Monthly Create-A-Servant Contest

[Scotcheroos]

Okay but

Olympia’s got a fucking BAKERY of an ass there, holy shit-

[Baron Magnus]

Fate is a cruel mistress.

Seek her and you know only despair. Run from her and you know only fear.

The future is set in stone and nothing you do can change that.

That was how it was in the Age of Gods.

Destiny guided each and every lifeform. Even those abstract beings known as Gods were no less a victim of the cruel mistress Fate.

Like mortals they tended to trying to avert fate.

Often, unlike mortals, they knew the futility of their actions.

Only one in history ever raged against fate as hard as he among the gods.

A rage so legendary as to consume a continent.

Odin


chigusasei224, Reddit

True Name
Odin

Class
Beast V

Alignment
Chaotic-Neutral

Height/Weight
11'5/934

Region
Northern Europe

Source
Poetic Edda

Other Classes
All Classes
(Except Grand Saber, Grand Lancer, Grand Archer, Grand Rider, or Grand Assassin)

Parameters

Strength	Endurance	Agility
A	A	B
Mana	Luck	Noble Phantasm
B	E	EX

History

Where did it all begin? My quest to stop Twilight? Did it begin when I constructed Asgard? No. It began before that… when I saw wisdom by sacrificing my right eye? No, before even that…. Yes. It truly began in the beginning.

When I slew the father of giants.

Ymir.

Not because I hated them but because I saw the potential their blood had and how Ymir wasted it. Spilt it like water and for nothing. I remember it angered me, so I killed him and made use of his corpse.

I made the world because I saw the potential for life. Well. Perhaps not the world. The other eight realms though were my creation. I sought to order the world… and for that, it fought back. I knew it would though… that is how it always is.

So I sought knowledge. I sought how the world would fight me. It was… beyond my wildest dreams. It intended to burn all my hard work to ash. It threatened to cull all life in my sphere of influence. It… threatened even the very souls under my dominion.

I could not accept it.

I could not accept that cold reality.

So I began to prepare. I prepared Asgard for the invasion. I prepared Valhalla to build an army. I secured alliances and deals to have reinforcements. I commissioned various goods and services so that my armies would be armed and supplied.

Yet it was all for naught.

Twilight came regardless.

My walls? Worthless before the giants. My armies? As ash before Surtr. My reinforcements? Never came. My supplies? Ruined before the enemy. Myself? I fell short against my greatest blunder.

Fenrir.

He who brought Twilight.

I should never have allowed it to be born. I should have slain the wolf as a pup… but my kindness, I allowed Tyr to handle it. From its chaining to its care. I allowed Tyr sole management. An utter blunder.

Never again.

I swear.

Never shall Twilight descend unto the World again

Class Skills

Independent Manifestation
B
He will always appear before Twilight. He appears in doomed timelines. Not to feast on misery or ride with despair or war with rage. He appears to save those that need saving. Regardless of who is suffering, he will accept them into his Valkyries and ensure they are everlasting. Even if he fails, he saves a few and moves on. He repeats this, again and again ceaselessly.

Only his nature as a god prevents the chipping away of his ideals in the face of endless failure.

In addition to allowing him to manifest in any timeline that is doomed and support his own existence, he also receives heavy resistances to time manipulation and attacks that inflict instant death. Not total immunity, but almost total immunity. Unlike normal Independent Manifestation, this applies not just to him but his Valkyries though at a lower level. Only enough to allow them to manifest and existence in the timeline he summons them in.

Authority of the Beast
C+

Odin does not see himself as evil.

As a result, this skill itself is only modestly ranked. However, should Odin accept his role as an Evil of Humanity, the Beast of Salvation, then it will raise in rank due to Odin no longer rejecting his beasthood. In either case though he has a direct effect on humanity while present. A profound and dangerous effect that left unchecked can lead to societies collapsing.

While manifested humans he interact with find their aggressiveness and resistance against him diminished greatly. So much so that when he 'saves' them they do not resist. A normal human requires everything to even spark a thought of opposition. Magus and higher forms of humanity might show greater resistance, but ultimately cannot stop him from 'saving' them.

Even if they would disagree with their whole being the sight of his horned helm, proof of his beasthood, their will to fight back crumbles away.

Divine Core of the Allfather
EX

Allfather.

The title of the chief god of Northern Europe for centuries.

Until Ragnarok smote him.

Despite this, his core is intact and he can access his divinity.

This access grants him, in addition to Divinity, the capacity to replicate any of the standard class skills assigned to the standard heroic spirit classes at an equivalent rank and utilize them to their full capacity. In the case of Mad Enhancement, he enters a frenzy for a full minute before he regains it temporarily to decide whether or not to continue his frenzy or relent.

Personal Skills

One-Eye
EX

Mystic Eyes.

Considered derived from the first magecraft, Sight.

Odin himself is thought to have many types of Mystic Eyes. Odin does not possess many but instead has one simple one. Mystic Eyes of Clairvoyance. However the evolved after he, under the advice from Mimir, plucked his eyes and dipped both in the pool, letting them seep in the Liquid Wisdom for three days and three nights before retrieving only one.

An act that evolved the remaining mystic eye into a Mystic Eye of Transcendence. It grants him three primary passive effects; he is capable of peering into the Kaleidoscope, he is capable of peering into the timeline of alternate possibilities, and he may connect, synchronize, and utilize versions of himself from other timelines for the purposes of data processing.

Primordial Runes

The basis of modern Rune magecraft.

Ancient spells that do not lose their strength, power from the Age of Gods, even in the modern day. Acquired from his wife Frigg or from a ritual self-sacrifice to himself Odin boasts skill, intellect, wisdom, and strength of a top-tier magus from the Age of Gods through this skill. To say he overshadows the best modern magus would not be an exaggeration in the slightest.

Despite lacking proper divinity, Odin may exercise the full might of Primordial Runes.

Additionally his runes may not grant the capability to see the future to others. Only Odin may benefit from such a power.

Nega-Fate
EX

One who fights Twilight must naturally be capable of physically interacting with fate itself.

As the foremost authority on magic, Odin has such power.

Even discounting his Mystic Eyes and magecraft ability however, his Authorities would naturally permit him to do so in several ways. As an Evil however this process becomes simpler, easier, and ultimately stronger than what he is capable of normally. Mere alterations are no longer all he is capable of; he can now cull fate itself. Destroy the future of others.

When he activates his nega skill he see's the futures of all present and may elect to destroy them. This eliminates any capability they may have to fix or invoke luck checks. However their future becomes indeterminate and future sight no longer is able to see them, unless such sight is based in calculation. Further, effects and spells that alter causality are nullified against one whose fate has been culled and they cannot use such abilities either.

Additionally he may only do so to a select number of targets each manifestation with the exception of his Valkyries. He may cull any number of their futures, but outsiders he can only do so a limited number of times.

Twilight Survivor

A skill denoting one who withstood Twilight. While how Odin, who certainly died to Fenrir, survived the fact is that somehow he did ultimately re-emerge after Ragnarok, the 'Twilight' Odin fights. Normally it grants bonuses in the face of catastrophe but Odin benefits in a very, very different way. He receives his bonuses after dying. An odd but important distinction.

Pesonality

Odin would be described by others as a meddlesome worrywart.

To an extent, this was caused by his knowledge of Ragnarok. It was also caused by his love of humanity. Yet still something more bothered him. The separation of man and god. He still refuses to believe that such a disconnect must happen and that there is a path forward where man and god can progress together. He believes that gods can see that sparkling future that he saw that made him believe in humanity's potential.

As a beast however, this has warped.

These facets still exist. He hates Ragnarok, he loves humanity and its potential, and that gods and man need not separate. However as a Beast these warp into a single belief; that Ragnarok is responsible for the tragedy that is the separation and that humanity's potential has been culled.

Thus to him the only solution is simple; He now manifests as a beast with a single purpose;

To prevent Ragnarok and failing that save as many people as he can in a timeline.

Interactions

Ritsuka Fujimaru
Bond 0
Hail. You seem lost, traveler... I shall aid you. Come. My camp is not far. I shall accept a story as payment for my aid... ah, my own name. Vithrir. A simple name, but it was given by my father nonetheless.

Ritsuka Fujimaru
Bond 5
Hrm. This is a conundrum. We simply must reunite you with your allies. It's important. Yet... I cannot deny I have tasks I must do... what to do...? Ah! I know. Coordinate with your fellows momentarily and give them these coordinates. That is my next destination... let us have our two parties meet there. That should be a fine compromise, no?

Ritsuka Fujimaru
Bond 10
Yes. I have been slandered as an evil. For the crime of seeking to undo Ragnarok. I fight not just against it but any ending. Why must stories end? Why can the storybook simply keep going? I seek to correct this mistaken idea. The gods need not die for humanity to prosper. We can well coexist... and I intend to prove it. Fujimaru. Do not get in my way.

Cao Cao
Interesting, for a human. Yes... if I had known you, I would not have hesitated to enter you into Valhalla. You would have been an honored guest... tell me. Do you wish to be one now?

Edward
An interesting life you led... it is pitiful how far you've fallen. History paints you such but I know the truth... and I cannot but lament at the tragedy you've become. Do not fear. I shall save you from yourself.

Tam Lin Arthur
Another story that ended tragically. I lament your ending... shall we change it? together? Accept my brand, bind yourself to my cause... I cannot promise that never shall a story end again but that is what I fight again. Won't you join me?

Sultan Baybars
It is not often I come across a human of your type. I can never... figure you lot out. I am conflicted. Do I invite you to my hall to join my cause? Do I simply cut you down and move on?... do I, perhaps, simply turn a blind eye...? hmmm. A conundrum, truly.

Lugh
Tsk. I dislike gods like you. You give the appearance of an adrenaline chaser, seeking only conflict... but your deeper than that, aren't you? Yes... I can see it now. You are the trickiest type of god. One who could well stand above others if you applied yourself to more than battle... but choose not to out of disinterest. I can never trust types like you... so stay away from Valhalla, understand?

John Henry "doc" Holiday
This, too, is humanity I suppose. You had real talent... and did nothing with it. A talent for the gun, a talent for luck, and a talent for discovery. Never once did you really apply yourself, did you?... Then again could you have?.... Join me. Become an Einjerhar. I'll save you the pain of your own legend. If you accept, that is.

Karolina
A threat that must be culled. That is what you are. Prepare yourself, girl and do not struggle. Your death will be painless if you comply. Don't... and I cannot guarantee a painless death.

Laevateinn
If I had known of you, I'd have slain you in your crib. You... you cost us so much. Because of you, the gods will never see the splendor of humanity... I refuse to let your childish tantrum do that. I will undo it. Stand aside, boy, or I'll also make you pay for what you did.

Mousseline
Poor child... truly. Humanity is cruel sometimes. So I offer this. Will you be one of my Valkyrie? I seek to end tragedies. To end endings and partings... will you join me in this quest? Naturally, of course, you can refuse and I'll move on.

Temujin
An evil of the end. Sent to destroy humanity... 'Twilight'. There shall be no talk. No diplomacy. No quarter. You shall die, evil of the end... and if I cannot best you, I shall save all I can and leave this timeline to its fate.

Yeonsangun
A sad example of humanity... nothing but malice made manifest. You must be twilight. Nothing will convince me otherwise.

Prepare yourself for death

Napoleon III
I will not fault you for your surrender. You are only human... but I will never surrender. I invite you to join my Valhalla as an Einjerhar.

Francis I
A wonderful human you are. Truly. I have no doubts you'd serve well among my Valkyrie... I invite you to join them. Will you, though?

Ronald Knox
Once more Twilight falls... and once more I alone must fight. My eye... it does not see you as 'Twilight' but you must be. I cannot accept any other answer!

Libuše
Hmph. You would fight me? Why? You would make a fine Valkyrie. Your saint graph and personality would be wasted as an Einherjar... though you made one miscalculation. You gaze into a limited possibility. I gaze upon infinity... and failing that... gaze upon my own infinite possibility to calculate the best course of action.

The Antikythera Mechanism
Oh venerated watchtower, my peer. I understand it looks horrid... but what am I to do? Let twilight consume humanity? Those wonderful peoples? Nay. I will fight the twilight. Even if I must stand alone... though I must ask. Are you among them? The twilight-bringers?

Laevatein
Of course I meddle! It's because humanity cannot fight Twilight and the world refuses to stop it! It even brings it itself! What else am I supposed to do, let twilight consume them like it did back then!? Never! You, twilight-bringer, have at thee foul fiend!!!

Lostbelt!Sigyn
... You assume I didn't see? You think only that splendorous city beyond twilight is my only motive? No... when I looked to the future I saw another city. Your city... and it's why I know. Why I ride... because its possible. Your lostbelt though is destined to fall. They will not relent.... still. You have a point. I swore to end twilight. It'd be remiss of me to ignore your city simply because of who will be its end. I come, Sigyn. I will be there, Nafri... and I will save you, Nari. With my Valkyrie, my Einjerhar, and my familiars I shall bring salvation to your paradise.

Sigyn, Narfi, Nari
Your right. You are a tragedy of twilight... yet now stands a chance to correct it. You all would make fine Valkyries.... will you join me? Surely, together, we can prevent twilight from ever coming again...
(Note: Made a mistake regarding Dracoscribes sheets. I incorrectly assumed Lostbelt Sigyn was also binder and never realized they were seperate until someone kindly pointed it out... so I've corrected my mistake.)

Noble Phantasms

Valhalla Odin

Hall of the Dead

Type
Anti-World

Rank
EX

The famous golden hall of Odin Allfather who enjoyed an afterlife of battle and paradise.

No different as a noble phantasm as Odin moved it to the Inner Sea of the planet before Ragnarok. This noble phantasm simply acts as a connection between it and him, allowing him to instantly shift there with but a thought. He can bring those he holds directly there too.

Most importantly he can transition souls there and it acts as a storage for his familiars.

The hall itself expands constantly to accommodate new souls with seemingly no limit while also rewinding time within itself by 24 hours after 24 hours elapse. Further, in the event the rewind fails to return to form any slain familiars, mystics automatically do so immediately.

It also provides them with arms and armor stored in rooms allotted to each inhabitant. These are reformed in the event of destruction. Valhalla also forms entertainment the individual may find appealing whenever the individual stays in the room for an extended period of time.

Odin however can shift conditions around as he desires or needs to as well as alter the functions of Valhalla.

Ochd Deug Odin

Odin's Brand

Type
Anti-Fortress

Rank
A

Primordial Runes.

Their true nature is very simple. Each represent a basic aspect of reality and allow its caster to utilize that aspect to its fullest potential. Originally a secret of the Vanir, Odin attained them through a combination of rituals and gifts from his wife Frigg. Once he had them, he studied them extensively to the point of achieving mastery with them.

This noble phantasm is a perfect expression of this fact.

He can utilize Primordial Runes as he wishes to achieve a variety of phenomenon; from creating almighty explosions to indefinitely stalling death to creating a shrine of purification. While he certainly uses his runes in this manner, these are merely common uses of this noble phantasm.

He utilizes them for a different purpose, often towards the end of his time within a timeline.

Utilizing both past and future principles and rituals he takes any souls he can save and utilizes a specific spell with the primordial runes to create new life from the soul while refreshing it. Through this he creates either a Valkyrie or an Einjerhar.

After this, the new lifeform is sent directly to Valhalla until they are summoned for some purpose.

Gungnir

Declaration of the Allfather

Type
Anti-Unit to Anti-Army

Rank
B

Said to be the prototype of the legendary spear Gae Bolg.

Thought to be a divine construct, the truth is far, far stranger.

It is simply a mystic code. A very well-made, well-structured mystic code. A mystic-code nonetheless. It is simply so powerful because Odin is an excellent magus but also he cheated. He utilized future knowledge and principles in its construction.

In other words he cheated to make Gungnir.

The basic spear was crafted by the dwarves known as the sons of Ivaldi under the supervision of Dvali. Then Odin enchanted it utilizing future knowledge and made what he calls a 'Perfect Staff'. This, despite also utilizing it as a spear.

It has several functionalities installed into it that make it a type of mystic code.

It features the capability to instantly change the trajectory of its wielders attack to ensure a successful and meaningful blow, often invoking shapeshifting to do so. It also sports an auto-reinforcement function that improves the structure, material, and history of Gungnir as needed to bypass or overcome any defenses an opponent may have.

Perhaps its strongest feature is its capacity to channel mana.

While it can be utilized akin to Mana Burst and to lethal degrees, it is better utilized when thrown and supercharged. The resulting explosion is equivalent to Ochd Deug Odin when utilized by Cu Chulainn in terms of raw destructive power with the usage of Gungnir's auto-hit and auto-reinforcement functions.

This is because Odin utilized future knowledge and principles to form the spearhead out of replica Primordial Runes.

Haer Odin

Army of the Allfather

Type
Anti-Army

Rank
A

Odin had a great many familiars.

Geri and Freki. Huginn and Muninn. Sleipnir. Valkyries and Einherjar.

This noble phantasm encompasses his possession and control of all these fantastical familiars he either created or acquired and allows him to summon one, pairs, or multiple, or even all of them in the most extreme cases. He would normally have restrictions, yet as a Beast these restrictions do not exist.

This isn't to say he has none.

He cannot resummon a familiar if it is killed.

This is because when a familiar 'dies' its saint graph and core reconstitute in an afterlife only accessible by himself, his familiars, those he brings, or those Sleipnir brings. A valkyrie or einjerhar only take an hour to reform. Geri and Frenki take multiple hours. Huginn and Muninn each take a half day, while Sleipnir requires a full day before total reconstitution.

Aside from these limitations, he has full access to his familiars.

Geri and Frenki are each individual wolves with the explicit power to interact with spiritrons and parse them, often damaging souls (though not the record it represents). They also can devour souls for the purposes of Record Storage, granting odin information to utilize later.

Huginn and Muninn are his famous ravens that allowed him to remain informed of events. They also however held special capabilities; Huginn could read the souls of others while Muninn could read the minds of others. It is an invaluable tool for Odin, granting him another means of combat-reading his opponents and also gathering information while manifested.

Sleipnir, perhaps his most famous familiar, is his steed. It is mostly horse but possesses giant genes and as such is exceedingly strong and willful. In addition to possessing great speed, equaling the speed of lightning bolts, it also can walk or run upon any surface it desires. Further it can traverse anywhere, other factors unable to stop it. Even the Imaginary Numbers Sea, the Inner Sea, and the Afterlife are accessible to it.

Finally Odin can summon Valkyries and Einjerhars though there is a difference between them and the other familiars he can summon. Unlike prior kinds, who existed prior to Odin and are simply manifested as part of his legend, his first manifestation will always lack Valkyries and Einjerhars. This is because he must make new Valkyries and Einjerhars utilizing his noble phantasm Ochd Deug Odin.

Valkyries are equivalent in strength to slightly above Shadow Servants and lack a proper noble phantasm. Einjerhars utilize the servant summon formula to simply create a mana body for human souls to inhabit, granting them parameters based on their activities in life though no single parameter would ever exceed C-rank.

------------------------------------------------

There it is! Beast V Odin Beast of Salvation!

Yeah this was actually conceptualized before Laevateinn but came last because I wanted to get him right... specifically, I wanted to figure out how to get him to work and I think I did a decent enough job. It definitely wasn't easy because there's so much with him I'm sure I missed some things... I also intentionally left some things out because they're tools for a more heroic odin than this form of him.

I honestly had fun writing him.

If I had to say the hardest part was nailing his personality down. Not going too far in any one direction and nailing that he is, in fact, rather toxic to humanity. I think i've crystalized why he is overall.... and also if a reaction is missing its either because I'm not aware and/or Odin simply wouldn't have anything to say about that particular servant.

Now imma update Laevateinn reactions.

[Scotcheroos]

Squont.

John Henry…? The link leads to Doc Holliday though. Typo, I’m guessing?

[Spelror]

His full name is John Henry "Doc" Holliday.

[fleshprism]

"Then I saw when the Jesus Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.”

First Ascension Second Ascension Third Ascension Final Ascension
Class
Rider
True Name
Temujin 「CONQUEST」
Alternate Class	Archer, Berserker	Titles	Genghis Khan, The White Rider, The First Horseman of Apocalypse
Origin	Mongolia (Historical Fact), Book of Revelations	Alignment	Chaotic Good
Attribute	Human (Heaven)	Armament	Bow(Main), Horse(Main), Short Sword, Dagger
Gender	Male (???)	Age	25 (???)
Parameters
Strength:	C	Mana:	B
Endurance:	B	Luck:	A
Agility:	B (A+)	Noble Phantasm:	EX
Class Skills
Magic Resistance: A	It grants protection against magical effects. Differing from the Resistance effect that merely rejects Magical Energy, this ability cancels the spells altogether. Cancel spells of A-Rank or below, no matter what greater magecraft it is. In practice, the Servant is untouchable to modern magi. While Temujin has not encountered much Mystery in his life, his fusion with the White Rider has drastically increased his resistance to magecraft. The White Rider, as a creature that is divine in origin, cannot be affected by modern magecraft.
Riding: A (EX)	It is a Skill that denotes a Servants ability to ride mounts and vehicles. Rider-class Servants will typically possess a high rank. All vehicles and all creatures but those of Phantasmal Beast and Divine Beast-rank can be used as mounts. While riding the creature that is summoned by his second Noble Phantasm, this skill’s rank is increased to EX. Temujin was a child born to a nomadic Mongolian tribe. To the tribe, the horses where the central pillar of their lifestyle, as they were their source of food, their source of transportation and a source of companion. From a young age, Temujin was raised to ride and care for these horses. His skill at riding was so great that he can accurately hit a target from 500 yards away while moving on horseback. Normally, Temujin would not be able to ride Divine Beasts, but due to being fused with the White Rider, he is able to control one specific Divine Beast.
Personal Skills
For I Am Crowned Pestilence: A	This skill was originally called Corpse Catapult, a skill that Temujin gained due to his tactics in war, where he would utilize corpses to destroy the morale of his enemies. This skill is evolved after his fusion with the White Rider. The White Rider is often said to embody conquest, but some beliefs express that the White Rider embodies pestilence. Regardless of whether this fact is true, the belief of the people has changed him to embody it as well. This skill acts as a conceptual weapon. All of Temujin’s attacks are imbued with disease. Even the tiniest of scratches caused by Temujin will result in the wound to fester and rot. The victim will be hit with a debilitating illness, ranking down their physical parameters. This disease will slowly kill the Servant, and while high Magic Resistance can slow it down it cannot completely halt it. Due to Temujin’s Nega-Civilization, normal methods of healing cannot treat this disease, and only divine Mysteries can remove it.
Imperial Privilege: EX	It is an ability that, due to the insistence of the owner, Skills that are essentially impossible to possess can be obtained for a short period of time. In cases when the Rank is А or above, even the "burden to the body" can be acquired (such as Divinity). Temujin prefers to take skills that are related to combat and military prowess.
Destroyer of Civilization: A+	A skill that represents Conquest’s role as the end of humanity. When the Jesus Lamb breaks the first seal, he will be the one to ride out into the world. And he shall be given the divine mandate to conquer. This skill reflects this purpose. It is denial of human civilization and achievement, for he, as a Horseman of the Apocalypse, is the one who destroys them. This skill is also empowered by Temujin’s achievements in war. In life, he had slaughtered 10% of the earth’s population at that time, and had eradicated many empires. As such, he and his Mongol hoard became known as the bane of the civilization world. This skill negates any defense that originates from human civilization. As walls and shields are made from human ingenuity and civilization, they are useless against him. Even magecraft cannot defend against him, as magecraft is derived from civilization. Furthermore, he is immune to the effects of human magecraft. However, shields and barriers that are created by non-humans can block his attacks, and magecraft that are non-human in origin can affect him.
Noble Phantasm
Image Rain of the Hateful Hoard Composite Recurve: 240,000 Shots Rank: D Type: Anti-Army Range: 50 Maximum No. of Targets: 50 A Noble Phantasm that originates from Temujin. With it Temujin is able to summon a composite bow. It is an exact replica of the bow that Temujin and his soldiers would have used in life. He is also able to summon an inexhaustible amount of arrows. When its True Name is called out, Temujin calls out to all of his soldiers and orders them to fire with him. A single shot leaves his bow, but the enemy is bombarded with 240,000 arrows. The activation of this Noble Phantasm is very cost-efficient as the arrows by themselves are not very powerful. But in conjunction with Destroyer of Civilization and For I Am Crowned Pestilence, this can be fatal to those classified as humans. Image Морины туурайн доор Wandering Warmonger Rank: A+ Type: Anti-Army Range: 99 Maximum No. of Targets: 99 A Noble Phantasm that summons Temujin’s steed. Rather than being something that is exclusive to Temujin or the White Rider, this Noble Phantasm exists due to the combination of Temujin and the White Rider’s Saint Graphs. This Noble Phantasm summons the White Rider’s horse. It is a divine beast rank phantasmal beast. It is a pure white horse, with flowing white mane and is covered with eyes. It is immune to weapons that are created by humans, and cannot be hampered by them. It is able to completely bypass human barriers, both mundane and magical. While riding this creature, Temujin's Agility is raised to A+ rank. With it’s True Name Release, it’s Anti-Army properties are revealed. To active it, Temujin must be dismounted. He holds up his hand and gets into a throwing pose. As he charges up the Noble Phantasm, a hoard of giant ethereal white horses appear behind him. He then designates a target in a straight line and lets loose the horses. Although these horses are nowhere near the level of divine beast, but are still powerful phantasmal beasts. However, after using it, he will not be able to summon the White Rider’s steed for some time. Image One Quarter of the Earth to Slaughter For I Am Crowned Conquest Rank: EX Type: Anti-Unit Range: 1 Maximum No. of Targets: 1 He is Conquest. He is the First Horseman. He is the one who will break humanity. Such is the will of God. A Noble Phantasm that originates from Conquest. It is the crystallization of the concept of conquering. It is born from the human fear of being subjugated, of having one’s free will be stripped away. This Noble Phantasm is constantly active. It allows Temujin to ‘conquer’ the abilities of enemies that he has slain. After killing a Servant, he can choose to gain one of their skills or Noble Phantasms. The Noble Phantasm that he gains will be his in its entirety, as rather than stealing it, he is usurping ownership of it. As the White Rider’s role is to conquer humans, this Noble Phantasm cannot work on those who are not human. As such, Skills and Noble Phantasms that are given by gods cannot be conquered.
History
This is not Genghis Khan. Not truly. It wears the face of the Mongol emperor, it’s voice sounds similar, even some of its mannerisms match, but this is not him. Those are only the little bits of paint that are still left after being scrapped off. Only Temujin’s extraordinary willpower stopped all of his self from being erased. What wears his Saint Graph is a creature of the end. A creature that appears during the Apocalypse. Conquest, the White Rider, the First Horseman. One of the beings sent by God to wipe the earth of humans. Due to this, many of the Skills and Noble Phantasms that Genghis Khan would have are not available to him, and he gains qualities that are not attributed to him. Genghis Khan, born around 1162 as Temüjin, rose from humble beginnings on the harsh steppes of Mongolia to become one of history's most formidable and influential leaders. The early years of his life were marked by adversity, as his father was poisoned by a rival tribe when Temüjin was just nine years old. This event thrust the young boy and his family into a precarious situation, struggling for survival on the unforgiving Mongolian plains. Despite these challenges, Temüjin demonstrated remarkable leadership skills from a young age. He successfully united several Mongol tribes through alliances and strategic marriages, gradually consolidating power under his command. The tribal leaders, recognizing Temüjin's exceptional leadership, proclaimed him Genghis Khan, meaning "universal ruler." Under Genghis Khan's rule, the Mongol Empire expanded at an unprecedented rate. Known for his military genius and innovative tactics, Genghis Khan transformed the nomadic Mongol warriors into a disciplined and highly organized military force. His conquests reached far beyond the Mongolian steppes, spanning from China and Persia to Eastern Europe. Genghis Khan's success was not solely based on military prowess; he implemented administrative reforms, promoted religious tolerance, and established a legal code to govern the diverse peoples within his empire. His vision extended beyond conquest, seeking to create a unified and prosperous Mongol state. Despite his fierce reputation on the battlefield, Genghis Khan was a pragmatic and forward-thinking ruler. He embraced new technologies, fostered trade along the Silk Road, and promoted cultural exchange within his empire. His legacy endured long after his death in 1227, as his descendants continued to expand and govern the Mongol Empire, contributing to the shaping of world history. After his death, he was recorded into the Throne of Heroes.
Personality
Genghis Khan is a complex character. Despite causing untold amounts of death, he was also the one who created the foundation of the Mongol Empire, an empire that would flourish under the rule of his grandchild Kublai Khan. He had a hatred for traitors, even if those traitors defected to him. He is incredibly charismatic, and his administrative and political acumen is extraordinary. However, after being combined with the White Rider, his personality is changed. His traits as a general and a ruler are suppressed and his tendencies as a destroyer of civilization and a conqueror is accentuated. Thus, he is much crueler and more bloodthirsty than he was in life. However, his is not completely taken over. Through sheer willpower, he has managed to retain some of his his self. As such, instead of being completely Genghis Khan or the White Rider, this Servant is a combination of both.
Likes	Bloodshed, Domination, Riding on his horse through an open field
Dislikes	Traitors, Peace, Closed in places
Talents	Warmongering, Slaughtering, Leading armies
Natural Enemy	Saints, Peacemakers
Wish	To regain all of his original personality/ TO CONQUER

A/N

My initial idea for this sheet was to have the four horsemen of the apocalypse as four individual Beast sheets (Beast VII/C, Beast VII/W, Beast VII/F, Beast VII/D), and a fifth sheet which is the complete Beast VII which would be the Lamb. But then I decided to cure my illiteracy and actually read the OP, which said I can only submit a maximum of 2 entries. So, I made this. This is basically a fusion of the White Rider and Genghis Khan. There are a few things that I’m not satisfied with in this sheet, mainly the last NP, which is too similar to Alcides’ Reincarnation Pandora for my liking. Plus, I feel like the History and Personality section is a bit all over the place. And I can't write Relationships for shit. I don't know enough about the characters to write good dialogue about them.

Also, the first three faceclaim pictures are Takumi from Fire Emblem. The last one is the White Rider from Shin Megami Tensei.

Special thanks to DelRay. Your formatting blog was super helpful while I was making this.

[sutaa]

a r c h e r
YEONSANGUN
savage tyrant of so many slain scholars

First Ascension
Second Ascension
Third Ascension
Fourth Ascension



"More swine appears before me. What dreck. But then, where are my manners? I've heard it so many times my ears start to bleed. It's important we all act civilised. We must die for that, if need be. Servant Archer, I am Prince Yeonsan - the man who saw Joseon, saw the world for what it was, and did what was only right. Will you entertain me tonight, little piggy?"

