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Ruler of the Penitent Cell
Saint Pelagia
Other Classes: Caster, Alter-Ego
True Name: Pelagia
Alignment: Lawful Good
Place of Origin: Lebanon
Parameters:
STR: C
END: D
AGI: A
MGI: B
LCK: B
NP:
Height: 188 cm
Weight: 54 kg
Likes: Dancing, Margaritas, The smell of Dishes made with olive oil
Dislikes: Stomachaches and hunger pangs
Talent: Choreographic and directorial duties
Natural Enemy: Hassan of the Cursed Arm
Attribute: Human
Traits: Hominidae Servant, Humanoid, Servant, Weak to Enuma Elish
Armament: Conjured Winds
Catalyst: A piece from her bones, or a shard of the stone her cell was carved of.
However, as a Ruler, her Caster or Alter-Ego forms are more likely to
Lore:
Sometime in the range of the 4th to 5th century, in the City of Antioch, there was a woman known as Margarita. The foremost Harlot in the city, she served as a prominent actress, pimp, prostitute, dancer, and leader of her own troupe. A woman of great vice, she was one day moved by the actions of Saint (then only a Bishop) Nonnus, who praised the upkeep of her appearance and presence, while the other holy men looked away, ashamed and disgusted. Intrigued by his words, she sent slaves to ask the bishop if even someone such as her could be saved: and with his reply that God knew of her past, and would still do so, she came to the basilica of Saint Julian to see him, and be accepted into God's fold.
However, it would not turn out to be so simple. As she came with her slaves and those who followed her, being baptized under her birth name of Pelagia, and beginning to break the golden torcs (collars denoting ownership) around their necks and freeing them, another attendant to the ceremony would arrive. As a great, and notably very
successful sinner, Pelagia had once accepted the devil, Satan himself, in exchange for wealth and power. Sensing her rejecting that which fueled and belonged to him, he arose to deny her Baptism, and claim her soul. However, as he reached her, staring down at her, she would simply make the sign of the cross, and breathe on him, banishing him back to hell.
The following night, the devil would return to claim her once more, and once more she would make the sign of the cross, and breathe upon him to banish him. The following morning, she decided that if he was coming to collect what he was owed, she would rid herself of everything she had gained in sin- instructing the remaining servants who had chosen to stay by her to distribute all that she owned to the masses, before dismissing them from her service. Pelagia would then travel to The Mount of Olives in Nonnus's chiton, disguised as a eunuch named Pelagius, where she would remain until her death from extreme aestheticism. When her body was found, and she was revealed to have been a woman, it drew in pilgrims from as far off as Jericho and the Jordan Valley, she being somewhat of an oddity for the time.
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance: EX
In addition to the Magic Resistance iconic to the Saber Class, Pelagia demonstrates high Magic Resistance due to her unwavering piety. However, since it is just averting (evading) the magecraft, only she will be saved against a wide-range magic attack. Also, it cannot cope with the sacraments of the Church.
"Finally, all that meditation payed off physically.. do you suppose that's why a lot of the practitioners of Buddhism seem to have similar resistances? I know most of the values between our faiths are fairly similar."
True Name Discernment: B
Class Skill of the Ruler class where status information such as one's identity, Skills and Parameters are automatically revealed to the owner of this Skill when directly encountering a Servant.
"Please- even before I turned to God, I had an eye for this sort of thing, you didn't get where I did without it. Frankly I'm hurt that It's only at B ra-... darling, I'm joking. This is standard for Saints Summoned as Rulers."
God's Resolution: A
A Class Skill of the Ruler class and is the privilege of the Ruler presiding over the Holy Grail War: the right to use Command Spells against Servants. Each Ruler is normally granted two Command Spells for each Servant that participates in the Holy Grail War.
She is unable to repurpose command seals from others, however.
