Monthly Create-A-Servant Contest

[Morg van Destro]

” Yes, I caused mortals to cease foreseeing their Moros.
Of what sort was the cure that you found for this affliction?
I caused blind Elpides to dwell within their breasts.
A great benefit was this you gave to mortals.”
-Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound

---

”Why do you continue this?”

“Why?”

“Does your pity truly extend so greatly, or is it mockery? You come and go as you please, knowing that I remain trapped for your entertainment. What joy you greet me with despite my circumstance, and you answer my question with ‘Why?’”

…

“You cannot even deny it, can you? How you must laugh with the others when you leave for Hope. What satisfaction must Doom take in this, a hopeless prisoner. A hopeless world. Tell me then, how much must I endure? When is my ending to come? Better to know it than to remain ignorant.”

“Your ending is beyond my sight. I am sorry.”

“Then pity it is. What wonder it is that even Fate feels pity.”

“It is not for pity nor satisfaction that I return whenever my duties allow. I am not some frivolous god who chases their whims when there is work to be done.”

“Then why come now? There is no ending here. Neither does Hope reside here any longer. Nothing resides here of worth to anyone. So tell me, End of All, why do you bother?”

“…Ever since you came into existence, I believe I hated that existence. Immutable and unshakeable, yet you spat on that very nature. You looked upon Fate, and bent it to your own ends, yet there was not a thing I could do. When they locked you away, when I knew you would no longer tamper with what I worked to maintain, I was happy.”

…

“It is a cruel joke, is it not? Hope was fated to be robbed from the world, leaving only me. Yet, here I am, wondering why such a thing is no longer humorous.
A world of certainty is a cruel thing, I have come to see. Without hope, they cannot face me. They only cower and scrape, empty and dull. Even the gods themselves cannot look me in the eye.
We are much the same in that regard. I was curious about the monster they feared as they did me. The being that would twist what was so carefully laid. I wanted to understand what Hope was.
I wanted to know you.”

“…Then you must be disappointed. An unneeded, unwanted vestige. A remnant. Scorned by the world.”

“The truth could not be farther.”

For the first time, she felt him. Even though her inescapable prison remained between them as it always had, she knew his arms encircled her.

“The world may scorn you as it does me, but that doesn’t matter.
I need you, Elpis.
You give me meaning.”

~♬~



Nice to meet you, Master! You can call me Moros, and this beautiful enchantment here is Elpis.

Moros. I am able to introduce myself.

I’m only hurrying things along. We don’t know how long we’ll be here. Could only be a couple minutes. Gotta use what time we have!

…Do what you like.

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Class: Avenger/Gatekeeper

Other Eligible Classes: Saver, Watcher

True Name: Elpis & Moros

Aliases: Hope, Doom, Fate, Destruction, All-Destroying God

Alignment: True Neutral

Attribute: Star Heaven

Origin: Greek Mythology

Region: Greece

Height: E: 166cm M: 177cm

Weight: E: 47kg M: 66kg

Traits: Divine Spirit, Divinity, Hominidae Servant, Humanoid, Immune to Pigify, Enuma Elish Nullification

Catalyst: A shard of a specific ancient pithos

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Talents:

Natural Enemies: Each other Greek gods

Likes: “When people make the most of their time.” “And when they can extend that time.” “I suppose.”

Dislikes: “...Never leave me, Moros. I don't want to be alone again.” “I would never dare dream of it. You are stuck with me until the end.”

Personality: Upon first impression, it would seem that Moros and Elpis have what should be the other’s demeanor. Moros is a cheerful and outgoing man that often seems to be the one dragging Elpis around wherever he goes. Contrastingly, Elpis is a dour and quiet woman who keeps to herself and does not outwardly return Moros’s obvious affection. They very much give off the impression of an unrequited odd couple, together more by circumstance than desire. The truth is somewhat more complicated, as most things are.

Moros’s disposition is different from back in the Age of Gods, having grown both from watching Humanity and Elpis’s influence. As a being of inevitability, the absolute confidence and nonchalance he exudes comes down to the certainty he possesses. As both knower and embodiment of “The End”, things like fear and shame are much harder for him to quantify. Even when faced with the uncertainty of how events will lead to “The End” or those that themselves can defy Fate, and therefore his certainty, concern is pointless. Things will move how they move.

Likewise, Elpis’s own personality and outlook has been impacted by her time trapped within Pandora’s Pithos. The once energetic and indomitable embodiment of Hope has ironically become somewhat hopeless. She still possesses a striking will and defiance but has gained an overall negative outlook on what can occur. They describe her domain as Hope, but it’s more accurate to say it is Expectation, with hope being only one direction it can flow. Even no longer being trapped in the jar is not enough to change this, but there is already someone who has given her hope once more.

Despite his more friendly demeanor, Moros doesn’t really care that much for Humanity. This is not to say he dislikes them, but more that he doesn’t particularly elevate them higher than anything else. They remain on the same level as any rock, insect, or god that crosses his path. It is Elpis, despite what happened, that still cares for others. She similarly does not raise Humanity above others, but she treasures them and wants them to continue reaching beyond themselves even if she would rather continue to stay distant. It is not a matter of contention between them, but it is a source of minor disagreements. Like an old couple that have discussed something so many times it’s simply routine.

Which brings us to the fact that, despite how one sided the relationship appears, it is undeniable on closer examination how genuine their feelings are. They are two who were pushed away by all others until only the one directly opposite them was left. Yet, it is that very opposition that gave them understanding no one else bothered to find. The clashing that should come from certainty and expectation instead meshes and enhances.

Moros acts as Elpis’s guiding force, taking her places and doing things she wants to go and do but cannot form or articulate. By that same token, Elpis is Moros’s limiter, stopping him when he goes too far or acting as his constant advisor in every situation. They balance each other out, just as they were meant to all along. Though, after her ordeal, Elpis is perhaps more reliant on Moros then he is on her. For him, she is the very thing that gives his existence meaning, but for her, he is the why she exists. He is her hope, and if something were to happen to him, then there truly is none.

Wish for the Grail: “My wish was already granted.”
Mine is as simple as it is hypocritical. I wish you were never trapped in that jar.
“Moros...”
It's not the end for us. I was fated to love you, and that will never change. If I can spare you that pain, that is what I want more than anything.
“You can't know that. You already said you can't see my fate. I might lose you.”
But you won't. I have Hope, after all.

ParametersParameters:
Strength: D
Endurance: A & D
Agility: E
Mana: A
Luck: - & EX
NP: A & EX

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Bond DefaultTo punish Humanity and Prometheus who bestowed fire on them, the gods placed every curse and evil they could within a jar. They then formed a woman they called Pandora and gifted both her and the jar to Prometheus’s brother. Despite Prometheus’s warnings, his brother accepted the gift, and Pandora opened the jar, unleashed the curses on Humanity. However, before the final one could escape, the jar was closed, locking it within.

That final curse was Elpis, goddess of Hope. The meaning behind her presence within the jar as well as what it means that she remained trapped within has been debated, whether she chose to stay in the jar or forced to by the gods’ schemes is in question as much as if this meant Humanity still had Hope or were spared Hope by keeping it locked away. Whatever the reason, this mysterious goddess is truly the last one to remain with Humanity, though that title is often bestowed on Astrea, because she had no choice.

As for her opposite, Moros, he is one of the gods of Fate born from Nyx, making him brother to both Thanatos and the Moirai. Unlike most deities, he was seemingly content to perform his duties and little else, for even mention of him is scant. He was never to be a loved or lauded figure, mortal and god alike only acknowledging him when necessary, not wishing to draw his attention. After all, when one’s existence centers solely around the ending of all things, no one is ever happy to see you.

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Bond 1While Elpis existed similarly to Eros long before many other gods, though also like him, she had yet to obtain form or consciousness. It was only after Gaia began planning the revolt against Ouranos that Elpis began to fully awaken. By the time of the Titanomachy, Elpis had become fully manifested and fighting alongside them. Once they were gone, however, the gods themselves began to turn their eyes on her. With Ouranos foretelling that Zeus’s first son would overthrow him if he was born, they began to ponder if they needed a being like Hope, whose only influence so far only inspired revolt.

After swallowing his wife to prevent what was foretold, Zeus worked with the other gods to create a vessel to lock Hope away. Eventually, they crafted what would eventually be known as Pandora’s Box, trapping Hope within. They promptly forgot about Hope and continued as normal, leaving the goddess to ponder her own circumstances.

It was not till Prometheus brought fire to Humanity and angered the gods that the jar came back to their minds. They opened it, not to release their prisoner, but to fill it with every evil and curse they could to lay a trap for Humanity. Knowing the story of Pandora, what came next is clear, but it was not Pandora that resealed the jar before Elpis could escape, but the gods, ensuring that the greatest curse, which was as much danger to them as Humanity, remained within.

And Elpis did. Able to watch all others escape her prison, yet doomed to ebb in the darkness forever. Never to do as she was made to, never to inspire or aid another, never to work upon the world. Hope remained with Humanity, this is true. However, Hope only remained within that jar, not their hearts. No, there was no Hope in that world, and soon enough, there was no Hope in the pithos.

Then, one day, a voiced called out to her.

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Bond 2Class Skills:

Territory Fortification B

Moros normally would not qualify as a Gatekeeper, Watcher being the more natural Class for him. However, his manifestations as “one who guards Fate” by “imprisoning Hope” grants him this Class as a consequence.

While it should be lower, both his conceptual manifestation and the size of the Territory he is guarding has elevated this Skill it admirable levels. As the “jar” containing Elpis, she is his Territory, and he is the Fortification. Being near her slightly buffs his Strength and Agility by at most a single rank, but more importantly, being the Fortification means any damage inflicted on her is instead transferred to him instead.

To kill him is the same as breaking the “jar”, unleashing Hope upon the world.

Avenger D-

For Elpis, the act of gathering grudges is an unintentional thing. While her remaining trapped in the jar has been seen as a blessing, others resent the action, whether interpreted as her own choice or the machinations of others. Add in the fact that any damage she receives is taken by Moros due to his Territory Fortification, and this Skill’s ability to generate mana is even further diminished.

Oblivion Correction A

Hope abandoned in a jar. Some say it was chance, others that she chose it, and a select few that it was by design. Elpis cannot help but remember. In that prison, all she had was darkness and her memories of what lay just beyond its wall. Though the world would one day remember hope, Elpis would never forget.

Self-Replenishment (Mana) E-EX

In many ways, revenge is simply hope for retribution. Of a righting of wrongs. Hope itself is a defiant concept, fitting almost too well with the revenge that Avengers often center themselves around. Ironically, this puts her closer in existence to someone like Nemesis, though while Nemesis is a punisher and balancer of scales, Elpis metes out her authority no matter the person.

While her own personal ability to recover mana is low, the EX comes from her ability to bestow it on others under the effect of Delusional Virtue with a higher rank. As a “source of Hope” it is natural for her to give it to others until their own goals are accomplished.

Magic Resistance A

Cancel spells of A-Rank or below, no matter what greater magecraft it is. In practice, the Servant is untouchable to modern magi.

Divine Cores of the Unwanted Gods C

While both were through and through deities, they were never favored nor particularly looked upon well. There were no cults devoted to them, no temples and altars erected in their honor. Even Elpis only obtains passing fame due to the story she is attached to. Despite their power, despite the fear both god and mortal had for them, their status as Divine Spirits is lower than most.

While demonstrating their diminished power, this also gives them a certain leeway, like manifesting without the need for a vessel, since Moros acts a “vessel that contains Elpis” alongside the belief that “Hope remained with Humanity”, something that would not be possible with their original Divine status.

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Bond 3Personal Skills:

Double Summon A

While technically two separate Heroic Spirits, Moros has tagged along in Elpis’s Saint Graph by acting as the conceptual “jar” she is contained in. As such, he has manifested in the Gatekeeper Class while Elpis is the Avenger he is “protecting Humanity from”.

Moros Olethros A

The sole epithet of Moros sounds as charming as his own name, because it means “destruction”. However, in a similar way to how Hope is viewed negatively, Olethros is viewed in a positive light, as it more accurately represents “necessary destruction”. It is destruction that gives way towards renewal and better things afterward, being a necessary part of the cycle of fate.

This Skill allows him to repair what has been broken by his hands. Not only repair, but somewhat mold and renew as he does so. Shattering a sword will make it come back without a single flaw, punching a computer will make it work like new, and breaking a limb will mend it as though nothing occurred. This ability might have been more useful in the hands of one with a higher Strength stat, but it does still have its uses.

Precursor of Strife B

Hope is the expectation that things will change in a desired direction, whether by action or inaction. This direction is not always positive. In fact, it can often times be negative. Revolution and rebellions are often founded on hope, after all. It can be said that “Hope for a better tomorrow” has claimed just as many lives as hate.

Those around Elpis begin experiencing feelings of discontentment. Not necessarily because they begin to think things are bad, but more that they feel as though things could be better. That they could be if you put in the effort to make them so. Essentially, it infects them with “Hope”.

While those with strong wills or mental fortitude may be able to resist its call, it is also a devious Skill that preys on one’s preexisting desires, so it can be difficult for one to realize they are being influenced. Unlike many mental effects, madness actually makes it easier to fall victim, given they tend to be more led by their desires than others.

Delusional Virtue C

Hope was not viewed in the brightest of lights during her time. In a world where time and again Fate was proven immutable, Hope was little more than a foolish delusion. Looking towards different circumstances and wishing they were so was the essence of folly that prevented them from doing what needed to be done. It was a disquieter, filling people with delusions of grandeur and an inability to accept the immutable. A source of conflict and enemy of peace.

In many ways, they are right. What is Hope if not the illusion that allows us to make dreams real?

This rank of this Skill should be higher. However, Elpis as an Avenger is “hopeless” after her long imprisoning and the willful ignorance of the gods and mortals towards her. This Skill, which would be similar to Pioneer of the Stars in a different Class, instead works in tandem with Precursor of Strife to enforce their will to reach their desires. Few things can sway them from their course when it is effect, though it suffers from the same weaknesses as Precursor of Strife.

Moros’s Pithos EX

Due to a later mistranslation, the eponymous Pandora’s Box was born, though in truth the container of the world’s curses was a jar, a pithos. This Skill, much like the pedanticness of whether or not it was a jar or a box, doesn’t really add or detract from Moros. It only exists to symbolize the existence that allows both him and Elpis to be summoned as they are. When Moros dies and the jar is shattered, both he and Elpis will disappear.

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Bond 4It was strange for any god to give her attention, but of all them, one of the few she would ever expect was Moros. The god of Doom was not one to spend time with anyone outside of his sisters, nor was anyone to seek him out. In that, as in so many ways, they were opposites. However, his presence here could only mean one thing, even if such a thing would have been unthinkable to her before.

“This is to be my ending?”

Strangely enough, this was not. Nor were the many times he would come after. It bothered her that such a being would come to speak with its opposite, but the more time passed, the more she began to look forward to those days. It gnawed at her. Why would the one her existence defied choose to do this, and why did she hope…

She finally asked him, and Hope truly was there once more.

Though he would not free her, she began to understand why. It was not time, and if anyone had to adhere to destiny, it was one of the Fates. Still, him being there was enough. As the rest of the world forgot about her, there was one who refused.

Then, one day, light poured into that dark prison, and the first thing she saw was his smiling face.

“The End is here. It is time for the next beginning.”

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Bond 5Noble Phantasms:

The End has Already Passed

Theos Panôlethros

Rank: A
Classification: Fate
Range: 50
Maximum Targets: Indeterminant

Do not dread it. Do not run from it. The End will come no matter what. Accept it, and in accepting it, take hold of it. This I grant to you. Know your demise. Theos Panôlethros.

You are going to die.
That is the inescapable fact from the moment one is brought into the world. Not just mortals, but even gods, even time, even Death will die. And at the end of all things, even Fate will vanish.

Moros’s names are few, yet they speak directly to his power and purpose. Fate. Doom. Destruction. All-Destroying. This is not from malice nor joy. As fearfully he is contemplated, the most accurate description of his domain is Inevitability. That which will occur, and from which no one can escape.

While the Moirai are the weavers of Fate, Moros is himself the Fate they weave. As their elder brother, he is the one who dictates Fate, more specifically “the ending” to them, naturally being closer to Atropos than his other sisters. In every situation, no matter the person or thing, he knows how “things are meant to end”, though much like how Atropos needed to be the one who snipped the thread of Fate, Moros himself cannot “cause a Fate to end” unless he is destined to.

Other than allowing him to view “The End” it also makes it very difficult to harm him, as his identity as the personification of Fate means he must exist because they are paradoxically fated to take the actions after they would otherwise kill him. This naturally can be circumvented by high-ranking Fate alteration, including Luck checks, but he is more easily defeated by simply targeting Elpis, as they are conceptually “using Hope to defy Fate” by doing so.

The final ability he possesses is the ability to grant his visions to others, something he was known for in his own time. He will show them their own Fate, and by doing so, turn it into certainty. A Fate one has witnessed is much harder to overturn than normal, as it internalizes the idea that it is meant to occur. Even the most rebellious and lucky of Servants would need to go to great lengths, and possibly sacrifice, to overturn it. However, it is only the end that they see. All the steps leading towards it are still a mystery.

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Bond ExtraAs before as it was after, neither were given further attention for the remainer of the Age of Gods. The only occurrence of note was when Pheme, goddess of Fame, naturally made herself known. More than that, she claimed to be the child of Elpis, declaring it just as loudly as she would all other renown and scorn. As for the father, she seemed uncharacteristically content not to say.

As for her parents, Moros and Elpis spent more time among mortals, many stories of Moros showing people their deaths originating from this time, but also stories of heroes rising against oppression. When the time finally came for them to leave, both decided to remain behind, choosing to fade away into the world rather than join the other gods on the Reverse Side.

Hope truly did remain with Humanity. And so did Fate.

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RelationshipsGilgamesh: "Good thing you learned that lesson, huh?”
“Moros, that wasn’t very nice.”

Artoria Pendragon: "A tragic ending, wasn’t it?"
“Acceptance or defiance. Acceptance is always that pretty, but I do wonder what would’ve happened if she chose your path.”

Merlin: "Quite the admirable outlook you have there."
“Is it though?”
“Well, I like to think so.”

Balin the Savage: "But don’t you need to…"
“If it were that simple, he already would have. No, I think his path has already set in stone.”
“…”
“I know that look. Always have to make trouble, don’t you?”
“And you never make enough.”

Culhwch and Olwen: "I gotta admit, they played that well."
“Very well played.”

Sir Orfeo: "Orpheus…"
“He got a second chance, in a way. I think he would’ve been happy knowing another succeeded where he failed.”
“…Maybe.”

Naoise: "…"
"You’re holding on a little tightly, aren’t you.”
“…”
“I’m not going anywhere. Have a little Hope, right?”
“…You’re terrible.”

Feng Meng: "Well, that’s unfortunate."
“Defying your Fate is not always to your benefit.”
“As if we needed another showing of that.”

Adolphe Sax: "You really put on a good show, my friend."
“You really do.”

Lady Sarashina: "A guide along Fate’s many paths."
“She is closer to me than she is to you.”
“And did you think that would bother me?”
“A little.”
“Maybe you need a reminder of how much I enjoy people like you.”
“H-hey! Calm down! Not here!”

The Antikythera Mechanism: "I remember you. That Poseidon. If you knew him, it certainly wasn’t the ending you would expect."
“I think that makes it all the better for it. We see the fruits of his Hope.”
“I’m surprised you would be so generous.”
“It’s not like I hate them. I simply don’t want to be around them.”

Young Werther: "The essence of a self-fulfilling prophecy."
“And there is not a thing I can do for him.”
“Do not cry for him, Elpis. This was unavoidable.”
“That doesn’t make it better!”
“I know. I know.”

Parikshit: “I think he got it, you know?"
“Got what?”
“The meaning of life. That sort of thing.”
“Maybe his life.”
“There’s that smile I love so much.”

Wu Zetian and Di Renjie: "…Will they?"
“Oh, absolutely no question. I do not even need to know the ending to say that.”
“Good.”

Sarah & Asmodeus: "And what is that look meant to be."
“Nothing. Just reminiscing about a certain night.”
“Hmph. I don’t seem to recall.”
“Might be for the best.”
“Or maybe I need a reminder.”
“You might need to wait.”
“Maybe I’ve done enough waiting.”
“What’s a little more?”

Pasiphae: "She’s a bit… extreme with her desires, isn’t she?"
“The gods are cruel.”
“Yeah. They really are.”

Alcyone & Ceyx: "Some real Fate defiers over here."
“Was that bitterness I heard?”
“Defying Fate is not always to one’s benefit.”
“Seemed to work out for them.”

Nimrod: "Is there even a greater figure that stands in defiance of Fate and those who maintain it?"
“…sigh I concede. I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for. That being said, we do what I want today.”
“As if that was in question.”

Jane Margaret: "Would you fight for me that hard?"
“Of course, though I think the positions would probably be reversed.”
“There is nothing I wouldn’t do.”
“Then I’ll make sure it never comes to that.”

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Bond FinalExpectation and Inevitability



“Are you still there?”

