#connla

so much is happening....

Real photograph from the Táin Bó Cúailnge, never seen before

when there was yet Light in the Thirteenth...

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She resembles Touko in a way

Given Scath is an Aoko face, it's kinda fitting.

Aife is Scathach's rival and depending on the saga, her sister as well. Scathach and Aife were getting ready to fight, but Scathach didn't want Cu fighting her so she gave him a potion that normally knocks people out for 24 hours but only lasted an hour on him so of course, he joins the fray as Scathach's champion. Before the fighting, he asks Scath what Aife loves the most and its her chariot and horses.

During the fight, she breaks Cu's sword and Cu decides to say that her chariot and horses have fallen over a cliff. When she turns away to look for her chariot, he overpowers her and carries her back over to his side, saying he'll only spare her if she bears him a son. She gets pregnant and he tells her when their kid is 7 years old to come find him, but never reveal his identity to anyone before giving her a ring to give to their son and leaves.

Years later, Connla--the son goes looking for Cu and finds him. But because of Cu's old rule how he must not identify himself, Cu ends up killing him and realizes Connla was his son because of the ring.

Of all people you really wouldn't have expected Cu to be the one to pull a 'haha made you look' to win a fight.

Well in the old myths heroes were supposed to be clever and cunning as well as strong, so it makes sense that they make use of “tactics” 

Personality

Aife is proud of her talent, skills and achievements, and does not bear any slight against them. She can get fiercely competitive when confronted with a new and fresh challenge, not resting till she is the undisputed winner.

“Second place is just First Loser, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”  

A natural born warrior, she leads by virtue of strength, often being rather short-tempered and rude against those who are meek. Generous and magnamious with sharing the spoils, and strict and demanding in a fight, Aife is a harsh taskmaster, who nonetheless cares greatly for her subordinates. 

In life, her coterie was a group of like-minded warriors who delighted in tasting the thrills of a battlefield, and since Aife promised and delivered them enough battles to sate their appetites, they followed her without a question. Even to their deaths.

Aife respects those who work hard and make their own way, disdaining an unearned reward. Her passions run high and her blood runs hot, but underneath all the steel, Aife hides a quiet inferiority complex and capacity for self-recrimination. 

There are more hidden regrets and grief in that heart of hers than we can ever know. 

Motivation / Attitude towards the Master

Concerning the Master, Aife often treats the relationship as that of a lord and a supplicant. She believes that she is lending her aid, her strength, for someone else’s gain and that her master should treat her generous gift with an appropriate amount of respect. 

She can be impetuous and will often dismiss ideas suggested by her master if she thinks she can do something better. One must earn her respect first to be seen as worthy of command in her eyes. Prizing loyalty and honor above all else, if she finds out that her Master has been consorting with those that she has deemed her enemies, she will not hesitate to confront him over it, going as far as to resort to violence, if needed. However, with a compatible Master who understands her, she is liable to feel happiness and loyalty, going to great lengths to demonstrate the same. 

The wish Aife would want to make on the grail is something she doesn’t share easily...but it is simply to summon her son, Connla, so she could ask his forgiveness. “To redo my life would be pulling a curtain on my failings...to simply erase all that I was, flaws and all. That is not acceptable.”  

Dialogue Examples

“Bring me more men to fight! Weak though they may be, nothing feels better than spilling some blood!”

“Master? Hah, it’s a funny title. Prove yourself worthy of it first.”

“Oi Oi! Don’t leave just yet! I have not finished winning!”

“Sister? You are here too? Excellent! Come, let’s have a duel….h-hey, don’t just walk away! Master! You saw her smirk, right? That insufferable bitch! ”

“You think we are going to fight? No, I am going to slaughter you.”

Historical Image and Character

A female warrior who acted as a rival to Scathach in Celtic/Ulster mythology. Hailing from the lands of Armorica, where dead souls were said to go. She acts as the Ferryman, a psychopomp…bearing the countless ghosts on Manann’s boats from Skye to her lands.

A duty that was in contrast to her sister’s status as the guardian of the haunted grounds. As the ferryman of souls, Aife has Manann’s blessings and wields weapons of the sea, including a spear that she made after slaying the great sea-beast Curruid. A genius warrior and charioteer, Aife possesses a tremendous strength that was sufficient to overwhelm Cu Chulainn, and give Scathach a pause. It was only through trickery and deceit that she was defeated and left at Cu’s mercy. A grievous insult, that she never forgot and wrought her terrible vengeance over.

