avalon.

ohniohn

Excepting her distinctive hair and eye colors, at first glance, Irisviel appears to be a normal human, like any other. Kind and cheerful with a mild, gentle disposition, she is the very ideal of an elegant, traditional woman brought up in noble circumstances. However, to understand who she is, we must start with what she is.

Irisviel is a homunculus created through magic by the Einzberns, a famed family of mages living in a secluded German forest. Never meant to have independent thought or desire beyond self-preservation, Irisviel was “born” the vessel for the Holy Grail, an omnipotent wish-granting device fought for in the Holy Grail War. As such, she believed herself simply a tool to be used by her family. The force that catapulted her past that state is Kiritsugu Emiya, the mage hired by the Einzberns to fight for them in the fourth Holy Grail War. While how he affected her will be discussed at a later point, it is first imperative to understand how Irisviel came to develop a sense of self. As chronicled one of the drama CDs, Kiritsugu found Irisviel to be lacking as a vessel for the Grail because she refused to defend herself against a strike. So, to test her durability, her creator cast her into the winter forest, where she would have to contend with many dangers to survive. Appalled, Kiritsugu rescued Irisviel and began educating her about the world and what it means to be human. This was the most defining moment in Irisviel’s life: given the chance to learn and grow, the homunculus flourished, and she quickly developed into the woman depicted in Fate/Zero.

Now that the stage has been set, talking about who Iri is becomes possible.

As she had no purpose beyond her role in the upcoming Grail War, Irisviel was kept away from the world in the Einzbern castle for almost the entirety of her life. This sheltered existence created a very childlike side to her personality, insatiably curious and rather disconnected from society. The former is most apparent when she and Saber first arrive in Fuyuki: Irisviel watches the city go by out the window of their vehicle with pure excitement, hoping that she will finally be able to experience things she’s read about or seen in pictures and movies. Like all of her other joys in life, including arranging outfits (which she does for Saber as well) and driving, Iri approaches both learning and experience with a nearly juvenile sense of happiness. Of course, even in these joys we see the aforementioned disconnect: the clothes she chooses for both herself and Saber are out of the ordinary enough for people to stare as the pair walks through the airport, and the way she drives is… let’s just say she’s breaking the vast majority of Japan’s traffic laws. However, in a less literal sense, Iri is also quite disconnected in that she is honest with her affections in a way that most adults have learned not to be. During a serious conversation with Kiritsugu, who eventually became her husband, she interjects specifically to call him “the man that [she] loves”; and even to Saber, who she’d known for only a very short amount of time, Iri declares that she “never gets tired of watching [her]”. In these ways, many would see Irisviel as immature, and perhaps naive.

On the other hand, the fact that Irisviel was so sheltered leads us to another conclusion: that the environment she “grew up” in was very controlled; there were very few forces to influence her development. This, in addition to Kiritsugu being the person who offered her a life beyond a simple puppet, is why her husband is such an integral part of who she is. While she is completely capable of free thought, as evidenced in the drama CD, she still claims to get her beliefs “directly from him” in the anime, including the wish that he hopes to fulfill by winning the Grail: to save the world. Even though her inexperience renders her unable to truly understand that wish, she places an unwavering faith in Kiritsugu that is witnessed multiple times through the series. For instance, when Saber and Kiritsugu are at odds over whether to launch an attack against Caster as he murders children to draw Saber out, Irisviel defers to her husband’s judgement, waiting until he appears unable to take any more before telling Saber to go. In another example, after a particularly gruesome end to a Master/Servant pair, Saber is angered by the strategy Kiritsugu employed to defeat them, and when Kiritsugu notes that this is the first time Iri has witnessed how he kills, she insists not on an explanation for herself, but for Saber.

It is interesting to note, however, neither Kiritsugu’s ideal nor her duty as the Grail’s vessel are Irisviel’s top priority: love is. In the series, this is most apparent when she, instead of protecting herself, engages Kirei Kotomine, the man that Kiritsugu identified as the single foe in the War he is afraid of, in direct combat to stop him from reaching her husband. However, perhaps a more interesting example can be found on the drama CD, after Iri identifies love as the most basic of human motivations: in the conversation where she and Kiritsugu discuss how their love is destined to end tragically, Iri guesses that Kiritsugu plans to “burn himself out” in the War; however, to keep him from destroying himself, she suggests they conceive a child together to give him a reason to live after his wish is granted and she is gone. Of course, her love eventually goes well beyond just Kiritsugu, and many times through the series, she hopes that others will never have to live like she did: she laments the fact that others treated Saber like a tool and that the former King could never enjoy simple things, like the ocean; she makes Maiya, a former child soldier who pledged herself to Kiritsugu, promise to live for herself once the War is over; and most importantly, she wishes for the end of the Holy Grail Wars so that her daughter, Illyasviel, will not have to face the same fate she does.

