Faith/Stay Night part 4: The Extra Classes (part 2)

Here it is: the last blog of the year and the final installment in our fan-made Fate/Stay Night spec list. It’s been so much fun researching the different Servant classes and characters in the Bible, and I hope you’ve learned some new tidbits about them, too. For our last hurrah, we’ll look at the final four Servant types in the Extra category: Shielders, Alter Egos, Foreigners, and Pretenders.

Shielders

Shielders are one of the least developed classes in the Fate franchise. Aside from being a defensive type of combatant, there isn’t much else in regards to information. The only Shielder that feels truly fleshed out is Mash Kyrielight, an original character from the the Fate/Grand Order mobile game. Mash is a man-made homunculus who fused with the Heroic Spirit Galahad, a knight from Arthurian legend. Within Fate/Grand Order’s game mechanics, Mash is not weak to any particular class, but she does not deal bonus damage to other classes, either.

Hero: Boaz (Ruth)

Boaz was not a warrior, but he was a hero of a different sort. He was a landowner who lived during the time before Israel anointed its first kings (some would call this the Judges period). Based on what we read of him in the book of Ruth, Boaz was the ideal boss: kind to his employees and full of moral integrity.

One day, when he was inspecting one of his fields, Boaz noticed a woman following behind the harvesters. It was common practice for women from low-income families to collect the grain that the harvesters missed or dropped. However, this particular woman was Ruth, a Moabitess. She had moved to Israel with her mother-in-law, Naomi, after her husband passed away. Israel was very nationalistic in those days and did not treat foreigners kindly. However, Boaz pulled some strings to make sure she was protected and provided for.

In a twist that would make Hallmark rethink its movie plots, Boaz was Ruth’s Kinsman Redeemer. In the patriarchal society of those days, if a man passed away, his wife and possessions would transfer to the closest male relative, often a brother or a cousin. Boaz was related to Elimelech, Naomi’s late husband. Naomi immediately got to work setting Ruth and Boaz up.

The plot thickened further when Boaz revealed that while he was a kinsman redeemer, he was not the next closest relative. However, he went through the legal, above-board steps to earn the right to take Ruth as his wife. Fun fact: despite being a foreigner, Ruth became the great grandmother of Israel’s greatest king, David. Interesting how so many people on these lists are tied to David in some way.

As a Shielder Servant, Boaz would be geared more for support than offense. While he wouldn’t have massive shields, his abilities and Noble Phantasm would probably supply and provide for his allies. I can already picture the acres of grain that would manifest upon its use.

Antihero: Herod the Great (Matthew, Luke)

The next contender on our list is one of the few people featured from the New Testament: Herod. There were Herods mentioned in the Bible, a father and son. Here, we will focus on the father, King Herod the Great.

We only get a small snippet of Herod the Great in the Bible, where he is depicted as a tyrannical king. Granted, “king” may be too generous of a title. Thanks to his father, Antipater, Herod’s family was on good terms with the Roman empire. The Roman senate appointed him as the king of Judea, which he ruled for over thirty years.

He had some intriguing facts and achievements during his tenure. An acolyte to Judaism, Herod was acquainted with Antony and Cleopatra, weathered a few revolts, and rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, his mental health deteriorated as he grew older. His mental instability resulted in numerous deaths, including multiple family members.

Why would I suggest Herod the Great as a Shielder? Yes, he protected his realm from military threats, but he took some inappropriately drastic measures to defend his authority. Upon hearing that a baby, prophesied to be the King of the Jews, had been born in Bethlehem, he felt threatened. Herod sent soldiers to murder hundreds of baby boys because he thought one of them would steal his throne. That’s how far he went to “protect” his realm. In retrospect, his psychotic decision did help send Jesus, the newborn in question, to Egypt, fulfilling a messianic prophecy from Hosea 11.

As a Servant, Herod would be able to fortify his defenses quite well. He did survive a few rebellions, after all. Unfortunately, he would probably have a Madness Enchantment similar to a Berserker, so keep a close eye on him.

Alter Egos

Alter Egos are an odd bunch. They are aspects of Heroic Spirits that have been extracted and made manifest, a sort of “what if” personality. Who could this person have been if their life took a different turn?