Character Image in “Fate/Grand Order”

Master- have you ever truly regretted something? It's a strange question, I know...but an important one. Have you ever wished to take back your actions? To do better, act better than you have? No? Well, you have had a luckier life than I. Oh, I don't regret fighting my sister, trying to prove my dominance...I do not regret my losses and failures, as they made me who I am today... But there is something that I do regret. Pass me that wine, Master...this is not easy to speak of. One does not admit one's greatest shame that easily. Not even to someone you trust. Hmm...where was I...ah yes...In the last year of my life , It had become my habit, to look upon the horizon from atop the rocks of  my black island...my gaze turned northward. Towards Hibernia.

I told myself that it was just my excitement, my desire to see my revenge's completion...yet when the skies turned blood-hued and the storms billowed upon the frothy seas, my heart sank. I knew the deed was done....and I knew, without a shadow of doubt...that I had won nothing. I had truly lost. The cries of seagulls warred with the  Bean Síde's keening, and yet, the loudest wails were my own. I wish I knew why I felt this hollow...this empty. I had never loved him...never thought the child mine own, but a product of my shame. He was not born of love. 

He was born a crime. Yet, all those reasons that I told myself, did nothing to dampen my tears. Hah, You may think such base weakness is most unlike me, and you aren't wrong...but it is also the truth. A warrior fierce I may be, but within my breast beats a heart that feels. Sometimes I wish it didn't. For even now, when I close my eyes, in my heart's fond memories...I see that little boy...his hair as red as a sunset, and his clear blue eyes, that held all the calm for my tempest.  When I close my eyes, in my heart's deep regrets...I see his red and blue vanish amidst the seas that I ruled over. Corals, his bones became...pearls now, his eyes are... -and when I awake, I wake up cold, and shivering. Alone. I have never been good at failing, Master. You know that. When I lose, I try again, and again and again...till victory is mine. Yet this victory was no victory at all, for in it's pursuit...I had lost myself. What did I do then, you ask ? Well, what do you expect? I could not live with my failure....so I died with it. Do I regret my death? No...I do not. Such an end was richly deserved. Nor do I regret my life. However, I do wish I had been kinder to that little boy, who had loved me.

◆◆◆ A warrior princess from the Ulster cycle, Aife presents herself as a fervent battle-maiden, who relishes in the challenges and rigors of war. Delighting in duels as well as wholescale slaughter, it is difficult to turn her away from the carnage, even for an experienced Master. 

Yet, underneath all the steel, Aife nurses a quiet regret...regret that she sees as a weakness and doesn’t share often, if at all. For her, to show even a single vulnerability is worse than death. 

Sharing a domain with her sister over the afterlife, Aife when summoned, boasts the capabilities of a Top Servant, with a Saint Graph that can rival her sister’s. Though she died at the end of her lifetime and didn’t become a Divine Spirit, her legendary rivalry with Scathach seems to have boosted her graph enough to ensure an even match. 

Connections with Characters

Cú Chulainn

The object of her unrelenting hate, he is the man who shamed her and set her down the path that led to her ruin. 

His mere mention brings unwelcome memories to the surface, and if faced with him again, Aife would ignore all else in favor of attempting to disembowel him.

Scáthach

A rival and an equal. Someone that Aife has measured herself against all her life, and has sought to surpass. She doesn’t hate her sister, though she claims to hold no love for her either. One might say they are Frenemies...but saying that is injurious to one’s health. Medb

A lovestruck fool that thinks with her loins than her brains. A disappointing excuse for a Queen, in Aife’s opinion.

Fergus

Aife thinks rather low of him, seeing him as a mannerless brute who reared an equally uncouth whelp. His ineffectual bloodline shouldn’t have existed as long as it did.

Penthesilea A warrior that suffered equally at the hands of uncaring, despicable men. While they haven’t met yet, they might either get along too well, or disagree violently. Either way, the Carrot rider and the Mutt lancer nervously pray that such a day never comes. 

Comment from Illustrator

I was requested to draw the sister of Sca-"Boobie Tights"-thach. Her design is based a bit off Touko as reference to how her sister resembles a certain Type-Moon heroine, with her clothes being the typical skin-tight erotic bodysuit worn by the Celtics (mileage may vary outside of Fate). 