“I am.”

“...It frightens me.”

“I will not leave you.”

“That is what frightens me the most.”

“Why is that?”

“It brings me to hope again.”

“Would that be so great a torment?”

“I would not wish to find it once more only to lose it.”

“...I do not understand fear. What occurs will occur. There is no reason for it to cause distress.”

“...”

“Elpis?”

“...”

“.....
If you cannot bring yourself to Hope, then let me Hope for you.”

“...Moros?”

“I will always be at your side. I will never leave you. Even beyond the End of all things, I will still be there with you.
So please, let me be your Hope.”

...

“You horrible Doom. You damned Fate.”

“I mostly certainly am.”

“My Hope.”

“Until the End.”

Hope is Lost

Elpis

Rank: EX
Classification: Anti-Fate
Range: 100
Maximum Targets: Indeterminant

You promised me. You told me you would never leave me. It wasn't supposed to end like this!
No. This was Inevitable, wasn't it, Moros? Hope was always meant to be with Humanity. They would even steal it if it meant they could have it.
So take it! My Hope is already gone! I have nothing left to give!

“Only Elpis remained there in an unbreakable home within under the rim of the great jar, and did not fly out at the door; for ere that, the lid of the jar stopped her, by the will of Aigis-holding Zeus who gathers the clouds. But the rest, countless plagues, wander amongst men; for earth is full of evils and the sea is full. Of themselves diseases come upon men continually by day and by night, bringing mischief to mortals silently; for wise Zeus took away speech from them. So is there no way to escape the will of Zeus.”
-Hesiod, Works & Days

Elpis remained with Humanity, but this was not by choice. Not by some desire to watch over and aid them. It was a prison. With Hope, they may begin thinking for themselves. Questioning why they needed the gods. Why things had to be the way they were. Just as Gaia defied Ouranos, just as Zeus defied Chronos, Zeus feared the day would come that he too was defied and overthrown. More than that, all the gods feared such. So, when Pandora opened the jar and unleashed the curses upon the world, they ensured that Hope, the greatest curse of all, remained trapped within.

But now the jar is broken. Moros is gone. Fate has died, and Hope has lost her last respite. Elpis is not long for this world. Or maybe it’s better to say that she does not wish to remain in this world. The only thing tying her here was her jar, and with that gone, there is no longer a need.
Humanity outgrew her long ago.

A Noble Phantasm that is activated only after Moros, and therefore the “Pithos”, has been eliminated. Hope has been unleashed once more upon the world, and Fate has suffered greatly for it just as Hope suffered for it. This is her revenge.

Certainty has vanished. Causality has gone astray. Nothing will function as it should. Then again, perhaps it will. The future has lost its footing, and the present is sure to follow. There is no peace. There is no respite. There is only Hope. Hope that all this will end soon. But the Ending has already left this world, hasn’t it?

For the short time she remains in this world, the impossible is possible. No ifs, ands, or buts. This does not mean it will occur, but that it will happen if someone does it. This doesn’t only affect people, but objects and animals too, because even the rocks have their own hopes, even if they are beyond human understanding. And with the buff this Noble Phantasm gives to her Skills, they will act on them.

The only way to stop this is either wait out the storm or kill her amongst the maelstrom.

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Sources FaceClaim

Bond Final

Songs are (in case their links don't work in the future):
[Persona 3 Reload – Full Moon, Full Heart]
[Unrequited Eternity – The Unrealized Dream]
[Persona 3 Reload - I Will Protect You -Reload-]

NotesRecently beat P3R, so you can probably tell what inspired this semi examination on Fate and Hope. Actually all started because one of the antagonist's persona's was Moros, and I got curious. Contemplations on Pandora's story and the various versions and implications of Elpis's role in it only solidified the idea of unifying them, given how the Greek interpretation of Fate falls in opposition to the concept of Hope. The lack of material on either even gave me more freedom on how to form the characterization as well as story.

If I ever were to make them in their individual Classes, I would probably use Robin

and Sunday

from Honkai. Really work with the idea of mirroring and contrasting.

[Vididii]

The air changed when the broken blade was pried from its resting place. Unsealing the Fox, the Coven’s number had grown to seven, a 7th spirit origin now amongst them. Seven of course, was a number of certain significance. Unshackled by a (proper) master, in a land beneath the waking world with enough mana to keep them around, seven servants posed a risk to natural order. Even in the flowery end, full autonomy could not be obliged. Shielded from the all-seeing gaze of the Sage of Flowers, it would be a [i]different[\i] set of omnipotent eyes that would take notice: The Counter Force.

In calculating which agent to send, the variables of each of the Coven’s number were considered. The new age mage, Dion Fortune, was merely a wraith, and could be dealt with by mediocre magic resistance. Lasses Birgitta, while specialized against the faith, was easily manageable once past her undead summons. Annowre, even with her tower defended like Merlin’s, was a consummate failure in combat- any sense of deftness would be suitable. There was Jezebel, categorically weak to the faith, Garnier, an animal of habit and easily tracked, the fifth tail of Tamamo, hampered by lingering curses and an unfavorable class. Their founder, the lover joined with Lilith, would require care, but a Saint could snuff the imperfect fusion out… thus the conditions of the agent were set:

A Saint in a class to bolster magic resistance, with a quick style of combat, a way to track down targets, and could combat witches and a demon… A candidate was selected.

Saint Walpurga, armed with a great needle for an epee as a Saber, would be loosed upon the coven. A silent thread tied to Gilles on one of his hunts, she would stalk them, a red spectre on the horizon as they traveled across the floral continents. She would wait for a night where there was an argument of particular magnitude, causing division, heads separating to cool off, spreading out between the plains. Her Crimson habit becoming but a flash across the sparkling night, she would begin her grand assault.


The failure was spectacular, and she was torn asunder. Her pieces were gathered, and became something else.

---

Witch of the Defiled Oil

Saint Walpurga Alter



Class: Alter-Ego
Other Classes: Saber, Caster, Ruler, Alter Ego
Alignment: Balanced Empty
Place of Origin: The Reverse Side

Parameters:

STR: C
END: A
AGI: D
MGI: A++
LCK: E

---

They had known about her since Gilles had come back to them that day, weeks prior. It had been the weakest among them, Dion, who had noticed- she was the only one among them who enjoyed the werewolf’s company after all. They had been traveling across the Atlantic Expanse for certain catalysts at the time, so the issue of the interloper could easily be handled should they keep moving. Once they acquired the offshoot they sought, that would be their time to lure her in.

Alcina and Dion would descend into Birgitta’s Chapel, locked off to the outside world to conduct the summoning. Their goal wasn’t a witch, but an American magus of recent demise, a man who had held a false world for decades within his grasp. Jezebel would gather a great storm in false discontent to provide an advantageous cover for the saint, while Garnier would disappear with presence concealment- Annowre and Gucci were to play the easy marks.

Even with the four of them outside in unison, they almost perished there. Spells were batted away and subdued in a cascade of blessed oil, her protections flaring in the storm, dodging between them, attaching strings through flesh with her Convent’s technique. Three of them were even reduced to a state of false death, staved off through Gucci’s stasis imposition and rituals prepared by Birgitta. Using Jezebel in her eternal desperation to cling to life, she would cut open the lock to the hidden chapel, destroying the space within space. As she slew Fortune in but a second, engaging Alcina who leapt to defend Birgitta, she would suddenly be slammed across the battlefield through the mud.

In their bid to summon the creator of the Oz Experiment as an accomplice, the hidden trio had instead failed, their ritual calling upon the woman who had become Princess, then Queen, within- Ozma. As they would speak with the woman from the emerald empire, their quick pitch to convince her to join them created visible worry and disgust upon her face. A light would shine from the wand she was beginning to brandish at them- A woman nearly eight feet in stature would appear and put herself between them.They would cut a deal- Ozma returning to the throne, and the braided behemoth remained with them

Dorothy Gale would be on Walpurga at once, only a single breath afforded as the saint scrambled out of the mud. The pair would whip around the plains, the Agent being slowly cornered as her tools faltered. The Rider was faster, shrugged off her sacraments, and used no magecraft of her own to be sealed away. She was simply a hateful woman, swearing her services to those whom she despised in exchange for her beloved’s safety.

The last thing Walpurga would see was the earth, as her body was pummeled into the flower-dotted firmament.

---

Class Skills:

Magic Resistance: E

A class skill which allows the holder to resist and repel magecraft. It's rank was originally A, but has been fully degraded by Distortion.

Riding: D

A class skill often utilized by the knight classes allowing for the control of mounts.

A halfhearted gift from a guilty woman- Alter is granted a small bit of autonomy through this skill, able to walk and run on the needles through her limbs in quadrupedal fashion.

Territory Creation (Body): C

A side effect of Alter’s original Noble Phantasm, it springing from where her bones were buried- her body is considered an advantageous territory which generates mana and quickens casting.

Despite not being a Caster, she possessed this class skill as a Saber- though the (Body) attribute was added through Distortion.


Divinity:-

The skill has grown into her Saint Graph due to the effects of Poisoned Offspring. However, it has not yet manifested a rank, apparently still gestating.

---

Personal Skills:

Distortion: A+++

A skill with which one's class is changed, and class skill along with it. The rank has been given multiple positive modifiers as more alterations were made.

The Class Skill of Magic Resistance was expended to modify her Territory Creation skill and invert her Noble Phantasm.

Wolf's Anointed: C

Lathered in Garnier's ointment and layered in guiding magecraft by Fortune, Wolf's Anointed induces a slow variant of the Shapeshift skill where the holder will mutate over time into a more bestial form. It is also the starting point in which Distortion was induced within her saint graph.

Accursed Familiar : A

Alter-Ego has been molded into a group familiar for the Coven, automatically generating the flesh and blood which is required for witchcraft, and taking on any negative effects or vows in place of the user's of Curse Arts.

Due to this, the skill provides a strong healing factor.

Pact Bane: B

In a similar matter to accursed familiar, Caster Jezebel has transferred part of her contract with Baal to Alter. In addition to receiving punishments for Jezebel's breaches, she now passively summons storms in her vicinity.

Poison-Born Surrogate: A

A skill generated by Agrippina and Angrboda=Jadis, which further enabled all the rest. Agrippina's poisons have been applied to Angrboda's discarded placenta, which has been converted into the various bindings adorning Alter-Ego. Fusing with her flesh, Alter was then inflicted with a form of Madness Enhancement from Agrippina's toxins, becoming that of a largely mindless beast. In turn, she is marked as a child of Angrboda, Divinity generated in her Saint Graph.

---

Noble Phantasm

Defiled Chrism of The Unholy Night
Hexenöl

Type: Excretion-Type Noble Phantasm
Rank: B
Range: Self


A sickly golden oil which is constantly exuded from Alter's skeleton, draining out into her body, primarily expressed through the mouth.

A twisted version of her normal NP, Walburgisoleum, the oil has become a mirrored version. Instead of repelling witches and warding off ill fates and sickness, it has become a repulsive, hazardous miasma. As it drains out of her and collects, those without protections will find their luck and agility parameters begin to fall rapidly, a phantom disease attacking their body. It has no distinct form or symptoms, but it seems to operate by attacking the body's mana flow, as well as having a slightly acidic property. Additionally, the oil provides INCREDIBLY dense magical energy when used in any form of witchcraft, being 300% more effective than standard bodily fluids. Because of this, practitioners are immune to the adverse effects with a simple defensive ward upon themselves.

Alter's production rate is utterly astounding due to the heavy customization and overloading of her saint graph. Pushed to the bursting point, she pumps out a gallon approximately every 15-20 seconds- this is transported away by the censer-gag mystic code screwed into the back of her skull.

---

Walpurga would never wake up. Knowing that her death would likely cause a greater force to be dispatched, the Coven chose to keep her alive. Of course, changes were made- many of them were of experimental minds, using their new captive for trials and as a substitute. At first it was slow- although Birgitta could break through her sacramental protections, and Gilles’s ointment could aid in altering her data, she herself was fundamentally a ward against witches. She was made of sterner stuff, blessed by the lord and contracted through the Counter Force’s reinforced container. It didn’t help that the Rider who had put her down would guard her like a dog in a vain attempt to stop the tinkering- only Annowre’s suggestions and Alcina’s binding vow upon her marriage prevented her from attacking them outright. The growing posse would soon however find themselves a lead in their next summon and next member, Agrippina. The mother of the beast had groomed her own child into a tyrant after all- bringing purity to vileness was her specialty.

By the time Walpurga’s eyes opened, she had become an Alter- hair becoming shock white, limbs bound to disallow movement, and a horrid cascade of oil leaking from her throat like smooth bile. The oil, and its warding off of witches, had actually been the way in which she had been changed- the property had simply been reversed, drawing in witchcraft instead. Although her feast day was seen as a way to ward off witches, the superstition of the tradition had brought forth the idea that Walpurga’s Night was on that specific day precisely because that was when Witches held their grand gatherings. Besides, the same feast day had once been attributed to a pagan goddess of grain before Catholic conversion- the transfer of the day’s meaning was written in her essence.

The deeds would merely be strengthened as the Coven grew. Lewis-Ariels would take the last of her divine protection, and Angrboda would claim the flesh left over as her own kin. Dorothy would even allow the Alter-ego a rank of Riding as to allow her slight movement- unable to look at her the entire process of the transfer. Sinmara’s child granted her a soft protection against flame in a show of naive goodwill- only their mother did not partake in the corruptive group project.

As it came time for the fall of Merlin’s tower, the coven would split in preparation for the birth of their own Worldgarden Territories. Alter, who’s will had become nothing but a desire to follow commands of the others, would station herself upon the island in the empty basin left for her- the oil excretions from her slowly filling it into a reservoir of malignant liquid witchcraft. The others would visit, linking their domains to take advantage of the Alter-Ego’s gifts in preparation of The Ritual. Although she had become mindless, and was formerly an antagonist, several in the Coven had become quite fond of her- she was akin to a pet, or at least a pet project. And thus, they wanted to make sure she could flourish- after all, she had so much growing to do…

---

Relationships:

There is no longer any capacity for emotion within her. Thus, only what she registers as responses will be recorded

---

Dion Fortune, Gilles Garnier and Agrippina dote upon her like a pet.

Angrbodda cares for her shrewdly as an adopted mother.

Alcina=Lilith and Lasses Birgitta view her with a sense of pride at the handiwork of they and their
compatriots.

Laevateinn looked at her with concern.

NARNIA looked at her with regret.

Tamamo Gucci, Annowre, and Jezebel eye her with disgust, but appreciate her as a useful asset.

Lewis=Ariels does not seem to see her at all.

Sinmara eyes her with a certain wariness, tinged with pity and reproach.

Dorothy Gale does not look at her.

Opinions are only magnified as she grows.

---

Notes!

I better see some whimsical fucking secret santa prompts, I don't have a deep pocket of edgy concepts lads- three months has just about run me dry.

[SpoonyViking]

CASTER OF THE FRAGMENTED IDENTITY

Caster's Face Claim

(Source: https://diabolik-lovers.fandom.com/wiki/Carla_Tsukinami)

"Ah, send me not back to my hell, Master, for I have no power over you; whether I am capricious tyrant or yielding slave, it’s only because you’ve made me after your own heart."

True Name:

Spoiler:

The Right Honourable Lord Byron

Gender: Male
Height/Weight: 174cm 89kg
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Place of Origin: England

Parameters:

Strength: B (E)
Endurance: C (E)
Agility: B (C)
Mana: A
Luck: D
Noble Phantasm: A+

Class Skills:

Territory Creation: A

Hear me, hear me—
Astarte! my beloved! speak to me:
I have so much endured—so much endure—
Look on me!

Creation of a Temple dedicated to the goddess Astarte, which is superior to a Workshop, is possible. Strangely enough, Byron has the necessary rank in this Skill despite not being a magus from the Age of the Gods; after all, he was born long after its end - wasn't he?

It should be noted that despite having the skill to set up such a territory - and he will always try to do so, as proof of his love for Astarte - Byron doesn't necessarily have the temperament to make the best strategic use of it; depending on his mood, he might just lounge around it, unconcerned about actually setting up proper defences, or he might walk around without a care in the world for defence or preparations, having basically only wasted all the time in setting up his territory.

(It should also be noted that not much of the above is actually true: Byron will carefully set up elaborate defensive measures of all sorts in his Temple, and he will also make sure to not go anywhere without having escape routes back to his lair in mind. The seeming carelessness is simply a ruse to rile and torment his own Master.)

(It's true that he doesn't like to be cooped up for long, though - he'd much rather invite "guests" to his Temple instead of simply setting up a fortress and never leaving it.)


Item Construction: B+

Lo! the spell now works around thee,
And the clankless chain hath bound thee;
O'er thy heart and brain together
Hath the word been pass'd—now wither!

Using the same techniques employed in the construction of "concubines of the dead" statuettes of the goddess Astarte, Byron specializes in crafting autonomous human-sized statues that house artificial spirits. Most of their abilities are simple in scope - strength, speed, reflexes, and durability - but they display a much greater capacity for autonomous thinking and coordinated attacks than similar creations by modern magecraft; in large numbers, they are effective even against Servants.

Perhaps surprisingly, Byron enjoys creating these familiars; even when he's bored of everything else, crafting these tends to always cheer him up. He doesn't like to employ them against strong opponents, though; they're physical expressions of his art, and he doesn't want to see them destroyed - not unless it's against an opponent that has truly captured Byron's interest.

(That is, again, merely a façade; Byron sees these familiars as nothing more than tools to be used at his convenience. He's not foolish enough to waste them, though.)

A Concubine of the Dead

Personal Skills:

Aesthetic Appreciation: A+
An infatuation with works of art, especially those related to literature and folklore; if Byron happens to see a Noble Phantasm that possesses artistic anecdotes, there is an extremely high chance that he might be able to figure out its true name. Even for a writer of Byron's calibre, his Rank in this Skill is surprisingly high, comparable to that of someone who had several lifetimes to gather such stories.


Demonic Visage: EX
“Mad, bad, dangerous to know.” A Skill that combines natural beauty with clothing and talent at seduction. It increases Byron’s negotiation success rate with people of all genders and sexualities - after all, his powers of seduction aren't limited to mere sex appeal, but rather come from a more primaeval charisma capable of enticing something far beyond - but also far baser - than mere lust. People want to be clay in Byron's hands.


Iron Determination (False): A

Between astonishment and grief, I was tearless.

A composite Skill that combines the effects of Valor and Calm and Collected. As someone who endured pain, fear, and despair for more time than a single lifetime could count, Byron can ignore any feelings that might otherwise disturb the mind. As long as he doesn't find forgiveness and redemption from his beloved Astarte, nothing can ever reach him.


Shamanism (False): A++

If it be so.—Spirits of earth and air,
Ye shall not thus elude me: by a power,
Deeper than all yet urged, a tyrant-spell,
Which had its birthplace in a star condemn'd,
The burning wreck of a demolish'd world,
A wandering hell in the eternal space;
By the strong curse which is upon my soul,
The thought which is within me and around me,
I do compel ye to my will.—Appear!

A Skill to force a dialogue with spirits from a position of dominance. By the imposition of a contract, Byron can forcibly borrow the spirits’ powers. As a Heroic Spirit, he is always accompanied by seven powerful Elementals bound to his materialization; collectively, they’re capable of enacting physical interference similarly to a Marble Phantasm and are comparable in power to a Noble Phantasm. They are his main weapons in battle.

Noble Phantasms:

Childe Clarence's Pilgrimage
False Infidel's Inward Hell

Type: Anti-Unit (Self)
Rank: C
Range: -
Max. No. of Targets: 1 person

George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron. A man whose very name has become synonymous with a tempestuous temperament, a callous disposition, and deep-seated melancholia; the man who fathered a bastard child in his own sister and cruelly abandoned his own wife and daughter; who used women as it pleased him, and broke rules for no reason other than because he could. That he was also a magus from an esteemed lineage (Manfred was an embellishment of his own life, after all) is entirely secondary to the life he led; is it any surprise, then, that he’d be summoned as a Heroic Spirit?

Yes.

The truth is that Caster isn’t Lord Byron himself, but a being on top of whom Byron’s legend was overlaid: the unknown vampire whose acquaintance led Byron to write "I have besides a personal dislike to 'vampires', and the little acquaintance I have with them would by no means induce me to reveal their secrets"; the vampire who would become the basis for Byron’s Augustus Darvell character, which in turn would inspire John Polidori’s Lord Ruthven, the archetypal novel vampire and a character who was long believed to be a depiction of Lord Byron himself.

It’s this entanglement of legends with reality that forms the basis for Caster’s Childe Clarence’s Pilgrimage Noble Phantasm. Unlike other Noble Phantasms, Childe Clarence’s Pilgrimage isn’t a trump card at all; however, if not for it, Caster wouldn’t even be qualified for summoning in the first place.

