Ereshkigal

The goddess of the underworld in Sumerian mythology.

She wields a spear-shaped cage, capable of skewering her enemies, trapping souls, and summoning lightning at will. She is the ruler of the underworld, and is to be feared.

From the day of her birth, she was entrusted with the governance of the underworld. When the Age of Gods ended, she disappeared without ever knowing the surface world or freedom.

In this form, she has manifested not as the goddess Ereshkigal, but as a Pseudo-Servant whose vessel is the soul of a human girl who shared certain characteristics with her.

She claims her job is simply to watch over the souls of humans as befits a goddess of the underworld. She does, however, have this complaint:

"...I really don't like it when too many people flock to the underworld all at once. Making cages to trap souls is a pain...and I'm not sure if I can make this place comfortable for everyone..."

As you can see, she doesn't do a spectacular job of hiding just how much she likes taking care of people.

She is truly the underworld's (red) angel.

Height/Weight: 159cm, 47kg

Origin: Ancient Mesopotamian Mythology

Region: Mesopotamia

Alignment: Chaotic-Evil

Sub-Attribute: Earth

Gender: Female

"I don't like humans at all. The living give me the creeps. But if you really want to spend time together, I wouldn't mind, as long as you're willing to die first."

According to Mesopotamian mythology, she governed the growth and decay of plants, employed snakes and dragons, and controlled the gallû spirits who were the underworld's workers.

Ishtar, the mistress of heaven, and Ereshkigal, the mistress of the underworld, are rivals.

For Mesopotamians, Ishtar (Inanna) is the goddess of the harvest and who represents human life: the Great Earth Mother. Ereshkigal, on the other hand, represents the death of all humans, making her the Terrible Earth Mother.

Myth tells of Ishtar journeying to the underworld, where Ereshkigal kills her.

Later, Ishtar is revived, but the reason for Ishtar's journey, and why Ereshkigal was so angry are never explained. In FGO, they are described as being two sides of the same coin.

Ishtar and Ereshkigal...

These two gods are one, perhaps even having split off from a single divinity.

『Kur Ki Gal Irkalla』

Rank: A

NP Type: Anti-Mountain

Range: 10-999

Maximum Targets: 1000

The Bellows of the Underworld that Trample the Sacred Mountain.

The same as Ishtar's Noble Phantasm, An Gal Ta Ki Gal Šè. However, Ereshkigal does not hurl her attack from the heavens themselves, but strikes up from the depths of the underworld, rending the land asunder from beneath its surface.

This tremendous blast creates devastating earthquakes and tectonic movement that destroy mount Ebih.

It may not quite have the firepower of Ishtar's Venus blaster, but the true strength of this Noble Phantasm is that it changes the land, making it part of the underworld. As Ereshkigal has absolute authority within the underworld, all who fight alongside her will receive powerful protection.

Magic Resistance: D

Nullifies any magecraft that is ranked D and under.

Being in the dreary environment of the underworld for so long has made death an everyday thing, substantially lowering Ereshkigal's Magic Resistance.

The Secret Great Crown: A

A divine crown said to have been created from the treasure taken away from Ishtar.

As they are like Heaven and Earth, and two sides of the same coin, Ereshkigal possesses the same Authorities as Ishtar, but they have been altered to have somewhat dark (read: gloomy) effects.

Mana Burst (Cage): A+

Ereshkigal is serious, hardworking, and a bit of a melancholy goddess.

At every opportunity, she stores magical energy in her spear-cages, and she uses it during battle.

Blessing of Kur: EX

One of Ereshkigal's Authorities, granted to her as the ruler and pillar of the underworld.

As she governed the underworld until the very end, she became the underworld, and it protected its queen.

It supports all of her allies, and also alters the performance of her Noble Phantasm.

She has a passive and introverted personality.

Her great pride and intellect cause her to sacrifice every part of herself to her duties as the goddess of death and decay.

She is jealous of all things beautiful, laughs at things that are ugly, and kills the things she desires in order to prevent others from laying claim to them.

...That was the original Ereshkigal, but after she fused with the girl who became her vessel, she came to admit that all such tendencies were embarrassing and inappropriate, and so she swept her brutal nature under the rug.

However, since she is still very impulsive, she turns back into the terrifying (and disappointing) goddess of myth whenever she gets angry.

This behavior is entirely Ereshkigal, so she may seem both cooler-headed and yet more self-deprecating than the girl who is serving as her vessel.

She may sound a lot like Ishtar, but she also talks like an elegant lady at times.

Whenever she inadvertently acts meekly or goes into a panic, she may overexaggerate and pepper her speech with unnecessary adjectives, but that is a remnant of her original, polite nature. Ishtar, who should have been raised to be prim and proper, talks like a bit of a brat since she was so spoiled and raised as a carefree child. On the other hand, Ereshkigal, who spent her entire life working hard in the underworld, picked up the mannerisms and speech of a cherished (read: sheltered) noblewoman.

Ereshkigal has long been tormented by the fact that no one likes her.

"I want to be able to live freely like Ishtar. I want to meet someone who accepts me for who I am, for being the mistress of the underworld AND for what I am beyond that."

That was her dearest wish, and sounds rather like what a lovestruck maiden might hope for.

"Look, I won't deny I'm playing the heel here, but I'm useful to humanity BECAUSE I'm evil! I don't understand why you're all so frightened of me!"

Even as she moped about, she saw what was happening in Mesopotamia and realized that it was heading towards its end. So she decided to protect humanity in her own way by joining the Three Goddess Alliance and becoming an enemy of Uruk.

After that, a lot of things happened and she sank into the abyss. Then a lot of others things happened and she chose to accept herself as she is and cooperate with Chaldea's mission.

The spear that she holds in her hand is called the Burning Shrine, Meslamtaea.

Its light warms the depths of the earth, and was specially granted to her current Spirit Origin.