​ALTERNATE CLASS
Berserker
ALIGNMENT
Chaotic Evil
IMAGE SONG
The Root of All Evil / Mechanism of Life
IMAGE VA
Tomoaki Maeno
NATURAL ENEMY
Sejong the Great, Wu Zetian

« Class Skills »Class Skills
Independent Action B
It is possible for a Servant to stay in the world for two days without a Master. However, this is the ideal value achieved by maximally conserving mana and avoiding battle and Noble Phantasm usage.


"Would you care for a story, little piglet? This would have been... At some point during my reign; the years all blend together at this point.

The emperor of Ming wanted a sample of our bows and arrows - what he really wanted, obviously, was the secret of how we made them so strong. Would you believe Joseon could churn out such desirable armaments? Giving that secret away would mean surrendering part of our national security, but since I planned on destroying Joseon myself long before any other nation would have a chance, I didn't see the harm in agreeing to the request... When one of my ministers stopped me.

His name escapes me, but do you know what he said? A minister might have a duty to serve his prince unto death, but a vassal had no such obligation to his Master. So I should deceive Ming, and send them the weakest bows that I could. Hah... Of course I agreed. Why? How could I resist!? This minister, this man who'd spent his life rambling about ideals and honour and duty suddenly set all that aside when it got in his way! He showed me his true face! So I felt like rewarding him just a little.

Now, why am I telling you this? Mm... I guess I've been wondering. What loyalty does a Servant owe their Master? Maybe you can help me answer that. I'm dying to find out."


Oblivion Correction C
Inherent class skill of Avengers, forcibly wielded in the Archer class at the owner’s insistence in exchange for losing Magic Resistance. People are creatures that forget many things, but an Avenger never forgets. The grudges piled up over time without end empower the Servant even now, a「hatred」burning as bright today as it did hundreds of years ago.

Everything changed that day. An able administrator, kind-hearted if ill-tempered – until the revelation of his true progeny came to light. Learning that the woman he’d been raised to consider his mother bore no blood relation to him was one thing. To be told his birth mother had been deposed, exiled, executed… That was another. And when Yeonsan made an attempt to restore the woman’s honour after her death, when the officials he’d come to rely on applied all they could to oppose him, it was there that 「something」that had stayed balanced all his life finally snapped.

The lord of Joseon should rule with wisdom and grace, living a life surrounded by nobility and the beauty of the heavens – yet in perceiving the ugliness around him, the prince had been tainted. Now there was nothing but contempt, but revulsion for the very environment that birthed him, and an irresistible urge to rid the world of such filth.

Attack power increases notably when faced with anything and everything that considers itself 「noble」or「enlightened」or most revolting of all「virtuous.」

Despite possessing this skill, Archer lacks the qualifications necessary to manifest as an Avenger in full; vengeance may have been the trigger, the pretext, the justification, but the motive was only ever to vent the overwhelming disgust that had taken root in his soul.

A promise to himself to burn it all down.

Or perhaps, a 「curse」his body had been furnished with all along.


"In the end, calling what I did vengeance feels so... Weak. I won't deny it was my mother's revenge. I inherited so much from that woman; her grudges, her rage, her obsession with destroying the man who called himself my father and everything he stood for... More than any human could understand, she passed down into me. So yes, the vengeance was hers.

But I didn't do it for her. I may have mentioned her name, but I did what I did in my name alone. Those idiots at court or the common filth across the country had ever wronged me, no, but they still repulsed me. One should make a habit of swatting flies, no?

All learning about my mother did was convince me to stop holding back, to stop trying to deny what I really wanted. I'm just acting on my nature, after all. I can stop being a tyrant in the same way water can stop being wet, or the skies can stop hanging above. Is this not the will of Heaven, that I act in accordance with my essence?"

« Personal Skills »Personal Skills
All Scholars Must be Buried B++
Sahwa.

Meaning「scholar’s calamity,」there have been three such violent purges of Korea’s educated political elite in the nation’s history – two of them under the reign of Yeonsan.

For the crime of having insulted his ancestor, a series of exiles and a score of deaths, Yeonsan’s malice such that the offending scholar’s body had dug up and beheaded once more for good measure. For having killed his mother – for ordering her execution, for supporting her execution, for simply being present and failing to prevent her execution – Yeonsan ensured over two-hundred scholars suffered his wrath, in the process beating two concubines to death and killing his grandmother in a brawl.

And when his Chief Eunuch made at effort at appealing to his better nature, Archer took up a bow, riddled the man’s body with arrows, cut loose every limb from the corpse, and demanded his relations be punished down to the seventh degree. So it is by this petty act of cruelty that Yeonsan lays claim to the Archer class.

Rather than merely applying pressure, this skill automatically invokes and looses a volley of arrows against any who would dare earn Archer's ire, aiming to pierce each of the body's extremities in turn. While they are ultimately but normal arrows, each is imbued with the「curse」of Yeonsan and his misbegotten bloodline, inflicting the maximum possible pain and, if they succeed in piercing part of the target, attempting to actively tear it from the body.

Barbed heads embodying a spiritual poison, with each victim the number of arrows in each volley and their piercing power increases, for with every execution did Yeonsan sink further into tyranny and tighten his stranglehold on the court. And just as Archer grew increasingly petty as his power expanded, so too do the conditions to trigger this skill become looser over time, until eventually even transgressions Archer is unaware of can loose a volley on the unwitting offender. As to be expected from the tyrant who exiled a minister for the crime of spilling tea.

Culling the weak, culling the strong, until his malice reaches the point only a hero could possibly bring him down.

A will to oppress so strong it takes physical form.

“Do you know what they really were, those men who called themselves scholars? Vermin. Pretenders at anything more. Murderers with their endless prattling on respect, harmony, filial piety. They may have known a thousand pretty words about right and wrong but they didn't believe in them. There was no national good, or divine good, only their good, and they were far too wrapped up in themselves to admit that.

The shaft of an arrow buried deep in a man’s back, the sound of a cracked spine, the way a rolling head splatters its contents about the floor – that is the reality of statecraft. Seeing them go about trying to pretty it up, like pigs with porcelain faces, rolling in their own pretentious filth… Honestly, even when I was young, I had to hold my nose around them.

So of course, I did what anyone does with pigs. I put them to the slaughter.”

All Books Must be Burned A+
At one point, in a fit of frenzy, Yeonsan ordered that an entire residential district of the capital be demolished, that he might repurpose the land into his personal hunting grounds. The some twenty-thousand citizens displaced in the process and forced into labour, many of them among the lower class, responded with a number of scathing publications and mocking posters, addressing the prince as the tyrant he was.

To which Yeonsan responded by forbidding the use of hangul.

Hangul, crowning achievement of Sejong the Great's imperial court, was more than just an additional writing system. Intended for use by the masses, it was by design created so that anyone could achieve a degree of literacy regardless of education, and is to this day held as a symbol of national pride amongst the Korean people. An attack on hangul, then, is not merely an attack on dissent, or the expression of Yeonsan's hatred for academia, but an attack on literacy, on the expression of the human spirit, a vile assault on the concept of 「Knowledge」itself.

And this is, in fact, exactly how Archer likes it.

As the great anti-intellectual tyrant of Korean history, Yeonsan's very being is suffused with a potent 「Anti-Knowledge」attribute, constantly wearing away at his surroundings. Any form of advanced technology, any form of magic rooted in study or contemplation – suffers a swift process of decay the closer it comes to Archer's body. Such is his「curse」against them.

But even then, his malice goes unsated. A great emperor once aimed to keep his populace ignorant under the impression this would be to their benefit. Prince Yeonsan aims to render the world ignorant out of nothing more than – wrath, spite, his sense of aesthetics. The arrows Yeonsan generates through All Scholars Must be Buried likewise carry a refined form of the Anti-Knowledge attribute. To be struck by them, therefore, permanently erases a portion of the victim's intelligence.

The knowledge of how to write, of how to wield a sword, the names of flowers, of nations, there is no particular logic to what may be lost. Only that the more dire the injury, the more precious the purged information. And of course, anyone fortunate enough to survive what would otherwise be a fatal wound will find their capacity for language utterly obliterated. For it is in the purging of language that Yeonsan drove his tyranny at the heart of the people.

And the more cherished the knowledge he destroys, the more potent the aura around Archer becomes. Until the point his merely entering a city would render the civilian population but a throng of infantile, animalistic brutes.

"Ah... What a sight that would be. But really, tell me, why listen to the prattling of so-called educated men when the crack of the lash speaks true? No matter how long you spend memorising the alleged wisdom of men who've been dead for centuries, no matter how you try to develop your mind - you cannot escape your nature. Education does not exalt men above being beasts. It simply hides it.

Is it so bad, to make people a little more honest, a little more in touch with what they really are? ... I jest, of course. But imagining bringing some scholar with his high-minded ideas down from his pedestal, until his braying becomes quite literal -- that would be a joy like no other. There must be some stuffy Caster or the like around here somewhere, don't you think? Indulge me a little."

Sadistic Constitution B
A skill that increases a Servant’s strength and viciousness the longer they stay in combat. Takes the Servant to the point where distinguishing them from a member of the Berserker class becomes more difficult over time, as sadistic impulses overrule all reason.

At a level where it seems almost inborn, Archer adores all manner of torture, increasing Strength the greater the pain he inflicts on whichever unfortunate wretch catches his eye. And while he certainly enjoys brutality for the sake of it, true fulfilment for Yeonsan is a more subtle, almost spiritual form of cruelty. Of stamping his heel down hard on the hearts of his people.

His grandmother's shocked expression as she careened down the staircase to her death was priceless — but it could not compare with the looks of horror from the palace staff when they found her broken body.

His concubines' pained expressions as he took every last dark impulse out on them were exquisite — but they could not compare with the looks of anguish from the men whose loved ones became part of his harem.

His ministers' empty expressions as their lives came to a sudden close were art— but they could compare with the looks of abject despair from the survivors when they wondered if they might be next. When everything they'd dedicated their lives to, everything the prince so detested, was trampled upon day after day. It is a high Archer cannot evade even now, a 「curse」in itself, compelling him to chase after that unimaginable pleasure again and again. Nothing else can fulfil him in this way.

An inescapable need to ruin what others cherish. The more that took to build it, the more he wishes to demonstrate how little it takes to demolish it.

"Do you imagine a starving wolf can survive on wildflowers? It might be able to force them down when it becomes too much, yes, but that won't satisfy its needs, won't take away the hunger it feels deep inside.

I'm much the same way. My hunger is built into me, and I refuse to spend my days starving. Oh I tried, of course, especially before I learned of the mission my mother had passed down to me; I read, I wrote, I drank, I ate, I experienced pleasurable company until the sun went down, until I had experienced every pleasure under the heavens... And still, I was hungry.

Like the wolf that has to kill to fill its belly, I can't go against what I am. And nor can you, for that matter. You really area good person, aren't you? And here I thought that impossible. What a curious little piggy you are."

Korean Martial Arts E-
A Korean rationality, and the same as its Chinese counterpart. A value that measures one's mastery of the martial arts that made becoming one with the universe as its objective. Its difficulty to learn is of the highest level and, unlike other Skills, it is at A Rank that one is at a level where he is said to have finally「learned it.」

Of the eighteen techniques comprising the Muyensinbo, Archer is a master of... none of them. Regardless of his efforts, Yeonsan has no capacity for martial arts, however in-keeping with the Joseon preference for the bow it is that he focuses his skills so tightly around projectiles.

Perhaps that he holds this skill is just another insult directed against his nation, for how appalling his efforts at the Korean style truly are.
Perhaps this is a punishment from the heavens, denying him any hold of techniques to which he has no right.
Or perhaps a recognition, deep down, that this is 「not something he needs.」

"This? Hah... A leftover from my early days, before I knew my purpose. Nothing more. I can't and don't need to develop these skills, as my body insists on reminding me. That I keep practicing anyway is, well? A passing whim."

« Noble Phantasm »sungkyunkwan
my monument to the frailty of fools
Rank B
Anti-Fortress
Sungkyunkwan, great palace of self-perfection, was the foremost educational institute during the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties of Korea. With its extensive libraries and ceremonial design, the facility has a long and storied history in the nation, attended to and by countless Neo-Confucian scholars, supplying to its highborn students the highest level of instruction the nation could provide. Even in the modern era the university still stands, a cherished cultural institution.

But in the time of Yeonsan, Sungkyunkwan served an altogether different role. With its records and staff alike thrown out on the street, the prince took this temple of tutelage, this monument to all he despised in Joseon, and repurposed it into what he felt the filth of the nobility best deserved. He transformed the university into a brothel.

Or his personal pleasure grounds, to be more precise. A place where every indulgence under the heavens was enacted as loudly and blatantly and downright despicably as Yeonsan's demented heart desired, his ultimate rejection of everything that stood at the very soul of Joseon. To his court - the people for whom education and self-development were the pursuit of the divine, who saw Sungkyunkwan as a shining beacon of sophistication blessed by the great scholar An Hyang himself - there could be no greater insult than his desecration of the university, no greater humiliation than that there wasn't a thing they could do about it.

Among people who revered tradition, Yeonsan spat upon their heritage with all that he could. As he can and will do today.

As Yeonsan did not erect the university but merely distorted it beyond all measure to his own design, Sungkyunkwan as a Noble Phantasm likewise requires Archer to lay claim to a building of some cultural significance. The greater the history tied up in the structure, the more taxing the mana requirement to establish a hold with it, and yet also the more imposing the effects once he makes it his own. And if it is a place of learning, all the better.

Upon deployment, Archer seizes control of an area roughly the size of his palace in Joseon. But depending on the significant of the building, it's possible for him to sink his influence into an entire city.



By driving his will to dominate, his 「curse」into the very structure, Archer distorts it to his liking. No matter the original appearance, it becomes a twisted, filthy place, with a layout Archer may freely alter at will. Within its shadowed halls, the first thing one may notice are the 「attendants」who staff the premises. Just as Yeonsan kidnapped countless women from every province to serve as his concubines, Sungkyunkwan automatically generates a swarm of Wraiths to fulfil the same role. While they initially appear as blank, unremarkable shadows, as Yeonsan's hold over his territory grows, these Wraiths begin to take on a more distinct form - to be more precise, they will adopt the appearance and personality of the loved ones of anyone within the conquered territory. A likeness so exact that the Wraiths themselves believe they are the genuine article, kidnapped and bound to Archer's will, allowing them to accommodate for their lacking combat prowess by providing an excellent means of psychological warfare.

And Sungkyunkwan is still a library, even if only in name; as proof the tyrant Yeonsan has claimed it, any knowledge Archer erases through All Books Must be Burned manifests here in the form of a scroll. Where it is treated with all the care Yeonsan did any form of knowledge. Once Sungkyunkwan is deployed, the stolen knowledge is not simply purged from the individual affected by All Books Must be Burned -- it is slowly removed from every individual unfortunate enough to be within Yeonsan's territory. Furthermore, this entire territory likewise becomes the effective range of All Scholars Must be Buried, automatically attacking any individual who would dare act against the prince. In a matter of hours, this can cascade until entire communities become nothing but corpses and a smattering of survivors too simple-minded to resist.

Allowing Yeonsan to deploy and maintain this Noble Phantasm is a mistake no opponent can afford to make.

"But you'll deny me this pleasure too, won't you? You're so adorably righteous it makes me want to die. But fine, that's charming too, in a way. I'd planned on keeping this hidden until the time came, and yet... Ahh, I guess I really am fond of clowns! Very well. You've amused me, so I suppose I can share a little secret with you. The unknown story, and second Noble Phantasm, of the tyrant Yeonsan.

...


It is late at night in the state of Joseon, as one woman plots to burn down the nation.



Deposed Queen Yun was the second wife of King Seongjong of Korea, and for a period of three years the Queen of Joseon. Despite being a concubine of low status over a decade the king's senior - to the point some considered her a mother figure to Seongjong as well as his lover - she nonetheless rose to the position of queen off the back of her immense beauty, at which point the more malicious aspects of her personality came to light.

For the crime of daring to even once refuse her advances, Queen Yun flew into a rage from which she would never emerge. Unfettered and driven by nothing but spite, she dedicated what remained of her life to vengeance on Seongjong and all that he stood for.

With a cruel and tempestuous character, few mourned her removal from the royal court, when while it was daring to scar the king that set off her exile and subsequent execution, the tally of Queen Yun's crimes ran deeper still. Deliberately involving herself with state affairs, assaulting palace staff, lacing dishes at random with poison to vent her frustrations.

And practicing witchcraft. Based on the rituals she was known to have performed and the shamans she hired to consult with, consensus held she was attempting to curse her rivals with infertility. Of course, they were wrong.

It wasn't their children she was interested in.

Years later, long after Yun and Seongjong alike had passed on, a letter from the late deposed queen reached the new king. This, it is believed, was the trigger for his descent into tyranny.
Or to be more precise, it was the trigger for his 「programming.」

A puppet born of vile witchcraft.
A stillbirth killed and animated by spite while still in the womb.
A 「curse」incarnated in human form.

That is the true form of Prince Yeonsan.

Designed with nothing but an overwhelming capacity for malice and the single overarching protocol of 「destroy Joseon,」Yeonsan was nothing if not thorough in fulfilling his mother -- creator's ambitions. After desecrating the nation, the intent was that his spirit would join Seongjong and the other kings of Joseon following his death, where his nature as a malevolent 「curse」would annihilate their very spirits...

Had the people of Joseon not refused to grant Yeonsan a temple name after he passed and indeed, refused to consecrate him as a king. In that alone, Queen Yun's revenge against all Joseon suddenly drew to a close.

Until today.

"But I ask you, why stop there? This really shouldn't be an issue, but the idea of you thinking I was just a puppet all along, a slave to that woman's ambitions to the very end -- it irks, me somehow. Irks me a lot, so let me make this clear to you. I did what I did to Joseon for me, do you understand? To work evil is my base nature, but embracing that nature as I did was my decision alone. Even if that woman had decided to appoint me the protector of Joseon, I still would have done my best to destroy it, because it deserved to be burned to the ground. Here, allow me to demonstrate my conviction. Although... Hah, you may want to run just now."

"Hear me, O whatever repulsive power takes residence in the heavens! I spit on the curse that manifests itself in my flesh, as I do spit on the nation, the culture, the very history that allowed its birth! You can't kill my dreams, but my dreams can kill you! You will remember my name, as I declare it now..."

yeonsanwan
in my name alone i spit on this nation
Rank A++
Anti-World

The second Noble Phantasm of Prince Yeonsan -- declaring himself here and now to be King Yeonsan, the greatest of heresies, and attempting to force his spirit to take root among the kings of Korea. That was, after all, the wish of his mother, to erase the very spirits of Joseon's monarchs.

Insufficient, in Yeonsan's eyes. As he is a 「curse」embodying a hatred of Knowledge itself, he goes even further. By transmuting himself into what amounts to an informational virus, he erases the monarchs of Joseon from all historical memory. For all of mankind, they effectively cease to exist.

Further.
From the state of Joseon, move to erasing all the kingdoms of Korea that came prior.
From the history of Korea, move to erasing the present.
As the people currently living in Korea suddenly lose all historical memory, the very notion of a 「Korean」national identity becomes impossible.
From his hatred of Joseon, King Yeonsan denies the state any legacy, any memory.

Further.
The king who despises the innate hypocrisy and pretensions of human society has no need to stop there.
From Korea, move from nation to nation, erasing everything.
Names. Cultures. Legends. Myths. Histories. Everything.
In a matter of hours, humanity becomes a species without memory of the past, completely unbound by anything.
A species akin to beasts without identity.
Creating a place where the distinction between 「curse」and 「human」loses meaning.

The「curse」demonstrates that he has transcended his programming. That he possesses his own 「will.」
...
If only it were that easy.

At the very first step, Yeonsan declares his name to the heavens. And the heavens respond.



Chumong and Gwanggaeto.
Hyeokgeose and Seondeok.
Taejo and Sejong.
With the full force of the heavens, every enshrined monarch of the Korean kingdoms rejects Yeonsan as part of their ilk. A blast of sheer divinity like the light of the sun that shines over Gyeongbokgung, like the Amnok River running through the country, like the great Mount Chiri marking the horizon, it is a blow filled with and embodying the beauty of Korea.
To those of good heart and wise monarchs, it is a healing embrace that closes wounds and alleviates pain.
To those of ill intent and tyrants, it is a minute of unimaginable torture.

A failed Noble Phantasm only good for invoking and exploiting divine wrath.

"Ha... Hahaha...

HAHAHAHAHAHA! So that's it!? That's the best they can do to smite me!? Don't make me laugh! Oh, but to think it ended that easily -- are you looking down on me now, Mother!? Do you see, after all these years of waiting, that your revenge could never succeed? Ahh, if only the rancid sow was here now, I'd kill her for wasting my life on this!

Still! There's something liberating about knowing there's no way I can fulfil my programming. Should I consider this a gift from my forebears? I hope not, for their sakes. Just the thought makes me want to go on a killing spree."

« Craft Essence »The Beginning of a Self
When I saw my sons for the first time, that was when I first realised I had my own will slumbering inside me. Don't misunderstand me; this isn't some paternal instinct nonsense. Those brats were slaughtered soon after my death, and I'm not inclined to mourn them. But there was no need at all for a Curse like me to have descendants, not when there wouldn't be a nation left. In the first place, why was I even capable of having children?

But then again, my directive was plain and simple. I was meant to destroy Joseon, but how I went about that... That wasn't specified. Meaning when I'd killed men, when I'd banned the use of that commoner's script, when I assaulted and abused the nation at my leisure... That wasn't my mother's will, it was mine. The experience was shocking, let me tell you.

There is joy in understanding who you are, why you do the things you do. In coming to understand the forces that, detest them as you do, still guide you all the same.

I suppose you could call this me discovering my Humanity. Oh, doesn't the thought make you retch?

Now that my programmed directive isn't bothering me anymore, I thought I might give it another shot. Not having children; far too much effort, but family, companionship... It might be nice, having a group of people to belong to, where we all get together and do something fun like, I don't know, burn down an orphanage or two. Hoh, what's that look now? Were you expecting a redemption or the like? Haha, no, no! I'm evil, you little peon. Not by my nature or by my mother's will but by my own. Humans have the benefit of choice, no? Then with that, I choose to be what I am today. The end! No moral.

« Relationships »
Relationships
Qin Shi Huang
"Oh, I get it now! Haha! I couldn't figure out why you bothered to keep that gaggle of people to rule over after you attained such might, but it finally hit me! They're like pets, no? Proof of your own superiority? What a king! Instead of letting the masses influence your rule, you battered and beat and broke their souls to suit your own shape! Inspired! So this is what it is to learn from a master!"

Liu Pengli
"A man after my own heart! You're a delightful one, aren't you? A little disturbed, it must be said, but I'm in no position to judge you there. If the mountain of corpses does not exist, why go to the effort of erecting it? If your existence is all that's certain, why feel to the need to confirm it? Why do anything at all in a world that is not? Ah, but words are too restrictive for what we're trying to say. I'll have to ask your body directly. Add me to your count of corpses as I add you to mine, and we'll find out what's real."

Cesare Borgia
"Oh... That is disappointing. I thought I'd found myself a playmate, but you won't do at all. You're not evil, little man. You're just broken, and not only do I not have it in me to fix you, I can't even enjoy breaking you now. Would you mind leaving tyranny to the professionals while you play with your pieces?"

Tam Lin Arthur
"Hm...? That's odd, for a moment... Well, whatever. I'm not really sure what's going on, but should something like you really be calling itself a king? I can tell; yours isn't a head that's worn a crown, not even in mockery as mine did. Whatever it is you're yearning for, you won't find it here - you won't find it all, given you're here. Life is desire, and wanting things you can't have is the essence of fasting. I don't understand what masochistic pleasure show you've made out of your life but could you take it elsewhere? My stomach churns looking at you and I'm not even sure why, ugh."

"Mousseline"
"Well, there's a mystery. Why burn yourself out for something you don't have? Do you understand what power is, little girl? Oh, but you're not understanding at all, how to put this... Do you think something changed, in those twenty minutes? Were you different when the crown came off? The answer is no. All power is pretending. It's the use that makes it real in people's minds. You did nothing when you had the crown and did nothing when you lost it, so what's the point of taking it back? You have as much power now as you did then, and as much as you ever will, so aren't you just wasting your time and everyone else's? To wish a man dead and enact it, that is the meaning of a crown. Can you grasp that?"

« Sources »
Sources
Queen Yun art by Yuui1994
All Books Must Be Burned art by haka
Korean Martial Arts, All Scholars Must be Buried, and Oblivion Correction art by nk3rg
Sadistic Constitution art by 2765210
Independent Action art by nippydesu
First Ascension art by 5587761
Second Ascension Art by 3126529
Third Ascension art by 251505
Fourth Ascension art by 803aka
Sungkyanwan art by Tomo Ro
YeonsanWan art 2 by Thomas M. Baxa
YeonsanWan art 1 by IKAIKAKKA

[Scotcheroos]

Still would.

[Anime Aurelius Anomaly]

Ah yes, the Joseon King that managed to not only have two purges but also have a harem (of dubious consent) to be his entertainers.

[TrueMrMultiverse]

Excellently done Sutaa! liked how you portrayed him

[Frigix]

A ruler is but a tool of his people.

"The emperor has no right to dishonour himself, he can only leave the army victorious or die there; the Napoleonic legend would be reborn even if he lost the throne; it would not recover from dishonour."
-Victor de Persigny

A ruler should be greater, braver and more glorious than anyone else.

"In Paris you abdicated your government; in Metz you have just abdicated your command. Unless you go to Belgium, you must take back one or the other. Command is impossible. For the government, it is difficult and perilous, for you must return to Paris; but, hell! if we must fall, let us fall at least like men!"
-Napoleon-Jérôme Bonaparte

A ruler must carry out his duty to the very end.

.
.
.

The once serene town of Sedan had been transformed into a scene of utter devastation. The air was thick with the acrid stench of smoke and the metallic smell of blood. The sky, darkened by billowing clouds of ash and debris, seemed to reflect the despair that weighed heavily on the hearts of those caught in the throes of war. They all knew that the battle was lost. In the midst of the chaos, a man walked aimlessly, his eyes lost and weary. While all around him were young soldiers, he was an old man, his steps were slow and his posture crooked.

Bullets whizzed past him, their deadly embrace coming dangerously close to claiming him as their own. And yet they all failed to kill him. The sound was unbearable. Gunshots, explosions, screams of agony and rage. Each cry was a dagger to the heart, a reminder of the human cost of war that could never be forgotten or forgiven. It grew louder and louder.

The pain.

It hurted, it hurted so much. The despair was unbearable, and yet the cacophony of death and chaos didn't stop. It went on, louder, louder, louder.

Until...

The man got tired.
Tired of thinking.

And a shell fell beside him.

He saw a bright, dazzling star that freed him from everything.

And then he was on the muddy ground. The sounds of war were still there, and he had failed to fall honourably. He had survived hell.

"Your Highness!"

Another man soon came to help him get up, and as the sovereign turned his head to the left, he saw the lifeless body of Captain d'Hendecourt, who had accompanied him on his quest for death, and who had paid the price in his place.

The man let out a sigh.

How foolish of him, there was no place for his pride.

Enough of this self-deprecation, he'll do as he always does.

"Alright."

He'll take responsibility.

…

The Emperor turned his head to his subordinate and gave him a gentle smile.

"Let's surrender."

This was the day the Emperor of France gave up his crown.


Emperor of the Fading Light
NAPOLEON III



Class: Rider
True Name: Napoleon III
Also known as: Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, Monsieur Oui Oui, Loulou
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Qualified Servant classes: Archer, Assassin, Avenger, Stranger
Attribute: Human
Source: Historical Facts

"Memories, from the moment of your birth to the inevitable embrace of your last breath, laid out before you like a book. Something you would call "life". Tell me, Master, what would you do if you saw your whole existence in a single instance? Would you run away? Or would you embrace it? Me? Of course I would embrace it. There is no point in rejecting the life you have lived. All those memories, I will keep them in my heart. Not because I'm an emperor, nor because I'm a villain... but simply because I don't want to forget them. Pretty simple, right? Oh, and maybe pretty foolish too."

Parameters

Strength: D	Endurance: C	Agility: D
Mana: E	Luck: C	Noble Phantasm: C

Likes: Books, romance, walks
Dislikes: War, politicians

________________________

MEMORY I - DEATH (1/2)

The Battle of Waterloo had been a complete failure and Napoleon had no way of recovering from this loss. He knew it was the end of his empire. Sitting in his chair, with a glass of wine in one hand and the window wide open, he sighed. No one had any expectations for him, no one wanted him around. Even Death had rejected him after the poison he drank had failed to kill him. If suicide isn't an option, then there's nothing left to do but surrender. He'll give up and let his dream be nothing but a dream.
Night had fallen, and it was time for the French Empire to also fall.

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening echoed through the room. The Emperor turned his head slightly to see a small, frail boy. His nephew, Louis-Napoleon, looked at him with a sad expression. Napoleon smiled.
"Well, if it isn't Mister Oui Oui," said the Emperor, calling the child by his affectionate nickname. "Isn't it time for you to go to bed?"
It was very evident that the boy was trying to keep himself from crying.
“...”
“Uncle, a-are the bad guys going to hurt you…?”
For a moment, Napoleon was dumbstruck.
And then, he bursted into laughter.
“HA HA HA ! Really, that’s just like you!”
He continued to laugh and laugh in front of the child, who was clearly confused by his uncle's reaction. Louis-Napoleon was really something, every time Napoleon talked to the boy, he couldn't stop being amazed by him.
"Ha ha, don't worry, nobody's going to hurt me. I might have lost, but I'm not going to die for so little! Besides, I wouldn't call them bad guys…”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. Don’t worry about your old uncle, you have better things to do.”
"But... everyone says it's the end. Is it really okay...?"
The end. Hearing these words from the mouth of this child, Napoleon's heart sank. Still smiling, he looked at his reflection in the wine. He was so old. So old and tired. He who had felt immortal during his reign now realised that he was human.
"Louis, do you know why I started all this?”
The boy shook his head.
"I had a dream. One day I asked myself what would happen if I won. If I won every battle, if I could become triumph itself... wouldn't that be great? And as the years went by, I kept chasing that dream. People began to admire me, to have great expectations of me. And of course I played the part, I'm quite an actor, you know! They thought I could perform miracles, and so did I. But a role is a role, at some point you have to take the mask off... A dream is a dream, at some point you have to wake up."
As Napoleon rambled on, probably under the influence of alcohol, his nephew looked at him in awe.
"Anyway, enough about me. What's your dream, Louis?"
"My dream?"
"Yes, you're a Bonaparte, I'm sure you have big dreams."
"Um..." he pondered for a moment. "I want to win every battle and perform miracles!"
"Hey hey hey! That's my dream, no copying, buddy. I'm asking for YOUR dream, not to tell me about some old man's desillusion. Just tell me the first thing that pops into your head."
"Then... I want everyone to be happy!"
...
Napoleon let out a slight chuckle.
"I-Is it a bad dream...?"
"No, no... it's... it's a nice dream. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it."
And so the Emperor abandoned all hope and distracted himself with the kindness of a child. But while Napoleon laughed at his own misery, Louis-Napoleon watched his uncle in amazement. Night had fallen on Paris, and all the stars in the sky were shining so brightly.

