Sieg (ジーク, Jīku) is the main protagonist of Fate/Apocrypha series, who acts as the second Master of Rider of Black during the Great Holy Grail War.
He also appears in Fate/Grand Order's Apocrypha/Inheritance of Glory event as Caster (キャスター, Kyasutā), a Caster-class Servant summoned by Ritsuka Fujimaru.
Appearance[]
A standard characteristic of Einzbern Homunculi, Sieg's eyes are the same deep, dark red of polished, perfect rubies. His hair is brown, though it appears to darken ever so slightly as he 'ages'. At the outset, Sieg's physique is quite slender and frail, like a newborn infant, and equally as weak. His standard clothing consists of a black waistcoat, white shirt, black slacks, and a pair of black leather penny loafers.
After obtaining the heart of Siegfried, his physical appearance changes slightly to mimic that of Saber. While his hair only darkens (and shortens) slightly, he grows far taller than he originally was, and the frailty of the past was replaced with a slender-but-hardy build much more suitable for fighting in a Holy Grail War. He also swaps out the loafers for a pair of half-boots.
Personality[]
"Perhaps we don't deserve such a thing as free will. I don't really know if what I've done till now is right or not. But, even if there's no rest beyond this... Even if there's only despair beyond this... At the very least I want to walk my own path! We don't ask for salvation either! But I want at least the freedom to choose!" |
Sieg comes into consciousness without anything to form a personality. He is scared of everything but himself, believing to be nothing. He calls himself transparent and colorless because he possesses nothing and had received nothing from his birth.
After escaping and receiving the hero Siegfried's heart, he becomes notably more selfless and brave as he gradually continues to develop as a person. Of his own volition, he decides to forsake a life of happiness, and instead aims to fulfill the desperate wishes of freedom his brother and sister homunculi who would die if nothing was done to save them. Eventually, he even willingly becomes a participant of the Great Holy Grail War in return for their promised freedom and safety as well as for the sake of both Astolfo (who had previously saved him) and Jeanne (who protected him). Due to his young age, he is initially very much naive and clueless about things such as common sense, basic human behavior, and how the world works though he is able to pass as an eccentric but otherwise normal, if slightly clumsy, human with a calm and logical personality in a very short amount of time. While typically very polite and humble, Sieg can at times display a blunt attitude during the rare instances he feels annoyed or frustrated. He also has a tendency to blurt out slightly rude observations without really meaning to which occasionally gets him into trouble with others.
He seems to have a high capacity for forgiveness as shown when goes as far as to unhesitatingly throw himself in harm's way to save both Caules and Fiore when their lives are in peril despite the Yggdimillenia's treatment of his brethren. At the same time, however, Sieg is extremely vengeful when those he cherishes have been harmed before him, not caring whether his enemy is a magus or a Servant, the only thing that matters in his mind is the fact that he will kill them.
After their final encounter with Assassin of Black and witnessing her, along with the children of Scotland Yard's horrific pasts, Sieg's innocent belief of humans being slightly flawed but inherently good creatures crumbles, leading him to began to question humanity's true nature. While he takes Jeanne's advice on not giving up on humans to heart, and ponders over the opinions of several other heroes on the matter, Sieg ultimately seeks his own answer to how he views humans and life as a whole.
Similar to Siegfried, he places little value on his own life and comes to view himself as something that can be used to save and help those around him, causing him to make reckless choices simply for the sake of what he believes 'he should do' instead of what he wants to do. He claims to have no interest in the normal, peaceful life Astolfo spoke of before, but it is revealed during a conversation with Jeanne that deep down, he does have a longing for it but willingly overlooks this fact for what he feels is a more worthwhile purpose that grants meaning to his life, as well as honors the hero Siegfried who died for Sieg. Thankfully, both Jeanne and Laeticia eventually encourage him to start considering his own value more, and he comes to realize that just worrying about the value of humans and his tendency to sacrifice himself for others would leave him truly empty in the end no matter what he ends up doing with his life.
