Artoria

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Artoria (阿尔托莉雅)
Alias(es)	Saber; King of Knights; King Arthur
Species/Race	Heroic Spirit; later appears in a living, non-Servant form as a Holy Sword wielder 570
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Einzbern side during the Fourth Holy Grail War; later cooperates with Chaldea and its allies 18 606
Occupation/Role	King of Britain; wielder of the Holy Sword; mentor to Ritsuka Fujimaru 42 606
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 14

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Black Saber state	30	Triggered when Mo Li removes her ahoge. The state makes her markedly calmer and less susceptible to emotional influence, though Artoria judges its overall combat capability to be lower than her normal state.
Avalon / Sword of the Sheath	538	Possession of Avalon gives her a decisive advantage against Old Saber Artoria; she does not fully use its abilities during their clash.
Grand Saber	542	Her ether-formed sword becomes a true Holy Sword, and she receives the Grand Saber title and corresponding increase in strength.

Background / History

Artoria was chosen to draw the Sword in the Stone and become Britain’s King of Knights. During her reign, she slew Vortigern and used the powers of fairies and the Age of Mythology to establish Camelot. Britain’s attempt to preserve that fading age placed it in opposition to the world’s natural course, making the kingdom’s eventual collapse unavoidable despite its temporary peace. 42 43

She initially regarded Morgan as an enemy and failed to seek her aid. Mo Li later reveals that Morgan loved her, had contributed knights to Artoria’s side, and might have helped preserve Britain had Artoria asked her to govern alongside her. This realization becomes central to Artoria’s attempts to reconsider how Britain might have been saved. 43 63 381

Summoned from the period around the Battle of Camlann, Artoria enters the Fourth Holy Grail War seeking a wish to alter Britain’s fate. Learning that the Greater Grail is corrupted deeply unsettles her, but she continues to pursue a means of saving her homeland. 14 28 45

Appearance

Artoria is a petite, armored sword-wielding Heroic Spirit whose concealed Holy Sword and identity initially make her difficult to identify. In battle, she surrounds herself with magical energy and returns to her armored form before engaging an opponent. 18 19

• Her ahoge is the trigger for her temporary Black Saber transformation when removed. 30
• Her primary armament is the Holy Sword Excalibur. 18 59
• The Black Saber state is distinguished by a darker presentation and an emotionally subdued demeanor. 30
• In her later living form, she bears the Holy Lance as well as the Holy Sword. 710

Personality

Artoria is intensely duty-bound and holds kingship to a demanding standard. She believes a ruler cannot live as an ordinary person, and initially sees sacrificing herself for Britain as inseparable from being king. 45

Her fixation on reversing Britain’s fall repeatedly clashes with the reality that history cannot simply be undone. Confronting this truth causes her considerable anguish, but she gradually becomes more willing to set aside resentment toward Morgan, consider unconventional solutions, and distinguish saving people from merely overturning the past. 322 381 406 562

Despite her severity, Artoria is capable of compassion and restraint. During her battle with Heracles, she refuses the tactically optimal option of attacking Illya, partly because she had spent time with her. 256

Abilities & Skills

Swordsmanship and Battlefield Tactics

Artoria is an elite close-combat fighter who evaluates opponents quickly and exploits openings with precise timing.

• She identifies Diarmuid as a spear master comparable to a Knight of the Round Table and recognizes that he cannot be defeated quickly. 18
• Her swordsmanship meshes instinctively with Lancelot’s; together, they breach Gilgamesh’s Gate of Babylon barrage through coordinated attacks. 22
• She fights strategically under pressure, including disengaging to charge Excalibur against the Shadow Servant army. 54 675
• She can overpower Diarmuid despite his close-range advantage by turning every strike into a Magic Release-enhanced attack. 682

Magic Release

Artoria can release enormous quantities of magical energy through her body and sword, augmenting both offense and defense.

• Her magical energy is sufficient to destroy a Noble Phantasm-level Gatling-gun attack while drawing on ley lines. 115
• She uses Magic Release to defeat a horde of vampires while deliberately limiting collateral damage. 650
• In Black Saber form, raw Magic Release manifests as destructive pillars of mana capable of tearing through the surrounding forest. 290
• Her Magic Release grants overwhelming force in melee, but its destructive output requires caution around allies and civilians. 650 683

Excalibur

Artoria’s Holy Sword is an A++ Anti-City Noble Phantasm and a miracle of stellar light. 695

• Its released beam can clash directly with other high-level Noble Phantasms, including Gilgamesh’s attack during the Fourth Holy Grail War. 59
• With Ritsuka’s Command Spell mana support, she annihilates more than three hundred Shadow Servants and injures the remainder. 675
• She can amplify its power by charging before release, though doing so leaves her unable to immediately respond to threats elsewhere on the battlefield. 675
• Her attacks can be blocked by Mash Kyrielight’s shield so long as Mash’s resolve remains unbroken. 77 79

Avalon

Avalon, the Sword of the Sheath, substantially improves Artoria’s combat advantage.

