Just a quick head's up, there's going to be a brief aside before I get to the analysis,
so for those of you who'd rather not stick around for it, you can either skip ahead to
the time indicated onscreen, or use the annotation above it to automatically cut to it.
Anywho!
Happy Saint Patrick's Day, everyone… assuming we're still watching this on the 17th of
March.
This is a holiday that's taken on an entirely new meaning for me this year, as I was never
too certain on my family's ancestral background, but through the wonderful technology of DNA
testing, it turns out that about 60% of my origins are from Ireland.
This news came as quite a surprise for me, as I've had a vested interest in Celtic
cultures for several years, but I always chalked it up to basic interest and curiosity.
Either way, I've been pleased as punch to have learned this, and seeing as Saint Patrick's
Day is now a holiday for celebrating Irish heritage and culture, why not take two great
opportunities to see how a particular video game series has tackled Irish folklore?
I've been very eager to get a chance to finally talk about Type-Moon's Fate series
after discovering it in October.
After all, it's centered around people summoning figures from various world mythologies and
histories, often with designs and abilities keenly based on each famous name.
The worldly scope of Heroic Spirits in the Fate series is quite impressive, even boasting
figures from Ireland.
Specifically, I'd like to take some time today to take a look at Scáthach, a Heroic
Spirit who may have only appeared in Fate/Grand Order so far, but has seemed to pick up noticeable
popularity nonetheless.
So who exactly is Scáthach, and how true to the source material is her portrayal in
Fate/Grand Order?
I'm the Kitsune Hawk, and today, we're going to dive headfirst into Type-Moon's
Fate franchise by comparing the Lancer Servant Scáthach to her Irish mythological counterpart!
So get out your pencils, trivia enthusiasts, because this is Character Development!
Due to the
detailed nature of character designs in the Fate Series, I think it would help greatly
to start our analysis out by going over the figure that Scáthach is based on and named
after.
Scáthach is a character hailing from The Ulster Cycle, an epic saga from Ireland that
is believed to have been passed down orally some time between the 8th and 11th centuries
CE before it was first written down in Medieval manuscripts in the early 12th century.
Despite being a product of Ireland during the Dark Ages, the tale is set in the 1st
century BCE, a time when Ireland was predominantly Pagan and ruled over by regional kings, queens,
and chiefs.
The story of The Ulster Cycle follows the exploits of Cú Chulainn, a demigod and young
warrior whose adventures include seeking renown as a Knight of the Red Branch, courting noblewomen,
and fighting off entire armies.
And while the Fate series has its own interpretation of Cú Chulainn, we're not here to talk
about him (yet).
So where does Scáthach factor into the grand scheme of the epic?
Well, her role in the saga is limited to only the third chapter, Tochmarc Emire, translated
as "The Courting of Emer".
At this point in the story, Cú Chulainn seeks the noblewoman Emer for her hand in marriage,
but her father, Forgall, approaches the hero in disguise, telling him that he can only
hope to succeed if he seeks out the warrior woman Scáthach and train under her.
"But his reason for saying this was that he thought if Cú Chulainn set out, he would
never come back again, through the dangers he would put around him on the journey, and
through the wilderness and the fierceness of the people about Scáthach."
As Cú Chulainn begins his lonesome journey, the character of Scáthach is slowly expanded
upon; she's described as living on the Isle of Skye in Alba, a region we know today as
Scotland.
One of the strongest warriors in the known land, she only trains warriors who are skilled
and brave enough to make the journey to her fortress of Dún Scáith and pass the trials
along the way.
Keeping to her fortress, Scáthach is something of a hermit, even being referred to as "The
Shadow" because of her reclusiveness.
She is joined only by her few pupils, two sons, and staff of maidservants until Cú
Chulainn arrives to Dún Scáith.
Driven half-mad by his love for Emer, the hero threatens the warrior-woman at sword
point to teach him all the combat techniques she knows, or suffer a terrible demise.
Scáthach agrees, and takes in the hero as her pupil.
During his stay, Cú Chulainn joins Scáthach in a war with her rival Aífe, taking her
down single-handedly, an act showing the fruits of his instruction.
"After that, he stayed for another while with Scáthach, until he had learned all the
arts of war and all the feats of a champion; and then a message came to him to come back
to his own country, and he bade her farewell.
And Scáthach told him what would happen him in the time to come, for she had the Druid
gift; and she told him there were great dangers before him, and that he would have to fight
against great armies, and he alone; and that he would scatter his enemies, so that his
name would come again to Alba; but that his life would not be long, for he would die in
his full strength."
