Simo Häyhä

Archer of Gold is the Archer-Class servant for the Gold Faction in Fate/Genesis. His master is \*insert name here\*.

### Identity

**Archer of Gold's** real identity is **Simo "Simun**, a Finnish sniper. Using a Finnish-produced M/28-30 rifle and the Suomi KP/-31 submachine gun, he is reported by western sources to have have killed 505 men during the 1939–40 Winter War, the highest recorded number of sniper kills in any major war.

#### Early Life

Häyhä was born in the municipality of Rautjärvi in the Grand Duchy of Finland, in present-day southern Finland near the border with Russia, and started his military service in 1925. He was the second youngest of a Lutheran heritage family of farmers of eight children. Before entering combat, Häyhä was a farmer and hunter. At the age of 20, he joined the Finnish voluntary militia White Guard and was also successful in shooting sports in competitions in the Viipuri Province. His home was reportedly full of trophies for marksmanship.

#### Winter War Service

During the 1939–40 Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union, Häyhä served as a sniper for the Finnish Army against the Red Army in the 6th Company of JR 34 during the Battle of Kollaa in temperatures between −40 °C (−40 °F) and −20 °C (−4 °F), dressed completely in white camouflage. Because of Joseph Stalin’s purges of military experts in the late 1930s, the Red Army was highly disorganized and Soviet troops were not issued with white camouflage suits for most of the war, making them easily visible to snipers in winter conditions.

According to Western sources, Simo Häyhä has been credited with 505 confirmed sniper kills. A daily account of the kills at Kollaa was made for the Finnish snipers. All of Häyhä's kills were accomplished in fewer than 100 days – an average of just over five per day – at a time of year with very few daylight hours.

However, Simo Häyhä's result is impossible to check, because his targets were always on the Russian side. During the war, the "White death" is one of the leading themes of Finnish propaganda. The Finnish newspapers frequently featured the invisible Finnish soldier, thus creating a heroic myth.

Häyhä used his issued Civil Guard rifle, an early series SAKO M/28-30 (Civil Guard district number S60974). The rifle was a Finnish White Guard militia variant of the Mosin–Nagant rifle, known as "Pystykorva" chambered in the Finnish Mosin–Nagant cartridge 7.62×54R. He preferred iron sights over telescopic sights as to present a smaller target for the enemy, to increase accuracy, and to aid in concealment. As well as these tactics, he frequently packed dense mounds of snow in front of his position to conceal himself, provide padding for his rifle and reduce the characteristic puff of snow stirred up by the muzzle blast. He was also known to keep snow in his mouth whilst sniping, to prevent steamy breaths giving away his position in the cold air.

In their efforts to kill Häyhä, the Soviets used counter-snipers and artillery strikes, and on 6 March 1940, Häyhä was hit in his lower left jaw by an explosive bullet fired by a Red Army soldier. He was picked up by fellow soldiers who said "half his face was missing", but he did not die, regaining consciousness on 13 March, the day peace was declared. Shortly after the war, Häyhä was promoted from alikersantti (Corporal) to vänrikki (Second lieutenant) by Finnish Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim.

#### Later Life

It took several years for Häyhä to recuperate from his wound. The bullet had crushed his jaw and blown off his left cheek. Nonetheless, he made a full recovery and became a successful moose hunter and dog breeder after World War II. Simo Häyhä spent his last years in Ruokolahti, a small municipality located in southeastern Finland, near the Russian border. Simo Häyhä died in a war veterans' nursing home in Hamina at the age of 96, and was buried in Ruokolahti.

### Appearance

A figure shrouded in white, Archer's stature isn't particularly imposing, being that of an old soldier wielding a scuffed and worn rifle, a testament to his lifetime of service. But don't let appearances fool you, wary eyes follow all those around them, a lifetime of experience helping him analyze all threats. Underneath is a slightly handsome man with pale skin, red eyes and snow white hair

His clothing is white, consisting of a winter warfare coat, with a bunch of gray clothes underneath. His form permanently seems to be shrouded by the snow that coats his form, almost looking more like a ghost or wraith than a man, remnants from the demon that plagued the minds of the Russian infantry who faced him, too afraid to even stick their head out of their trenches to see where the fire was coming from. When it is snowing, he just seems to disappear into the cloud of white as his cloak of winter fades to white.

