Caren Hortensia

is the main heroine of Fate/hollow ataraxia and the Master of Lancer and Gilgamesh. She is a member of the Church and works as a priestess. She replaces her father, Kirei Kotomine, as the priest of the Fuyuki Church.
==Profile==
===Background===
Caren is the daughter of Kirei Kotomine and Claudia Hortensia. Her mother, who was very sickly, killed herself in a final attempt to help Kirei, who was on the verge of suicide due to his inherently twisted nature, feel he deserved to live. It did not work, and rather than caring for Caren himself, he placed her in the custody of her mother's relatives, thus having her take up their surname.
Caren was entrusted to a devout priest, who looked down on her mother for having a child out of wedlock and never showed any love to Caren, declaring her unfit to be a child of God until she was baptized. For eight years, Caren lived with the priest, who did not send her to school and instead had her work as a servant in his church. His reason for not educating her was twofold: to reduce unecessary expanses and to prevent "the child of a beast" from gaining knowledge and becoming "wicked", only instructing her to pray. Caren, for her part, did not think of this life as especially difficult. Finally, when Caren was of age to be baptized, appeared on her body, and the priest conceded defeat, handing her over to the Holy Church.Fate/hollow ataraxia - 10/08 - Streets - Caren II
She eventually became a priestess in the Church, accepted by the into Citeaux Abbey, a self-sufficient community of devout believers following strict rules of discipline. Caren was accepted solely because of her stigmata, later revealed to be the result of her being an advanced spirit medium and possessing what would be called the "Masochistic Spiritualist Constitution", becoming extremely valuable to the Holy Church as a daemon detector for Exorcists. As a result, she was given a proper room, meals, and an education at the Abbey, as well as special permission to leave it when she goes on exorcism. Despite being active in the same organization, she never encountered her father in any official capacity.
She was sent to Fuyuki by the Church to replace Kirei after his death and report the aftermath of the Fifth Holy Grail War.
===Appearance===
Caren takes after her mother, Claudia, having light grey hair and golden eyes. Due to her daemon detecting abilities, she is nearly always covered in bandages. She is usually seen wearing church robes, and a hat if she is outdoors. On the other hand, Caren also wears what she calls her "exorcist uniform" which is composed of a dress and stockings over pantyhose, but without a skirt. She claims that she has removed the skirt to both increase her mobility and to seduce men.Fate/hollow ataraxia - 10/08 - Streets - Caren III
Caren Hortensia for Fate-hollow ataraxia illustrated by Takashi Takeuchi.jpg|Caren Hortensia for Fate/hollow ataraxia illustrated by Takashi Takeuchi.
Caren Hortensia in Fate-hollow ataraxia vita illustrated by Takashi Takeuchi.jpg|Fate/hollow ataraxia Vita Caren Hortensia illustrated by Takashi Takeuchi.
Hollow ataraxia cast (Shidzuki Morii).jpg|Rin among the cast of Fate/hollow ataraxia, illustrated by Shidzuki Morii.
Caren mug.png|Takashi Takeuchi illustration of Caren for All Around Type-Moon.
Caren Carnival Phantasm Character Sheet.png|'s character sheet of Caren in Carnival Phantasm.
CarenTC.png|Caren in Fate/tiger colosseum, illustrated by Yukio Hirai.
Magiccaren.png|Magical Caren in Fate/tiger colosseum Upper, illustrated by Yukio Hirai.
Caren avenger Chibichuki.png|Caren & Avenger in Chibichuki!, illustrated by Hanabana Tsubomi.
Holy Shroud of Magdalene CE.png| in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by Shidzuki Morii.
Sweet Days CE.png| in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by bob.
Where Confessions Lose Way (CE 1577).png| in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by Tsuuhan.
Angel Heart.png| in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by Michiking.
Hot Springs Table Tennis.png| in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by CARIMARICA.
Caren (AATM Manga).jpg|Caren in ALL AROUND TYPE-MOON - A Day of Ahnenerbe, illustrated by B-suke.
===Personality===
As a priestess, Caren Hortensia exhibits an outwardly accepting personality, but she is not entirely angelic. Her current position simply suits her physiological characteristics. Outside of fulfilling her job, she will readily provoke acquaintances and display outright sadism to those close to her.
It can be said that her life's purpose is to help others at any cost, and she carries that out to the point of inflicting self-harm and deferring any blame to the demonic influence driving her attackers. She will frequently apologize to God, for both her own faults and those who slight her.
Because of this twisted personality, even her two servants are wary of her, both maintaining great distance at all times even without the threat of Command Spells. For going against her would mean having their power turned against them without a second thought for their mutually assured destruction.
While she is described as "the mouthpiece for Kotomine's personality" due to her callous wit, she still inherits significant feminine charm from her mother, making her a largely affable person despite the wealth of acerbic remarks issuing from her lips.
==Role==
===Fate/hollow ataraxia===
CarenHA.jpg|Caren in Fate/hollow ataraxia
Caren Close Up.png|Caren Close Up.
Caren playing on her organ..png|Caren playing on her organ.
Caren Hortensia dressing up in her room.jpg|Caren Hortensia dressing up in her room.
Caren Hortensia climbing the sky stairs.jpg|Caren Hortensia climbing the sky stairs to help end the loop.