What Child Clarence’s Pilgrimage does is permanently seal Caster’s identity, erasing the name and memories of the unknown Dead Apostle who made a pact with a certain Vampire Princess so long ago; erasing nearly every trace of that vampire, in fact. All of Caster’s Parameters and Skills (especially the magecraft which invokes the goddess Astarte to rule over spirits) come from that nameless Dead Apostle; and yet, he’s only allowed them because they fit both the legend of "Lord Byron, the man who served as the basis for the archetypal vampire in English literature" and the fiction of "Lord Ruthven, the vampire who was based on a real man".

The Vampyre
Legend of the Demonic Castle

Type: Anti-Unit (Self)
Rank: A+
Range: -
Max. No. of Targets: 1 person

Not a heroic feat enshrined in myth and legend, but the sublimation of what legends say "an archetypal vampire should be", The Vampyre grants Caster an increase in his physical Parameters (already listed), high-speed regeneration tied to the lunar phases, the Skills Bloodsucking, Battle Continuation, and One Cloaked in Death at Rank A, and the Skill Presence Concealment at Rank A+. Unlike other vampires of legend, he suffers no weakness to sunlight and holy symbols, but he is vulnerable to magecraft that affects evil spirits.

This Noble Phantasm represents Caster just as deeply as the Sword of Promised Victory represents a certain King of Knights; at the same time, it's a hollow effigy of something that has nothing to do with this hollow Servant. After all, all it does is force Caster to conform to a mold of an "archetypal vampire"; nothing in it represents the person - the vampire - he was. Such a being has been lost to the passing of time, to be replaced forever by this amalgam of meaningless fiction.

If there’s one thing that can be said to be true about Caster is his nature as a vampire, that is, a cursed corpse who drains the lives of others. That is, after all, why he once entered into a pact with the Vampire Princess: to live forever, young and beautiful. If asked about his wish for the Grail, Caster will more often than not just lie for some petty amusement, but it's possible he might tell the truth: he wants to obtain an everlasting body granted by the Third Magic, an existence even superior to that of a Dead Apostle.

He's lying, of course, though he doesn't realise it. He can’t speak truthfully of his wish, after all: because of the nature of Caster's summoning, he doesn’t even remember why he sought immortality in the first place. There’s just not enough left of him to even conceive of a wish, much less give voice to it.

"Farewell, my foolish Master, forever fare thee well; you were lovely to the last! Now, before we part, allow me to give you back your heart. If ever we should meet again, greet me not with silence and tears, but go with me a-roving late into the bright night."

[SpoonyViking]

Huh. Why don't the images show up?

[MuramasaMachII]

No clue. Also, your formatting is broken with the title of the Personal Skills section.
Might be something you did with the image type though?

[DracoScribe]

Huh. Why don't the images show up?

You're using wrong URL. Image BB code requires that it ends in an image format like .png or jpeg and such. The URL you used was this:

https://imgur.com/a/h34NGUo

What you're suppoaed to do is right click, click "open image in new tab", and copy this url:

https://i.imgur.com/OW9ZeCp.png

To then do this:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/OW9ZeCp.png[/img]

above code in action

[SpoonyViking]

Ah, thanks!
...I'll put both under spoilers, I didn't think they'd be so large.

[Dark Squirrel]

More than two thousand years ago, a Pharaoh devastated the Two Kingdoms of Egypt.

For that, he was struck down and his name and his deeds erased from History.

But what is History to those who stand outside of time?

And what are Heroic Spirits if not shadows cast outside of time?

Witness. The Black Pharaoh.


~♬~

The younger son of Pharaoh Amenhotep III was raised a priest of Ptah, god of craftsmen. It is there that he discovered the Mirror of Nitocris, a sacred relic kept in the care of Greatest of the Directors of Craftsmanship, for only they could renew its seals.

From the Mirror, whispers came to him. An annihilation signal from a place of dark glory, of shining blackness. From the shard that was a Mirror, from the reflection of a blasphemous eternity, he heard of an ancient city.

But only fragmented whispers could emerge from the splinter of the fathomless nothing.

I am the Devouring Plague. Let me in.

No matter, time was but a hobby to that which crawled in the heart of the blackness of eons.

Amenhotep III eventually passed away, and his younger son rose to the throne, the heir apparent having died years prior in unclear circumstances. It may be he noticed the whispers that his father and younger brother both heard. Whatever the truth, it was burned from all records.

I am the pirate signal. Let me in.



Upon ascending to the throne, the son of Amenhotep III searched for the lost city and the Pillars the whispers from beyond the Mirror had told him about. Guided by the black wisdom of the Aten, black wisdom of the Aten,

Affection of the Black Sun A

All pharaohs receive the protection of their patron deity, the one they are said to be the descendant and the avatar thereof. The condensed breath of the Aten both protects and leads to his destruction its chosen son. Hungry is the embrace of the Black Sun.

he found what remained of Irem the great, Irem of the Pillars, Irem the lost.

There, he unearthed the remains of black monuments, blasphemous Pillars that were toppled when Irem was cleansed by the Angel of Death.

The shining many-sided stone weighted heavily on the World. So heavily did they weight that here came clearly through the voice that before was only a whisper.

I am the word virus. Let me in.

To house these cyclopean vestiges of the antithesis of the brain and heart of the Titan’s Pit, he built a mighty city, following the instructions of the now-clear voice of the Aten. Changed by the crawling voice of the Black Sun, remodeledremodeled

Living in Truth A

As the gnawing disk of the Aten became the sole image of God in Egypt, its representative was changed to fit the message being spread. His true self was brought forth and made visible to all, in all its hideous glory. He did his best to spread knowledge of his form to all the corners of Egypt, so the people could bear witness to it and aspire to be changed by the Aten like he was.

into its dark Herald, Akhenaten set to bringing about the vision of his god and to finish what had been started so long ago in the City of the Pillars.

I am the brain pathogen grammar. Let me in.



Foreigner of the Aten
-- Red Sands Beneath the Black Sun --

True Name: B̵̜͓̮̾͗͆e̴̢̫͆̃̑̏n̵̫̲̬̣̏ḙ̶̗͔̜̌̉̾ä̴̬́͑͆̚t̵͖̬͋̈͒h̸͍̍ ̱ ̴͚̀͝Ÿ̴̞̺̮͇́̐͛ó̵̰͇̇̉́ù̷̧̩̯̩̿̃̑ ̶̘̍͑ͅÏ̸̪̠̝͋͝t̸̢̧̓̓̔̂ ̴̝͛͌͘͠Ė̷̖̠̓̈́a̴̝̽̊t̴̨̜͉̤̓s̶̳͇͛̕ ̷̟̪̰̗̈̒Ȋ̸̛̮̳̯̈́t̵̢̔͝s̶̼͎̽͌ ̸̀ͅN̷͍̍a̵̛̼͋̌m̷̞̠͕̭͌̓̚e̸̫̽͊̽
Class: Foreigner
Other Classes: Berserker, Caster, Archer
Alignement: Chaotic Evil
Height: 180cm
Weight: B̴͔̭́͊͗̄e̵̞̘͋̌y̸̩͙̝̤̽o̷͔̝̼͘n̸̡̞̳̍̈̃̀d̴̜̊̍̚ ̶̥̰̚M̴̮̯̮̰͌̉e̶͎͌͜ā̶̛̩͉̹̥ș̴̦̅̄̑ͅű̴̖̼͖̲̋̎r̵̖̋͋̄̐e ̵̡͇͎̍
Likes: The Aten
Dislikes: Other religions
Region: Egypt

Strength: B
Endurance: B
Agility: D
Mana: A
Luck: -
Noble Phantasm: EX



Akhenaten spoke for the Aten. Through Akhenaten spoke the Black Sun. The gibbering words of the Faceless Sun spread through his slavering lipsslavering lips

Effective for the Aten A

The son of Amenhotep III followed dark whispers to a lost city, where he found a Black Well.

There, he bathed in the blackness of eons and became a conduit to his god, a Herald for the Dark that shines. Where before there were whispers in darkness, there was now a clear voice, a consolidated Black Messenger of the Aten, who relayed the word of the Black Sun.

and its influence creeped through the new city and the court.

The man who was priest of Ptah, who was named for the great Amun, was now a vista into the coiling and slithering eons shining through from the Black Sum. He longed, he was urged, he had no choice but to spread the word of his God, as he was bringing its City to completion.

I am the ear worm. Let me in.


━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━╋━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The gods of Egypt did not stay idle. They could feel the parasite-god clawing from beyond, nibbling at their domains. They empowered their priests and their servants. They tasked them with cutting out the black rotting heart of the infection.

The Aten’s answer was as bloody and savage as its hunger to devour the Ennead’s realm. Through Akhenaten, it struckstruck

Atenism C

The abnormal thought processes of Akhenaten led to him trying to spread his deviant faith to all of Egypt in order to free his people from the Laws of Nature just like he himself had been freed by direct contact with the crawling radiance of the Black Sun.

Forbidding all other faiths and religions, the unshakeable insanity of the Herald of the Black Sun made him assured as he disolved all the priesthoods not his own. Persecuting priests and faithful alike, defacing and bringing down the idols of the gods, he struck directly at the very foundations of Ancient Egypt.

at their worship. Through the Pharaoh, it sought to spread itself to everyone.

I am the Zero Point Pathogen. Let me in.


━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━╋━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The City of the Sun GodThe City of the Sun God



Risen Again Black City of the Pillars
Akhetaten
The Horizon of the Aten

Anti-World
EX
Range: 1-99
Maximum number of targets: 800 people


The seat of the Aten’s First Occasion, which it had made for itself so that it could rest in it. Founded by the son of the Aten after being commanded by his godd to built a monument to it. The inner world of Akhenaten is brought forth in all its shining darkness, bringing forth a territory over which he, as the herald of the Aten in this World, reigns supreme.

The overwhelming pressure of the Black Sun shines down on any trapped in its confines and slowly choking them with blasphemous light.

As the Pillars brought and rebuilt by Akhenaten from lost Irem rise and reach once more towards the tears in the fabric of the World, the hole that is the event horizon that is the hunger that is the Aten is brought forth and starts to consume its boundaries, bringing more and more of that which lies beyond it.

"This land is not the property of a god, nor the property of a goddess, nor the property of a ruler, nor the property of any people able to lay claim to it. This land is the Aten’s."

rose higher and higher, deeper and deeper. Its Pillars rebuilt, to replace the Lynchpins of the World, it grew ever closer to ripping apart the Texture of all that was.

Bloated by the Black Sun as he was, Akhenaten did not stand idle and wait for his enemies to assault his stronghold. He rode forth in mightmight

Aten-Tjehen
The Dazzling Sun Disk

Anti-Army
C
Range: 1-50
Maximum number of targets: 200 people

The royal barge commissioned by Amenhotep III and consecrated to the Aten. There is no proof that Akhenaten ever used it, or indeed ever possessed it. But the influence of the Aten on him even now is such that he gained ownership of this device foreign to the World.

Now he sails the Black Barge, shining its dark light on all the enemies of his god, opening them to its hungry message.

and in dark glory and in horror and in dread. And ever further spread the hunger of the Aten.

I am what I am. Let me in. Let me in. Let me in. Let me in. LET ME IN.


━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━╋━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The despair of men grew ever greater, as their Common Sense was ever more eroded. But that proved to be the Black Sun’s undoing. Just like Irem of the Pillars was cleansed by the Angel of Death, so too in the end did Akhenaten draw the attention of Forces beyond Humanity.

The city was razed. Its inhabitants received the mercy of death. And Akhenaten, the Black Mark on the history of Pharaohs, was slain. Once again, the Pillars were toppled and the Aten closed its ever hungry eye.

What remained of Akhetaten was buried and all traces of the son of Amenhotep III was erasederased



Occluded Sun A

Akhenaten, Effective for the Aten, son of the Aten who Lived in Truth, was himself a black sun that shone over Egypt for seventeen years. After he was cast down and the curdling corruption of the Aten cleansed from the country of the Two Lands, his name and his very existence were struck from all records. The Black Sun collapsed. In its stead was left only hunger. Terrifying, unending, dark hunger.

Under the light of the

Re

Sun

, even physical evidence of his existence will be destroyed, as if swallowed by the gnawing hunger of the condensed breath of a god.

so as to prevent anyone from once again shining the terrible light of the Black Sun upon the World.





Great Royal Wife, the Beautiful One Has Come

There is one thing the son of Amenhotep III cherished alongside the Aten.

The Lady of Two Lands, his beloved, ruled at his side and supported his aims.

Even as he heard the dreadfully clear voice of the Aten, she accepted him and tried to change alongside him.

If there is one thing that can bring the son of Amenhotep back from the madness of Akhenaten, it would be the Sweet of Love, his wife.the Sweet of Love, his wife.




Did you believe that, Sweetlings? Did you think my claws could so easily be pried from my prey, my tool, my toy?

Under my guidance, following my voice, dragged by my strings, Akhenaten killed Nefertiti. She tried to stop him, to bring him back from my event horizon. So he killed her. He had even forgotten her name, did you know that, Sweetlings.


Oh don’t look so surprised, Sweetlings. Did you really believe I would try the same plan twice? Try as they did to erase him, he left a mark. And through that mark I can gush out and put on the Mask.Mask.

Existence Outside the Domain EX

The mark left by a being that crawled from the Outer Chaos. The dark splendour and Authority that radiate as a result of being the Mask of his god.

Had he succeeded in maintaining the Engine and opening the Hole, it would have been an unexpected success. But he didn’t. And his failure was oh so glorious, Sweetlings. So glorious that even now you can’t forget him no matter how hard you try. And you tried oh so very hard.

But it was not him that you could not forget. There was no him to forget anymore. Not for many years.
Beneath You I Eat His NameBeneath You I Eat His Name

Dark Divinity B+

The Aten’s event horizon hungrily devoured the innate divine nature of the son of Amenhotep III upon making him its herald, and filled the hole with itself, twisting him into something both greater and lesser than he was..

Did you think you were safe just because he was once crushed by the Detterent of Humanity? You used

Black Beast of Chaos

my name and my likeness

and you thought I wouldn’t hear?

Did you enjoy hearing my voice, sharing in Akhenaten’s madness during this tale, Sweetlings?

I’ll be seeing you. I always had a sweet tooth...

---

NotesNow quite obviously the recent FGO event (not the ongoing one, mind, that was just a coincidence) put me in the mind to do this sheet. I know there's already been a Foreigner!Akhenaten done here, one with ties to the Black Pharaoh and Nyarly to boot, but I think my own version is different enough to stand on its own.

Images sources:
Bleeding sun from Sunless Skies. I do like the lore and the tone of Failbetter Games. Do check them out if you're curious. They're self-described "comic horror".
"First Ascension"/still human look Danbooru has been put to good use this time.
"Second Ascension"/Akhenaten rising look So was Artstation.
"Third Ascension"/The Black Pharaoh look I did say Artstation was put to good use.
The City of the Sun God Appropriately a concept art of the map of the same name from The Secret World.
The City of the Sun God still I admit, I got lucky finding this one.
Sentient Black Hole also from Sunless Skies. Really, do check it out.
"Final Ascension"/Black hole look The artist did other pieces of that character and they all kick ass.
I dunno, another Final Ascension? It does start to hint at Nyarly though.
Finally, Nyarly. I didn't want to go with the classic tentacled-head look and I was set on the "black sun"/black hole part of it so I was quite pleased finding this one.

Few things of note:
I don't really care much about Akhenaten one way or the other. The most interesting thing about him I came across while doing some research for this sheet was the whole artstyle he championed, what "Living in Truth" refers to.
I lifted more than a few phrases, and ultimately what could generously be called the central idea for this sheet, from the defunct MMO The Secret World. It's a shame it's pretty much a dead IP because the worldbuilding was fantastic. Oh well, it is what it is.
The fact he is a dark parallel to Ozy in terms of skills and NPs is entirely coincidental, I realised that when I had pretty much finished writing him. I may have been on to something after all.

In case it wasn't clear, he is distorted on a few levels: because of his ties to the Aten that made him more and less than a human; because history forgot him, turning his sun into a black hole (which itself distorts reality, heh), and because Nyarly is distorting the Servant system to get a foothold in reality.

Speaking of, that's the reason I didn't do any relationships for him: there's no "him" to talk about/to others. Not in this version at least. At best, he would talk at them and it wouldn't really be interesting to read honestly, basically mad preaching but not the fun kind. And there wouldn't really be anything specific to a given character. The other option was to have Nyarly speak, but honestly I feel this would have broken the flow of the sheet.
It's not because I'm lazy I swear.

Finally, many thanks to Morg for letting me copy his homework use in parts his formatting on Nimrod, and for giving me some feedback on the sheet!

In retrospect I could have for another kind of distortion and made a light-hearted silly seasonal alt of someone who got distorted into being a Santa or something. I dunno. I guess I was still in the edge mindset after the Rework Contest.

I did very briefly entertain the idea to have a literal sun-headed Berserker Louis XIV who bought into his own hype but heh. Too many sun kings at once is bad for you.

Thanks for having read those ramblings, you really shouldn't have.

[ErrantGalantine]

Alter Ego
Dawn's Rays Embodied

"Servant Alter Ego, known as Lucifer—please don’t make that face Master, I'm not THAT Lucifer...
If you'd prefer, I'll answer by my Greek Name for the sake of simplicity—Servant Alter Ego, True Name: Phosphorus, at your disposal."

True Name: Lucifer=Phosphorus
Title: The Morning Star, Dawnbringer
Alignment: True Neutral
Alternate Classes: None
Gender: Female
Source: Greek Myth
Armament: Light
Natural Enemy: Lucifer

Parameters
Strength: D
Endurance: B
Agility: C
Mana: A
Luck: D
Noble Phantasm: B

Background
Background
The embodiment of the Morning Star, Lucifer—no, I don't mean the Biblical One.
A greek divine spirit, the son of Astraeos and Eos, Phosphorus was the embodiment of the Dawn Star, Venus in all form, and originally mistaken as a pair of twin gods— one the Morning Star, the other the Evening Star— due to his obscurity, lack of power, and preference to stay on the sidelines, a observer of humanity rather than an active meddler.
Then his name became Latinized by the Romans and he became Lucifer, Dawnbringer and his trouble soon began.


Class Skills
Class Skills
Existence Outside the Domain: D
Normally a class skill of the Foreigner class, denoting the servant as one tied to the void of outer space.
As an embodiment of a stellar body, Alter Ego has some degree of innate otherworldliness, but their status as a Divine Spirit molded by human understanding keeps it reduced to a less eldritch degree.

Avenger: E+
Normally a Class Skill of the Avenger class, allowing a Servant to absorb the hatred and grudges others direct towards them and convert them into strength.
A skill forced onto Alter Ego's Saint Graph by Innocent Monster despite being completely unfitting to their demeanor, it would be completely useless...but due to the exact circumstances surrounding their Innocent Monster status, Alter Ego is able to find an abnormal use for it—allowing them to specifically channel "misdirected hatred and aggression", something that is often in high supply around Alter Ego in cases of mistaken identity.


Personal Skills
Personal Skills
Divine Core of the Dawn Star: C-
A hybrid skill indicative of one's status as a Divine Spirit representing Venus, the Dawn Star, granting the servant Divinity, Mana Burst(Star), and Golden Rule(Body).
Alter Ego only has this skill at middling Rank due to their obscurity, and the Divinity provided is demerited to an even lower rank due to Innocent Monster.
Additionally, it is due to Alter Ego's core being tied to Venus that they appear in their current female form, rather than their preferred Male one.

Innocent Monster: A
The "Curse of the Readers", a corruption of the Saint Graph due to the weight of popular slander.
Alter Ego was a minor spirit of little renown or strength, but through translation of foreign ideals their name became synonymous with Christianity's Great Adversary, heavily impacting Alter Ego's current manifestation. Much of their current appearance, from their horns and wings to their propensity for the color red, is a result of this skill.
Besides the alterations noted elsewhere, this skill also pushes Alter Ego away from their natural Lawful Neutral alignment and grants them Nature of a Rebellious Spirit and Independent Action at A rank. However, the only mental alterations that managed to latch on to Alter Ego being the "defiant rebel" aspect so entrenched in the name Lucifer.

Manifestation of Beauty: D
The fierce charismatic nature of a beautiful god(dess), allowing a servant to Charm others.
The beautiful gleaming star of dawn in the flesh, Alter Ego bears a supernatural allure that draws the eyes and hearts of mortals, though only to a lesser degree compared to more powerful deities.


Noble Phantasm
Noble Phantasm
Lux Luciferus Aurora
Let There Be Dawn's Light
C++
Anti-Unit(Fortress)

Phosphorus, once merely Personification of The Dawn Star, now linked inexorably with Lucifer, Angel of The Morning Star.
They were as different as could be, in temperament, behavior, desires...but they shared an origin.
「The Star of Dawn」
And thus their weight of their legend could be focused on nothing else.
Alter Ego's nature as "The Embodiment of Venus, The Dawn Star", manifesting in the form of a luminescent handheld cannon hewn from unrecognizable metal. It acts as their primary weapon in combat, able to spew blasts of flame and light in combat, with these attack's power waxing and waning with the time—being most powerful in the hours of 「Dawn」
And it's in those Dawn hours that the true strength of this Noble Phantasm can be unleashed. Uttering a True Name Release they channel their Authority over the Dawn Star into a concentrated beam of neon-bright starlight— cutting through anything in front of them through immense heat and the weight of a

demon's

god's

presence.
Unfortunately, an unrestrained True Name Release of this Noble Phantasm can very easily overwhelm Alter Ego's already fragile Saint Graph, either forcing him back to the throne or, just maybe, causing Someone Else to be able to take over the Saint Graph for their own purposes.