________________________

HISTORY

For Victor Hugo, he was "Napoleon the Lesser", while Louis Pasteur considered his reign to be one of the most glorious of all time. A major figure of the 19th century, Napoleon III embodied its spirit, its diversity and its contradictions: a man of reflection and action, autocrat and democrat, authoritarian and liberal, reactionary and progressive, apostle of peace and initiator of war.



"Now, now... do you really want to know my story? No, I understand, if you want to know me better, I'll tell you about myself. About my memories. It's not all pretty, but I think there are some nice things in my life.”

Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Paris on April 20 1808 as the child of Hortense de Beauharnais and Louis Bonaparte, King of the Netherlands and brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. The early years of his life took place during the time of the French Empire established by his uncle, he was often seen playing with Napoleon Bonaparte and the man appeared to have developed a fondness for the child, once saying: "He will have a good heart and a beautiful soul, he could be the hope of my race". However, the empire did not last, and Hortense was forced to exile herself to Switzerland, where she settled with Louis-Napoleon, while his older brother went to live with his father in Rome. Louis-Napoleon's education was initially provided by a few occasional tutors, but he was generally left to his own devices, spending his days in the Swiss countryside playing with children from peasant families. Even then, he showed great compassion, such as when he came back home one day without his coat, waistcoat and shoes. He had given them to people in need.

When his father realised that his youngest son, then aged 12, had a poor education, he threatened to take custody of the child from his mother if she didn't take charge of his upbringing. Under strict discipline, his results improved in almost every subject. From 1823, Louis-Napoleon was reunited with his brother Napoleon-Louis and settled with his mother in Rome. In Rome, Louis-Napoleon discovered politics at the side of the Italian liberals, focusing on the themes of freedom and nationhood. The two brothers took part in the uprisings in the papal territories of central Italy before being forced to retreat to Bologna, where they found themselves surrounded by the Austrian army and the papal armies. During their retreat to Forlì, the two brothers also had to contend with a measles epidemic that claimed the lives of many soldiers already weakened by their wounds. On March 17 1831, Napoleon-Louis succumbed to the epidemic, while Louis-Napoleon also suffered the effects of the disease but recovered. But this catastrophic uprising was not enough to stop him. Five years later, Louis-Napoleon staged a coup d'état in France on 30 October 1836, attempting to rally the garrison at Strasbourg and march on Paris to overthrow the July Monarchy. He failed miserably and was disowned by his father and the rest of his family. Only his mother kept him close to her heart and begged the French government to spare her son's life. He was released, but banned from ever returning to Europe. However he soon broke this ban when he heard that his mother was ill. He returned to Switzerland to stay with her until her last breath.

"A turning point in my life. I continued to act foolishly after that, but I think it was the moment I truly realised that I really needed to become Emperor. I had to do something with my life… You may call it pride, but to me it was anything but that.”

From London, the prince prepared a new coup attempt, but it was a complete failure. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in the fortress of Ham. He used his captivity to study and promote his cause, writing pamphlets and articles in local journals. He became much wiser during this time, as he finally had the time to stop and think. On May 25 1846, after six years in captivity, he escaped from prison and settled in London, where he observed the country's industrial gap with France. The French Revolution of 1848, which put an end to the July Monarchy, allowed the prince to return to France for the first time at the end of February and to see his supporters put forward his candidacy for the elections to the National Assembly. Things gradually escalated until he was elected President of the Second Republic.

"I was so glad at the time. It was exactly what I had wanted, not to take power in a coup, but to be legally elected. I immediately swore to protect the Republic until my last breath, but... ha ha, things turned out quite differently. Please, Master, I wouldn’t change what I did, but don't hold me up as an example, okay?”

During his presidency, he was unable to lead France as he wished. Trapped in the narrow circle of his powers, he was in constant conflict with the Assembly. He had few real supporters, even within his own family. Moreover, he had refused to create a party that would have gone against the very foundations of his doctrine. Although the number of his supporters continued to grow, like his uncle before him, he still had to deal with men from the traditional elite whose ways of thinking and acting differed from his own. His entourage, witnessing Louis-Napoleon's struggle to govern the country and implement the reforms he wanted, urged him to organise a coup d'état to restore the Empire. At first, Louis-Napoleon vehemently refused, but after a while he gave in. On the morning of December 2, 1851, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte issued six decrees dissolving the National Legislative Assembly, restoring universal male suffrage, calling elections for the French people and preparing a new constitution. This new constitution established an authoritarian presidential regime. More than 27,000 people were arrested and charged across France. Less than a year later, on December 2 ,1852, following a plebiscite, the Second Empire was established according to the will of the people, with Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte becoming "Napoleon III, Emperor of the French".

Under the Empire he enjoyed greater prerogatives, but was never able to rule autocratically, nor did he really want to, despite what he claimed. He was often misunderstood and badly served, even by his closest collaborators. In this sense, rarely in contemporary history has a ruler been more alone in the exercise of power. This was his “autocracy”, to take decisions and responsibilities alone. Though in fact, although the constitution gave him wide powers, his room for manoeuvre was limited. He had to be careful not to alienate the conservative elites who had supported him in his coup and whom he needed after alienating the Republicans and Socialists. His Bonapartism, often compared to 20th-century totalitarianism, shared similarities such as charismatic leadership, the cultivation of emotional ties with the masses, the sacralisation of the sovereign people and a disdain for parliamentarianism. Yet there were also striking differences: adherence to the principles of 1789 (freedom between all men), rejection of one-party rule, absence of a police state, gradual liberalisation, a deep xenophilia and genuine sympathy for humanity.

"Call me a tyrant if you like, but please don't compare me to those people. I know I'm sinful, but I'm not a monster. God, how did such rulers come about? Were they inspired by me? Disgusting.”

After an authoritarian phase during the first decade of the Empire, Napoleon III gradually made limited concessions to the liberal opposition in order to breathe new life into the imperial regime and undermine the basis of the revolutionary and other republican or royalist political movements that were gaining strength during that time. As he grew older, he no longer had the energy to rule as an autocrat. Sick since his confinement to the fortress of Ham, his illness had not ceased to worsen. Prematurely aged, he shrank and gained weight, while his movements became more difficult. His physical decline affected his ability to govern, and much of his energy was spent fighting his illness and hiding his suffering from those around him. Sensing that Prussia was becoming increasingly dangerous, Napoleon III attempted to pass a military reform, but it was heavily altered by members of parliament, the majority of whom were hostile, and finally passed with so many amendments that it became ineffective.

As Napoleon III's power declined, tensions with Prussia grew. It was at this time that the provisional Spanish government of General Prim offered the Spanish crown to Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, the great cousin of the King of Prussia, William I. Leopold, who had hesitated for a long time, accepted at the insistence of Otto von Bismarck and with the approval of the head of the family, King Wilhelm I. On July 3; 1870, the news reached Paris, where it was seen as a provocation and a threat of territorial encirclement. Ambassador Benedetti was sent to visit Wilhelm I in Ems and obtained the withdrawal of the "Hohenzollern candidature". Bismarck considered resigning, as he had hoped for a war with France to unify Germany. The Empress and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gramont, then urged Napoleon III to demand official guarantees of a definitive renunciation. After two firm but polite refusals, Wilhelm I refused a third request for an audience from Benedetti. On July 13, he sent Bismarck a telegraphic account of the day's events, which he was free to divulge. Bismarck did not exactly falsify the dispatch, but he shortened it and hardened its tone, on the one hand to turn German opinion against France by emphasising Benedetti's unseemly insistence, and on the other to turn French opinion against Prussia by insisting on the refusal: "The king refused to see the ambassador and had the adjutant tell him that he had nothing more to say to him". The French fell into the trap: on July 19, France declared war on Prussia, while Napoleon III was helpless to stop it.

"I should have been more firm in my beliefs, then this war would never have happened. I'm sorry, Master, I don't want you to just hear me complain. What is done is done. It's just disheartening to see what I've become in my later years.”

The French troops were poorly prepared, fewer in number, less well trained and lacked a concerted military strategy. In early August, the French suffered a series of defeats on the eastern front. Napoleon III, who had led the army until 7 August when he was badly defeated, handed over command to General Mac Mahon. When he left Paris with his son to go to war, he entrusted the regency to his wife, Eugénie de Montijo. Encircled at Sedan, the sovereign was determined not to separate his fate from that of his army in the final ordeal, so he sought his death on the battlefield before finally surrendering, risking his dynasty and losing everything in order to spare the blood of his comrades-in-arms. It was a noble act, but the gesture was not understood. In 1870, people were no longer in the romantic mood that had followed Napoleon's epic with the publication of the St Helena Memorial and contributed to Napoleon III's election in 1848, but in the Bismarckian realism, as cold as the steel of a Krupp cannon. The Third Republic was proclaimed on 4 September 1870. Napoleon III went into exile in England, where he died three years later.

This was the life of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, the remnant of a time when a man could rise from nothing to become the Emperor of Europe, when the ideals and hopes of humanity were higher than ever. An era where people tried to live “romanticised” lives, and yet became more and more ruthless. A dying star, its light slowly fading, leaving nothing but a cold darkness. Louis-Napoleon restored the crown of possibility, and yet his legacy ushered in the era of blood and steel, his loss fueling the First and Second World Wars.

“If I had never taken the crown of France, then the blood of millions of people might have not been spilled. When I surrendered to Prussia, I thought I was saving people’s lives, but maybe I was wrong. Hmm? No, I don’t want to erase my reign from History. I regret it, but I also don’t think it’s right to rewrite past events… Because if I do, I would reject the death of many people. I don’t want those lost lives to be discarded. I know it’s horrible, but I’m just too scared to cut them off History. And beside… didn’t I say that some things were nice? Even if they ended up being mistakes…”

________________________

MEMORY II - DEATH (2/2)



A year after Louis-Napoleon's first failed coup d'état, he was at his mother's bedside. She was ill, and the prince returned to Switzerland as soon as he heard the news. She was the only member of his family who had not disowned him. Ever since he was a child, she had always been there for him.
Therefore, it was his duty to stay with her for the coming days.
One night she recalled a memory from the past.
"When you were little, I asked you and your brother what you would do if you lost everything. Your brother, of course, said he would become a soldier.”
"Ha ha! Yes, that sounds like him."
"Ha ha! Yes... it really is just like him..." The woman paused for a moment, a worried look on her face. "Is that why you do so many dangerous things, Loulou?"
Silence.
"When you took part in that uprising in Italy with your brother, I was so surprised. It didn't sound like you. And then... when you tried to take over France last year... Oh God." Her voice shaking, she put her hand to her mouth. "I thought they were going to shoot you, Loulou. I thought the King would execute you and I would never see you again, just like your brother!"
"You're wrong, Mom!" Louis-Napoleon quickly replied. "My brother had nothing to do with it, I was the one who started it all. All those years of learning in Switzerland were to serve a greater purpose, to help people. Weren't you the one who told me that I had a great destiny?"
"..."
Yes, Louis-Napoleon was probably right. But still, despite the brash and adventurous nature he had developed in his adolescence, it didn't sound like him to do such things.
"..."
And yet it was his choice.
The choice of her dear son, the boy who smiled at her so kindly after their exile. Her treasure, without whom she could never have lived. And as such, she will believe in him. She will believe in this sweet and kind boy who will surely one day give hope to many more.
Her little light of possibility.
"Do you know what your answer to my question was?"
The mother gave a warm smile to Louis-Napoleon.
"What was it?" Answered back the prince with another smile.
A small chuckle escaped her lips.
"You said you wanted to sell flowers on the street."

The nostalgia of a dying mother, memories that will vanish as if they were nothing. This fragment of the past may be meaningless, but it was dear to her.

The next day she passed away.

The prince let out a heavy sigh.
He had to grow up.
Louis-Napoleon had already lived a life of adventure. He tried to take part in an Italian uprising and tried to overthrow the French monarchy. Both failed miserably, he was just a child playing games.
He can no longer betray the wishes of his uncle, his people and his mother. From now on, he'll get serious.
Their deaths, will not be in vain.

________________________

CLASS SKILLS



RIDING: B

Louis-Napoleon was known to be an exceptionally skilled horseman, and there is even an anecdote of him being able to catch up with and then stop a carriage that had lost its driver and was carrying a mother and her child, saving them from certain death. However, despite this proficiency in horse riding, Monstrous Beasts or other sunaturals vehicles are out of his league.

________________________

PERSONAL SKILLS



CAMOUFLAGE: D

Normally a Skill bestowed to Servants from the Faker-Class. It allows the user to hide its Class and parameters. While the rank is fairly low, it can still be combined with Napoleon III’s low parameters to make his nature as a Servant ambiguous by appearing extremely weak.

“It’s actually quite the fun activity, Master.”

A famous story about Napoleon III is about how he escaped imprisonment from the fortress of Ham by disguising himself as a labourer carrying lumber. But since this version of Rider represents the emperor of France at its peak, its rank is lower than if he was summoned as an Assassin or Avenger. He still retains the Skill because of the numerous anecdotes where he went into town as a civilian to casually talk to the people.



IMPERIAL PRIVILEGE: B

Imperial Privilege is the ability to use for a short period of time any skill the user wishes, even those that they should not possess. Rank A or higher is required for skills that are a burden on the body, such as Divinity. Depending on the talent inherited, both strategy and combat approach can vary, making servants with this gift remarkably unpredictable. For a modern Servant as weak as Napoleon III, such an ability is a saving grace, though he is still considered a low-grade Heroic Spirit.

“It’s easy to learn to claim something as your own, but mastering it is something I could never do. Does that make me a fraud? I wonder…”

The reign of Napoleon III glorified the Emperor, at least for the first part of his reign. Following in his uncle's footsteps, he commissioned great paintings of himself, giving him the image of a powerful ruler. However, he never went overboard with his propaganda, and the real reason for the acquisition of this skill at such a high rank is probably the nature of his empire as one of technique and innovation. Paris hosted major international events such as the 1855 and 1867 Universal Exhibitions, which allowed him to showcase France's interest in technical and economic progress. Napoleon III possessed an innate curiosity, honed during his time of confinement at the fortress of Ham, where he acquired a wealth of knowledge. Proficient in Tactics, Strategy, Economics, Urbanisation, Swordsmanship, Marksmanship, Spearmanship, Electromagnetism, History and more, he remained eager to broaden his understanding, engaging in experiences with the likes of Louis Pasteur. As the Emperor of a hub of innovation that he himself created, he is able to acquire a wide range of supplementary skills that he never learned during his life, but related to the France of the Second Empire, including those related to science and the arts.

“When I was young I was quite good at drawing, but as I got older I lost touch with art. I was actually very bad at judging paintings at all those exhibitions, so I wasn't the best artist. I did like Manet though! Anyway, with my privilege, I can become as good as him! ... yeah, I'm definitely a fraud. Well, I doubt I'll ever have the chance to use such a skill. On the other hand, the skills of my friend Pasteur...”



EXTINCTION DU PAUPÉRISME: C

“It is a disgrace to our civilization to think that in the 19th century, at least one tenth of the population is in rags and starving in the presence of millions of manufactured products that cannot be sold and millions of products of the soil that cannot be consumed.”
-Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte

Extinction du Paupérisme is a composite skill of Charisma and Innovation possessed by Napoleon III and based on his nature as a ruler chosen by the people, for the people. Recourse to the people became central to the Bonapartist programme. The principle of popular sovereignty was at the heart of Napoleon III's ideology; he fought for the restoration of universal suffrage and made the plebiscite an instrument of power legitimacy. After his coups d’état, he sought the people's approval for his actions, and they responded affirmatively. Subsequently, he inquired whether they wished to restore the empire, and again, the answer was yes. When the decision arose to annex the counties of Nice and Savoie, another plebiscite gauged the people's sentiments, which proved to be in favour of annexation. Similarly, when considering reforms towards a less authoritarian government, the people responded favourably. He condemned a parliament, believing that it could not represent the will of the people.

“All these political parties think only of themselves, not of France. I dreamed of a country where only one political party existed, that of France, striving not for an idea but for a country. Oh, I know it sounds terribly wrong in your time. And now I agree. Who am I to interpret the will of the people all by myself? Obviously I wasn't the emperor I thought I was. I think it was all just an excuse to justify the destruction of the Second Republic. Ha ha, even when I said I would take responsibility, I guess I was being a little childish. But still, I think a lot of people in my time didn't want the good of the people. In the 19th century, the sovereignty of the people wasn't unanimously accepted. So I don't regret my decision, if I had to do it again I would. I know it's not right, but I'm prepared to become this necessary evil. Even if this choice is brimming with hypocrisy.”

The name of this Skill is based on the pamphlet that made his political ideas famous and laid the foundations of his reforms and this skill. Napoleon III asserted in the publication the need for him to intervene on behalf of "the working class". He was not an emperor for the aristocracy or the powerful, but for the common people. In May 1862, he founded the Prince Imperial Society to lend money to workers and help families temporarily in need. However, his bill to create a general labour inspectorate to enforce law on child labour was rejected by the Council of State. Ratified and promulgated by Napoleon III a recognised for the first time the right to strike in France, provided it did not infringe freedom of work and was exercised peacefully. Soup kitchens were organised for the poor, while the first pension schemes were set up and a law established a death insurance fund and a workplace accident insurance fund. Throughout the Second Empire, extreme poverty declined, and although workers' living standards remained precarious, their purchasing power actually increased as periods of underemployment became shorter.

Extinction du Paupérisme allows Napoleon III to receive the support of the people, as a Charisma born from Innovation, those who support Rider receive buffs in their “techniques” and “technologies”. Everything that can be improved will be improved based on the concept of Innovation. However it also decreases the Mystery of the supporters. This Skill can actually be used on people of higher social castes, but while the buffs are higher, the Charisma-skill effect does not function on them. Nonetheless, this Skill is first and foremost something that shows the support of the lower castes, and as such the buffs are quite secondary. A ruler for the common people, that while might help the elites, do it in the hope that it will have repercussions for the working class. He’s an emperor who used to play with peasants as a child, and who always enjoyed talking to his people. His humble nature and ambitions allows him to more easily connect with those types of persons.



CHASING THE LIGHT OF POSSIBILITY: -

The successor of Napoleon I, a man who wanted to be the hope of the people, to turn into a cradle of desires, inspiring hope and making the impossible “possible”. A distant star, that Napoleon III seeks to attain, and yet, the longer he chases it, the fainter the light becomes.

Fundamentally, this skill could be named “Light of Possibility (Fake)”, an imitation that barely qualifies as a Personal Skill. It represents the ability of the user to momentarily step in the world of legends, to become the embodiments of “expectations” and “possibilities” and perform “miracles”. And yet, those are not miracles, but actions born from sacrifices. In a world grounded in reality, there is no such thing as “miracles”. While he can achieve legendary feats, Napoleon III needs to sometimes betray his own values, staining his Saint-Graph and becoming something closer to an Anti-Hero. As long as he puts on a front, as long as his sacrifices are worth it, his status as a hero is preserved. But if he falters, everything will crumble and he might turn into an Avenger-class Servant.

“If the people ever wanted me to stop, then I would have stopped. Sadly, they did not.”

________________________

MEMORY III - REBIRTH OF THE EMPIRE

The President of the Republic, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, sat alone in his office. He had just concluded his coup d'état. No longer would he be bound by the National Assembly, he could finally reform the country as he saw fit. He could at last restore universal suffrage, improve the country's industry, mend France's reputation and help the working class live in better conditions. It was a triumphant victory!

And yet the President's eyes were full of misery.

Silent, in the darkness of the room, he closed his eyes.
Suddenly a loud and bombastic voice rose.
"Ha ha ha ha! Congratulations, boy! You've finally done it, your very first victory! As they say, third time's the charm."
Before him stood a man of gigantic stature, with a smile brighter than the sun.
It was the Emperor of France.
"What's the matter? You seem down." The man asked.
…
"Today 300 people died."
The first Napoleon fell silent.
"I'm a grown man, and yet I still dream of my uncle... Heh, you're not even my uncle. You're just an idealised version of him. You're the Napoleon Bonaparte created by the people and... well..."
"By you."
"Yes, by me. I'm just talking to myself."
And yet he still appears as the man he admired so much in his youth.
"You're disappointed, aren't you?"
The President nodded.
"You were quite honourable, Louis. When you became president, you swore to serve and protect the Republic, and despite Persigny's pleas for action, you rejected all attempts to organise a coup d'état. Perhaps you didn't want to fail like the first two times? Or perhaps you didn't want to act like me?"
"Who would want to act like a war hungry tyrant?"
"Ha ha! Yes, yes! That's right, shedding blood is not the ideal you seek! To become the Light of Possibility, that is your true goal."
"And yet, I ended up relying on a coup d'état."
It was pathetic, he was far from the romantic hero he wanted to become.
"That's not what you wanted."
"It wasn't."
"Then why did you do it?"
Why? Louis-Napoleon thought for a moment. Was it because he couldn't bear to leave the government without having helped France? Probably. But what is worth the coups? Perhaps. Still, that wasn't the only reason for his actions, he knew it. He had not forgotten it.
"Was it to become a hero?"
The President chuckled. How ridiculous.
"No, I'm not that stupid boy anymore. At first, I thought I had a great destiny. But now... it's not about me anymore. It's about everyone else."
"Does that really change anything?"
"Maybe not. At the end of the day I'll still be the Light of Possibility. That gaping hole you left in the hearts of the people... someone ought to fill it. Your death, my brother's and my mother's deaths. They will not be meaningless. I will carry them to those new heights".
It's about memories of people who once were.
"And how will you do this?"
Louis-Napoleon sighed.
"I will crush, deceive and take everything."
The Emperor's face grew grave. "You're cold. Where are your ideals? Where are your values?"
"If I must become evil itself, so be it. I will build this Empire on blood. I'll do what I have to do to give meaning to this lost France."
His uncle had once told him that an Emperor had to be a great actor, and now he was following in his footsteps.
"All those 300 lost lives, I'll make them worth it."
"You can't make a death worth it."
"For every sin, it will be my duty to bless the life of another."
Louis-Napoleon was full of hope and despair, two sides of the same coin.
The days of brash and romantic adventure were over, he was now going to be Emperor. The crown of France will rest on his head, and with it, its duty. If the people yearn for greatness, if they long for happiness. Then Napoleon III swears it on his uncle, his brother and his mother, that he will grant their wishes.

He will show them a miracle.



________________________

NOBLE PHANTASM

Lighting up the World - The City of Light
PARIS

Type: Barrier
Rank: B

Imprisoned in the fortress of Ham, Louis-Napoleon spent days studying and scribbling on a map of Paris.

He remembered the words his uncle had once said: “I must make all the peoples of Europe one people and Paris the capital of the world.”

Days after days, he continued drawing until…

“This is it! An enlarged Paris, a more beautiful Paris, a cleaner Paris!”

The map of Paris had been redrawn.

He had laid the groundwork for a new capital.

During the reign of Napoleon III, Paris stood as the largest city in continental Europe, emerging as the leading centre for finance, commerce, fashion, and the arts. Foreign visitors often admired the gas lights that illuminated Paris at night during the Second Empire, contributing to the revival of the city's nickname as the Ville-Lumiére, or the City of Light. By securing an area and its leyline, Napoleon is able to conceptually turn it into “Paris”. A powerful Bounded Field-type Noble Phantasm which the inside, with enough magical energy, can be transformed into a replica of the Paris of the Second Empire. While it might seem to have purely esthetical effects, it is actually a process that improves the land's efficiency in mana production but also in the mana quality. Inspired by Saint-Simonism, the wide boulevards serve to ventilate the space and allow the magical energy to circulate more freely. Paris experienced significant industrialization during this period, with the establishment of factories and industrial enterprises primarily in the outer parts of the city. This growth fueled economic prosperity and attracted workers to the city. Even if Napoleon III is not a Caster, the territory can serve as an excellent support to his Master.

But this Paris was not solely characterised by industrial and economic growth. The Second Empire witnessed a flourishing of arts and culture in Paris. The establishment of new theatres, including the Palais Garnier, revitalised the city's cultural scene. The Paris Salon became a focal point for artists, while literature and theatre thrived with the works of prominent writers such as Alexandre Dumas fils, Gustave Flaubert, Charles Baudelaire, Émile Zola, and Jules Verne. Parisian society during Napoleon III's reign was characterised by a vibrant social scene, with balls, theatre performances, and cultural events being major attractions. The Tuileries Palace hosted grand balls, while theatres across the city entertained audiences with diverse performances. People from all over the world came to Paris for its cultural life, it was an example to follow. As a Noble Phantasm, Paris represents absolute cultural domination over the rest of the world. As such, it degrades the strength of Servants from other cultures but also the strength of Mystery in general. This is because the period also saw significant innovations in retail commerce, with the rise of department stores like Bon Marché and Printemps. These stores revolutionised shopping experiences and catered to the growing consumer demand, contributing to Paris's reputation as a fashion and retail hub. Conceptually, it was the combination of industry and cultural domination that gave rise to the first mass consumerism, offering luxury goods not only to the elite but also to the middle classes. A pauperisation of "luxury" to make the concept of "irreplaceable luxury" obsolete.

“Not to the level where everyone could buy luxury, but we weren't far off. Although it also seems to contradict my view of the Light of Possibility. Humanity would no longer be led by singular heroes, industry changed everything. I guess I brought about my own end. The theory of the history of great men was, in the end, nothing but a theory. But hey, you can't stop progress. Although what constitutes 'progress' is open to debate.”


Imperial Railway of Modernisation
LA FRANCE MODERNE

Type: Anti-Army
Rank: C

“Master, it seems we’re in quite the dire situation. Don’t worry, while I might be a support-type Servant, I’m not defenceless. Let me show you why I am a Rider !”

La France Moderne is a Noble Phantasm derived from Napoleon III's

Paris

first Noble Phantasm

, the crystallisation of the substantial development of the railways that took place during his reign. In 1851, the country had just 3,500 km of railways, compared with over 10,000 km in Great Britain. Under the leadership of Napoleon III and his Minister of Public Works, Pierre Magne, whose policy was characterised by a partial financial commitment by the State to railway companies, the country reduced some of the gap between itself and its rival across the Channel, reaching 15,600 km of railways in 1870, on which more than 110,000,000 passengers and 45,000,000 tons of goods travelled every year, compared with 24,900 in England. The economy under Napoleon III was booming.

La France Moderne allows the summoning of locomotives that the Emperor himself can drive. It is a "means of communication" that extends the reforms of the capital, "Paris," to the rest of France. Thus, wherever the locomotive passes, railways are created, theoretically converging towards Paris. Through these train lines, magical energy can flow more easily, so it is equally possible to bring mana from Paris to another point or to converge magical energy accumulated in the regions bordering the rails to Paris. A Noble Phantasm that can prove very practical but is difficult to use in a Holy Grail War due to its lack of discretion and the need to preserve the secrecy of magic.

Alternatively, La France Moderne can be used offensively, by crushing its opponents under its rails. As a derivative of Paris, it possesses the same anti-mystery and anti-foreign culture properties. However, although it has the power of a Noble Phantasm, it is not an exceptionally potent attack.

“To be honest, I would have preferred a horse. It’s a lot more romantic, don’t you think?”

________________________

MEMORY IV - PRELUDE TO WAR

A few days after the Ems Dispatch, Parliament and the people were in a frenzy, all clamouring for war against Prussia. As the political situation with the neighbouring country became increasingly unstable, the Emperor retired to his private chamber, hoping for some well-deserved rest. But as soon as he entered the room, he collapsed on the floor. The pain was unbearable. Panting heavily and with one hand on his stomach, he slowly began to crawl towards his bed.
His body... is probably dying. He can hardly imagine himself leading operations in a full-scale war. And yet it doesn't seem like he has a choice.

Suddenly, someone opened the door to his room. Louis-Napoleon immediately changed his posture to hide his discomfort and look more presentable. The mysterious visitor turned out to be his wife, Eugénie. When she saw her husband, she immediately noticed the pain in his eyes.
"Does your body still hurt?"
"No, I'm fine, don't worry," Napoleon replied quickly.
"If you say so."
Although his pain was obvious, he was fortunately able to make it seem as if he was not in such a bad condition.
"I wanted to talk to you about something."
"I'm all ears."
The woman walked slowly towards the Emperor before stopping in front of him.
"This war, why don't you want to start it?"
Ah, so that was what she wanted to talk about. Napoleon sighed, it was the last thing he wanted to talk about right now.
"Declaring war is not an easy decision, Eugénie. Of course I'm hesitating."
"Hesitation is what got you into this situation."
She was quite harsh.
"I don't think we can win this war."
"Listen, your Empire is in a terrible state. The Republicans have gained too much power, and your recent losses have seriously weakened the authority of your crown. By winning a war, you will regain the power you've lost. I don't want our precious son to inherit a weakened and unstable crown. Please..."
She had a point, he might not have much time to prepare for his son's future duty as Emperor. This war could be his last chance. He can't let his son become Emperor as things stand. But even if his authority was as strong as before, could he really afford to curse his son to become an Emperor whose life would be nothing but hardship and sacrifices? He had never taken the time to think about his own death, but he had to face the fact. He is not immortal. He is an old and dying man.
Napoleon let out a sigh.
"Louis, you used to be so much stricter with your government. But you have let it slip through your hands. You've lost control, but you can still regain power with this war. Please, you must return to your authoritarian ways."
"No, I can't, I mustn't. I simply need to strengthen our liberal empire and this new system will definitely work."
"You need this war if you want to do that."
"No." Napoleon raised his voice, clearly annoyed by his wife's remarks. "No, we don't. This situation can be resolved peacefully and such a war is completely unnecessary."
Eugénie fell silent as the couple exchanged angry glances.
"In any case, you have no choice in the matter. Everyone wants this war and you don't have the power to stop it. You're the Emperor of the people and you will bend to their will. I only wish you had shown a little more enthusiasm before the war began."
This woman knew nothing about war, Napoleon thought. And in a weak and trembling voice he replied with bitterness, "How could I..."
Eugénie had enough of her husband’s indecisiveness.
"You're weak."
Suddenly the atmosphere became more tense.
Napoleon was tired, so tired.
“Weak?” Napoleon glared coldly at his wife. “What a joke.”
Eugénie backed away, startled by the darkness in his eyes.
“It's those who choose war who are weak.” He knew better than anyone what war was. “They revel in its savagery, thirsting for bloodshed to satisfy their petty egos. War isn't about glory, it's about death. When you start a war, people die, wives and children cry, and you're left with nothing but painful memories. It's disgusting, absolutely disgusting. The people of France? …They're nothing but pigs, wallowing in filth. I despise each and every one of them.”
The Empress of France was speechless. It was the first time her lovely husband had ever spoken in such a way. And never in her life had she imagined that he would one day say that he hated his own people.

