Rider of "Black", Astolfo

Rider's True Name is Astolfo (アストルフォ), one of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne (シャルルマーニュ十二勇士). In the Charlemagne Legend, he is the son of King Otto (likely referring to King Offa of Mercia), and one of Charlemagne's twelve faithful Paladins.
Among the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne, Astolfo is said to be the most handsome, eternally optimistic, and completely lacking in sense. As the legends go, Astolfo was quite the ladies' man.
As a cousin of Roland, Astolfo is included among those twelve-- that being said, Astolfo was famed as "weak" in legends.

Astolfo has created many legends as he was an adventurer who flew to all over the world and even reached the Moon in the end. Through his journeys, he had won numerous Mystic Codes such as his flute, his grimoire, and his shining golden lance. Astolfo brought rise to various legends on the back of mounts like a griffin and the famous Rabicano,
but particularly famous among them is something inconceivable for this world—the Hippogriff.

Although many are the glorious tales of Astolfo, it is said that he has made just as many mistakes.
He was continually defeated in riding tournaments, fell victim to many thaumaturgical traps and even lost—in a matter of hours—the reason that he had picked up at the moon. However, Astolfo never faltered; he did not seem to consider failure or defeat as blunders in the first place.

If it wouldn't have been for his death on the battlefield, he would've been crowned king of his father's kingdom at some point, for he was the rightful heir.
Alas, he fell victim to a boulder that crushed him whilst leading his troops into battle, years and years before he could reach this point.

• Appearance
• Personality
• Stats
• Noble Phantasms
• Relationships
• Development (AU)

Rider is an androgynous-looking boy who is fancily dressed.
Beautiful beyond all compare, he states that his hair ornaments, which seem like something a princess would wear, are an "irresistible proof of friendship" that he uses to restore peace to his depressively mad boon ally, Roland.
His appearance is contrary to the legend of being said to be the most handsome among the Twelve Peers of Charlemagne, and though extremely unexpected, it is natural for legends to become distorted.
He purposefully dresses as a girl because he likes cute things.
His gender in the servant status was written "le Secret♪".

Armor

Rider's armor is oriented around mobility and. . . cute looks apparently, rather than high defense.

Whilst his vitals are protected by a chain mail hidden beneath the thin black underdress, his legs appear to be only covered by thigh-highs and white riding boots, equipped with golden spurs and toe covers.

Light armor plating is attached to his hip as well as his shoulders, with the shoulder guards centered around jousting rather than the normal medieval combat.
The shoulder armor is usually invisible due to the cape Astolfo tends to wear, which is usually a white, fur trimmed cloth cape held in place by a golden chain just above some leather armor protecting his chest and neck region.

His hands, wrists and elbows are protected by white gauntlets featuring golden ornaments.

Ascension

After recovering an item from his past Rider's equipment received minor adjustments - namely a new red cape with a black fur trim and a small crown atop of his head.

Other Costumes

• <- Back

Rider is known in his legend for being eternally optimistic and completely lacking in sense, and he can be called "curiosity in human form."
As a Servant more concerned with the current prospect of a second life over all else, he is one who will, with or without permission from his Master, instantly leave when not in conflict to indulge in the pleasures of the world.

He greatly enjoys physical form rather than the usual practice of being kept in spirit form except for battle, and obtaining permission to do so is enough to cause him to dance in joy.

He is a frightfully unparalleled blabbermouth, prone to speaking on and on until those involved lose all rationality.
His conversations, through no ill intent on his part, have a way of meandering toward maximum social awkwardness.
His hobby of adventuring gets himself mixed up in an assorted amount of mischief due to him constantly popping up everywhere.
Since he has no wish in special to entrust the Holy Grail, this Servant's motivation greatly fluctuates depending on whether or not he likes his Master.
The type who is frankly straight with the person he came to like, regardless of said person being of the opposite or the same sex.

Rider leaves all hard decisions as a matter for his heart to decide on the spot, following the course he deems most fit.
He does as he pleases without regret, and such obviousness of course would be hard to fathom from anyone other than him. He decides to save Sieg entirely on such a pretense, and not knowing how far he will be able to help, simply states "I'll keep helping him until I stop."