### Personality

His personality was ideally suited for sniping, with his willingness to be alone and ability to avoid emotions which many would attach to such a job. He portrays himself as a laid back and relaxed personality, rarely being shown to be under stress, even during a battle. People describe him to have a deadly and menacing aura around him, most likely due to his high body count.

If we look deeper into his personality, we can see that Simo is very insecure about himself and does not view himself worthy of being a heroic spirit. Since his only noteworthy action was taking the lives of more than five hundred men. he does not think he is worthy to fight along side the other heroic spirits, who the majority have taken care of and saved lives, rather than take lives away.

## Abilities

Archer was a noted marksman and skilled sniper during The Winter War, the world war 2 conflict between Finland and Russia. Archer accrued over five hundred kills in only 100 days, even though there were very few hours of daylight during that time. The sheer number of kills in such a short period of time has materialized as the skill Marksmanship, where he has been granted an A++, meaning that Simo almost never misses, even against moving targets.

### Skills

**The White Death**: **(白死, Hakushi)** A crystallization of his legendary sniping prowess, this skill provides him Clairvoyance at a rank of B, and Marksmanship of the rank A++. He was known for his unerring shots upon the Russian infantry, having managed five kills a day during only a few hours of daylight, which is the highest known kill count of any sniper in any recorded war. Simo can see through almost anything, being capable of detecting hidden and invisible enemies, even behind buildings as if they were standing in an open field.

Presence Concealment: An unusual skill for an archer class servant, Simo was never the less quite adept at hiding himself in life. Numerous counter snipers, as well as countless artillery strikes attempted to find this man, yet until nearly a week before the war ended they failed. They simply just failed to find the man, as he took numerous precautions to avoid being shot and killed, even as he continued his deadly task. This has granted him this ability with a Rank of C, which ranks up in snowy environments.

Eye of the Mind (True): Twenty-five years of military service left Simo with a healthy appreciation of the battlefield, which is how he survived for so long as the entire Russian military poured resources into the Battle of Kualla, it took a full year of the Russians trying to kill him while desperately trying not to die in the process.

Protection From Arrows: Similar to the eye of the Mind, this helped him survive numerous attempts by the Russians to kill him during the winter war. Allows him to avoid most projectiles. This ability manifests differently than most versions of this skill however. It manifests as most of his body being intangible to ranged attacks, even wide area ones. These types of attacks just pass right through his snowy form without harming him, much to the confusion of enemies. However there is one spot where this protection doesn't apply. The left side of his jaw isn't immune to ranged attacks, as it is where the bullets which were aimed at him finally found their mark.

Cloak of Winter: Simo was a wraith in the snow, a sniper that the Russians could never seem to hit, let alone kill. He was General Winter turning coat and firing back upon his homeland. Many of the troops he killed considered him a demon, a monster in the snow. This fear, this trepidation of the opposing troops has tainted his legend, turning him from a hero to his people to a monster for his foes. Simo's form looks as if it is made of snow and shadow, constantly blowing a cold wind off his body. This ability provides him a rank up in agility and presence concealment whenever it is snowing, which increases if the temperature drops below 0 degrees Celsius. This ability also provides the basis of his protection from arrows.

### Noble Phantasm

Winter War: Death Comes Shrouded in White: **(冬戦争: 死来白に包まれる, Shirai Shironitsutsumareru)** This is the truest manifestation of Simo's Legend, the Battle of Kualla. A reality marble of snow and blood. When this phantasm's name is uttered, a blizzard bursts out from Simo's body, engulfing everyone within fifty feet as they are dragged into a reality marble. Captured individuals find themselves in a field of snow, surrounded on all sides by trees. Bullets can be heard in all directions.

Simo can concentrate the fire from the various soldiers on either side towards his foes, who will be harassed by lethal bullet fire on all sides while a rain of artillery comes from above. All the while Simo will put putting round after round of rifle fire into them, each shot made with impeccable accuracy as a blizzard seems to be roaming through the forest. This blizzard will become worse the longer the reality marble is active, eventually consuming it completely, rendering most things invisible unless what you are looking at is right next to you, a handicap Simo doesn't share.