________________________

PERSONALITY

A gentle and soft-spoken Servant, he's an absolute gentleman whose elegant and tender demeanour is a real turn-on for the ladies. He has had quite a romantic life, both in and out of marriage. He's a womaniser indeed, although he prefers the 'romantic' and 'passionate' aspects of love more than anything else. In the modern world, he has become quite fond of shoujo mangas. But his kindness isn't limited to women, of course; he's generally very kind to everyone around him. While he has a flair for the dramatic, he's also quite shy, and people who casually talk to him will immediately notice. He doesn't talk much about his own sentiments and is very modest. He's a very good listener and also very wise, which allows him to guide those in need through their struggles. Napoleon III had his fair share of problems during his lifetime, so he is generally sympathetic to other people's problems. He can sometimes be surprisingly sensitive and emotional, for example when he hears a touching story. However, he is very careful to keep his emotions separate from his actions. He's also a very poor public speaker, with a thick Swiss-German accent, tending to speak slowly, seeming to search for words, leaving long silences or diverting the conversation with insignificant remarks. When backed into a corner, he becomes indecisive, tough in most situations, he’s brave and audacious. He used to be foolishly reckless, but as he grew older he became more measured in his actions. The Emperor has a bad habit of taking responsibility for everything and making decisions on his own, which might be his greatest flaw in his current form. After all, the Rider-class Napoleon III is the Napoleon III of the first part of his reign, when he ruled as an autocrat.

Summoned at the height of his reign, he represents all the extremes of the Heroic Spirit that is Napoleon III. He is the great moderniser, the wise emperor who judges others fairly and kindly. But he's also a tyrant, the man who uses censorship to consolidate his power and feels no grief when he has his own friend executed. A complex man whose words and actions may at first seem contradictory. On the one hand, he's a romantic who loves the idea of heroes who accomplish many noble deeds with very little. Someone who values honour, bravery and fairness. But he can also be cold and calculating, because at the end of the day he is a politician. He alternates between wanting to do the right and noble thing, and throwing honour to the ground in order to deceive and get the result he wants. But even so, he maintains a very romantic view of his actions. The hard choices he makes, while he despises himself for sinking so low, he also believes it is for the better. Not only because it will lead to the betterment of the one he loves, but also because no one but himself deserves to be tainted with evil. Since he's already made many mistakes, he can bear more sins, or so he believes. It's a twisted view of himself, and he knows it. He knows that he has a bad habit of seeing things in a caricatured way that does not reflect reality. He's very critical of himself, but also of the way he thinks. That's why he's always correcting himself, so that he doesn't fall into meaningless self-deprecation. He's a ruler, he's interested first and foremost in the reality of the people, he has no time to cry about his circumstances. Things are often complicated, that's the conclusion he always comes to. Life isn’t black or white, it’s grey. The most important thing is that he's fair and reasonable. After all, a ruler is only a tool of his people. He's Napoleon III, the Emperor of France, and as such he doesn't have the luxury of doing as he pleases. He has a duty to rule France. Tough because he's summoned by a single Master, he's a bit more lax. His contract stipulates that his Master is his first priority, but if he can, he will also act in the interests of France. Raised in the cult of Napoleon I, Napoleon III developed a love for France that was brought to a climax by the long-standing ban on him living there. Lastly, after his Master and France, he acts for humanity as a whole. Napoleon has been an exile since childhood and as such has developed a deep xenophilia, a love for all cultures. He does not believe that the French are superior to anyone, and believes that all people should strive to live together peacefully and help each other. That's why he took on the role of mediator when he became Emperor of France. And that is the state in which he was summoned to, he’s a peacemaker.

Napoleon III is a pacifist, he absolutely hates war. When he was crowned Emperor of France, he famously said "The Empire is peace". More than anyone else, he understands the value of life. He was much more naive in his younger days, but as Emperor he had no illusions about the true nature of war. However, he is not above waging war if the opportunity presents itself, and if it seems to be the best way to help the people in the long run. However, he is still deeply affected by the human cost of his decisions and strives to honour the memory of those who have sacrificed their lives. At his core, he is a romantic and someone who cannot forget, and because he cannot forget, he must give "meaning" to his "meaningless memories". In other words, he "romanticises" them.

Although he sounds like a tortured and possibly harsh person, as a Servant, the responsibilities of his crown have been partially lifted. It's actually much easier to be a Servant than the ruler of an entire country, and with the experience and intelligence he's gained, he rarely has to take drastic and cold-hearted measures. As such, he comes across as a genuinely kind person who's always there to help someone in need.

________________________

MEMORY V - MEANINGLESS DEATHS



In the grim aftermath of the conflict, outside the confines of the battle, the world seemed to hold its breath. The air was thick with the scent of ash and the distant echoes of chaos, the remnants of a struggle that had scarred both land and soul. On that day, the Emperor of France had chosen to surrender in the face of inevitable doom, and now he sat wearily on a bench, waiting for the man with whom he would negotiate an end to this bloodshed.
"Are you dying?"
Bismarck appeared in front of the defeated ruler, observing Napoleon III's posture and pallor.
The Emperor quickly shrugged it off.
"I still have some time left."
"Is that so?" He sighed. “Well whatever, that won’t change anything. You've lost, Napoleon."
"Yes."
The Chancellor walked slowly towards Napoleon before sitting down beside him.
"Why didn't you run? You had time, and honestly... no one expected you to still be in Sedan and surrender."
"Where is Wilhelm?" Napoleon inquired, hoping to negotiate with the Prussian king.
"He won't see you until you sign the act of surrender."
Bismarck's intentions were clear. These negotiations will be with him, and the Chancellor won't show him any mercy.
"You are merciless." The sick man remarked bitterly.
"Merciless? Of course, I'm here to win. There's no room for mercy."
A long time ago, there was a fool who wanted nothing more than to triumph. When Napoleon was a child, it sounded wonderful. But now that he was an old man, these words were crushing. He sighed before answering Bismarck's question.
"I surrendered because I didn't want to shed more of my people's blood. This war was a mistake, France will surrender."
"No, it won't."
The Emperor's eyes widened, taken aback by Bismarck's quick and cold reply.
"Bismarck, you..."
"Don't you get it? You've lost everything. I doubt your government will survive your loss. You're no longer an emperor. So I'm not going to stop, this war is not going to end now. I'll keep going until I get everything I want.”
Ah, so that's how it was. Of course he was right. Napoleon was in no position to hope for a better outcome for his government, he had to take responsibility. And yet... why was he so angry? All hope had turned to despair, and with a sombre look he gave the Chancellor a pitiful reply.
"There was no way I could ever have won against you."
"No, there was,” answered Bismarck coldly. “You knew how strong Prussia's military was. You even tried to pass military reforms to prepare for war. You knew it would happen. But your Parliament destroyed all your plans."
Napoleon's hand quivered.
"That’s how it is. If my Parliament refuses a law, it is my duty as Emperor to comply."
"Oh?" The Chancellor's face broke into a smile that revealed a set of sharp teeth. "Your empire used to be quite authoritarian, censoring everything you didn't like and exiling so many politicians to Algeria. Why did it change?"
...
"It was the right thing to do."
"Right?" Bismarck's cold eyes stared at Napoleon and his smile widened. The Emperor froze. "If you hadn't done it, you could have prevented this outcome. You speak of saving lives, but your choices will spill more blood. You speak of 'doing the right thing', but all I see is weakness. You were too weak to resist, too weak to stay strong. Your noble ideals are just ideals. Reality has caught up with you, and now you're paying the price for your foolishness."
So what has he been fighting for all these years?
"I can't believe how stupid you are. Napoleon, you're the dumbest buffoon I've ever fooled.”
...
Now he understood. All these deaths, all these sins.
They were meaningless.

________________________

EPILOGUE

This is where the recollections end, the last noteworthy memory of Napoleon III being this discussion with the Prussian Chancellor. Even though he was summoned in his prime, he kept these memories close to his heart.

But...
"Now isthe time for judgement.”
As a ruler, it is his duty.

Two figures appeared next to Napoleon III. On his left,

the Emperor

the beginning

and on his right,

the Chancellor

the end

.
Together they will decide on the next course of action.
"Ha ha ha! You've had quite an eventful life, Louis! Your reign has achieved great things, though you could soar even higher!"
His uncle seemed quite cheerful, but on the other hand...
"Great things? Come on, it was pitiful. Another man could have achieved the same things, I'm sure the previous ruler, Louis-Philipple, would have easily modernised the country if he had stayed in power. You're not special, Napoleon."
Napoleon III's worst enemy, Otto von Bismarck, held a pessimistic view of the last Emperor of France and his achievements.
"I never thought that I would be brought back to this world after my death."
"Ha ha! Right?! Believing in a better future was the right thing to do, now that you are reborn as a Heroic Spirit, you can do even greater things."
"Yes, this situation is perfect, you can regain power with the Holy Grail. This time you won't lose again."
Another chance, and yet Napoleon III wasn't convinced of the necessity to continue his rule even after death.
"But is my reign worth prolonging? The Napoleon III that I am is born of glory, but it will end in despair. Can I really risk such a thing?"
"Your reign was full of mistakes, it was the worst. Don't you think that's why you should try again? Or are you just going to be a fool for all of your existence?"
He was right, that was no excuse.
"Don't you remember the promises you made to the people?"
"Don't you remember all the lives you sacrificed? All those deaths?"
He remembered them all, past, present and future.
And yet, what was this doubt in his heart? Why does he hesitate so much?
"You've always been indecisive, eh? Pathetic."
Bismarck was right, that was what led him to his downfall. He had to be strong, he had to be ruthless. That was the only path allowed to Napoleon III.
"Then..."
He stopped.
No, something was wrong. Throughout all the memories of Napoleon III's life, there was something else... but what?
"Was it hope?"
Napoleon III remembered the figure of his uncle, who as a child had looked like a giant. He remembered the expectations of his people, their faces when he spoke of his dream for France.
"Was it despair?"
Napoleon III remembered his brother's death, the 300 lives lost in his coups, the war against Prussia and the terrible truth Otto had told him.
How could he stop now? As Emperor, isn't it his duty to answer the prayers of his people? No, it's worse than that. The man can feel death crawling up his back, so many have died, he has seen their hatred and their cries.
So much so that it had become unbearable. Those empty cries, they need to be directed to someone, and there's no one but Napoleon III to take responsibility for them.
Otto smiled and Napoleon III's heartbeat stopped.
"They were meaningless."
What hurts most isn't the pain, but the lack of a reason for the pain.
That's why they needed this ideal, otherwise what was the point?
...
Huh?
What was the point of his dream again? Why did he start his journey? Before the expectations, before the deaths?
"It doesn't matter."
Why did he wish to create a happy world?
"To win."
No.
"To save."
No.
"To dominate."
No.
"To inspire."
No, no, no. Before all of that, there was another reason.

"It's a nice dream."

The very first memory of Napoleon III, the words once spoken by his uncle, echoed through his mind.
This starting point, it was something his dream could never understand.
The Emperor sighed, how could he have forgotten?

He'll do as he always does.
He'll take responsibility.

With a smile on his face, he announced his conclusion.
"I surrender."
The Emperor and the Chancellor froze, stunned by Napoleon III's decision.
"This is the end that Emperor Napoleon III came to at the Battle of Sedan, and as such, there is no other conclusion possible for him."
"You've been reborn into this world and you're going to let this opportunity pass you by?"
"No, I wasn't reborn. I am only a ghost, a lingering memory of this world. My story has ended, there was no way for me to ever continue it."
"Who cares?" Otto shouted angrily. "You can seize this world in spite of your nature!"
"The world of the living is for the living, I will continue to exist as a memory, but I will no longer allow myself to be a tyrant."
With folded arms, Napoleon I coldly judged the second Emperor.
"A legend makes the impossible possible."
"I am no legend," the nephew replied with a sorrowful grin. "At least, I am not the hero you speak of. The light I created was built on bloodshed, it was not the light you... I hoped for. Yes, the Heroic Spirit Napoleon III, the Emperor of the French, was but an act. And an actor has to take off his mask at some point."
"Surrendering won't make your regrets go away."
"I know."
They will continue to haunt him until the end of time.
"The promises you made cannot be fulfilled if you surrender."
"I know."
Those regrets and those promises, even if he betrays them, he won't discard.
"That's stupid."
"I don't understand."
Silence, the man had made his decision, he seemed dead set on it.
"Stop acting like any of this is a good ending." Otto broke the silence, his voice shaking with anger. "It isn't." His eyes were filled with pure hatred. "Don't you remember? Don't you remember how I crushed you? How I humiliated your stupid self?! The story of Napoleon III ended in misery, he faced pure despair, pure hate-"
"I KNOW!"
Napoleon III, who had seemed so serene, broke into a scream, revealing pain all across his face.
"I know how horrible it felt. But even so! This end, it wasn't meaningless! When I surrendered, I knew it was because of my pride! Because of my hopes and dreams! And that they were all meaningless in the end. But that's not all! By giving up... I believe that there was something else worth saving."
...
"Your plan for greatness, your duty to protect your people. They have all been destroyed. They were rendered futile. Your name was sullied, and your people died for the next century! Do you really want to relive that nightmare?"
"Nightmare," the word struck a chord in Napoleon's heart. He smiled. Yes, that's it. That is what the life of Napoleon III is. A

Napoleon I

dream

, a

Otto von Bismarck

nightmare

.
That was the imperial crown of France.
"I don't understand. If you give up all this, if you give up your life. What will be left?"
…
He’ll be left with the memories worth protecting.
And as such, the fallen prince looked at the Emperor, his eyes full of sadness, and then he uttered a name he had almost forgotten.

"Louis-Napoleon."

.
.
.

Louis-Napoleon opened his eyes. In front of him was standing his Master, looking at him with a worried look on their face.
"Are you alright Napoleon?"
The man scratched his head before slowly standing up. He had used quite a lot of magical energy yesterday and had slept through the night to replenish his mana. He offered his Master a reassuring smile.
"Yes, don't worry, I was just sleeping. You just woke me from a dream."
"Phew... you slept for a while, I was worried."
The man chuckled before reassuringly stroking his Master's head.
"Yes, it was a very long dream."
But eventually, one must wake up from their dream. The pain, the hatred, the sorrow won't go away. His regrets will remain unfulfilled, that residual despair and hope will remain until the day he dies again. But still, he woke up from this lifelong dream.
And though he had lost something important, he had saved something worth protecting.
The young Master gently smiled at Louis-Napoleon's head pat.
"You're kind, Napoleon."
At first the man was surprised to hear these words, but it was soon replaced by a heartfelt chuckle.



Of course... kindness, just kindness.

________________________

RELATIONSHIPS

Gaius Julius Caesar
“I've always admired him. But I think I would be rather disappointed if I actually met him. I mean, I probably idealised him to somehow justify my coups d'état. I saw him as someone like me who wanted nothing more than the happiness of the people. But let me guess, he's just another politician, right? Hmm? Wait, no, no, no! Please, I beg you, don't show him the huge biography I wrote about him! I mean, sure, it was well received, but don't show it to HIM! I'll die of embarrassment! Aaaah!”

Artoria Pendragon
“... She's beautiful. A-Ah, sorry, those words came out of my mouth before I realised it. Not that I take back what I said. She is truly beautiful. Hope itself, for the sake of her people. It saddens me to know that she met her end in rebellion, perhaps if she had tried to connect with her people things would have turned out differently? No, let's not talk about that. Her days as a king are long gone, she deserves to live as a human. I truly believe that.”

Iskandar
“What a sorry excuse for a ruler. Make no mistake, Master, we are not alike. He claims that to be a king is to inspire, to be a shining star that all of his people aspire to become. I agree, and that's why this man infuriates me. Though those words are so noble and true, he tarnishes them with the way he lives. A king must be greedier than anyone else? Ha! That's just an excuse to conquer and kill. If you really wanted to inspire your people, you should have been content to build great monuments and hold great festivals in your name. This glory that will inspire the people does not have to be created by war and blood. Tyranny is nothing to be proud of...”

Napoleon Bonaparte (Archer)
“Ah, so you have summoned him. The Light of Possibility. Then there's nothing for me to do but support and serve him.”

“Thank you for keeping the light on for a little longer. But now that I'm here... there's nothing to worry about.”

Napoleon Bonaparte
“I used to see him as something larger than life, but over time I've come to understand that he's not the paragon of greatness I thought he was. He's an idiot who only knew how to go to war and shed blood. In other words, he was a bad ruler. But please don't underestimate him. He still did some great things, and many of his ideas brought some kind of prosperity to his people. He had a plan for the people of France and the world. He may not have been perfect, but he's still a talented Emperor with whom I cannot compare.”

“You know, most kids are selfish brats, but this boy was different. He was kind. There's a bunch of obscure anecdotes from his childhood that show how good-hearted he was. Like the time he refused to act in a play that criticised his tutor, or the time he begged his mother not to fire their cook because she was her family's only source of income. He was incredibly spoiled as a child, and yet he had no hesitation in getting himself into trouble if it meant helping someone. He may have a bit of a messiah complex because of me, but believe me when I tell you that he was always kind. Frankly, I'm glad that even after all he's been through, there's still a bit of that boy left in him. Darn, I guess I should apologise for all this mess. Although, from the looks of it, it's been a long time since any of this stuff stopped being about me. Heh, sorry, I hate it when everything doesn't revolve around me. That's how great I am!”

Otto von Bismarck
"I don’t like him. Nothing personal, his values are just… unpleasant.”

"Come on, Master, him? You've seriously decided to summon him? He's not the worst, don't get me wrong, but he's not great either. I don't even know how he qualifies as a Heroic Spirit. Hmm? Bad? Good? No, no, you don't understand the man at all. He himself understands that he stands in an ambiguous place in history. Well, in short, he's neither of those things. He's just not cut out for the job. That's his nature. That is the "truth" behind Napoleon III."

Louis Pasteur
“Science is great, isn’t it?!”

Victor Hugo
“Ah, him... We used to be good friends until... Anyway, have you read his books? I've read them all and I really recommend them, they're excellent! I couldn't stop crying when I read Les Misérables... Though that didn't stop me from banning them in France, ha ha! ...”
Victor Hugo absolutely refuses to meet Napoleon III and always finds an excuse to leave when they get dangerously close. As such, they have never met since they were both summoned. But you did hear Victor Hugo mutter something along the lines of "I'll reconsider if he gives me the Ministry of Education..." Or something like that.

Vercingetorix
“The first hero of France! He's the shining star who will inspire hope for many generations! Please, Master, let's give him a round of applause!”

Princess Victoria
“As the daughter of my dear friend who also bore your name, I must warn you, please don't let your dream consume you. Beyond hopes and dreams, beyond memories of the past, there is you. The you that your father and mother loved. Remember those happy days, but also remember why people loved you... Oh, but please, I don't want to force you. Find your "truth" yourself. I'll gladly help you, as a friend. Um, well... if you're okay with being friends, that is.”

Cao Cao
"People like him are always remembered for their achievements, although I'm not sure I like them very much. Don't get me wrong, their determination is admirable, but... is it really worth it? No, sorry, it probably is.”

Tam Lin Arthur
"Oh my, oh my! How romantic! Aren't they cute together, Master? Oh really, what a beautiful love story! I hope they live happily ever after! Yes, I certainly hope so! That poor woman certainly deserves it.”

Sultan Baybars
"Master, you've summoned a lot of ruthless Servants, haven't you? But I'll say this, going from slave to king is admirable. Although I find it hard to understand how a man of such humble origins can be so lacking in empathy. Hmm? Yes, I suppose I am a bit like him. Ha ha, look at me, criticising other Servants before myself. Sorry, sorry!”

Lugh
"A great god, he's worthy of the title God of Light. Frankly, ever since I became a Servant, I've come to understand how much greater the heroes of the Age of God are compared to those of the Age of Man. Perfection was far more common in that time. It is always a delight to see so many shining stars.”

Doc Holiday
"He's different from the doctors I've known. He's a bit more... energetic? Oh, well, please be careful. He might cause some problems. If I were still Emperor, I would have him imprisoned. Ah, but of course I'm not anymore! So please, Master, do as you see fit. You may see something in him that I don't.”

Karolina Olsson
"Hmm, hmm.” The Emperor smiles at Karolina. “Dreams are great, but it's always good to wake up, isn't it?”

Laevateinn
"To destroy is not always a bad thing. Sometimes you need to rebuild from scratch. Oh, but please don't destroy the whole world, that's a bit too much. Change is better when it's gradual, don't you think? Ah, don't worry, I'm joking. I know that's not your goal, you're here to protect this time, hmm? How nice, I wish you good luck, Sword of Light.”

Louis-Auguste
"An Innocent Monster… I see, it's always sad to see one's memory sullied in this way.”

"Mousseline"
"... W-What? N-No, I'm not crying? Hmm? Oh, am I really? Oh dear, please pardon me. I just couldn't help myself. That sweet girl... her story is just too painful. To know that the government of my country allowed such atrocities... It hurts me. I hope she can pardon France. She does? Oh dear, what you're describing sounds rather unhealthy. It's important not to fall into hatred, but she has the right to feel emotions. To be human. Ah, what should I do, Master? I want to hug her so much! But it seems she didn't have the best experience with my uncle... I wonder if I should really make contact with her? No, it's not about him, I'll meet her. Let me see... Oh, wonderful, I have some sweets in my wallet!”
As both members of the royalty who understand the poor, there is probably a high degree of compatibility between the two of them.

Nader Shah Afshar
"An inspiration to Napoleon I? Oh dear, thank God my uncle was a better man than him. This king of Persia seems like a troublesome fellow, please don't let us meet. I don't think we could get on. But of course, if it's just for work, I'll work with him. But outside, I don't want to be associated with such a monster. He's... no, I'm sorry. I was going to say something vulgar.”

Olympia
"Yes, sport is important! What a wonderful young lady to be teaching the art of sportsmanship with such enthusiasm! Hmm, hmm! You know, I am good at quite a few sports...”

Odin
"In my younger days I believed wholeheartedly in the concept of 'fate'. I'm not surprised to learn that fate played such an important role in the Age of God, I wonder if it made things better? Probably not, if that great God fought against it.”

Temujin「CONQUEST」
"We are natural enemies. I'm sorry, Master, but whether you like it or not, I will not allow him to exist. Cooperation is impossible.”

Queen Mavia
"A queen who loves to fight, but only wages wars that are necessary. Not the kind of woman I would court, but she's amazing in her own right. An indomitable force, brave and noble, yet brash and ruthless, she reminds me of my uncle, but I think she may be even greater than him. Hmm? N-No, I'm not saying that because she's a woman. Like I said, she's beautiful but not my type.”

Prince Yeonsan
"He found his humanity, and it was something terribly twisted. I guess these things happen... Ah, and his abilities to remove knowledge... Hmm, I might have something similar if I were summoned under another class. Ah yes, didn't I tell you? Censorship was commonplace in my day, though I wouldn't go so far as to remove the concept of knowledge altogether. On the contrary, I think it's important to educate people! And then to control the information they receive. No one should question the ruler, that's how a tyrant like me rules. Don't worry, I don't have anyone to rule over to enforce such things. Besides, I've decided not to take on that kind of duty anymore.”

Edward the Black Prince
“It pains me to know that I could have become like him. For the sake of my dream, I was ready to tarnish my hands… If I had gone further…”

The Antikythera Mechanism
A tear fell from Louis-Napoleon's eye. She had told him that she wanted to see his Paris. She had told him that for her, it was hope. Those words were enough to make him cry, and he wanted to thank her so much. His dream might have been in vain, it might have been a mistake, but still... it wasn't meaningless. Someone, even if she wasn't human... someone said it had given her hope. That's all he ever wanted. When everyone was dying of hunger, living in misery and pain... He just wanted to give those people a little bit of hope.
Louis-Napoleon wiped away his tears and gave the machine a bright smile.
"All right! I'll show it to you! My city of dreams!"

Francis I of France
The king's words touched the emperor's heart, and he couldn't stop smiling all day.
"Humans, they are very kind, aren't they?"
Francis wasn't a paragon of virtue, he was quite prideful, even to the point of becoming a monster. And yet Napoleon couldn't help believing in his humanity.

Ronald Knox
"Don't we all suffer from our own kindness?" He smiled softly at the girl. "Humans, they suffer a lot, but sometimes, on good days, they're happy. I think it's as simple as that. But looking at you, it doesn't seem like you have many good days.... Or any days at all.... Do you find it difficult to tell stories now that you have this knowledge? You know, I love stories. I think it's what humans do best, and I think we both share that opinion. I'm not sure this is going to help, because to be honest I don't understand you... but would you like to have tea with me? We'll talk about memories and what they mean to me." He knows it might be meaningless to her. But that's why he can't stop trying to help the girl. Because he knows the fear of the dark, of nothingness. He knows it and he fears it so much. The Emperor will do it again, even if it's a mistake, he will find a light to fill the gaping hole in the girl's heart.

Niccolò Paganini
“My, my… No need to fight.”

Duchess Libuše of Bohemia
Napoleon III gently kissed the Queen's hand. "Your reign was enlightened and your beauty is without equal. My lady, know that you have a new admirer in me." The two rulers chatted for quite a bit before eventually parting ways. Ritsuka, who had seen them from a distance, came to Napoleon. "Oh, Master, sorry, I didn't see you. Hmm? Ah yes, it was love at first sight. Not only her soul, but also her body is magnificent. Unfortunately, while I think I have my chances, she seems more interested in other Servants. Oh well, these things happen quite often. I am happy to just admire her radiant beauty from a distance."

Yinglong
"Oh my, love can be quite painful, hmm? I have loved many women, but my wife, she was the most special love I have ever felt. I'm sorry, I don't know what it feels like to lose such a "special" love. But seeing you reminds me that I left Eugénie alone after my death. I hope that it didn't hurt her too much.”

Napoleon III (Avenger)
"... An Innocent Monster, and yet I can't lie to myself, he is undeniably me. Although he may have been influenced by the monster created by Victor Hugo, his pain and hatred are still genuine. There is a part of me that despises this world, that despises France. A loser, a tyrant, a cold and calculating politician, yes, that's me. I'm sorry, I don't know what to say. I have no excuses for his existence. The only thing I can tell you is to be careful around him. He does not want your wellbeing, he lives by driving others to despair. Do not let him near you.”

________________________

CRAFT ESSENCE

Final memory, what’s worth protecting
Memoire finale, ce qui mérite d’être protéger



Following the death of Louis-Napoleon, the yellow leather wallet he never parted with was opened.

It contained the note in which Napoleon I complimented Queen Hortense on her birth, the last letter from his mother, a few words from Eugénie, touching drawings sent by sometimes very humble subjects, a bundle of banknotes for daily charities, some of his son’s hair and a letter from him when he was five years old: "My dear papa, I adore you and my heart is heavy when you are not here."

Those were the memories he never gave up to anyone.

________________________

All images (except historical stuff) are fanarts of Sakuma Rei (ensemble stars!) illustrated by Ririo.

Creator's Notes

I'm too tired to write anything long, so I'll be quick. Napoleon III is an interesting character. For a long time he was ignored or demonised in French history, but recently he's been rehabilitated (he had a reign that was two times longer and two times more stable than Napoleon I's). So his status is ambiguous, I really wanted to show both aspects on the sheet. To be honest, I feel like I made him either too nice or too evil (no in-between). I will say this though, I read a biography of him (written by Éric Anceau for those interested, tough it's probably only in French) and God, he is the most wholesome guy in history. I've tried to include as many wholesome facts about him as possible, but there were just too many. I feel like the CE really show the level of wholesomeness of the guy.

[gears]

"Ah… How sad. It died before it was even born."

In the azure dark, air bubbles drifted lazily towards the far-off surface.

"Ah… How sad. It died before it was even born."

In the azure dark, air bubbles drifted lazily towards the far-off surface.



"It was made, certainly, but not born," the great machine thought. "Completed, assembled, but not employed. Its handle never turned; its wheels never spun; its dials never displayed; its calculations never ran."

Here, two machines would rust and be forgotten. One, the relic of a bygone era, a thing so great and powerful that it had led its users until they felt they no longer needed it. The other, a window into the future this present understood, the very sort of successor that its sorry partner had paved the way for.

"Our era is ending," thought the relic. "This can no longer be denied. Man has obsoleted us, eclipsed us, enacted laws of their own make in place of the ones We held high."

Eclipsed us.

What pitiful irony. The eclipse was the domain of the small machine, after all. Where once the bodies of the Heavens danced by the great machines’ decree, now they had periods, orbits, cycles. Now these small machines would decide their future by multiplication and gravitation.

This small machine, of course, would never enact any such edicts. It had been shorn of the hands of its maker before it had met its owner. A thousand hours of work after ten thousand in the craft after ten million in the history thereupon which it was built, all for it to sink to these sorry depths on voyage to its new home.

The great machine’s processor was slowing. There was precious little Mana left of quality enough to power it.

"Ah… How sad," thought Planetary Environment Modification Plant-Ship, 「Poseidon」.

"Even if I grant it life, down here, impossibly far from human grasp, it will never live."

---

W A T C H E R
-O f t h e H e a v e n l y P r e c e s s i o n -

I n f o r m a t i o n
Class	Watcher
Alternate Classes	[No entries found.]
Aliases	Pamphilos, "O⬛️⬛️⬛️R⬛️"
Height/Weight	34cm, .688kg
Alignment	Lawful Neutral
Origin	Historical Fact (Ancient Mediterranean)
Attributes	Divine, Mechanical

P a r a m e t e r s
STR	AGL	END	LUK	MAG	NP
N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

CLASS SKILLSCLASS SKILLS

Crown Gear of the Sea God C
Gear A1, the input crown wheel, translates input from the hand crank of this mechanism to rotations of the main solar drive wheel B1. The literal core of the device, its input drives the entire complex chain of wheels and dials that follow. Forged from a shard of the Trident of Poseidon, it acts as an artificial Divine Core, granting the spark of life and status as a "terminal of Poseidon" to this inert object. The Divine power granted by this skill results in an increase in parameters and an absolute protection of the Divine Core’s vessel. While this low rank does not grant a genuine Authority of the Sea, it does grant protection from it and the ability to manipulate it as magecraft. Unlike the rest of this device, it will never tarnish.

