhongomyniad's eyes are strikingly different. Hers are a bright lime green, with glowing, yellow pupils, and are devoid of emotion, symbolizing Artoria's loss of her human heart.
Personality[]
In contrast to the regular Artoria, this version of Artoria displays significantly diminished emotional capacity. As a result of her transformation into a Divine Spirit, she has shed many aspects of human emotion, as well as conventional human values and reasoning. Goddess Rhongomyniad, as she is known, no longer places value on individual human lives but rather on the collective essence of humanity. She perceives her method of preserving purely virtuous human souls, freezing and storing them to ensure eternal human existence, as the ideal means of safeguarding their happiness. This differs from the regular Artoria's belief that merely providing shelter to people is insufficient for their happiness and future. Artoria's past self held the conviction that hard work, raising children, and leading fulfilling lives were the pathways to prosperity for the people.
In her interactions with others, Goddess Rhongomyniad demonstrates a notably colder attitude toward Mordred, allowing her presence within the Holy City only during the daytime. She appears willing to use and discard Mordred, evident in her granting Mordred a Gift of Rampage, which damages Mordred's soul with each use, and her readiness to let Mordred be destroyed if she remained outside during Rhongomyniad's potential destruction of everything beyond Camelot's borders. However, she is fairly forgiving and trusting of Sir Lancelot. Goddess Rhongomyniad may exhibit moments of amusement, as reflected in her laughter when encountering something she finds funny, such as the idea of receiving a thank-you kiss from Romani Archaman. This could potentially be attributed to a restoration of her humanity upon the return of Excalibur.
Role[]
Fate/Grand Order[]
The being called Goddess Rhongomyniad came into existence in the world that Bedivere, due to the wish of wanting his King to not perish after the battle of Camlainn, refused to throw Excalibur back into the Lake even after the third time. As the result of his action, he prevented her from dying when King Arthur is historically meant to, which lead to the Sacred Lance Rhongomyniad healing her physical wounds but also gradually eroded her identity as Artoria as it transformed her into a Divine Spirit.
For 1500 years, she became a wandering ghost that was fated to roam her Earth til the end of time. Once her original reality was destroyed, she traveled across many parallel realities beyond until she discovered the Mage King Solomon's plan to incinerate humanity in the Fate/Grand Order timeline.
Camelot/Zero[]
The Lion King talking with the Knights of the Round Table.
Goddess Rhongomyniad, calling herself the Lion King, arrives in the "Camelot" Singularity and summons all of the Knights of the Round Table, with the exception of Bedivere and Galahad. She gives them the choice to either aid her in her "Holy Selection" or side against her. Gawain, Lancelot, Agravain, Tristan, Mordred, and Gareth side with her, forming the Knights of the Lion King. After they kill the other knights, the Goddess Rhongomyniad grants each of them a Gift, with the exception of Agravain, who refuses to have one.
Goddess Rhongomyniad and her knights then set out to the Holy Land, killing all that oppose them, including the False Crusaders and their leader, who the knights defeat in a battle, where Gareth also sacrifices herself. Goddess Rhongomyniad then establishes the Holy City, where only those she allows can live.[7]
Sixth Singularity: Camelot[]
Six months after establishing Camelot, Goddess Rhongomyniad and her knights became involved in conflicts with Ozymandias‘s forces and the Saracens. While Camelot and Ozymandias eventually entered a ceasefire, the Saracens continued to resist. In response, Goddess Rhongomyniad ordered her knights to destroy the rebels while she decimated the land with Rhongomyniad. Those left became refugees who flocked to Camelot, where Goddess Rhongomyniad initiated the Holy Selection to choose virtuous souls amongst to absorb into Rhongomyniad. When Chaldea arrives at Camelot, they witness her select three such souls, as she stood atop the main gate. Afterward, she orders Gawain to collect the selected before heading back inside.
Later, Goddess Rhongomyniad is told by Agravain about how Gawain failed to carry out the Holy Execution thanks to Chaldea’s interference. She later wakes up at night to see Agravain, Gawain, Tristan, and Mordred arguing in her throne room about Gawain’s punishment, wondering if it’s a war council for the desert invasion. Gawain reports to her that two of the three selected were successfully collected, but one was killed. He lost 12 Enforcement Knights, and over a hundred refugees escaped. The refugees split into two groups: one to mountains; one with suspicious merchants. After hearing his report, Goddess Rhongomyniad blasts him out of the castle and into Camelot’s outer wall as punishment for his failures. Since he survived though, she pardons him. She then tells Mordred to return outside, as she is only allowed inside the city during the day. After Mordred leaves, Goddess Rhongomyniad threatens to punish Agravain like Gawain after he questioned her decision to not let Mordred inside the city. She calls it unnecessary to station Mordred in the city to solidify their guard. She declares Mordred’s only use is to roam outside, and orders to keep her alive until their eventual battle with Ozymandias. Believing they’ll die in the wasteland, she stops Agravain from ordering Mordred to pursue the refugees. She orders to prepare for battle against Ozymandias, which will begin when Lancelot returns.