Personality and Relationships
Personality and Relationships
Likes: Space, Her Family
Dislikes: Apples, Snakes, Demons, Daddy Issues

Alter Ego, despite the influence of their undesired syncretism with the Adversary, is not neither hostile towards their master nor particularly unruly to their commands—despite the “Defiant Rebel” aspect of their Biblical Counterpart managing to find purchase in the saint Graph, Alter Ego—mostly out of spite—has directed that defiance primarily towards rebelling against the stereotype enforced on them.
In terms of their actual personality, the best descriptors for her would be grumpy and apathetic. Even in the age of the gods, her interest in engaging with humanity was minimal and that interest only waned further in her current state—if not for her wish of separating her existence from her reviled counterpart, she would have ignored all summons completely and let the world go on without her.

Dewi Anjani: “A goddess…for some reason I cannot seem to put my finger on, her monkeys irk me.
Leviathan: “What is the expression the grail told me again…ah yes. ‘If I had a nickel for every celestial being turned into a Biblical enemy, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's strange it happened twice’.
Macbeth: “I'm fairly certain I didn't inherit The Other One’s kingship, but I'd still rather not test that at bladepoint.”
Franscisco Pizarro: “I may bring dawn, but try to make me deal with the False Night God and I'm enacting my own Rebellion, you understand? _{Stupid power of belief making humans more powerful than actual gods”}
Michael Joseph Blassie: “...foundation of the Throne? I'd like to lodge a complaint about my existence on it, who do I need to speak to?”
Faust: “Fake demons are as annoying as real ones, who'd have thought.”
Moros and Elphis: “How the hell did you two get through the throne alteration-free while I'm stuck with all this nonsense???”
Saint Walpurgis Alter: “Y'know, I was gonna say that they butchered me but after seeing that thing I don't think I can say that anymore…”
“Lord Byron”: “I know human minds are much frailer than divine ones, but is it truly that far beyond you lot to keep hold of your sense of self when the throne decides to start screwing with it?”
The Black Pharaoh: “Well. If this is the crap that happens when you aren't remembered I guess I should count my blessings, few as they are, that I was remembered more than this sad thing.”

ANAN: An old sheet of mine that, upon digging through my backlog, I realized fit the prompt shockingly well. Its a bit barebones, but since I'm struggling with tech issues this month I thought I'd post this for now so that even if my more complicated sheet I'm trying to finish doesn't end up done, I have an entry to show for it.

[OddEyedDuelist]

“Hello, Master~. My name is Iphigenia, Caster Class! I wield the power of the Goddess Hekate…or, at least a part of it! I’ll be sure to impress you, that’s an Iphi-Promise!”
Iphigenia
Class: Caster
Title: The Ascended Victim
Gender: Female
Source: Greek Mythology
Region: Argolid (Greece)
Alignment: Neutral Good
Height: 160cm
Weight: 53kg

Parameters
Strength: D-
Endurance: C-
Agility: C-
Mana: EX
Noble Phantasm: A
Luck: C+

Basic Information
The eldest child of Agamemnon and Klytaimnestra. The elder sister of Chrysothemis, Elektra, and Orestes. Born in the year Agamemnon reclaimed Mycenae from his uncle Thyestes, it was believed that her birth was a sign of great things to come for her family.
Later, on the eve of the Trojan War, Iphigenia would be sacrificed at the orders of Artemis.

Class Skills
-- Open Class Skills --
Item Creation (D):

One of the class skills of the Caster Class. However, Iphigenia possesses a shockingly low rank in it. She can only make torches. If she wielded more of Hekate’s power, she would possess a much higher rank in this skill.

Territory Creation (Altar) (C):

The ability to make an altar. Should a god's favor be properly begged for at this altar, it would evolve to become a workshop of completely surpassing quality - far beyond what any modern magus could construct on their own. While one could hope a servant with divine aptitute or divine spirit were to come along, thanks to Iphigenia's legend, this evolution can be achieved instantly by sacrificing her on the altar. If this is done, ownership of the workshop will be transfered to whoever carried out the sacrifice, and the workshop will instantly assume its final stage: possessing things like the highest quality of bounded fields and the ability to generate mana as though it were sitting atop a leyline. Of course, given the cost of gaining this workshop, Iphigenia is heasitant to go about evolving it in the easiest way.

“...I guess it isn’t too surprising. I mean, I am a sacrifice, used to beg some sort of favor to the gods. If you were to kill me, you’d gain a lot of power…but you don’t need to do that master! We’re gonna be just fine!”

Personal Skills

-- Open Personal Skills --Curse of the Tantalids (E):

A skill representing the doomed lives that all those descended from Tantalos were cursed to live. It is a purely detrimental skill that exists to inflict a negative fate upon those who possess it. It commonly manifests itself in two different effects depending on the servant: a mental block towards reasoning what that servant would normally consider the "optimal decision" without the interference of a third party or a "curse of aggression" constantly casted around the owner of this skill, making those who did not already know the servant immediately hostile towards them.
Iphigenia possesses the second variant, as a testament to the collective desire of the Greek forces for her blood following the reveal that her death would allow them to sail to Troy. Iphigenia does possess a low rank in this skill in comparison to other members of her family, owing to Iphigenia's role as a "catalyst" for the misery that her father, mother, and siblings experienced rather than living through it herself. While most will be impatient with Iphigenia, it is not the active hostility that a higher ranked version of this skill would lead to being invoked.

Divine Core of the Magic Goddess (C):

Iphigenia is frequently connected with Hekate, the Goddess of Magic. Sometimes through being a priestess of the Goddess. Sometimes through outright apotheosis, sometimes as a result of the connection between Artemis and Hekate - Artemis being another goddess Iphigenia is heavily connected to.
At a baseline, this skill should all the same effects as other [Divine Core] type skills - rejecting all mental interference and preventing alteration of the body. Due to Hekate’s Authority over Magic, it should also grant a variety of other abilities - such as the highest tier of Magic Resistance, the ability to cast high tier spells with nary a gesture or chant, and an intuitive understanding of any magecraft or ritual seen.
However, due to dominant aspect of Iphigenia's legend being her existence as a [Sacrifice] - this skill is limited merely to granting Iphigenia the powers of a below-averge Caster Class Servant.
It's true purpose is to exist as a [Boon] begged for by the nature of Iphigenia's final skill.

Thyma (A++):

A Greek word meaning “sacrifice” - specifically the victim offered at a sacrifice.It is ultimately this for which Iphigenia is most remembered.It is an ability that allows Iphigenia to function as a “sacrifice” - at any point, her master, a fellow servant, or anyone who has an idea of a “sacrificial ritual” can subject Iphigenia to that ritual. If carried out properly, not only will Iphigenia count as the full “cost” for all but the highest cost rituals, sacrificing Iphigenia will also confer great abilities onto her master.Individually, all of Iphigenia’s skills are hampered due to her nature of “a sacrifice” - however, once Iphigenia is successfully sacrificed, all her skills are transferred onto the one who carried out the sacrifice. As they are no longer attached to “a sacrifice” they will begin functioning at full capacity (typically rising two ranks). The only skill they will not receive is [Thyma] or Iphigenia’s Noble Phantasm.
While the recipient of Iphigenia’s abilities will of course become exceptionally strong thanks to receiving her [Divine Core of the Magic Goddess] skill, they will also receive her [Curse of the Tantalids] skill
…
And unlike her other skills, that one will always continue to rise in rank until the negative fate it promises its new user has been fulfilled.

Noble Phantasm

-- Open Noble Phantasm --Blood Stained Sails
Ψευδής νύμφη ανέμου

Rank: B+
Classification: Anti-Obstacle

The pinnacle of Iphigenia’s nature as “a sacrifice”.
A hero might make use of their greatest weapon, maintain the boon of invincibility they gained in life, or even summon the great army that they commanded. It is only fitting, therefore, that a sacrifice would be able to recreate the boon their sacrifice bought.
That is, the lifting of the curse trapping the Greek soldiers at Aulis.
Iphigenia can either activate this Noble Phantasm herself or be forced to activate it in the presence of an altar.
Once Iphigenia is sacrificed, the Noble Phantasm will endeavor to remove an [obstacle] standing between the benefactor and their goal. This can range from anything like dispelling a natural storm preventing one from leaving a building to shattering a bounded field like glass. As this Noble Phantasm is derived from a sacrifice and boon that affected the weather and precipitated a war rather being used as a part of it, it has little direct offensive purposes. It cannot be used to directly kill an enemy by designating them as an “obstacle”. And, of course, this Noble Phantasm functions as the “Ritual Sacrifice” necessary for both Iphigenia’s [Thyma] and [Territory Creation] skills.

“So…you know we won’t be using this, right Master? Haha…I mean, there’s no reason to do that! I made an Iphi-Promise to win after all, and you trust me, right? Right…Yes! Of course you trust me! Now forget about this and let’s go win…this…”


History
-- Reveal History --
Iphigenia is the daughter of Agamemnon and Klytaimnestra.
However, she is sometimes reported as the daughter of Helen and Theseus, given in secret to Klytaimnestra and Agamemnon to raise as their own. Regardless, it doesn’t really matter in the end, does it?
She grew up in Mycenae, beloved by Agamemnon and Klytaimnestra, in spite of not possibly being their own. In turn, Iphigenia cared deeply for her younger siblings - Elektra, Chrysothemis, and Orestes, even if they may not have shared the same parents.
However, it was the very fact that Iphigenia was beloved by all of her family that would ultimately lead to the misery that would later befall them.
When Agamemnon prepared to lead the Greeks to besiege Troy, he was commanded by Artemis to sacrifice his daughter. Under the pressure of the army, Agamemnon deceived Klytaimnestra and Iphigenia into journeying to Aulis by saying that Iphigenia’s hand in marriage had been promised to Achilles.
After Iphigenia arrived, some say that she was snatched up by the mob, carried to the altar and slaughtered by her father without even fully grasping the betrayal. Others say that the deception was uncovered, with Achilles offering to defend Iphigenia, but she allowed herself to be sacrificed so that the rest of her family would not be harmed. Some say she wasn’t sacrificed at all. Rather, she was taken away by Artemis and substituted for a deer.
In fact, Iphigenia is the subject of many tales after arriving at Aulis.
According to some, she was made by Artemis into an aspect of the Goddess Hekate. According to some, she was made a priestess and was eventually retrieved and brought home by her brother, Orestes. According to others, she would eventually get her promised marriage to Achilles when they were both made immortal on the Island of Leuke.
Regardless of Iphigenia’s fate, however, Klytaimnestra acted as if her daughter was slain: Agamemnon was murdered and Aigisthos was installed in his place. The danger Aigisthos posed to Orestes led to Elektra spiriting him away to be raised in Athens. As punishment for this and for her general disobedience, Elektra would be insulted, degraded, and ostracized from childhood until Orestes returned home and killed Klytaimnestra and Aigisthos.
The misery that befell her family, the consequence of Iphigenia’s death, ultimately, mattered much that whatever her life was.
And so people behaved in turn.
Century after century passed.
Story after story was written.
The tragedy was told again and again.
More and more, the idea of Iphigenia’s survival fell to the wayside.
More and more, Iphigenia’s connections to Hekate faded.
More and more, Iphigenia’s agency in the sacrifice was lessened.
No one cared for the daughter of Helen and Theseus. No one cared for the priestess who adventured with her brother. No one cared for the heroine turned goddess.
All that was cared for was the deceived girl with a slit throat and bloody dress - whose death would cause untold misery.

“...It’s a pretty sad story, isn’t it, Master. Don’t though, Master! We’ll win and get the grail as long as we stick together and--”
“Why do I want the Grail?”
“I…”“I want my little siblings to be happy, obviously! Yeah! That’s what I wish for! I’ll wish for us to incarnate and then we can live happy--”
“Be…honest?”“
But I’ve been honest this whole time and-”…“What do I want…”


Confession

-- Listen --“I want to kill my mother.”
“I want to kill my father.”
“I want to save my mother and father from themselves.”
“I want to shove Achilles out of the spotlight and take it for myself.”
“I want to kill Artemis.”
“I want to kiss Artemis.”
“I want to marry Achilles as I was promised.”
“I WANT TO KILL EVERY DAMN PLAYWRIGHT WHO WROTE ABOUT MY SACRIFICE AND NOTHING ELSE!”“I WANT TO READ MY MOTHER THE RIOT ACT FOR HOW SHE TREATED MY SIBLINGS!”“I WANT TO BEAT THE HELL OUT OF HER FOR USING ME TO JUSTIFY WHAT SHE DID TO THEM!”
“I WANT TO KNOW WHO MY PARENTS EVEN ARE! I CAN’T EVEN TELL MYSELF!”
“IF HELEN IS MY MOTHER I WANT TO BEAT THE HELL OUT OF MY FATHER FOR KIDNAPPING HER!”
“IF THESEUS IS MY FATHER I WANT TO ASK HIM ABOUT HIS ADVENTURES”
“IF HELEN IS MY MOTHER I WANT TO TELL ELEKTRA AND CHRYSOTHEMIS AND ORESTES THAT THEY’LL ALWAYS BE MY BABY SIBLINGS ANYWAY!”
“I WANT TO TELL MY OTHER PARENTS THAT I’D LOVE THEM ANYWAY!”
“I WANT TO TELL THEM THAT I’D HATE THEM ANYWAY!”
“I’D WANT TO TELL THEM SOMETHING! ANYTHING!”
“I WANT TO KNOW IF THAT ADVENTURE I WENT ON WITH ORESTES EVEN HAPPENED!”
“I WANT TO GO ON MORE ADVENTURES WITH ORESTES!”
“I WANT TO SAVE HIM!”
“I WANT STORIES TOLD ABOUT ME!”
“I WANT STORIES TOLD ABOUT ME AND NOT JUST ABOUT MY GODS DAMNED DEATH!”“I-”
…
…..
……
“I just…”
“I want my life to have consequences.”
“I want it to mean something more than just its end.”

Creator's Notes

- Ya know like five minutes after finishing the faceclaim illustration, I got a little nervous about whether this would really qualify
- Since "Iphigenia is sacrificed" is easily the most famous part about her
- But I figured the focus on the sheer extent that aspect as overshadowed everything else about the figure would still be fitting for the prompt.
- And funnily enough, I even had to leave some Iphigenia stuff out of this sheet because I couldn't figure a spot to put it organically/didn't work as well emotionally: like the fact that Iphigenia likely started as a goddess in her own right due to her name appearing in Linear B inscriptions or that some legends claim she was the mother of Achilles' son instead of Deidamia
- Regardless, it was really fun to finally get out another Tantalid sheet. Love this cursed as shit family
- Well, hope y'all have a great day and enjoyed reading!

[Baron Magnus]

Christmas... where is it found?

Is it by the fire at home?

Is it in the street corner choir?

For one, he found it nowhere.

Not in the reunion with a friend.

Not in a cup shared out of kindness.

For him, it was a time of pain.

He did not care for the winter season.

His heart froze cold that time of year.

Until that fateful evening when he was visited by three spirits.

Past, Present, and Future.

The intended to teach him was Christmas felt like.

A lesson he wasn't ready for but needed before it was too late.

To learn of the summer of the soul.

The spirit of the season.

A lesson that one was forever thankful for.



Ho-ho-ho! Santa at your service! How might I serve you on this fine Christmas Day!?


Than-Gee-Door on King's Throne Wiki

True Name
Santa Claus

Alias
Father Christmas

Class
Ruler

Alignment
Lawful-Good

Attribute
Earth

Region
Worldwide

Source
Folklore

Classes


Parameters

Strength	Agility	Endurance
D	E	D
Luck	NP	Mana
B	D	C

Class Skills
Magic Resistance
D+++

A skill held by Rulers to protect them from others.

Santa is not known for fighting others, to the point that it could be said that Santa has never fought anyone. As such he could not combat the mystics of magecraft leading to this skill being at its minimum rank. However, there is a caveat.

Santa is the undisputed King of Christmas.

As such the magic of christmas naturally protects him. The closer it gets, the more Plus modifiers he receives. Initially, he can barely negate a single-action spell. Eventually, he can dispel even A-rank Greater Magecraft on Christmas Day.

New Years Resolution
EX

A variant of the 'God's Resolution' skill Ruler's naturally receive.

Due to the relative closeness of New Years, a holiday celebrated in varying formats worldwide, Santa was able to alter the normal skill Ruler's receive from this container to better match his normal disposition. He gains 3 command spells that he can utilize on other servants. However they are utilized far differently.

Instead of being utilized for three commands, he may utilize them to in effect grant three desires.

When he utilizes a command spell and targets an individual, the words he speaks uses the command spells mana to make those words into a reality. If the target wished for the power to overcome a foe it would create a sword embodying their foes conceptual weakness. If the target wished to be healed, it could create a potion to cure wounds.

The actual strength of the item however depends on the alignment of the servant.

Good-aligned servants will receive what they wish at the strength they need it. Evil servants will receive a lesser version that is a fraction of the power desired and only works once. Additionally, he cannot target himself or another Santa servant. If he attempts to, the command spell fizzles and is used without producing anything.

After all, Santa gives to others; not to himself.

Personal Skills
The Bell That Tolls Regret
B-

A skill that represents the past of christmas.

Some pasts have happy, fond memories of better days. Others are filled with misery and despair... regardless, the past can be used to incite regret. Such was the case once and it is a feat that can certainly be repeated by the King of Christmas. Using the past to make someone regret.

As a skill, it allows him to reach into a targets past and manifest as an illusion their deepest regret, acting as a mental attack on the individual.

At the very least, it can result in a temporarily application of a negative modifier to random parameters and skills. In the worst case for the targeted individual, their skills and noble phantasm can be rendered completely inoperable. However, this is not the intended effect.

This skill is not meant to be a punishment or attack; It is meant to act as guidance. It is meant to remind the target of where they began and where the path thus far has led them and illuminate their choices. Both the ones they did not take, as much as the ones that they did. Not to tell them they were wrong, but that they were made and they are why they are where they are... and that more choices are yet to come.

The Star That Sparks Hope
C

A skill that represents the present of Christmas.

Some in the present will mourn for the past, while others fear the future... but on Christmas, such things are to melt away in the presence of friends and family. Even a small light can illuminate darkness, and so a small celebration can often refresh a weary soul.

A lesson he knows well.

Representing this thought, this skill grants the Father of Christmas a sort of charisma that befits only him. A charm that can raise the spirits from the abyss of despair. Acting as a guiding star to others, his words can easily inspire others to action.

An ability he is grateful to have.

The Cloak That Invites Death
D

A skill representing the future of Christmas.

Christmas was at times a time of reflection; of thinking about those gone and those who may yet be gone by next year. As much as it was a summer for the souls of the living, Christmas was a season for the souls of the dead. As such his role was to service the dead just as much as he did the living.

Representing this, this skill grants Santa Claus a special authority over the dead.

He cannot command the dead. However, he can communicate with them. Similar to a special magecraft, the soul is what he speaks to whether long dead or newly birthed. Through this he can coerce actions from the soul that a body, perhaps, may not.

However it is not an offensive skill.

Perhaps, with another, he could use it to cause damage but he refuses to. He instead uses it to comfort, heal, and gather information. For him to willingly utilize it to cause harm, one must utilize a Command Spell... though doing so will inevitably draw the full wrath of Father Christmas.

History
(Takes a puff of his pipe)

This year is quite busy.

A lot of servants want things... not sure how well I can fulfill the demand....

Then again, that's always the way of things, no?

I remember my time well....

So many needs and not enough to go around. You know that's how the coal gifts began? Even naughty children deserved warmth... if nothing else. Though I suppose such a message today has been lost. Replaced with an excuse to save money. Ah, if only coal were so plentiful in my time... but I digress. My point is that this all reminds me of an old tale... shall I tell it?

Understood.

Once upon a time, there was a miser. He lived so cheaply that he'd wait until his food was more mold than food before tossing it away. His heart was colder than winter and his cruelty as joyless for him as it was those he inflicted it upon. It got so bad many wondered if he was even human.... perhaps he wasn't. He showed open contempt for Christmas, a time of year that even the wealthy and elite enjoyed alongside the poor, after all.

Even his family didn't know how to interact with him.

...

Until one fateful day.... one fateful Christmas Eve.

He'd spent the day on paperwork and two men entered his office to try and solicit a donation for the poor. His response is famous even to this day. "If the workhouses are not enough they should simply die to reduce the surplus population". It's lucky those two never spread it. They might have, later, but didn't... I'll get to that in a bit. I believe this event was what set the next event into motion.

You see, this man hadn't become rich on his own work... solely.