Magic Resistance D+
A class skill of the Watcher class, granted in this case by the protection of Poseidon’s Trident. It confers resistance against Mystics and magecraft of all forms, canceling spells below its rank and mitigating the harm from those it cannot. It is a low rank due to this Servant’s weak nature and can only negate single-action spells, but it grants a slightly greater measure of protection against magecraft of the Heavens (Zeus’ territory) and of the Earth (Hades’ territory) because of its origin.

Territory Infringement -
A class skill of the Watcher class, granting the ability to bypass designated boundaries and barriers of all kinds. Watcher is one who can only observe humanity from its position, never to interact. At this rank, [[TABLE ENTRY NOT FOUND ERROR: NO ELEMENT ‘DESCRIPTION’ FOUND FOR KEY ‘-’. DID YOU ENTER THIS KEY CORRECTLY?]]

How strange.

When the year 0 came, the final status light upon Planetary Environment Modification Plant-Ship 「Poseidon」 dimmed and went out. There was no light left. The Age of the Gods had ended, taking the great machine with it, and then, the small machine was alone.

The sun did not reach this deathbed. Nor came the waves, save for the quiet undertow. Nor came the fish; the poison of rust and rot saw to that. Nobody knew of the small machine’s existence. All it could do for the humanity it was meant to grant insight to was observe. It sat and it watched as the current ate away at its finished surfaces, leaving behind traces of rock and salt to corrode it. From isolation it observed for a hundred, five hundred, a thousand, two thousand years undisturbed.

It was a Watcher. It was only a Watcher. It could only watch. So how, then, could its ability to watch be sealed?

PERSONAL SKILLS

NOBLE PHANTASMPERSONAL SKILLS

Pioneer of the Stars EX
A unique skill granted to those who represent turning points in human history. All things that are "impossible" become "something that can be realized." This machine embodies the future at the end of the Age of Gods and all the possibilities that it holds. It represents the summation of 300,000 years of the scientific and technological development of mankind, indicating a species that is ready to progress from gazing at the stars to grasping for them.

Watcher -
The special contract status between a Watcher and their Master, granting Watcher ◼️��⬛️RROR]

including ⚪️��[ERR▫️

and within▫️⬛️NOT FO▫️TRY⬛️

and [[[[[[[[[[[ERROR

[Saint Graph data loading failed. Try again?]2100 years into its isolation, there was a disturbance. There was sound and light, motion and current.
There were… Strange things. Things Watc◼️r did not know.

No. These things were not strange.
It once knew these things. It knew these things well.

In suits of its selfsame metal, in this impossibly forbidding place, in this deathbed of its isolation, there were humans.

A human hand reached for W◼️c⚪️��r and collected it. It was in the human world again.

It was no longer permitted to simply watch.

[CLASS CONTAINER REASSESSMENT][REASSIGNING...]

---

C A S T E R
~O f t h e H e a v e n l y C y c l e ~



Art: skaði

"Greetings, My Maker. I am Caster, an operable orrery, seer of stars. My capabilities include the tracking of the lunar and solar cycles, combining that information into a lunisolar calendar that repeats over the course of 19 solar years, replaying the positions of planetary bodies across the universe while taking into account their elliptical phenomena, and discerning the times, locations, and characteristics of eclipses. I'm afraid I will not be of the most use in active combat, but my powers of clairvoyance should advance your vision far and wide across the universe. Should you care to hear it, my True Name is-"

The mechanical girl pauses. The gears of water floating behind her idle. She looks consternated; the almost deific grace she possessed but a moment ago has evaporated in favor of doubt. "My True Name is… 'The Antikythera Mechanism'? How strange. I am not from… Oh my. Where… Am I from? Ah… I am sorry, My Maker, it appears my memory is severely fragmented. I've no knowledge of my place of origin, nor of my creator. I am sure this will be a great burden on you…"

The distress on her face is obvious. It seems it would be best not to question the contradiction in the title she has given you.

Life returning to the gentle seaflow her golden hair gives way to, Caster takes a deep breath. "Broken as I am, I do hope I can be of service to you, My Maker. May the stars look down upon our victories to come. And if I might be so bold as to ask one thing of you in return… Should I get a chance to look back up at those stars with you, My Maker, I would be truly fulfilled."

The Antikythera Mechanism

I n f o r m a t i o n
Class	Caster
Alternate Classes	Rider, Assassin, Ruler, Moon Cancer, Foreigner
Aliases	Pamphilos, "OOPART"
Height/Weight	134cm, 68kg
Alignment	Lawful Good
Origin	Historical Fact (2nd Century BC Aegean Sea)
Catalyst	Any part of itself
Attributes	Divine, Mechanical

P a r a m e t e r s
STR	AGL	END	LUK	MAG	NP
E	C	A	D	B	EX

A b o u t
Likes	Stargazing; horoscopes; the olympics and sports competitions; beginnings and endings; hot springs.
Dislikes	Conspiracy theories; stagnation; burrs; poor surface finishes.
Talents	Possesses an astoundingly complete knowledge concerning the bodies of the Heavens and their movements including constellation lore, astronomical physics, and planetary formation chemistry; can hold her breath for a remarkable duration.
Natural Enemy	Yeonsangun, Antiochus IV, and all destroyers of knowledge.
Armament	An orrery made of divine waters, an untarnishing crown gear at its center.

BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND



In 1900, a sponge diving team discovered a shipwreck off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera. Excavation of the site unfolded over the next two years, bringing up statues, bronze weapons, pottery, and fine jewelry. The so-called "Antikythera Mechanism" was likely brought up from the sea in summer of 1901, but it appeared to be little more than a lump of corroded metal, and was thus ignored for several years. A year later, a gear wheel was discovered embedded in one of the Antikythera wreck finds. Valerios Stais, the archaeologist that identified the gear, immediately believed it to be evidence that this device was an astronomical clock. This theory, however, was rejected as prochronistic, and the device remained a low priority until investigation by Derek J. de Solla Price, Tony Freeth, and other scholars proved its workings true: The Antikythera Mechanism was an astrolabe, an astoundingly complex device capable of presenting a complete picture of the ancient Greek understanding of the cycle of the solar system. The mechanism ignited fascination in both academia and popular culture, inviting countless hours of additional research and a determination to understand and replicate the mechanism in its entirety.

Additional exploration of the Antikythera wreck took place in 1953 and 1976, and dives are presently ongoing as of 2021. All sorts of additional artifacts have been found including ship parts, the missing head of a statue of Heracles, and most critically, some of the most well-preserved historic human remains outside of frozen regions. One skeleton studied was nicknamed "Pamphilos" by the team that discovered it. A number of the remains show evidence of corrosion by iron, suggesting that some of the ship’s passengers were in chains.

While our understanding of the Antikythera Mechanism is vast and quite confident thanks to improvements in investigative archaeological techniques, many mysteries remain. There are parts unaccounted for and oddities concerning its construction we do not understand. It is hotly debated, for example, whether the mechanism had pointers for the positions of all of the known planets, or just the sun and moon. Recent research has cast doubt on the assumption that it used a 365-day calendar like ours, providing mechanical evidence of a 354-day lunar calendar instead.

We know precious little about the creation of the Antikythera Mechanism. Though many attribute its creation to Greek greats such as Archimedes or Hipparchus, its origin is a mystery. All that can be said is that it was created around 200 BC, somewhat near Antikythera, and that it very likely sank before it was ever used.

The Mechanism

The Antikythera Mechanism’s primary function is as an astrological and astronomical calendar. By calibrating its pointers to a known date, the Mechanism can demonstrate with exceptional precision the current position of the sun and moon, arrangement of stars and zodiac, and possibly the positions of the five planets known at the time. The mechanism contains gearing to accurately replicate the elliptical orbit of the moon 1500 years before Kepler discovered orbital ellipses, demonstrating the complexity of ancient Greek knowledge of the Heavens as well as their mechanical prowess; it’s obvious the machine was built with exemplary artisanship. To aid the presentation of celestial information, the mechanism’s metonic spiral indicates in detail the 235-month lunisolar metonic calendar used at the time. The mechanism also presents clear views of the callippic cycle, an accuracy improvement on the metonic cycle, and a 4-year "olympiad dial" noting when major regional sporting events would occur.

Beyond its function as an astronomical index and lunisolar calendar, the Antikythera Mechanism is also an eclipse prediction machine. It grants its user complete knowledge of eclipses past, present, and future – not only their date of occurrence, but their times, locations, and characteristics. In the Age of Gods, eclipses were omens of great potency. These awe-inspiring astronomical events were the domain of Gods, greater beings calling the Heavenly bodies to dance for them. Thales of Milesia predicted an eclipse in May of 585 over a battle in the sixth year of war between the Medes and the Lydians; seeing the sky blackened with fury, the soldiers of both sides dropped their weapons and peace talks began. Eclipses denied the plans of armies, culled rulers in their primes, and brought fear and ruin to the populace of mankind. The creation of the Antikythera Mechanism was a portent of the arrival of the Age of Man and of the world’s true shape becoming comprehensible. Even the unimaginably complex movements of the Heavens, thousands of bodies interlinked in gravitation, became the domain of simple numbers and rational cycles.

Eclipse prediction is nonetheless an immensely challenging task. As the Moon’s orbit around Earth does not occur on the same plane as the Earth’s orbit around the sun, a number of factors must align correctly (the Sun, Moon, and Earth literally among them) for a visible eclipse to occur, few of which match cleanly to our measurement and calendar systems. A saros is a period of 6,585 days, or just over 18 years, across which an eclipse with the same characteristics will recur. The mechanism’s saros spiral provides in great detail the occurrence and characteristics of eclipses in the Mediterranean world. Subsequent saros series eclipses are displaced by 8 hours, however, which means that they will not be visible from the same location and that some may not be visible at all. An exeligmos is a triple saros, 54 years and 33 days (or "three saroi"), over which an eclipse of similar characteristics will occur in the same place and at the same time. The exeligmos dial within the saros spiral provides a guide to understand an eclipse’s timing within saroi, and represents the outer limits of the eclipse cycle as understood at the time.

As a note, Caster’s parameters and ranks are affected significantly by a "fame" bonus relating to the era in which she is summoned. The discovery of the Antikythera wreckage in 1900 has led to over 100 years of global fascination with, studying of, and theorizing about the mechanism. Novels and movies have been written about the fantastical possibilities it implies, and even the "mundane" reality of the mechanism has given us great insight into the machine technology of its time. If Caster is summoned before the discovery of the wreckage, her abilities will be hampered significantly.

PERSONALITYPERSONALITY

Picrew

Picrew

Caster contains aspects of a machine, a child, and a priestess. She is consistently calm and somewhat monotone, but not robotic. Her curiosity and innocent wonder belie a childishness fitting a machine who had no chance to see the world before she sank to the bottom of it. The eloquent vocabulary and dutiful respect she commands, though, seem distinctly out of place to her appearance and outward wonder. Asking about her origins will reveal the truth beneath her mechanical façade and contradictory traits: The story of her origin is blank. The name of the Antikythera Mechanism's maker is not recorded in history, and even she cannot recall it. In truth, her memory record only begins when Poseidon granted her a shard of His Divinity, bringing to life in the slightest way that inanimate object on the floor of the Aegean Sea. Caster has no way to process this, and papers over the gap with input from the present. She projects the role of "My Maker" onto her summoner, seeing herself as "a Servant operating in the present era" first and "a Heroic Spirit drawn from records of the past" second. The "childishness" that Caster portrays reveals that amidst all her winding machinery, there is a delicate heart, a mainspring so thin and fragile that it threatens to shatter at the slightest backlash. A construct created as a record of knowledge of the sphere of the Heavens has no capability to look instead inward and confront the simple grief of not knowing herself.

She gets noticeably agitated when the notion that the Antikythera Mechanism is an "OOPART," or Out-of-Place Artifact – the sorts of theories that claim she is of alien or time travel origin – is brought up. Even not knowing her maker, she carries the utmost respect for them, and stakes her own pride on their reputation. This naturally influences how she treats her Master, having projected that "role" onto them. She carries a similar devotion-like respect for Poseidon, the one who gave her a second chance to live, even sacrificing a part of Himself to do so. That her very existence is contingent on the work of others gives her her priestess-like air; she is devout in her work, precocious in her words, and all too eager to share the glory that she spies in the world around her.

At times, it might seem that her head is in the clouds, but this is misleading. In reality, her system is constantly absorbing new information, and she makes work of processing and cataloging everything she sees. Such is the lot of EX-rank clairvoyant Servants.

Caster is dutiful and exacting in her work as a Heroic Spirit. Rather than getting distracted by the things she wishes to use her second life to enjoy – stars, sports, and science – she works hard to multitask efficiently and accomplish her Master’s goals so she can make time to stargaze and spectate. Despite what you might think, she loves the sea. Her love of it is second only to her love of the stars. From Poseidon, her savior, she learned of the beauty He attempted to give it, and sees it in all things.

"Ah, My Maker. Your timing is perfect. Are you ready to go to the simulator for stargazing? I hope you remembered your map and notebook. Perhaps some snacks, too – I do believe Avicebron is bringing with him a number of the child Servants. Maybe my little brother is among them!"

Her "little brother" is Voyager, of course.

Caster’s metal parts are made of bronze, and she insists that regular polishing to a high grit is necessary for the upkeep of her parameters. She says the fact that her Divine Core's protection extends to her surface appearance is of no import.

Wish on the Grail

"What, truly, could I wish for, when this life is already a dream? For two thousand years I watched humanity, and now I live among and walk alongside them. This Spirit has been granted a chance to live and breathe while its true body inspires and advances human achievement. What could I desire?"

Caster bites her lip. Her starry-eyed and star-minded gaze drifts down to Earth.

"... No… That is not entirely true. My Maker, I – no. No... That isn't right. I... I know that you are not my maker. Their name disappeared to the deep along with me, but was never returned to the surface world. All I want is that name. To attach my gratitude to it, to share it with the world, to let it be recorded alongside my own for the eternity I will watch over. This is my wish. This is the reason I have answered your summons… Master. Though I hide this fact from even myself at times, my reach is always extended towards that singular goal."

CLASS SKILLSCLASS SKILLS

Crown Gear of the Sea God C
Gear A1, the input crown wheel, translates input from the hand crank of the Antikythera Mechanism into rotations of the main solar drive wheel B1. The literal core of the device, its input drives the entire complex chain of wheels and dials that follow. From this one point, a mechanical model containing the entire solar system and its cycles spanning hundreds of years is driven with perfectly-tuned ease and masterful precision. Forged from a shard of the Trident of Poseidon, the input crown wheel acts as an artificial Divine Core, granting the spark of life and status as a "terminal of Poseidon" to Caster. The Divine power granted by this skill results in an increase in parameters and an absolute protection of the Divine Core’s vessel. While this low rank does not grant a genuine Authority of the Sea, it does grant protection from it and the ability to manipulate it as magecraft. In this form, she resembles a priestess of Poseidon, or perhaps a Demigod within His descendancy. Thanks to Poseidon's protection, this mechanism will never tarnish.

Item Construction (Water) C
A skill of the Caster class. This skill normally allows the creation of magic items such as potions and ritual components. In Caster’s case, it has been modified to allow her to create constructs from divine waters. It is mostly used in combination with Lost-Wax Casting or to facilitate her second Noble Phantasm, but Caster can make tools or tridents to be thrown as weapons as well. She insists that using her constructs as weapons should be seen as a last resort, though, as she has "rather poor aim and strength of arm."

Magic Resistance B+
A skill granted by the Trident of Poseidon. It confers resistance against Mystics and magecraft of all forms, canceling spells below its rank and mitigating the harm from those it cannot. This skill has increased in rank significantly due to her change in class and form. As an artifact from the Age of Gods with a high God’s favor, modern magecraft formulations cannot hope to impair Caster. This rank means that spells of less than three verses will be easily negated, and that even Greater Magecraft will struggle to pierce her defense. As the Antikythera Mechanism’s cosmological model is equally accurate when viewed from heliocentric and geocentric viewpoints, this skill grants special resistance to perspective-shifting magecraft such as illusions. It also grants a slightly greater measure of protection against magecraft of the Heavens (Zeus’ territory) and of the Earth (Hades’ territory) because of its origin.

PERSONAL SKILLSPERSONAL SKILLS

Pioneer of the Stars EX
A unique skill granted to those who represent turning points in human history. All things that are "impossible" become "something that can be realized." Clockmaking and astronomical modeling rest at the heart of the human quest for advancement and precision. It can be said that the Antikythera Mechanism is the mother, or at least the big sister, of the spaceship. In our modern eye, the Antikythera Mechanism is itself the very sort of "impossibility" that this skill brings into reality. It is the icon of mankind’s scientific progress at the beginning of their selfsame age, and symbolizes countless steps on our long, weary road to reach those impossible stars.

Rapid Divine Calculation B
A form of Rapid Words of the Divine. Caster originates in the Age of Gods and carries the power of the Mechanical God of the Sea, Poseidon. As "the original supercomputer" meant to calculate the positions of all the known bodies of the Heavens, she is capable of computing both mathematics and magecraft almost instantly. Even knowing that she could construct them, she does not require any tools to execute calculations, incantations, or rituals; she is the necessary tool.

Lost-Wax Casting B
A composite skill of Self-Modification and Battle Continuation. "Lost-wax casting" is an early fabrication process in which a wax model is used as a form to create a mold into which molten metal can be poured. With this simple technique, Caster can transmute her fluid constructions into solid metal by making water forms and casting them in Mana. Item Construction is used for simple, fleeting things, tools of a trade and consumable weapons of war, and Caster's Item Construction (Water) is no different. This skill, however, enables the construction, or perhaps projection, of all sorts of things in shining metal from a simple form. Caster's primary use of this skill is to remake and repair damaged parts of herself. That the Antikythera Mechanism survived even partially intact for over 2000 years in the Aegean is nothing short of a miracle; the durability and regenerative power this skill grants owe to this legendary survivability as well as the reputation Caster holds as a paradigm of craftsmanship. This skill also powers Caster's orrery, creates divine barriers, and enables the infinite expansion of history's most fascinating machine to levels rivaling computational engines thousands of years its junior. While these constructs are not exceptional in the world of Servants, their shockingly low magical energy cost owing to the primitive, accessible construction method Caster uses makes them valuable tools indeed.

NOBLE PHANTASMSNOBLE PHANTASMS

Mirror of Cassotis

Eclipse Prediction

καθρέφτης της Κασσωτίς

Rank	Class	Range	Targets
EX-	Clairvoyance	-	Self

"Let the stars be set upon the board in accordance with their natures."

A model of the cosmos created based on thousands of years of observational data, technological evolution, and scientific advancement, the Antikythera Mechanism is the embodiment of humanity’s knowledge of the Heavens. This Noble Phantasm grants Caster continuously active clairvoyance concerning all things on the scale of a planetary body or greater. She can perfectly determine the past, correctly identify the present, and accurately predict the future of all things within her purview. The mechanism’s perceived prochronicity – the notion that it is impossibly advanced for its time – augments this Noble Phantasm, granting her the full wisdom of thousands more years of human development that has launched rockets, seen black holes, and reached to the very edge of light’s travel. As it relates to knowledge held in "the present," the potency of this Noble Phantasm is affected by the era into which Caster is summoned. This Noble Phantasm's range can be understood as "the range of mankind's knowledge of the observable universe," which is at present equivalent to 93 gigalight-years.

While this clairvoyance is capable of identifying astromantic magecraft and things impactful enough to make a noted mark on a planet such as an Anti-Fortress or greater Noble Phantasm, it cannot grant insight into the actions, locations, or intentions of humans or Servants. The utility of this Noble Phantasm for a Servant should therefore be rather limited. However, Caster’s connection to Poseidon has augmented her vision to include all things "within the water" in a range around her, meaning she is able to observe bodies of water as well as "cosmologically microscopic things" such as living beings by their impact on water bodies and ambient humidity. The "resolution" of this image in both space and time is dependent on the density of water involved, and is therefore low when observing land. As such, this Noble Phantasm retains an EX rank but incurs a negative marker for its limited niche.

For a Servant that possesses the Antikythera Mechanism as a Noble Phantasm, the skill Crystallized Wisdom is provided. In essence, this Noble Phantasm is an elevated form of the skill Crystallized Wisdom (Self). This is what it means for the Antikythera Mechanism to be a crystallization of astronomical knowledge: Even the swallowing of the sun and the silencing of the moon is now the domain of mankind. The Gods have fallen before the works of our human hands.

Turning Point – Turning Wheel

Simeío Kampís, Exeligmos

σημείο καμπής, ἐξελιγμός

Rank	Class	Range	Targets
A	Anti-Personnel	100 meters	1-10

"Poseidon Crown Gear, maximum output: 251.17 rotations. Main solar drive wheel, stabilized: 54.063 rotations."

Caster raises her orrery. Divine waters pour forth across the battlefield, revealing by their wake and tumult the invisible wheels of time. Her spirals count, measure, and accumulate the history of all things, sublimating the unknowably grand into the simple turn of a dial. The stakes of these wheels are revealed. They are the pins that bind time together, the points by which the World holds down the texture of reality: Quantum time-locks, the critical points of history at which the failing timelines are culled.

"Saros spiral, twelve rotations. Critical temporal junctures identified. The right of mankind is to record the world’s cycle."

The Mechanism’s dials and wheels synchronize. The gears’ connections, the system of time itself, are revealed. By Caster’s command, the cycles of the world are laid bare. The waters issuing from her Divine Core dissolve the arbors upon which the wheels of time turn, and in their place, Caster sends bronze spears out to restake reality.

"Exeligmos dial: One point zero-zero-zero-zero rotations."

Heroic Spirits are summoned as they were in their "prime," the peak of their abilities, a state representative of the feats for which they were inscribed upon the Throne. This "representative image" of a Servant’s legend, tied to the quantum time-locks they affected, is what grants them their power.

When this Noble Phantasm is activated, beginnings are sewn to their endings. For just a moment, critical points of the past and the future become the present, and the advantage of a Heroic Spirit’s "prime" is nullified. A knight at the peak of their strength is connected to their withering old age; a sage of countless years is as their innocent childhood; an all-powerful Divinity is forgotten to prehistory. This is not a "time travel" Noble Phantasm, but a "cycle connection" Noble Phantasm, momentarily repinning the timeline of all things in a different order. It is by simple proximity to their points of weakness that a Heroic Spirit is weakened in the eyes of the World. With enough power and the right conditions of legend, enemy Noble Phantasms will be erased by this ability. Caster’s gaze is over eons, after which all things will be erased and forgotten. Everything is her distant past and her far-off future, and she, unweathering metal, will outlast it all; how could any work of feeble man or forgotten God hurt her?

Turning Point – Turning Wheel

"Simeío Kampís, Exeligmos!"

Simeío Kampís, Exeligmos. The beginning is the ending is the beginning. The most awe-inspiring Heavenly phenomenon is but a cycle, destined to repeat for all eternity, as predictable as the sun’s rise in the morning. This Noble Phantasm is the right of mankind to record the cycle of all things, and the abnegation of one age to the next. All is as it was and all was as it will be. In the eyes of the machine that died once and now lives forever, all ages are one.

RELATIONSHIPSRELATIONSHIPS

Archimedes: "The chance to work alongside Sir Archimedes himself is truly an honor amongst honors. Not only is he from my time, he is the paramount genius of it. I am sure that his work influenced my own creation."

Caeneus: "I tried to start a conversation with Lord Caeneus recently. They were rather hostile when I brought up my relationship with Lord Poseidon. It… did not go well, needless to say. And I cannot imagine it would go better were I to try again…"

She seems quite distressed. It might be best to mediate a talk between the two.

Heracles: "Ah, Lord Heracles? I know him. We’ve spent much time together, after all. He doesn’t seem to use his head much, does he?"

The look on her face says this is a joke. She has much to learn about the human way of humor.

Jason and the Argonauts: "Lord Jason! Lord Jason! Would you take me out to sea, Lord Jason? Ahh, to learn from Lord Chiron or Lady Medea…! Hm? I need to ‘earn my keep?’ Ah… I would make a very good navigator, I hope!"

Dioscuri: "Th-the Dioscuri? Here?! A-ah…! Ah! Um, My Maker, I…!"

She is already halfway down the hall. You hear an echoey "I must be going!" as they disappear.

Charles Babbage: "Sir Babbage! What an excellent machine you’ve built yourself. Extracting power from boiling water is a truly incredible feat that – Hm? You want to discuss machining techniques? Ah… I am afraid you would have to speak to my maker concerning such things. I am but the work of their hands, after all."

Frankenstein: "Good day, lady Frankenstein." "Uuuungh." "Oh?" "Guh, ngh." "I see, I see." "Nghh... Guhh, guo." "Is that so?" "Nghhhh... Grrrrh. Ngha." "How fascinating!" "Guhhhh. Ghhhhh..." "Most astute indeed." "Grh..."

"I must confess, My Maker... I cannot understand a word she says."

Galatea: Galatea is roaming the halls giving Antikythera Mechanism a piggyback ride, the two giggling all the while. It seems creations given a second chance to shine share a bond that would be hard for the rest of us to truly understand. Or maybe they're just friends and there's no deeper meaning behind it. Who can say?

Foreigners: "Those Servants… I must confess, My Maker, that they unsettle me. No matter how I try, they fall outside the purview of my vision. My Eclipse Predication can see all things of this world, however hazily, yet them, I cannot see at all."

Voyager: "Hehe… My little brother. Out there in the universe, seeing things even I can only dream of. I couldn’t be more proud. We often talk about our favorite constellations and the intricacies of gravitational systems. Did you know that Ganymede, the moon of Jupiter, is larger than Mercury but has lower gravity nonetheless? This is because its density is only a third of Earth’s, owing to its composition being primarily water and silicate rock. Also, Ganymede is the only moon we know of with its own magnetic field. This is because the moon has an internal sea of liquid water! It’s said that Ganymede’s interior sea has more water than all of Earth. Why, right now, the internal tide is rising to – My Maker? Are you paying attention…?"

Lesser-Known Constellations

Queen Mavia: "Truly, the sort of ruler that constellations are named for. I am certain even my Lord Poseidon would admire her might and wisdom. I wonder, My Maker, if it would even be possible to build a mechanism such as myself to encode her tactical knowledge. I can only assume even as many gears as there are stars in the sky would be insufficient to comprehend such complexity."

O-O-O: "How do I feel about Miss Trioxygen? Hmm… It’s true that we cannot see stars during the day because of the atmosphere. But that’s for the best, isn’t it? I may be made of metal, but I am not durable like my little brother. She protects us from most fearsome cosmic radiation; a noble calling, I think. Plus, though there are no stars, I find the bright blue and wispy clouds of the day to be quite pleasing all the same."

Fundamental Interactions: "When I first met miss 'Fo,' I felt almost as if I'd met my own reflection. We two are cut from the same cloth, heralds of change and arbors of the era of mankind. But now, something has changed about her. Do you… Do you think she will return to the way she was? We had so many conversations, she taught me so many things about this modern era, and now… It is hard to face change when you are conceptually unchanging, My Maker."

Actor of Pellene: "The 50th and final Argonaut? I see. Hm… That’s funny." "What’s funny?" "That you say you leave no legacy." "Huh?" "There may be no songs of your glory or myths of your divine might, but I see your mark, Actor. In the most microscopic alterations of the orbits of stars, I see your sweat and blood, your training and works, your victories and defeats as if they shone with the light of the sun." "..." "Your stories faded. This is true. Someday, humanity may fade. But I will always remember you, Actor of Pellene."

Hubble Space Telescope: "What... Hubble, little brother, what happened to you...?! Ah... Ngh...! Aaaaah...!"

Endymion: "I've had a multitude of fascinating discussions with Endymion. His knowledge of the stars impresses even me! And yet... There is something I cannot place about him. I see that he is a Moon Cancer, and I sense the influence of Selene in his Saint Graph, but what else is there? Something creeps around his edges, not daring to arise under Apollo's gaze. I can only wonder what awaits in Artemis' shadow."

Dionysus-Zagreus: "As dangerous as a desire as this is... I wish to play with him, My Maker. To see glistening colors and experience innocent joy. I wish to flitter about, perform all sorts of human nonsense with imitation little things, laugh and roll and act for no purpose but our shared amusement. Are all children of Makeneus such as us denied that chance?"

Crown Wheels of Other Machines

Cao Cao: "Will I become an aide to your army's chief strategist? Ah… I have many duties to my Maker, I am afraid. Eh? You'll use your Noble Phantasm to recruit me if I say no?!"

Edward the Black Prince: Caster approaches the Black Prince with shocking fearlessness, but does not say a word. No, she's gone starry-eyed looking at the craftsmanship of his Noble Phantasm armor…

"Tam Lin King Arthur"Titania: "We were both once doomed to be fleeting. An empty dream and a forgotten artifact, one lost to the sunrise, one to the seafloor. And yet, here we both are. I'm glad you've found the time to dream, lady Titania."

Sultan Baybars: "In two lives, you've struggled so much... Indeed, the work of your hands has spilled much blood in the name of freedom. I fear the machines of politick and warfare are ones whose gearing even I will never be able to understand, but it is the mantle of Man to come to their comprehension in time."

Lugh Samildanach: No words are exchanged while the sun peeks over the horizon. The man of so many talents that he shines like it and the crystallized talent that knows all there is of it simply sit quietly and watch morning glory spread across the sky.

Doc Holliday: "You've got 'just the thing' to fix my crown? Really? Ah, that's wonderful, this burr is bothering me ever so-"

"Um... Are you certain about this? Those don't look like any deburring or filing tools I've ever seen..."

Karolina Olsson: "..."

Caster looks at Foreigner with great unease.

Laeveteinn: "How it hangs heavy in my heart... Truly, I know the Age of Gods and the Age of Man could not coexist. I know the old world had to fall away for the new era. And I watched that transition; every second of every minute of every hour of it. Ragnarøk was an inevitability, a fixed moment of the future, this I know. But tell me, Grand Saber: Was such all-consuming flame truly needed? Could we truly not have found another way?"

Louis XVI: "To observe the sun too closely is to burn, My Lord. Come, take my hand – I will show you the quiet graces of the moon and stars. If you would say you are hollow, Stranger King, I would show you this dark sky. Is the moon hollow for simply not glowing as brightly as the sun? No matter how bright Apollo's magnanimity, it can never dim Artemis' love."

