Class: Rider
True Name: Theseus
Height/Weight: 181 cm / 82 kg
Alignment: Neutral Good
Origin: Greek Mythology
A hopeless thrill-seeker by nature and a shameless tease by choice, or perhaps the other way around. In this form, his disposition is naturally inclined to that of his youth — someone that faces what the world throws at him head on, a man for whom the road he will take is dictated by his heart alone.
At a glance, getting along with him is easy, provided you aren’t the sort he had to put down so often. More than anything, do not insult the memory of his loved ones — the people he met on that voyage, the sworn friends he made, the two women he loved and the son he let disappointed — doubtlessly the kind of idiot for whom such people are his world.
A simple man that likes to see people smiling, a fool that cannot bear tears without acting. Even to that beast within the labyrinth, his last words were neither hateful or mocking as he kept it company in its last moments, but rather, a single heartfelt statement.
”I wanted to save you, as well.”
He remembers his victories with fondness. He mourns his failings with sorrow. But he accepts all of his life equally, and can only hope that he might be able to do better one day. Therefore — smile, and always hold on to the hope of a brighter tomorrow.
—Even if the core of the hero named Theseus is “one who wins the battles before him, but loses what matters the most along the way,” all that means is that he will have to conquer that mountain with his own two hands.
Thus, his wish is: “to hold my wife and son again.”
Armament: He possesses the sword that was left behind by his father and he retrieved as proof of heritage. While a good blade that has seen use, however, it does not possess any special characteristics as a Rider beyond its age and emotional value.
STR: B+ |
CON: B |
AGI: A |
MGI: B |
LCK: D
Class Skills
Magic Resistance: C
Ability to negate or abate the effects of magecraft, differing from the “resistance” of magi. In practice, he is immune to any magecraft of up to two verses — albeit it cannot cope with the likes of High Thaumaturgy or Greater Rituals.
Riding: A+
Ability to handle vehicles and mounts, extending not only to what existed in the Servant’s lifetime, but modern contraptions. Even state-of-the-art transports can be handled expertly.
Boasting the highest classification owing to accounts of his figure subduing the Cretan Bull, he possesses the capacity to ride even those creatures of Phantasmal or Divine Beast classification.
Personal Skills
Divinity: B
Refers to one’s aptitude as a Divine Spirit. At higher Ranks, one can be treated as a mixed breed of sorts.
In addition to also being related to Zeus through his mother, it can be said that among all mortal children of the Sea God, none were closer to his father or received the blessings he did — the quality of the divine od suffusing his form is truly superb, and the Rider iteration emphasizes his figure as “the wandering, divine-blooded hero,” bringing such attributes to the forefront.
Pankration: A+++
The staple martial art of Greece that was jointly developed by Rider and Heracles and then passed on to other heroes.
Understand the nature of the enemy, grasp the conditions of the battle, and then refined skill, natural talent and accrued experience will work together to forge a path that will lead to their absolute submission. Rather than simply “an array of ready techniques”, it can be classified as “Rider’s identity as a combatant”.
A tool for humans, against humans, that nonetheless was used to carry out the absurdity of “conquering that which is beyond humanity”. Such is the true nature behind Rider’s use of the oldest martial art in Greece — found in the blows that trounced the mother of the Calydonian Boar, subjugated the Marathonian Bull and slaughtered the Minotaur — born out of nothing more than pure human will yet bestowing the aptitude to “wrestle to death even what should be impossible to wrestle to death.” In that regard, he certainly stands alongside that great hero he sailed and trained with.
. . .One can only wonder how terrifying the result of him meeting a certain “nee-san” would be.
Eye of the Mind (False): B
Refers to the combination of an inborn talent to sense danger and battle experience gained over one’s life used to refine it, utilizing such things in order to grasp both one’s own condition and the opponent’s so as to “avoid a lethal predicament”. Additionally, it also offers the bonus effect of lowering visual and hearing penalties.
A skill resulting both from his natural talents inherited by blood and refined by his battles all over Grecia and beyond — from the hidden dangers behind amiable faces to the capacity to instantly grasp the winning path even against the one that was called “the strongest wrestler in Attica.” Even in the utter darkness of that labyrinth, he found his way and beat the enemy without receiving a single wound to show for it.
The joint prescience, battle experience and accumulated techniques of a hero that never lost a fight in his lifetime.
Ship of Theseus: —
A skill bestowed not due to anecdotes of the legend, but due to the association with a thought experiment that has taken to bearing his own name. It should be considered a “burden of existence” gained through deification as a Heroic Spirit.