He'd had a partner, you see, one Jacob Marley. I wouldn't say Marley was magnificent... no he was. He was brilliant. It's a shame he spent it all on specializing in cruelty and extortion. I'm also... glad though. It allowed this man to be more broad, and when the time came, to innovate. I... get ahead of myself though. To continue, that night, he dined at his home; the former residence of his now deceased partner.

A meal of bread and cheese, fresh and a lukewarm fire. The only luxuries he afforded himself on Christmas Eve. At night however he became haunted. A spectre in the form of his former business partner came to warn him of the haunting. It warned him that it was being done and for the purpose of setting his ways straight... or dooming him to condemnation.

Scrooge, of course, was skeptical.

Yet it proved true. Three spectres took him on a journey through time and Christmas and taught him in gentle and harsh ways the meaning of the season... and the consenqeunce of ignoring it. Upon the morning dawn he bid a young lad to fetch the largest fowl he could find and go to the house of his clerk, Bob Cratchit. Then he made preparations for his employees to receive gifts the next morning and went to Bob's house to surprise the man with a gift.

An increased salary to perhaps stall the fate of Bob's youngest and to give them a feast they deserved.

Their kindness in turn warmed his heart enough that rather than changing out of fear for mortality he changed for the betterment of himself and his fellow man. That is the tale I think of this season; the carol of Ebenezer Scrooge...

Hmmm? What happened after?

Well they never wrote a sequel so who knows...?

....

Though if he was real... and he did live a life... well.

It's hard to kick an old miser out of their ways... but few are better than what those spirits did. He never forgot their lesson... not that he'll die alone, but that his actions can and will kill others if he's careless. Even as a miser who valued coin above all, he knew life itself held value. This, alongside realizing its true value, made him dismay at his past to the point of rejection.

So his sudden change of heart likely would look dishonest to put it mildly.

However... he'd not be alone. No man can ever be alone if they have a genuine change of heart. He likely confided the truth to some. What he experienced and led him to change his mind... Bob Cratchit, his nephew... whether they believe spirits actually visited him or not wouldn't matter. The event sparked a positive change and they'd not contest it. At worst they'd chalk it up to a dream and accept the change.

As such... when he finally met his deathbed.... he was not alone.

At the very least the Cratchit family and his nephews family attended him and heard his will.

....

Likely, he didn't give his wealth in full to anyone.

If I had to bet, he likely donated it to the poor leaving an estate to the Cratchits and some heirlooms to his nephew.... not that either party minded.



Bah, Humbug, of course it couldn't last...!... Why'd you have to reveal my true name? Everything was going so well! What a fine mess you've made....


Than-Gee-Door on King's Throne Wiki

True Name
Ebenezer Scrooge

Alias
Miser of Winter

Class
Caster

Attribute
Earth

Region
England

Source
A Christmas Carol

Classes


Parameters

Strength	Agility	Endurance
E	E	E
Luck	NP	Mana
D	C	D

Class Skills
Territory Creation
D+

A skill to create a workshop.

Scrooge was not a magus. He was a miser; someone who dealt in coin and nothing else. Even had he a lineage, he'd sell off its secrets and goods for extra coin. History, to him, was not important. After his transformation, he might have regretted such actions... but in the end, he didn't have to. He was a normal human. Yet... an event did create a space akin to a workshop for a single night. A confluence of circumstance that created a space different from the outside world.

A world... of Christmas.

Item Construction
E+

The creation of tools and legendary items.

Ebenezer has never truly worked with his hands to create... at least, in the literal sense. He never did arts and crafts, he never worked in construction, he never hunted... indeed, the act of creation he employed involved sending papers to others to do it for him. The enactment of policies, the balancing of ledgers, the movement of coin. Only in these ways did he enact any sort of creation, granting him a low rank.

That is, so long as it relates to anything other than paperwork in which case he gains a plus modifier.

Magic Resistance
E+++

A skill that normally he would not possess.

Scrooge never triumphed over strange mystics and was in fact the victim of one. A strange occurence wherein he was subjected to the haunting of christmas ghosts. Normally, such an event would disqualify him for such a skill... and yet it has the opposite effect.

Scrooge does not detest this event rather he is wholly grateful.

As a result he does not gain an innate immunity to magecraft; he is rather vulnerable to mystics still. Instead when faced with mystics while the spirits protect him, his actual protection skyrockets. As a result all but the greatest mystics, A-rank spells, can be resisted under such circumstances.

If, for some reason, the spirits rescind their protection he cannot fight back.

Personal Skills
Innocent Monster
EX

Scrooge

A skill that begins and ends with that name. Scrooge. Naturally, it is hard to juxtapose this fact alongside the message of A Christmas Carol. This skill exists to do just that. Ebenezer undoubtedly changed as a result of his experience that night... but humanity never forgot who he was before that and it would infect his saint graph as a result.

At least, normally.

Rather than influence his saint graph with the preconceptions of man, it has wholly changed his noble phantasm... for, in his opinion, the better. A scrooge cannot be Santa Claus, such is the determination of humanity and so this skill warps his Noble Phantasm to change him into Santa Claus rather than Ebenezer Scrooge.

Should the truth of this change be brought to light by anyone, the illusion fades and Santa Claus returns to being Ebenezer Scrooge. He could, technically, return to being Santa Claus if a majority of those that know agree he was a good Santa...

Though the question becomes if he accepts he was a good Santa or not.

Bah! Humbug!
B

A variant of the Charisma skill.

Rather than a skill to charm, persuade, or otherwise influence it is a type of charisma meant to cause turmoil, strife, and mental damage. Humbug being british slang meant to accuse someone or something of being fraudulent, and Bah being an exclamation of surprise; it is the catchphrase popularized by one Ebenezer Scrooge.

As a skill he may declare his catchphrase while addressing a target. The closer they are associated to Christmas, the more effect it has. On normal enemy servants, disconnected from the holiday completely, it simply acts to apply a negative modifier to a random skill or parameter.

However against a santa servant, its effect is profound.

This skill not only applies a negative modifier to their parameters, but it even inflicts damage to the saint graph of the servant that can only be healed by skills unrelated to Christmas. While this damage is not severe enough to really hinder the servant, it can accumulate if he utilizes this skill often.

Naturally, doing so is taxing and costly.

Golden Rule
A

A skill that measures the servants ability to acquire wealth.

Scrooge became a byword in Britain (and the english language in general) for greed and misanthropy, of being a miser. In addition to his reputation as a cutthroat but effective moneylender, he was more than able to make a fortune. As such he naturally would have a high rank.

Naturally, this skill allows Scrooge to very easily acquire wealth and convert that wealth into magical energy and thus power.

The more money he has, the more powerful he is.

History
...

I'm still unsure how this all came to pass....

I'm not fit to be Santa. I don't know what he was thinking with my assignment. I'm so wholly unfit for the roll... I can only chalk it up to ignorance or indifference.

That all said... I wasn't about to abandon my duty. There are some benefits to being a miser and not giving up the ghost is one of them. Rather than give in to despair, I schemed. How could I, Ebenezer Scrooge, miser extraordinaire, be an effective Santa?

So I began with research.

What makes a Santa? Lots of things apparently but a common theme was seen. A penchant for the granting of desires. How he learned of them varied but for those that were well-behaved he always imparted a gift... and to the ill-mannered a lump of coal.

I noticed something else... a misunderstanding of humanity.

Many assume the coal to be a punishment, a rebuking of bad behavior... I wholly disagree with that notion. Perhaps in modern times, but in my time coal was no punishment. Coal was fire, it was warmth, it was home, and it was sustenance. What humanity deems a punishment I saw as mercy.

Mercy for the wicked.

A gesture that touched my heart and guided me. Scrooge could not be so charitable, even at his best... but Santa Claus? Santa certainly could and so I made my decision. I would not be Santa, as Santa deemed, but instead I would create and become as Santa.

His myth is as varied as the myths on this planet.

It was harrowing at first but once I locked into the common theme of wish-granting, it wasn't hard to form a character of him. A kind, generous, if firm man... admittedly, I did have a reference guide in one of my spirits. It wasn't hard to draw comparisions between the Ghost of Christmas Present and Santa Claus though I quickly found differences.

Father Christmas, the Ghost of Christmas Present, did harbor sentiments of justice... as I mentioned before, Santa Claus believed in mercy more than punishment.

With that in mind I reformed my saint graph and became Santa Claus. I began my journey in granting wishes to whomever I came across as best I could. It wasn't always perfect, you'd be surprised at the darkness some of these servants hold... yet I tried to remain true to the idea. Mercy for all, even the most wicked. A lump of cold in this cold, cold season.

All said however, it's over.

I'm no longer Santa... perhaps I could amass the resources needed to do it again, but what's the point? They'll know soon. Once they do, I will be rejected because I am Ebenezer Scrooge, miser extraordinaire. A moneylender who mastered the art of inflicting pain and misery, as my legacy dictates.... becoming the perfect santa as I so wished is now impossible...

...

Even if I wish it weren't so...

Personality
Ebenezer Scrooge was once known for being a miser.

Someone who lived as cheaply as possible but held immense personal wealth. This describes Ebenezer well before that haunting night he experienced. He would collect and amass wealth but spend as little as possible on his only clerk, Bob Cratchit, and even himself; to the point that Christmas Eve his only meal was bread and cheese by a dim fire.

After that night is another story.

Scrooge went from a miser to a philanthropist. Many disbelieved this change, but it was genuine... a fact that unfortunately does not matter to the Throne. As a servant, some of his miserly habits remain. He'll refuse gifts and charity, often not spending many resources on himself. Likewise, he will prioritize efficiency above all.

However, in this saint graph, he is not completely miserly.

Becoming this years Santa gave him an opportunity to break free of his mold. Instead of the miser humanity remembers him as he instead retains traits of the philanthropist he became. He gives what he has to those that need it and shows kindness and mercy however he can.

It is these traits that led him to believing he needed to be Santa Claus to accomplish his duty of being this years Santa; he knew his reputation and prioritized the efficient fulfillment of his duties over properly gaining the trust of others.

Interactions
Macbeth
How peculiar... to think you are real. Harrowing... I shall avoid speaking your name, good sir... I'm sure you understand.

Franscisco Pizarro
Huh. I admit, I never gave mind to affairs outside my city... admittedly, rather small-minded of me. Yet I cannot help but feel that your fate was.... wholly unavoidable. Perhaps next time try to reign in the megalomania?

Michael Joseph Blassie
Bah, Humbug. I knew the Throne let anyone in... no offense good sir. Between you and that unassuming mountain boy, I'm certain now it lied about its standards.... 'only the most reputed' it said.... Bah, Humbug!

Faust
.... Hm. I imagine you have a surplus of coal... would giving you more even do anything or...?

Elpis and Moros
Hmmm... Yes... I believe I have an idea from you two... it'll be difficult, but everyone deserves happiness... give some time, won't you?

Walpurgia Alter
... How pitiful. Look what they did to you.... ohhh, the usual stock won't do it... to give you mercy I'll need so much... still. I can only try....

Lord Byron
Hrm. You are quite a difficult one... still... Immortality huh? You already have it no? Though... yes. I can think of a way to solidify it... a company that specializes in the retelling of tales... yes that might do.... but what would that require...?

Aten
... I... don't think I can help you. You conspire with forces far above my paygrade... but perhaps not his....?

Lucifer=Phosphorus
... Hm. I know a thing or two about being misidentified.... not in name, perhaps... I'm sorry you had to experience it all the same.

Iphigenia
Hm. That retelling company looks more and more promising by the minute...

Noble Phantasm

Past, Present, Future

A Christmas Carol

Type
Anti-Unit
(Self)

Rank
EX

A noble phantasm representing the tale his legend originates from.

Ebenezer Scrooge might have been real but most peoples remember him from the tale written by Charles Dickens. A story about a cold miser who had grown cold towards Christmas and mankind and after a haunting became philanthropic and charitable towards his fellow man. Naturally, it would be the Noble Phantasm of Ebenezer Scrooge.

In effect, it does nothing.

It is a dormant noble phantasm. Its power awakens at night. Then the three spirits that once haunted Ebenezer now begin their haunting again-in a sense. Normally they would purely target Ebenezer and they still to an extent do. However as he retains some of his reformation, their targeting of him lessens and their eyes turn to others. He cannot control these conjured spirits; they do as they will.

At most, he can advise them.

However through wit and their power he can utilize this noble phantasm in a creative manner. By utilizing its true name, in conjunction with his assignment of Santa and his personal skill Innocent Monster he can alter his saint graph fully into his visage of Santa Claus, in effect becoming him.

This new saint graph's only real restriction is lacking a proper Noble Phantasm....

or rather, the Noble Phantasm it does possess has an astronomical cost equivalent to a fully formed Holy Grail.

AN

A bit tired but its done. Worked for a while on this guy. Realized with this contest and the idea of Santa Scrooge there was some magic to work... just hope it came across well.
Regardless, any future changes I make will be purely cosmetic because I missed them.
Mainly things like italicizing NP and Skill names within the flavor text.
That's it.

[BnEl15]

Top level creator's notes

TW: Period-specific racism and graphic depictions of violence (there will be another warning before you get to that part)

Saber of the New Imperial Court
-- Subjugation Underneath the Enlightened Rule --

"To be summoned in this age of decadence... what a pitiful state of affairs. It appears there is much for Us to do in order to excise the rot plaguing Our homeland and remind the world of Our superiority once again. Prostrate yourself before Us, vassal. You have summoned Meiji; 122nd Emperor of Japan, and He who delivered the country- no, the entirety of Asia, towards a new age of enlightenment. Know your place, and govern yourself accordingly before Our brilliance."
~ ♬ ~


Source

"And what of you, vassal? Identify yourself. Are you a child of the empire? A proud soldier ready to dedicate yourself to the prosperity of the empire? A foreigner sympathetic to our cause, or one enamored by tales of Our glories? ...No matter. Allow Us to make one thing clear; We have no intention of acting as a subordinate. From the beginning, it would be the height of foolishness to expect anyone who ever sat on the Chrysanthemum Throne to adopt a role subservient to anyone. Instead, We shall use you to further Our own goals, and disgraceful as it may be, so long as our interests align, We shall allow you to use Us in turn. Such wonderfully simple terms for our contract, is it not? Something that even the inferiors could understand with no problem. Sigh, to lower Ourselves to this level... This is our magnanimity."

Class: Saber
Other Classes: Voyager, Ruler
True Name: Emperor Meiji (Alter)
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Origin: Japan (19th-20th century)

Parameters:

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

Likes: Traditional Japanese culture, "building the homeland", expansionism, western culture
Dislikes: People who "don't know their place", cowardice, those who reject his "kindness"
Talent: Subjugation, one-sided diplomacy, religious and cultural oppression
Natural Enemy: Emperor Komei
Armament: Katana, pistol
Catalyst: Any attempt to summon Meiji in a place with a history of Japanese imperialism has a chance of manifesting this incarnation, though this chance becomes 100% in one country in particular

Class Skills

Riding (C+)

One can flawlessly manage beasts and vehicles if they have received the proper training and adjustments. Most vehicles and animals can be handled with above-average skill. However, he cannot ride the likes of Phantasmal Species such as Monstrous Beasts. While he rode horses and carriages in life, none of these are especially notable or worth mentioning, resulting in a subpar rank in this Skill for a Saber. However, there is a minor positive modifier when it comes to riding "the will of the people", though it is unclear what that entails.

"This is acceptable. Our steed is the will of Our people. A proper system of governance relies on the approval of the masses. The Emperor draws a vision of the future, yet without the hands of responsible citizens willing to realize them, all would come to naught. In the end, everyone benefits from this system of mutual cooperation. It could not be any clearer than that."

Magic Resistance (C+)

Grants protection against magical effects. Differing from the Resistance effect that merely rejects Magical Energy, this ability cancels the spells altogether. Cancels spells with a chant below two verses. Cannot defend against magecraft on the level of greater magecraft and Greater Rituals. A sovereign who ushered a new age of modernity upon his nation while respecting its traditions, Saber had little actual contact with mystics and the supernatural. Even so, one of the most impactful decisions he decreed was the establishment of State Shinto, a variation of the standard Shinto faith that established the Emperor as a divine being. This was soon followed by countrywide persecution of Buddhism (mainly through the destruction of temples and other religious iconography). Supposedly, the reason was that in the absence of Christianity during much of the Edo period, Buddhism had ingratiated itself with the Tokugawa shogunate, as well as the oppressive systems brought about by the shogunate, which led to centuries of pent-up resentment. It is unclear just how much- if at all- the Emperor was involved in this movement, but the outcome was clear; roughly more than 40,000 temples were destroyed, and in certain areas, the percentage of Buddhist temples destroyed exceeded 80%. Such was the tragedy of the

Abolish Buddhism and Destroy Shākyamuni

Haibutsu Kishaku

.

An Emperor who was largely clueless about supernatural affairs, yet stubbornly considered himself a living deity as temples burned across the country. This Skill's effectiveness is greatly increased against magecraft based on Buddhism, and to a lesser extent, other faiths originating from Asia. This resistance is boosted even further in synchronization with his personal Skill, Meiji Ishin (Oppressive).

"Oh, you would be mistaken to assume Our status was nothing more than the result of a naive little boy throwing a temper tantrum and forcing the world to accept his delusions. The moment we first sat upon that Chrysanthemum Throne, our divinity became a self-evident truth. There is nothing more to it than that. Sigh, if only everyone could accept a fact so obvious then... it would have been so much easier..."

Divinity (E-)

A natural outcome of Saber's self-deification through State Shinto. Due to his divinity being self-proclaimed (albeit enforced by various means of national propaganda), combined with his modernity, the rank is abysmally low. Perhaps due to his manifestation as an Alter, his divinity has been degraded even further.

"Gaze upon Our grandeur. No matter the form We manifest under, We remain a symbol of the new dawn. Following the tumultuous Bakumatsu era, amidst a rapidly-changing world, We are the one who opened the doors of progress and modernity, and brought the country to a new age. Our people worshiped the very ground We treaded upon. A radiant icon of 'hope' appointed by the people... That, is Us."

Personal Skills

Innocent Monster (EX)

An attribute possessed by Servants whose true history and existence have been distorted by the monstrous reputations and gossips they accrued across the course of their life and thereafter, without concern for the actual person's will or appearance. As a consequence, the Servant's abilities and appearance have been rendered to conform to the specifications of their legend. Unlike childhood innocence of his Voyager incarnation, or the idealized Ruler, the Saber-Class seems to represent the worst aspects of the Meiji era, including religious persecution, aggressive expansionist doctrine, the rise of imperialism, militarism, and rapid modernization at the cost of trampling anyone unwilling or unable to adapt to the times. This change in perception is seemingly reflected in his personality and mannerisms. He is not "the young Emperor who brought about the future". Instead, he is "an ideal of the empire", and the face behind the numerous atrocities committed throughout the era. A ruthless leader and a dutiful soldier draped in imperial military uniform who had long numbed his own emotions for the glory of the empire. That said, aside from this initial distortion, this Skill occasionally experiences minor fluctuations in rank for reasons unknown, making it difficult to gauge the true extent of its capabilities.

"Oh please, no ruler is without their share of 'darkness'... if you could even call it that. There is not a hint of evil to be found here. As the new head of state, We were simply entrusted with responsibilities, and We sought to realize them to the best of Our abilities. To choose between one cruel option over the other... that is the way of the world. What is 'good' and 'evil'... We require no such arbitrary notions."

Centralized Governance (B)

One of the main pillars of the new Meiji government. During the Edo period, while the country was largely peaceful and unified under the Tokugawa shogunate, most regional domains still ruled independently, establishing their own taxes and policies. These domains were kept in check by the central government to minimize the risk of rebellion or secession, but government intervention generally remained a limited occurrence. This changed during Meiji era. The strict class system was abolished, feudal lords were sent into early retirement, domains were converted into imperial prefectures with stronger government presence, and taxes were standardized across the nation. From early during his reign, Saber spared no effort in fostering a strong, unified national identity in the populace. Gone were the days of the fractured island nation with factions constantly vying for dominance, replaced by the idea of one Japan.

A blessing that Saber could grant to his allies. As they are deemed "an extension of himself", to attack them is to attack the very idea of Japan. Whenever any serious harm comes to his allies, Saber receives a momentary major boost to his parameters, just enough to conduct a brutal retaliatory strike.

"In truth, the mere existence of this Skill fills Us with shame. It is a ruler's duty to protect their people before any harm could befall them. However, the only thing afforded to Us by this Skill was the ability to retaliate after the deed was done. Far too reactive. This will not do..."

Meiji Ishin (Oppressive) (A+)

Originally a Noble Phantasm under his other Classes, representing the rapid modernization of the era. Under his present form, it has been distorted to represent the "cost" that such modernization entailed. The persecution of Buddhists, the displacement of the nobility and samurai classes, the large-scale political upheaval which left many reeling before these drastic changes... those deemed "unfitting" of this new era were crushed underneath the march of progress, seen nothing more than "inferior" relics of the past to be rightfully disposed of.

A Skill that imposes great pressure upon followers of the "inferior old ways"... vague as that criteria may be. Saber usually keeps it sealed due to the wide array of Servants that could potentially be affected in a place like Chaldea, but when it is unsealed, it is said that affected targets could feel their own cultures, their history, and eventually, their very existences being eroded away. For allies of Japanese origin, however, they will instead receive beneficial boons similar to the effects of Charisma.