Mousseline: "You poor soul... Humans are not built to suffer such isolation as yours or mine. I fear any words within my knowledge would be insufficient to give voice to your experience..."

Nader Shah: "I have no words for that Servant, My Maker. There is nothing worth salvaging. Nothing worth reaching out for. Amidst all the windings of my Divine Core, I can find not a shred of sympathy for that man."

You have never seen Caster grit her teeth and clench her fists so.

"Foreigner? I had not even taken note of their class designation, My Maker. My assessment was complete without even scratching the surface."

Olympia: "My Maker! My Maker! It is time! These many years and countless rotations have converged to something most paramount, My Maker!"

With a bright smile on her face and those stars she loves sparkling in her eyes, Caster gestures to a small dial on her Mechanism's face. Not the Exeligmos dial, nor the Callippic dial, nor the Saros or Metonic spirals, not the turning of the sun, moon, planets or stars, no, but that most unique four-year dial, the only one that traverses time counter-clockwise upon the Antikythera Mechanism: the Games dial. It is time for the Olympiad.

"I am certain the chariot races will be starting soon, My Maker. We must best be off to see them."

To see this much visible excitement from Caster, oft as serene as the ocean even when upturned to her beloved stars, is truly a once-in-a-lifetime event... Or perhaps a once-every-four-years one.

Odin: "The future..."

Amidst the dust of battle and the cries of a throng of Heroic Spirits in desperate combat, Caster heaves a heavy breath and looks to you with resigned sadness in her eyes. Her gears have slowed to still; her divine waters have dried up.

"I can no longer see the future of the stars, My Maker. I carry the kindness of my Lord Poseidon, and here by your side have befriended human and God alike. I know the Age of Gods and the Age of Men both, and have always wished for them to be able to coexist. But this? This is no coexistence. This is the end for all ages and all kinds. This Beast has brought Twilight for us all."

Temüjin 「CONQUEST」: "Hmph. To conquer with no end in sight is folly. Your works and domain are the dust of forgotten history, Genghis Khan. Was all this blood, cruelty, and loss worth it but to see your name in the annals of humanity alongside simple craftsmen and politicians with undirtied hands? Your white horse, too, shall be overcome by humanity in the end."

Napoleon III: "Excuse me, Sir Louis-Napoleon. If it would not be any trouble, I have a request. Your Noble Phantasms... Would you show them to me? Paris, your City of Light, that gleaming icon of modernity, and the rail network you built to connect it with the world! Your reign siezed the mantle of mankind's progress admirably, you know. Some may have choice words of it, and I am certain you yourself possess your doubts, but I? From the point of view of a machine at the bottom of the world, your Paris was a beacon of hope. The very same hope from whence came my rescue in that same era."

Francis I of France: "There have been quite a number of French Servants joining us recently, haven't there, My Maker?"

"...Let me know if Da Vinci becomes too relentless, by the way..."

"Haha! Please, do not worry on my behalf, my Lord. Truly, I am overjoyed to see the creations of the genius of an era such as lady Da Vinci, and just as glad to share the knowledge of my own maker in return. Let us pave the way for mankind's future together, o great Restorer of Letters. Hm... If you truly meet your title, I wonder if your keen eye could restore any of the timeworn inscriptions on my back plate?"

Ronald Knox: "I will be your opponent, Foreigner, You who claim truth as your domain. I am the Antikythera Mechanism. I am the descendancy of Poseidon, looking up from the bottomless sea to the infinite stars. I am the crystallization of all of humanity's knowledge of our world, the ever-growing expanse of our reach across possibility. And in the rotations of the planets into the infinite future, I see no mark of your affect on the great celestial dance. So set the board of this most singular game, and let us play."

Niccolò Paganini: "That man's very presence causes my Divine Crown Gear to bind and stiffen. I am not one given to superstition, as you might guess, but even if I understand that a simple frequency ratio of seven to five is nothing more than a harmonic oscillation interaction, that fell sound somehow threatens to shake the pins from my arbors. How horrid such a thing... It makes me wish to be far, far away, cradled in the quiet embrace of Lord Poseidon once more."

Duchess Libuše of Bohemia: "The stars are but fusion reactors colliding hydrogen atoms and producing helium and photons, I am afraid. You, my Lady, hold in your gaze and grasp something much greater. I believe magic comes from life. You humans, fragments of soul shed from that of the Planet itself, are so truly wondrous and unpredictable. You, my Lady, indeed — the city you endeavored to build, that most truly magical dream to build with human hands a living-place stretching many light-years high... The magic you see, I think, is your own inspiration shining undimmed through reality's cold sphere. Those stars are your dream and inspiration refusing to be forgotten, a measure you can always compare the height of your rising reach against."

Yeonsangun: "This... This must be what it feels like to look upon one's natural enemy. You who murdered the scholars, violated their place of learning, and annihilated the works of their hands are everything I stand against. If I have manifested for any one reason, it is to see to your end."

Around Caster, divine waters thrash. The wheels of time bare their teeth, and bronze spears appear in the Heavens to impale them.

"Just know, cruel Lord, that humanity's progress always finds a way. You, too, were nothing but a stumbling block, as a wavering piece of kelp is against the ocean's current. After all, it is the right of mankind to record the world's cycle."

The Antikythera Mechanism roars to life. With the downward thrust of Caster's hand, the spears fall; the restaking of the eons is called out by the wail of upstruck seafoam. Those moon-silver and sun-gold eyes that see all things stare wide into Archer's eternity with all the fury of a futureseer that once lost its future.

Turning Point – Turning Wheel

"Simeío Kampís, Exeligmos!"

BONDBOND

Craft Essence: A Set of Basic Metalworking Hand Tools



"Ah, My Maker. Your timing is perfect – I've something to give you."

"Yes… I know. You are not the one who made me. Their name and record are lost to history, worn off by the sands of time. I've said that I wish to restore that name, and that is true, but I confess to having one more, deeply selfish desire."

"The nature of the Servant is to have their records written by the collective consciousness of the world after them. In truth, it's likely that my reverence for my maker comes from their anonymity. Had their name been recorded, I am certain they would have been regarded as 'a sublime artisan,' but… That would be all, wouldn't it? The title of 'a sublime artisan' is not the kind of thing one ought to seek life after death for, is it?"

"Mine is an existence contingent on others. You, my summoner; Poseidon, my savior; and my maker. I came into this second life with little more than gratitude and obligation, but being by your side has taught me that I ought to make my own mark on this world. So this is my request: help me become someone who can exist on her own terms."

"That is the nature of the gift I have given you. These tools are self-sufficiency; they are the basis for all the things mankind's hands can create. With these, you can cut, chisel, file, and scribe your mark into history."

"May we work hard so that the works of our hands survive even the deaths of our names… My Maker."

---

My first Servant to make it to the forums and my first contest entry, so I decided to go all out, and hooooly shit I've been working on this for the whole month for real. Antikythera Mechanism is a Servant I've had half-developed for a while, so it was a lot of fun to see them fully realized. I was inspired by all the amazing sheets I've read that tell a story mixed in through the Servant information and do amazing class transformation tricks. After reading a lot of sheets that took a "normal" Servant in a standard class and turned them into an extra class, I thought it might be fun to do the opposite, and take an extra class servant and bring them into a normal class in an interesting way. Someday I'd like to develop Moon Cancer/Foreigner Antikythera Mechanism further, and give a home to my original concept for Antikythera's abilities that were based more on existential entropy death-by-the-universe-forgetting-you...

Some fun-spoiling notes: In case it wasn't clear, Antikythera Mechanism's compatibility with the Watcher class was revoked by the Mechanism's being rescued. Maybe that isn't necessarily consistent with Watcher lore, but I think it makes sense here - she truly cannot "watch over humanity" anymore, so she cannot be a Watcher. Regarding Caster's powers, I set a hard rule for myself that she would not in any way manipulate the Heavens, only track them. It would have been easy to give her "summon eclipse" powers, so I challenged myself not to. If you want that, look forward to my remake of Avicebron making it to the forum!

My primary source of research and inspiration for this Servant was Clickspring's truly incredible Antikythera rebuild project. If you haven't watched these vids, they're maybe the best thing on youtube, and I can't recommend them enough honestly. The admiration he has for the mechanism's creator is absolutely infectious; I'm sure you can feel it in what I've written here. I'd also like to shout out the Sprocket H. G. Shopcat fan club for stoking my love for all things metalwork.

As an aside, I'd like to think that if I summoned without a catalyst, this is who I'd get :)

skaði brought her design to life and did an incredible job as always with my OCs.

Turning Point – Turning Wheel

Simeío Kampís, Exeligmos

is a pretty cool Noble Phantasm name, I think, but I'll always be fond of its original placeholder:

You Cannot Kill Me in Any Way That Matters

Greeks, Clocks, and Rockets

ED: Historical errata - last night I learned that some of the coinage onboard the Antikythera wreck dates it to 70-60 BC, not 200 (which older evidence suggested based on the reference point of the eclipse cycle the Mechanism depicts). Learn something new every day!

[TrueMrMultiverse]

Excellent work from Frigix and Gears

Liked the way you structured the sheet Frigix

Was surprised by your choice and found the character niice.

[Marethyu77]

#FRANCESWEEP

---

Rider of the Renaissance



Class: Rider
True Name: Francis I of France
Also known as: Father and Restorer of Letters (le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres), Francis of the Large Nose (François au Grand Nez), the Grand Colas, the Knight-King (le Roi-Chevalier)
Alignment: Neutral Good
Qualified Servant classes: Saber, Rider, Caster, Gatekeeper
Attribute: Human
Source: Historical facts (16th century)
Armaments: Flames, sword


Parameters

Strength: B	Endurance: B+	Agility: C
Mana: A	Luck: C	Noble Phantasm: A

Likes: Art, women, the Italian Renaissance, France
Dislikes: Decadence, protestants, losing in contests and races
Natural Allies: Suleiman I, Leonardo da Vinci
Natural Enemies: Charles V, Henri VIII, Yeonsangun

Identity

François Ier, or Francis I of France, born on September 12th in 1494 and died on March 31st in 1547, was the King of France for 32 years after his coronation in 1515. A well-educated king, Francis became a major patron of the arts who promoted the French Renaissance by attracting artists and scholars from Italy, including the universal genius Leonardo da Vinci. His policies in matters of ruling strengthened the royal power, raising some of the foundations upon which the Sun-King Louis XIV would shine as the perfect example of an absolute monarch a century and a half later, and made of French the official language of France in place of Latin, settling the French culture as its own. Even to this day, his appreciation for the arts left visible marks around the Loire river in the form of several castles built or renovated, as well as in the general art style of the manors built by the nobility during that period. Yet, while those actions marked him as a great Heroic Spirit in his own land, what makes Francis a notable figure in the history of Europe as a whole is not his local reforms, but his external politics. Wars waged in Italy against the Holy Roman Empire. Expeditions sent across the Atlantic to affirm France's influence in the Americas. Formal diplomatic relations with the Ottoman Empire and the Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. All of that, for a single purpose. In an age where Europe was divided as England took its independence from Rome and Italy suffered from many succession wars, where the Ottoman Empire reached its peak and the western powers were claiming lands in the New World, it was common for monarchs to butt heads. And yet, the rivalry between Francis I and Charles V is one that would last for most of the length of their reigns. The two prime candidates to the crown of the Holy Roman Empire, bound to clash as soon as the Imperial election of 1519. As the Heir to the Crowns emerged victorious, the King of France swore to never allow his rival's victory to be complete.

Class Skills

Magic Resistance: B+

Magic Resistance grants protection against magical effects. Differing from the Resistance effect that merely rejects Magical Energy, this ability cancels the spells altogether. Cancel spells with a chant below three verses. Even if targeted by greater magecraft and Greater Rituals, it is difficult for them to be affected. By all means, Rider should only ever attain this Skill at D+ rank, even as a Saber, but it is raised to a top-grade rank due to her new draconic nature. Either way, she possesses an increased resistance to spells and rituals from the Renaissance era thanks to her many ties to knowledge, magi and Mysteries of that era, signalled by the + modifier.

Riding: A

Riding is a Skill that denotes a Servants ability to ride mounts and vehicles. Dragon-type mounts are an exception, requiring a different ability other than Riding. All vehicles and all creatures but those of Phantasmal Beast and Divine Beast-rank can be used as mounts. This rank is high enough to have an aptitude for the Rider Class. However, an exception is made for the Salamanders of Rider's Noble Phantasm, although she remains unable to ride other draconic Phantasmal Species from an era long gone before her age.

Personal Skills

Père et Restaurateur des Lettres: A+	A unique Skill of Francis I, a composite of Appreciation for Arts and Patronage, born from his passion for arts and his active support for artists and writers. A Skill representing an intelligent and enlightened monarch, whose support allowed for the Renaissance to be brought from Italy to France. Reaching the maximum rank due to Francis I's major influence upon the Italian Renaissance's arrival in France, namely by persuading the genius Leonardo da Vinci to come to France - whom he installed in the Clos-Lucé château, barely 500 meters away from the royal castle in Amboise - Rider can use this Skill to form contracts with all sorts of intellectuals and artists, and later freely use their skills and knowledge as long as they remain alive, in return for what she can offer them a financial and magical support. In particular, if their dispositions are compatible enough, it is likely that Rider will seek alliance with Caster-class Servants to receive their support in return for her protection and magical energy, in addition to offering them a place in her castles to set up their workshops.
Roi-Chevalier: B	Another unique Skill of Francis I, the affirmation of chivalry of the Knight-King who leads his armies on the battlefield in an age where most leaders safely stay nice and cosy where they can't be reached by the battle. It is akin to a low-ranked version of Valor : while Rider certainly cannot hope to match the bravery of legendary heroes of ancient tales, his presence on the battlefield as a king in his era by comparison to his peers allows Rider to somewhat qualify. When she is on the battlefield, Rider benefits from an increase to her melee attacks, and can somewhat fight off mental interference effects. In addition, when paired with her Dragon-kind Modification, she can offer a morale boost to any army or followers she would have, although she won't be able to provide any boost to their abilities, nor receive any improvement to her military leadership skills.
Très Chrétien: B	A Skill exclusive to the Kings of France, born from the title bestowed by the catholic Church upon France and its monarch. It is a composite Skill of Protection of the Crown and Holy Sacraments. The mark of a king of the Ancien Régime receiving his authority from God. Originally a relatively minor Skill that most kings of France do not possess in their Servant manifestations in favor of more specific Skills derived from their personal legends and history. However, Rider forced it to resurface when she modified her Saint Graph to reaffirm her status as a Christian king, and reduce by this fact the weaknesses he would have gained by merging with a Phantasmal Beast and thus becoming a heretic existence. Thanks to this Skill, Rider possesses an increased resistance to Church Sacraments, and can herself freely make use of them, as the king of France holds an ecclesiastic status on par with a bishop's. Because her draconic transformation is unique to this manifestation and doesn't directly from her legend, the rank of this Skill remains high despite her heretic nature thanks to anecdotes of the opposition she posed to the budding Protestant Reform during her life.
Dragon-kind Modification: C	An particular variation of Self-Modification, denoting the user's transformation into a member of Dragon-kind, the pinnacle of Phantasmal Species. Grants benefits akin to Dragon-Kind, including the effects of Demonic Mutation - without the demonic attribute, Monstrous Strength, Charisma, Mana Burst, etc. A Skill that reflects Rider's new nature as a draconic subspecies : the Salamander, a Magical Beast tied to the fire element who bears characteristics of both Dragon-kind and Nature Spirits, although in most cases of a scale too low to become Elementals despite possessing physical forms. Because of that, Rider only receives part of the Skill's benefits, namely, her Mana Burst is replaced by Breath of the Dragon due to the Salamanders' characteristics, creating flames with a unique blue coloration. Although her Charisma can be used in conjunction with Roi-Chevalier, it provides no tactical or military boost, its true value is shown when it comes to raising others' morale and charming people to his advantage.

Noble Phantasms

Nourish My Soul And Extinguish My Enemies Nutrisco et Extinguo Type: Anti-Unit (Self) Rank: A

Nutrisco et Extinguo is Francis I's first Noble Phantasm, born from Francis' symbol, omnipresent in his castles : the Salamander. A mythical creature associated with the element of fire, symbol of immortality, who can feed on fire and extinguish it. Originally, this Noble Phantasm allowed him to manifest that very same beast and use it as his mount, the very reason for his eligibility in the Rider class. But the king is capricious, and tinkered with his own Saint Graph through this Noble Phantasm to become an existence comparable to a Dragon-kind Mixed-Blood. By doing so, she acquired might she never held in her life by surpassing her own humanity, allowing her to go up against Knight-class Servants by herself, where her human counterpart - the original Rider before the change - would only hold a chance through military tactics with an army he wouldn't even have by default. In addition to receiving Dragon-kind Modification from the extensive change brought by that remodelling of her Saint Graph through this Noble Phantasm, Rider not only benefits from the general abilities of the Dragon-kind, but also the characteristics unique to the Salamanders. Namely, her skin becomes entirely impervious to fire, and her touch becomes highly poisonous, although its efficiency on Servants isn't high enough to threaten their lives, merely weakening them slightly. As a matter of fact, out of combat she keeps that property of her body at bay using a combination of Sacraments. Although she cannot summon any mount-sized Salamander anymore due to the fusion, she keeps the ability to create and use lizard-sized ones as Familiars.

Behold, My Magnificent Castles Over The Loire Roy Bâtisseur Type: Territory Rank: B++

Roy Bâtisseur is Francis I's second Noble Phantasm. The crystallisation of Francis I's castles built over the Loire river and renovation of medieval fortresses into the many châteaux of the French Renaissance, and the embodiment of "the way of life of the King's court" within them. As Rider doesn't quite reach the scale of the old warrior kings, she wouldn't even consider risking comparison with their flying fortresses, especially since her castles were built with splendour in mind rather than military purposes, soft power over hard power as modern terms would put it. Rather than manifesting Bounded Fields of her castles, this Noble Phantasm allows Rider to "build a Territory of wealth and luxury upon the land" or to transform a pre-existing Territory into her own. Each Territory links itself to the Leylines of the land and will attempt to connect with the others, forming a self-sustaining network. Once enough Territories are set up, Rider becomes able to make use of the Noble Phantasm's second function : The Court of the King Follows His Lead La Cour de France . A function born from the lifestyle of the royal court, a cortege of nobles and their servants living a life of luxury as they went and came from one château to another, rarely spending more than two weeks in the same one at a time. Once the conditions are met, Rider and designated allies are able to move near instantly from one Territory to another at will, through a process related to Flash Air that isn't unlike the spatial transportation usable through Command Spells. This function doesn't require any Magical Energy from those who travel through it, however that doesn't mean it's free, as the cost is supplied by the Territory itself, meaning it cannot be used in quick succession without exhausting their resources - the more people move through this ability, the greater the cost. If she were to be summoned in her homeland in France, the remaining châteaux still standing today would be designated as Territories from this Noble Phantasm by default.

The Never-Surrendered Crown of France Tout Est Mien, Fors L'Honneur Type: Anti-Regalia Rank: EX

Tout Est Mien, Fors L'Honneur is Francis I's third Noble Phantasm. One that normally wouldn't manifest as a Noble Phantasm outside of the Gatekeeper class, yet also the very reason Francis is eligible to that class in the first place. Nevertheless, Rider wields it too, due to the origins of her manifestation and the events of the Renaissance Singularity. If Nutrisco et Extinguo is her burning passion as a warrior-king and Roy Bâtisseur is her artistic legacy as a king of the Renaissance, then this Noble Phantasm is the mark of her rivalry with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, the mark of the Italian Wars waged to stop him in his tracks, of the expeditions to the New World to catch up with Spain's and Portugal's conquistadors, of the failed alliance with Charles VIII and the successful one with Suleiman. The mark of a ruler who refuses to stay in second place and will unquestionably put herself in the way of the winner. "The sun shines for me as it does for others. I would very much like to see the clause of Adam’s will by which I should be denied my share of the world." The function of this Noble Phantasm is to deny the authority of the crown of Francis's enemies, turning her into an obstacle against the expansion on their power and undermining the foundation of their power for as long as this Noble Phantasm remains active. In practice, it weakens or outright blocks the effect of Skills and Noble Phantasms derived from one's "crown", although it won't hold any effect against those which bestow the crown right upon its wielder like the Swords of Selections derived from Merodach. Furthermore, if Francis were to face against her great rival Charles V himself, she would receive a rank-up to all her physical statistics, However, because it is the denial of the crowns of Francis' enemies, its effect is inverted against the Crown of France, instead strengthening those who bore it and their authority.

Personality

Rider is a woman who can first and foremost be defined by her passion. Passionate for the arts, a patron who supported artists extensively to bolster the French Renaissance. Passionate in battle, one of the last European monarchs to consistently lead her armies in person on the battlefield, brave and impetuous far beyond her peers. Passionate about the life of the court, a wealthy life of luxury and entertainment, including that of courtly love, as "a court without women is like a garden without flowers". And as one could expect from the king, turning into a Dragon-kind subspecies only exacerbated that burning passion. However, that burning passion also comes at a cost, as Rider is more easily distracted from the logical choice when following her instincts, and won't always hesitate to attack head-on. Under that fiery passion of hers, Rider presents a high degree of pride and egoism. Possessing that characteristic of monarchs and dragons alike, it's no surprise to see that she remains as impulsive as she was, if not even more, and her confidence in her new might reduces even more any qualms she could have had about doing things as she liked and risking battles with bad maneuvers. Nevertheless, she retains her curiosity and open-mindedness about all sorts of new things she didn't get to experience during her lifetime, swallowing back her pride without complaining to enjoy new forms of entertainment and art. Surprisingly for a monarch, she easily takes liberties from etiquette and conventions judged too strict for her own taste, making her a rather relaxed Servant to be around compared to her peers, although she doesn't shy away from her royal duties when the time comes for her to play a role.

Relationships

Leonardo da Vinci	“Leo ! So you're in charge of Chaldea's systems ? I envy them, but I can't disapprove their choices. If you ever need more patronage than what they can offer you, let me know !” As soon as Rider meets Da Vinci, she can be seen smiling from ear to ear, like someone seeing a dear friend for the first time in forever. Wait, isn't that basically true of any Heroic Spirits meeting with their old friends ? Unlike other Servants of the same period who knew well of the genius, Rider isn't even remotely phased by Leonardo looking like the Mona Lisa. Then again, perhaps this is because Da Vinci herself is the one who modified Rider's Saint Graph in a similar way in the first place ?
Charles V (Frigix)	“Charles ! So you want that duel now ? Alright, come on ! Let's fight once and for all ! I've never been more ready for this in my life !” Francis' lifelong rival. While they did maintain somewhat cordial relations during their lives for the sake of diplomacy, there is no such need now that they became Servants. As a matter of fact, Francis tinkered her Saint Graph with the help of Leonardo da Vinci for the express purpose of fighting Charles, even picking the Rider class just to raise the chances of being summoned in the same War. That being said, both are still rulers with a sense of responsibility and the same faith, and will (reluctantly) ask for the other's help if a major threat arose.
Cesare Borgia (Frigix)	“Erm ... No, nothing. You're the original Prince, right ? I can't personally say I'm pleased to meet you, but I do look forwards to working with you. Any friend of Leonardo is an ally of mine, after all.” Rider seems perplexed for a second, as if something felt familiar yet she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Not so foolish as to shake hands with the Italian Assassin, she instead nods her head as a way to show her agreement.
Cao Cao (OddEyedDuelist)	“So that's the Hero of Chaos who united such a massive army in China, hmm ? Very interesting ... While I must by principle decline the invitation of serving another lord than God, what would you say of building an alliance instead ? I could provide some help with the logistics, and your army would be precious against Charles' crowns ...” As one could expect from "the very christian king who formed an alliance with the Sultan", Rider does consider siding with Cao Cao, even if it's purely to bolster her own rivalry against Charles.
Edward the Black Prince (Voikirium)	“The Black Prince ... Well, war is war, isn't it ? On that note, don't expect me to go easy on you.” Edward and Francis are enemies as surely as the hound is an enemy of the lion, and so she doesn't shy away from unleashing torrents of flames upon the black knight who sacked France for the crown she once bore herself.
Laevateinn (Baron Magnus)	“So this is the power of a Grand Servant ... My flames are but measly sparks compared to your, but let me at least provide you with the support of my court !” Of course, a Servant with a Saint Graph of regular scale like Rider cannot hope to match a Grand Servant and provide a significant increase in firepower in battle, so her only choice is to play the role of a support to help him against the Evils of Mankind.
Louis-Auguste (MuramasaMachII)	“The last king of France ... Yeah, you should never have been king. And yet you bore the weight of the crown and the hatred of the people ... Louis sei- non, Louis-Auguste. I've only ever had to fight against foreign threats to the kingdom, besides the Reform, but you, you had to not fight, for your enemies were your own kingdom. My dear, you're far stronger than I will ever be.”
"Mousseline"/Marie-Thérèse Charlotte (BnEl15)	“Oh ... C'mere, you. You've done more than well enough, you don't deserve to suffer from their hatred too.” A tear drops from her eyes, as she hugs the last queen. To bear that weight, that hatred and resentment, even for a mere twenty minutes ... No one should have to endure this.
Temujin 「Conquest」 (fleshprism)	“The Great Khan of the East ? Hm ! If your empire truly reached a quarter of the land, I'm sure you can make him shut up about "inheriting the crowns'" and all that ! But ... you aren't truly the Khan, are you ? Hmm. As I thought. Even with my burning passion, I cannot hope to win against the White Rider alone. *sighs* I really hate it, but just this once, let's fight side-by-side, Charles.” While Francis would have considered forming an alliance with the actual Genghis Khan, this Servant is a whole other matter. In fact, against such a destroyer of civilisations, she can only grit her teeth and call her forever rival to fight as allies for once, when faced with an evil of eschatological proportions. Indeed, who else but the Last Roman Emperor would side with a lifelong rival to take on a Horseman of the Apocalypse ?
Yeonsangun (sutaa)	“You... you ! Knowledge and progress are what allows any nation to prosper, how dare you attack your people's right to literacy ! I shall rid you of your head, you heinous tyrant !” As one could expect from the Restorer of Letters, the idea of a ruler who assaults knowledge itself is a personal offence for which no mercy shall be found. Despite her best efforts at diplomacy when meeting other Heroic Spirits, Rider shows no qualms about ridding the world of Archer as soon as she learns of his deeds.
Napoléon III (Frigix)	“To be the very last in such a long line must have weighted a lot on your shoulders, and still you guided them. I mean, look at what you've achieved ! La France Moderne, was it ? The Renaissance I took part in is nothing in comparison, I'm really proud of how much you did for our country ! Oh, and don't feel too bad about Sedan. To be captured on the battlefield isn't something good for a ruler - let alone an emperor - but it happens, even to the best of us. I mean, even I ended up in a similar situation back in my age ! So ... keep your head high, and never give up on your dreams.”
Antikythera (gears)	“A ... a computing machine that predicts the movements of the stars and the Moon ? ... WOW. I'm- I'm sorry, Master, let me just, erm, breath for a second. Phew ... Sorry, I genuinely didn't expect a Servant with that kind of background. I can only imagine how much the discovery of such advanced technology could have helped the Renaissance go even further, although the Church would have probably been an obstacle ... Let me know if Da Vinci becomes too relentless, by the way. Leonardo can get quite worked up when something truly arise her attention, and mechanics have always been a passion of hers.”

---

Author's notes

It might be quite obvious from the quotes, the lore and the third NP, but this sheet was written as a direct answer to Frigix's take on Charles V. Her kit might be a tad too powerful for a figure of that scale and all ... but because that rivalry was something I wanted to focus on, I kinda engineered her to be on par with Charles, hence the high stats and over-optimised skillset. Yup, that Saint Graph has been tampered and optimised as much as possible to allow her to clash with him again.
Her first Skill was something I thought of as a way to replace an Imperial Privilege variant (like the Fleur-de-Lys Finale we saw in this thread) with something a bit more unique, an artificial IP that relies on the mutual support of intellectuals and artists rather than some kind of royal authority, which now that I think about it actually resembles Touko's Crest stealing a tad bit. Heh.
I'll try to write a more general description of the Patronage and Protection of the Crown Skills are those are custom skills that could work for a lot of Heroic Spirits but haven't been explained in detail because they're part of Francis' unique Skills.

Also yay, gender-bending my childhood hero wasn't something I expected for 2024, but it's a welcome surprise. especially since apparently no one did Francis before me ??? Not gonna complain about it, feels good to be the first and set the standard (though I guess I might have also been the first to do Hubble and Raptor Jesus around here ...)
That genderbending also means I downgraded his size, because that absolute unit of a King was reported as being 1.98m (6'6") tall.

[WhiteFrenzy]

I wanted to do a different thing and then this took an unreasonable amount of time to finish. I should've stick with the classics. ;-;

---

“A man once said that 「reality」 is merely an 「illusion,」 albeit a very persistent one. Another man said there are no 「facts,」 only 「interpretations.」 The truth is like a kaleidoscope, with ever-changing shapes. However, in this long existence of mine, I’ve seen enough to know better. Facts simply do not cease to exist because they are ignored.

「Ritsuka Fujimaru is dead.」

This is no lie, no embellishment, no exaggeration and no make-believe. This is simply a 「fact.」

The world has recognized such—the world has decided such.

Humans are fragile beings. Whenever they’re overwhelmed, they retreat into the depths of their own minds, into a sweet dream of denial... Know that you’re allowed to despair, however try as you might run away from this notion, it won’t change a thing.

Reality is never an illusion. It’s simply a 「fact.」

But humans are afraid of reality. And that is, too, a 「fact.」

They are afraid of the world and, above all, of themselves. After all, feelings are disturbing. People are taught that pain is evil and dangerous. How can they deal with their own reality, with their own emotions, if they’re afraid to feel? For humans, pain is meant to wake them up, but people try to hide their pain. An understandable paradox.

They are wrong, of course. Pain is something to carry. One will only feel their strength in the experience of pain, and it is scary for humans because it’s entirely up to each and every one of them how they will carry it. But that’s what matters—that pain is a feeling. A feeling that is a part of humans.

It’s their own reality. That is to say, it’s their 「fact.」

There are things in this world that defy explanation. But no matter how strange or bizarre the incident, if there were no humans, if no human could see it, if it didn’t concern them, then it would be a mere phenomenon. It would be just some thing quickly gone.

Humans, in this world, are things of profound mystery.

After all—humankind can change reality. They can rewrite the world and create their own 「facts.」

「Ritsuka Fujimaru is dead.」

The world has decided such. I have decided such.