Still, as much as she wishes better lives for others, Irisviel is very much at peace with herself. Both on the drama CD and during the series, Kiritsugu presents her with the option of running away and living a peaceful life, and both times she refuses, choosing instead to live her purpose for his sake. She is very much aware of her short-comings, whether they are something as simple as flaws in her creation as a homunculus or, as mentioned earlier, the fact that she can never really understand the world that Kiritsugu wishes to save; and while the latter causes her some sadness, she never expresses bitterness over her circumstances. When she finally confides the entirety of her situation to Maiya, it is because the latter will not pity her. Despite the end she faces, Irisviel stands strong and steadfast, placing her husband and daughter, those she loves most, above all.

Through the near-entirety of her life, Irisviel could be said to harbor two wishes: first, to have the world her husband desires be made reality; and second, to live with her beloved family in this new world which promises the end of sadness. Neither of these wishes, however, is the one that will end up in Kyuubey's hands (er, paws?). In the case of the first wish, this is due to Irisviel's utmost confidence in Kiritsugu's ability to win the Fourth Holy Grail War and entrust his desire to the Grail, as well as the peace she's made with her own fate. The second is due to the part of the Magi contract which would take her to Nyoi-cho, effectively rendering the wish she made to be useless. For these reasons, Irisviel really shouldn't be susceptible to the offer of an Incubator. So, what could such a woman's wish be?

Upon Irisviel's death, we witness a sort of "dying dream" as her soul is absorbed by the Grail. The vision begins as she is shown a pile of her discarded predecessors; Iri recalls the shared plight of her sisters, back to the mage they were modeled after, and she begins to shed tears. The scene changes, and we are made to understand the true reason Iri is crying: her gaze is met by that of a frightened Illyasviel, who clings to her mother while recalling a nightmare she had. Though Illya does not know what it means, the nightmare is clearly about the end she will share with Iri -- their transformations into the Holy Grail -- and Irisviel weeps as she assures Illya that she will never let that happen. While the room decays, one of the discarded homunculi's blank expressions twists into a grotesque smile, and mud spills forth to engulf Irisviel as she finally realizes where she is: inside the Grail.

The following scene shows Irisviel after she has fully merged with the Grail, white dress stained black with corruption. However, I will be taking her directly prior to that moment, after she's understood the truth of the Grail but before it has affected her. This moment, when she understands that the tainted Grail will not grant Kiritsugu the world he desires, is the single time she could be convinced to make a contract with an Incubator. Why? Because it is the moment she understands that the Wars are not over -- that Illyasviel will be the next Einzbern puppet, forced to fulfill the role of Grail vessel. And thus, Irisviel wishes:

"I wish to destroy the Greater Grail -- to end the Wars and free my daughter from the shackles of fate!"

At first glance, this wish would make an improvement over how events progress in canon: the raw emotion fueling Irisviel's wish causes the Greater Grail to be destroyed violently enough that Mount Enzo collapses in on itself sometime around the beginning of episode 23. This causes the entire Grail War system to break down and the Fourth War to end abruptly, even the most willful of Servants disappearing within an hour. The rockslides do cause collateral damage to Fuyuki City, but it is either less than or approximately the same wrought by the fires of canon, albeit on the opposite side of town. Because of the differing location of the damage, Shirou's family is not killed, and he lives a happy childhood free from magic and ideals. Naturally, the Fifth War cannot take place.

Unfortunately, we are working with two Urobuchi titles, so this wish will inevitably turn sour where it counts: Kiritsugu is at Ryuudo Temple at the time Irisviel makes her wish, and he is caught in the collapse of the mountain. While his Magecraft allows him to escape death by rocks, he is left incapacitated and unable to fight at full strength when Kirei Kotomine arrives to investigate the end of the Greater Grail. Kiritsugu dies by Kirei's hand, leaving no one to retrieve Illyasviel from the Einzbern castle in Germany. Because of this, Illya must grow up alone as in canon, except for the further indifference, and even disdain she will have to endure from Acht.

Irisviel's active ability, plain and simple, is superhuman strength. This is derived from the first half of her wish, which is phrased actively and is focused on the "destruction" of something. It is also derived from the old idea of a mother seeing her child in danger and gaining an adrenaline-powered boot to save them, as this is the sentiment behind Irisviel's wish. At first, she will be able to lift one ton comfortably, but can strain for up to two tons (a typical sedan weighs around 1.5 tons). Her strength can be upgraded through gameplay rewards.

Her passive ability, derived from the last part of her wish ("free[dom]" from "shackles"), is mental immunity, i.e. a freedom from shackles of the mind. As such, Irisviel will not be affected by empathic influence, illusions, psychic suggestion, hypnosis, and other like powers. She is, however, still vulnerable to having her mind read. If needed, this can begin as a resistance and be upgraded to an immunity through gameplay rewards.