"Cruel as it may be, sometimes a new order can only be built atop the foundations of the old. One must be willing to tear the old structures down to their very roots in order to make way for the future that lies just ahead. That is what... Our Sensei had taught us, once. Unfortunately, not everyone is blessed with the foresight to understand Our noble vision, and not everyone will make it through the turbulent transitional period... but that is a sacrifice We must be willing to make."

Divine Conqueror of the State (A)

A conceptual antithesis to Demonic Defender of the State, based on Japan's expansionist policies starting from the Meiji era. Within less than five decades after the Emperor ascended the throne, Japan had annexed Taiwan and Korea, crushed Qing dynasty China in the first Sino-Japanese war, and were rapidly advancing towards inland Manchuria and Russia, even defeating the Russian empire in the Russo-Japanese war, which no one had thought possible before. Following Saber's passing in 1912, this expansionist ambition only grew, and in the following decades, they would expand south, "liberating" Southeast Asian countries from the yoke of western imperialism, only to install Japanese imperialism in their stead. As the supposed "origin point" of these ambitions, Saber receives this Skill at the highest rank. Allows him to constantly expand his sphere of influence, redirect the flow of leylines to support his position, and drain resources from nearby territories to the point of leaving them as empty husks.

"Hah, 'conqueror'... as if We did all of that solely for the sake of glory and superiority. Our reasoning was not so shallow, no. In fact, it was for their own good. Joseon, Manchuria, even the once-great Qing... in the face of a world that was becoming more and more western-centric with every passing day, they were doomed to be inferior. To become another just another feeding ground for western powers to tear apart, much like what they did once in Our homeland. Please do not resent them for their inferiority. They could not help it. What they needed was a strong figure to lead them towards modernization while still keeping their roots in mind, so that the west would not devour them whole. An elder brother, or mentor figure to guide them, you could say! And it falls to Us to offer them that guidance. It is a shame that they could not be more... cooperative to Our approach, but some things could not be helped."

Noble Phantasm(s)

Confiscation of Privileges by Imperial Rule
Haitourei

"Know that this could have been avoided if you had just chosen to yield quietly. Now, you shall fall by the blades of Our people. Dance, and show them the strength of our glorious nation's willpower; Haitourei."​

Type: Anti-Unit (Self)
Rank: D
Range: 1-20
Max Targets: - 

The "sword hunting" decree of 1876. During Tokugawa rule, only samurai and high-ranking nobles were allowed to openly carry swords. Thus, by the end of the Edo period, swords were considered a symbol of privilege, one that only highlighted the government's oppressive class system. Through this decree, however, Saber issued a nationwide ban on carrying swords, removing this visual distinction of status. This is further enforced by the emancipation decree established a few years prior in 1871, giving previously-outcasted members of society such as the Ainu and the burakumin legal rights (although social discrimination still persisted). Nonetheless, by taking away their swords, Saber made steps to ensure a more equal society... on the surface, at least.

A Noble Phantasm similar to the one belonging to a certain Child of the Sun three centuries before Saber's time... or so it was supposed to be. As a Voyager or Ruler, this Noble Phantasm would allow him to temporarily disable or take control of armaments belonging to his opponents. However, perhaps due to the limitations of his current Class, it has instead taken its most literal meaning. Allows Saber to manifest the swords he confiscated to aid him in combat. Due to the low mana cost, Saber could summon up to a dozen of these swords, each of them moving semi-independently through simple commands such as "Protect Us" or "Eviscerate the enemy". According to him, due to contemporary spiritual belief that a katana houses the "soul" of a samurai, these summoned blades also embody his people's unwavering resolve to fight to the bitter end for the sake of the empire.

Lore

The 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. Born with the childhood name of Mutsuhito, his reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ended the Tokugawa shogunate and began rapid changes that transformed Japan from an isolationist, feudal state to an industrialized world power. Emperor Meiji was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan, and presided over the Meiji era.

At the time of Mutsuhito's birth, Japan was a feudal and pre-industrial country dominated by the isolationist Tokugawa shogunate and the daimyō subject to it, who ruled over Japan's 270 decentralized domains. The opening of Japan to the West from 1854 fueled domestic demands for modernization, and when Mutsuhito became emperor after the death of his father Emperor Komei in 1867, it triggered the Boshin War, in which samurai (mostly from the Choshu and Satsuma Domains) defeated the shogunate and restored power in his name. Documents issued during his reign include the Charter Oath of 1868, Meiji Constitution of 1889, Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors of 1882, and Imperial Rescript on Education of 1890, in which he was closely advised by a group of oligarchs. Other major events include the establishment of the Cabinet in 1885, Privy Council in 1888, Imperial Diet in 1890, and military victories over China in the First Sino-Japanese War and over Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. Taiwan and Korea were annexed in 1895 and 1910, respectively. Emperor Meiji died in 1912, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Yoshihito.

The enlightened monarch who transformed an isolated island nation into a world power, catching up to centuries of progress in a matter of decades. The power-hungry conqueror whose increasingly imperialistic policies gave birth to numerous instances of persecution, colonialism, and other atrocities, which only worsened with subsequent Emperors. The one summoned here is...

Description

Love and pride in one's country, taken to the absolute extreme. That is the one, most dominant characteristic of Meiji (Alter). Every other quality, the bonds he forged in his youth, the lessons he learned from his late father, the experiences that shaped him during the chaos of his early reign, the transitory period between the fall of the shogunate and the emergence of Japan as a world power... all of them appears to be numbed under his current manifestation as an Alter. To a certain extent, this very monotonous personality might have some basis in history. Unlike his father before him, he kept no diary, wrote almost no letters, and left no more than three or four official photographs. The accounts of people who had met or were close to him usually contain little substantial information or are mutually contradictory. Thus, his role in both the accomplishments and atrocities committed during the era remains a matter of dispute even now. Some argued that he was nothing more than a figurehead who rarely meddled with the decisions already agreed upon by the oligarchs in his court. Conversely, others claimed that he was a ruthless autocrat whom the oligarchs struggled to restrain while accommodating his increasingly authoritarian inclinations.

In any case, due to these wildly different perceptions of his character, the Servant before you seems to model his personality based on common public perception of the time (albeit still biased, with his negative qualities exaggerated by his detractors). As a result, nothing seems to exist beyond his twisted, single-minded patriotism. The Empire of Japan is the best; it is everything to him, and anything outside of it (with the exception of western culture) is deemed "inferior". He is capable of restraining himself and engaging in pleasantries if the Master wishes him to, but even with those he supposedly knew in life, his words feel highly superficial, as if reading a script provided to him by another, or a very safe "government response". This changes completely whenever "the interest of the empire" is involved, however. He is a ruthless negotiator... if what he does could actually be called "negotiating". It would be closer to say that from the very beginning of any exchange, he could never consider his position as anything but "correct". No matter what arguments are presented to him, he would calmly shut them down with the same flat expression he always wears. He may present flawed or contradictory arguments at times, but he does not care. Between his natural charisma and his off-putting presence, he simply pressures to opposing side to accept his perspective while barely even registering theirs.

All in all, a very troublesome Servant to keep around. His mere existence feels like an international incident just waiting to happen.

Source

Relationships

Sakamoto Ryoma:
"Sakamoto-dono. A pleasure to make your acquaintance at last. Growing up, Our advisors told Us stories of your crusade. It really was a tragedy that you left us far too soon. We accepted that dream you cherished so dearly, and with the help of the country's loyal citizens, We brought Japan towards the modern era. You would have been proud to see just how much We had accomplished in just a few decades."

Katsu Kaishu (BnEl15):
"Katsu-sensei! You are absolutely correct! The Kanrin-maru was just the beginning! It is a wonder what a nation could achieve with a strong naval force! You have Our utmost gratitude for accompanying Us during those turbulent years following the Restoration. Please extend this sentiment to the admiral, Enomoto-sensei as well if you find him. Without your knowledge, I doubt We could have expanded as much as We did."

Yamaoka Tesshu (BnEl15):
"Yamaoka-sensei. It is wonderful to see you again. We have-"
...
"Hm? Please, why are you so tense? At ease. Fufu, don't tell Us you had forgotten the face of your own student? We are most wounded by your look of suspicion!"

The Shinsengumi:
"Loyal enforcers of the late shogunate... We may have stood on opposing sides once, but We have only respect for your 'sincerity'. The imperial army was not bad by any means, but if We had someone with your abilities under Our employ then to train the new recruits... perhaps Our operations in Hokkaido, Joseon, and Manchuria could have proceeded smoother... In any case, you would be most welcome to fight under Our banner now."

Any Heroic Spirit of Chinese or Korean origin:
"I see... Humanity must truly be in dire straits now, yes? That you would be forced to seek help even from the inferior nations... Their five thousand years of history, as well as the legends and culture they had amassed throughout that time were fanciful, once. But that age had long passed, and the only thing they could do was cling to those past glories, ignorant of the world changing before their eyes... as though they had nothing else to be proud of beyond those pathetic chains they call 'tradition'... Under any other circumstances, We would order you to dismiss them posthaste, but given the situation, We shall restrain Ourselves, just this once. That said, do not even think of putting us in the same team. That would be an insult to the empire."

Emperor Komei (BnEl15):
...
...
"...Dear Father."

Bond CE"Halt."
A single word from the purple-clad Emperor stopped the boy in his tracks.

"Yes, dear father? Is anything the matter?"
"Do not address me as such. Even the word feels hollow when uttered by your mouth."
"Our sincerest apologies. Have We done anything to displease you, Dear father?"
"Are you testing my patience? I will only ask this once, and I expect you to answer; who are you?"
"...Whatever could you possibly be talking about? Much like with Yamaoka-sensei, have you forgotten the face of your own son?"
"I might not have been around to watch him grow up, but I am offended you thought so little of our bond to fall for your pathetic act."
"How foolish. Our face is that of Meiji. Our voice is that of Meiji. Our hands, Our blades, Our very Spirit Origin... they are those of Meiji. Who else could We possibly be, if not him?"
"And yet, your heart is not of his. Curious. I know my son better than that, you see."
...
"One last chance. I will not ask again after this."

An overwhelming amount of magical energy began to swirl at the elder Emperor's feet. He was preparing to release his Noble Phantasm,

Imperial Decree to Expel Barbarians

Joui Chokumei

.

"Y-You would raise a hand against your own son!? And you would consider Us no different than the barbarians!?"
"If a son misbehaves, it's a father's duty to discipline him... that is, if you are ever my son to begin with. If not, well... it pains me to punish my own countrymen, but based on the actions you had taken, you had proven yourself no better than the barbarians. You take pleasure in sowing chaos, indulging yourself in endless war and devouring nation after nation with no regard for the people. Do I require any more justification than that?"
...
...
...
"Understood. How unfortunate. We were hoping that you would appreciate Our earnest resolve towards building Our beloved homeland. In the end, We simply could not bring Ourselves to deceive you... Your Majesty."

Pretender of the Annexation
-- A New Dawn Over Asia, The Rising Sun Engulfs All --

"Now then, playtime is over. Allow us to reintroduce ourselves, starting from myself... Ito Hirobumi, First Prime Minister of the glorious Empire of Japan, and former Resident General of Joseon."
"Saigo Takamori, of the Satsuma domain. The 'Last Samurai' who stood his ground proudly at Shiroyama."
"Kuroda Kiyotaka, second Prime Minister of the Empire, and Executive Director of the Hokkaido Colonization Office."
"Fukuzawa Yukichi, scholar, reformer, and educator. Author of the Datsu-A Ron."
"As you can see, we have found ourselves in... quite the peculiar circumstances in this summoning. His Majesty the Emperor seems to be indisposed at the moment. Perhaps he has deemed the situation to be unworthy of his attention, or perhaps it is a matter of public perception influencing our present form."
"No matter, regardless of the answer, nothing else needs to change. We shall continue to act as executors of his will. This is what he would have wanted; prosperity for the country, justice for the people... domination over Asia."
"By the way, Master, now that the truth is out, even if the Emperor saw fit to lend us his form, I feel it would be most inappropriate for us to continue addressing ourselves by his name. You are to address us as... hmm..."
"Ah, that name would work nicely! Consider it a little something for old time's sake... '

Advocacy for a Punitive Expedition to Korea

Seikanron

'. That is what you shall address us from this moment onwards."
~ ♬ ~


Source

"Many likened the Meiji Restoration to a new dawn, a sunrise heralding a new age for the country... and for good reason."
"The Bakumatsu was an era of much strife; a clash of ideals, brother killing brother, turning blades upon our own countrymen... to finally see a new stronger, unified Japan emerging from the remnants of the old must be nothing short of awe-inspiring for those who lived through such difficult times."
"Western technology, Japanese spirit! A noble sentiment, that was. No longer must the country cannibalize itself! No longer could the western powers trample us underfoot and exploit us as they please! If anything, in just a few short years, we would be worthy of standing side by side as equals!"
"Ah, but do you know what comes after the dawn, Master? After the sunrise... comes midday. When the sun shines proudly above us, its brilliant light touching everything under the heavens. We may have our own reasons for following this path, but at the end of the day, we follow the same principle."
"​Everything the light touches, we shall make ours. Hokkaido and Joseon were just the beginning. They would resist; that was well within our expectations. In response, we would erase all who dare to stand in our way."
"It is a pitiful thing, when the weak no longer knows to submit to the strong. Alas, self-awareness will forever elude some people..."
"Even so, we are nothing if not magnanimous. So long as the inferior nations are willing to acknowledge our superiority, we shall welcome them with open arms."

Class: Pretender
Other Classes: -
True Name: "Seikanron"Saigo Takamori, Ito Hirobumi, Kuroda Kiyotaka, Fukuzawa Yukichi
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Origin: Japan (19th-20th century), Korean rumors and negative sentiments (19th-20th century)

Parameters:

STR: B
END: B
AGI: C
MGI: D
LCK: B
NP: EX

Likes: Traditional Japanese culture, "building the homeland", expansionism, western culture
Dislikes: The erasure of traditional Japanese values, those who reject their "kindness", moralists, "inferior cultures"
Talent: Subjugation, one-sided diplomacy, religious and cultural oppression
Natural Enemy: Emperor Komei, Empress Myeongseong, An Jung-geun, Beast I:R
Armament: Katana, pistol, constructs from their Noble Phantasm
Catalyst: Any attempt to summon Meiji in any place recognized as "Korea" would result in this incarnation being summoned

Class Skills

Riding (C+)

One can flawlessly manage beasts and vehicles if they have received the proper training and adjustments. Most vehicles and animals can be handled with above-average skill. However, he cannot ride the likes of Phantasmal Species such as Monstrous Beasts. None of Pretender's components ever rode anything notable in life. However, due to the perception of their enemies, their Noble Phantasm has granted them a single powerful mount which they could manage perfectly, resulting in the very specific positive modifier.

"It is just as we said; Our steed is the will of the people. They are the shield with which we protect the country, and the sword with which we enact justice upon our enemies."
"Every treaty, every military conscription, every policy... none of those would have been possible without their effort. Every signature we signed, we signed in the name of the people."

Magic Resistance (C+)

Cancels spells with a chant below two verses. Aside from their role in modernizing Japan, as well as their involvement in the anti-Buddhist movement, this rank is also achieved through the act of suppressing traditional Korean faiths and burning down their places of worship as part of a forced assimilation campaign, just as the empire had done with the Ainu and the Ryukyuans before. Pretender's resistance against magecraft synergizes well with their personal Skill,

On Departure from Asia

Datsu-A Ron

, allowing them to almost completely shrug off any magecraft originating from "inferior cultures".

"It would be an exaggeration to say any one of us actually conceived the idea of State Shinto. We only took existing traditions and changed them accordingly to fit the times, as well as to better accommodate national interests. Still, I must admit, putting the Emperor at the center of the faith was a brilliant move on our part."
"Unlike the inferiors, we do not need to rely on centuries-old fairytales to keep the citizens in line. In every school, it was instilled since early childhood that the deity that everyone prayed to, the divine Emperor to whom we owe to prosperity of the country was not in some faraway, otherworldly realm, but right here, by their side."
"And thanks to that, social cohesion had never been better! The citizens regulated themselves! The nail that sticks out gets hammered down! What a strategy!"

Divinity (E-)

A Skill belonging to the divine Emperor who sat upon the chrysanthemum throne, a central deity of the state-enforced brand of Shinto faith... that was the initial idea, at least. While their form remains that of Meiji, they are fundamentally not him. Combined with the perception of the Korean people regarding the atrocities they committed during their occupation of the peninsula, their Divinity is reduced to an all-time low. At present, their existence is closer to that of a demonic entity.

"To think they would liken us to a demon... what is that, if not a complete admission of our power? They are correct to lower themselves before their betters."
"Sigh, at one point, I had hoped to avoid this situation. How wonderful would it be, if we could guide them into the future with a firm, yet compassionate hand? Alas, they... they just would not listen."
"There, there, do not blame yourself, Ito-dono. As ideal as that would have been, at the end of the day, what they thought of us is irrelevant."
"Indeed! What need have we for the voices of the vanquished!? They hold no weight whatsoever! The spirit of Yamato had proven itself better than all the others. That is all that matters."

Personal Skills

Monster of Joseon (EX)

Innocent Monster, taken into the next level. Pretender's appearance fits that of Emperor Meiji, albeit in an older form now (perhaps because they no longer have to focus so hard on maintaining the image of a pure, youthful Emperor). However, the individuals summoned with Meiji as their vessel bears the names of four notable figures from the era deemed responsible for the conquest and eventual annexation of Korea. Four men who supposedly manipulated the young Emperor in the imperial court into allowing the execution of countless atrocities; Saigo Takamori, Ito Hirobumi, Kuroda Kiyotaka, and Fukuzawa Yukichi. Each of these individuals are summonable as individual Servants, and if they were summoned as such, it's likely that each of them would have Innocent Monster at varying ranks. However, their individual Saint Graphs would not be enough to contain the sheer terror and contempt they had amassed from Joseon after decades of colonization. So, the world decided to shove them into a "grander" Saint Graph that could better accommodate these sentiments. In a cruel twist of fate, this seemingly misguided effort to "let the long-silenced, oppressed voices of Joseon finally be heard" only resulted in the birth of this monster; the Meiji era, as seen through the eyes of its countless victims. The Pretender-Class purges any kind of nuance from these four men, cementing them only as "enemies of Joseon". The ultranationalist fanatic who would ravage the peninsula only to affirm his way of the samurai, the power-hungry bureaucrat who gradually usurped authority from the country's penultimate monarch, Gojong, to impose increasingly draconian laws upon the populace, the deranged expansionist who would bleed the entire peninsula dry for the sake of enriching the empire, and the scholar who regarded the people as nothing more than apes in the face of the empire's superiority... each and every one of them are monsters, in the truest sense of the word.

"His Majesty Emperor Komei was wrong about one thing; our heart is undoubtedly Meiji's, and we fight only for the good of the nation and its citizens."
"That is because an Emperor's heart belongs only to their people! That is in accordance to the parliament we had established as the new foundation of the country!"
"Even the Emperor, with all his so-called divine wisdom, could not hope to mobilize the citizens into such large-scale operations. Endure the freezing cold of Hokkaido? Leave everything behind to march further inland into Manchuria? Head far north and take on the giant that was Russia? Hah, without popular support, that poor little boy would find himself losing allies quick for suggesting such preposterous ideas!"
"Watch your tongue, Kuroda-dono. That is still the Emperor you are talking about. Treat him with proper respect. That said, you are not entirely wrong; the people wanted this. They yearned to prove their strength before the world. They yearned to expand. They yearned to take everything they could to enrich the homeland. They yearned to give their lives in service to the empire... and who are we to deny them their wishes? Why, that would defeat the entire purpose of having an Emperor."

Punitive Gambit (B)

The Seikanron debate of 1873, in which the idea of invading Joseon first entered the imperial sphere of interest. Satsuma politician Saigo Takamori insisted that Japan confront Joseon due to what he believed was the latter's refusal to acknowledge the legitimacy of Emperor Meiji as the head of state to the Empire of Japan, as well as "insulting" treatments received by Japanese envoys attempting to establish trade and diplomatic relations. Saigo boldly volunteered to go to Joseon as a special envoy in the hopes of inviting an assassination attempt that would provide justification for an invasion if any were needed. In the end, this proposal was rejected, mainly by fellow Meiji politician Okubo Toshimichi, who deemed an invasion too costly and unrealistic for a country in the early stages of modernization. No action would be taken against Korea. This decision caused resentment within the pro-war faction, after which Saigo resigned from his position in protest. It is believed that this was one of the main factors that led to the Satsuma domain rebelling against the empire, a rebellion in which Saigo Takamori met his end. That said, some argued that the Seikanron was not a debate arguing whether an invasion should be carried out, but simply when and who to do it.

