Heroic Spirit

are Spirits of heroes who achieved great deeds in life, having become objects of worship after their deaths.
==Nature==
Heroic Spirits are beings of a higher existence, becoming categorically closer to Elementals than Wraiths. Differing from how Elementals are "power" granted form using human imagination as a container, they are entirely woven from the ideals of people all throughout. 
They are freed from the constraints of time itself and removed from the ring of reincarnation, moved to the , a place existing outside of both the World and the time axis. The Throne of Heroes is also occasionally referred to as the , referring to how it is mainly used by the Counter Force. Those that become closer to the Planet do not mix well with people, so they fall into the categories of Divine Spirits and Elementals.
They can be classified into five primary categories, referred to as , when summoned as Servants.
* - Heroes who are related to the Gods, whether they are Divine Spirits ranked down to becoming Heroic Spirits, children of Gods, or incarnations of legends about Gods.
* - Heroes who are known as the heroes of the land, known through mythologies and legends of a particular region. Fairies and Magical Beasts are included in this category.
* - Heroes belonging to this category are those recognized through common knowledge as great people who contributed to humanity and were regarded as heroes for their actions since the start of the Common Era. They are generally heroes who were deified by the masses after death, but there are those who were truly superhuman in life.
* - Heroes of this category, belonging to none of the previous three, are the "hope of mankind" and a "symbol of overcoming hardships." Although close in nature to the Pioneer of the Stars Skill that is given to heroes who became "turning points" in human history, it is an attribute fundamentally given to those that have left behind a great hope in the history of humanity. Simply achieving such exploits is not enough as they also have to be a "shining bright star" among the figures of mankind. It is an omnipotent attribute that possesses no minus towards any other categories save for that of the Beast, which they are both strong and weak against. Parody Heroic Spirits from space all get this designation.4gamer Interview with Nasu and Shinokawa
* - Rivaling the seemingly all-powerful Star, they are the Evils of Man that represent the Seven Sins of Humanity, beings that encompass all of humanity.
;This table includes Servants that are not Heroic Spirits. They have been given designations in Fate/Grand Order. For Servants that have unknown attributes, see here.
Attributes
Human 	Earth 	Heaven 	Star 	Beast
Alessandro di CagliostroAlexander the GreatAlice KuonjiAlteraAmakusa Shirou TokisadaAnastasia Nikolaevna RomanovaAngra MainyuAnne Bonny and Mary ReadAoko AozakiAvicebronBartholomew RobertsBBBilly the KidBluebeardBoudicaCalamity JaneCaligulaChachaCharles BabbageCharles-Henri SansonCharlotte CordayChen GongChevalier d'EonChristopher ColumbusCielCleopatraConstantine XIDarius IIIEdmond DantèsEdward TeachElizabeth BáthoryEMIYA (Archer)EMIYA (Assassin)EMIYA AlterEric BloodaxeErice Utsumi (Lancer)Florence NightingaleFujino AsagamiFuuma KotarouGaius Julius CaesarGao Changgong (Rider)GeorgiosGeronimoGilgamesh (Caster)Gilles de RaisGray (Assassin)Hakuno Kishinami (Male)Hakuno Kishinami (Female)Hans Christian AndersenHassan-i-SabbahHectorHelena BlavatskyHijikata ToshizouHouzouin InshunHuyan ZhuoIllyasviel von EinzbernImagawa YoshimotoIvan the Terrible (Lostbelt)Izumo-no-OkuniJames MoriartyJeanne d'Arc (Alter)Jeanne d'Arc Alter Santa LilyJing KeKatsushika HokusaiKyokutei BakinKing Arthur (Alter)King HassanLakshmibaiLeonidas ILi ShuwenLocustaLu BuMandricardoMarie AntoinetteMarthaMary AnningMata HariMecha Eli-chanMecha Eli-chan MkIIMinamoto-no-TametomoMiyamoto IoriMiyamoto MusashiMiyu EdelfeltMori NagayoshiMurasaki ShikibuMusashibou BenkeiNagakura ShinpachiNagao KagetoraNero ClaudiusNine-Tattoo Dragon ElizaNursery RhymeOda NobukatsuOda NobunagaOkada IzouOkita SoujiOkita Souji (Alter)Paracelsus von HohenheimPrince of LanlingPtolemyQin LiangyuQin Shi Huang (Lostbelt)Queen of ShebaRobin HoodSaika MagoichiSaitou HajimeSakamoto RyoumaSakata KintokiSasaki KojiroScheherazadeSei ShounagonSen-no-RikyuSenji MuramasaShibata KatsuieShiki RyougiSiegSima YiSoujuurou ShizukiSpartacusSugitani ZenjuubouTakasugi ShinsakuTakeda HarunobuTawara ToutaThomas EdisonTrưng sistersUshiwakamaruWatanabe-no-TsunaWilliam ShakespeareWilliam TellWu ZetianXiang YuXu FuXuanzang SanzangYagyuu MunenoriYamanami KeisukeYan QingYang GuifeiYui ShousetsuZenobiaZhang JueZhuge Liang	Abigail WilliamsAchillesAescAlice KuonjiAndromedaAntonio SalieriArashAsclepiusAshiya Douman (Limbo)AsteriosAstolfoAtalantaAtalanta (Alter)Azumi-no-isoraBaobhan Sith (Lostbelt)Barghest (Lostbelt)BB PeleBeni-enmaBeni-enma AlterBeowulfBradamanteBritomartBritomart AlterCaenisCarmillaCú Chulainn (Alter)Cnoc na RiabhDahutDemon King NobunagaDiarmuid Ua DuibhneDobrynya NikitichDon QuixoteDuryodhanaElizabeth Báthory (Brave)EreshkigalFergus mac RóichFrankensteinGalateaGarethGawainGorgonGrigori RasputinHabetrotHenry Jekyll and HydeHephaestion MnemosyneHessian LoboHimikoHuang FeihuIbaraki-doujiIskandar's ShadowIyoJack the RipperJacques de Molay (Female)Jaguar ManJasonJohannaKashin KojiKato DanzoKazuradropKiara Sessyoin (MoonCancer)Kiichi HougenKijyo KoyoKing Arthur (Female)King Arthur (Male)KingproteaKingprotea AlterKinguKiyohimeKriemhildKugamimi-no-MikasaLancelotLe Comte de Monte CristoMarie Antoinette AlterMash KyrielightMedbMedeaMedusaMeltryllisMelusine (Lostbelt)MephistophelesMerlinMerlin (Prototype)Miss CraneMochizuki ChiyomeMordredMorgan (Lostbelt)NitocrisOberon VortigernOdysseusOsakabehimeParisPassionlipPaul BunyanPenthesileaPercivalPhantom of the OperaRed HareRolandSakata Kintoki (Rider)SalomeSemiramisShuten-doujiSiegfriedSigurdSolomonSuper BunyanSuper OrionSurtr (Lostbelt)SétantaTaigong WangTaira-no-KagekiyoTaisui XingjunTamamo CatTenochtitlanTheseusTomoe GozenTristanUesugi KenshinVan GoghVlad III (EXTRA)Vlad III (Berserker)Yu Mei-ren	AmourArjunaArjuna AlterAshwatthamaAstraeaBhimaBlack IriBrynhildrCaptain NemoChild-GilChironChloe von EinzbernCirceCú ChulainnDaikokutenDavidDioscuriDurgaEnkiduEreshkigal AlterEuropaEuryaleFionn mac CumhaillGaneshaGilgameshHeraclesIbuki-doujiIrisviel (Dress of Heaven)IshtarKaliKamaKarnaKing Arthur (Lancer)King Arthur (Lancer Alter)Manannán mac LirMinamoto-no-RaikouNezhaNitocris AlterOrion and ArtemisOzymandiasParvatiQuetzalcoatlRamaRomulus-QuirinusScáthach-SkadiSitonaiSolomon (Grand Caster)SthenoSuzuka GozenTamamo-no-MaeTezcatlipocaTheodoric AlterUshi GozenValkyrieVritraWandjinaYamato TakeruYoshida Shouin	Altera the San(ta)Archetype: EarthArtoria CasterAshtart (Servant