Days later, Goddess Rhongomyniad orders Tristan to attack the eastern Saracen village, while she destroys the western village with Rhongomyniad. However, Arash repelled her attempt to destroy the eastern village with Stella. Following the operation, Lancelot returns to Camelot to report that he has found twelve humans fit for Holy Selections and gave them to the city’s supervisors. He questions Goddess Rhongomyniad’s decision to unleash Rhongomyniad on the eastern village, even though Tristan already set fire to it. Goddess Rhongomyniad responds she used Rhongomyniad of her own volition, declaring its use on a human settlement would only fan the flames of rebellion. However, she did so this time because the Tower of the Farthest Reaches is nearing its completion, which needs to be done before Solomon enters the next stage of his plan after the Incineration of Humanity. Tristan returns and reports the eastern village wasn’t destroyed thanks to Arash’s intervention because Lancelot failed to kill him. Lancelot decides to chase after Chaldea before they join forces with Ozymandias to redeem himself. Goddess Rhongomyniad allows him to do so, ordering him to return before the walls of Camelot manifest. Agravain tells her to not let Bedivere concern her after learning of his appearance from Tristan, Gawain, and Mordred. But she doesn’t seem to recognize Bedivere.
As Chaldea and their allies assault, Goddess Rhongoymaniad manifests the Tower in compliance with Agravain’s pleas. Eventually she comes face to face with Ritsuka’s party in her throne room. She declares correcting the course of humanity and killing her is the same. She further declares Ritsuka’s soul knows good yet commits evil, thus their soul is not needed in her utopia. Then unleashing the storm at the Ends of the World, she prepares to fight the group. She declares she will eternally store the truly virtuous of humanity in Rhongomyniad in order to save humanity from Solomon’s plan. Knowing of her shortened lifespan, Goddess Rhongomyniad asks Mash if she understands her ideal. She then fights the group, her Authority bearing down on them and her magical energy destroying pieces of SHEBA. She declares humanity will be granted eternity inside her lance as the ultimate conclusion of protecting it. Mash however rejects her ideal and challenges her to combat. In response, Goddess Rhongomyniad launches Rhongomyniad, but Mash blocks it with her true Noble Phantasm, Lord Camelot.
Goddess Rhongomyniad struggles to remember Bedivere after recognizing the light from Airgetlám. She remembers his name after Leonardo da Vinci realizes Airgetlám is Excalibur in disguise. Despite having no memories of him, she orders him to throw Excalibur away and return to her. Bedivere rejects the order and fights her with the others. Goddess Rhongomyniad is shocked that a mere human like Bedivere is pushing her back, even as his body breaks down. She asks him why he is doing this, to which he replies it’s because he remembers her smile. He then returns Excalibur to her, despite her pleas for him not to use it. With Excalibur returned to her, Goddess Rhongomyniad remembers Bedivere, and thanks him for being her last and loyal knight.
After Bedivere disappears with his task complete, she considers fighting the group with Excalibur since she lost Rhongomyniad with Bedivere’s final act. But she decides against it upon seeing they are being ejected from the Singularity with the Grail collected and Rhongomyniad now gone. She tells Mash that Bedivere’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain when Da Vinci revealed she would disappear. She then reveals her status as Divine Spirit allowed her to see from Solomon’s perspective, therefore she knows he resides in a temple outside the proper flow of time and space. Only the seventh Grail can reveal its location, as it was the one Solomon personally sent into the past. Romani Archaman speculates Solomon’s descendants left the other Grails to manifest as Demon Gods when their time of awakening arrives, which Goddess Rhongomyniad confirms. She reveals the seventh Grail being sent into the past by Solomon served as the first step towards the Incineration of Humanity. She then tells Ritsuka that she will not apologize for her actions because she believes her actions were still right, as protecting humanity differs from protecting the individual. Because of this she tells Ritsuka to follow the path they feel is best. She then warns the Seventh Singularity has a great evil greater than Solomon. She tells the group to gather allies to face off against the Evils of Humanity. As the group is forcibly returned to Chaldea, she bids them farewell, and declares there was meaning to Bedivere’s mistake and her existence.
