Andromeda

A sacrificial maiden described in Greek mythology. She was offered to a leviathan to quell the gods' anger, only for the great hero Perseus to save her when he happened across the scene. She is frequently depicted in chains, shackled to a boulder by the sea.

It is said that after Perseus saved her, Andromeda wed him and bore him many children. Among their descendants was the famed hero Heracles, her great-grandson.

Height/Weight: 162cm, 51kg

Origin: Greek Mythology

Region: Ethiopia (Aethiopia)

Alignment: Lawful-Good

Sub-Attribute: Earth

Gender: Female

A tomboy princess with a knack for swimming.

Ethiopia (Aethiopia) means "land of the sun-tanned." However, it may not necessarily correspond to the modern nation of Ethiopia.

Andromeda is described in Greek mythology as follows:

Once upon a time, Cassiopeia, wife of King Cepheus of Ethiopia (Aethiopia), boasted that her beauty (or in some versions, her daughter's beauty) surpassed even that of the Nereids, the sea nymphs. This incurred their wrath, as well as that of Poseidon, leading the kingdom to be attacked by high tides and the sea monster Cetus.

Cepheus received an oracle stating that they might be forgiven if Andromeda was sacrificed to Cetus. And so, he chose to offer his daughter up to the leviathan by chaining her to a boulder near the ocean.

However, Perseus (after slaying Medusa) encountered Andromeda and defeated the monster by using Medusa's head to turn it to stone. Andromeda's former betrothed then attacked Perseus, but Perseus once again used Medusa's head to defeat his enemies, then married Andromeda and returned to his homeland.

Daughter of Cassiopeia A

Andromeda is the daughter of Cassiopeia, queen of Ethiopia (Aethiopia). Her entire saga began when Cassiopeia boasted of her (or her daughter's) beauty to the Nereids, daughters of the sea. Cassiopeia became a constellation next to her husband, King Cepheus, but it is said Poseidon's anger on behalf of the Nereids remains unsatisfied even now, and so she is always visible in the night sky, never allowed to sink into the sea.

Oracle's Chains, Nereids EX

The chains that bound Andromeda to a rock thrust into the sea at the behest of an oracle. They embody the Nereids' rage at Cassiopeia's boasts and are always with Andromeda. She cannot escape them, even when they appear invisible to the eye. Representing Andromeda's inescapable fate in the face of the Nereids' anger, these chains may be akin to a curse. While they must forever be chains of prophecy prepared for a sacrifice to appease the Nereids' anger, at some point, she began calling the chains by the sea nymphs' very name.

The chains bind her fate to the rock. But...there's always a boulder at the other end of that chain. Basically, now that she's a Servant, she fights by swinging giant boulders on chains like flails.

Aethiopia Cetus

Rank: C

NP Type: Anti-Army

Range: 1-50

Maximum Targets: 300 people

Leviathan Slumbering in the Sea.

Cetus is a sea monster set upon mortals by Poseidon after he learned of the sea nymphs' anger. It was meant to devour Andromeda, but Perseus, who was nearby at the time, used Medusa's head to petrify it before it could. Even now, it sleeps beneath the waves of Aethiopia where it encountered the hero.

This Noble Phantasm conflates the mythical events of Andromeda being chained to a rock and Cetus turning to stone, allowing Andromeda to drag Cetus up from the depths and ride it into battle. While Cetus's true nature remains unclear, it is believed to be a whale-like aquatic dragon species. (While it has become a whale constellation, it is generally depicted not as a whale, but a monster.) In Andromeda's own words, "Cetus is...Cetus, y'know? (looks away)" She doesn't really know what it is, either.

She prepared chains so that she could not escape the place of her doom, all to satisfy a nonexistent prophecy. She shackled herself to the rock, and waited. She hid a terribly flimsy weapon behind her. As long as she killed it, it was fine. Even if she couldn't and died...she would have fulfilled her role as tribute.

But when the monster appeared, she froze. Tears poured down her cheeks. Her weapon slipped between numb, trembling fingers and clattered to the ground. There was nothing she could do... Absolutely nothing. She was shocked and disappointed at herself. But then, someone descended from the heavens: Perseus. A true hero.

"I should be grateful to Perseus. But I think the moment he saved me...the hero I aspired to be died."

Now that she has become a Servant and gained the power to fight, she thinks this might finally be her chance. Maybe this time, she can be a hero, maybe she can save someone. Of course, that includes the man she once loved. She was no hero, so she couldn't understand him, but in unguarded moments, she caught glimpses of his weariness.

"Maybe if I was a hero, if we stood on equal ground... Would I have understood your sadness? Would those happy days have been the better for it? I wonder if you might have smiled more, if you might have been a little less sad."

This time will be different, she thinks. To become a hero, become someone able to support him.

With a forced, sunny smile on her face and an indomitable spirit, she sets out...as she fights down the shiver running through her entire body with sheer determination and courage.