Rider (Fate/Crossover - Welkin Gunther)

**Rider** (ライダー, *Raidā*) is the servant of ??? in the ??? Holy Grail War.

*"When it comes to family, it's better to gain a deeper understanding of each other through confrontation than to maintain an apathetic calm."* — Welkin Gunther

## Profile

### Identity

Rider's true identity is **Welkin Gunther**, the son of a great war hero from the First Europan War (EWI). As the commanding officer of Squad 7 during EWII, he has the ability to issue Orders to units under his command, provided he has access to his tank's radio.

He is the son of the legendary General Gunther, however, Welkin just wanted to live a quiet life as a teacher. This plan gets sidetracked when The Imperials invade his hometown of Bruhl. Welkin quickly adapts and joins the Gallian Militia, becoming the leader of Squad 7 of the 3rd Regiment. Using his scientific knowledge, he quickly becomes a strategist rivaling his father and organizes Squad 7 into the Imperials' greatest threat. In combat, Welkin generally doesn't fight directly, and instead gives orders to the squad from his father's tank, the Edelweiss.

### Appearance

Welkin is a tall young man in his early twenties with messy brown hair and grey eyes. He is usually seen wearing the Gallian militia uniform, complete with a blue cap on his head.

### Personality

Welkin is very much a 'father to his men', a fact he himself notes when he designates himself as the 'dad' in the family of Squad 7. He is a kind person who is always concerned about his squad's morale, and is determined to make sure they get along, particularly Isara and Rosie, who are often at each other's throats due to the latter's hatred of Darcsens. Initially, Welkin was reluctant to become a soldier, believing it to not be his thing, but after the Empire attacked and captured Bruhl, he changed his mind, and was granted leadership of Squad 7 due to his intelligence and determination.

Welkin is, for the most part, very confident in his abilities; this is shown when he makes a bet with Largo and Rosie to take back the Gallian bridge within 48 hours, the penalty being that he would resign from his post in the event that his plan failed and hand over command of Squad 7 to Largo. He is called out on this by Alicia, who describes the promise he made as insane. Nevertheless, Welkin remains a humble person who is well-aware of his shortcomings, describing himself as woefully inexperienced and saying that while he's the son of a legendary hero, he's still just himself.

One of Welkin's most defining traits is his passion for studying natural science. He gets so into studying it at times that he often forgets where he is or that someone might be watching him, a flaw he's well-aware of, and all of his strategies are inspired by nature in one way or another. HIs love for nature borders on the obsessive at times, and Faldio even states that he has a one-track mind. Because of this, he occasionally delivers insensitive remarks, such as when he tells Alicia that she looks like a rhinoceros beetle and doesn't understand why she gets annoyed by it.

Welkin's love of nature comes from his father; while the First Europan War earned General Gunther respect and admiration, it also cost him his wife (Welkin's mother), who died as a casualty of the war, and he often wondered what he fought the war for. However, whenever he took Welkin on a trip to collect bugs or swim, he was always so bright and happy; Welkin suspects the reason he fell in love with nature is because it always managed to make his father smile in spite of his losses.

## Abilities

### Skills

#### Class Skills

* Riding (B Rank): The Servant is capable of handling most mundane animals and vehicles with considerable skill. He can achieve difficult maneuvers with some effort. The Servant's rank in this skill reflects his extensive military training at the University of Randgriz, which included handling conventional mounts and military vehicles that might be used in wartime, and is boosted by being summoned in the Rider class.

* Magic Resistance (D Rank): At this rank, spells E-rank and below are nulled, and all spells in the area are reduced by 1 rank. As a hero of his world's Second Europan War, the Servant is a relatively young heroic spirit with more experience battling the military tactics and technology of the early Twentieth Century than he has facing off against magic, although he has personally encountered the incredible power wielded by the Valkyria.

#### Personal Skills

* Military Tactics (B+ Rank): As the militia commander of Squad 7, the Servant gained fame for his highly successful but unorthodox tactics in warfare. As such, he can devise and implement strategies that effectively utilize the skills of every one of his allies. Slight bonus modifiers are applied during the use of his Edelweiss noble phantasm or when dealing with an enemy Anti-Army noble phantasm.

* Naturalist (B Rank): The Servant is a passionate lover of nature who has studied the subject extensively. If he sees a plant or animal, there is a significant chance he can identify its true name and characteristics. Furthermore, he can make deductions and predictions about a geographical area or battlefield by analyzing the behavior and properties of the local flora and fauna with a high degree of accuracy. If an enemy noble phantasm possesses attributes related to nature, there is a moderate chance the Servant will identify these attributes and discover the noble phantasm's name, underlying concepts, and weaknesses.

* Orders – Attention, Soldiers! (C Rank): In life, the Servant had access to a set of 30 battlefield commands that, thanks to special training, could temporarily improve the effectiveness of the soldiers who fought for him and achieve a number of other temporary but minor effects. These orders have become a small part of his legend and are treated by the Holy Grail as a specialized subset of magecraft that focuses on supporting and bolstering allies. These orders can only be issued while in combat, and, because the Servant does not practice actual magecraft, issuing multiple orders takes a heavy toll on his mana reserves and his Master's prana.

Wisdom of Our Elders (D Rank): When the Servant is summoned into the current Holy Grail War, the ghost of a Heroic Spirit with a set of compatible ideals or personality who participated in a prior Grail War will materialize near a war memorial or other monument honoring the deceased. This ghost will only be visible to the Servant and his Master and, if persuaded, can impart advice about competing in the Grail War as well as knowledge and history of the Holy Grail itself.

### Noble Phantasm

#### **The Ties that Bind; "A Sister's Promise"**

Isara Gunther is not related to the Servant by blood, but when she was adopted by his father they became siblings in every sense that truly matters. She promised to support his dreams, and that promise binds her to him even after their deaths. When her brother is summoned as a Rider class servant, she is summoned with him as the pilot of the Edelweiss and exists as a low-level supernatural existence with parameters barely above those of a human. Although extremely weak by servant standards, she possesses modified versions of the Territory Creation and Item Construction class skills at D-rank that allow her to maintain, repair, and upgrade the Edelweiss and create a number of non-magical devices based on early Twentieth Century Europan designs. As Edelweiss requires two people to be properly operated, Isara will also try to teach the Servant's Master how to pilot the Edelweiss should she die before the Holy Grail War's conclusion.

#### **The Edelweiss; "A Gift from Our Fathers"**

Designed and constructed by Isara's blood father, Theimer, and first fielded by the Servant's father, General Belgen Gunther, this tank saw action in both the First and the Second Europan Wars and accumulated an incredibly distinguished service record. Constantly upgraded by Theimer and then, after his passing, by Isara, Edelweiss was considered state of the art for its time and possesses a 360-degree rotating turret and a fully automated loading system. The tank is heavily armored and equipped with an 8.8cm main cannon and a co-axially mounted heavy machine gun. It can fire anti-armor rounds, mortars, and other small-scale projectiles, making Edelweiss suitable for assaulting enemy units, fortresses, and armies, and it can reach a top speed of 60 kilometers per hour. By design, Edelweiss requires two operators—one to pilot and the second to man the guns—and, insomuch as this tank can be said to have a spirit and a legend of its own, Edelweiss is pleased to serve the son and daughter of its original commanders again.

## References

https://valkyria.fandom.com/wiki/Welkin\_Gunther

https://hero.fandom.com/wiki/Welkin\_Gunther

https://erol.fandom.com/wiki/Welkin\_Gunther