Saber (Fate/Crossover - Ivy Valentine)

Caster (キャスター, *Kyasutā*) is the servant of ??? in the ??? Holy Grail War.

*"Call me a monster or a demon if you must. I'll be happy to be called those names if it is the price I must pay to eliminate the existence of the evil blade!"* — Ivy

For the Caster version: here's the link to Ivy Valentine (Caster)

## Profile

### Identity

Caster's true identity is **Isabella Valentine**, also known as Ivy. She is a platinum-haired warrior on a mission to destroy Soul Blade. Her Ivy Blade has the longest reach of all weapons. It functions as a sword in close combat, and transforms into a whip for mid and long distance attacks.

Count Valentine, a practitioner of alchemy, was driven insane by his pursuit for Soul Edge-also known as the "Key to Eternal Youth." By the time of his death, his efforts to search for Soul Edge drained his family's fortunes and left one of London's most distinguished families in ruins. As if to pursue her husband into death, the Countess fell ill and passed away soon after Count Valentine's death. This left Ivy as the sole surviving member of the Valentine family. In reality, Ivy was not a true Valentine by birth. The Count and Countess found her abandoned in front of their mansion when she was an infant, and she was taken into the family as an adopted child. Ivy discovered this secret only after reading a will left behind by the Countess in her death. But this did not matter to her, for the Valentines were the only parents she knew.

Obeying the last wishes of her adoptive father, Ivy continued the search for Soul Edge and studied alchemy. During this investigation, she uncovered the true nature of the sword-it was an evil blade that feasted on souls. In order to avenge the death her father, who was driven insane by the allure of Soul Edge, Ivy vowed to use all of her knowledge to destroy it. She invoked strange powers through occult rituals to summon a mysterious individual who gave life to the whip-like, mechanical sword she dubbed "Ivy Blade."

The sword, which had a will of its own, accompanied and protected Ivy on her journey to vanquish Soul Edge. When she crossed paths with Nightmare, the one who breathed life into her sword, she agreed to assist him in the "summoning of souls." Little did she know that it was all part of the evil sword's plans. Ivy realized it was Nightmare who possessed Soul Edge. She came to this revelation only after he was defeated and the evil blade was shattered. That meant that the beloved blade she had forged to destroy Soul Edge had life thanks to the power of the evil blade. She also learned the secrets of her true lineage. Ivy's birth father... he once wielded Soul Edge and was manipulated by its wicked powers!

Shaken by the horrifying truth, Ivy returned home and locked herself away in a dark laboratory. She tried countless times to destroy Ivy Blade, which was now a symbol of her self-hatred and regret. She could not, however, bring herself to actually break the sword. "I am the same as this sword... Yes, the blood of the evil blade flows through me. The same blood..." Ivy Blade waited for its master's orders silently.

After months of soul searching, Ivy emerged with renewed resolve. Her goal was no longer to destroy the evil sword, but to completely wipe it out of existence. As a vow to her commitment, she renamed her sword "Valentine." And when she acquired information about fragments of Soul Edge being scattered throughout the world, she immediately departed on her new journey.

Ivy intended to destroy every fragment of Soul Edge, anyone who carried its tainted bloodline, and anyone contaminated by its evil. Nothing would stop her from destroying the root of the evil, even if it meant killing the innocent-there would be no exceptions. The only thing that mattered was obliterating the evil sword's existence completely. "Call me a monster, a demon if you must. I'll be happy to be called those names if it is the price I must pay to eliminate the existence of the evil blade!!"

This was the beginning of her long, arduous journey. A journey where she would ultimately have to destroy herself and all that was related to her. Ivy's adoptive family name "Valentine" became a symbol of her will to live as a "human" even though the cursed blood of the demonic blade ran strong within her.

### Appearance

* Ivy's outfit design by herself
1/1
Ivy is recognizable mainly due to her snake sword, large breasts, revealing clothing, and silver hair. Her primary outfits always feature her with bob-length hair and asymmetrical bangs covering her left eye. Ivy is also mainly shown wearing a dark color of lipstick and red eye shadow.

The overall recurring theme in Ivy's costumes is that of a dominatrix. With a massive amount of visible cleavage and her thighs and hips exposed, despite wearing high boots and long gloves. In the following games, dark purple and gold are a recurring color scheme in her outfits.

