The Grail Works Mission Dossier (Discussion & Ideas)

[Kieran]

Sorry for the delay in replying - it's been a rough couple of days . . .

Yeah, between the tier of divinity and being cross-setting, it didn't really make sense. It just seemed like an interesting parallel if I squinted at it a bit.

It does - which, honestly, describes most of my story ideas, and why half of them get abandoned.

I do enjoy how ridiculously unlucky Lakshmibai is, now that I've seen it, but yeah, that seems a bit limited.

Perfect for my SI, the way his luck runs, but yes.

The fact that F/GO implies the Lostbelt increases her parameters, somehow, means she's also complicated to figure out in terms of depowering (though perhaps being a Pseudo-Servant could counter that?), and using her violates my in-head canon of the Works only summoning one Servant per class (and only six, lest they have another Grail War). They have a Saber already, after all . . . And as aggravating as trying to choose among all Classes might be if I violated it (in some ways it would solve so many problems), the rule makes sense, and so it stays.

I'm not surprised they'd make her one, as an underworld deity, but that does seem to be hard to work with.

And the lack of detail is annoying in multiple senses - especially since Irkalla (another name for Kur) is one of the rivers in the Sin-Eaters' Underworld!

I can imagine her doing something opportunistically if Ereshkigal isn't protected by her own domain/Authority, but otherwise there's really no mechanism for anything to happen there.

Not really, no - though ironically, I do have an issue of Dragon magazine (one of D&D's traditional supplements) that details the Mesopotamian pantheon for use in 3.5 Edition, so I could have Hanali and/or the Seldarine interact with a more "canon" version than the few who appear in Realmslore . . . The caveat, of course, is that Ereshkigal is flat-out evil (actually earning that F/GO alignment), and married. (Though Ishtar is more realistically portrayed as Chaotic Neutral, unlike F/GO.)

(And as an aside, though - seriously, Sumerian myth is weird. Even leaving aside my personal feelings about Ereshkigal falling madly in love with her rapist - i.e., Nergal - apparently the Bull of Heaven was her first husband? That's apparently why Ishtar went down there: to apologise for getting him killed . . . And it makes Ereshkigal's treatment of her make much more sense, in that light.)

Though I recall some interesting inter-setting deity interactions in some snippets in here. I think they were Konosuba-related?

Mostly RB's stuff, though I'm not opposed to trying . . .?

It feels unnatural to try and solve for a specific goal like this. Usually, I'd want to pick from among possible futures based on what makes sense in the present story state, or introduce story elements based on "what would be interesting" in some abstract sense (though again, not a writer, so this is what I imagine the process is like, and "interesting" is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence)

Sort of. My process usually starts with asking "What do I want to have happen?" - whether it's the story's end-goal, the course of a chapter, or what have you. Then I ask what I have to work with to get there, and what I can work with; meaning what elements can be found, or made to appear, that aren't already present. In the latter case, they sometimes have to be justified, but so long as they can be, that's fine. The latter is a little easier here, with the Works' Door abilities and so on, but I'm sure you'd look a little askance if a stray shot from the Wolfen uncovered, say, the Ark containing the Autobot forces from the G1 Transformers series, which is shocked to life and suddenly provides our heroes with several dozen 40-ish foot robot freedom fighters with anachronistically future-tech weaponry to take on Ymir . . .

(Sorry, I've been on a Transformers kick, lately.)

I imagine it doesn't help that it feels like a self-indulgent outcome, rather than one that's intrinsically interesting. Motivated reasoning taints the process, which raises the bar for how natural the explanation needs to be.

Exactly. The best example I can think of for that is Trinity, and Galen's relationship with Takara and Hermione. Never mind the menage a trois, I wasn't really seeing him with either of them, ultimately - because even besides his emotional hang-ups, it was self-indulgence of the highest order. I let reader feedback guide my thinking, and otherwise let the three of them work it out (with more than a little magical brain surgery on Galen's part, but still).

And I try to keep working that way: let the characters play things out. Occasionally, that means they write me into a corner (at least two blow-ups in Trinity, like the Yule Ball, were not planned), but it seems to work out well overall.

I can definitely see why that would make handwaving "Zelretch does something" incredibly unappealing. I'd think there should be a large set of possible crossovers or plots that could incidentally and naturally incorporate Eresh, but they would need to be picked for being interesting in their own right first.

Precisely - but while simple, it's not easy . . .

Welcome to the "Trying to figure out how to shoehorn in a lancer Kieran likes" discussion, Arbitrarity! Considering I've been having it repeatedly with him over the last couple years, and your idea of the Sword of Atli getting stuck in the past being one of the few rational methods we've found for possibly getting Godafrid Ereshkigal as a servant? Definitely an interesting take on things.

Not sure I'd call it a "rational method", it's a skeleton of a ghost of a plot idea that would need a lot more specifics filled in.

True, but it's still an intriguing one. Curse my need to make things make logical sense . . . :P


Honestly, at this point, I'm half-tempted to nix the "Lancer" idea and just find a character whose name starts with "La" and is pronounced appropriately ("Laeticia" is an example, but short of her Works universe counterpart being brain-dead and shoving this version into that body's head, I'm at a loss to make it work, as she is a normal girl from a different timeline entirely . . .).

And yes, though he's sworn to not ever touch the Konosuba deities being involved in Kantai Collection/Arpeggio of Blue Steel clusterfuck that I've been working on for that side story. (Figuring out the Admiralty code alone for a sane, rational explanation... UGH. Stupid thrice damned manga plot... not to mention exactly how to make sure Servants arejust as interesting in a setting about shipgirls...) it still could actually lead to some interesting events as a result. What with Koyanskaya getting ready to fuck the entirety of that version of Heaven over... wait.

*pauses*

*facepalms*

Or it could be so simple as to have Godafrid's wish be for a Servant Ereshkigal that isn't linked to Rin to help him for his travels instead of Shirou Emiya...

Wait wait, Godafrid has a wish... when? I recall that was Shirou wishing for HIM during the Konosuba snippets. Still, it is a very straightforward solution. There's precedent so powerful that it cannot be argued with.

Crap. I got it backwards... still... the ending option IS a wish... I blame the time period working on my side of things, and the latest chapter. Still, you can understand my struggles now.

I believe a wish is the standard offer for those who defeat the Demon King . . . Hm.

It wouldn't be quite the same without Nobu, but I could certainly polish up that Shirou/Frid concept, no?

[Arbitrarity]

The fact that F/GO implies the Lostbelt increases her parameters, somehow, means she's also complicated to figure out in terms of depowering (though perhaps being a Pseudo-Servant could counter that?), and using her violates my in-head canon of the Works only summoning one Servant per class (and only six, lest they have another Grail War). They have a Saber already, after all . . . And as aggravating as trying to choose among all Classes might be if I violated it (in some ways it would solve so many problems), the rule makes sense, and so it stays.