Later, she is met by a grievously wounded Agravain. She expresses concern for his wounds, determining he faced a fierce opponent. Agravain confirms thus, and she permits him to approach the throne. She cannot heal him, but she can at least ease his pain a little. Agravain claims he isn’t worthy, as he still needs to work to help establish Goddess Rhongoymiad’s ideal utopia. She forgives him though and tells him to rest. She states his one flaw is his workaholism, but Agravain replies it is nothing compared to hers.
Final Singularity: Solomon[]
A mysterious Lion Helmed Knight is amongst the "Camelot" Singularity Servants assisting Chaldea against the Demon Gods Pillars. While her appearance is that of Artoria Lancer, her words suggest otherwise.[8]
Olympus: Interstellar Mountain City[]
The Alien God considers her appearance in the Singularities to be an anomaly and thus did not include her in the simulations Kirschtaria Wodime was subjected to, where the Camelot Singularity instead remained as Jerusalem.
Fate/Grand Order Arcade[]
Lost Jerusalem: Knight Order's Esteemed Expedition[]
The Lion King arrives in the Lost Jerusalem Singularity by using her connection to Ozymandias and Nitocris, who are also present, to summon herself there. Referring to the alternative Chaldea as "Chaldea from far away", she helps them in defeating Jacques de Molay and Demon Beast Brilliance.
Abilities[]
Due to having wielded the Holy Lance for 1,500 years, Artoria's mental structure and spiritual make-up drastically changed, transforming her into a full goddess, the highest-ranking Divine Spirit there is.[1][9] As the "Lion King", Artoria's raw power is so vast, that after Ritsuka's party first arrived to the city of Camelot and saw her for the first time, Dr. Roman stated that the Saint Graph Output they just observed was far beyond that of King Arthur in Chaldea's data, far surpassing Saber Alter and Lancer Alter.[10] In fact, based on that performance alone, she is said to stand beyond the realm of a Servant.[10] Her Magical Energy surpasses space and time, as shown in her final fight against Ritsuka's party, where just her initial attacks were strong enough to reach Chaldea in the present-day, blowing pieces of SHEBA away.[4] Even a casual strike from her lance is enough to blast Gawain, the "toughest" Knight of the Round Table, in a near-death state not only through the castle wall but to the Holy City's outer wall as well.[11] After King Hassan effortlessly deflected a slash from Excalibur Galatine powered by the Sun, Gawain estimated that the might of the "Old Man of the Mountain" rivaled her, indicating that Goddess Rhongomyniad's fighting capabilities are on the level of a Grand Servant.[12]
The reason the Camelot Singularity was an exception among exceptions is because it existed "nowhere in this world". The reason there was nothing outside of the desert of the Holy Land is that era had already been separated from Human History by Goddess Rhongomyniad. The King of Magecraft was no longer the one trying to destroy that era, nor the one who created it. It was the Lion King the one that sacrificed one of the Foundations of Humanity to create her own Utopia. A feat that can only be achieved by a god.[13] Even if Chaldea defeated Solomon, the mere existence of the Lion King and her sacred lance would remain as a cancer even after humanity's restoration.[3]
After becoming a goddess, Artoria also acquired a new level of perspective on par with the King of Magecraft, understanding both his ideal and his purpose. Her gained awareness over the flow of time is such that she learned both that Solomon's temple resides outside of time, and that in the Babylonia Singularity there may be an "evil" that surpasses him on power.[14] She also knows Dr. Roman and Ritsuka's True Names just from looking at them without having met them before.[4] Furthermore, she possesses the unusual ability to travel through time without Rayshiffting as shown when she reached the Camelot or Solomon Singularities on her own.[7][8]
Skills[]
- Divinity (? Rank): Artoria Pendragon was originally a legend born on this Earth, but through the sacred lance, she became one that sits in the heavens.[3] After transforming into a goddess, her levels of divinity became such, that any Servant would cower before her. A normal servant cannot stand against the power of her Authority.[4]
- Protection of the Ends of the World (? Rank): A skill automatically granted to the owner of the Holy Lance.[5] It grants the user divine protection from the Farthest Ends itself.[1]
Noble Phantasm[]
The Lion King wields Rhongomyniad, a Divine Construct regarded as the "Spear of the End",[1] and said to be on par with Surtr's Anti-World attack capable of incinerating the entire planet.[15] Rhongomyniad's true form was originally the Tower that fastens the outer layer of the World onto the planet. The Holy Lance Rhongomyniad makes that tower, a “pillar of light”, as its main body, existing to ensure the World's stability. However, due to its original power being limited by the Thirteen Restraints, it is barely in a state where it can succeed in taking form as a Noble Phantasm.[1] In order to release its True Name, it is necessary to lift at least six of the total restraints. Should it be invoked without filling this requirement, the attack shall only release a fragment of Rhongomyniad's full power,[5] which can only be unleashed in a fight to protect the world.[16]
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Holy Judgement sent towards the Hassan's village.
