Master: Shinji Matou
Height: 172 cm
Weight: 57 kg
BWH: 88-56-84
Armament: dagger
Likes: alcohol, reading, snakes
Dislikes: mirrors, measuring height
Talents: horse riding, acrobatics, stalking
Famous quote: "You appear to be a brave person, unlike my master. I shall kill you kindly."
The Servant of Shinji, first spotted around Homurabara Academy. Rider is quiet, alluring, and watchful, always ready to protect her Master from danger. With Shinji unable to provide her with mana, she must find other ways to enhance her abilities. To make up for her weakness, Rider uses stealthy combat tactics and fully exploits the environment around her. Her weapon of choice is a pair of long iron nails attached to opposite ends of a single chain, which she skillfully hurls from a distance.
Rider was originally summoned by Sakura. Due to Sakura's reluctance to act as a Master, Shinji Matou is instead given control over Rider.
Rider's true identity is Medusa, the Gorgon from Greek mythology. Rather than being a typical Heroic Spirit, she is closer to a Divine Spirit, but her actions classify her more as an "anti-hero bordering on monster." Alongside her older sisters Stheno and Euryale, they formed the three Gorgon Sisters who lived on the Shapeless Isle. Known as the "woman who dominates," she became an anti-hero due to humanity's dark thoughts. Unlike someone like Hassan-i-Sabbah, who was a real hero, she is said to have emerged from legends shaped by collective belief.
The legend of Medusa differs from her actual life. She was portrayed as a half-human, half-god creature often depicted with snake-like features. Originally, she was an Earth Goddess. All were beautiful women initially, but Poseidon's wife hated them because of his love for them. Jealous Athena transformed them into demons due to their beautiful hair. They secluded themselves in a lightless temple on the Shapeless Isle, attacking humans only when provoked. Eventually, as a victim of the gods' unreasonable actions, she was beheaded on their whim. Defeated by Perseus using his mirrored shield to reflect her petrifying gaze back at her, Pegasus, son of Poseidon, sprang from the blood of her headless neck.
In her backstory, she was mocked by her sisters for being mortal unlike them, and after Athena sent her followers to attack them, she turned into a man-eating monster that devoured them. At the time of her death, she reminisced about how they actually loved each other and accepted that she misses her time with them. One reason she sympathizes with Sakura is because she recognizes Sakura's brokenness too.