"I must admit that this is not the first time I have ordered others against their wills- granted, with torcs, not command seals. It was a sin I was forgiven for, and I wear one now as a reminder- huh? You thought this was some weird choker?"
Personal Skills:
Golden Presence: B
A skill owned by Pelagia as both the Patron Saint of Actresses and other Female Performers, and as a woman who was remarked to take better care of her body than priests did their souls.
It achieves an effect similar to Golden Rule (Body) with the additional caveat that the owner of the skill must dedicate a small amount of care to personal upkeep, in order to achieve the natural, goddess-like body usually attributed to the skill. When fulfilling the condition however, Pelagia acquires an effect somewhat akin to a personal Charisma, with people becoming (figuratively) enchanted by her presence, and she being given a sizeable Luck boost.
"Honestly darling, I've just got that 'It' factor! Always had, always will- it's part of why my corpse had so many pilgrims from afar... I am going to have to talk with The Throne about wording though. 'Goddess-like' isn't right, I fancy myself as more 'God-Blessed', you know?"
Weak Constitution (Aestheticism): B
A skill born of Pelagia's death, her form wasted away into an unrecognizable state from her extreme aestheticism.
At any time, Pelagia may find herself on the receiving end of a massive Parameter stat-loss. The risk becomes much higher in combat, while it is low normally, though the risk can be lowered if Pelagia consumes food. However, if she eats to the point of gluttony (stomachaches and the like), the likelihood and magnitude of the stat drops will be raised drastically instead.
"I'm the patron saint of actresses and all, so whenever I look at Hollywood, darling, I want to bang my head into a wall- I know the bit is that the place is Satanic, but if they're looking at my story, they're taking the exact wrong lesson about my days on the Mount of Olives. Too many people, not even just the women, are starving themselves for roles- I sometimes think the designation of my patronage was an ironic bit of prophecy."
Breath of the Holy Spirit: A
Just as Jesus Christ did in John 20:22, bestowing the Holy Spirit onto his Disciples and granting them authority to banish sin, Pelagia banished Satan when he came to protest her Baptism with naught but a breath and sign of the Cross, doing the same when he cam for her the following night.
Blessed by The Holy spirit, received in her baptism and communion, Pelagia is able to summon powerful gales to blow targets away, or cut through them with concentrated slicing winds. When utilizing them, she will often do so with gestures of dance, the displacement of air by her motions being magnified how she so chooses.
"When they found my body, unrecognizable as it was from hunger and thirst, they still knew it was me. Why? Position and place. In my earnestness to continue my repentance, I continued dancing, day and night- my thought process was that through my exertion, I could better communicate to the Lord my regret and sorrow. My actions caused the winds to pick up, and before I knew it, I was carving my own cell out of the rock. That's how the others on the mountain knew it was my body: The walls of my cave were large and smooth from the erosion, and my body was slumped in a dancer's bow.... truthfully, I would have lived much longer without doing so, looking back on it, but it's not something I can say I regret."
Noble Phantasm:
Signum Reprobationis Satanae
Harlot's Banishing Cross
Rejection-type Noble Phantasm
Rank: A++
Range: 1-3 meters
Max Targets: 1
As she did against Satan, Pelagia once more makes the sign of the cross, and unleashes a singular breath upon her target. What ensues could be considered a spiritual degloving, as she utterly and wholly removes magical enchantments, inscriptions, wards, and the like, rejecting them from her target. It could be something as simple as reinforcement magecraft, a curse-mark, or something as dangerous as grail mud infecting a servant, or command seals on a master. As she removed everything worldly about herself before she died, she does to her foes.
A noble phantasm that can only be used once a day, refreshing every night, unless powered by a grail. However, as she was able to replicate the rebuke of Satan on her own, out of the Basilica and without holy men and women beside her, this noble phantasm does not possess a limited number of uses, only cooldown.
The Rank of A+++ is due to Pelagia's own choosing, as while it would normally be listed as EX rank, she wishes to recognize the aid of The Holy Spirit.
