Joan of Arc, The Maid of Orleans, French Sainte Jeanne d’Arc; she went by many names. A widely revered historical figure by the French, she was responsible for ending the 100-year war against the English. Seeing how theFatefranchise incorporates historical figures into its narrative, it was a question as to how it intended to depict certain figures.
For some designs, many felt the execution fell flat, and so characters were criticized (the most common argument being personality changes to become “waifu material”); but for others, their historical presence were instead built upon - Jeanne d’Arc being one of them.
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Her Personality
Jeanne d’Arc was summoned by the Holy Grail as Ruler, which is a neutral level class that’s in charge of overseeing the Holy Grail war between the two factions. This means that she did not have a self-fulfilling dying wish and died a martyr.
InFate/Apocryphashe acts as a guardian and mentor for the male lead, Sieg, encouraging him to embrace the joys of life and to stay out of the war, not wanting him to experience bloodshed. When he inevitably gets involved, Ruler makes the resolve to stand by his side and ensure that no harm comes to him. Though she doesn’t see herself as his primary savior, her first instinct is to protect those not involved.
Humility is another thing about her that’s worth noting. Whenever she’s referred to as a Saint or “Holy Maiden”, her first instinct is to reject it and say she’s unworthy of such a title. She often refers to her life as one of no regret and that it was her decision alone to live by God’s word. What’s more, is that she acknowledges as soon as she took up the flag to fight on France’s behalf, her hands were already stained with blood.
She never thinks of herself as superior in morality and iscompassionate in the sense that she prays even for her enemies, as seen in theFate/Apocryphamanga. Similar to this, during her fight with Jack The Ripper, she realizes that “Jack” is actually made up of children’s souls that died early or were cast aside before birth. Despite Jack’s cruel actions, Ruler uses one of her prayer abilities to set their souls free from the contempt and anger they harbored.
Her Design
Jeanne d’Arcwas the female captain, who led the French army to victory. Though given the time period, she was often dressed as a man. Yet many artistic depictions show her wearing armor with a skirt incorporated in it, emphasis on her femininity. For Ruler’s design, bits and pieces from this art are incorporated into her overall design. She is wearing a simple commoner dress, with armor on her arms, torso, legs, and a headpiece.
She also wears her long hair in a braid, so it doesn’t get in the way of her vision, and a side slit in her skirt, to make movement much easier. The design also takes more liberty in showing off her form and figure for aesthetic purposes (and easier for those who want to cosplay her), but it does so in a way where there’s a degree of practicality. Jeanne d’Arc also primarily fights with her pole, which is accurate, as it’s said that in history, she only commanded with the flag, and never directly killed anyone. But as stated previously, she still considers her choice to take up the pole as being a direct participant, regardless.
Ruler’s second design for herNoble Phantasm, looks more feminine in nature, but with more armor on her legs and arms. Her hair is also down and the overall color scheme looks more “pure”. Since this ability in particular is a self-destructive attack, it brings back Jeanne d’Arc to her time of death. She was a woman, and a strong one at that. And she remained pure and faithful until the end, holding a cross close to her heart, just like the history books say.
Her Abilities and The Will of God
Ruler’s primary abilities are defensive, with the occasional long range offense.As a Ruler-class servant, she possesses two Noble Phantasms. The first, “Luminosité Eternelle” (“God is with me”) grants her the ability to defend and negate attacks. She uses this primarily to defend other characters. This is a reference to her time on the battlefield, as God stood by her. Her second and most powerful one, “La Pucelle” (“The Virgin/Maiden” or “Maiden of God”) is used as an offensive ability, however, by using it, she sacrifices her life in exchange. In order to activate it, Ruler summons a sword and literally stains her hands with her own blood. While doing this she recites quotes from Psalm 19 in The Bible:
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
She then states that her end is near, and repeats her last words, “Lord I devote my life to You”. As the transformation ends, the hilt of her sword blossoms into a rose, and out of the petals, come the flames that extinguished her - but this time, they are Divine.Despite her sacrifices, she remains loyalto her Faith. An excellent way to incorporate the historical Jeanne d’Arc’s past into her character as Ruler.