The request was for her to be a bit more heavily-armored than Scathach, and with a blue palette for the design, so I tried my best with balancing it to look enough like Scathach for people to say "hey, that's her sister!" while being different enough to stand on her own. 

I imagine she'd be the type to go around challenging people to duels while in Chaldea. By the way, please focus on her thighs. That is her main appeal. (Grape)

Comment from Author

Aife in mythos doesn’t quite have a character or much of an agency, beyond being the plot device that leads to Connla and his subsequent death. So, with that little to work with, I tried to give her legends and feats that might have been feasible, without taking that away from an existing hero, like how Scathach took Fionn’s godslaying feats. 

While reading about Aife and the time period, I noticed a neat detail about Gallic legends of souls coming over the sea from Skye, associated with Manann. In that same vein, Death of Aife’s only son mentions Aife leading a host from Armorica, which comprised of lands beyond the sea from Hibernia...one of them being Gaul. So, decided to mix the two legends, and made Aife a conqueror from over-the-sea, who rode the oceans using gifts that Manann granted her, in an effort to make her a bit more interesting and to provide her a backstory that was sorely lacking. 

As for why Aife? Well, the credit for that goes to a Fate-based DnD hosted by /u/Silvershadow2001, where she is a Rider class servant. That inspired me to make my own take on her.  

Voice Lines

Summon

Behold the fiercest warrior in all of Éire! I am Aife, Queen of Armorica. Hmpf...you don’t look like much...do you think you have what it takes to command me?

Level Up

This strength...it’s not enough to be satisfied with just this...MORE! 

Ascension 1

Ah, my familiar armor has returned...do you think this is for your benefit? Don’t make me laugh.

Ask me nicely, and maybe I will lend you some of my strength!

Ascension 2

A plateau of my power. This suffices for now, but I can be stronger still. 

Ascension 3

Ha! Now this is more like it! With this power at my disposal, I will bathe in the blood of your enemies!

Ascension 4

You really are a persistent one to bring me this far. Fine, fine...I am not ungrateful. Come, hop aboard...I will show you the true might of Aife from atop my chariot!

Battle Start 1

Morrigan’s crows gather! I sense a slaughter to come. 

Battle Start 2

Your head is not worthy to grace the tip of my spear!

Skill 1

There is none who can withstand this power!

Skill 2

Let me show you what it means to stand against me.

Command Card 1

Fine.

Command Card 2

Let’s do this! 

Command Card 3

Piece of cake!

Noble Phantasm Card 1

If I must... you know it’s going to be overkill!

Noble Phantasm Card 2

Finally! My chariot will reap many souls today!

Noble Phantasm Card 3

Come Enbarr! Come Mhara! It is time to ride!

Attack 1

No match for me!

Attack 2

Hah!

Attack 3

Die already!

Extra Attack

You only prolong your demise!

Noble Phantasm 1

Rip through blood and bone, don't stop till you pierce the heart! SOARING SPEAR OF VICTORY! GAE BUAID!

Noble Phantasm 2

Its tread will grind your bones to dust. Lay waste to the enemy, my chariot!  CARBAD NA AIGÉAN!

Noble Phantasm 3

This is the last resort...with sorrow, I make promises three. Aided Óenfhir Aífe.

Noble Phantasm 1 (Alt)

Unfettered and glorious, fly my spear! SOARING SPEAR OF VICTORY ! GAE BUAID!

Noble Phantasm 2 (Alt)

Flee! Flee before the unstoppable might of Aife! The chase makes your blood taste sweeter! CARBAD NA AIGÉAN!

Damage

Ugh!

Damage from Noble Phantasm

Argh...this was barely a scratch.

Defeat 1

I...lost? Kill me. I would rather die than submit again.

Defeat 2

Connla...no ...forgive me...

Battle Finish 1

Each foe I slay is but a prelude to my final goal. Go, find me more!

Battle Finish 2

A complete rout. None can withstand the advance of my chariot.

Bond 1

Tch...I promised myself that I would never submit again...yet here I am. I may be your Servant now, but think yourself above me and I will strew your guts all over the floor. 

Bond 2

Still following me around? I told you to get lost. Your face reminds me that I am once more at someone's mercy.

Bond 3

You really aren't scared of me? That's as amusing as it is infuriating. Fine, very well, pull up a chair and get a drink. If we are to converse as companions, it won't be while we are sober.

