Nachiketa

**Rider of "Silver"** (銀のライダー, *"Gin" no Raidā*) is the Rider-class Servant of Akshay Gandhi in the Silver faction of the Venetian Holy Grail War.

## Profile

### Identity

Rider's True Name is Nachiketa (ナチケタ, *Nachiketa*)...

## Abilities

Being a Rider-class Servant, he has low parameters and instead relies on his Noble Phantasms and skills to get him through battle. However, even among Riders, his parameters are incredibly low. Due to the nature of his skills and Noble Phantasm, Rider often takes a supportive role among the Silver Faction, as he possesses no inherent proficiency or physical ability for raw combat.

Rider himself admits, despite being summoned in this class, he feels that the Caster-class would be more appropriate for someone of his skillset. Nonetheless, his wholehearted determination to win this war for the sake of his Master allows him to continue forth without hesitation, trusting in the skills he gained through his life.

### Skills

**Riding** (騎乗, *Kijō*; localized as "Dragoon"): At a mere rank D, Rider is a shame to those of his class. He admits that he can ride animals such as horses and cattle with ease, but anything beyond this is not in his expertise. Despite being summoned as a Rider, his specialty is not in riding on the physical world, but on a realm above it.

**Mana Defense (Flames)** (魔力防御 (炎), *Maryoku Bōgyo (Honō)*): At rank A, Rider is able to invoke the sacred flames of Agni through merely thinking of the deity. However, being well-versed and a heavy believer in the scriptures, he will always call upon Agni with respect and request his protection through chanting *"O Agni."* Unlike many Servants of a similar origin, Rider calls upon these flames with their ritualistic properties in-tact. They are flames that are meant to protect the believer from all harm, and expel all manner of evil or unclean through their exposure. Whenever they are summoned by Rider, they form a barrier around the man while he undergoes his prayers. These flames are sentient, and if they sense evil intent approaching Rider, they will attack any being without fail. Due to being sacred flames, they are able to purify demonic, undead or vampiric entities effortlessly. Likewise, being flames sent from the deity Agni himself, they possess a sufficient Divinity to fight against those of Divine origin. In saying that, they solely exist to protect, as opposed to destroy or burn enemies. Rider is able to use this clause to shield Saber of "Silver" from her own Noble Phantasm's Mad Enhancement, by sheathing her blade with flames to calm her down.

**Boy of Naraka** (地獄の少年 *Jigoku no Shōnen*): This skill is the crystallization of Rider's legend in which he remained in the harsh world of Naraka for three days and three nights with no hospitality by its patron deity or any of his retainers. He was sbsequently iparted with full knowledge of sacred rituals by Yamaraja himself, while reinforcing his tremendous faith, despite being a mere boy. At rank A, this skill manifests itself as a combination of Battle Continuation, Clairvoyance and Protection of the Faith due to the magnitude of feats he performed. Rider's body is noted to be able to withstand any degree of pain, and can in fact continue being active until his body experiences three days and nights of physical death. Within the Holy Grail War, this enables him to take up mortal damage and still continue to fight as if the injury does not exist, which may cause considerable confusion among enemy ranks. However, the moment 72 hours pass, Rider will no longer be operational, and his existence will fade away without a single trace. Notably, it is due to this skill that Rider is also unable to be healed by any kind of medicine, as his body has been corrupted directly by Naraka's miasma.

On the other hand, his keen intellect and memory enables him to take in any kind of information he witnesses and relay it with perfect accuracy. The most prominent aspect of this skill, however, is the ability to resist temptation and magecraft of any kind. Being a man who was completely devoted to his religion, there is no material or other worldly attachment that can dissuade him from the path of his faith, which makes negotiation with him nearly impossible as an enemy.

Being that he has learned the significance and mechanism of every sacred ritual conceived during his time, Rider is well aware of how the Holy Grail War operates. Although understanding the intrinsic nature of the ritual does not provide him with a particular physical advantage, he has the mental fortitude to understand the permanent sacrifice he and his Master must make should they fail at achieving their objective. For this reason, Rider is ever-so dutiful, ever-so cautious and ever-so attentive to his allies and enemies. The allies he possesses through this Great Holy Grail War may soon become his enemies, and he is unwilling to partake with his own secrets without unveiling others. Although it is an attitude one like Rider should not take, it is ultimately the persona he must invoke to fully commit to a ritual of this scale.

**At the Boundary** (境界にて, *Kyōkai nite*): At rank B, this skill...