The Lion King's main offensive asset is her Holy Judgement. According to Dr. Roman, the magical energy of this attack had a value of over 3,000,000 even though the highest-ranked Noble Phantasms usually only range between 1000 and 3000.[2] Even the Sun King Ozymandias didn't attack her until the very end in fear of her counter attack,[12] and he was as cautious of it as he was of King Hassan.[17] This attack was nullified by Arash's Stella,[2] a max-ranged remote attack that literally “splits the land”, ending all conflicts.[18]
Goddess Rhongomyniad stops the Dendera Electric Bulb
The Lion King also uses Rhongomyniad defensively as shown when she used its outer shell to build the Holy City of Camelot in a single night.[13] The walls of her fortress are incredibly durable, and they repel without taking a scratch any malicious attack due to the Camelot castle only granting access to those with righteous hearts.[19] This is a similar effect to Mash's Lord Camelot, which is a derivative of her summoning the white walls of Camelot to block attacks.[14] Even Lawful Good Servants such as Bedivere can't hope to damage the Camelot gate. It took Xuanzang Sanzang using her "Final Buddha Palm" Noble Phantasm, which summons the fist of the Buddha, as a suicidal attack to destroy Camelot's front gate. Even then, the attack only succeeded due to Xuanzang having no malicious intent towards the Lion King, and using her power to "save" rather than to "defeat." Something Da Vinci states only her could do.[19] Moreover, Goddess Rhongomyniad can further protect her fortress by activating walls made out of the same light as Excalibur.[20] Thanks to these walls of magical energy, not even Ozymandias' Dendera Electric Bulb is able to reach inside the city, forcing the Sun King to transform half his Spirit Origin into magical energy to shoot his ultra-long-range divine punishment nine times more in order to break through them.[12]
The Lion King activating the Tower of the Ends of the World.
By turning the Holy City into the Tower of the Ends of the World, the entire area becomes the Ends of the World.[13] As the Tower of Light, the World that is made up accordingly with the physical laws of the present will peel and fall off, and the many phantasmal laws that were the way of the past would be expressed.[5] In other words, in exchange for creating the complete world known as the tower, the world outside must be destroyed.[13] The activation of the tower generates a space-time fracture by causing a gravitational collapse in all corners of the era. However, due to said activation taking some time,[20] Ozymandias manages to shatter it with Ramesseum Tentyris before it completely manifests, as before its huge mass, the tower was nothing more than "an ancient rickety ship". However, this was only the lance's "sheathe", and as such, it was required to destroy the Lance in order to stop the gravity fluctuation.[12]
Despite the many powerful Noble Phantasms belonging to servants that Chaldea witnessed during their quest to restore humanity and defeat Goetia, Da Vinci claims that even at full power, none of them could have possibly broken an entire planet apart. Even if an Anti-Planet Noble Phantasm exited on paper, it wouldn't be enough to destroy the Earth,[21] due to the many safety provisions in place. In order to accomplish total devastation, one would first need to circumvent them all. The only ones that ever came close to accomplish this were Goetia with the Human Order Incineration Order and the Lion King, whose tower would have wiped out all of humanity except a select few of her choosing had she not been stopped by Bedivere who managed to return Excalibur to her, thereby destroying Rhongomyniad and severing her link with the Lance at the cost of his life.[14][22]
Other Capabilities[]
- The Lion King can summon the Knights of the Round Table, with the exception of Galahad and Bedivere, to aid her. However, they retain their free will, and as such, she has no way to make them follow her commands against their desires. She can further empower them by bestowing Gifts upon them, granting them special abilities.
