Rider (Fate/Zero)

Rider is a character from the Fate/Zero anime and games.

Rider is the Rider-class Servant of Waver Velvet in the Fourth Holy Grail War of. He is able to be summoned by Ritsuka Fujimaru in the Grand Orders of Fate/Grand Order.

Appearance
Rider is a gigantic man standing over two meters in height. He has large muscles that give the impression of being able to kill a bear with his bare hands. He has sternly chiseled features with eyes that give off a dazzling glow, able to overtake Waver's soul in an instant with their sharpness, and burning red hair and beard. He wears bronze armor, with cuffs and greaves with white-furred fringes, that leaves his arms and thighs unprotected. He wears a thick red mantle with a fluffy white fur collar. It is luxuriously decorated, and looks like a curtain wrapping the stage of a theater.

At Stage 1, Rider wears his customary armor without his mantle. Rider's Stage 2 appearance is the same as that of Stage 1, but with the fur mantle added. Stage 3 Rider also wears added armor, and his fur seems a lighter color.

While historical records called him short because he could not reach the foot stool of Darius III's throne after conquering the Persian empire and had to swap it for a table to sit on the throne, he claims that it is because he was truly short when compared to Darius. In the end, he considers that history written by random people cannot completely and accurately describe the situation back then, so he has no problems with the inaccuracy.

During life, Alexander took the lead in wearing Asiatic clothing due to his interest in cultures of his conquered land, causing his followers to avert him like the plague. He does the same in the present, changing into contemporary styled clothes while in public because of trying not to lag behind Saber and her suit. He orders an XL sized T-shirt based on the Admirable Tactics" videogame he takes to playing in his free time. It is white shirt with the logo of the game imprinted on top of the world map, looking much like a cheapskate product from the games segment published on the front page of the special edition a magazine.

He is very happy with it because it gives him "the effect of having the whole world on my chest" and goes well with the conqueror outfit. Due to his pride in the shirt, he first attempts to move around in public without any pants or undergarments, which he doesn't find to be strange in the least. He refers to pants as "that thing that causes you to stumble", and hates the idea of having to wear them. Waver eventually buys him large jeans, so that he can actually go out without troubles.

Personality
Rider is noble and physically overbearing. He is not pragmatic, but is a person who lets history run its course and acts according to his impulses. While he is wild and somewhat inconsiderate to others, his greed inspired his subjects and ultimately resulted in their happiness. He is always jovial, values friendship highly, and he regards the bond with all of his followers in Ionioi Hetairoi as his greatest treasure. They all, being inspired by such a magnificent king, in turn gives him their undivided loyalty and adoration. He also admires people who treat friendship with sincerity, such when he meets Taiga Fujimura. He is compassionate to those with whom he bonds, such as telling Waver that it is natural to be sickened by Caster's atrocities and that he would strike anyone who would feel nothing from the sight.

He was adventurous and had the goal of reaching the edge of the world during his life, and he looks forward to conquering the world now that he has found out it is a sphere, and how small his empire that he spent his life conquering was compared to the size of the world. He desires to conquer the world as a human, so that is his only wish for the Holy Grail. He is not overly cruel as would be expected from a tyrant, but tries instead to keep bloodshed to a minimum despite his love for battles and destruction. He is fine with not actually winning the battle outright, and even attempts to recruit the other Servants as his followers after witnessing their prowess for himself. He prefers to conquer his enemies by winning without killing and controlling without humiliating them. He admires Saber's abilities as an individual and believes that she would be an amazing asset to his army. He is seen as a unique individual with strange ideas unbefitting of his legacy, but Waver is able to understand the meaning behind his conquest. He sees Rider as deserving of title of "King of Conquerors" because that which he strives to conquer most is not lands or material wealth, but the hearts of people, the toughest conquest that can be undertaken by anyone.

His way of kingship is his greatest pride and as such, he despises Saber's way of kingship, the direct antithesis. He calls her naive for considering sacrificing herself to save her kingdom, and goes so far as to denounce her as a king. He insists that a king should be setting vivid examples to be followed, bond with his subjects at personal level, and his way of living should be something inspiring to and envied by all under his rule, not a distant ideal or martyr whose deeds would be praised yet whose path is so full of sorrow and pain that it would only inspire a sense of dread. To him, a selfless king who isolates himself from his people to die for ideals is nothing but a fool, which is worse than a tyrant. He is also in opinion that a king should be vibrant, a figure who is inspiring and leading his people, instead of being a distant loner who concerns himself only with protecting and saving his people. Ultimately, he would grieve and weep over his losses and mistakes, but he would stay true to himself and never regret decisions made as a king.