Bond 4

Staring so intently at the ring around my neck? My, Aren't you the nosy sort? 

No matter , no matter. Curiosity is not a crime. If you must know...that ring is a burden I bear...a symbol of my regrets.

Bond 5

I do not regret my death, but my life...I wish I had been kinder to the little boy who thought the world of me. 

He loved me, trusted me...and I had him killed. 

What? You look a little pale....are you finally scared of me now, Master?

Don't be. Though you remind me of him...I do not intend to repeat my mistakes.

Dialogue 1

If you have time to talk, you have time to improve yourself. Don’t chatter around idly when there’s work to be done.

Dialogue 2

I am a Queen, a Warrior, a Ferryman of souls.I have always met challenges head-on. This Grand Order of yours is nothing different.

Dialogue 3

What? You thought I looked sad? No...no...just thinking. Master, you have gathered many heroes...some scarcely more than children, have you not? Perhaps, one day...one more will join those ranks. 

Dialogue 4 (Scathach)

Sister? You are here too? Excellent! Come, let’s have a duel….h-hey, don’t just walk away! Master! You saw her smirk, right? That insufferable bitch!

Dialogue 5 (Scathach Assassin)

This is an outrage! Why does she have a swimsuit before me, a daughter of the sea? Remedy this error NOW, Master.

Dialogue 6 (Skadi)

Hahahah! My sister looks adorable with that little magical wand. Is this what you wanted to be all along, mighty Mistress of Skye? A fairy princess?

Dialogue 7 (Cu Chulainn)

Where is he? Show yourself,  defiler! Come and face me, vaunted Child of Light! Hiding will not save your head from being mounted on my spear!

Dialogue 8 (Cu Chulainn Alter)

Ugly. Monstrous. Apathetic. Lonely. One for whom all joy has turned to ash...

It gives my heart great joy to see you brought so low,  Cu Chulainn.

Dialogue 9 (Medb)

So great in stature...so lacking in dignity. Disappointing.

Dialogue 10 (Fergus)

Tsk. Like father, like son. 

This bloodline should have been drowned at birth before they rutted and whelped.

Dialogue 11 (Penthesilea)

We are not so different, you and I, Queen of the Amazons. I wish your vengeance doesn't bring you to greater grief, like it did me.

Likes

What I like? I prize honor and loyalty above all else. Yes, even more than a good challenge.

Dislikes

The hell you mean? Is it not obvious what I dislike? That mongrel, Cu Chulainn.

About the Holy Grail

Such a thing is rather tempting...but no. There is a certain someone I would like to see again, but I will not disturb his repose by summoning him thus. He has earned his peaceful rest.

About the Holy Grail (Bond 5)

Tempting as it is, I will not use the Grail. My only wish is to speak with Connla once more...but I do not have the right to make such demands.

Perhaps, one day, this wish of mine will come to pass. I will endure till then.

During an Event

What is all this commotion ? Something interesting? Ah well, if there’s fights to be had, count me in. 

Birthday

It’s your birthday huh? Well, celebrate today while you still draw breath. Death may come tomorrow.

Birthday

(Bond 5)

What? You didn't think I would acknowledge the day of your birth? Don't be silly! Who else will I share this jar of fine Armorican wine with? Stop making that silly face and come, join me. Time's a-wasting!

Bond 10 Reward

Gae Buaid Alternative (Replica) 

In my land, when a child comes of age,he is given arms that he bears with pride. They are a mark of his becoming an adult. 

That child’s father had carried the weapons of his foster-father... but I had nothing of the Child of Light to give to that boy. 

Nor would I have, even if I did. 

So, I crafted a spear for that boy, not unlike the one I carried myself, with great pride. I still remember how his sea blue eyes, matching the spear, lit up with happiness when I presented him with it...before I gave him another gift. 

The geas that bound him. His doom. 

That boy is gone now, and this old spear is now in pieces, but I keep them around still. 

An odd sentimentality? Perhaps. 

Perhaps I am just waiting to return them to him again.

Biography in Fate Grand Order

Unlock 

Description

Default

A warrior-queen from Celtic - Ulster mythology.

She possessed enough strength to rule over the seas, acting as the ferryman of countless dead souls...enough strength to challenge her sister, Scathach.