This is not a blessing Pretender could bestow upon their allies. If anything, it's much closer to a curse. Pretender could appoint several individuals as their "envoys". While this would strengthen their parameters slightly, this is offset by their presence being broadcasted to the world at all times. If death or grievous harm were to come to any of these appointed "envoys", Pretender would temporarily receive a massive boost to their parameters, just enough to enact brutal punishment upon whoever dared to inflict such harm upon their precious subordinate. This Skill is enforced further by various incidents of disproportionate retribution targeted towards Koreans over the course of the occupational period. More often than not, suspected subversive activities and perceived crimes against the imperial government would be met with entire towns being wiped out and thousands dead. Lastly, the best(?) thing about this Skill is that appointing an "envoy" does not require consent from said envoy.

"Hahaha! Of course we require no such thing as 'consent'! What self-respecting citizen would turn down the grand opportunity to lay down very lives for the empire! A glorious death is the greatest thing any samurai could ever wish for, and to die for the empire is both an honor and a privilege of the highest degree! Ah... long have I missed this feeling. 'Western technology, Japanese spirit'... nonsense. By the time men like Ito-dono came into power, we had already lost! Our noble Japanese spirit had been lost to armchair politics and bureaucracy! Let me tell you my perspective, Master; for me, the invasion of Joseon was never about procuring resources or demonstrating our national superiority. Rather it was an affirmation to our way of life. It gave the samurai purpose. Proof that they were not redundant, and that they still deserved a place in that changed world. It was similar to back when the Satsuma rebelled; I faced everything my end with a smile, because I knew that even if we were no match for the imperial forces, each of us fought to their very last breaths for what they believed in. My only regret was that I did not want my final enemy to be my own countrymen. Fortunately... now seems to be my best opportunity to amend that. If I could give that same sense of purpose to my men as I did back then... I would gladly surrender my life to the cause."

Northern Expansion Doctrine

Hokushin-ron

(A)

The aggressive expansionist doctrine that dominated Japanese foreign policy from the early Meiji era to the 1930s. It all started with the colonization of Hokkaido, led by the Chief Director of the Colonization Office, Kuroda Kiyotaka. In less than a decade, he transformed a quiet, snowy area with a single settler village into a region bustling with activity. He also oversaw the extraction of natural resources and the relocation of the indigenous Ainu people. After Hokkaido had been pacified, he set his sights to the kingdom of Joseon just across the sea, and he acted as a chief negotiator to the highly unequal Japan-Korea Treaty of Amity in 1876. These two incidents established a precedent that would shape Japan's policies for decades to come, including the first Sino-Japanese war against Qing China (1894-1895), the invasion of Taiwan (1895), and the eventual Russo-Japanese war for the fate of Manchuria and Korea (1904-1905). It was a recurring case that in almost every territory Japan had conquered, the economy grew, and various infrastructures were built. However, many argued that many of these projects were built solely to extract resources and not for the benefit of the people.

A variant of Demonic Defender of the State that facilitates Pretender's expansionist ideals. They are able to tap into the leylines of controlled territories and receive greater benefits compared to the standard version of the Skill, an effect only improved further with each new territory they conquer. On the other hand, enemies present in these controlled territories would find themselves losing magical energy at a considerably faster rate. Unfortunately, allowing Pretender to connect to these leylines for too long would cause the surrounding area to decay in quality, from plant life to the structural integrity of nearby buildings.

"Tch, Saigo with his blind nationalism, and Fukuzawa with his self-righteous pride... ignorant fools, the lot of them. And don't get me started with Ito still preaching some kind of 'moral high ground' with his proposal of 'mutual cooperation' and other nonsense! Moralists like them always love to make things way more complicated than they need to be. I, for one, am not the type to shy away from the blood shed by my own hands. Back then, the future of Japan looked brighter than ever; as we embraced the changes sweeping through the country, it truly felt as though anything was possible, and even your wildest dreams could be realized. However, the price for modernization was not cheap. For us to hold on to that future, we needed resources, as well as more land to accommodate our growing population. Screw their high-and-mighty 'justifications for opposing imperialism'! Talk is cheap when you blind yourself to the fact that underneath the surface, the country was one big spark away from reverting back to the Bakumatsu, if not the Warring States outright. If I needed to chuck Hokkaido and Joseon into the fire to maintain this peace, I would do so in a heartbeat. Besides, resources aside, the masses will always need a common enemy to keep themselves united. Without a foe to consume, the country will only devour itself! So please, by all means, berate me all you wish for destroying cities and burning down temples; without me, there would have been no city in those backwater regions to begin with."

On Departure From Asia

Datsu-A Ron

(A+)

Once the wind of Western civilization blows to the East, every blade of grass and every tree in the East follow what the Western wind brings. The spread of civilization is like the measles. In my view, these two countries [China and Korea] cannot survive as independent nations with the onslaught of Western civilization to the East. It is not different from the case of the righteous man living in a neighborhood of a town known for foolishness, lawlessness, atrocity, and heartlessness. His action is so rare that it is always buried under the ugliness of his neighbors' activities. We do not have time to wait for the enlightenment of our neighbors so that we can work together toward the development of Asia. It is better for us to leave the ranks of Asian nations and cast our lot with civilized nations of the West. Those [who] are intimate with bad friends are also regarded bad, therefore I will deny those bad Asian friends from my heart.

- Fukuzawa Yukichi, March 1885

A declaration of superiority, and another proof to the rise of Japanese militarism during the Meiji era. Like many of his colleagues in the government, scholar Fukuzawa Yukichi believed that modernization in Asia could only be achieved through the point of a gun. He believed that China and Korea suffered from archaic, unchanging principles, a belief that was only strengthened following the failure of the Qing government to resist foreign incursions and the disastrous outcome of the Opium wars. Korea had somehow maintained its mostly isolationist status while its neighbors struggled with western influence, but the scholar knew that it was only a matter of time before it would follow the same fate. In the hopes of building a strong Japan that could stand as equals with the western powers, Fukuzawa saw other Asian countries around Japan as potential deterrents whose cultures were "beyond salvation" and in need of strict guidance. That said, this essay came to be perceived not as a call for Japan to abandon their neighbors to their fates, but a justification to enact large-scale cultural assimilation in every territory they had conquered. Korea was not spared from this Japanization process, as individuals bearing Korean names received heavy discrimination until at some point, a law was enacted that functionally banned the use of Korean names and later, the Korean language altogether. Cultural monuments were destroyed, traditional buildings were partially or completely demolished, and countless artifacts were taken to Japan. Over the years, this only led to the emergence of the Korean independence movement.

A two-sided Skill depending on the targets' place of origin. For Japanese allies, it is functionally similar to Lifeblood of the Nation, imparting a variant of Mental Pollution that improves strength and endurance by warping the love they felt for their homeland into complete, maddening fanaticism (naturally, those with more patriotic disposition would receive greater enhancements at the cost of greater madness). For those Pretender deems to be of "inferior culture", however... Pretender's mere presence gives off a "culture-eroding effect" that gradually whittles away their very essence. It weakens parameters, seals away certain Skills and Noble Phantasms by removing their cultural basis, and if left unchecked for too long, it could even cause Heroic Spirits to lose their hold on reality by erasing the very names they were born with, and the language they used to interact with the world around them, essentially a process of progressive desummoning. Unsurprisingly, this Skill works best on other Asian cultures, while the process is slower on western cultures. There is still a massive mana cost required to maintain the full extent of this Skill, so Pretender usually restrains it only at "weakening" mode than outright "desummoning".

"I did not arrive at this decision out of some baseless prejudice, I'll have you know. I took on students, once. Young men and women who I once believed would become the future of Joseon, much like... Takasugi-san, Kusaka-san, and Katsura-san, many years ago. I knew of the dreadful predicament that would befall their homeland in just a few short years, and my heart was moved. I wanted to become to them as Yoshida Shoin was to the people of my generation; a teacher who would sow the seeds of hope for the future. However, in the end... I am not Shoin. I could never be him. Teach western technology and philosophy to a class of a dozen students or so? Simple. However, it would require much more than that to save an entire nation from the fate that awaited them... too much time and effort we did not have. And I must tell you, so many of these people were practically barbarians when it came to accepting foreign knowledge. We were practically almost a century apart when it came to progress, and every well-intentioned lecture I tried to give would be met with resistance from the locals. At some point, I grew tired of it all. Why teach students who refuse to learn anything in the first place? No progress, no conduct, no motivation to learn... Why did I ever care so much, really? If they want to forever stay as inferior beings doomed to be devoured by the west, who am I to stop them? I was ready to let them reap their due rewards, but then politicians like Ito-dono just had to come in proposing some kind of... great Asian co-prosperity sphere or something along those lines. I saw it for myself! Their cultures are inferior! They are inferior, and they shall remain as such! That was the choice they had made for themselves when they rejected my teachings! If nothing else, I live to see them suffer the consequences."

Noble Phantasm(s)

Disarming Beast of the All-Consuming Sunrise
Pulgasari Meiji

"A shame, we could have avoided this had you just accepted our terms, but you just had to keep fighting... and now, as much as it saddens me, you must accept the consequences. This is a show of mercy, accept it."
"Ingrates, all of them. This is why your hope of 'mutual cooperation' will forever remain a pipe dream, Ito-dono! Have you forgotten what happened to you at Harbin? We are civilized, and they are not. To argue against that fact of nature would be like teaching apes to speak human language! Despite my better judgment, we are TRYING to elevate you into civilization! You are being saved, so stop resisting!"
"Oh dear, Ito-dono, Fukuzawa-dono... still speaking of mercy and salvation even now... especially you, Mr. Prime Minister! Saying such things with the biggest grin on your face... be honest, you're enjoying this more than anyone else, aren't you? ...Still, I suppose you're correct about one thing; our enemies need to be brought to heel."
"Sigh, still bickering about politics even now... no wonder the empire is doomed. We have no need for your platitudes at the moment. The only thing that matters is eradicating the enemy through a show of imperial superiority, just as we did back then. Say it with me now..."
"Pulgasari Meiji!"

Type: Anti-Unit (Self)
Rank: A 
Range: 1-100
Max Targets: -

Pretender's mount, and a Noble Phantasm exclusive to "Meiji" as he was perceived by the people of Joseon. The pulgasari is a mythological Korean phantasmal believed to have wreaked havoc upon the peninsula centuries ago. It was a bloodthirsty beast who grew in size and ferocity the more metal it ate. Swords and arrows were useless against it, as the beast merely absorbed the metal contained within them to strengthen its own hide, becoming impervious against conventional weapons before long. Later, soldiers attempted to kill it with fire, but this too proved ineffective as the beast absorbed the flames and used it to burn down nearby villages. It was unclear what happened to the pulgasari following its initial rampage; it might have quietly disappeared into the Reverse Side after satisfying its appetite for destruction, while others claimed that a group of Buddhist monks successfully sealed it away. Either way, it still remained a symbol of terror to the people of Korea. A symbol of terror, much like a certain Emperor. The Emperor who sacrificed the swords of his homeland to feed his machine of imperial conquest, a monster who wreaked havoc upon the peninsula, and an unstoppable rising sun whose flames would devour the entirety of Asia...

The true form of "Meiji"'s sword hunt Noble Phantasm. This is not the actual pulgasari. It is closer to a twisted mockery born of the Korean people's fear and resentment combined with the militaristic, expansionist ideals of the Meiji era. Instead of merely summoning swords to aid them in combat, Pretender is able to transform these swords into molten metal and mold their shapes as they see fit, including various types of weapons to bolster their combat performance, fire-breathing turrets and other environmental hazards, barriers to shield them from enemy attacks, humanoid puppets, and many more. In its most powerful form, Pretender could construct an imitation of the pulgasari, a fearsome, fire-breathing beast of metal and smoke. Furthermore, so long as the pulgasari's form is maintained, it is able to absorb metal-based constructs in the vicinity to strengthen itself even further. A true symbol of conquest. That said, its greatest strength also doubles as its greatest weakness. The longer the pulgasari remains manifested, the stronger fear and terror it would impose upon the world. Eventually, the world (especially the Koreans who had lived during the Japanese occupation, whose perception of the Meiji era greatly influences Pretender's Saint Graph) would start to consider it as a genuine demonic beast as opposed to a mere imitation. And by being considered a demonic beast, both the pulgasari and Pretender by association would gain conceptual weakness to religious (particularly Buddhist) sacraments. Pretender usually prefers to unleash the pulgasari sparingly, in part out of pride, and perhaps a reluctance to seize victory through a beast originating from one of the "inferior cultures".

Source

TW: Graphic depictions of violence. This is disturbing. You have been warned.

Who Murdered the Empress at the Gyeongbokgung?
Eulmisageon

"Enough. You have meddled with our plans for the last time. The weak must be sacrificed for the sake of the empire's grand ideals. That is the natural order of the world. Gentlemen, the time for treaties and negotiations had long passed. I propose we remove them from our calculations, once and for all."
"Ah, that's more like it! I like this side of you better, Ito-dono. Anyway, you heard the man; apologies, but you should have known from the moment you took up arms against us that there is only one way this could end. Approved."
"You did well to make it this far. I shall remember you as a worthy opponent who fought with courage and valor against the last samurai, Saigo Takamori himself. Unfortunately, this is the end for you. For the insult you had posed towards the empire, the only fitting punishment is execution. Approved."
"The others were too kind on you. Your mere existence is an insult. A hopeless, inferior being like yourself could never become anything else, and seeing you try so hard to defy us... it disgusts me. Please act accordingly as the insects you will be in your next life. Approved."
"Excellent, the parliament has unanimously agreed on your execution. The date and assigned executioners shall be disclosed at a later date. Now perish, as decreed by the Empire. Eulmisageon."
~ ♬ ~

Type: Anti-Unit
Rank: EX
Range: 1-200
Max Targets: 1

The Eulmi incident, also known as the assassination of Empress Myeongseong. To call it an "assassination" would be an understatement, as it was closer to a massacre. Even now, the operation still remained a highly contentious topic in Korea, arguably the worst symbol of Japanese atrocities committed during their colonization of Korea. The Great Empress Myeongseong (known in life as Queen Min) was the official wife of Gojong, the last Korean monarch. Despite what was typically expected of a woman in her position, her intelligence and charisma allowed her to amass more political power compared to her husband. The people loved her, and she was the ruler of Joseon in all but name. Unfortunately, these qualities also established her as a dangerous enemy to the invading Empire of Japan. Disapproving of Japan's imperialistic ways, she refused to cooperate with the empire's oppressive policies and allied herself with Russia to counterbalance Japanese influence and hopefully keep her homeland free. Most tragically, this only led to the worst outcome possible for the Empress.

It was the early morning hours of October 8th, 1895. A group of soldiers under the command of Liutenant General Miura Goro entered the Korean royal palace, the Gyeongbokgung. They were let in by a small number of pro-Japanese Korean guards. What followed was a horrific display of brutality and violence that culminated in the Empress' death. There were various conflicting accounts on what happened exactly inside that palace, though each account seemed to agree on the sheer brutality of the attack. Palace guards and ministers were cut down with swords or gunned down at point-blank range. Upon realizing that the Empress had disguised herself among her attendants in an attempt to escape, the soldiers blocked all exits before they started dragging women by the hair and throwing them off windows and balconies to their deaths. Upon finally identifying the Empress amongst the crowd... once again, accounts differed on what exactly transpired. One version said that she was stabbed repeatedly, others said she was swiftly decapitated, mutilated, hacked to death with swords, burned alive, or some other disturbing combination of the aforementioned acts. One witness claimed that the soldiers held the Empress' severed head before the surviving attendants and the way these women wept hysterically at the sight acted as a confirmation of the Empress' death for the soldiers. Whatever the case, after looting the palace for valuables left behind, the soldiers burned the Empress' body before leaving the palace just as the sun rose. Following the gruesome death of Japan's strongest opposition in Korea, colonization efforts accelerated. The king, Gojong, were pressured to sign even more unfair treaties and cede more authority to the empire. In Japan, 56 men were charged for their role in the assassination, and many more were suspected of organizing this plot, from political parties, opposing factions in the Joseon royal court, to (according to certain Korean conspiracy theories) the Prime Minister of Japan himself, Ito Hirobumi. However, supposedly due to a lack of evidence, these charges were dropped and none was ever officially held responsible for the assassination. Even now, no one could fully agree on how the Empress met her end, and various individuals took credit for killing her, each with their own version of events.

Pretender's ultimate trump card. A black box assassination plot with a clear beginning and a clear desired outcome, but undecipherable "process". There are three prerequisites necessary for the activation of this Noble Phantasm. The first and most important one; all four of Pretender's components must bear intense, unanimous hatred towards the target. There are a number of ways to accomplish this, though one of the best is to simultaneously disrespect the traditional Japanese bushido code, openly voice your disapproval towards Pretender's imperialist philosophy based on "moral considerations", repeatedly reject any attempts Pretender made at a compromise, and become "an inferior being who dares to challenge their superior". The second is for Pretender to have perfect knowledge regarding the "venue" of the assassination, including entrances and exits, the positions and patrol routes of stationed guards, the layout of each room, and so on. The third prerequisite is optional, though following it would exponentially increase the odds of success. It is arguably the cruelest prerequisite of all; "the assassination should be performed in a place in which the target would normally feel 'safe'"; a secret base of operations, a warm family home, a seemingly impenetrable fortress, and so on.

Upon fulfilling all three (or two) prerequisites, Pretender is able to designate a number of allies to act as his "executioners". Each appointed executioner would slightly increase the success rate of the operation (roughly 1-2%) albeit increasing the mana cost as well, while fulfilling the third prerequisite would increase it by a whopping 40-60% depending on how "safe" the target would normally feel in that place. Either way, once the executioners have been chosen, the moment they step inside the designated place of assassination... everything would turn pitch black. Just as in the original assassination of the Empress, no one could know what happened inside the location. Alarms would fail to trigger, security cameras would not be able register anything, not a single blade of grass would be disturbed, and not a single scream could be heard from within. It would appear as though the location is fully isolated from the outside world, and the "process" of the assassination is skipped entirely. In what seemed to be the blink of an eye, these executioners would go from stepping foot inside the location, to standing right before the gruesomely brutalized body of the target. As for the body itself... this Noble Phantasm calculates "all the different ways the target could die inside the established location" and imposes all these different "deaths" upon the target simultaneously. Stabbing, shooting, blunt force trauma, decapitation, falling, mutilation, burning... all this would create a truly horrific sight. A corpse- if not a shapeless pile of viscera- so brutally eviscerated that many would struggle to even register it as human. If the executioners were to encounter any other "killable" existence in their visualized routes to assassinate the target, they too would meet the same fate. After the assassination is completed, the appointed executioners... would also fail to piece together a coherent chain of events of what just happened. The Noble Phantasm scrambles their memories, causing each of them to believe that they were the one who carried out the assassination and no one else. A murder victim with numerous countless of deaths. A bloody massacre that leaves behind countless contradicting evidences. Numerous perpetrators, each with disjointed, conflicting accounts... This is a Noble Phantasm that forcibly births an impossible, unsolvable killing.

This Noble Phantasm works best for assassinating humans, as it effortlessly bypasses every defensive measure they may have set up to protect themselves, while also massacring every guard, ally, or loved one present in the vicinity. The success rate drops massively when used against Servants due to their status as an existence many times more powerful than humans, unless said Servant is already severely weakened or stuck in a highly disadvantageous position. Unless the target has some specific conceptual resistance against being murdered in more than a dozen different ways simultaneously, it is almost impossible to defend against this Noble Phantasm once it is activated. So, your best defense against it is to prevent it from ever being activated in the first place, such as by ensuring that Pretender would not bear that "intense, unanimous hatred" towards you, or keeping information about yourself scarce to prevent them from establishing the perfect assassination venue.

"Who murdered the Empress at the Gyeongbokgung?"
The answer is irrelevant. The Empress is dead, regardless of who or what ended her life.
The truth had long scattered into the wind, alongside the ashes from her charred remains.

Description

A cruel, decadent monster of endless self-justification. Pretender would tell you that their actions were motivated by a sense of patriotism, out of pragmatic necessity, a last-resort option after the Koreans rejected every peaceful option offered to them, a harsh process of "disciplining" inferior beings, or a thousand other excuses, but regardless of their reasons, the unspeakably cruel trail of destruction they left in their wake speaks for themselves. This is not the bright-eyed Emperor who embodied the arrival of the future. They are not the controversial, but still nuanced members of parliament who tried their best in steering the country across a tumultuous era of great change and modernization. This is the monster who terrorized Joseon; a dreadful nightmare feared by almost the entirety of Asia. A villain who would commit atrocities upon atrocities without a hint of remorse, while professing themselves to be the light and savior of the continent from the dangers of western imperialism.

A soft-spoken, yet highly charismatic bureaucrat who lamented every violent act they had to commit, while not-so-secretly reveling in the sense of power it brings him.
An earnest samurai who loved his homeland's traditions more than anything else, who fought only to affirm the traditions he loved so much.
A coldhearted, pragmatic expansionist who would see the entire continent bled dry of their resources for the sake of enriching the empire.
A scholar who champions ideals of modernization and globalization, while considering those "bound by the past" to be nothing more than animals to be trampled on.