Personality:
Despite the epithet of her sainthood being "the penitent", Pelagia is by no means dour or outwardly introspective, instead full of life and sporting a rather worldly energy. Her face is almost never neutral, always expressing some sort of emotion, whether it be one of joy, a sort of pouty disapproval, ponderous thought, or hearty laughter. As both sinner and saint, it could never said that she half-assed anything, or overly deliberated: she lives proudly in the moment. Yet, it isn't out of some over-eagerness or lack of thought, but rather the opposite: she is a human being who has come to terms with herself, and is remarkably well-adjusted. In moments of calm and action, for all her expression and purposeful, extroverted movements, there is a surprising zen to her. She's sage in how she thinks about things, and extremely thoughtful, in how she now lives once again as a saint and servant. She did what she did in life, for good and bad, and through her legend, the positive and negative, she's here once more.
"We don't talk about it much, but each of us as saints... we still go to Heaven, before we head off to the Throne. We get the chance to see paradise, to MEET God the father, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit in person, not just commune with them through prayer and the Sacraments. I spoke with Christ the most when I was there, and... he's the human part of God for a reason. We laughed over a meal, shot the shit.. it was wonderful. And I confided in him up there, that I sort of regretted dying so soon, getting so lost in prayer, reconciliation, and penance, that I forgot the world and perished... and he laughed. Not a cruel laugh, but a knowing one. He understood- lord of the dance is a title for him for a reason, how easy it is to get lost in it, but he told me not to worry over my doubt. For he told me this: my flaw not as a saint, but as a human being, a child of God, was that I never chose moderation. Not that giving my all was evil or even bad, quite the contrary, but it was an element of myself that often backfired. I gave myself over completely to sin, I quit my life as Margarita cold-turkey, I freed my slaves all at once, I gave away my worldly possessions in one single grand gesture, and I died in an exercise of pure, unadulterated repentance. And I took that with me... It's why here, manifesting as a servant, part of my abilities pertain to my upkeep and eating habits: by partaking in moderation, not going all one one way or the other, such as robing myself in gold and jewels, or starving myself in prayer, instead simply partaking in a reasonable amount of feasting, and donning modern attire, I continue my repentance in the way that's right for me. I'm still a woman who tends to the stage, trends towards being the center of attention, still a woman of God, but I do it in a way that myself and others are not harmed. And when I do engage in combat against servants and masters, I do it to prevent that same harm."
A mature woman filled with nothing but love and satisfaction of life and humanity.
Relationships:
Miriam:
"Water and Wind join together to create grand storms and hurricanes- may I join you in dance for a bit? Horah, and dance in general, has changed in the centuries that separate us, and I believe some of the motions could aid me. May I?"
Kali:
"I've no wish to fight at the moment- merely wanted to talk to you, which I believe I can, at least in regards to that Moksha skill of yours. I was never able to talk with many outside my own faith in life, so I've been trying to converse with beings from other pantheons, particularly on matters of the Self."
Ame-no-Uzume:
"You make me wish I was born a goddess- to be unburdened by your wholeness being devoted to joy like that... It's beautiful. Please, may I join in on your dance?"
Tatmanat :
"A dance that shakes the very earth... you know, if we had someone who danced with flame, I think the three of us would be able to reach the mythical 'Boogie Wonderland'-"
Ame no Uzume:
"Oh, strip-tease? I used to do a lot more than that, ahaha..."
Tillotama:
"Good God... darling, did you do any acting before showing up here? I think the term, 'leading lady' doesn't even begin to cut it for you."
Louis XIV Lily:
"Oho, the reincarnation of Apollo? And here I was, thinking France was a Catholic Country... well, who you are notwithstanding, as long as that sun of yours doesn't get too hot in this war, I'm sure we won't have any problems."