Hero: Paul (Acts)

Paul is one of the greatest conversion stories in the New Testament. Once one of the greatest persecutors of the early church, he had a face-to-face encounter with the resurrected Jesus and began to preach around the Roman empire. His ministry focused mostly on Gentile, or non-Jewish, cities and regions.

Although he actively shared the Good News, Paul could get spicey at times. He publicly called Peter out on favoritism. A fierce disagreement with Barnabas, his first missionary partner, left them unable to minister together. He pitted his religious opponents, the Pharisees and Sadducees, against each other during his own trial with a single sentence, redirecting their ire at each other instead of him.

Paul also went through a myriad of painful trials. He was beaten multiple times, several of which were within an inch of his life. One of those beatings involved thrown stones. Paul was also shipwrecked at least three times. I’m not the greatest of swimmers, so the idea of floating in the open ocean for a full day and night does not sound appealing in the slightest. Despite all that he went through, Paul remained faithful and resilient, preaching boldly and brilliantly.

It makes sense for Paul to be an Alter Ego. His supernatural encounter with Jesus changed his entire life. Paul’s words were some of his most potent weapons, so abilities that manifest through speech would be fitting. These words would bring healing, of course, but he could definitely deliver a verbal jab when needed.

Antihero: Saul of Tarsus (Acts)

No, this is not the same King Saul we did in a previous list. This is actually the same man as our heroic Alter Ego. His Jewish name was Saul, but his Greek name was Paul. This name change occurred when he decided to focus his ministry on Gentiles. Does this feel like cheating? Maybe. However, to fully understand how radical Paul’s salvation was, we have to know the kind of man he was before.

Saul was a Pharisee, an expert in Jewish law. This was the group that Jesus butted heads with throughout His ministry. They were very devout in following the letter of the law, but, as Jesus pointed out, many of them failed in following the spirit of the law.

Shortly after Jesus’s followers started preaching His resurrection, a man named Stephen was arrested on false charges. He was accused of blaspheming against God and Moses, which would never fly in the Pharisees’ book. Despite a sermon that left the court enraptured, the moment Stephen proclaimed Jesus as the prophesized Messiah, the room turned on him. People dragged him out to stone him to death. Saul, who was present, held their coats so they could throw better. He watched and approved what was happening.

Something must have clicked in his head, because from that moment on, he pursued followers of the Way with dogged zealotry. Men, women, children; none were safe. He would drag people out of their homes to be tried and executed for preaching against Jewish law. He terrorized the early church, but the horrors ended one fateful day as Saul made his way to Damascus.

Since Alter Ego Servants are “what if” versions of the originals, Saul could manifest at the same time as Paul and act as a Hyde to his Jekyll (although those two are already in the Fate universe). He’d wield the same power over words, but his would be purely for offense. One could only imagine how things would go if both sides of this famous apostle met face-to-face.

Foreigners

Moon Cancers may have ties to the moon, but Foreigners are servants bonded with beings beyond the stars. They typically fall under two categories: either they “kept their purity in the heart of madness” or were “swallowed by madness, then consumed their own madness.” A Foreigner Servant’s most notable feature is its bond to some sort of “outer god,” usually of the Eldritch variety.

Hero: Job (Job)

Our first entry in the Foreigner category is Job, a man synonymous with trials and perseverance. Some scholars place Job in an era before Abraham, yet his name is brought up by the prophet Ezekiel, which means his story must have been well known to Ezekiel’s Israelite contemporaries.

As the tale goes, Job was an incredibly wealthy man. He had many herds of various livestock and several children who were so well-provided for that they partied almost every other week. What stood out about him the most was not his riches, but his righteousness and devotion to God.

Up in Heaven, behind the scenes, God nonchalantly bragged about Job in front of Satan. Satan then made a bold claim. “Job only loves you because you give him nice stuff. Take it all away, and he’ll drop his faith like a bad habit.” God gave him permission to mess with Job, so long as he didn’t directly harm him.

In one fell swoop, Job lost everything. His livestock was stolen, his servants were murdered, and his kids died when the roof caved in on them. Job was devastated by the news. However, he continued to honor and serve God faithfully.

Some time later, God and Satan met in Heaven. Once again, God praised Job for his righteousness, even after he lost everything.

“That’s because you didn’t let me touch him,” Satan said. “If he is harmed, he’ll curse you for sure!”