Fundamentally speaking, it denotes the fact that “no matter how drastically the shell changes, one’s self continues uninterrupted.” That is to say, regardless of what occurs, it can be said that Theseus will always be Theseus, so it could be compared to a sort of "guarantee" of conceptual integrity.
It also encompasses the ability to “run repairs upon oneself” as it were, though of course such thing naturally depends on availability of materials. However, if such condition is met, it is entirely possible to adapt those same materials for one's own use.
Noble Phantasm
Sea God’s Heavenly Hammer
Aldebaran Crusher
Rank: A+
Type: Anti-Fortress
Maximum Number of Targets: 500
Range: 1 - 99
The great bull that Poseidon ordered to wreak havoc upon the land after Minos’ greed caused the king to not to sacrifice it as he had been ordered — a great Divine Beast that Herakles himself subdued in his labors and was later tamed by Rider and brought to Athens for sacrifice as he followed in his cousin’s footsteps.
Fundamentally speaking, one can say that Rider’s ability to call upon the bull stems from that episode just as much as it does from the parallel nature of their roles regarding Crete’s ultimate fate — the divine and mortal sons of Poseidon who broke Minos’ kingdom due to his own greed and arrogance.
With regards to its capabilities, its main characteristic is purely “destruction” by means of trampling the lands underneath its hooves and forcibly crushing it, a gift born from its connection to the “Earthshaker” and necessarily gifted due to its role as a punishment for Crete. Releasing the rather suspicious True Name causes the beast to materialize high on the heavens, along the Taurus constellation — and by gathering the “light” of its brightest star, Aldebaran, it charges down the enemy camp at impossible speeds. The merciless retribution — the “calamity” — unleashed by the Sea God.
In addition to the simple power of the Noble Phantasm, it also places a great deal of “pressure” on the enemy camp, befitting its role as a beast whose purpose can be defined as “bringing nations to their knees.”
In terms of performance, it certainly seems similar to the pet that was once possessed by that goddess of Mesopotamia — fitting, as that bull in particular was also this one’s conceptual predecessor.
However, this one unfortunately lacks the ability to “crush the enemy without crushing the location” due to its proclivities, so Rider jests about it being a Noble Phantasm “uniquely suited to causing property damage.”
Divine Gifts from the Bountiful Sea
Ἀρας
Rank: D
Type: Anti-Unit
Maximum Number of Targets: 1
Range: —
The crystallization of the episode where Saber met his father after Minos had thrown his ring to the sea and challenged him to retrieve it so as to prove his heritage. Eventually making his way to Poseidon’s kingdom, he was welcomed with open arms and the ring was given to him — alongside a gift to his favored child, promising him to “see any three wishes Rider made granted”.
The reason for the presented specs is because the Noble Phantasm is not “the wishes themselves”, but rather “Poseidon’s promise to his son” — therefore, the actual function is simply “allowing for completely unimpeded communication between Rider and his father.” The field of use is so narrow that it might be considered peerless within it, but its applications regarding direct combat are nonexistent for obvious reasons.
At the very least, the cost is practically negligible in turn.
The proof of his father’s love for him, but at the same time, the means through which his son Hippolytus reached his grisly end.
Indeed, Theseus’ prayers are Theseus’ curses.
Unwavering Proof of a Tear-Filled Love
Ethos Ariadne
Rank: D+
Type: Anti-Unit
Maximum Number of Targets: 2
Range: —
The legendary magic thread that Ariadne gifted Rider in the tale’s most famous episode. Fundamentally speaking, its purpose was to give him directions toward the Minotaur and then allow him to leave once the deed was done, thereby providing a workaround to that accursed labyrinth none had ever escaped.
Its basic characteristic is that of “connection” by means of having the string latch on to something, following which it cannot be broken and will extend endlessly so long as magical energy is provided, which allowed Ariadne to key it to the Minotaur and herself once the beast was dead, after which Rider only needed to follow it. Perhaps in order to accurately describe it, one could say it is “connection given the shape of string,” allowing comparisons to concepts like that red thread found in Eastern cultures. Additionally, it boasts the capacity of shaping itself according to the owner’s command.
Naturally, since he exhibits the traits of his youth most strongly within this container, it has manifested as his third Noble Phantasm, but instead of simple thread, it has found itself altered due to his own proclivities.
That is to say, he used the string so as to make what human understanding as of the twenty-first century refers to as a “wrestling suit.”
As an aside, because of its nature as a Noble Phantasm coupled with the truth behind its creation, the connections formed need not be between purely physical bodies.