Bhargava Markandeya:
"...Could I have a moment? I was speaking to another servant on your cycle of the universe, and the true self's reincarnation throughout it's cycles, and they said their philosphy was just to, 'surf the Kali Yuga'. Do... you have a rider form that does that?"
Hata no Kawakatsu:
"Your Kagura- I've met two aspects of the goddess that created it, but you, as a watcher.... you teach it. Ruler to Watcher, overseer to overseer, servant to servant- would you mind teaching me as well? I see the other side you possess, yes, but even the worst of us can be forgiven."
Wonhyo:
"Do you think that if enough teams of servants were summoned in a Grail War, we could both be summoned at the same time? It'd have to be in Korea certainly, since the grail's Saint-centric, but... Really, I'd just like to talk Prayers and Sutras, if I'm being honest- your son was a Confucian, right? That means we've both got a link to the 4 Sages of Philosphy."
Mokosh:
"You've achieved Dancer as a special class? No, it's not a problem at all, that's very manageable... I'm just intrigued, is all."
Pierina Legnani:
"The level of torque in your form as you spin... it's entrancing. I think you'd give some of the Berserkers here a run for their money in the force with how you move sometimes."
Creator Notes:- Really liked this contest theme! I was sad to see the no capoeira clause because it's the coolest martial art, but it lead to me researching Pelagia who I found really interesting. I considered St Valentine, as the patron saint of dancers, but ultimately settled on a saint who WAS a dancer herself, as I found it more fitting.
- Man, we need more "normal" rulers in canon. Thank god for the new FGO news, because going off of Jeanne and Amakusa (with a bit of Karl) for what Rulers are supposed to be like leaves me with too many statting questions. Hopefully, we'll get some saints soon enough.
-Below here is design talk, so feel free to skip that if you're not interested.
- Alright, so the design process for Pelagia was really weird from the get-go because of how she's actually described physically in her stories, down to having three notable outfits. There's the loose Robe of gold, precious metals and jewels as Margarita, her Baptismal gown, and the chiton from Nonnus that she wore when living as a Hermit on Extra Virgin Mountain. I knew she was gonna have to be mad skinny due to the whole died of asceticism bit, but I was at one point making her completely androgynous due to the period of hermitage being lived in disguise as a man. I was like, cool, we'll go with that, until I looked back at the whole Harlot stage, to that robe of gold adorned with jewels, which had the explicit detail that they could see her form through the robe. She had to have been fucking STACKED if that's the case, because the robes were specifically gold, not some thin white shit. This conflicts with the disguised as a man bit a little, but upon seeing how Sleeved chitons were with the baggy top (sleeved specifically by the way, since notably, they were worn by priests and clergy in the period of popularity), I figured there's room to hide shit with the extra fabric. The gold rings on the fit are supposed to be a fusion of a torc (which are usually much slimmer and chunky) and a shackle due to the association of shackles and punishment/penance, and I chose to use a second around the waist where a cord might be on a chiton for cinching due to the double denouncement of the devil. Plus, with her halo, that makes 3 total rings in her design, which hearkens to the trinity and all that. I chose to go for white on the chiton, since that's the color of a baptismal gown, and to slit it at the hips to make it more reminiscent of a dancer's garb. As for hair and skin tone, I chose a more androgynous hairstyle since there was the whole Pelagius ruse and all, paired with an ashy sorta skin tone to make her look less healthy. One of my goals this year is to draw CE's of my servants just doing casual shit, regardless of how they relate or are in the same project, and I think Pelagia's gonna see a lot of use if I get around to that, since I imagine her design changing fairly drastically between different ascensions. Like, the one I have here would be 1st, and she'd subsequently look healthier, probably with different hair, and definitely better clothes, as she goes. Not super gaudy or anything, but she'd find that comfortable middleground a lot of her personality quote talks about. Basically, if you see a random fuck in the CE's, if it's got her hair and eye color, its her.
Originally Posted by Morg van Destro
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