I think that's more about how the Servant Lakshmibai is comparable to a High Servant or Pseudo-Servant already: Rather than a divinity possessing a local mortal, it's a divinity possessing (fused with?) an existing Servant. If you summoned her without that circumstance, she wouldn't have the awful luck or divinity. I'm less sure exactly if she'd lose other parameters, since we do have other Servants from the modern era with fairly comparable parameters, like d'Eon.
But the awful luck is half the fun. I didn't know there was an implied rule about limiting Servants, but that generally makes sense, and is at least a useful constraint to avoid cast bloat.

Not really, no - though ironically, I do have an issue of Dragon magazine (one of D&D's traditional supplements) that details the Mesopotamian pantheon for use in 3.5 Edition, so I could have Hanali and/or the Seldarine interact with a more "canon" version than the few who appear in Realmslore . . . The caveat, of course, is that Ereshkigal is flat-out evil (actually earning that F/GO alignment), and married. (Though Ishtar is more realistically portrayed as Chaotic Neutral, unlike F/GO.)

(And as an aside, though - seriously, Sumerian myth is weird. Even leaving aside my personal feelings about Ereshkigal falling madly in love with her rapist - i.e., Nergal - apparently the Bull of Heaven was her first husband? That's apparently why Ishtar went down there: to apologise for getting him killed . . . And it makes Ereshkigal's treatment of her make much more sense, in that light.)

I always find it interesting to learn just how many ways Fate liberally interprets mythology. Don't think about it too hard.

Exactly. The best example I can think of for that is Trinity, and Galen's relationship with Takara and Hermione. Never mind the menage a trois, I wasn't really seeing him with either of them, ultimately - because even besides his emotional hang-ups, it was self-indulgence of the highest order. I let reader feedback guide my thinking, and otherwise let the three of them work it out (with more than a little magical brain surgery on Galen's part, but still).

And I try to keep working that way: let the characters play things out. Occasionally, that means they write me into a corner (at least two blow-ups in Trinity, like the Yule Ball, were not planned), but it seems to work out well overall.

I was rereading an earlier thread (because I wanted to read the commentary from readers along with the text), and I can clearly cite the reader feedback was real strong for that one. My original experience reading it was through the threads, so I can confirm when I got there ~4 years ago, I was also agreeing with them. You spent 5 years setting up those relationships and it felt incredibly natural.
It's actually more shocking in retrospect to read how much things were shaped by reader feedback.

Precisely - but while simple, it's not easy . . .

I say "I'm not creative" as shorthand for "I'm not confident in suggesting among the massive set of options if I'm not putting in the work to actually write something", because ideas are a dime a dozen, but implementation is hard.

Honestly, at this point, I'm half-tempted to nix the "Lancer" idea and just find a character whose name starts with "La" and is pronounced appropriately ("Laeticia" is an example, but short of her Works universe counterpart being brain-dead and shoving this version into that body's head, I'm at a loss to make it work, as she is a normal girl from a different timeline entirely . . .).

Lancelot, Lan Ling, Lavinia (from Salem)... This is a lot fewer options than I was expecting. It seems unlikely that it's "Lady", given that it was a stumble that got corrected to that. Odd. "Lady Nobunaga" would be convenient.

I believe a wish is the standard offer for those who defeat the Demon King . . . Hm.

It wouldn't be quite the same without Nobu, but I could certainly polish up that Shirou/Frid concept, no?

I mean, then I'm tempted to ask what his motivation is to make that particular wish, of various options, but that's the outcome of a fairly long story, so there's plenty of time to explain it. Or it's a monkey's paw sort of outcome of a more general wish, I wouldn't put it past some deities to grant wishes in a ridiculously indirect way.

[Kieran]

I think that's more about how the Servant Lakshmibai is comparable to a High Servant or Pseudo-Servant already: Rather than a divinity possessing a local mortal, it's a divinity possessing (fused with?) an existing Servant. If you summoned her without that circumstance, she wouldn't have the awful luck or divinity. I'm less sure exactly if she'd lose other parameters, since we do have other Servants from the modern era with fairly comparable parameters, like d'Eon.
But the awful luck is half the fun.

Exactly - so it kind of spoils it if she's not . . .

I didn't know there was an implied rule about limiting Servants, but that generally makes sense, and is at least a useful constraint to avoid cast bloat.

That was my thought, yes.

I always find it interesting to learn just how many ways Fate liberally interprets mythology. Don't think about it too hard.

Yeah - though to be fair, that's pretty much true of all mythology, isn't it . . .?

I was rereading an earlier thread (because I wanted to read the commentary from readers along with the text), and I can clearly cite the reader feedback was real strong for that one. My original experience reading it was through the threads, so I can confirm when I got there ~4 years ago, I was also agreeing with them. You spent 5 years setting up those relationships and it felt incredibly natural.
It's actually more shocking in retrospect to read how much things were shaped by reader feedback.

Quite so.

I say "I'm not creative" as shorthand for "I'm not confident in suggesting among the massive set of options if I'm not putting in the work to actually write something", because ideas are a dime a dozen, but implementation is hard.

Fair enough, and very true.

Lancelot, Lan Ling, Lavinia (from Salem)... This is a lot fewer options than I was expecting.

Sadly.

It seems unlikely that it's "Lady", given that it was a stumble that got corrected to that. Odd. "Lady Nobunaga" would be convenient.

Quite.

I mean, then I'm tempted to ask what his motivation is to make that particular wish, of various options, but that's the outcome of a fairly long story, so there's plenty of time to explain it. Or it's a monkey's paw sort of outcome of a more general wish, I wouldn't put it past some deities to grant wishes in a ridiculously indirect way.

Also true.

[Kieran]

Transylvania, in the mid-19th century. The province of Wallachia.
In this time of peace and plenty, no-one foresees the return of ancient horror . . . But the old legends live, and soon the land will again be plunged into darkness.
The people have returned to the path of wickedness, and the bonds that sealed their evil ruler’s spirit are weakening.
Deep in his castle, he stirs from a century of enforced sleep . . . Count Dracula awakes.

Godafrid Úa Súilleabháin, also known as “Insert Name Here.”

Through magic of the ancients, this man-beast warrior obtained a physical body of near-immortality, and a power that surpasses that of a wild beast.
He seeks a long-lost magical relic. and fearing what may come should it fall into Dracula’s hands; he journeys alone to the dark castle.
Now he must wield his primordial power in the fight against evil . . .

Forest of Silence
Some time after the Great Holy Grail War








“This,” Frid muttered to himself as he looked at his surroundings, “is the kind of self-insert fanfic opening I’d have written thirty years ago . . .”

In point of fact, he could remember doing almost exactly that, with a Captain N: The Game Master fic, which had included Castlevania as a setting. Thankfully, no one he knew had ever read or remembered it.

I mean, really—I’ve heard of a light novel series where the main character gets isekai-ed into their own childhood stories as the villainess, but I can’t imagine not playing the role, if only out of the need to destroy the place out of sheer embarrassment at the inanity of it all . . .