• <- Back

Reasonable AU stat adjustments will be put into brackets, and linked to the "Development" tab of this bio.

• <- Back

La Black Luna
Anti-Army C-rank Noble Phantasm

La Black Luna: Magic Flute That Calls Panic (恐慌呼起こせし魔笛, Kyōkō Yobiokoseshi Mateki?),

originally called La Black Luna (Lunatic Moon): Magic Flute That Calls Panic (恐慌呼び起こせし魔笛(狂える月),
Kurueru Tsuki: Kyōkō Yobiokoseshi Mateki?)* in Fate/complete material IV, is a hunting horn granted to Astolfo by the good witch Logistilla of Avalon to drive away a large flock of Harpies.
Considered the most extreme of his Noble Phantasms, it emits a magical sound similar in nature to the roar of a dragon, the cry of a giant bird, and the neighing of a divine horse, slamming targets within range with the force of an explosion of sound.
Rather than emulating "The harpies that ran away in fear after hearing that sound" as told in the legend, it is a weapon of wide-scale destruction. It is kept in a small size that can be hung from the belt on his hip, but increases in size to encircle his entire body when activated.

Those with less "HP" than the damage caused will instantly become dust that scatters away in the cardinal directions, reducing over one hundred Dragon Wing Warriors to mist in an instant.
Its power isn't that great, and while it's effective against small-fry enemies, it's a bit unreliable against other Servants. However, the true fearsomeness of this Noble Phantasm is the chaos and confusion caused by the shock of its overblown sound.
If someone skilled with the flute blows it, it's capable of even taking away all hearing from the targets. Their ability to fight won't necessarily be stopped just by cutting off one of their five senses or by being sent into disorder, but even so,
lacking the ability to hear would disadvantage a Servant for a little at least. It wouldn't be much of a handicap for highly experienced Servants, but during clashes between first-rate Servants, there are times where the slight opening it creates can decide the battle.

Trap of Argalia
Anti-Unit D-rank Noble Phantasm

Trap of Argalia: Down with a Touch! (触れれば転倒！, Furereba Tentō!?) is a shining, ornate golden lance that belonged to Argalia, a knight and prince of Cathay, that was later taken by Astolfo as one of the many treasures obtained through his escapades.
"Carelessly named" and nicknamed just "Argalia", it is a spear with a low killing-ability that acts only as a cavalry lance unstrengthened by magecraft, unable to pierce through all defenses, and lacking any special killing blows like always piercing the heart.
Although it will still cause the enemy to bleed and kill them should it penetrate their heart, killing is not its primary intent, but it does prove deadly in battle.

It was Argalia's beloved lance, said to cause anyone it touched with its golden tip to fall, bringing him much glory in jousting tournaments and upon the battlefield where heavily armored knights would be led to their inevitable death should they fall.
During a jousting tournament in which he was victorious against all the knights that challenged him in jousting matches, including Astolfo, Argalia ran away from a knight who refused to surrender after being knocked off his horse,
someone that he reluctantly fought with his own sword without using his lance but ultimately couldn't match him in combat, and he left his magic lance behind during his flight.

While the entire jousting contest was thrown into total chaos, Astolfo, who had broken his own lance, noticed Argalia's lance and silently borrowed (stole) it. Naturally, Astolfo won match after match in jousting contests afterwards.
After Astolfo managed to survive through several battles with this lance, he entrusted this lance to the female knight Bradamante, the cousin of Roland. Naturally, Astolfo freely gave away such a precious lance because he didn’t know about its ability at all.

The spear's only function is to realize its legend by returning its target to Spiritual Form below the knee when the target is a Servant.
It is able to hit anywhere on the target's body, even armor woven from magical energy, and physically cut the supply to the affected part of the body.
With a "wound" attached to the legs of the spiritual body, it is temporarily rendered as impossible to take form as flesh and blood, a "bad status" of "falling."
It possesses an extremely strong compelling force that can “even topple a giant.” It can only be remedied with a Luck Check, and although failure will cause "falling" to linger,
it is not hard for it to pass due to Luck readjusting itself upward, allowing them to recover in a short period of time. It is not very effective against enemies like Berserker of Red who will simply continue to drag themselves forward to defeat their foes.