Universe)Ashtart OriginBB DubaiBedivere (Fate/Grand Order)CharlemagneFrancis DrakeIshtar AshtartJeanne d'Arc (Ruler)Kukulkan (Lostbelt)Larva TiamatLeonardo da VinciMysterious Heroine XMysterious Heroine X (Alter)Mysterious Heroine XXMysterious Heroine XX (Alter)Mysterious Idol X (Alter)Mysterious Ranmaru XNapoleonNikola TeslaORT XibalbaRomulusScáthachSherlock HolmesSiriusSpace IshtarSuper AokoVoyager (Fate/Requiem)Voyager (Foreigner)Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	GoetiaKama/MaraKiara Sessyoin (Alter Ego)Kiara Sessyoin (Beast III/R)Koyanskaya of DarknessKoyanskaya of LightRebloomed Bestia CoccineaSodom's Beast/DracoSpace EreshkigalTamamo Vitch KoyanskayaTiamatU-Olga MarieWhore of Babylon
===Ascension===
Heroic Spirits are made up of those who truly existed, those only from legends, and those who were never observed at all. Those who existed had belief of their deeds gathered upon their deaths and were sublimated into beings of higher rank, while those who only existed in myths and legends were born from the gathering of those beliefs even if they didn't exist. Those who were not observed are those who made a contract of some sort with the World during their lives and subsequently became Heroic Spirits and Counter Guardians respectively after their deaths as compensation. Hassan-i-Sabbah is said to be one who existed, Heracles and Medusa are said to be those who existed in legend, and EMIYA and King Arthur are those who became or will become Heroic Spirits after the fulfilment of their contracts. 
The phenomenon applies to any human, animal, or machine that has left behind great enough achievements, but weapons becoming Heroic Spirits from being worshipped as the "greatest weapon of that era" must harbor a soul to achieve such a status. Those where a human creation gains its own will or those created from the congregation of humanity's fantasies are called , including those like Nursery Rhyme and machine Heroic Spirits.Fate/Grand Order - London: The Death World in the City of Demonic Fog - Section 4: One Book, One Pen
Each Heroic Spirit is a unique existence, "the one and only", who each stood out from the others of their time by performing deeds and possessing qualities that no other possessed. As of the 21st Century, the most recent Heroic Spirits are from one hundred years prior.Fate/stay night Prologue - Day 3 But because Mystery is fading away, it is harder to become a Heroic Spirit in the modern age.Fate/strange Fake Volume 8 - Interlude: "Do You Have Enough Actors In Stock?" It is still possible if people make contracts with the World as Counter Guardians, and they can even be summoned from the future into the current age as well.Fate/stay night - Unlimited Blade Works route - Day 14: Knight stay night - Captured Princess But while modern weapons are powerful, it would not normally be possible to summon a "warrior from the future loaded with modern weaponry" because it is difficult for such people to become classified as Heroic Spirits. Modern weapons grant ease of use with the advantage of "anyone can use them as long as they were trained", so those who use them are "faceless heroes" who lack any qualities because they possess "expertise anyone can achieve through sufficient training." Heroes loaded with modern weapons would not become the Heroic Spirit, but rather only the weapon being worshipped so long as it harbors a soul.