Shaking himself from the recollection of the dreck he used to write, Frid glanced around. Yes, it was a forest. He was just at the border of it, so nothing had come hurtling out of the dark to eat his face. It appeared that even realised into a living, breathing world, this place kept to horror conventions; the bodies wouldn’t start moving until after he passed them, or got close enough to touch.

Good to know.

It also meant that here was probably as good a spot as he was going to get to do a summoning—or at least to contact the Works . . .

“Ilya,” he called experimentally, “are you there?”

Fog rose almost immediately, wan light glowing hazily from within like moonlight nearly obscured by clouds. Gradually, the light brightened, the mist coalescing into the pale, familiar form of the Grail spirit.

“Very thematically appropriate entrance,” Frid said, before his brain could stop his mouth.

“Was it? I was just mainly focussed on how hard it was to manifest directly,” Ilya said, frowning. “This place really doesn’t like ‘holy spirits,’ does it . . .?”

“Well, in theory, ‘God-slash-Order’ is the supreme power running things in this universe,” Frid said. “Given how much Dracula influences things and gets away with it, on the other hand . . .” He shrugged. “At least in Lords of Shadow, it’s explained as Dracula still being God’s chosen warrior against Satan; in the main continuity, it’s just video game logic, which doesn’t track well with ‘real-world’ sensibilities.”

(Unlike some settings, after all, there wasn’t mention of a non-interference covenant that would prevent God from sending down an archangel or three to save or smite a few things—just the fact that the player would have nothing to do . . .)

“Speaking of,” Frid said, shifting topics, “do we have any idea of which continuity I’m in, yet?”

“You do remember how thick those files on this place are, right?” Ilya said sarcastically—very much so, as he’d written the files in question.

“There’s so much overlap between them that until I see a particular individual to tie things to, your guess is literally as good as mine,” she continued. “And given how some of them pop up in multiple places—”

“Cough*Alucard*cough,” Frid mimed a coughing fit, unconvincingly.

“Exactly,” she finished. “And this place is hard to scan to begin with; it’s like Dracula’s influence is a literal shadow over everything. If it weren’t for the fact that Sword is as distinctive as it is, and made such a spectacle getting here, I wouldn’t even be sure of its presence. As it is, I’m basically limited to scanning the general area around you—so by the time you run into a genuinely identifying element . . .”

“I’ll likely figure out my location at the same time you do,” Frid finished. “Cripes, I really could be in my old fan fiction . . .” He shuddered. “Ilya, quick—check for random warp portals to other worlds.”

The Grail spirit blinked, confused. “OK . . .?” After a beat, she shook her head. “No, there’s nothing like that around—aside from the absolute Gordian knot of an Escher painting of dimensional manipulation inside the castle, at least, and that’s a few miles from here.”

“Oh, thank God . . .” Frid sighed.

It was astonishing how much of a relief it was to know that no 12-year-old dhampir girls would be appearing here to gain a crush on him and later pull a Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time gambit—i.e., be magically aged-up seven years. The idea was a lot creepier at his current age than it’d been when he was nineteen . . .

(In fact, I vote that I avoid twelve-year-old girls altogether, half-vampire or otherwise . . .)








On the other side of the forest, Carrie Fernandez sneezed, suddenly and violently, and tugged her scarf more tightly around her neck in response, cursing the dampness of the fog. It would be the sort of irony Dracula would no doubt enjoy, to face him only for pneumonia to do her in—but her resolve was unshaken. She would reach the castle and put an end to his evil . . .!








“. . . So, I’m guessing that, with that kind of interference, summoning a Servant for backup isn’t the best idea,” Frid thought out loud.

“Probably not,” Ilya agreed, adding in the driest possible tone, “Leaving aside the fact that even I have no idea how a compatibility summon might work for you under normal circumstances, being the complicated mess that you are, all the catalysts that we have on hand are for Anti-Heroes . . .” She gave him a withering look. “What is it with you and collecting those?”

“Just lucky, I guess,” he muttered sourly. “If we could guarantee Elizabeth Bathory Brave, I might chance it—she’s Chaotic Good, and wants to be a hero—”

“As I’ve said before, the ‘Saber’ slot is full—so unless you’ve learned how to transfer already-summoned Heroic Spirits into different Class Containers . . .”

“Not without a Chaldea at hand,” Frid muttered. “Besides that, given that this setting actually has both a ‘Carmilla,’ more often than not, and possibly a more direct expy of her in the form of Dracula’s ‘niece,’ Elizabeth ‘Bartley’ . . .”

“It doesn’t sound like the brightest idea, no,” Ilya agreed.

“Considering that so far as I know, the latter is the final boss of her game? No,” Frid said flatly. “Though it would be quite a shortcut . . .”

“I don’t suppose I could convince you to try for Jack the Ripper . . .?” Ilya said hopefully.

Frid couldn’t help it—he laughed.

“You really are desperate to keep Shirou out of this, aren’t you?”

“Can you blame me?”

“No—but Jack’s more liable to tear me to pieces than anything else, so I think Maria the Ripper’s safest use is as Shiki’s backup weapon,” Frid said. “. . . Though if he wants to come along, I won’t object . . .”

It was hard to say how Shiki’s Mystic Eyes would handle some of the things in this universe—as, unlike his Ryogi counterpart, he needed to comprehend something before he could kill it—but being able to absolutely destroy even basic enemies like skeletons (not to mention objects in general, like puzzle-locked doors), would be damned useful. And hey, he’d killed godlike vampires before; maybe Shiki could end Dracula—permanently, even . . .

“Akiha’s having the maids sit on him, at the moment,” she explained.

“Like you’re no doubt having Saber and/or Rider do to Shirou,” Frid finished, before he sighed and added, “She does realise that if the Tohnos are going to contribute to the Works, they will have to actually go out and do things, periodically—dangerous or not . . .?”

“After the whole Moon Cell debacle, she’s a little paranoid about letting Shiki-san out of her sight,” Ilya offered by way of explanation. “And you remember what happened when Kohaku was left to her own devices, don’t you?”

“Fair point,” he admitted. “Still, putting all the field work onto the Fuyuki side of things is ultimately unfair, I think. Especially when they’re hoping to get one or more wishes out of the Grail to fix their own problems—”

The sudden flash of lightning was unexpected—and the fact that it struck the ground less than two metres away from him, even more so. As a result, Frid found himself struck momentarily blind, deaf, and somewhat singed, even as he unconsciously drew on his Essence to heal and buff himself; that had been no natural thunderstrike, obviously; thus, he was almost certainly under attack—

Then his senses cleared, and on beholding his surroundings, the Exalt amended his statement to “almost certainly would be under attack.”

Akiha Tohno’s tone was as stiff as her expression as she said, “Never let it be said that the Tohno clan shirks its responsibilities . . .” She bowed politely, but perfunctorily, and continued in much the same vein, “I’ll be in your care from this point on, Godafrid-san. I look forward to working with you.”