Her bluish-purple leotard covers her torso and arms, with patches of the fabric removed to expose her cleavage, buttocks and various parts of her abdomen. Similar leggings cover her legs midway below her thighs, connected to the leotard by garters at golden metal bands at their peak. A sleeve of the same material covers her right arm and hand, while armor covers her left arm, hand, and shoulder. A smaller pauldron covers her right shoulder, while high heels cover her feet, and a white glove covers her right hand. The left shoulder pauldron incorporates the Tudor Rose, a traditional heraldic symbol of England, while the plates of the armor were designed to resemble the links of her sword.

### Personality

Ivy is considered evil by many due to her Machiavellian philosophy and her appearance. She only wanted to acquire Soul Calibur by any means to sever her bond with Soul Edge. When facing her opponents, she spites them with dramatic words and she takes advantage of her unique weapon, which she invented. Beneath her cold demeanor is a heart that wants freedom from a cursed life that will do whatever it takes to be free. Overall, she is a neutrally-aligned character.

Nevertheless, she exhibits sophistication, confidence, and is an intellectual and bookworm — as she spent most of her time researching on how to counter Soul Edge. She is also considered one of the most advanced characters in the series' timeline.

### Relationships

#### **Cervantes de León**

The estranged daughter of Archer, who she defeated and destroyed in order to recover her soul before the events of Soulcalibur V.

#### **Taki**

Defeated by her, who informed her that she is a being known as the "Daughter of the Cursed Sword."

#### **Nightmare**

Formerly worked for Berserker, and later turned on him.

#### **Astaroth**

Ivy was at odds with Berserker when they both served Soul Edge.

## Abilities

In battle, Ivy wields a special "snake sword" known as the Valentine. Though it appears to be a regular one-handed sword, the blade itself can greatly increase its length by splitting itself into fragments connecting by a sturdy wire. Due to the power of the parasitic blade Soul Edge flowing through her veins, Ivy can not only control the path of the blade by thought, but also completely disassemble the blade fragments and have them assault the opponent from multiple angles. Because Ivy was born with the power of Soul Edge in her blood, her aging has stunted, allowing her to retain her physique and appearance for decades. She is also highly skilled in alchemy as well as magic.

### Skills

#### Class Skills

* Item Construction (C Rank): Ivy has been trained in her adopted family in alchemy, as she uses this skill to make enhancements, including her weapon.

* Magic Resistance (A Rank): Her knowledge of magecraft is due to her world in her life, and knowledge of alchemy. She is able to resistance magic effects due to her practices and cursed blood. Therefore this might apply to her being one of the more intelligent characters in her time.

#### Personal Skills

* High Speed Incantation (A Rank): Ivy's Living Whip Sword, the Valentine uses some kind of alchemy and magic to enhance her weapon and be able to shatter and split apart, flying at high speed that was produced by magic.

* Indomitable (A Rank): A skill that show's Ivy's willpower and determination of her goals to change her own destiny. Even with her soul stolen, she will show no falter in the situation that befalls her.

* Golden Rule (Body) (C Rank): Ivy's appearance and demeanor is seen as a seductive and emposing nature. Noting her voluptious and curvaceous figure and notably large breasts, she is commonly compared to a dominatrix. Her revealing outfit and fighting style help complement this attribute. Ivy claims that she created her outfit, deliberately crafting it in such a manner to maximize the communication with her sword.

### Noble Phantasm

#### **Valentine; "Sword of the Cursed Countess"**

A one-handed magic sword that can transform into a whip. It is loyal to its owner and will cut down all who stand in her way. Seeing the way it attacks its opponent, you would think it was... alive.

Ive created the sword through alchemy after vowing to defeat Soul Edge. However, its essence was borrowed from none other than the owner of the cursed sword himself—Nightmare. Ivy doesn't know the truth, and even works with Nightmare, albeit unenthusiastically. The day will come, however, when his secret will be revealed. What then will she do...?

Crafted through Ivy’s alchemy, this magic sword is like no other. As one might expect from its unique properties, standard sword techniques do not work with this weapon, and even its creator Ivy struggled to master the use of this idiosyncratic sword. Wielding it in one hand, she uses a combination of Western European sword techniques and Eastern whip techniques. Her blade obeys her and transforms at her will, giving her great control over an otherwise difficult weapon.