He has a mutual rivalry with Gilgamesh, and offers for a joint conquest to take over the world.[15] Despite all Servants who have first seen him thought him to be stupid and preposterous for a conqueror of his reputation, he eventually earns their respect, even Gilgamesh who rarely shows any respect to anyone, but he claims that he will only ever have one friend. The respect Iskandar inspired in Gilgamesh is great enough that the King of Heroes deems him worthy enough to be faced with Ea and Enkidu in their final fight, even though Gilgamesh can easily win without using them.

Despite his Master's shortcomings and their vast differences in goals and personalities, Rider is very quick to start bonding with Waver on a personal level like he would with anyone during his reign, admiring his wit and determination despite Waver having the lowest of opinions of himself. During their first encounter with the other Servants, Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi, who was originally planning to summon Rider, begins to berate and torment Waver by calling him incompetent and weak. Rider instantly defends Waver's dignity by rebuffing Kayneth for only speaking to them while in hiding. Despite being timid, at least Waver would ride with him and Rider notes that only someone who will ride onto the battlefield with him is worthy of being his Master, so a coward who only hides in the shadows is a true shame to their battle.

Rider is bisexual, so it is possible he would have attempted sexual relationships with both Kayneth and Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri if he had been summoned by them.

Rider takes a great interest in the modern world, often spending his free time eating crackers and watching videos to learn about the new world around him. He is also especially eager to go outside and experience things as a human. He especially takes a great liking to the video game called, Admirable Tactics.

Abilities
In combat, Rider mostly uses his Noble Phantasm Gordius Wheel to trample the enemies; the chariot is surrounded by lightning: this factor and its high speed are what make its charge a powerful attack, which takes the name of Via. Even without activating the Noble Phantasm, it is strong enough to almost knock out Berserker after one strike, forcing him to retreat. To summon the chariot, Iskandar slashes the air apart with his sword.

While seemingly preferring to ride into battle, Iskandar has shown no hesitation in fighting on foot, showing prodigious ability despite being geared better towards mounted battle. He stands against three Assassins in Caster's sewer lair, skillfully predicting an ambush launched by one, intercepting the attack and killing the said Assassin with ease. He would have taken the other two on if had they not retreated shortly afterwards. He later manages to get within striking distance, potentially capable of a killing blow against Gilgamesh, despite his agility being quite laughable by servant standards. The sword that Rider wields is a 'spatha' (supata) referred to as the Sword of the Kupriotes (Kyupurioto no Ken, Sword of Kupriotes), gifted to him in life by the King of the Cypriots; its hilt was decorated with the likeness of a lion. Strong and light-weight, the blade can be wielded with great dexterity, and in the course of the story, it was able to deflect the Assassins' dirks with demonstrable ease. Though it is not noted to be a Noble Phantasm itself, it is utilized in the invocation of both of Iskandar's known Noble Phantasms. Incidentally, the historical Iskandar is said to have used a kopis instead.

Iskandar's trump card and ultimate Noble Phantasm is Ionioi Hetairoi. Rider summons a Reality Marble that consists in a vast desert under a cloudless sky; in this place makes its entrance an immense army: every soldier is a Servant that, after dying and becoming a Heroic Spirit, still follows Iskandar's lead. Exploiting the plain and shelterless battleground, the King of Conquerors rides his horse Bucephalus and charges forward, followed by his army, in order to crush the enemies. Iskandar is also able to summon Bucephalus on his own outside of Ionioi Hetairoi.

Trivia

 * Takashi Takeuchi considers Rider to be the key character of Fate/Zero due to the time and energy that went into his design. He considers it difficult to draw due to its complexity and detail.
 * Gen Urobuchi compares him to a heavy tank and the Rider of Fate/stay night to a racecar.
 * His Gordius Wheelembodies the "tank-ness", but it is too large to enter sewers. The original idea for it was to give it the ability to change sizes by substituting its parts and transforming, but it still would have been too large.


 * Takashi Takeuchi feels that without his mantle, Rider gives off an intimate feeling that puts him in style with commoners. Takeuchi felt like a loincloth may have been suitable for him. Out of his initial designs, Takeuchi likes the one with the "three feelers" in the center.