To this, God responded with the biblical version of “Bet.”

Job came down with a nasty case of boils and sores. It got so bad, he had to use a piece of pottery to scrape the pus out. His own wife even told him to “curse God and die.” Despite all of this, Job remained blameless before God.

Could you believe that, out of forty two chapters, all of this took place in the first two? The next thirty nine chapters recount a massive debate between Job, his three friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, and a fourth man named Elihu. Job, angry and distraught, wanted to know why he suffered so much. His friends assumed he was punished for some sin he committed, but Job denied any such acts. This argument went back and forth until God entered the dialogue, calling them out for prideful assumptions about how He runs things. It’s interesting to note that, despite being angry with God, Job was still considered righteous in this exchange. As for his friends, God advised they ask Job to pray for them before they got smote for putting words in God’s mouth.

Another fascinating note is that, despite his wealth and honor being reinstated in the end, Job is never told why he had to suffer. We as the readers know about the heavenly wager, but that was never revealed to him. Perhaps we, too, don’t need to worry about the whys in our trials, because we know God is in control.

As a Foreigner, the “outer god” Job would be bound to would, clearly, be Elohim. As for abilities, there is a particular creature mentioned a couple of times in the story that he could summon like a Rider could: the legendary Leviathan. Described as a terrible beast equipped with impenetrable scales and fiery breath, only God could direct this beast, so calling it out could be dangerous for Job, too.

Antihero: The Serpent (Genesis)

Multiple legends the world over depict enmity between humans and snakes. The Bible holds the same. In Genesis, Eve, the first woman, is tempted by a serpent in the Garden of Eden. The serpent suggested she eat fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, saying it would make her like God. Eve took its advice, ate some of the fruit, and shared it with her husband, Adam (who was standing right there the whole time, by the way). All three of them were punished for their actions. Adam would have to work to survive. Eve would experience pain during childbirth. The serpent would crawl on its belly and eat dust for the rest of its days. Conflict between Eve’s descendants and the serpent’s descendants was proclaimed.

The problem with the serpent’s temptation was that it offered something that Eve already had access to. God walked with Adam and Eve on a regular basis. There must have been hundreds of conversations about how to live and what to do. Adam and Eve were already on their way to becoming like God. However, the serpent offered a shortcut, one with catastrophic consequences.

A constant debate is whether or not the serpent was Satan in disguise. The concept of angels and demons didn’t develop until long after Genesis was written. Although Satan does not have a physical form, there are multiple instances where he influences the physical world or enters into certain individuals, such as Judas Iscariot. It is very possible that the serpent in Genesis was an actual snake, but one that was influenced by Satan. As the theologian Martin Luther put it, “Let us therefore establish in the first place that the serpent is a real serpent, but one that has been entered and taken over by Satan.”

Due to its notoriety, the Serpent would hold a lot of power as a Foreigner. There are several Servants that had bestial forms, so keeping its base form as a snake would work. In fact, it could pass off as just a regular snake until its unsuspecting victim is within striking range. The “outer god” it could be bound to would be Satan. Upon releasing its Noble Phantasm, it could temporarily manifest its patron to unleash havoc upon its foes.

Pretenders

Our final set of Servants are a unique bunch. As the name suggests, Pretenders are Servants who feign someone else’s identity. They deceive and mislead others to do great deeds. Not all who bear the title are villains masquerading as innocent people. Some had to use deception to bring about the greatest good.

Hero: Tamar (Genesis)

The Kinsman Redeemer practice that we learned about with Boaz spanned back to the days before Israel was a nation. Judah, who fathered one of Israel’s twelve tribes, had a daughter-in-law named Tamar. She married his eldest son, Er. However, Er was a wicked man, and God eventually stuck him down. His brother, Onan, took Tamar as his wife to fulfill his role as Kinsman Redeemer.

A Kinsman Redeemer took the deceased man’s wife in order to beget children for the deceased man, to keep his bloodline from dying out. Unfortunately, Onan didn’t like the idea of carrying on his brother’s line. He enjoyed the benefits of the marriage, but took steps to prevent Tamar from getting pregnant. This was considered evil in God’s sight, so Onan received the divine smite, as well.

Judah still had one son left. He told Tamar to live with her parents until the third brother was old enough for marriage, but he had no intention of giving her to him. He was afraid that his third son would die, too.