Hippogriff: Otherworldly Phantom Horse
Anti-Army B+-rank Noble Phantasm

Hippogriff: Otherworldly Phantom Horse (この世ならざる幻馬, Kono Yo Narazaru Maboroshi Ba?) is the favored mount used by Astolfo. Astolfo secured Hippogriff from the evil magus Atlante.
Though his various legends tell of him riding on the backs of mounts like a Griffin and the famous Rabicano, the Hippogriff is particularly famous among them. A Hipppogriff appears in the story of "Orlando Furioso" (The Frenzy of Roland), where Astolfo and his comrades also appear.
This story includes the theme of "The Hippogriff makes an appearance here, so no matter how strange it may seem, there is nothing that is truly impossible". In "Orlando Furioso", Astolfo even goes to the Moon with the Hippogriff in order to save Roland.

Astolfo claims that it boasts great speed, and its demolishing attack as it charges is equal to an A-rank physical attack, although that is not the real value of this mythical beast.
The true power of the Hippogriff takes advantage of its "impossible existence" nature and amplify it, allowing it to perform short bursts of dimensional shift continually and only for an instant.
That dimension is the home of the Phantasmal Species, where only beings that are purely non-physical souls can go to.
It is the Reverse Side of the World, which the Hippogriff, when summoned as a Noble Phantasm, can never reach even if it can temporarily glimpse it.
This feature allows both the mount and its rider to be non-observable and immune to damage for a very short period of time within this World by phasing through every single attack.
However, it also drains mana rapidly, equal to that of an A-rank Noble Phantasm.

Casseur de Logistille
Anti-Unit (self) C-rank Noble Phantasm

Casseur de Logistille: Destruction Declaration (破却宣言, Hakyaku Sengen?) is a thick magic-binding leather book specially given by and inherited from a witch, Logistilla, to Astolfo, after the former was charmed by the latter.
It contains records of the means to shatter any magecraft, granting its owner the passive ability to deal with magecraft of A Rank and below. Though his Magic Resistance is normally D Rank, it is greatly elevated to A Rank, effectively making him immune to all modern magecraft.

At the start of the Great Holy Grail War, he forgets its true name, granting it the "suitably attached name" of Luna Break Manual: Magical All-purpose Tome of Tactics (魔術万能攻略書, Majutsu Ban'nō Kōryaku-sho?)
until he later is able to remember its real name by recognizing the moon is not in the sky. It is related to the legend of how Astolfo found his reason on the moon. Whenever the moon is visible to Astolfo, he would have no reason for it would be on the moon.
On the other hand, should the moon not be visible, Astolfo regains his reason, thus remembering this Noble Phantasm's true name. When its true name is released and the book is read, it becomes possible to break all magecraft close to High-Thaumaturgy excluding Reality Marbles.

It could perhaps be called a form of "Eye of the Mind" limited to magecraft.

Volcano Caligorante
Anti-Unit B-rank Noble Phantasm

Volcano Caligorante: Fortuitous Abduction Net
The net used by the giant Caligorante which is even able to capture gods.
That was what it was supposed to be actually... but because Astolfo used the magic horn, Caligorante panicked and ended up trapping himself in his own net.
From all the craziness it morphed and the net was reforged into the form of Astolfo’s sword.
The dream weapon of all warriors, the whip-sword or "gallant sword" as it is called. (assertion by Astolfo)

(See the Development (AU) tab for more info on why Saber Astolfo's Noble Phantasm is listed here.)

• <- Back

Sieg

Rider took it upon himself to help Sieg when they first met simply because he wanted to.
He promised to look after Sieg until he had been wholly satisfied, even after being told that Sieg would live for three years due to being a homunculus.

Rider would later help Sieg escape from the Yggdmillennia despite knowing the retribution he would receive from the rest of the Black Faction for this treacherous act.

