Childhood

Fie was born the sole child of a family of mages in Roskilde, Denmark, known for their very few and very powerful mages. The pressure of being the only (surviving) child was immense, contributed to by the bitter, fervent ambitions of her parents.

Their family, although powerful and respected in Denmark and western Europe, was held at arms length by the Clocktower due to their willingness to change the human condition to further magecraft. Each generation pushes the envelope of experimentation, toeing the line of ethics.

In truth, they had gone into human experimentation and selective breeding generations before Fie's time. The family did not disclose the birth of heirs until they had reached age 5 because of their high childhood mortality rate. Children were extensively tested to assure quality of magical circuits. Similar tests occured for amount of magical circuits and crests, with as many additional ones as the body could take being surgically implanted (it took the family several years--and offspring--to determine what that amount was).

Tired of being snubbed and skipped by the Clocktower, the Nielsens decided to join the Holy Grail War to seek the Root. Their first attempt involved Fie's father, Lucas, shortly after he was married to his wife, Nora (daughter of another mage family closely involved with the Nielsens). As soon as he summoned a servant in the HGW, his command seal hand was severed by an assassin/rival master. The servant almost killed him, now an enemy to his previous master, but he was able to run from the situation.

At that point, Nora had already had her first child, a son named William. He was 6 years older than Fie, passing away right before her birth. His body could not handle the intensity and amount of magical energy coursing through his circuits and shut down, leaving him in a coma. He died shortly after and the family used the opportunity to harvest his organs and magical circuits for his younger sister.

Fie's childhood, as a result of her family's failure in her brother and ambition towards the Grail, was only focused on molding her into a Grail War machine. Her eyes--created by her mother by altering a pair of mystic eyes she had obtained on the black market--were implanted when she was only 5 years old. All of the surgeries Fie was subjected to were imbued with magecraft, so though she can hide the scars and sutures similarly with magecraft, they will never be fully healed. And as she continued to grow, the implanted circuits and crests required upkeep through surgical grafting and immunosuppression. In truth, Fie's family wished her to have metallic skeletal implants to fully utilize her gravitational magic, but it would have restricted her physical growth and they were unable to.

Days upon days turned into years upon years of magecraft tutoring, weapons and martial arts training, battle simulation, war history/strategy classes, survival drills, and a bit of classical schooling for Fie. All her training was for the goal of becoming the apex master in a Holy Grail War--being able to command individuals and armies, defend herself (even from servants), and assassinate enemies. Lucas and Nora gave their daughter bare minimum care as parents and instead became teachers to their daughter. Fie's emotions, not to mention her mental state, were numbed for the sake of her objective, and she grew up knowing no different. The only time she saw things that weren't related to battle were the rare occasion of a nurse or maid showing her a movie. She was, when living with her family, more accustomed to the touch of a latex glove and view of a fluorescent surgical lamp than her own mother's hands or eyes.

First Holy Grail War

Fie's destiny came to meet her at age 16, her first Holy Grail War taking place in Lyon, France.

As preparation against her father's situation, Fie's command seals were forcibly engraved on her chest. She was given many artifacts as catalysts in some sorts of twisted birthday gifts from her family--allowing her the illusion of choice in her servants. The most compelling, to her, was the innocent-appearing pocket watch given by her father.

She was left alone in France before as her command seals had even finished burning into her trunk. Her accustomed alone time did not last long as she quickly found an abandoned building to perform her summoning ritual. Fie expected nothing, knowing any of her artifact choices could produce a formidible servant, but was slightly alarmed to see a mild mannered, bespectacled young man.

Henry Jekyll was not the servant she would have expected to summon. An Assassin class, meant to scheme and sneak? Obviously, Fie was trained and able to cooperate with that kind of servant, but she certainly would have preferred to summon a Saber or Lancer, even Berserker. That was just her best fighting style, in her opinion. Despite her initial disappointment, the gentle Assassin charmed her almost instantly. He was the first man she interacted with in a friendly sense outside of her family or training, and she immediately fell for him, experiencing emotions she didn't even know she had. Once she convinced him to use his Noble Phantasm and become Hyde, Fie knew she could win the war, if only she kept her focus on the task at hand--a hard task with her new feelings.

Meanwhile, Jekyll swore to protect her as his master to all his abilities, and as he grew to know her and her past through their time together, that resolve strengthened even more. His emotions towards her were mixed--pity, admiration, apprehension, but most of all, compassion--the first person to ever feel these towards his master. He recognized quickly her straightforward, one-track mind towards her goal of the Holy Grail and determined for himself that he would save her from this inevitably tragic end--that became his wish.

Meanwhile, Jekyll swore to protect her as his master to all his abilities, and as he grew to know her and her past through their time together, that resolve strengthened even more. His emotions towards her were mixed--pity, admiration, apprehension, but most of all, compassion--the first person to ever feel these towards his master. He recognized quickly her straightforward, one-track mind towards her goal of the Holy Grail and determined for himself that he would save her from this inevitably tragic end--that became his wish.

Fie was in love with him, but whether that was with him as a person or instead the unfamiliar recognition she was receiving, she would never know. Through the course of their battles, even with Hyde causing some problems for Jekyll (Fie enjoyed him), she also grew to love this life of theirs. Her servant had filled her mind with thoughts and experiences away from the world of magecraft when she knew nothing else.

So, distracted, she made one miscalculation. She failed to recognize Lancer's Independent Action as a skill with her Mystic Eyes, and assumed after killing his master he too would fall to Hyde without a magical energy source. But he remained, finishing his battle with her own servant and coming after Fie. She was caught off guard by the servant, but, as he thrust his spear towards her, she felt no pain. Jekyll had stepped between her and Lancer, the spear barely grazing her abdomen as it pierced through Assassin. Before his blood could even hit the floor she had emptied an entire clip into the enemy servant and he finally fell, lifeless, but Jekyll was not far behind.

She held her servant in her arms, tears coming to her for the first time she could remember. He, with the last of his strength, begged and pleaded with her to continue this life. He made her promise she would not return to her family, as he knew if she was not victorious they would likely force her to carry on her bloodline, detaining and experimenting on her. Her promise was to live a normal life, as hard and menial as it was. Don't return to living as a mage, be young, fall in love, and enjoy it as much as you possibly can.

Fie set into that promise instantly. Unsure how to deal with the sudden, albeit inevitable, death of the one she loved, she roamed over Europe. People were kind to her and she spent the end of her teenage years staying with strangers village to village, city to city.

Chaldea

Fie's initial meeting with the organization Chaldea was well before the beginning of Part I. After being scouted by staff, she attended the inauguration and first training days with the likes of the Crypters and Mash.