- The Lion King has access to powerful spells that allow her to create Enforcement Knights, beings that give off the magical responses of humans, but who are also close in form to Heroic Spirits.[10] Her armies are so large and powerful that Sanzang claims that even though King Hassan and Lancelot and his forces said they'd join Chaldea in their assault on the Holy City, they alone wouldn't be enough to beat the Lion King's armies. Further taking into account that the Lion King can fire her Holy Judgement from inside the city without exposing herself, Sanzang states that the difference in the forces is so great that attacking would be suicide.[3] However, thanks to joining forces with Ozymandias, who lend them his Divine Beast Corps, an army of sphinxes and his nation's strongest unit, they were able to infiltrate the city.[17] When directly created from Rhongomyniad's magical energy, the Enforcement Knights become akin to Divine Constructs.[20]
- Clairvoyance: At the end of Camelot Goddess Rhongomyniad said "After becoming the Lion King I acquired a new level of perspective on par with the King of Mages, understanding both his ideal and his purpose", implying some level of Clairvoyance.
Forms and Alternate Versions[]
Lion Helmed Knight[]
After Bedivere returned Excalibur to the Lion King, severing her link with Rhongomyniad in the proccess, her existence came to an end. The collapse of the Holy City and the Camelot Singularity meant the end for the avatar of the Holy Lance as well. As such, even if Chaldea encountered another alternate version of King Arthur wielding the holy lance, it'd be a different person.[14]
However, on the events of the Solomon Singularity, a mysterious Lion Helmed Knight wielding Rhongomyniad and accompanied by the Bedivere possessing Switch On - Airgetlám was seen aiding the Knights of the Round Table in their fight against the Demon God Pillars.[8] This version of Artoria referring to herself as the King of Storm was also seen in Tristan's interlude. After the combined efforts of full power Gawain, Lancelot and Bedivere proved to be unable to restrain the angered Tristan, who had been mysteriously empowered by the Gifts Reversal, Nightless and Rampage, the Lion Helmed Knight appeared once again. By using her lance, she easily overpowers Tristan's Failnaught, piercing through his blessings. After defeating him and reverting him back to his normal state, she detects that her older sister, the fairy princess must have been related to the incident, and considers the posibility of her having been summoned somewhere else.[23]
It is unknown if the Lion Helmed Knight is the actual living Lion King himself, who surived after the events of Camelot, or a remnant of some kind such as a Heroic Spirit that was recorded in the Throne of Heroes.
Development[]
Creation and Conception[]
Goddess Rhongomyniad was designed by Akira Ishida in Fate/Grand Order.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Fate/Grand Order material IV - Artoria Pendragon (Lancer), p.080-089, translated by Clyton at Beast's Lair.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Fate/Grand Order - Camelot: The Sacred Round Table Realm Section 12 Village in Flames
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Fate/Grand Order - Camelot: The Sacred Round Table Realm Section 15 The God King Ozymandias (2/3)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Fate/Grand Order - Camelot: The Sacred Round Table Realm Section 17 Replica (4/5)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Fate/Grand Order material III: Artoria Pendragon (Alter) (Lancer), translated by Kinalvin.
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order - Camelot: The Sacred Round Table Realm - Act
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Camelot/Zero translated at Beast's Lair
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Fate/Grand Order - Salomon: The Grand Time Temple - Act 07: VI / Spy Satellite Amon
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order - Babylonia: Section 11 Hello, Goddess of the Sun
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Fate/Grand Order - Camelot: The Sacred Round Table Realm Section 4 The Wailing Wall
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order - Camelot: The Sacred Round Table Realm Section 5 Taking Flight (1/2)
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Fate/Grand Order - Camelot: The Sacred Round Table Realm Section 17 Replica (3/5)
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Fate/Grand Order - Camelot: The Sacred Round Table Realm Section 14 The Hidden Research
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Fate/Grand Order - Camelot: The Sacred Round Table Realm Section 17 Replica (5/5)
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Götterdämmerung: Section 14 Bringing Twilight Here Once Again (Middle)
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order - Artoria Pendragon (Lancer)'s Interlude
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Fate/Grand Order - Camelot: The Sacred Round Table Realm Section 15 The God King Ozymandias (3/3)
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order material I - Arash, p.146-155, translated by ComunCoutinho at Reddit.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Fate/Grand Order - Camelot: The Sacred Round Table Realm Section 17 Replica (1/5)
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Fate/Grand Order - Camelot: The Sacred Round Table Realm Section 17 Replica (2/5)
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order: Epic of Remnant Shinjuku: Section 9 Transforming Vagabond
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order: Epic of Remnant Shinjuku: Section 11 Great Detective Work
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order - Tristan's Interlude - It Begins With Loss