About as much as you look forward to a root canal, Frid added mentally, glancing at Ilya.

The Grail spirit raised an eyebrow, as if to say, “What did you expect, calling her out like that . . .?”

“Well, at least I don’t have to worry about Ilya trying to play matchmaker with you, Tohno-san . . .” Frid sighed.

He was rewarded with the sight of Akiha’s eyes bugging out, the heiress sputtering as she wavered between disbelief, shock and outrage—and Ilya, for her part, suddenly glowed crimson.

“Don’t worry,” he added, before she could gather her wits and begin a tirade. “I’ll do my best keep you alive—the last thing I want is Shiki coming after me, and Arcueid’s fond enough of her ‘little sister’ that she’d probably help . . .”

Akiha’s face was rapidly approaching the shade of vermillion her hair usually sported in demon mode, but she was managing to form words, if not coherent sentences, as she choked out, “Why—I—you . . .!”

Frid had to restrain himself from laughing, even as he mused, And I thought Rin was fun to tease just to see her reactions . . .

He noted that she actually was kind of cute, blushing like that; a fact that might actually mean something if she wasn’t barely more than a third of his age (mentally, anyway)—and not utterly besotted with Shiki, of course. Not that he’d be her type even if she wasn’t, much less a “suitable” match for a clan heiress . . .

Aloud, however, he said, “How on Earth do you survive business meetings with the branch families if you’re this easily flustered, Tohno-san?”

With a glare that should have struck him dead on the spot, she gritted out, “The family heads are far more professional than you.” She shook her head. “And speaking of professionalism, shall we be on our way? There is a task to accomplish before us of some importance, is there not. . .?”

Given the level of damage Dracula could do on his own, much less with the Sword of Atli, that was saying something. And it was a given that Dracula could use it, one way or another; even if his “Dominus” power didn’t allow him to for some reason, one of the Relic’s granted Purviews was Chaos, which was the source of Dracula’s own powers. And even without that link, he actually had a claim to the Relic itself, since Stoker’s novel—upon which the Castlevania version of Dracula was based, canonically—named him as a descendent of Atilla the Hun. Or more plainly, the “Atli” for which the weapon was named. . .

Ravenloft might have been a worse place to have to search for the Sword, Frid thought grimly, but in terms of specific locations for it to have landed in, this ranks right up there in terms of “worst-case scenarios.”

(Once again, he cursed certain—thankfully absent—deities for their relationship with Fate, its binding aspects, and having involved Castlevania to begin with . . . But there was nothing to be done about it now but deal with the fallout.)

“You’re right,” he answered Akiha aloud. “Time to go to work.”

“Good luck, you two,” Ilya said seriously, quickly adding in a lighter tone, “And try not to kill each other, would you. . .?”

And if her expression seemed amused as she faded out, the Grail spirit was gone too quickly for either of them to call her on it.












Writer's Notes: Because I literally had nothing to do but write, this morning . . .

[Arbitrarity]

See! The set of possible crossovers offers many options, and this one fits quite well. I definitely wouldn't have considered it (from a top-down view it seems a bit too similar a note to hit after Anarchy), but you're doing a great job making it distinct while also calling back to established elements. The Sword of Atli is barely needed beyond the initial hook, and of course you can blame Fatebinding (or Zelretch)

I enjoyed the callbacks to your presumably sordid writing history. They add a lot of life to your SI by the sheer level of implied detail, and it's fun to puzzle around "details about the author".

Of course, the dramatic irony of "avoiding twelve-year old girls" immediately strikes. This brief glimpse of Carrie doesn't really convey much about her character. I was initially thinking she might be older than she is, but reading it again, I can definitely see that slightly childish edge to her word choices, and that definitely fits her quotes on the wiki page.

Choosing Akiha is novel, and I think it's fitting. The meta-commentary about the Tsukihime cast not getting enough action in the Works is especially topical with the Tsukihime remake, and we really haven't seen enough of her in particular. I'm not really sure how her abilities interact with undead. I can imagine that going either way, though it seems like they could be effective.

[Kieran]

See! The set of possible crossovers offers many options, and this one fits quite well.

In many ways, the problem has been deciding on one . . .

I definitely wouldn't have considered it (from a top-down view it seems a bit too similar a note to hit after Anarchy), but you're doing a great job making it distinct while also calling back to established elements. The Sword of Atli is barely needed beyond the initial hook, and of course you can blame Fatebinding (or Zelretch)

Well, Castlevania has such a broad spectrum of iterations, I was kind of spoiled for choice in how I wanted to approach it . . . As for why the N64/Legacy of Darkness one specifically, it is "my" Castlevania game (as the N64 was my primary gaming system after the Sega Genesis and prior to the PS2), and the fact that the Legacy of Darkness remake includes a werewolf protagonist (whose intro I'll admit I cribbed for this) was too perfect for a Lunar Exalt.

That it's also one of the "non-canon" ones, while having been noted for being the most true to the source material (both Stoker's novel and history) . . .

I enjoyed the callbacks to your presumably sordid writing history. They add a lot of life to your SI by the sheer level of implied detail, and it's fun to puzzle around "details about the author".

That's the idea, yes - though I'll spare you a rendition of my six-year-old self's efforts . . . *Chuckles*

Of course, the dramatic irony of "avoiding twelve-year old girls" immediately strikes.

Amusingly, I wrote about mine before she popped up - but yeah, it was too good to pass up. (And her homing orbs were by far the best attack available in the game, tradition be damned). Whether or not he'll actually run into her, I'm not sure; as it's implied that both she and the Belmont descendant of the era attacked the castle at roughly the same time, but never ran into one another. So it's entirely possible that Reinhardt Schneider is the vampire hunter they'll meet . . .

. . . Yeah, even I don't believe it. *Chuckles*

This brief glimpse of Carrie doesn't really convey much about her character. I was initially thinking she might be older than she is, but reading it again, I can definitely see that slightly childish edge to her word choices, and that definitely fits her quotes on the wiki page.

Dialogue was, admittedly, not the game's strong point; my best guess is to write Carrie as a less over-the-top Megumin - prone to dramatic statements as a reaction to shouldering the terrible destiny of her bloodline . . .OK, apparently writing her dialogue in that vein will not be hard.

Choosing Akiha is novel, and I think it's fitting. The meta-commentary about the Tsukihime cast not getting enough action in the Works is especially topical with the Tsukihime remake,

That was my thinking, yes. I was tempted to finally reveal Ciel under the alias "Shanoa," but . . .

and we really haven't seen enough of her in particular. I'm not really sure how her abilities interact with undead. I can imagine that going either way, though it seems like they could be effective.

Hard to say, really - if nothing else, I'll have to refresh my memory on her precise abilities, as it's been a while (gee, an excuse . . .!). Offhand, the undead, at least, don't really have body heat for her to affect, and at least some of her Melty Blood prowess is likely down to TATARI (otherwise, her matching Arcueid is ridiculous to consider) - but she's hardly helpless, and the castle's not solely inhabited by skeletons and vampires, either . . .