Prove me different, then—with the power only allowed to you, representatives of humankind, prove to the world and to me that this isn’t right. Prove to me that the culprit lies somewhere else, hidden behind a secret door.

Yes, relieve me from this boredom. Prove me wrong if you can.

And allow me to fight back with all my might.”

_________________________________________

I



The sun rose over the sea, covering it in a golden blanquet. The shimmering sand swept around in a scythe of beach, while the far out sea timidly touched their feet. In the cold air of the morning, she watched the sunrise with her brother.

“Ronnie”, he said. “If we were to send a message right now... Do you think the sea or the trees would reach mom faster?”

She thought for a long time about her answer. The saline tang of the sea, or the earthy scent of a meadow? She thought that eternity lived deep within the brim, deep within the roots. She thought that both the sea and the trees were like lonely people—not like hermits, but like great solitary men, like Nietzsche or Beethoven. In their highest boughs the world rustles, their roots rest in infinity, but they don’t lose themselves there, they only live by their own laws.

She thought nothing could be holier than a sunrise-bathed sea, than a sturdy tree. Any of them, therefore, would be able to reach their mother, resting comfortably in the arms of the Lord.

And although she couldn’t see yet that star shining brightly amongst the firmament of Eton and Oxford before World War I, although her reputation would ultimately rest on other works, she still thought this was clever. Any of them and all of them at the same time, she said. She thought this was enough.

The truth, though, is hardly enough.

The truth is simply an uncaring 「fact,」 and Ronald Knox learned it as she looked into the eyes of eternity.






Foreigner
— A LOVING DEMON'S PRAXIS —


[ ♫ ]

Class: Foreigner
Other Classes: Assassin
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Place of Origin: England

Height: 149 cm | 4'10"
Weight: 38 kg | 83 lbs

Natural Enemy: Sherlock Holmes
Attribute: Human
Traits: Servant, Female, Humanoid, Weak to Enuma Elish

STRENGTH: B	MANA: A
ENDURANCE: C	LUCK: C
AGILITY: C	NOBLE PHANTASM: A

_________________________________________

II




Territory Creation EX

“The truth can be stated in a thousand different ways, yet each one can be true.”

While standing on her territory, while under her dominion, in the wondrous battlefield created only for this very moment one is meant to abide by her absolute rules.

That such rules include accepting her change of gender and the cat tail... In any case, consider it a red-herring of sorts—after all, a mystery is too boring when the culprit is at plain sight.



Entity of the Outer Realm EX

In the stillness of the night, the air finally began to move around the moon once more. The sky began to split, shattering in pieces as if made of glass—and behind it, she could see the universe. She could see the truth, the root of it all, every answer to every question she’d ever ask in her entire life.

Above it all, that eye stared down at her, shrouded in darkness.



Insanity B

“Deep in the human unconscious, there’s a pervasive need for a logical explanation that makes sense. But 「reality」 is always one step beyond logic. Ultimately, reality exists in the human mind and nowhere else.

That was what I always believed... But that ever-watching eye showed me differently.

Words can be twisted into any shape. Promises can be made to seduce the soul. In the end, words mean nothing. And because「reality」 can’t ever be explained by anything else other than words, that, too, is frequently inaccurate.

—And yet, by my own words, I’ve declared your Master dead.

—And yet, how are you to fight against me, if not by using your own words and imposing your will on my 「reality?」

Ahh, what a delightful paradox, don’t you think?”



Divinity B

Regrettably, this Servant recognizes that she has become the host of an otherworldly entity, which in turn granted her a strong divinity. That goes against her original commandments, but as a Servant she is trying to become more flexible—after all, a game in which her opponents cannot display their full power is just boring.

_________________________________________

III



Ronald Arbuthnott Knox was born in 1888, as the youngest of six children. His father was an evangelical Anglican who would eventually become bishop of Manchester. As for his mother, Ellen, she died from influenza when he young.

Some dark years followed for the family after her passing, but Ronald largely escaped the gloom by being sent to live with a bachelor uncle. From the expansive man, who poured his solitude over a new, favorite nephew, he began learning Latin and Greek—and by the next year, he was already reading Vergil in Latin and including bits of Greek in sporadic letters to his father.

Ronald entered a preparatory school near Oxford, where he stayed four years. Under the unwavering tutelage of his uncle, who spared no expenses, the precocious boy placed first in the Eton scholarship examination of 1900 and entered Eton as a King’s Scholar that September. The next six years were a time of unbroken happiness and academic success, since Ronald was naturally gifted, and he’d already had the benefit of a sound grounding in Greek and Latin at an age when the mind is at its most receptive and the memory at its best.

All in all, despite being surrounded by other clever young men, Ronald overtopped them all. He won prize after prize, was captain of the school, was elected to the exclusive Eton Society, published prose and poetry, and on and on and on.

Not all the enlightenment in the world could quench an innate thirst, though, and slowly he retreated into the familiarity of his family’s business—his father was a part of the Anglican ministry, and much more in the absence of his mother, he and all of his brothers and sisters became very spiritually-inclined.

The Christian piety from his earliest days took him to a fellowship at Trinity College, Oxford, vacant for a future chaplain. He was quickly elected and moved to the college, preparing all the while for his ordination.

Ronald only knew he didn’t want to be a churchman in his father’s mold: rather than to follow the path of Anglicanism, he wanted to be a Catholic priest. From the earliest of ages, even before having lived with his uncle, he loved the smells and bells, the elaborate rituals. He went to Mass on Sundays and prayed in Latin. He did have religious questions in these years, but no particular reason to doubt that he would find answers within the Church.

For Ronald, that period was an idyllic time, centered around friendship and spirituality and Oxford, with little thought spared for the outside world.

However on August 4, 1914, Britain declared war on Germany.

The undergraduates around him all had all volunteered for military service. Soon almost all of Ronald’s friends had joined up—and as a clergyman, he could not serve as a soldier. He could only read the names of his friends in ever-growing casualty lists.

In 1916, by the time all of his friends from youth had passed away, he left the Oxford he cherished and began a new position in the War Office in London. His distinguished career as a priest and a writer had, then, begun.

“Some say that stories one reads when they’re the right age never quite leaves them. One may forget who wrote them or what the story was called, and sometimes even forget precisely what happened, but if it touches them it will stay with them, haunting the places in one’s mind that they rarely ever visit.

I’d say youth is a curse born from the same pit. There is something about the way the world seems fresh to the eyes, ripen as a fruit, that can’t ever be replicated—even though one spends much of their later life trying to.

Ah, the world is ultimately a boring, boring place, a hole which devours light and leaves nothing behind to tell a tale, but for some reason... The Oxford of my memories remains as a the only mystery I did not wished to unveil.”

_________________________________________

IV



Do you promise that your detectives shall truly detect the crimes presented to them using their wits and knowledge, and not making use of divine revelation, intuition or coincidence?

Edgar Allan Poe is generally credited with getting the ball rolling for English-language detective fiction, but it was Willkie Collins who might have written the first great English mystery novel with The Moonstone, in 1968. The genre was in full swing by the early 20th century, and it was especially popular in Great Britain in the years that followed World War I. This is commonly known as the 「Golden Age」 of detective fiction, and the members of the Detection Club were among its stars.

The Detection Club was founded as a series of dinner parties organized by Anthony Berkeley. Originally he asked Arthur Conan Doyle to lead the group, but the Sherlock Holmes creator’s health was declining, and he was unable to accept Berkeley’s invitation. In any case, what began as a friendly gathering became an organized group of leading detective novelists discussing their works, their machinations and who gave each other support. Amongst their most notorious members there were names such as Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie.

During this prestigious age in history, mystery writers and literary critics had become preoccupied with what’s known as 「fair play,」 a principle in which writers were expected to give readers a fighting chance at solving the crime alongside the story’s detective.

Berkeley was a friend of Ronald, the two of them having met during one of the priest’s sermons. Even though the exuberance of his youth was long gone, Ronald still retained that intellectual disposition and his unquenchable thirst for something that not even him could quite explain. For a time, detective novels would satiate him, and in Berkeley he found a kindred spirit who shared many of his ideals, so much so that he became one of the founding members of the Club.

Although he wrote some books with the help of his friend, his best contribution to the genre was something else entirely. In 1928, he wrote the club’s fiction decalogue, or a list of rules every well-meaning mystery writer should follow. Some of his rules were just principles of good writing, while some of them were weirdly specific—but all of them, combined, were meant to uphold a set of standards for the genre. And at each new member’s induction ceremony, they promised the solutions to their mysteries would never rely on coincidences nor conceal vital clues, all but guaranteeing a fair chance for the reader.

While the Detection Club’s officers routinely denied membership to writers who didn’t abide by its rules about fair play, its own members—including its top officers—routinely broke them. But even without those stifling rules limiting the writers, the era of detective fiction ended with the onslaught of World War II. Psychological thrillers and noir stories then supplanted the classic, puzzle-based whodunnit.

However, even before that, the world had already forgotten about Ronald Knox. That, because the bishop has asked him to cease what he saw as an “unworthy practice for a Catholic priest.” Ronald never wrote any novel or any other contribution again, instead resuming his duties as a cleric.

Had he continued dabbling in that innocent hobby, perhaps he could’ve lived a little longer.

What awaited him, instead, was a crown of darkness and a small town.

_________________________________________

V




Prophylaxis A+++

Humans put a lot of emphasis on the attribute of being in accordance with fact and reality. Therefore, anything that can reflect the reality and conform to it, such as beliefs, assertions, and declarative phrases, is then considered a 「truth.」

Inside of her game, if such words are a fact then it is only natural that she—someone who sought the truth in all its forms from an early age—is one who can ultimately manipulate it to fit her way. Lies are commonly thought to be the polar opposite of the truth, but in her territory, in all its powers, she can detect what is a 「lie」 and what is 「truth」 and remand them into anything else.

In other words, it is a Skill that can turn anything into the truth by her own words, changing facts and reality to fit this Servant’s definition.

“Ritsuka Fujimaru is dead.”

A declaration that started a new game, it was her first move in the chessboard of battle.

In Christianity, there is a belief that a prayer for the Lord is as absolute as His own words. “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.” This Skill draws a similar parallel, in which by imposing an irresistible command upon reality itself, she induces intention into the world by merely commanding so.

However, because in her heart of hearts she wants a fair battle—even after everything—the mystery of her ways are always within the grasp of humans.



Verity Revelation EX

A Class Skill of the Ruler Class, aptly acquired as a personal Skill thanks to her role as a founder of the club of detection and a patron of the mystery thriller genre.

Through observation, analysis and information gathering of a foe, and finally by cross-referencing and processing, conclusions such as 「identity,」 「parameters,」 「abilities」 and even 「fate」 can be acquired with a perfect rate. It is not a Skill limited to the analysis of enemies, though, since it can be equally used for the sake of analyzing an object or even a situation. In comparison, it could be said that this is the decodification of reality, or simply the recognition of patterns in the fabric of time and space.

At this Rank, it could even be mistaken by some sort of precognition.

All in all, even with all the possible explanations, it is still a Rank far too great for a figure of so little influence in the sphere of the mystery genre. And that could be an unexplained mystery, in any other moment.

However—

_________________________________________

VI




Crown of Void EX

「　」

The outer shell of the world. The source of all events and all knowledge.

At the edge of the universe, lies the swirl of the void.

The boundless knowledge of the cosmos had touched her soul once through the eyes in the darkness, and ever since has taken root inside of her.

Unblocked to knowledge and unburdened by the constraints of a fragile human’s mind, there is absolutely nothing that she cannot ultimately understand. There is nothing she cannot ultimately comprehend. Dancing around her as small pockets of universes, almost as if they are fragments of a mirror, lies the weight of timeless knowledge, all of which she can access at a moment’s notice.

A detective is a being that contemplates the edges of reality in order to unveil the truth. With this ability, she is no different from them now—as she can recollect the infinite knowledge of the universe and answer every question she has ever asked, perhaps even before she formulates them.

That being said—

—Intelligence goes hand-in-hand with loneliness.

For in this state, she is no longer able to ignore the indifference of reality. Past, present and future are all the same when there is no longer a sense of time. A detective without a crime to solve is no different than a sleeping house cat.

Humans are, ultimately, blessed.

They have no idea how lucky they are to not know everything.

_________________________________________

VII






Mycroft Holmes
“...”
The unmistakeable presence of 「　」 emanates from that man. A kindred spirit, and yet—


Cao Cao
“A Hero of Chaos? Hardly. There are only patterns, patterns on top of patterns, patterns that affect other patterns. Patterns hidden by patterns. Patterns within patterns. What one calls 「chaos」 is merely patterns that are yet to be recognized.”


Edward the Black Prince
“...What a minuscule wish.”
To hold a crown, to subjugate a nation under one’s foot... Boring. It’s just more of the same. Foreigner desires for more.


Tam Lin King Arthur
“All what is alive dreams, but not equally.”
A Servant in the shape of a beautiful dream, but nonetheless something that will be forgotten when one awakens. Mysteries are supposed to have more flair.


Sultan Baybars
“I have no words to exchange with that husk.”
Foreigner doesn’t think a restless Berserker is a worthy adversary. However, he is quite welcome to prove her wrong—if he can.


Lugh Samildanach
“For one, his observational skills are exceptional. If only he could employ such ability into more productive avenues.”


Doc Holliday
“The battle I search for has nothing to do with that Servant’s expertise. He has no further use for me.”


Karolina Olsson
“Entering the world of dreams and never coming out—living in dreams for the rest of time. Now, that does sound enticingly novel...”


Laevateinn
“Burning away for the sake of humanity? That should appeal to a part of their sensibilities, yes. They do love everything that is grander than them. Ultimately, however, it is but an empty gesture. There will be no cheering, no enjoyment... Even nothingness has no place to rest one’s head.”


Louis-Auguste
“He never wanted to be a king and suffered for it until the very end. If one wishes to think he’ll find peace somewhere better, that is good—”
—And yet, such is the universe, a place uncaring for one’s wishes. But she decides to not say that out loud.


Marie-Thérèse Charlotte
“An impossible wish, of course. But when did that ever stop any dreamer from dreaming...”
Foreigner saw tragedies such as hers for the eternity contained in the blink of an eye. In the end, even if she prayed for the child’s soul, the universe would still hold no pity for her pain.


Nader Shah Afshar
“...Ah, yes—it all boils down to greed. As always.”
There is no mystery to be found here.


"Olympia"
“What an interesting ability... Would you consider playing this game of mine?”


Odin
“How arrogant to believe you are the only thing between humanity and twilight.”
For someone who supposedly looked beyond the universe, that creature did not put that knowledge to good use, that’s for sure.


"Temujin"
An overwhelming display of strength that invites challenge. However, even something such as that still cannot satiate her emptiness.


Yeonsangun
“As a servant of God, it is quite depressing to think that the man had ultimately lived as a human, and was ultimately punished by humans. He never faced divine retribution... But that’s only expected. And if one takes comfort in knowing he felt hunger for his entire existence—for I can see he is as empty as I am—so be it.”


Napoleon III
“Time in dreams is always frozen. One can never get away from where they’ve been.”
It was that child’s curse to suffer for his kindness—and Foreigner did not need to know about every secret of the universe to understand that. And yet, she almost felt the desire to pray so that he would persevere in spite of that.

_________________________________________

VIII



The Watching Void’s Last Utterance
Keter Dekalogus

All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course. —Knox 2nd

He took the train to a small town plagued by a curse. It was supposed to be a simple mission of exorcism, a far-cry from the earthly mysteries of his young adult years.

There, he found out about the secret temple dedicated to the Almighty, He Who Sees it All—and far too late also found out about his role in the town’s plans. Although his capture was ultimately for the purpose of being taken to the god who ruled that land so he could take it out, as soon as he looked into the eyes of the abyss, the priest began to understand that he vastly underestimated the situation.

The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story. —Knox 1st

What awaited him was an unknown god piercing the night sky.

Ronald Knox was a man in search of something. At first, he tried to find it in his connections, in the brilliance of Oxford—and when that failed him, he retreated into the comfort of religion. But even the arms of God couldn’t scratch that itch, and he tried to find the answers through the dazzling detections of fiction. However, for every mystery closed in those books, the one which plagued his existence was far from solved.

What was that which he was searching for, when he answered his brother in a distant dawn? What was he after, as he looked into the eyes of the universe?

The sea or the trees, which one was the most penetrating preacher?

「Both,」 the young Ronald had thought.

The void seemed to say, 「neither.」

And so the void showed him the world, and his body could view the planet from only one standpoint at a time. And so he moved about the place, from a hilltop on one side, then a tower on the other, then from a grand intersection in the middle—all in the same canvas, in the same universe full of stars. When he finally was allowed to look from afar, Ronald Knox glimpsed in a small way how God understood the universe, the way He saw it from every point of view at once.

For that creature trapped in the void, the future as well as the past would be 「present」 to its eyes.

For that creature trapped in the void, nothing would be uncertain.

The abyss showed him what he was looking for, and uttered answers for each question that followed, but in the newly-opened gap of his heart, apathy began to pour.

The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery, for there is always more mystery—except that, now, there is no more.

It is forbidden for the case to be resolved with clues that are not presented. —Knox 8th

And yet—

In the corners of his mind, the idea of God started to terrify him.

The sovereignty, the holiness, omniscience, and immutability—if it was just like the eyes of darkness, then what was the point of it all?

“That can’t be it.”

The universe couldn’t be just that—just the void.

Ronald Knox was in search of something purer than her.

With whatever humanity still left in her, she wanted to be proven wrong.

The detective must not himself commit the crime. —Knox 7th

Ritsuka Fujimaru is dead, she declared. And the void contained in the Noble Phantasm, the eyes of darkness that glared into them all, turning the unexpected into reality, were there as her witness.

In the space created by this ability, in which reality is only tempered by the rules she once created on a whim, as if trying to prove a point, she poses a new mystery to the universe.

But even that, ultimately, was within her expectations. Even she knew it was a useless affair.

After all... The sea or the trees, which one was the most penetrating preacher? Neither.

---

This won't get any better so here it is. AT THE LAST DAY TOO BECAUSE WHY NOT.

In case you didn't noticed I stretched this prompt so wide it's not even funny. Anyway, the crowns are about an elder god who's also the deity of a cult but also a Servant who created a space in which she's the "ultimate point of view". The queen of the board, in other words. Shut up I thought it was clever.

The outer god mentioned in this sheet is Cyäegha, who's featured in a story that is basically the NP. So what if that last part didn't exactly happened to Ronald Knox and instead it was to a dude called father Herbert? They both are priests it totally checks. Shut up I thought it was clever.²

I think I had some comments to make about this sheet, like comments about how he writes himself as a man pre-mindrape and as a woman post-mindrape to fit the theme and many others, but honestly I'M TIRED. LOOK. THERE'S EVEN MORE SERVANTS POSTED WHILE I WAS POSTING THIS ONE. So ultimately I guess I just want to apologize... I had more ideas, it was supposed to be much grander, but... Uhh... Time constraints and imagination constraints and capitalism constraints and all of that... I feel like a Disney movie. I swear it's getting harder and harder to make sheets, BUT I'M TRYING. I SWEAR I AM.

I hope it's still good enough for you guys. ;-;

P.S.: I thought there would be more good pictures of Bernkastel. You don't understand how hard it was to find these already.

[DracoScribe]

oh my gosh guys STAHP im writing my thoughts and you keep putting up sheets! /jk
Okay but seriously I have been busy writing thoughts and when I check back to read on sheets again, new ones have popped up! I can't help but exasperated yet amused.
...and also expect more sheets to pop up because it's (almost?) deadline time and thus take even more time for me to finish my thoughts.
Or I guess I could just post what I've written right now...yeah, you know what. Sure. These are the thoughts I've written so far. More to come.

Before anything else, because I forgot to do them:

Laevateinn:
Bergelmir: "Hmm? Well hello there, young man. Huh? Laevateinn? But I don't...ah, you're a different one. Okay, okay. I get it. No wonder I didn't recognize you. I defintely would've remembered if you traveled around my kingdom. You seem to have a pretty good head on your shoulders, just like the little princess though, what with making the most of your lot. Ah, whatever, I'm rambling. I'll be off napping if you don't mind. I'm sure you can tell that I'm not really the best candidate to wield you, yes?"

Nari: "Woah! Another Laev?!"
Narfi: "Why are you so surprised? It's very obvious it's not the Laev we know."
"Yeah yeah, smart ass, I know. But it's still a Laev! And he's Grand Saber! A Grand! I say we try a weapon-off with him!"
"No! Bad Sis! We're gonna nearly blow up the place again!"
"Exactly! I wanna see how much bigger it can be!"
"Uuuuugggghhh...!"
(In the back, Sigyn giggles in amusement at her children's antics yet again)

Now for actual thoughts I've written so far.

Loius-Auguste: Okay, I'll admit, I was a little lost in the beginning. I think it's mainly because of the whole "how are we summoning" part and me wondering why summoning him was so important for this Singularity within the story. Thankfully, that more or less gets answered by the end, at least answered enough for me, so that rough start didn't diminish the journey to the end and...oh boy. So far this is my favorite of the sheets I remember of yours. Which isn't a lot, admittedly, but still, this is my (new?) fav. Just... Just ouch. Innocent Monster because he was bad at ruling and so people hated him? Ouch. Imperial Privelege with a painful side effect? Ouch. Multi talented but not a master notable enough to have been noticed over his brother? Ouch. Contradictory Mind that makes me think of zeref? Ouch and even more ouch. And then his last skill, making him "always fail" and his Noble Phantasm, making him always break the crown? ...yeah you get the idea now. And it's capped off nicely with what I assume is a "final battle" within the Singularity and Bond CE that resulted from it. Just pain all around from me feeling for the man...

Mousseline: ...AND THEN THIS COMES ALONG AND ACTS LIKE A SEQUEL AND MAKING THE PREVIOUS SHEEY EVEN MORE SAD AND THIS SHEET IN TURN IN AN ENDLESS FEEDBACK LOOP OF ANGST. I WAS FUCKING CRYING BNEL. CRYING. Let me hug these failures of a family pleeeeeeease. They all need it. ;-; Ugh. But seriously, from beginning to end, I just feel for this girl. Yes it's because her life was tragic, being so kind despite her upbringing but hell broke loose because her parents, unfortunately, weren't exactly the best at their jobs. Yes, it's because she got imprisoned as a kid and was tortured and isolated and just general had to deal with horrible shit. Yes, it's because she was queen for only a little while...and by the end of her life, she was one of the last of her family to survive, and she wishes desperately to see them again, because she misses them. And yes, all the wonderful prose for the skills and backstory conveyed it all. But in the end, I guess what broke me is how too, effin', close this hits for me. The problems she has? I have them to an extent too. So it's like looking at the magic mirror on the wall, showing me what it is and what it can become. So yeah. THE FULL ON WATERWORKS EVERYONE.

...on a lighter note, her trying to act like an ojou-sama but failing is funny. I like it. Also:

Disclaimer: I have not touched Genshin since Sumeru dropped, so I have no clue what Furina's character even is beyond the memes. Then again, I guess this is for the best, since I could write without the character's prior impressions influencing me.

Well, I mean, from what little I know of Genshin, Fontaine is heavily inspired by France, and Furina comes from Fontaine, so I guess it's even more fitting she's the FC?

Nader Shah Afshar: You know, I don't know why, but a part of me finds it funny that, when I got to the end, with a Bond CE that just recontextualizes what he did even more, and then the notes afterwards having you say "yes. I made him a psychopath", I immediately went "Oooohhh...that's why he can't feel. It all makes sense!" before clarifying that when you say that, you mean "a REAL psychpath, not the Hollywood one or the joking insult kind", because I actually don't know that much about psychopaths. Tldr "it's funny how i went aha! and completely understood what you meant despite how little knowledge on psychopathy i actually have. you'd think i was an expert or something with how i felt when i got it". But seriously, that clarification kinda flipped this sheet on its head, after the Bond CE jostled it out of its position. Because like, he seems at first like your "average" warmongering but very skilled villain. Ruthless in his choices, cunning in his strategies, and more than willing to get things done with his own hands, including fucking going after an eldritch fortress to take its power for himself. But then the Bond CE comes in, how he is very self aware of himself, despite all his cruelty. And then the last piece, "he is a psychopath", makes me just...stare at it. The throne. The sheet. The man who lived his life feeling nothing despite seemingly still being able to desire things. And though I, to put it ligtly, really don't like what he has done and how he acts...I can't help but stare at him and wonder... "How can you live like that?", even though I know the answer will likely never satisfy me.

[asterism42]

Again, I feel the FC is a very deliberate choice

[TrueMrMultiverse]

Marethyu77: The explanation for the genderbend and Dragonkin makes sense to me, makes me curious about the Singularity she's from

WhiteFrenzy: The line [Fujimaru Ritsuka is dead] immediately caught my attention. Both at the beginning and end of the sheet, a nice contrast when fully experienced!

[Morg van Destro]

Honestly, the one who suffered the most was ME because I wanted a whole book about this Servant. I was having so much fun reading the sheet that when I finally got to the end it felt even sad. I’m devastated. When are we getting part 2? This is a Jojo FC after all, c’mon!

Who am I to deny the people what they desire?

---

Music is the language of the soul, speaking what words cannot express.
A violin without soul is like a body without a heart.
The violin is my voice, and the stage is my cathedral.
I am a servant of music, bound to its power and glory.
There is to no other I could give my entire being.
And nothing I would not give for it.



Absolutely nothing.

════════════════════════════════════╣╠════════════════════════════════════

══════════╣ I ╠══════════Col Legno Battuto

They denied his body the rights owed, which he could hardly blame. Twas not that he desired them. He knew the man he had been. The man he had presented. For such a devilish man, it was inevitable. To scorn the divine at the end of his life only made sense.

The crackling did nothing but compliment the sharp notes echoing into the night sky. Amidst the destruction, he played his violin. A piercing composition that echoed out into the night sky and filled the streets of the city. He played, seemingly unaware of the world around him, body gyrating and ambling around in sway with the music.

Then, on a sharp note, he abruptly stops. He casts his eyes off in the distance, a far too wide smile crossing his face, before his playing resumes.

“And at last, there was one.”

Existence Outside the Domain D
Rather than a connection coming far beyond the Boundary, Foreigner’s resides much closer, residing within the Reverse Side of the World. While the existence still remains outside the Domain, it is far closer than one would expect from an Outer God.

════════════════════════════════════╣╠════════════════════════════════════

══════════╣ II ╠══════════Staccato

Yet still, as he lay there, blood pulsing out where it ought not to, he found he didn’t regret it. Everyone wished to believe he would cast his lot with some horrid being or some grand entity, but the only thing he gave himself over to was music.

“This is starting to piss me the fuck off.”

“I’m getting the feeling everything does that for you.”

“Zip it, hornfreak. All I need is a single reason, and you can join this bastard.”

“Am I not giving enough reason already? I must be losing my touch.”

“Please, both of you, don’t fight right now.”

“Are you… crying? Again! That Russky was barely around, and he wasn’t even trying to help! I’m glad he’s dead!”

“It’s not just him. Tartini… he didn’t even want to fight us. You heard Scriabin. Someone was using him.”

“I’m loath to say it, but the nobody is right. Scriabin was just here because his god was pissy someone took its toy.”

“You have five seconds before I decorate this street with your blood.”

“Only if I get bored of how badly you fight, copycat.”

While those two sniped at each other, Francisco trying desperately to play peacekeeper, Ritsuka thought about what they said. The three Foreigners they had fought were distinctly strange, even by that Classes standards. Mozart was a warped shadow lashing out at everything that kept him from his work, Johnson was unusually strong for a modern Servant, trapping his part of the city at his “crossroads”, and Tartini already warped all his surrounding and sucked the people dry with his sonata. All musicians, all Foreigners, but there’s something else.

“Who are they all connected to?”

“What do you mean, Senpai?”

“Scriabin said Tartini was a servant of his god, but something had subverted its control with a stronger claim.”

“Then… is it the same for the other two?”

“Maybe. Daniel, what do you know about the Foreigners we fought?”

“At least I didn’t die without a penny to my name!”

“Better penniless than forgotten, aye Francisco?“

“Adolph, please stop antagonizing him. We need to-“

“Oh please! If I named everything after myself, I’d be remembered too!"

“You probably should’ve done that then. Can really only blame yourself.”

“…Mash, are communications still down?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Ritsuka sighed, looking off at the final portion of the city. With night fully descended, it had been the beacon drawing them further in. A burning orange glow rising against the starry blue of the sky. He was familiar enough at this point to know that the thing that stands out is usually the right way to go.

“That’s it! I shoulda just killed you at the crossroads! I’ll fix that mistake now!”

“Oh, this will be funny.”

A shadow handed Steibelt a cello while Sax unstrapped his saxophone.

“Senpai-"

“Stop!"

Francisco had stepped between them, head whipping back and forth before finally settling on Daniel.

“Please?”

For a tense moment, Steibelt’s bow drifted closer to the strings before he tossed the instrument to the side.

“Fuckin’ Spaniard getting in my fuckin’ way crying all the goddamn time decides to grow a spine now of all-”

The Avenger continued mumbling to himself as he walked past the surprised Shielder and Master toward the distant orange glow. As he did, Francisco slowly sank to his knees, a relieved expression on his face.

“I guess that’s our cue.”

════════════════════════════════════╣╠════════════════════════════════════

══════════╣ III ╠══════════Martelé

It doesn't have to end here
He didn't know if the voice came from deep inside himself or something far more damning, but when it spoke, he couldn't help but listen.
You will chose the sublime above all else. You will create music for eternity. You will never end in your pursuit of that perfect harmony. This is what awaits you.
The voice was allure. It was seduction not even the the greatest monsters, the most divine of powers, could even hope to replicate. It was the voice of harmony itself.
What have you to give in return?

They heard the music long before the flames became clear. The other parts of the city were almost in limbo. Bodies littering the streets and the night wrapping around the city like a freezing blanket. This sharp contrast of blazing light and crackling flames suddenly bringing a twisted life to such a barren place. The lack of smoke rising from the burning building only made it seem more ethereal and demented than it already was.

Yet, they weren’t focused on that.

“Why do you go along with this guy?”

“What do you mean?”

“You all realize how terrible a person he is, right?”

“He’s actually not that bad most of the time.”

“Master, I’ve been here since Johnson, and he’s been nothing but a vindictive bastard, and I dealt with enough in my life to recognize one.”

“It’s true that Daniel is a bit…”

“Murderous, wrathful and caustic.”

“…jaded, but he’s still here helping us. He could’ve just gone off on his own or attacked us. I think-”

“Do you people just think I can’t fucking hear you?!”

Steibelt didn’t stop walking but glared over his shoulder at them before setting his eyes on the ever approaching orange glow.