Despite her link with the sword, Ivy has yet to realize that the connection between the cursed blood running through her veins and the Ivy Blade—perfected with the power of the cursed sword—grows stronger day by day...

#### **Grand Alchemy; "Grand Alchemy; "Release of a Symphonic Blade""**

Whips the opponent, says "Taste the power of my blade - shred apart!" and starts an alchemist spell to trap the opponent in a ball, splits the blade up into small pieces, and shoots them into the opponent. She then asks "Does it hurt?"

#### **Guilty Throne; "Domination Against Her Destiny"**

When Ivy's Noble Phantasm is engaged, she spins her snake sword around her body, hitting her opponent 8 times before launching them into the air. Ivy sends her blade pieces at the airborne target before binding them and pulling them into the ground at her feet. She finishes the move by stomping the opponent on the head, pinning them to the ground.

### Quotes

* *"This is the end of my cursed journey."* - Ivy Valentine
* *"I promise you won't suffer ... Much."* - Ivy Valentine
* *"This sword is my destiny!"* - Ivy Valentine
* *"Almost finished, there are only a few things left."* - Ivy Valentine
* *"Come on, I won't bite!"* - Ivy Valentine
* *"There's no room for fear in my soul!"* - Ivy Valentine
* *"Well aren't we cheeky? This'll be fun."* - Ivy Valentine's Combat Start 1
* *"I'll play with you for a little while."* - Ivy Valentine's Combat Start 2
* *"For better or worse, this sword is my fate."* - Ivy Valentine's Battle Finish 1
* *"There's no room for fear in my soul!"* - Ivy Valentine's Battle Finish 2
* *"Well, aren't we cheeky? All right then. Allow me to Introduce myself I'm Isabella Valentine. Remember it for I shan't repeat it again."* - Ivy Valentine after being summoned
* *"You, I shall kill with my own hands."* - Ivy Valentine to Cervantes
* *"So it's you again. I still owe you from before"* - Ivy Valentine to Taki

### Gallery

#### Fate/???

* Ascensions

1st Ascension2nd Ascension3rd AscensionFinal Ascension
* Craft Essence

Bond CE: Contempt by Destiny
## Trivia

* Ivy is easily recognizable by her exceedingly revealing clothing and large bust. She predominantly wears purple and violet form fitting clothing, although with each game she appears in, her bust not only appears to grow slightly, but the area covering it decreases. Another recurring feature among her costumes is a singular iron and gold-colored armored gauntlet that covers the entirety of her left arm.
* At 179 cm (5' 10½") Ivy is the tallest female character in the series and with a bust measurement of 100 cm (39") also the bustiest. She's also taller than a few male characters as well in the series.
* In the Soulcalibur series many characters have blue or red colors and sometimes white; with blue symbolizing trust and loyalty, red symbolizing strength and confidence, and white symbolizing purity and innocence. With Ivy's color being Purple it's a mix between red and blue which can relate to her neutral alignment and her inner struggles with her moral sense, purple symbolizes mystery and spirituality, which further relates to her character.
* Her fighting style with the uncurled whip version of her weapon, are very likely inspired the real-life Urumi sword, or Kalaripayattu sword techniques, originating from South India. Being English during Colonial India, might have given Ivy a chance to pick up the style during travels across the British Empire.
* Ivy's aesthetic seems to include many snake-inspired motifs, including her armor, Weapons (Snake Sword), some of her moves (EX: Ivy Lick, Serpent's Embrace, Coil, etc.). Some of her clothing is even textured like snake scales.
* Ivy's left shoulder pauldron and earrings incorporate the Tudor Rose, a traditional heraldic symbol of England.
* The background of Ivy, an alchemist, features motifs reminiscent of alchemy. The stinging vine twining around the central caduceus is a symbol of herself, but also of the cursed bloodline that binds her.

## References

https://soulcalibur.fandom.com/wiki/Ivy

https://vsbattles.fandom.com/wiki/Ivy\_Valentine

https://hero.fandom.com/wiki/Ivy\_Valentine

https://queensblade.fandom.com/wiki/Ivy

https://all-worlds-alliance.fandom.com/wiki/Ivy\_Valentine

https://www.deviantart.com/stoneificaunt/art/Fate-Grand-Order-Card-Ivy-valentine-877644053