While Sieg had his own reasons for opposing Shirou Kotomine's wish for salvation, the main reason Sieg chose to trap himself on the Reverse Side, which would have come about from the priest's use of the Third Magic, was not entirely motivated by "saving humanity". Sieg himself admits he hadn't experienced enough of the world to completely believe in humanity, though he accepts their nature of striving for good but containing evil. Based on his few experiences, he simply chose to believe in the good humans are innately capable of. However the main reason for his decision was because he witnessed Jeanne D'Arc's struggles and came to understand her. For her, who had everything taken from her due to a betrayal in life, who received the worst treatment conceivably possible for a human, and yet never cursed anyone in the end and even gave up her life to protect their future, Sieg wanted to 'become her strength' and thus carried out her will, acting for the first time on his own personal desire rather just giving himself for someone else's sake.
When encountered during the Inheritance of Glory event, he's developed even more. His personality is relatively the same as it was at the end of the Great Holy Grail War, but he is notably wiser and tempered by his past experiences. He is still somewhat awkward at interacting with others by himself, as seen when he first meets the protagonist and attempts to make himself appear as a solemn dragon, an act he fails comically. He often had to take many pauses to properly explain the current situation, flounders between the rough 'ore' pronoun and the more dignified 'ware' when referring to himself multiple times in the same conversation, and accidentally joyfully roared loud enough to briefly deafen the protagonist when they agree to assist him.
Relationships[]
Ruler/Joan of Arc[]
Sieg holds a deep admiration for Jeanne and wishes to support her by "becoming her strength", due to having found her ideals and the manner in which she lived very sad and yet incredibly beautiful. He tries to follow her example and way of living as best he is able. It's thanks to her words and faith in humans despite being betrayed by them that he doesn't fall into despair during the aftermath of the confrontation with Assassin of Black, and the reason that he is willing to learn more about humanity instead of simply giving up on them. It could be said that, in that moment, while she didn't save his life like Astolfo and Siegfried, she managed to save his heart. In the battle with Karna when he was on the verge of giving up, the thought of wanting to see her again was all that kept him going when he faced certain death. Though he doesn't realize what his feelings even after the fight, he does realize how important Jeanne is to him and rushes to stand by her side and support her. When she gives her life trying to destroy the Greater Grail with her Noble Phantasm only to be foiled by Amakasu Shirou's interference, Sieg snaps and flies into a murderous rage and battles the enemy Ruler so that her sacrifice would not be in vain. Many, many years after the war, Sieg and Jeanne meet once again in the Reverse Side of the World and Jeanne confesses her love to Sieg, saying unto him,"I am in love with you." Upon hearing those words, finally Sieg realizes just why he had been waiting in the other world for her for so many years.
"Hm? Oh, so the Maiden of Orleans is here too. I guess that makes sense. She would never stay idle if humanity was at risk. But I don't think she knows me so leaver her alone. She's just a vague, distant memory, even for me. And I don't see that changing unless we meet under different circumstances."
Rider of Black/Astoflo (Fate/Apocrypha)[]
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, his tendency to let extremely important details slip, and his miraculous talent for landing them in outrageous situations do cause Sieg to bury his face in his hands and sigh.
"I knew you were here, Rider... I don't get it, but he said my Saint Graph hasn't changed while giving a forced laugh. Okay, let's both do our best."
Archer of Black/Chiron (Fate/Apocrypha)[]
Sieg's ally and mentor figure. Along with Astolfo, Chiron was one of the first Servant's Sieg would meet after escaping his prana tank. In contrast to Astolfo's overly affectionate coddling towards Sieg, Chiron is very direct and frank about his situation though ultimately well-meaning and kind. He is endeared by the boy's innocence and expresses his desire for Sieg to be able to pick and choose a way to live that would be able to leave him without any regrets. Sieg respects Chiron and trusts him greatly, following his advice regarding life and instructions on the battlefield without question. As Chiron is someone always eager to teach and Sieg is an individual eager to learn, he often has a mountain of questions ready for the sage at any time.
"Chiron. Things here seem much more peaceful. If it's possible, I would like to learn a great deal from you. ...Wait a minute. It seems like a stack of homework just appeared out of nowhere."