[Arbitrarity]

Well, Castlevania has such a broad spectrum of iterations, I was kind of spoiled for choice in how I wanted to approach it . . . As for why the N64/Legacy of Darkness one specifically, it is "my" Castlevania game (as the N64 was my primary gaming system after the Sega Genesis and prior to the PS2), and the fact that the Legacy of Darkness remake includes a werewolf protagonist (whose intro I'll admit I cribbed for this) was too perfect for a Lunar Exalt.

I didn't quite catch that from the intro, though it did have that sort of feeling to it. Nice.

That it's also one of the "non-canon" ones, while having been noted for being the most true to the source material (both Stoker's novel and history) . . .

I find it somewhat interesting I keep hearing about Gilles du Rais here as an underling of Dracula. *suspicion*

Dialogue was, admittedly, not the game's strong point; my best guess is to write Carrie as a less over-the-top Megumin - prone to dramatic statements as a reaction to shouldering the terrible destiny of her bloodline . . .OK, apparently writing her dialogue in that vein will not be hard.

I wrote "childish" after erasing chuunibyou a couple of times, yeah.

That was my thinking, yes. I was tempted to finally reveal Ciel under the alias "Shanoa," but . . .

She has been out of the Works for a long time. Admittedly, her abilities are much more applicable in Castlevania, but I think Akiha puts a nice twist on it.

Hard to say, really - if nothing else, I'll have to refresh my memory on her precise abilities, as it's been a while (gee, an excuse . . .!). Offhand, the undead, at least, don't really have body heat for her to affect, and at least some of her Melty Blood prowess is likely down to TATARI (otherwise, her matching Arcueid is ridiculous to consider) - but she's hardly helpless, and the castle's not solely inhabited by skeletons and vampires, either . . .

I was trying to figure out if "heat" being alternately translated as "life force" or "od" might make it applicable to de-animating the undead. However, there are a lot of references to "living creatures" in how her power is described, and it feels like it would be somewhat overpowered to just drain every non-boss enemy to a husk. The nature of ghouls in the Nasuverse is already murky to me, and mixing in Castlevania's metaphysics makes it more complicated.

[Kieran]

I didn't quite catch that from the intro, though it did have that sort of feeling to it. Nice.

"Through magic of the ancients," "body of near-immortality," etc. - it so easily describes a Lunar that I just had to.

I find it somewhat interesting I keep hearing about Gilles du Rais here as an underling of Dracula. *suspicion*

Isn't it, though . . .?

I wrote "childish" after erasing chuunibyou a couple of times, yeah.

And it wouldn't surprise me if it was a direct translation of her Japanese dialogue, either - but yeah, Carrie definitely seems to lean in that direction, so it'll be my guidepost for how to write her. It's not like there's a lot of characterization over the course of the game to work with, and she doesn't have the luxury of Alucard's recurring appearances across multiple media to build a better framework. Which is a shame, as she was young enough you could've included her in other games . . . (Hey, it worked for Maria Renard!)

She has been out of the Works for a long time.

Officially, she's never been in it - just implied to be.

Admittedly, her abilities are much more applicable in Castlevania,

That was the thought, yes.

but I think Akiha puts a nice twist on it.

Such is the hope. If it had been Shiki, the girls would've tried to butt in - admittedly, a potentially amusing running gag, but . . . Arcueid would've either finished in five minutes, or been no worse off than Akiha; and the maids . . .

Well, they'd have been lunch - though admittedly, having to team up with Kohaku to rescue a kidnapped Hisui (as Dracula does seem to prefer "sacrificial maidens") might've been interesting . . . Still, Akiha strikes the right balance of "not quite helpless" and "still in over her head" . . .

I was trying to figure out if "heat" being alternately translated as "life force" or "od" might make it applicable to de-animating the undead. However, there are a lot of references to "living creatures" in how her power is described, and it feels like it would be somewhat overpowered to just drain every non-boss enemy to a husk. The nature of ghouls in the Nasuverse is already murky to me, and mixing in Castlevania's metaphysics makes it more complicated.

Quite - so it'll be interesting to see just what her limitations turn out to be.

[Kieran]

Continuing . . .








Forest of Silence








It didn’t take long for Akiha to get soaked, dressed as she was in her usual after-school garb; a long red skirt and white “peasant blouse” combination that looked partly like a Westernized miko outfit, but hadn’t exactly been designed for a heavy rainstorm—

As a sudden crack of lightning downed a tree up ahead to bar their path, Frid corrected himself with “thunderstorm.”

[Rugged Beast Endurance]

He would be all right in this—Frid could feel his body textures adapting to be more waterproof, his core temperature rising to compensate for the cold, as the Charm activated—but Akiha was literally a hundred pounds soaking wet, as the saying went, and already waterlogged . . .

“Put this on,” he told her, removing his buff jacket.

As armour went, it wasn’t heavy—a thick leather coat with metal reinforcements that went to his knees, and Akiha’s ankles—but it was waterproofed, and would do something to keep her body heat in. That it would also provide some degree of protection against attack, without slowing her movements, was almost a bonus.

“I am not some fragile flower, to require your charity—” she began.

“You’re wearing a white top in heavy rain,” he interrupted. “Unless you want to flash your bra—”

The Tohno heiress had the coat on almost faster than he could follow and said nothing more—but her face was almost incandescent.

“. . . Thank you,” she said after a beat, in a more conciliatory tone. “And what of you?”

Frid held up a bare forearm. “I’m literally adaptable, Tohno-san—if you look closely, my body hair has actually thickened, and added a secondary layer to shed water. My core temperature is set higher, to counteract the chill of the damp as well, and my eyes”—he blinked here, to draw her attention—“have shifted to handle the low light conditions and the distorting effects of the rain; something closer to a cat’s, or a fish’s.”

“Impressive, if unsettling,” she opined.

“Because it looks weird, or because it reminds you too much of your other brother?” Frid asked casually.

Akiha stilled in response.

“Yes, I know about that,” he continued, “and while I’ve never asked for the specifics, I know about literally a dozen ways your story could have played out—not many of them pleasant, by the way.”

“. . . I suppose I should have surmised as such, given your copious volumes of notes,” she said tightly. “And especially given your knowledge of the inhabitants of Fuyuki . . . But it simply never occurred to me to ask.” She sighed. “I suppose that does explain your reactions to Kohaku . . .”

“Let’s not get into that right now,” Frid said flatly. “We have enough problems here. I’m not sure how familiar you are with Castlevania, or the literature and legends on Count Dracula at all—”

“Sadly, while Asagami is a finishing school that prides itself on being cosmopolitan, obscure Western literature is not a required subject,” Akiha said dryly. “Nevertheless, I’m somewhat familiar with vampire lore, having a personal interest in the topic.”