Heroic Spirits are also recorded and stored as data recorded from humanity's history within the Moon Cell, but they are identical to those within the Throne. It is unknown if it is limited only to an occurrence within the Moon Cell, but the Divine Spirits stored within are referred to as non-human Heroic Spirits.Fate/EXTRA CCC - Gilgamesh Route - Chapter 2: Prison of Projections -Girl’s Side Laboratory-
The rank of the Heroic Spirit is reflected in the strength they held in life and the popularity they attained after death. While their actions and the weapons they wielded in life will not change from fame, their basic abilities will be affected by the time into which they are summoned. Much like how Divine Spirits require worship and recognition and fall to the rank of Elementals upon it being lost, Heroic Spirits grow stronger with the more people worshiping them to solidify their presence and fall to a state where they do not have much power if they are forgotten. Those that are powerful heroes in their own right will still keep their abilities to some extent even if they were unknown or forgotten. Heroes known by all who also had extraordinary feats, like Heracles, can be considered A-rank Heroic Spirits.Fate/stay night - Fate route - Day 4: Partner - Contract Established 
Gilgamesh is considered the strongest, Enkidu, while not a regular Heroic Spirit, is considered his equal, Karna is stated to be shoulder to shoulder with him as a Servant without equal, Heracles and Saber Alter are at some points called the strongest Servants when summoned. In contrast, Tamamo-no-Mae, Hans Christian Andersen, and Angra Mainyu consider themselves to be the weakest of heroes. Those with only relatively new history will generally be far less impressive in ability compared to ancient heroes of the past and more fragile in their Mystery compared to those with more firm concepts.Fate/Apocrypha Volume 1: Apocrypha: Great Holy Grail War - Chapter 1, Part 04 & Part 05, p.083-090Fate/Apocrypha Volume 2: Round Dance of Black / Festival of Red - Chapter 1
The exact criteria for becoming Heroic Spirits are unknown. Historical figures said to not be Heroic Spirits include:
*Charles Nodier - Alexandre Dumas mentions that he was surprised upon learning that Charles is not a Heroic Spirit.
*Dahut - Dahut is a figure unable to be a Heroic Spirit, so Francis Drake is instead modified to act out the role of Dahut.
*Michelangelo - After defeating his Wraith, Leonardo da Vinci mentions she is happy that Michelangelo did not become a Heroic Spirit and that he can rest in peace.
*Oda Nobukatsu - Nobukatsu says he is not a Heroic Spirit and can only manifest as a Servant due to the influence of Demon God Andras.
*Sasaki Kojirou - Due to being a mixture of various stories, there is no Heroic Spirit Sasaki Kojirou. Upon being summoned as Servant, the system chose a nameless Wraith that was closest to the description of Sasaki.
*Sei Shounagon - Due to the completion of her singular work being the singular goal of her life, she did not become a Heroic Spirit upon her death. After being summoned as a Servant in an irregular summoning, she embraced new possibilities and joined the Throne of Heroes as a Heroic Spirit.
*Senji Muramasa - Lacking the heroic deeds necessary for ascension, he is able to manifest only as a Pseudo-Servant.
*Various figures that lacked enough fame and instead became Phantoms.
===Summoning===
Heroic Spirits are most normally summoned by the World as a power that protects humans, so they cannot be controlled by humans without something like the Holy Grail or a similar kind of power to summon them. Only the World itself can summon the "main body" of Heroic Spirits, so humans can only summon emanations of the heroes, such as through the Servant system, even with something like a Holy Grail. 
The souls of the emanations, their information, then returns to the main body upon the death of the emanation, and the main body is able to know about the actions of the emanations as records, as if they are reading books.
As beings outside of time, they can be summoned to any era regardless of the notions of past and future, even if summoned to when their human selves have yet to die or when they have yet to be born.
Those who do not fall under the classification of Counter Guardians are normally not summoned into the World by Alaya, simply being treated as "traditions that lend power to the later people."
==Variations==
===Counter Guardian===
, also called the is a broad classification of Heroic Spirits made up of heroes who are not worshipped, utilized as a mindless Counter Force. Other Heroic Spirits have a high Divinity and act as existences closer to the planet than humanity, so they are able to avoid being drafted by the Counter Force. 
Normal circumstances are those where the Counter Force empowers a "normal person" in life to remove the factor that can trigger destruction, eventually causing them to be worshipped as heroes. Those who become heroes in such a manner are then used as Counter Guardians, the "Counter" emphasized because they act with no autonomy of their own and only appear in response to an event.
;Confirmed Counter Guardians include:
*EMIYA (Shirou)
**EMIYA (Alter)
*EMIYA (Kiritsugu)
*Sakamoto Ryoma
;Confirmed temporary Counter Guardians include:
*Okita Souji (Alter): Intended to function only once before her Saint Graph would self-destruct, akin to a living bomb.
*Fujino Asagami: Weaponized specifically to aid in overturning the incineration of humanity.
;Unconfirmed Counter Guardians include:
*TOHSAKA: A parody version of Rin Tohsaka from Capsule Servant.