After the death of Rider's original Master, Celenike Icecolle Yggdmillennia by the hands of Saber of "Red", Sieg forms a contract with the fading Rider, to save the Servant that originally saved his life.

Astolfo, more than just his Servant, is Sieg's best friend as well as the savior of his life.
He greatly respects Rider and cherishes him deeply, stating he would go as far as to die for Rider if the need ever arose so long as Rider would be saved and could continue to exist in the world without him.
While Rider thinks of himself as weak, and curses his weakness for being the reason as to why Sieg threw away his chance at a normal life to save him from Mordred, Sieg wholeheartedly believes in Astolfo's strength. To him, Astolfo is truly an amazing person and a brave hero through and through. Though Rider's wild antics, tendency to let extremely important details slip, and miraculous talent for finding them both in outrageous situations do cause the Sieg to bury his face in his hands and sigh.

In the end they manage to win the War, with Sieg 'sacrificing' himself by turning into the dragon Fafnir to carry the Greater Grail to the reverse side of the world, while Astolfo stayed behind.

Humanity is immature as a species, and Astolfo himself is also immature as a Servant. Even so, to make their lives as they live desperately meaningless was, as he thought, mistaken. Astolfo will continue to optimistically help those who want help without asking for any real compensation and live on until the day when he feels like he wants to live. His way of life, no matter how weak he is, truly is appropriate for a hero.

Charlemagne

This particular version of Charlemagne is the Charlemagne of the legends, the Knight who'd fight his enemies fair and square, showing mercy when they yielded whilst only fighting for defense and peace - practically the 'offshoot' of the Charlemagne that would go down in history as the 'father' of Europe.

According to Astolfo Charlemagne was a conscientiously benevolent king that would weep and laugh with his people and also help those who are in need.

This earned him Astolfo's unwavering loyalty even beyond death, making him the only person aside from his Master he'd follow to the ends of the earth.

Rex Magnus Karl

Rex Magnus Karl, also known as Karl der Große is the Charlemagne of history - the man who was changed upon touching the petrified remains of a giant within a cave in the Alps.

. . . changed into a man who only thought about things such as world peace, and how to achieve it.

Whilst Astolfo could understand how one would want that he could also clearly see how it warped his King - almost into something that was other than human.
Sadly he wasn't around long enough to keep his old friend in check due to his own demise, which inevitably led to the slow descent into who is now known as Rex Magnus Karl.

Now a power hungry monster and despot Astolfo does all in his might to stop Karl from possibly conquering all that is touched by the sun, as he has "too much power on his hands" according to the bubbly pinkette.

Bradamante

Bradamante was a cousin of both Astolfo and Roland, sister of Rinaldo and a valuable peer of the twelve Paladins.

In fact, she was the one to bail Astolfo out of his 'tree debacle', and received his jousting lance Trap of Argalia when he went for the moon to retrieve Roland's sanity.

Simply put, she's like a big sister to the pinkette, despite her constant pleas to ride his Hippogriff.

Roland

As Astolfo's cousin, and leader of the twelve Roland is highly respected, yet oftenly mocked by Rider.

This is due to his mad episode back in the day, caused by a spanish princess turning him down due to being a 'mere soldier'.

Astolfo noably dressed as a woman during this period to calm and appease his cousin, eventually retrieving a bottle of reason from the moon to recover Roland's sanity.

Due to these events he's still mocking Roland every once in a while, noting things such as his weak spot for 'kinky stuff like handcuffs', despite openly enjoying to take part in a scandal himself.

• <- Back

First and foremost, please note that this take on Astolfo is strictly post-Fate/Apocrypha and has no links to Fate/Grand Order or Fate/Extella Link.

Over a decade has passed since the events of Fate/Apocrypha, rendering Astolfo as fairly accustomed to the modern era.

He has once again traveled far and wide whilst doing his best to live up to Sieg's supposed last request and expectations.

This, plus the fact that Rider assisted the Forvedge siblings on numerous occasions has earned him quite the reputation, resulting in him receiving a small house in the outskirts of the city of Trifas, Romania, allowing him to plan his "Adventures" and escapades with ease.