She fought Cu Chulainn on even grounds, and broke his sword, till he tricked her, leading to her defeat. 

After this, she was forced to make peace with Scathach and bear Cu Chulainn a son : Connla. 

Bond 1

Height/Weight : 180 cm/68 kg Source : Tochmarc Emire, Aided Óenfhir Aífe Region : Ireland

Alignment : Neutral Evil

Gender : Female

Tread lightly, for you stand before me. One wrong move, and my chariot shall carry your soul away

Bond 2

Peerless Warrior B

Renowned for her power and strength, she was the one who could rival even Scathach. Knowing this, the Mistress of Skye tried to keep her prized pupil away from Aife for fear of him coming to harm at her hands. During the great duel between the Hound of Culann and Aife, she dominated the battle. At the duel’s peak, she dealt him such a mighty blow that his sword shattered in his hand, and in desperation, he cried out that “Aife’s chariot, charioteer and horses are falling into the glen!”

Her horror at the prospect of losing her beloved chariot proved to be her undoing, and her moment’s distraction was enough for Cu to defeat her. 

Still, the fact that Ulster’s greatest hero had to resort to deceit to defeat her, is a testament to her might.  

Bond 3

Beloved Chariot of the Warrior Woman

Rank: A+

Type: Anti-Army

Carbad na Aigéan Aife’s greatest treasure, granted to her by Manann, the God of the Sea. It’s a mighty chariot drawn by the horses Énbarr and Mhara, which can ride upon Land and Sea alike. When given this treasure by Manann, he imposed a condition that the chariot would return to him once it was submerged in the sea, and since then, Aife guarded it jealously. 

She used it to travel across the oceans, often raiding her sister’s island of Skye and the neighboring islands of the Hebrides.

She does not like using this often, keeping this Noble Phantasm hidden away except in dire situations.

It’s a Buster-Type Noble Phantasm that deals heavy damage to all enemies, with a chance to inflict death. Chance increases with overcharge.  

Bond 4

Scuabtuinne, The Wavesweeper

Rank B

Type : Anti-Fortress

A legendary boat that needed no sailors, no crew. One that feared no storms and rode upon the mightiest of waves. It is through Manann’s blessings that she can sometimes “borrow” this treasure...but she will deny any proof of its existence when asked about it.

“No thanks! The Chariot was lesson enough. I am not bringing out the Wavesweeper, no matter what.”  

Bond 5

Proud, mighty and a born-warrior...this Queen of blood and steel shows no weakness, hiding her vulnerabilities behind a sharp tongue and sharper blades. 

However, to those lucky enough to know her, she can be extremely loyal and friendly. To those select few, she reveals her carefully masked emotions and deep regrets. 

It is both a burden and a privilege to be witness to that.

Extra 

When the evening draws to a close and a storm gathers on the horizon, Aife will sometimes reflect upon the dying day and is overcome by a deep melancholy. 

Hers is a regret that one cannot understand with ease, and hers is a sorrow that cannot be healed with time...but a true friend doesn’t need words to support her in those rare moments. 

Sometimes, just the proof of a bond’s existence suffices. 

“Enough of this moping, Master. Come, let’s find me a fight” she says, but it is with a thankful smile.

Cu Chulainn: Killing his own son

Emer: Being told her husband has Love Sickness, telling him to go fix that problem, and then being surprised at what fixing Love Sickness entails.

Conchobar Mac Nessa: Literally, his entire career

Conall Cernach: Getting his ass kicked by a 7 year old

Medb: Gathering the biggest army the continent had ever seen, only to get curbstomped by a 17-year-old

Scathach: Honestly, a lot of Scathach's career is a cringe compilation, but special shoutouts goes to failing to drug a 6-year-old.

Aoife: Getting her ass kicked by a 6-year-old (or maybe a 10 year old, if you're being generous)

Uathach: Selling out her mom's time of vulnerability so a demigod she had a crush on could go threaten said mom to get engaged to Uathach (this one could be considered a power move though)

Fergus Mac Roich: Getting his sword stolen while in the middle of cucking Ailill

Ailill: Accidently hampering Connacht's war effort by stealing Fergus' sword as a haha funny joke

Connla: Being so short he needed to stand on two pillars to reach the height of an adolescent girl (Cu is described as being the height of an adolescent girl by Medb)

Laeg: Nothing, Laeg did nothing wrong