Saber of Black/Siegfried (Fate/Apocrypha)[]
The legendary hero who gave his life to save the dying Sieg. Despite not knowing him personally, not having shared a single word with one another, and not being asked for his help, Siegfried willingly gave up his own life to save Sieg of his own personal desire to follow not what is simply ordered of him but the ideals of justice he failed to live up to in his previous life. Satisfied with finally being able stand up for and do what he believed was right, Siegfried vanishes from the world with no regrets while Sieg is left with overwhelming feelings of both guilt and gratitude, seeing it as his duty to somehow live in a manner that pays honor to the hero who did not even hesitate to sacrifice his life to save a mere homunculus. It is because of this that the then nameless homunculus calls himself 'Sieg' in honor of his hero as he desired to carry at least half the man's name so as to never allow himself to forget what Siegfried had done for him. "I never had the opportunity to have a full conversation with you. But the fact that I am here at all is thanks to you.
Thank you, Siegfried. There is nothing else to say."
Mordred/Saber (Fate/Apocrypha)[]
Sieg's rival and eventual comrade with whom he gets along with relative difficulty. Initially Mordred displays visual frustration towards the very existence of the Yggdimmillenia homunculi as they seemed to be nothing but mindless, emotionless tools, a notion she herself resents being a homunculus herself. It wasn't until meeting Sieg who displayed a strong sense of self much like herself in protecting Astolfo she would see otherwise. Initially she planned to simply leave him be but after he miraculously managed to stab her with Astolfo's sword while her guard was down she makes up her mind to see him as an opponent worth cutting down and does just that, only afterwards showing respect towards him for his resolve and promises to remember his name. When Sieg comes back and does battle with her again as Siegfried, she initially mocks him as a counterfeit Servant but all the same does battle with him once more, only truly becoming enraged after seeing he somehow survived the clash of their Noble Phantasms vowing that she, and she alone, would be the one to have the privilege of killing him. Ironically, she would end up saving him from a deranged Celenike later on, seeming to have come to develop a strange sympathy for a fellow homunculi with a will of his own. They would even team up and work together against the golem Adam later on under Chiron's direction. When they meet again in town, Sieg treated her to lunch so that he could ask for her opinions on humanity. Seeing that Sieg has no grudge towards her for killing him, she decides to forgive him for surviving her Noble Phantasm, which makes them even in her eyes. Ruffling his hair and smiling cheerfully, Mordred leaves behind one last promise to meet again on the Hanging Gardens, as well as an exorbitantly high bill for all the food she ordered.
"Mordred. I'm glad to see you well. Did you find what you were looking for? ...I see. Let me just go and greet your father... Why are you so mad?"
Berserker of Black/Frankenstein (Fate/Apocrypha)[]
Though they had not interacted with one another, Sieg having witnessed her being impaled by Mordred was moved to attack the knight and as a result was killed by Mordred. In an attempt to take down Mordred, Frankenstein would utilize her suicidal Noble Phantasm. Following her demise, her life and will would transfer to Sieg, rescucitating the boy, and granting him use of Galvanism. With it, Sieg became able to use Balmung without immediately expending his Magical Energy and losing Siegfried's form, able to survive and quickly heal from being shot in the heart multiple times at point-blank range by Reika whilst still moving with enough speed and precision to catch and destroy her shots with magecraft, and slow down the deadly effects of his complete consumption of the Dead Count Command Spells temporarily. Her abilities would only fully manifest within Sieg after his rage towards Amakusa Shirou for Jeanne's death reawakens her soul and grants him conscious use of her powers, including a significantly weakened version of Blasted Tree in the final battle.
Assassin of Black/Jack the Ripper[]
Initially Sieg had nothing but hatred within his heart for Jack the Ripper after her attack on Yggdimillenia injured and took the life of his siblings, which provoked him to pursue her with no regard for his own safety. After he had seen her horrific past, Sieg's burning feelings of hatred dissipated and were replaced by confusion and distrust towards humanity as well as a deep sorrow for Jack due to his regret that he was not able to save her.
Ruler/Amakusa Shirou Tokisada (Fate/Apocrypha)[]
"He was once someone I fought against. But now that he is our ally, I shouldn't be carrying any grudges against him. Still, I am... conflicted... And I'm sure Amakusa Shirou feels the same."
Caster of Black/Avicebron (Fate/Apocrypha)[]
"Avicebron... the choices you once made should probably be never forgiven. But your cry for peace... seems sincere. So, I'm happy to fight by your side."
Gallery[]