Some years later, Judah’s wife died. When the grieving period was over, he went out with some friends to have his sheep sheared. Tamar heard that he was heading out. She knew Judah’s third son had grown up, but no marriage arrangements had been made. Therefore, Tamar set a plan into motion. She disguised herself as a prostitute and tricked Judah into sleeping with her. He offered to send her a goat as payment, but, to guarantee he would send the payment, Tamar asked for his walking stick, his identification seal, and its cord. Judah later sent the goat, but Tamar was nowhere to be found.

A few months later, Judah was told that Tamar was pregnant due to promiscuity. Enraged, he wanted her brought to him to be killed. However, Tamar sent him an enlightening message:

“The owner of this seal, cord, and walking stick is the one who made me pregnant. Look familiar?”

If there was an ancient-world season of Jerry Springer, this would be one of its biggest episodes.

Realizing that he had done her wrong on multiple levels, Judah did not punish her. Tamar gave birth to twins, one of whom was the ancestor of David and Jesus.

Tamar would fill the role of a support and espionage Servant. Her ability to disguise herself would work well for a Pretender. I can also picture her using Judah’s staff, seal, and cord for armaments. Perhaps the goat he tried to pay her with could act as a companion. When cornered by wicked opponents, she could unleash her Noble Phantasm: the same divine smiting that took out Er and Onan.

Antihero: Joab (2 Samuel, 1 Kings)

Our final entry on our spec lists is, once again, tied to King David. However, although he was an ally of the king, he was far from virtuous. I was tempted to place him in the Assassin lineup, but given his penchant for treachery, Pretender made the perfect fit.

Joab was David’s nephew and one of his most prolific commanders. He worked closely with his brothers, Abishai and Asahel. Although he was fiercely loyal to his king, his murderous actions revealed nefarious ulterior motives. Some speculate that he believed he knew David’s best interests better than even David did.

Joab’s hit list was long and bloody.

-Abner, an enemy general who defected to David’s side. He had killed Joab’s brother, Asahel, in a previous battle, though it was clearly in self-defense. Despite this, Joab set up a peace meeting to lure Abner in. Once they were in private, he stabbed him in the gut.

-Uriah, the Hittite and one of David’s Mighty Men. David committed adultery with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, and tried to cover it up. When peaceful attempts proved unsuccessful, David sent orders to Joab make sure Uriah was killed in battle, which Joab executed without complaint.

-Absalom, David’s son (remember him from our first list?). Even though Absalom led a full scale rebellion, David wanted to reconcile with him and commanded his officers to treat Absalom kindly. One soldier reported seeing Absalom hanging by his hair in a tree. Chastising the soldier for incompetence, Joab went out and drove three daggers into Absalom’s heart.

-Amasa, the general David appointed after demoting Joab from his post. Again, Joab asked for a peaceful chat in private, only to grab him by the beard and stab him. He then won the next battle and got his old job back.

Despite these back-to-back assassinations, David would admonish Joab in public, but he didn’t do anything to punish him. Retribution wouldn’t come until Solomon was crowned king. David warned Solomon about Joab’s actions and told him not to treat him as guiltless.

At this time, Joab had mistakenly supported Adonijah, one of David’s other sons who had tried setting himself up as the next king before David died. Things stayed calm after Solomon ascended the throne, but one outrageous request resulted in Adonijah being executed. Joab knew he was next, so he ran to the tent of the Lord and grabbed hold of the alter, begging for mercy. Despite the display, Solomon ordered his men to hack Joab to pieces on the spot.

Joab was one of the most devious men in the Bible. As a Servant, he would be a master of deception and cunning. However, don’t mistake his assassinations as a sign of weakness. Joab ran with David’s Mighty Men. Although he wasn’t counted among their ranks, he was more than capable of holding his own in open combat. He and his brother Abishai led their units to fend off a pincer attack from two separate armies. If anything, his hidden blade would be his Noble Phantasm, a guaranteed kill for when his target’s guard was down.

And that brings us to the end of our four-part list. I had a lot of fun researching all of these famous (and infamous) figures from Scripture, and coming up with how they could fit in the Fate/Stay Night universe. If you missed any entries, be sure to check parts 1-3. Enjoy your holiday break! I’ll see you all again next year.