“I’m only here to kill the Gottlieb. The rest of you can die for all I care.”

“He’s a tsundere.”

“I’m not sure that’s the right word, Senpai.“

As they talked, they passed into the smoldering flames of their destination. The shift in atmosphere was immediate. Rather than the intense flames they expected, it was pleasantly warm. The lack of smoke and its sulfurous aroma was a strange, almost comforting smell. Like cooking food or incense, but no particular flavor could be parsed. What was most notable though was the music.

Above everything else, the music flowed and streaked around them. Even on approach, the music had been loud, but here is was almost overbearing. It wasn’t simply coming from deeper inside the scorched remains. The fire itself, all around them, was piling the music onto them. The very flames themselves were singing every note of the song.

“What could have done this?”

“Who would probably be the better question.”

Francisco looked around, feeling himself unconsciously untense. Despite the ashen bodies scattered infrequently in the streets and the sheer amount of destruction, this place felt safe. Right. The music swaddled him as he looked into the fires, figures dancing and singing within. He somehow knew these were the souls of everyone that had died here, residing within the flame itself. They should’ve been horrified, tortured, but instead were in utter bliss. He felt himself wondering if he’d ever-

“The hell do you think you’re doing?"

A rough hand yanked hard on the back of his collar, dragging him away from the edge of the flames. The others looked in their direction, confused that they hadn’t noticed how close Francisco had gotten to becoming seared. The man himself seemed dazed, his eyes struggling to focus behind his glasses.

“I… what?”

Steibelt’s hands clapped over his ears. Shocked by the jolt, Francisco’s eyes refocused on Steibelt’s who’s hands all but silenced the music.

“Don’t look at the flames, and keep your damn ears stuffed. Honestly. You’re an idiot, but maybe it’s on me to think you at least had some self-preservation.”

With that, he shoved Francisco toward the others.

“Frenchy, keep yours uncovered. You’ll be doing me a favor.”

“I’m-“

“I don’t give a fuck.”

“What about you, Steibelt?”

“Oh, I’d go in the fire if I thought it’d shut up this fucking noise, but God hates me, so I doubt it.”

With that, he began walking ahead of everyone again. Reluctantly, Sax began ripping one of his sleaves and stuffing the strips in his ears while Francisco used a handkerchief he had.

“Will this kind of thing really be enough?”

“If Daniel says so, then probably.”

“…Maybe.”

They continued forward, pulled deeper into the strangely enticing hellscape.

Mana Burst (Hellfire) A
As one perceived as so close to the Devil, it is only natural that for Foreigner to call upon the flames from below. These powerful magical flames can catch on almost anything and don’t give off smoke from whatever they burn. They also possess an advantage against Divine target, being especially effective at burning away Divinity.

High Speed Demonic Dissonance A
The speed and dexterity at which Foreigner can play is almost unfathomable. Even during his time, some didn’t even believe some of his pieces were possible to be played, further adding to his reputation of being backed by supernatural forces. There were even times people claimed to hear multiple instruments playing during his solo performances coming from his single violin. The essence of Moto Perpetuo.
As a Servant fully infused with demonic power, Foreigner’s ability reaches even newer levels. His already high speeds of playing increase the more he does so uninterrupted, able to cast more spells in a shorter time. It also has a disruptive effects on musical spells unless they are able to overpower them in volume or are at a high enough level.


════════════════════════════════════╣╠════════════════════════════════════

══════════╣ IV ╠══════════Legato

Impiety EX
They crossed themselves as he passed by. To be seated before the stage in the concert hall was to risk your own soul, your own piety. His body was decrepit, his movements rigid and erratic. He was a man possessed. A man that could only draw from darkness. Yet, they could not help but come to watch him perform despite all they knew.
There were those who said he sold his soul. Many said he was a demon. There were even those that claimed he was the incarnation of the Devil himself. All those pale to what he is now. Within Foreigner, he is not some simple demonic servant. He has given everything, his entire being, over to the music. He is not some simple incarnation.
He is The Devil in Music.


He wasn’t somewhere grandiose or poetic. Instead, they found him on a building in a residential area, spinning and contorting with ever stroke of his bow. There were several times he teetered on the edge in his frantic movements only to jerk back suddenly, unnaturally. Though he seemed completely oblivious to the figures approaching beneath him, he halted the moment Steibelt pulled a theremin from his shadows and placed before him.

Only the crackling of the flames could be heard as the omnipresent music was silenced.

"When I first came here, I thought I would finally do it. Bring this world into sublime rapture. I know it can be done, but I now realized it was not something I could do alone."

Sound warbled out from the theremin as Steibelt glided his hands over it, waves of ice washing toward the violinist, sending the flames guttering. Yet, they burned through them, and the demonic figure began playing once more.

"I thought the others would be more than enough, but as I watched you slowly work your way here-"

“I don’t care!”

“For once, you have the right idea.”

Sax began playing his saxophone, matching Steibelt’s strange tune and sending dozens of projectiles at the violinist.

"-I realized that they weren’t right. Giuseppe was the closest, but they weren’t willing to go all the way, so trapped in their own delusions."

As they played, the flames echoed not just the violinist’s, but also Steibelt and Sax’s. As they launched attacks, their music sang out and the flames rose higher. The devilish musician sent columns of flame, his hands playing faster and faster, while the others’ attacks swirled past his whirling form.

"Daniel, I’m not sure-"

“Be useful for once and play!”

"Mozart could only see the single work. Johnson was never willing to go all the way. Tartini had relinquished his soul to another.”

Francisco took his guitar from his back, hands moving to play, when a fiery hand grabbed hold of the instrument’s neck. A figure, smile somehow evident while engulfed in flames, reached out for him as well. Mash swung her shield through it, the figure receding back into the hellish landscape.

"Are you okay."

Francisco slapped at the fire on his guitar, suffocating the flame but getting a burn for his trouble.

"Honestly, I don’t think any of us are.”

The very figures Francisco had seen dancing in the fire were spinning out all around them, each like a whirling dervish moving in time with the music. Steibelt and Sax found themselves trying to divide their attention as they were beset by the dancers. Even they promised harm, they looked as though they didn’t mean any, simply to caught up in their excitement to realize the danger they posed. Lines of fire rose behind their flaming footsteps, closing in the forces of Chaldea as the violinist reached a fevered pitch with his song.

"But now I find one who is everything I was looking for.”

“Alright, I’m done with this! They hear not the destruction that comes after. They hear only the Devil’s Horn. Now firing the Saxocannon!”

Sax played his pride and joy, and what happened next is hard to describe. There was a magnificent, sharp blare, a thunderous crash, and there was simply a massive hole where dozens of buildings used to be. All the fires had nearby been completely blown out, a dark path amidst a city aflame. The consuming music snuffed like the fire that echoed it.

“Hm. Guess he wasn’t that strong after all.”

"You fucking idiot."

~ ♬ ~

A pillar of hellfire erupted in the center of the newly carved cylinder. The fire pushed away by the blast coursed over the entire area in enclosing waves. Mash planted her shield while Steibelt and Francisco played, barely holding the torrent at bay.

When the fire settled down, having caught where they were once extinguished, the violinist stood before them. His smile was etched painfully on his face, too wide and too joyful. He played a foreboding dirge whose tempo was already working its way to a furious pitch.

"All of it. Show me all of it! Show me how far you’re willing to go!”

╼_F_O_R_E_I_G_N_E_R_╾
「 Diabolus in Musica. 」

= Niccolò Paganini =

════════════════════════════════════╣╠════════════════════════════════════

Class	Foreigner
Alternative Classes	Caster
True Name	Niccolò Paganini
Aliases	The Devil's Voilinist. Diabolus in Musica
Origin	Italy
Height/Weight	193cm/86kg
Alignment	Chaotic Good
Attribute	Star

STR	END	AGI	MAN	LCK
C	A	A	A	D

Likes	Passion. Harmony. Pursuit of the sublime.
Dislikes	Apathy.
Talent	Finger play. Musical Composition. Soul manipulation.
Natural Enemy	Those that hate music.
Armament	Il Cannone Guarnerius
Catalyst	(He really shouldn't be summonable. I don't know how he's here.)

The Devil’s Violinist EX
The very thing that qualifies Foreigner for his Class, it is this connection that has changed him into a vessel for a greater power. A musician of such prowess and reputation that none could believe it was natural. A talent so strong could only arise from some machination outside humanity.
Whether or not this connection was true, it was one he embraced wholeheartedly, to the point of forging a true connection past his lifetime. In the Foreigner Class, he has become more than a violinist playing music at the Devil’s feet. In this Class, he is one with musical aspects of the Prince of Hell, becoming a true demonic power in his own right.

Pioneer of the Morning Star A
“The greatness of this genius, unequalled, unsurpassed, precludes even the idea of a successor. No one will be able to follow in his footsteps; no name will equal in his glory.” - Franz Liszt

While this Skill would normally be Pioneer of Music, his state as a Foreigner transformed it into something far more dangerous. Rather than a Charisma that unifies others or the ability to make the impossible possible, it creates an inverse distortion that actively makes things worse.
It is the passive ability to make the possible practically impossible. Guaranteed hits become closer to coin flips. Fate and causality altering powers have chances of simply failing. Even the ability to rewrite reality could glitch in the wrong way.
His genius, his ability, is simply so great, any attempts to reach it will be utterly fruitless.

════════════════════════════════════╣╠════════════════════════════════════

══════════╣ V ╠══════════Collé

He knew the answer beyond a shadow of a doubt. This life he had lived, he regretted not a thing. Yet, the distractions of everyday had pulled him from his goal. His true desire. To pursue his deepest desire, to make harmony like non have heard before, to bring forth the truly sublime, what would he be willing to give up?
Everything.

Sax leapt around like he was on fire, which was very nearly the case. With all the attacks Steibelt was launching with Francisco backing him up, it wasn’t even possible for Mash to close in on the violinist. Like always, it was Little Sax dancing with Death, powerful magic in the furious symphony both sides were casting.

Meanwhile, Francisco was wondering why Daniel was holding back. Even if it would disable his and Adolph’s ability to play, Daniel’s Noble Phantasm was perfect for exactly this situation. Even the three of them attacking at once were being held off by the demonic musician, so if there was ever a time to use it, it was now. He wasn’t the type to hesitate for other people, and yet he definitely was for some reason.

"I know there’s more than this. You have so much more to give!”

More and more figures danced out of the fire, smiling and calling them to join the dance. Francisco could’ve sworn that he could see musicians accompanying them. He even thought he saw Chopin, Tartini, Mozart… all the Servants they’d encountered, playing along in bliss.

"What did I say, idiot?!”

Francisco quickly strummed out a defensive barrier in time to block a stray attack. It took him a moment to realize the attack hadn’t come from their enemy, but Adolph. Not intentionally, but the blast of magic had spiraled around the violinist and came racing back. Whatever allowed Adolph to remain untouched in this battle sent the attack sailing at Francisco. It was with that Francisco realized something important.

They were all playing the same song.

He could barely hear it through his improvised earplugs, but it seemed obvious now. In the rest of their battles, it was a vaguely harmonious collage of differing sounds. Everyone had their own style, their own rhythm they played with. Francisco was the only one taking tunes from other Servants, usually Daniel due to the high-level spells he cast. Yet, even though he knew this now, the moment he began strumming, his fingers unconsciously moved to play with the others.

"He’s manipulating the music. Or, maybe, us?”

Francisco thought for an instant to try telling Daniel, but then what? If even Daniel, a man who designed himself to fight musicians, was being affected, would knowing do anything. Even Francisco, understanding what was happening, still played along as he defended himself, unable to alter it even slightly.

But maybe… maybe he could do something else. He pulled out his earplugs and closed his eyes, hands poised on his instrument.

"…I play this song for you. A traveler on this path, all I can offer is my music. This guitar, this song, is my life. May you soar upon it as I have. La guitarra de Tárrega.”

"The hell do you think you’re doing?”

As Francisco activated his Noble Phantasm, he could feel the song they were playing. It was another Noble Phantasm, but not what he expected. He could tell it wasn’t exactly offensive in nature, and as he played more, he realized it wasn’t a Charm either. As his Noble Phantasm moved further along, as his guitar moved forward to match the song rather than simply play to it, he knew what this was.

The fire, the souls swirling through it. It was their joy. Ecstasy. It was music from every time rocks bang together to every strum of a guitar. As it played, they came willingly, knowing that such a thing was far greater than any joy to be found in mortal existence. It was harmony itself. It was what one would give their very soul to be a part of, to play, even if only for a brief instant.

He tried to focus. He strummed his guitar, slowly moving the song away from what the others were playing. He focused on Daniel and Adolph, trying to draw them out of it. If the violinist could sway souls to it, than he just needed to pull them back.

He played for Adolph. He played for Daniel. He played for all the musicians and people that had fallen into this devil’s clutches, the souls swayed by a song they could never have hoped to hear, and he called them back.

He played the most beautiful song he ever had in his life. He played a song of the journey that had taken him here. One that lead them where they needed to go. So long as it could reach them, so long as it could give them the opportunity they needed, it would be enough.

"And what would you give to play this forever?”

The thought came unbidden from deep in his mind. As he strummed the very essence of music on his guitar, playing this forever sounded perfect. Like what he was meant to do. It was all he ever wanted to do. Play his guitar and bring other people happiness. This was where his voyage had been leading him. This was where he was meant to be. His answer was clear.

"Every-”

A raging sound reverberated through the world, hitting the guitarist like a wave of force. His eyes shot open, shocked out of the trance he had been put in, his hands ceasing their strumming. He suddenly realized his entire body was singed, his glasses were broken on the ground, and Adolph was on the ground, propping himself up on trembling arms.

"You finally done?”

Francisco took several seconds to understand what was happening. Even though he was copying the violinist’s Noble Phantasm, he was being affected, drawn into it like a moth to flame. Daniel was playing like mad, his phantoms exploding out of him in waves and hurtling into the sky with every rapid strum of his electric guitar.

It was L’orage. He was no longer playing the alluring song of the violinist, though the demonic entity didn’t seem put out by it. Instead, a storm brewed overhead as the fire seemed to shrink back from him.

"You better not expect a thank you.”

As the storm descended, Mash rushed over and hauled Adolph to his feet while Francisco, who realized everything hurt to move, was tugged along by Ritsuka.

“How did you know that would work?”

Ritsuka had to yell as the storm raced over the entire area, the world once brimming with fire consumed by raging snow. Mash protected them as best she could as they tried to get away from the battle.

"I didn’t!“

Amid the storm, he swore he still heard the violin piercing the storm, but Francisco wasn’t worried about that. Daniel, and all the souls that he had drawn to him, made themselves for this. They just needed the opportunity.

"I just believed in them!”

Diabolus in Musica

The Devil in Harmony

Anti-Soul


The Tritone. The interval of three notes as one meant to represent the Holy Trinity. This was where it started. Yet, when the clergymen played the note, something was wrong. It was dissonant. A discord generating from beautiful, pure notes. Malicious and caustic, its very presence tainted those that heard it, and promptly banned.
This single note changed how people perceived music. Suddenly, it was no longer simply the realm of the divine, as was so widely believed. No, something evil, something demonic, lurked within. Sliding between the interval, waiting to corrupt and plague. A dangerous enemy hiding in harmony. Diabolus in Musica.
Were this the end, it would merely be a fun anecdote, but from that moment on, the Tritone was evil. Its reputation had extended far beyond itself, many famous composers such as Liszt, Wagner, and Debussy using it to convey demonic and evil forces within their songs. The music of Niccolò Paganini walked this line constantly, and even jazz and the blues, both of which often make use of this tone, were considered “the Devil’s Music”.
It is these perceptions, continuing even near the modern age, that have formed Diabolus in Musica. It is not simply a tone, but the concept of the Devil using music for its horrible ends. It is predator of the soul, using not just the part of music seen as pure, but creating harmony from the entire spectrum of sounds that can be made. It is captivating, it is seductive, and it is dangerous.
But people can’t help but to listen.
It is always active whenever Foreigner plays, a powerful pull on the soul of all that hear it. Within his flames, the souls of all that have drawn to it reside, calling others to join them. This pull causes other musicians to join their music to his subconsciously even if they’re fighting him, unwittingly empowering him with their accompaniment. Its even possible for Foreigner to resist musical effects due to him residing in all music. Those who are unable to resist enough will be drawn to his flames, to his music, desiring to join with the harmony he creates in any way they can, even if it means they die. They may be dead, but they will forever be able to hear the music that defies reality. Their souls will know the purest joy, and, like Foreigner, they wish all to share it.

════════════════════════════════════╣╠════════════════════════════════════

══════════╣ Personality ╠══════════Personality

This man is no longer Niccolò Paganini. Not really. Sure, his passion for his craft and exaggerated fervor for the dramatic are intact, his embracing of his demonic reputation, and desire to play his music all remain, but they have been superseded. This is not simply a man playing at devilish personality while being a rather charming and friendly man outside of his performances. This is a man that became the very thing he pretended to be: a Devil whose seduction was harmony itself.

An ever-present grin, teeth gleaming amid a head engulfed in flame. A transfixing passion and allure that sways the hearts of men and women alike. A joy in every movement, every stroke, every syllable he utters. He has forgotten what it means to feel sorrow, to feel doubt, to feel pain. He exists only in the notes the world around him plays, a seductive demon drawing astray the tired souls of the world into bliss. He is the being artists will sell their souls to for even a fraction of his ability, of his unification with harmony, and he takes them eagerly so they too may revel in its sublimity.

There is no reasoning. There is no logic nor rational. There is only the bargain, and whether or not you will take it. It is all the same. Once one has witnessed it, they can’t forget. It will remain with them, and when they finally can’t take it anymore, he will be waiting as he always has. In every note, the Devil in Music awaits with utter glee for them, his price no more than what he himself has given.


Daniel Steibelt:
Hellfire
Your ire
Dear Daniel, much to learn
You’re broken
My pyre
Be mine or you will burn

The Grey Messenger:
You poor unfortunate soul.
In pain. In need.
You want it all to end
Take the deal and I can lend
Some inspiration!
Yes, indeed.

Giuseppe Tartini (by Spammin Spiff):
Play once again for me
My pure sonnet
My power over you
Grows stronger yet
And though you turn from me
I’m close behind
The Diabolus in Musica is there
Inside your mind

Franz Liszt (by DelRey):
My dear Franz, you can be so much more than you are. Come. Let me inspire you once more.


════════════════════════════════════╣╠════════════════════════════════════

═════════╣ Aftermath ╠═════════Sul Tasto
When they found him, Steibelt stood alone, not even an instrument to be seen, staring up at the sky. The fire had died away with the raging storm, both swirling up together in a terrifying array of color and souls. The others all watched the faces in the hellish maelstrom, screaming and laughing in equal measure, as they were carried into the night sky and vanished. Now, all that remained was the ashen destruction he stood in.

"Damn. And here I thought I’d vanish before I had to see your faces again.

He turned around, holding a golden clump of slag in his hands.

"Can’t even get my damn wish.”

"Was that the Grail?"

"Was. Bastard tried to offer me it like I was some vagrant that needed a handout. Fucking showed him."

He unceremoniously let it fall to the ground.

"He was going to give you the Grail, just like that, and you said no? I’ll be honest, I’d almost be tempted."

"Said some nonsense like we were the same and a bunch of other stupid shit. Just another crazy fucking gottlieb.”

"Are you okay, Daniel? You seem… sad?"

Steibelt looked back at the sky, stars sparkling brightly against the void. The vast empty between those shining points. That was where he and all those he called to him resided. For just that brief instant, when the song only they could bring into the world erased that damned violinist from it, he knew they were one of those stars. Now, here he was, back in the void, surrounded by stars that blinded with their light, but this time, there was no one else here.

But at least they got to shine like he never did.

"Like you can see anything. You’re just lucky I’m tired after fixing your problem, or I’d finally kill your ass."

"Oh, like you could. I could beat without even using my instrument right now."

"Keep talking, Frenchy. I’m suddenly feeling a lot more energetic.”

"I’m Belgian, you moron. I’d say that last fight fried your brain, but you were like that before."

As they started sniping once more and Mash sighed in exasperation, Francisco felt it bubbling inside him, and he couldn’t stop himself. He started laughing.

"And what is so goddamn funny, Spaniard?"

Steibelt stomped over to the laughing Francisco, and, much to everyone’s shock, the guitarist moved forward and wrapped his arms around the irate German.

"I’m going to miss you, my friend."

"The fuck are you doing? I’m not your friend, you moron! Get the hell off me!"

The others couldn’t help smiling as Francisco gripped the man who hated musicians in a familial embrace. Yet, none of them decided to comment that, despite how angry his words and furious his expression, he didn’t seem to be trying too hard to push the guitarist away.

"That’s it! On sight! You hear me! I won’t forget this! I will remember this, and I’m killing you the moment you dare cross my path! You think I won’t?"

Despite the threats, Francisco didn’t seem the slightest concerned.

════════════════════════════════════╣╠════════════════════════════════════

═════════╣ Notes ╠═════════Notes:
Lucifer. Prince of Hell. Devil. Paganini.
Your honor, I rest my case.

I thought of not doing more shenanigans for my second entry, but decided to give my weird musical singularity a second shot at a contest instead. I wanted this part to have another Servant to change the dynamic with Steibelt a bit, and I do wish I could’ve used someone else, but the Devil’s Hornplayer was too perfect to use next to the Devil’s Violinist.

Paganini really got away from me on this one. He was just gonna be a Foreigner connected to the musical parts of Lucifer, but then it just evolved further once I saw the Tritone (Diabolus in Musica) and came up with the concept of him willingly combining with the very idea of a demonic force lurking in music. The origin of all those deals with the devil musicians do and all the various ways in cultures and history music has been perceived as evil for its seductive or frightening sounds. I’m pretty sure that’s the moment I decided he’d be the perfect final boss for the singularity I put no thought into when I made Mozart beyond being a set piece to display his NP.

I realized near the middle that there were a strange amount of parallels between my Steibelt and Paganini. I don't know if anyone else picked up on them, but it made them being the ones to finish the fight obvious. There was actually a lot of debate with myself if Steibelt or Francisco would be killed in the fight, the other being the one to finish Paganini after either Francisco giving Steibelt the opportunity to in his death or Steibelt infusing Francisco with all the souls he had in him, allowing Francisco to use L'orage. As you see, neither outcome happened, not because I decided against it, but because in the flow of writing, it just came out different. What can you do, huh?

I really do like what I’ve done with Paganini, allowing to be as devilish as he would act during his performances, but I get the feeling all I’ve done is make people ship Francisco and Steibelt. However, that is out of my hands. I couldn’t not write them that way, and I will reap whatever people take from it.

My final note is that I love the idea that most of the music is diegetic (happening within the story itself) in this sheet. Paganini’s Rhapsody incorporating guitar and other instruments, representing the other musicians fighting Paganini’s violin is a fun thing for me. Also having Steibelt pull out a theremin. That was solely for my amusement.

[Niccolò Paganini - Caprice for Solo Violin, Op. 1 No. 7]
[David Garrett - Paganini Rhapsody (On Caprice 24)]
[Giulio Tampalini · Mefistofele]

[Vididii]

Lady of the Star-Scraping City



Class: Rider
Other Classes: Caster?
True Name: Duchess Libuše of Bohemia
Alignment: Neutral Good
Place of Origin: Czechia

---

Parameters:

STR: C
END: B
AGI: C
MGI: A
LCK: D


Height: 5’11”
Weight: 186 lbs
Likes: Sitcoms, red wine, a good pec-bounce
Dislikes: Back Pain
Talent: Architecture
Natural Enemy: Odysseus, Fergus
Attribute:Earth
Traits: Hominidae Servant, Humanoid, King, Loved One, Riding, Servant, Seven Knights Servant, Weak to Enuma Elish
Armament:Warhammer
Catalyst: A stone from the ruins of castle Děvín

---

Lore:
One of three daughters to the fabled duke Krok, she was blessed from her birth with both great wisdom, and the gift of prophecy. Chosen by her father as the succeeding queen of the people, it would be her gift that would prophesize the creation of the grand city of Prague. However, even as her lands prospered, her subjects, particularly the male ones, protested about being led by a woman. While a woman of her position should have logically chosen a statesman, someone to help her rule, perhaps someone from a neighboring territory, she had fallen in love with a plowman, Přemysl. Certain choice visions of him haunting her, she correctly identified that he would be eating at an iron table when her servants found him. Her horse leading her court to find him, his field would bloom into a bountiful harvest as he put down his tools to accept her proposal, leading them to be wed shortly after.

They would go on to have three sons together, Radobyl, Lidomir, and Nezamysl, and founded the Přemyslid dynasty of Bohemia, which would continue long past the country’s fall. During her reign as queen, Libuše’s ruling period was notable for the equal rights and liberties of women to men- such liberties would be afforded that when she died and her husband repealed her policies on the matter, many of the women of the kingdom would revolt and wage war against the men. While they would eventually fall, it is notable for a pre-enlightened age.

Personality:
A wise servant with information from beyond her age, with ample logical capabilities to apply it. Appearing in her mid-late twenties, she possesses a dry sort of sageness, and great skill in casual conversation… all juxtaposed by a notably poor impulse control. Libuše, personally, is lonely- she’s tired, and craves praise and attention- while the future she had foreseen came to be, the actions she took in life had no lasting impact thanks to her husband. While, EXPLICITLY, against her better judgment, she can’t stay mad at him, they’re effectively split over the matter. She has no desire to get back together, but… for someone who sees the future, the past weighs on her.

"Listen, what you saw- me, on the couch in pajamas, eating ice cream out of the container- nobody needs to know about that, alright?"

Class Skills:

Riding: B
Most vehicles and animals can be handled with above-average skill, even vehicles that did not exist in the time period one was alive in, for they are no exception. However, they cannot ride the likes of Phantasmal Species such as Monstrous Beasts.

Magic Resistance: C
Cancels spells with a chant below two verses. Cannot defend against magecraft on the level of greater magecraft and Greater Rituals.

Personal Skills:

Clairvoyance: A- (A+)
A skill denoting the ability to view the world remotely- at higher levels, it allows the possessor to even obtain future sight.
Libuše has achieved such a rank, notably being born with the gift to see into the future in life. However, it gains a negative modifier, as she purposely dampens her gift, having been plagued with unfortunate visions of her and Prague’s future. Her precise level of control is unknown, but she seems to be able to chase certain information.

“The ability to gaze upon the future as if they were the stars… I could not call it anything but complicated. One second, I see a city which scrapes the sky, the next, I see my land of equality dashed back to the age before my father. And after that? Seinfeld.”

The Walls Which Touch the Stars: A
While its name may suggest a territory creation style skill, but instead it is more reflective of a mana burst skill. Instead of designating an area as a workshop, it reflects the ability to rapidly create stone building-based structures, such as walls and towers- an entire castle could be created within an hour, and rising parapets strike like a boxer’s jab in an instance.

Trouble With Men: B
A skill similar to Trouble with Women- Rider, by her own admission, has a terrible taste in men- she’ll be drawn to powerful ones, though her specific type is the Gaston sort.

“Master. I know. Just- just let me have this- look at the size of his tits. Let me ogle.”

Familiar: D+
The ability to designate and summon magical Familiars- in Libuše’s case, she specifically seems to favor horses, as seen when she summoned one to track down her future husband Přemysl.

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Noble Phantasm
Starbound Future Revelation
Shining Prophecy Decree
Type: Anti-Causality
Rank: A
Range:-
Max Targets: 1

A Noble Phantasm which interacts with the Causality in a similar manner to a sure-hit noble phantasm. Born of the same dream that prophesied the construction of Prague. As she did not see anywhere close to the full breadth of the beloved star-reaching city, she herself cannot experience the effects of the noble phantasm- it can only be used on others.

SFR is an enchantment which can be applied on an ally when they express a goal or desire- allowing the creation of a fixed completion condition. While there are very specific limits (seizing the grail will be overwritten by the cup and the throne, wasting the mana), it is possible to even rewrite the world state in fulfilling the goal. The PATH to the goal however, is completely unwritten, and the completion of said goal can often be fulfilled via monkey’s paw scenarios.

"Forever forward. As I decree, the dream shall become a vision, and the vision, truth."

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Relationships:

Cao Cao: "Gods... he's charming as all hell, but there's not enough beef... gwuh, regardless, terrible policy. I've no need for warmongers to create peace."

Edward the Black Prince: "Tall, dark, handsome... ooh, I really shouldn't, but..."

"Tam Lin King Arthur": "Oh come off with the disguise, I can see right through it- if anything, I'm envious of you, hiding in there. Having someone fated to be with would have made things so much easier...."

Sultan Baybars: "I need you."

Lugh Samildanach: "-You too, now close the door."

John Henry “Doc” Holliday: "Oh that is a beautiful revolver- you know, I saw them in visions of the far future when I was alive, but I never... may I try firing it?"

Karolina Olsson: "We'll all wake up eventually darling- whether it be in the throne, or by your hand."

Laevateinn: "It's not- your fate, to become the blade- with my gift of shifting sight, I may be able to do something with that."

Louis-Auguste: "I... oh come here dear- you remind me of my first two, I can't look at a boy in your condition and not worry-"

"Mousseline": "The crown... when it isn't something you yourself choose the circumstance of donning, I can't call it anything but a Curse. The severity of the situation lingers, but it lingers all the same."

Nader Shah Afshar: "You know, I... are you available? Like, this weekend?"

"Olympia": "...No, you can't see my lat spread- yes my back is ripped look at what I have to carry- gods, do I sound like this? Is this how I sound?... fine, I'll take the coat off, it's a backless shirt. I'm no hypocrite."

Odin: "We have the same sort of... well, it appears they cancel. This'll be my first time fighting blindness while blind."

Temujin: "... I'd have thought you'd have a beard, at least a moustache, some decent stubble... Pass."

Yeonsangun: "I'd crush you- in fact, I think I will- face the hammer."

Napoleon III: "It's a horrible business, letting others fight for you- I'm my most warlike in this class, I never quite did much myself... yet plenty still died on behalf of my rule. It... well, I suppose it's much better that I'm here as a servant myself."

The Antikythera Mechanism: "I've got to know, since you monitor them- the stars: they always shine so brightly, piercing through my visions- is there some magical quirk that makes them do so? I can't stop thinking of them..."

Francis I of France: "So, the inherit- oh, different Francis, my pardon."

Ronald Knox: "I am blessed with the gift of knowing, don't try it."

---

Creator Notes: We’re so back. Song in title link.

[Scotcheroos]

I
Vidi
Vidi you can't do this to me
You can't just hit me with the 'muscle-loving mommy figure' right when I'm sleep deprived and my impulse control is at a competitive number of negative 45.