• It is identified as a source of her superiority over Old Saber Artoria. 538
• She does not fully deploy Avalon’s effects in that encounter, implying further unused defensive potential. 538

Holy Lance Rhongomyniad

In her later living state, Artoria retains the Holy Lance, the Tower of the End.

• The lance is omnipresent to its wielder and can be manifested whenever Artoria wishes to grasp it. 693 710
• The Lion King’s thousand-year use of the lance led to deification, demonstrating the weapon’s ability to transform an Artoria who remains bound to it for too long. 589
• Artoria herself retains the lance after the Lion King leaves the world without it. 710

Identity and Variants

The narrative uses several closely related Artoria identities, which are not always interchangeable.

• Black Saber state — Artoria’s temporary transformation caused by removing her ahoge; it grants emotional calmness but is not judged stronger overall. 30
• Black Saber Artoria — A hostile Artoria corrupted by All the World’s Evil and associated with a different era. She wields an inverted black-and-red Holy Sword and pursues the Greater Grail. 79 290
• Artoria Alter — An inverted dark-side counterpart from another timeline, summoned by Mo Li through a Holy Relic from another Chaldea. Mo Li distinguishes her from the corrupted Black Saber by calling her “Artoria.” 277 278
• Lion King / King of Storms — A deified Artoria shaped by the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad. She identifies herself as no longer merely King Arthur, but as the Lion King, King of Storms, and Lord of the End. 589 614
• Grand Saber Artoria — Artoria after her Holy Sword becomes genuine and she receives the Grand Saber title. 542

Relationships

• Irisviel von Einzbern — Companion and confidante during the Fourth Holy Grail War. Irisviel worries over Artoria’s burden and urges her to aid Lancelot against Gilgamesh. 14 22
• Kiritsugu Emiya — Her Master in the Fourth Holy Grail War. Their relationship is initially distant, though Artoria later notes that he is more agreeable than during their earlier summoning. 18 371
• Lancelot — Former Knight of the Round Table. Artoria recognizes his familiarity with her sword before learning his identity, and the two fight with instinctive coordination against Gilgamesh. 22 28
• Morgan — Her sister and former adversary. Artoria eventually accepts that Morgan’s support could have been vital to Britain and considers seeking her help rather than treating her as an enemy. 43 381 382
• Mo Li — Ally, critic, and source of difficult truths about Britain’s fall. His advice drives Artoria to consider saving Britain through means other than directly rewriting history. 41 43 406
• Ritsuka Fujimaru — Chaldea ally whom Artoria agrees to guide in developing his potential. 606
• Mordred — Her child and Knight of the Round Table. Artoria warmly reunites with Mordred when she arrives with three thousand Purification Knights. 683
• Diarmuid Ua Duibhne — Respected rival from the Fourth Holy Grail War. Their repeated duels are defined by mutual skill and Diarmuid’s desire to conclude their unfinished fight. 18 650 683

Story Role / Major Arcs

Fourth Holy Grail War

Artoria arrives as the Einzbern Servant, confronts Diarmuid, and is rapidly identified as the female King Arthur when Kayneth connects her concealed sword and the name “Arthur.” 18 19

She joins Lancelot against Gilgamesh, later learns that Berserker is her former knight, and confronts the failures of her reign through conversations with Lancelot and Mo Li. 22 28 41

Greater Grail and Grand Order Conflict

A Black Saber counterpart, corrupted by All the World’s Evil, clashes with Mash and Ritsuka. After Mo Li intervenes, she agrees to accompany them temporarily in the developing conflict centered on the Holy Grail. 78 79

Fifth Holy Grail War and the Question of History

In another Holy Grail War, Artoria’s poor mana supply under Shirou leaves her severely disadvantaged against Heracles, yet she refuses to sacrifice Illya for victory. 256

Her confrontation with Artoria Alter and Mo Li forces her to face the contradiction in her wish: if she truly changed Britain’s past, she should not still exist as the same Artoria seeking the Grail. 321 322

Holy Grail Competition

Artoria devises a plan to use magical-energy crystals from other Greater Grail systems to charge her own world’s system and begin its Fifth Holy Grail War earlier. She wins the first-stage Grail, wishes for a suitable energy crystal, then decides against immediately spending the wish on Britain due to the risks and uncertain amount of power. 405 406 421 422

Acceptance and New Purpose

After witnessing numerous possible futures for Britain, including one ruled by a male counterpart aided by Morgan, Artoria accepts that Britain’s decline cannot be wholly prevented. She changes her wish’s focus toward helping Morgan and Mo Li, later taking up the role of a Holy Sword wielder responsible for confronting Beasts. 558 562 570

Notable Quotes

“My wish is to save my homeland.” 45

“I will not abandon my country!” 540

Trivia

• Mo Li gives Artoria an Artoria crystal figurine as her prize for winning a race against Gilgamesh and Lancelot. 54
• Her appetite is repeatedly emphasized, and Mo Li successfully uses the promise of a future meal to defuse tension with a Black Saber counterpart. 79 112