Caren serves as an objective mediator in the false Holy Grail War created by Avenger and Bazett Fraga McRemitz and, in the place of the absent Kirei Kotomine, as the Master of Lancer and Gilgamesh. Because she was not present in the previous war, she is not affected by the four day time loop like the others are.
During Hollow ataraxia, Shirou Emiya finds that each time he runs into Caren, he dies. Eventually, Shirou ends up defending Caren from the dark creatures that have appeared since the time loop began. He is finally able to meet her without dying, but finds that he is experiencing strange feelings of anger and hatred and not acting like himself.
Shirou is eventually revealed to be an imposter or in the very least, not completely himself; he is actually Avenger in the guise of Shirou (the real one is either not present in the game, or being possessed by Avenger). She continues to offer advice to him, perhaps knowing his true identity(s) all along. She and Avenger develop intimate feelings for each other.
In spite of this, or perhaps because of it, Caren provokes and taunts Avenger until he forces her into an excruciatingly painful sexual episode with him; in other words, rapes her. Caren comments afterward that he should've finished inside, since she is curious as to what the offspring of All the World's Evil and a priest would be. Avenger himself is wryly amused by this, declaring that there should only be one of him.Fate/hollow ataraxia - 10/08 - Streets - Caren V
It is also revealed that the woman who finds Bazett and nurses her back to health is Caren.
Caren and Bazett are last shown in a bonus scene with the real Shirou, with Bazett taking residence at Shirou's house, much to the annoyance of the women in Shirou's life.Fate/hollow ataraxia - Eclipse - Sequel.
===Fate/tiger colosseum series===
CarenTCending.jpg|Caren's Ending
MagicalCarenTCending.jpg|Magical Caren's Ending
AvengerTCending.jpg|Avenger's Ending
She appears as herself and as her alter-ego, . She gets to meet her father, who quickly remarks that while Caren looks physically like her mother, she is just like her father in terms of personality.
===Carnival Phantasm===
Caren initially makes minor appearances in Carnival Phantasm, but gets a major role in the EX episode. Her trolling and abusive personality is comically exaggerated and Lancer and Child-Gil often remark that she is just like her father Kirei. 
After Caren gets some money in an illegal job and her attempt to give it to Shirou and the girls results in discord between them, she has the idea to control the world using money. For her first scheme, she approaches Bazett, who's selling candy in the streets because she's out of funds. Caren teases her how she won't have money to provide for Lancer and she should just give him to her. However, Lancer reassures Bazett he won't leave her, causing Caren to get annoyed and drag Lancer back home.
===Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA===
She is the school nurse in Homurahara elementary. She has been observing Illyasviel von Einzbern, Miyu Edelfelt and Chloe von Einzbern.
===Koha-Ace===
Caren, under the name Caren Kotomine, appears during the Strange Tales of the Imperial Holy Grail, acting as the Master of Lancer.
===Fate/Grand Order===
In addition to being summoned as a Pseudo-Servant, the living Caren appears in the Mahoutsukai no Yoru collaboration event. She comes to a haunted inn to exorcise it for money.Fate/Grand Order x Mahoutsukai no Yoru collaboration event: "Mahoutsukai no Yoru After Night" - Section 1: Welcome to Kumano Hot Springs
==Abilities==
Caren's condition causing her pain..jpg|Caren's Masochistic Spiritualist Constitution causing her pain.
Magdala Cloth.jpg|Caren using the Shroud of Magdalene.
As a member of the Church, Caren assists in exorcisms. Although her father has Magic Circuits, she didn't inherit them, but she did inherit her mother's "proneness to be plagued by illnesses", much like an ordeal given by God. Her body itself possesses an unusual property which is known as Masochistic Spiritualist Constitution; if there is a person nearby who has been possessed by a daemon, her body will mimic the end effects that the daemon possession will eventually have on the possessed human.Fate/hollow ataraxia - 10/08 - Streets - Caren I As a result, exorcists employ her to act as a radar of sorts to find daemons. This ability cannot be gained from training since it is purely genetic, which is why people born with these traits are valued by the Church as daemon detectors.
This ability is most evident whenever she comes in proximity to the Servant Avenger as her body begins producing a Shade by sprouting grotesque spikes from inside her body.
She owns the Holy Shroud, the Shroud of Magdalene, which is a red cloth with the power to forcefully bind men. However, while the man is bound, no harmful physical attacks can be made against him or Magdalene will be rendered useless. It is a type of Mystic Code. In Carnival Phantasm, she puts its inherent properties to work separating baby chickens by sex in exchange for cash.
==Development==
===Creation and Conception===
She was to originally be a character developed for the potential Tsukihime 2 along with Bazett, but she was redesigned for Fate instead.Fate/complete material V: Hollow Material The character present with Mr. Dawn in Prelude has an ability very similar to her.
===Reception===
*In the second Popularity polls of Fate/stay night in 2006, Caren was ranked 7th and the fifth most voted female character.
*In the Type-Moon's 10th Anniversary Character Poll, Caren from Fate/hollow ataraxia was ranked 19th. Magical Caren from Carnival Phantasm was ranked 188th.
==References==
Category:Characters in Fate/hollow ataraxia
Category:Characters in Fate/tiger colosseum
Category:Masters
Category:Humans
Category:Magical Girls
Category:Members of the Holy Church‎
Category:Psychic
Category:Exorcists
Category:Overseers
Category:Introduced in 2005
Category:Pseudo-Servant hosts