“. . . OK,” Frid said, deciding not to argue about the importance of one of the most classic horror novels in history (if extremely dated and somewhat dry, though far less so than Frankenstein). “The short version is that this world runs on a ‘rescue the princess from the big, bad vampire’ scenario, usually. There are a few games with no kidnapped love interest, and it’s just ‘beat the vampire,’ but since I don’t know which game, or even canon, we’re in, I can’t swear to it either way. There are dozens of storylines taking place throughout history, anywhere from the eleventh to the twenty-first century—but magic and the inherently chaotic nature of the castle can make for the presence of anachronistic elements, like skeletons on motorcycles in the 1800s, outright lasers, and so on.”

“All right,” Akiha allowed.

“I have no idea how some of the video game elements might transfer over to a ‘real’ world,” he admitted. “Gems or hearts to count as ammunition for sub-weapons, possible ‘power-up’ emblems for our primary ones, the infamous wall meat—”

“The infamous WHAT?”

“So, this is going to be tricky, regardless—but Dracula will not be a pushover. He’s effectively the Antichrist, in series lore, if not the Devil outright. And that’s without even considering possibly the most aggravating part of all this.”

“Which is?” Akiha asked warily.

“Castlevania, in almost any incarnation, is a platformer video game,” Frid growled. “Which means jump levels with bottomless pits—and I fucking HATE jump levels . . .”









Akiha would admit, in the privacy of her own thoughts, that she did not know what to make of the foreign man of so many names that it hardly seemed worth the effort to try and remember any of them.

Initially, she had only known of him, as some form of priest of an ancient religion; similar to Shinto in some ways, she’d been told, but quite different in others. He had avoided them all, preferring to dwell outside the mansion, though preferring Misaki over Fuyuki, apparently. As it had been explained to her, his religion rendered him something of an outdoorsman, apparently, and the woods surrounding the mansion were preferable to sleeping indoors.

Akiha had hardly liked the idea, but at the time she was attempting to gain access to the “Grail Works’” good graces, and so had raised no complaints about it—and in fairness, he’d been a virtual ghost upon the grounds, leaving no traces at all. . . Well, not quite—the products of Kohaku’s herb and vegetable gardens had seen a marked uptick in both quality and quantity in the month or so since he had taken up residence.

Insofar as paying rents went, it was a rather novel method; it had, she would admit, made a pleasant difference in the meals—between her personal schedule and his own reticence regarding the outside world, however, they’d had almost no interactions. Then, around the time Nii-san had gone missing, he’d gone on mission to a place called “Spira”; where, she was informed, he’d effectively died—or at least, anything about him she would recognise had ceased to exist . . .

This did not inspire much confidence in the Works—and the entity which had replaced him . . .

In many ways, he seemed the stereotypical foreigner: rudely outspoken, brash, and almost purposefully offensive. In others, he reminded Akiha of some of the family elders—not the traditionalists whose opinion (and brains) had seemingly calcified with age, but the few who decided they were simply too old to care, anymore. An odd attitude for a man who looked perhaps a decade older than herself, at most, but it was how it seemed.

And while he seemingly had useful abilities (potentially having a body double, of anyone, on command could be quite handy, she thought)—and knowledge, certainly—his capacity to apply them seemed haphazard, at best. That “Great Holy Grail War” had been a disaster—though that was hardly entirely his fault, going by Tohsaka-san’s debriefing . . .

Still, Akiha couldn’t honestly say, objectively, that his participation in the Works was to their benefit—or, indeed, his own, as it had effectively killed him once already! So, to have him disparage her, and her household . . .!

She had not been thinking, simply demanded that Einzbern-san transport her there . . . And now she was soaked, cold, and dodging ambulatory, angry skeletons armed with bone clubs—

When they weren’t on motorcycles . . .!

As she dove to one side as another attempted to run her down, Akiha yelled, “Does this mean you know where we are?”

The only initial response was the odd shrieking sound of his weapon, as it cut through the air—as deep a black as it was, she had trouble following it in this weather—and tore the sidecar-riding skeleton in two. A ripple in the air was the only warning of the follow-up strike, serpent-quick, which dispatched the driver with similar ease.

Annoyed at her helplessness—attacking a skeleton with her hair had proved useless, as its “life force” wasn’t anything actually living that she could siphon—Akiha’s hair lashed out as a bat fluttered aggressively within her sightline. Those, she could kill easily enough.

“Yes!” the man shouted back, straining with effort as he pushed against the motorcycle’s momentum—before bringing it under control with a sudden roar.

“Got it—no trundling off to explode for you!” he yelled at the motorcycle firmly.

“. . . I beg your pardon?”

“It’s typically what they do when their riders are unseated,” he explained. “But I think it’s much better put to our use, don’t you?”

“It would be somewhat more comfortable,” Akiha allowed. “Or at least, likely to be faster . . .”

With some trepidation—never having ridden one before, after all—she climbed into the sidecar.

“So, where are we precisely?” she asked.

In a tone of grave pomposity, he recited “Transylvania, the mid-19th century—the province of Wallachia . . .” In a more normal tone, he continued, “Blah, blah, blah—basically, this is the setting of a game called Castlevania 64, for the Nintendo 64 game system. The good news is that it’s a game I owned, and beat—or at least, I know how it’s supposed to go.” He looked sheepish. “I wasn’t quite a good enough gamer to manage it, myself, but my body’s better nowadays, and I had a hint guide I basically memorised, so . . .”

He shrugged.

“Fair enough,” Akiha allowed, understanding the point. “So, this should all be fairly simple, then?”

“If you don’t account for the presence of a Relic of divine manufacture that channels powers of Chaos and War, along with Fire, anyway,” the man said grimly. “And is also pretty lethal as just a sword, for that matter . . .”

“Again, a fair point.” Akiha couldn’t find anything to dispute from that analysis, either.

Perhaps the problem is simply that he shouldn’t be in the field . . .?

He pressed a lever, causing the motorcycle to jerk forward a bit, and Akiha to gasp. After a moment, he nodded to himself.

“I suppose I shouldn’t tell you this,” he yelled over the engine, which he set racing again, “but in the interests of honesty—I never did manage to learn how to ride a bike!”

“WHAT?!”

[Xamusel]

Frid, Frid, Frid... you need to work on riding a bike, man, much less a motorcycle.

[Arbitrarity]

When it rains, it pours?

Huh, today I learned about the buff coat/jacket. From the description I was initially assuming it was an adjective to describe the weight or somesuch.
I enjoy the contrast in Akiha's dignity. I'm not sure if there's a standard term for what you're doing there, but the pattern of "I am doing this with great haste and will speak no more of it" with a dry description seems familiar.

Wall chicken references are eternal.

Akiha's perspective is definitely one of the big reasons this concept intrigues me. The way she describes the Works clearly indicates she perceives herself as something of an outsider, which seems accurate, but is still something I hadn't really considered about her character. It's an interesting angle to consider, and seems like a great hook for character development over the course of a mission.
I'm also quite amused by how much she looks down on Godafrid. I'm not sure she'd describe it that way, but she certainly views his previous missions in about the worst possible light, and his competence similarly. Those seem like rational assessments from the outside perspective, and the resulting level of unvocalized sass is quite fun. Akiha's flaw being her pride is certainly no surprise.