Before Cú Chulainn returns to Ireland, Scáthach gives the hero a parting gift, her ritual
spear, the Gáe Bolg, as a sign that he had surpassed Scáthach and Aífe as the greatest
warrior in the known lands.
From that point onward, she isn't seen for the rest of the epic.
Various interpretations have suggested what may have happened to her, including some that
state that Scáthach became a Celtic goddess of death, leading fallen warriors to the gates
of Tír na nÓg, the "land of eternal youth", but just like the shadow she was, it can't
really be said for certain what her fate truly was.
So!
With the mythological exposition now out of the way, how does the Fate series portray
Scáthach?
Well, it's established in her backstory that she was the gatekeeper and queen of the
Land of Shadows, a realm for the dead.
Over time, she began losing her ability to die like a normal human, and in response,
she grew to be increasingly closed off from the world, sought out only by warriors who
wished to be trained by the woman "as strong as a monster".
From this description, Type-Moon is already showing strong accuracy to the Irish mythos;
they're following the theory of her losing her humanity to become a Celtic goddess of
death, though in this case, it happens before she meets Cú Chulainn, not after.
Additionally, the realm of death she presides over isn't a land of abundance like it is
in Irish mythology; rather, it's more like an archetypical underworld to match her nickname
of "The Shadow".
That nickname is actually one of the most important details when it comes to the design
of Scáthach in Fate/Grand Order.
Scáthach's design utilizes a simple color palette of blacks, dark reds, and dark violets,
easily evoking the image of a shadowy warrior, alongside her noticeably long and flowing
hair.
Her various promotions even add a face mask or veil to her design to further reinforce
the shadowy image.
Fate/Grand Order also references Scáthach's Druidic background by giving her the Primeval
Rune skill, as well as a bonus resistance to magic attacks.
It's much more subtle than the color palette of her design, but still noteworthy regardless.
Now that we've covered her design and slight magic proficiency, let's talk about Scáthach's
legendary spear, the Gáe Bolg.
According to The Ulster Cycle, this spear was made from the skull of a sea monster,
and in many interpretations, it's considered a cursed spear, especially given what happens
to those impaled: "It entered a man's body with a single
wound, like a javelin, then opened into thirty barbs.
Only by cutting away the flesh could it be taken from that man's body."
From this description, we can tell that the Gáe Bolg was intended to be used as a throwing
spear in order to unleash its full power, and sure enough, if we look at Scáthach's
Noble Phantasm, "Gáe Bolg Alternative: Soaring Spear of Piercing Death," the final
part of the attack involves Scáthach doing just that: throwing the spear into her opponent,
where its barbs violently lash out from inside the enemy.
Following up on that earlier description, in a later section of The Ulster Cycle, Cú
Chulainn uses the spear on Fer Diad, and the way it's detailed in this short passage
is crucial to the Fate series' design for Scáthach.
"Láeg came forward and cut Fer Diad open and took out the Gáe Bolg.
Cú Chulainn saw his weapon bloody and crimson from Fer Diad's body…"
Notice the two words used to describe the spear: bloody and crimson.
True to that, the Fate series interprets the Gáe Bolg as a distinctive scarlet red spear.
And I quite love the attention to detail that both Cú Chulainn and Scáthach use the same
spear.
Why she has two, though, well… that's beyond me.
All things considered, I'd say that Fate/Grand Order did excellently with their portrayal
of the warrior queen of Dún Scáith.
The material may be limited, but like with most Servants in the Fate franchise, it's
handled quite well.
Even though Scáthach only makes a short appearance in The Ulster Cycle, the influence she has
on the saga as a whole is an interesting subject, and I'm glad that Type-Moon added her to
the list of Heroic Spirits with such attention to detail in her personality, design, and
backstory.
Maybe with the popularity of Fate's versions of Scáthach and Cú Chulainn, it could get
a few people to look into The Ulster Cycle or Irish mythology as a whole.
Either way, cheers to your efforts and let's hope she's due for another appearance some
time soon!
This has been Character Development!
Thank you so much for watching, and a special thank you to Lee from Arcadea for lending
his voice for The Ulster Cycle narrations!
If it's still the seventeenth of March, then happy Saint Patrick's Day!
If you enjoyed this episode, then please feel free to like the video and type your thoughts
in the comments.
If you're new to the series, you can also subscribe to be notified of new episodes!
And if you'd like to see the previous episode, on Mercy from Overwatch, you can use the on-screen
annotation on the right.
But if you're interested in something new, why not check out my friend Red Angel?
She does a variety of video types, her analytical commentary is top-notch, and her taste in
games is a lovely batch of undiscovered goodies.
Thanks again for watching, and take care everyone!
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