"Holmes, you have better been right about this!"
"I always am."
"Right… Well, that’s everything on the list."
"You’ve received the mutya, so the excessive magical energy required for this summoning should be provided. Is the fossilized fruit presented?”
"Yeah, and your little contraption too."
”That ‘little contraption’ extracts a fallen deity’s essence and purifies it. At least Da Vinci isn’t here, she’d be giving you an earful right now…”
”Well, the sun is almost directly overhead. It is not a coincidence that the sun would be placed so cleanly above this mountain. For the best probability of summoning our intended servant, you should start in about 30 seconds.”
“Here goes..!”
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"SINUKUAN"
Caster of Bathala’s Blade
"Ah, here I am, Master! This is a very strange sensation, I have to say. I am not a Saber, it seems. I suppose I have this vessel to thank for that? You really did pull out all the stops, huh Master!"
Class: Caster
True Name: "Sinukuan"
Alignment: Lawful Good
Aliases: Tres Marias, Apolaki
Origin: Philippine Myths
Alt Classses: Saber, Alter Ego
Parameters:
Strength: C
Endurance: B
Agility: C
Luck: A+
Mana: B
NP: A
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Territory Creation A+
Creates an area that is advantageous to oneself as a mage. Sinukuan can create their old home, the White Stone, as a Noble Phantasm. Once created, an area equal to a “mountain” is considered their territory, which functions as a workshop.
Item Construction C-
As a deity that taught the natives the art of metalcrafting, Sinukuan can create a multitude of very fine tools and weapons, usable for both standard use and magecraft. However, due to the vessel being a spirit of nature, their aptitude with metal has been lessened severely.
Catholic Absorption (Sorcerer) EX
A skill that represents the influence of the Catholic Church on certain pagan deities. When a pagan deity is absorbed by Catholic practice, they are often replaced by a sorcerer that never truly existed. This skill seals Divinity, but grants the Magecraft skill of a rank equal to the sealed Divinity.
Sun God’s Essence -
A skill representing one’s divinity as a deity of the sun. Sealed by Catholic Absorption.
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Mystic Eyes of Skylight (Day) A
One could say the gaze of the deity was the sun’s rays itself. When it is night, they can see with extraordinary accuracy, akin to the Clairvoyance skill, and their senses are heightened. While it has many uses, one of the most prominent features is that it can effectively negate Presence Concealment B or lower rank temporarily. Notably, this skill can only be activated at day, as that is when Sinukuan “owns the world”.
Tres Marias D
Strange. This skill is something of a True Name. What should have been.
Tres Marias refers to three Diwata (nature spirits, of a kind) named Maria Makiling, Maria Cacao, and Maria Sinukuan. Three identities derived from the same core legend of a Mountain Diwata with only minimal differences.
A skill that, impossibly, contains the abilities of an entire Heroic Spirit. In addition to a significant amount of nature-related abilities, such as speaking to animals and increasing the growth of plants, this skill can be activated to apply various kinds of curses to anyone who has taken something that belongs to Sinukuan.
Diwata of Domination B
Normally this skill would be called “Sorcerer of Domination”, but being summoned into a Diwata as a vessel limits its effect. Sinukuan was known to dominate the souls of humans, animals, and nature spirits alike. Due to the servant body’s affinity to nature, this skill has been limited to animals and nature spirits. The result of this skill is not unlike a Command Seal, though the method of commanding the spirits is different and notably isn’t as all-consuming as Command Seals.
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The Church made from Giants
White Stone
Type: Anti-Army
Rank: A
Range: 1~25
Max Targets: 1
“Like the Sun does my home shine. I invite you, partake in all that is golden here. I wonder, can you resist me?”
The White Stone was said to be the home of Sinukuan before they disappeared. Inside, everything was gold. The pillars, the walls, the table, the plate, the utensils, they were all made of gold. It was as large as a church, and perhaps more decorated. From here Sinukuan did most of their magecraft, and nobody who knew of them dared to step even on the mountain where it sat.
But those who were ignorant inevitably found themselves at the White Stone once they stepped on Mount Arayat. Sinukuan trapped his visitors, but offered to feed them. Those who resisted the temptation to eat would be saved just before they starved to death, and receive many blessings. That is how humanity learned how to smith in this area.Those who ate, however, would lose themselves to Sinukuan’s will, becoming servants, soldiers, or simply entertainment.
The domination effect is secondary to the White Stone’s main ability, however. A large area around the area is designated a part of Sinukuan’s workshop, and a curse is placed on whoever walks on it. No matter how hard one tries to leave, they will only ever end up back at Sinukuan’s home. The complete destruction of Sinukuan, the White Stone, the victim, or an ability that can negate curses is necessary to exit that land.
Second Fragment of the Creator
Sword of Bathala
Type: Restoration
Rank: -
Range: 1
Max Targets: ???
“Father, I wield this blade not out of malice, but out of necessity. I hereby swear, by your name, this blade will reignite the spark of Humanity!”
A sword made from the power of a dying Chief Deity. As a sword, it is simply a magical blade. It can cut through a god, but the ability to kill resides in the wielder. This blade was only used once, out of greed, and after realizing the sin of wielding it that way, this Noble Phantasm was sealed.
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Part 1: Who was Apung Sinukuan?Part 1: Who was Apung Sinukuan?
Long ago, there was a creator deity, Bathala. The area now known as the Philippine Islands was His domain. He had children with humans and created other deities himself. Inevitably, there was a coup to take over the position of Bathala. It failed, but the children remained powerful deities.
Two of the deities who participated in the coup were Apolaki and Mayari. Their eyes emit a powerful light, and so it was always day. They did much together, lamenting that they were tricked into fighting their own Father.