I assume Godafrid is using the Soulsteel whip. Certainly fitting for classic Castlevania. Akiha being able to kill bats is actually enormously helpful for platforming sections, if I recall Castlevania correctly. Fliers are generally the most annoying enemies.

[Kieran]

Frid, Frid, Frid... you need to work on riding a bike, man, much less a motorcycle.

Very true - but he's kind of hoping he can cheat with inhuman reflexes and balance.

When it rains, it pours?

Apparently.

Huh, today I learned about the buff coat/jacket. From the description I was initially assuming it was an adjective to describe the weight or somesuch.

Nope, it's an actual piece of armour from Exalted; soak + 3, mobility + 0, hardness + 0 - so it won't shield her from decisive attacks (3E's version of lethal damage), but it won't slow her down at all, either. Sadly, this is not an artefact version, as it would have done so - being unattuned and classed as "medium" armour as it is - just the mundane armour. But it ought to help, and has a hood, to boot.

I enjoy the contrast in Akiha's dignity. I'm not sure if there's a standard term for what you're doing there, but the pattern of "I am doing this with great haste and will speak no more of it" with a dry description seems familiar.

"Tsundere," perhaps . . .?

Wall chicken references are eternal.

I had to throw in at least one, yes.

Akiha's perspective is definitely one of the big reasons this concept intrigues me. The way she describes the Works clearly indicates she perceives herself as something of an outsider, which seems accurate, but is still something I hadn't really considered about her character. It's an interesting angle to consider, and seems like a great hook for character development over the course of a mission.

That is the thought.

I'm also quite amused by how much she looks down on Godafrid. I'm not sure she'd describe it that way, but she certainly views his previous missions in about the worst possible light, and his competence similarly. Those seem like rational assessments from the outside perspective, and the resulting level of unvocalized sass is quite fun. Akiha's flaw being her pride is certainly no surprise.

To be fair, Godafrid kind of views it that way, too . . . But yes. It's why this pairing will be fun, I think.

I assume Godafrid is using the Soulsteel whip. Certainly fitting for classic Castlevania.

That was part of the appeal of this - though it notably leaves both of them operating at a range limit . . .

Akiha being able to kill bats is actually enormously helpful for platforming sections, if I recall Castlevania correctly. Fliers are generally the most annoying enemies.

True, but Castlevania 64, as I recall, didn't have as many of them as its 2-D counterparts . . . (I could be wrong, of course - I'll have to watch a few playthroughs to refresh my memory).

[Xamusel]

That's true... well, here's hoping the side car can help him out some, to make sure it has a good balance.

[Kieran]

As I recall, of far greater concern should be the roads that suddenly end in cliffs and "poisoned" rivers, with platforms going down, across, and up the other side . . .

[Xamusel]

...good point. I should be more willing to watch the gameplay footage of Castlevania 64.

[Xamusel]

So... something that has come across my radar is that I should've had a story for the Grail Works ready by now. I hope to fully rectify that mistake.

Now, in terms of concepts, I still plan to use the Fate/stay Night girls that are eligible for a campaign-style fic. However, at this point, I'm becoming more and more reluctant to use 13th Age for the campaign fic rules. I dunno why. Perhaps I should do some brainstorming on the subject.

Of course, I have to ask something... would it be better to write one story before the Reign of Winter plotline, or more than one (and, if so, how many more)? Just to make sure I don't needlessly overcomplicate things. I still need to write out the outline for this story to make sense... hence why I'm even asking now.

[Kieran]

So... something that has come across my radar is that I should've had a story for the Grail Works ready by now. I hope to fully rectify that mistake.

OK . . .

Now, in terms of concepts, I still plan to use the Fate/stay Night girls that are eligible for a campaign-style fic. However, at this point, I'm becoming more and more reluctant to use 13th Age for the campaign fic rules. I dunno why. Perhaps I should do some brainstorming on the subject.

Not every RPG rule system works well when translated to a literary format. And given that you're working with two (13th Age and, presumably, Pathfinder), plus the Nasuverse mechanics of Fate/stay night (which RPG rule systems also may not translate well), it's entirely possible that this is entirely unsuitable.

Of course, I have to ask something... would it be better to write one story before the Reign of Winter plotline, or more than one (and, if so, how many more)? Just to make sure I don't needlessly overcomplicate things. I still need to write out the outline for this story to make sense... hence why I'm even asking now.

First, how many do you need? Second, do you actually need that many . . .? Background is all very well and good to have, but if you need half-a-dozen stories to explain your setup before getting to the main (presumably, Reign of Winter) plotline, then it's MUCH too complicated.

An alternative way of looking at it is, "How much of this can I explain in the main story itself - either through flashback chapters, simple exposition, etc.?" If the answer is "Most of it," then maybe you don't need a setup story to your actual story.

[Xamusel]

To answer your points... first off, I might have mentioned that I'm reconsidering the use of 13th Age as a rule set that I'll use. I don't know how well I brought that across, though.

Second, I was thinking of doing something like what you did for your take on Reign of Winter earlier, only with a different set of properties used to make sure things worked properly as per the use of originality (more or less). Is that a good idea, and why/why not?

[Kieran]

That would, I think, at least partially depend on the properties in question . . .

[Kieran]

The Campfire
Realm of the Entity







“What are you doing?”

Mikaela Reid jumped, even as recognition of the voice hit—as short a time as she’d spent in this hellish realm, it was already working on her nerves.

(Good, a part of her thought—the part that made her a Survivor)—that would keep her alive . . .)

Out loud, however, she said, “Cheryl! Perfect—you’ll be a big help with this!”

“With what, new girl?” the blonde teen demanded, even as she corrected herself with “Mikaela, right?”

“Yeah,” the redheaded ex-barista confirmed. “And it’s a spell.”

“Right,” Cheryl said. “You do magic . . .”

“I’m a Wiccan, yeah—and it does work,” Mikaela pointed out, a little defensively.

The shorter and younger woman backed up a step, hands raised. “Hey, I’m not going to argue—even if I hadn’t seen some shit, you pretty much hard-countered the Hag in our first Trial together.”

Mikaela nodded, sending her reddened curls flying and forcing her to adjust her glasses. That had not been easy, but her blessings did seem to counter the hexes sent by their enemy—

. . . Well, some of them—the Shape hadn’t used anything, but it still managed to hide from her aura sight all too well.

“. . . Yeah,” she said, a little lamely. “Anyways! I figure that if I can get the right invocation going, maybe we can call for help—this ‘Entity’ can’t be the only thing like it out there, and maybe there’s something more benevolent . . .”

“In my experience,” Cheryl said dryly, “God exists mainly to fuck you up—and if the cults don’t do a good enough job, the direct approach is always an option.”