===Anti-Hero===
 are distorted Heroic Spirits, those who do not fall under description of pure, respectable heroes. Those who are not pure can be considered no different than All the World's Evil, although the degree of such can differ between heroes, allowing some affinity with such curses.Fate/stay night - Heaven's Feel route - Day 10: darkwood,sleepingbeauty - Distraction 
They differ from proper heroes who earned their titles in that they were forced to the Throne of Heroes only because of their fate. They can rightfully be called Avenger, the Anti-Hero, the opposite of heroes who were praised as heroes regardless of whether they hated humans or were those that humans hated.Fate/stay night - Unlimited Blade Works route - Day 12: moonlight (II) - Interlude 12-2: Infinite... 
They are those who were reviled by the people, but saved people as the result of villainy. As those who "clarify good with evil", they became saviors worshipped and cursed in equal measure. 
Although evil existences themselves, their actions are considered good deeds according to others, so they become saviors even if they are unwilling as in the case of a human sacrifice. Even should they be evil, those who are sacrificed become a hero once it saves everyone in a village, no matter if the method of sacrifice is to be eaten or buried. With the disgrace being forced upon them saving people, it leads to the birth of a hero instead of a sinner.Fate/stay night - Heaven's Feel route - Day 4: Avenger - Holy Grail War, the Beginning
Differing from something like the notion of a , their state of being is set by the minds of those who set up the existence of the hero. While proper heroes are created from respect, gratitude, and feelings of guilt of mankind, Anti-Heroes cannot be born from such thoughts. "Heroes" who die as "evil" will eventually be treated as victims more as time passes, so they will not stay as "pure evil." Their state of being requires them to be both "victim and assailant", created by humanity but not part of humanity. They are a contradiction that makes them "the enemy of the World", but allows them to be exempt from all of the restraining forces of the World. 
Despite this, there are no "pure Anti-Heroes", but rather only those who come as close as possible by "doing good despite being evil." They are something that people only wish to exist, something ideal humans have created to act as "sacrifices to deny the original sin." They can be thought of wishes that will never come true, "a synonym for peace." While not proper Heroic Spirits, Medea and Medusa do not truly fall under the category of Anti-Heroes either.
Anti-Heroes include:
*Angra Mainyu - He was an ordinary person without any special ability that was determined to be "All the World's Evil" in his time. He became the "King of Daemons that approves of all six billion evils in " that "embodies every curse in this world."Fate/stay night - Heaven's Feel route - Day 15: limited. - Truth - Anti-Hero Angra Mainyu
*Asterios
*Henry Jekyll and Hyde
*CarmillaFate/Grand Order - Orleans: The Wicked Dragon Hundred Years' War - Section 5: Dark Jeanne
*Elizabeth Báthory
*EMIYA - He describes himself as not being a pure Heroic Spirit, allowing him to have some resistance to curses like All the World's Evil.
*Hassan of the Cursed Arm - Described as being an Anti-Hero closer to All the World's Evil than EMIYA, he is able to interact with the mud from the Holy Grail much more easily than pure Heroic Spirits.
*Ibaraki-douji
*Jack the Ripper
*Kiara SessyoinFate/Grand Order - Hakuno Kishinami's Lines translated by ComunCoutinho 
*Shuten-douji
*Tamamo-no-Mae
*Vlad III
===Phantom===
===Wraith===
It is possible for those who cannot become true Heroic Spirits to, instead, end up as wraiths. Those who bear the name Hassan-i-Sabbah are that have lost their original names, instead taking the form of nineteen wraiths all vying to become the "Leader of the Assassins." 
Within the Holy Grail War system, summoning a hero that does not exist can lead to a wraith whose characteristics match the legend being summoned, such as Assassin filling the role of . It is unknown where they normally exist, due to not being part of the Throne of Heroes.
==References==
vi:Anh Linh
Category:Terminology in Fate/EX
Category:Terminology in Fate/strange Fake
Category:Terminology in Fate/Grand Order
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Category:Spirits
Category:Life
Category:Magecraft terminology
Category:Terminology in Fate/Zero
Category:Terminology in Fate/stay night
Category:Terminology in Fate/Apocrypha
Category:Terminology in Fate/Prototype
Category:Holy Grail War terminology
Category:Terminology in Fate/Requiem