Bathala died at a later date, and His death left the position of Chief Deity vacant. Apolaki and Mayari contested for the position, fighting for many days with the weapons that Bathala had left behind - a sword for Apolaki and a bamboo spear for Mayari.
Apolaki’s sword cut deep into Mayari’s eye, blinding her in that eye. Realizing that he was killing his own sister, Apolaki ceased the battle and offered to rule jointly. The two became allies again. Due to Mayari’s eye no longer emitting light, the time she ruled became considered “night” and she became a moon goddess. Apolaki, conversely, resided over “day” and became associated with the sun and war.
Apung Sinukuan is, in essence, the reformed Apolaki. They are recorded as different, but that is what Apolaki was aiming for when he chose to become Sinukuan. Apung Sinukuan was a very powerful sorcerer who was pivotal in granting native Philippine people many skills, such as smithing metals. He did have a dark side, occasionally controlling the people and spirits of his land to wage war in his name, dominating their souls in the process, but the native people did not believe in “evil”. Only “necessity”. Thus, Apung Sinukuan was feared, but he was never confronted. He was simply a part of the world’s function, something designed to be feared.
Part 2: The Catholic OverhaultPart 2: The Catholic Overhaul
When the Catholics arrived in the Philippines, they were surprised to find that the native people believed in a singular, almighty God. God must have touched this land, they thought, but the native people called Him “Bathala” and raised false idols. They needed "correcting".
Sinukuan was among the first to be targeted by this “correction”. At first, the Catholics attempted to change Sinukuan’s gender, believing that the people would not worship a woman. This failed, as the people did not see gender as a significant part of the character. Furious, the Church changed “Apung” to the name “Maria” to Sinukuan in order to claim the legend as their own. From then on, the legend of Apung Sinukuan was replaced with the Saint Maria Sinukuan, a mage who learned from God and resided over Mt. Aryat.
Part 3: Tres MariasPart 3: Tres Marias
The Catholics did this to other deities as well, adding the name “Maria” to invoke the name of Mary and align native belief with Catholicism. Each became the saint of a specific mountain. Each became a woman of purity and beauty. Each would be generous to native people originally, but the legend was made to make out the native people as savage and greedy, forcing the mountain diwatas away.
“Maria” in this way never existed. But their legends together are strong. Many people still believe in the Mountain Diwata archetype. Thus, a spirit that represents them exists. Tres Maria, the embodiment of that archetype, the fusion of the saints Maria. This conglomerate spirit should be the only versions of the gods that have been “replaced” by Catholic legend, but…
Part 4: The SummoningPart 4: The Summoning
“Holmes, isn’t this a bit… too elaborate? I understand we need a specific servant, but this list of requirements is way too long!”
“I’ve gone over as many sources as I can, Miss Kyrelight. Each and every step is necessary. If we miss one, we will likely summon the vessel, but not what is contained within. That is what we need right now.”
“You said it. I can’t believe the Church could be so influential here! The way they could completely override the existing textures here…”
“I have my own hypothesis about why that was possible, but that’s a discussion for later.”
“I don’t understand. Why can’t we just summon the servant we want with a catalyst?”
“To make a complicated matter simple, the strong grip of the Church in this area prevents it entirely. The Church has altered the legend to a degree that the new legend overrides the old legend, even in the Throne of Heroes. To make the summoning of specific servants the Church has overridden, we’ll need to take a couple of creative liberties.”
[“The Church can do that?”]
[“How can we even bypass that?”]
“Unfortunately, we don’t have time for long explanations. How can I explain shortly…”
“I’ll take over from here, Holmes. You understand that the person we know to be Sasaki Kojirou is actually a nameless person who is approximately what the legend entails? We’re shooting for a similar phenomenon. Using the spirit that replaced Apung Sinukuan in the Throne of Heroes as a vessel for a deity that is similar to him, it should be possible to ‘approximate’ Apung Sinukuan.”
“There is an additional risk in this summoning. Given that the spirit that replaces Sinukuan is its own composite servant of Church-created heroic spirits, there’s a chance we could end up splitting that servant during the summoning. The remaining heroic spirits could just disappear, or they could become wraiths.”
[“We just have to take that risk, then.”]
“You’re right. We’ll just have to handle a wraith if one shows up. But first we have to find all these catalysts…”
…
. . .
. . .
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OpinionsOpinions
Likes:“This is quite new to me, but I find myself quite liking the interconnectivity of nature. I had never given it much thought, but taking this nature spirit as a vessel has given me new insight.”
Dislikes:“Thievery is something that I've recently discovered irritates me to no end.”
The Holy Grail:“I don't really have much need for a miracle. If I had to pick one thing, I'd like to give my sister her eye back.”
During an Event:“Master, I believe there is an event ongoing right now! Lets go, while the sun still shines.”
RelationshipsRelationships
"Makiling":“Oh, sister? I don't recognize you at all. What kind of vessel- ah, I see.”
Gawain:“Ah, it is always nice to see others appreciate the sun.”
Circe:“You are a powerful sorceress! Did you also enchant the people into servitude? ...Huh? Pigs? Isn't that a bit cruel?”
Rama:“I see some similarities between us ourselves, but you look much more like a great hero who was around in my time. I almost confused you for him for a second there!”
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Bottom NotesI really made a whole deal about making two different servants for one story and ended up only finishing one with few days to spare- and cutting out the Bond CE section to boot. You can probably guess who the second servant that follows this summoning scheme would be though. I won't say it outright since I still want to make that sheet. If I manage to stick around for more sheets time around, at least.
Man, I really hope I explained the whole weird summoning bit alright with that dialogue.