She said it with such certainty that Mikaela was almost tempted to ask why—but ultimately decided that it could wait.

(After all, what good was hearing a horror story she couldn’t write down?)

“. . . You know it’s not going to work, right?” the teen asked Mikaela sombrely. “There’s no way it’s going to let us summon something helpful.”

“Oh, I think it will,” Mikaela said grimly. “Partly, because of you—you know how to work with and around things like that—I saw the Entity protect that generator because you told it to . . .”

Cheryl paled, her limbs tensing for fight or flight—

“But only partly because of you,” Mikaela added quickly, in an attempt to be reassuring, raising her hands in surrender.

After a beat, the teenager asked hesitantly “. . . What’s the other part?”

“From what you’ve all said,” Mikaela said hollowly, thinking of her own, recent experiences, “the damned thing feeds on hope. That’s why it gives us presents, and the like. And what better hope could we have, than something that might get us all out of here . . .?

“The trick,” she added grimly, “will be figuring out how to make it bite off more than it can chew . . .”








Misaki Town
Some time after the Great Holy Grail War








It went without saying that he attracted attention; there was just no way he wouldn’t.

This wasn’t Tokyo, or another major tourist destination—foreigners just weren’t seen here with any kind of regularity. And despite the number of people in town with occidental features (after all, Akiha and Hisui’s eyes, unlike Shiki’s—either Shiki, if you wanted to be meta about it—weren’t mystical in origin), they weren’t ingrained enough in the local consciousness to pass without notice. Pass without comment, sure—in general, Japanese social customs were too polite to be so direct—but he attracted stares, without question.

Which, of course, led to the expected response of your average (ha!) polite, Japanese teenager.

“Sorry about this,” Shiki said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in that way Frid had thought only existed in anime.

He shrugged. “It’s not like I’m not used to being stared at, Tohno-san.”

At least this time it’s because I’m an ethnicity not usually seen around here, and maybe because I’m tall and muscular, rather than because I’m freakishly thin and crookedly built—

“Still,” the teen interrupted him, frowning. “It’s not right.”

Frid shrugged. “It’s human nature—get old enough, and you learn to cope.”

The statement might seem odd, to those who didn’t know him. In appearance, after all, the two men might be peers, or Frid perhaps a little older—even without the slowed aging of a Celestial Exalt, he’d not really started looking old until he hit forty, and with it . . . But the undeniable truth was that he was a middle-aged curmudgeon dealing with a bunch of mostly-optimistic teenagers—or those willing to fake optimism for Shirou’s sake—and it never hurt to remind the rest of them of that.

Or himself, for that matter—every one of the females present in the Works was very attractive (as befitting eroge heroines, he supposed), but all but a few were absolutely off-limits because of that, even if they’d been interested. Not that they were, but . . .

“Maybe so,” Shiki said offhandedly—and if Frid read an unspoken “It’s not like I’ll ever know” in his voice, he chose not to mention it.

“You are remarkably gloomy, Frid-san,” Kohaku chided him in a nonetheless cheerful tone. “Shouldn’t you and Shiki-san enjoy walking with two lovely young ladies . . .?”

She sounded so upbeat it sent shivers down Frid’s spine, and he was reasonably certain that, barring TATARI interference, he actually could survive anything she’d do to him.

For her own part, Hisui seemed to shrink in place at that statement, mumbling “Nee-san . . .” in embarrassment.

“Didn’t you ask him along just to carry the groceries . . .?” Shiki wondered aloud.

“Well, of course!” Kohaku said brightly. “Just look at all those muscles! It should be easy for him!”

In point of fact, Frid could handle about two hundred pounds of weight without slowing down in the slightest—more, even, if he was careful in his Essence application, or actually didn’t worry about encumbrance. And since a large, muscular man, foreign or otherwise, would draw less attention carrying that kind of weight than, say, a comparatively tiny blonde woman (either of them), and several residents of the Works had high-functioning metabolisms, he’d been volunteered for the task.

Despite his natural instinct to complain, Frid didn’t actually mind so much; he’d been meaning to get an idea of the lay of the land in Misaki for a while, there’d just never been much chance to. Shiki’s company as “extra hands” was welcome, even. What was less welcome was the fact that his presence obviously bothered Hisui, and her sister’s presence bothered him—

A sudden chill had him bristling in alarm, snapping Frid into wariness. Shiki wasn’t too far behind—while largely untrained and mostly mortal, the last Nanaya was still a born demon hunter, with all the instincts such a thing implied. He slipped his knife into hand easily, one hand rising to his glasses even as fog rose out of nowhere, shifting to try to cover both girls—a tricky feat, with Hisui clinging to him in alarm, and Frid between he and Kohaku . . .

[Scent of Midnight Dweomers]

The Charm was as much as he dared to use—as much as he could use without giving himself away with an anima flare—but what it told him . . .

[First Excellencies: Strength, Dexterity, Wasp’s Sting Blur]

Indigo and silver light flared around him as Frid moved, seizing Hisui and Shiki both before throwing them into Kohaku, hard enough for their momentum to send all three flying—

And a spidery tendril, the size of a girder, reached out of the Fog to pierce where the pair had once stood.

The Lunar roared in pain, pierced at an angle he couldn’t easily slip out of—not that it mattered. The alien limb withdrew almost immediately after making contact, drawing its prize back with it like a hooked fish.

Leaving the three residents of the Tohno mansion to stare after it, as the light was swallowed by the darkness of the fog—before the fog itself vanished . . .








Avalon Castle, Phantasmagoria Island (Grail Works. Ltd. Headquarters)
Beyond the boundaries of time and space








“. . . And then it disappeared,” Shiki finished. “No idea what it was, but at that speed—it would’ve had me. I couldn’t have gotten Hisui-chan clear without getting hit, and I wouldn’t have left her. It would’ve had me.”

The Tohno boy, normally unflappable, looked furious—with himself or the situation, no one was completely sure, nor about to ask.

“Can you track it, Einzbern-san?” Kohaku said, with an alarmingly serious mien. “Or him, at least?”

“I’m trying,” Ilya growled. “But I’m trying to be careful, too—anything associated with fog like that that he’s mentioned all rates as ‘way too dangerous to mess with’ in his notes; mostly, things that could find us. We can’t help him if we’re trapped, too.”

The maid nodded, but none of them believed she was satisfied with the answer.

“Nee-san?” Hisui whispered, so quietly that Shiki had to strain to comprehend her. “I’m . . . Surprised at you,” she admitted, finally.

“He saved you, Hisui,” her sister whispered back, “so I owe him help.”

In a flatter tone, she added, “It nearly killed you—so I owe it pain.”

In this, Shiki decided, he and Kohaku agreed wholeheartedly . . .








Writer's Notes: A bit of Halloween(-ish) fun - not quite as the original concept went, but not necessarily invalidating it, either . . . And adaptable enough that I could add another person to the capture list, from either side of the Works.