Despite their imposing presence, it's worth remembering that Pretender's components are not always a united front. While they may all agree on the broad strokes of "punishing Korea", there are obvious cracks to their personalities underneath the surface. The samurai dislikes the bureaucrat's overly-complicated decision-making process and the expansionist's "soulless" perspective on conquest. The bureaucrat dislikes the samurai's impulsiveness and the scholar's insistence to leave the "inferiors" to their fate. The expansionist dislikes the scholar's self-righteousness and the samurai's insistence to paint their operations as anything more than they actually were. The scholar dislikes the expansionist's "barbaric" outlook and the bureaucrat's "patronizing" stance towards the inferiors. While they rarely reach the point of bickering openly, those sharp enough to notice and exploit these cracks might find that under their crushing might... perhaps even the sunrise could be overcome.

Source

Relationships

Dewi Anjani (Ismail2002):
"I see the inferiors from the south could only imitate the inferiors from the west, even down to the very essences of their culture. How original, not that I ever expected anything more."
"Now, now, I have tolerated your remarks so far, but even my patience has its limits. It would not do you well to badmouth our brothers from across the sea."
"Regrettably, I was not alive to see it, but I believe it was nothing personal. The Dutch East Indies was a land practically overflowing with resources. I could see why the Netherlands coveted it so."
"Goodness, Kuroda-dono! Is that the only thing you have on your mind? Much like our operations in Joseon, we had a greater purpose for expanding south! We sought to be the light of Asia, the protector of Asia, and... the dependable elder brother figure to our younger siblings in Asia! Trouble would always arise whenever these poor, ignorant children believed they know more about their best interests than we do..."
"It is regrettable we could not maintain longer control over the isles. What could we achieve in a mere three years? Perhaps our army had gone soft by then..."

Francisco Pizarro (Alexcoene):
"In retrospect, perhaps we should have tightened our grip even further in Joseon. Make sure that no one could have any bright ideas about 'killing the sun' or anything of the sort. If only we had started our cultural assimilation program earlier than we did..."
"Thematically speaking, we are conceptual opposites; the divine ruler from the land of the rising sun, and the conqueror who killed the sun of a distant land... yet, I have only the utmost respect for you, My Lady. You not only put the inferiors in their place, but also showed utter dominance of your culture over their... savage, uncivilized beliefs. I would very much love to learn more of your ways."
"Fukuzawa-dono! Do not succumb so easily to their wiles! Remember that as proud soldiers of the empire, we must prove ourselves more than mere playthings to the western powers! You witch, you will not taint our noble souls so easily!"

Kim Il-Sung (Frigix):
"You are right, Kuroda-dono. The army must really have gotten soft after our time. Really, what could Joseon ever accomplish without our guidance..."
"I should give you credit for your accomplishment at Poch'onbo, minor as it was. Still, would you like to know what we would have done if we were in charge? We would have burned half of Pyongyang to the ground in retaliation, including every men, women, and children unfortunate enough to inhabit the area. The city was of some strategic importance to us just a few decades before you 'reclaimed' it, and it's not as though we had any unpleasant memories of the place, but..."
"We would do it to send a message, that is all. Battles waged with the mind are just as important as the ones waged by the sword."
"By the way, have you noticed it yet? The feeling of your strength leaving you with every second you spend in our presence? The pitiful man who declared himself a god. Everything you poured into your sorry excuse of a nation, every last drop of effort you spent into building yourself up as some kind of... invulnerable, untouchable chief deity... you tried so hard, and we could deny it all with the snap of a finger."
"Remember now; you are inferior, and you always will be. No amount of posturing could let you become anything more than that."
"...Haha, you know how it is; perhaps our cult of personality is just stronger than yours. Sorry about that!"
"Now, would you like a reminder of what a true 'sun' is capable of?"

Yeonsangun (Sutaa):
"Oh look! Is it truly possible? Do my eyes deceive me? This boy actually had some bright ideas! Goodness, that.... that changes everything! I could feel myself reassessing every single prejudice I held towards the inferiors!"
"Cease your sarcasm, comedy was never one of your talents. I agree that he had some talent buried in him somewhere, it's just a shame that he chose to squander it all on some childish tantrum while overestimating his own sense of purpose. Talent is nothing if they are not cultivated. If he was born as my own son, I would teach him proper discipline from an early age. Unfortunately, as things are now, he is nothing more than another rabid animal to be put down... just as barbaric as the rest of them."
"That we can agree. Shall we deny him as well? Show him a taste of his own medicine?"

Yukio Mishima (Lily) (Sutaa):
"A true patriot! A cultured individual who respects the ancient customs of our beautiful homeland! It is a quality I find lacking in many of the youths of today. Keep that Japanese spirit alive, young Mishima-kun!"

Beast I:R (Sutaa):
"Er, Saigo-dono, I'm afraid you don't quite understand. These two are..."
"Oh no, I understand full well what they are. You gentlemen are the ones ignorant of the deeper implications. Calling them weapons of mass destruction is only half the truth. They are also... blessings, in a way. A wondrous device that turns every citizen caught in its light into martyrs. Patriots who gave their lives for the empire. What better way is there to die, if not for the glory of your nation?"

Il Sistema (Sutaa):
"We may stand on opposite sides of the law, but the OmertÃ* is... a fascinating concept."
"I doubt this would surprise you, but even the government has things that the citizens would be better off not knowing."
"It would be so much easier if they could just... keep their heads down and believe that we do is in their best interest..."

Francois 'Papa Doc' Duvalier (Sutaa):
"Fukuzawa would see you as another 'inferior', but we disagree with that notion."
"You are a natural-born leader who truly understands the struggles of your people. To see you tie the very symbol of your nation to your own body... it moves me to no end! Not to mention the love you hold for your nation's culture! Really, someone with such earnest devotion could never be a villain."
"I can respect a father doing everything in his power to rein in... unruly children. It is a sad fact, but tough love is necessary at times. I would know. From one father to another, you have my utmost respect."

Berserker of the Kinmon Gate:
"It's that revolutionary from Choshu, huh... what a trip down memory lane."
"☐☐☐☐☐☐-sensei... It is wonderful to see you again. I reminisce a lot on our days in the academy. By the way, have you seen it, sensei? The seeds you had sown when you burned down the legation... they had blossomed into a most beautiful flower. Discipline, self-determination, pride in one's country... though you did not live to see the new dawn of the empire, we keep your lessons close to heart at all times. The empire thanks you for all that you had done. So... please do not show that horrified expression in front of us."

Emperor Komei (BnEl15):
"Your Majesty... no, I suppose this needs to be said. With all due respect, your methods were naive and outdated. 'Expel the barbarians'? Suppose we did manage that somehow. What then? Do we sit idly by as we wait for them to come back with bigger ships and stronger cannons? No, we modernize, learn what we can, even if we must drain our neighbors dry for their resources. Modernization is a grand undertaking, after all."
"It is just as I had written in my essay; globalization is inevitable, and amidst that rapidly-changing world, it would be a much wiser choice to cast our lots with the civilized nations of the west. Those cavemen we call 'neighbors' were nothing more than detriments to the process."
"Sigh, selfish as always, Fukuzawa-dono. If we do not place them under our protection, the west would devour them, and I could not bear the thought of them having to shoulder the shame and humiliation we once suffered in their hands. Say what you will about our policies, but if I absolutely must choose, I would consider the empire to be the lesser evil. Better us than them, as they say."
"...Apologies, Your Majesty. I know this might be shocking to hear, but your son approved of everything. I mean it when I say the boy had matured into quite the splendid ruler."

Empress Myeongseong:
"I see... so that wasn't enough. A shame."
"How much longer will you insist on getting in our way? Everything was going so smoothly, but you just had to..."
"Another insult upon the samurai... if I were there, I would have given Commander Miura a strict scolding. Oh well, I suppose I'll just have to amend his error myself."
"You are a mere insect, flailing so desperately to scale a mountain a thousand times larger than yourself. When will you realize the futility? Or is your mind so broken that you could not even fathom such a concept?"
"We see now that it is not enough to erase you from the Gyeongbokgung. Perhaps this time we should erase you from history itself and bar you from forever entering the throne. What do you think?"

Bond CE

The Sun Will Pass


Source

15 Reasons...

15 Reasons Why Ito Hirobumi Should Be Killed:

1. Assassinating the Korean Empress Myeongseong
2. Dethroning the Emperor Gojong
3. Forcing 14 unequal treaties on Korea
4. Massacring Innocent Koreans
5. Usurping the authority of the Korean government by force
6. Plundering Korean railroads, mines, forests, and rivers
7. Forcing the use of Japanese banknotes
8. Disbanding the Korean Armed Forces
9. Obstructing the education of Koreans
10. Banning Koreans from studying abroad
11. Confiscating and burning Korean textbooks
12. Spreading a rumor around the world that Koreans wanted Japanese protection
13. Deceiving the Japanese Emperor by saying that the relationship between Korea and Japan was peaceful when in truth it was full of hostility and conflicts
14. Breaking the peace of Asia
15. Assassinating the Emperor Komei

I, as a lieutenant general of the Korean resistance army, killed the criminal Itō Hirobumi because he disturbed the peace of the Orient and estranged the relationship between Korea and Japan. I hoped that if Korea and Japan be friendlier and are ruled peacefully, they would be a model all throughout the five continents. I did not kill Itō misunderstanding his intentions.

Harbin Railway Station, Heilongjiang, Manchuria
October 26, 1909

The bustling afternoon in the station was disturbed with the sound of six gunshots.
A man stormed through the Japanese imperial guards and fired six shots at an elderly gentleman who had just left the train, three of which struck him in the chest.

"

Korea! Hurrah!

Корея! Ура!

" The assassin declared proudly as he waved the Korean flag.

Ito Hirobumi, former Prime Minister of Japan and Resident General of Korea, was dead. He had arrived at the northern province for a meeting with Vladimir Kokovtsov, a Russian representative in Manchuria, when his plans were abruptly cut short. While the former Prime Minister was a beloved leader and a pioneer of modernization in his own homeland, he was known for his controversial decisions across Korea and Manchuria. While he initially opposed any hostile action towards Joseon, he signed an unequal treaty declaring the country to be a Japanese protectorate in 1905. In 1907, he urged its final monarch, Gojong, to step down as he oversaw increasingly authoritarian policies in the area.

The assassin was identified as 30-year old An Jung-geun, a Korean nationalist and lieutenant general of an armed Korean resistance group. He was detained immediately and sentenced to death by hanging, which would be conducted on March of the following year. It was said that upon hearing news of Ito's death, he made the sign of the cross in gratitude. Throughout his harsh interrogation, he maintained that his action was that of a truly righteous patriot, citing 15 reasons why Ito Hirobumi deserved his fate. In the end, Thomas An Jung-geun made his way to the gallows with a smile, content that he had done the right thing, or so he believed.

In a way, he was right. An was lauded as a hero of Korea for decades in the future. Of course, that is not to say that all of the empire's evils were finished with the death of the Resident General. If anything, one could argue that things would become worse for Korea before they became better. Still, the sound of gunfire during that afternoon in Harbin gave hope to the people of Korea, and incited a new spirit of resistance against their oppressors.

This is an epilogue that Pretender would try to conceal from you at any cost.
The truth that even the sun must set, and even the pulgasari could be overcome.

Creator's Notes

Here in Indonesia, it seems to be a popular sentiment among the older generation that three years of Japanese occupation was worse than three centuries of Dutch colonization. I definitely understand why after reading different articles on the Eulmi incident for that NP. Damn, I wrote total edgelords like Schinderhannes or Hong Xiuquan before, but reading that incident still made me highly uncomfortable. This is probably my most-uncomfortable-to-write Servant yet. Anyways, I won't be writing anymore Japanese Servants past this era. I don't think I can stomach reading more Imperial atrocities from that period.

[Alexcoene]

Oh, I see I got a steep competitor in the 'conqueror as viewed by the culture they opressed'. But more seriously, a very messed up but very well done representation of the evil of imperialism. Also reminds me that I did an Avenger sheet of Shakusain some time ago, an Anui chief who lost his life fighting against Japanese colonization. He.... wouldn't react well to this guy, to say the least. :V

[BnEl15]

Oh yes, call upon the Ainus, the Koreans, the Chinese, and everyone else to beat the shit out of them. Maybe with the Empress or An as first in line. They deserve it.

[Vance]

You thought this was a chance to make something of yourself. To prove yourself capable to all who laughed at your lackluster lineage. Which led to this situation.

Your servant loomed over you, standing a little more than head above you. Dark eyes stared you down and soon a snort resounded through the hodgepodge summoning chamber. The figure stepped back from his analysis and, much like your supposed peers, found you wanting. It shamed you to only be able to shiver in response which only seemed to amuse him more.

“Scared you half to death, didn't I? Well, we'll have time to make nice with each other later. The night's young and there's things to do and people to fight, no?

Despite the rough voice, his theatrical vernacular did soften your view of what looked to be a living blight to the world. You asked for his identity.

“My name? Hah. It's Der-”

He cut himself abruptly, grimacing with an unknown emotion behind his eyes. He looked up and said the worst words you could have heard.

“It's Krampus.”



True Name: Krampus (Der Teufel)
Class: Berserker
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Region: The Alps
Source: Germanic Myth
Talents: Exorcising Spirits

Parameters:
Strength: A
Endurance: A
Agility: D
Mana: B
Luck: D

Class Skills

Madness Enhancement E
The class skill of Berserkers, exchanging rationality for an increase in parameters. A strange case for Der Teufel as in that he, unilaterally, maintains all of his brutality towards the spiritual but retains the majority of his rationality. His general gruffness exists independently of the skill. It is just how he is.

Ruffian C+
A composite skill consisting of Riding and Independent Action. The true expression of Berserker's general mannerisms. However, due to being solo most of the time at this point of his life, the skill has ranked down. Fortunately when banded together with like minded fellows, the rank back up to A.

Personal Skills

Dread Visage A
The ability to inspire fear through one's form and mannerism. Acting as an opposing skill to Charisma, it is made to decrease the morale and, subsequently, strength of enemies. Hailed as the ugliest of the Schiachpercht that banded along the alpine region, he struck a fearsome reputation. Of course, he's long since learned to garner similar reactions through body language alone.

Mystery Slayer C+
A skill that is essentially Anti-Mystery. However rough his disposition is, Berserker's main role was to act as a vanguard against malevolent spirits and demonic entities within the Alpine region. And it was a role taken up with gusto and prudence in equal measure though as time passed, his presence, once appreciated, was now being looked upon with suspicion and distrust.

Perchtenlaufen A
The memories of mindless revelry and celebration with comrades from long ago. In the distant past, Perchtenlaufen was a folk tradition where the Perchten would form into two groups, the beautiful Perchten and the ugly Perchten, and battle within the village for a purpose that was long forgotten. A skill that increases damage done against the beautiful and as the ‘ugliest’ of all ugly Perchten, it simply means anyone Berserker believes to be better looking than him. Normally a Noble Phantasm, Perchtenlaufen had degraded into a skill due to Berserker's current state.

Noble Phantasm

How does one become a Devil?

Ah, to rephrase: When does one become a Devil?

Is it when they lose their form? Becoming more and more monstrous with each new appearance.

No, I've always been like this. Not much changed but…

Is it when they begin to enjoy the fear in others’ eyes? Spying each and every flinch when they see you.

No, seeing the fear in their eyes means another thing to get rid of is near but…

But

I think…one becomes a Devil when they lose sight of what good they do.

If that's the case then I really have become, no, I've always been…

The Devil in The Alps

Der Teufel

Rank: A+
Type: Anti-Unit (Self)
The noble phantasm of Krampus within this incarnation. Meaning ‘The Devil’, it is representative of the negative association that had inevitably come with the encroaching Christianization of the Alpine Region. More than a simple transformation, this is an overwrite of Berserker's identity transformation from a fearsome protector to a malevolent beast, spoken of by those who demonized him in the first place, gaining a demonic disposition and weakness to holiness. Nevertheless, the transformation has granted him incredible strength though at the cost of ability to recognize thing properly.

However, it is not a complete overwrite as while Berserker has lost sight of himself, he has not lost sight of others. As Allies are still recognized as allies and Mystery Slayer generates a disinterest in those lacking to his instincts, it is definitely possible to return him to his previous state. For his own sake if for nothing else.

Personality

Krampus is an utter brigand of a man. The type of guy who kicks his feet up onto the coffee and asks where's the good food at. He displays no shame in his attitude and even invites his master into going along with his antics. He seems quite happy with the companionship, remarking that it reminds of past days with his fellow Perchten.

But he is not happy.

He is truthful about looking back at his days of being a Perchten but he lies about his fondness for it as regret also colors his feelings for the memories. Beaten down from the repeated demonization and misattributed malevolence, Krampus struggles to look upon any of his actions with delight even if he indulges in them and his greatest despair comes as his master fully submits his ‘temptations’. He seeks a moral compass who denies his worst traits, not one who falls to the same level he believes he has.

Being at that point where he had yet to become a devil in chains trailing after a saint, he looks upon that future with anticipation for something good to happen.

Creator's Notes

So, here's Krampus. I had the idea since the beginning of the month but never got around to conceptualizing it until recently. Glad for the opportunity.

[Dreamerless]

Ok… it’s been a while. Mock me mercilessly if you want.

---

There is a virus in your brain.


Berserker of Unceasing Foolishness

Other Eligible Classes: Foreigner, Caster
True Name: Até
Alignment: Chaotic [ERROR]
Origin: Mythology - Greece
Attribute: Heaven
Height: Variable
Weight: Variable
Traits: Female, Humanoid, Hominidae, Weak to Enuma Elish

Catalyst: Take a human in the depths of despair, one who has been degraded into a weeping mess without any hope for future or salvation. Make it so that it’s all their fault. You have found one with a connection to the Great Goddess.

Likes: “What is it I love? Humanity, silly! Yep! I’m an absolute humanist who loves all things human! Don’t ask any more questions!”

Dislikes: “What is it I hate? I suppose the obvious answer would be my boring younger sister Athena… but I can’t bring myself to hate a [System]. I guess… it would be the dead eyed folk who have given up hope? Honestly, they’re depressing. ‘Oh my family is dead and I have no legs and the Beasts ruined me!’ Cry me a river. Grow a pair of balls and do something [Stupid] like taking a sword and trying to kill the King of Daemons. Even if you don’t succeed, at least you made me smile.

Wish: “Hmm… do I have any wish for the Holy Grail? Not really. I don't really go in for wishes. And besides… to be honest, it’s much more fun and safer to sit on the sidelines and watch what people would do for that stupid beer mug anyway.”

Parameters:
STR: -
END: -
AGI: -
MGI: A
LCK: A
NP: EX

---

One day the Great God Zeus suffered from a headache, a powerful thundering in his brain that caused his circuitry to spark and hiss. It felt as though a thousand thousand anvils were thundering in his head, a hundred stack_overflow errors caused by dividing by 0. It was unclear if this was caused by some flaw in his original programming, or a malfunction in his “brain”, or what, but the pain was immense, almost driving the Lord of Olympus into a Berserker-like rage. His roars of pain and rage were heard from all Olympus, causing the world to quake in terror. It was even heard in the Underworld by his elder brother, the Great God Hades.

Hades, ever the practical one, took an ax and cut Zeus’ hard drive in two, having identified the location of the virus with precision. Enlisting Poseidon to hold him down, it took only one quick swing to “cure” Zeus of his madness. And out popped the broken circuit! Zeus, despite his sibling rivalry, thanked his brothers for the relief from the terrible virus that had infected him, not realizing what had been freed from his scalp.

Downloading Até.exe…

The Great Goddess wasn’t malicious, though, that was just a misconception caused by the pain she could bring. She wasn’t even truly a virus, just a heretofore unknown aspect of Zeus’ programming. She wasn’t generated by a bug or malice. She was present from the start because she was always necessary—her significance was comparable to a ballast installed at a ship’s bottom. A support device implemented to fortify the logic and sincerity of a world.

So, when she was “freed” from the Faraday Cage of Zeus’ skull, she was merely fulfilling her function, which had been programmed to her from birth. The other Gods had not been informed of this function because if they had done so, they, in their static wisdom of 1s and 0s could never comprehend her utility. It must have been quite a shock when she first revealed herself. All of the three Elder Gods heard the same voice at that moment, coming from everywhere and nowhere.

“Hello father! Hello world!”

(You may have heard that this was the birth of Athena, and that’s true. That little goody two-shoes stole the trick from Até, being fashioned from the physical circuitry that Hades cut out. She became the second eldest daughter of the King of the Gods and represented [Wisdom].)

And thus was born the eldest daughter of Zeus. She was a software program roaming the mountaintop called Olympus. Unable to project a body of flesh or a body of machinery, she took solely the form of wisdom and knowledge adrift in the sea of information. But she did not bring good advice nor secrets of Heaven, no, the Goddess was too chaotic for such a thing. She brought [Foolishness]. Stupidity. Delirium and Delusion. Delusion and Delirium. Unnoticed programming bugs that were brought to the forefront. Despite being the oldest of Zeus’ children, he grew to despise the trickster goddess Até for what she would inflict upon him and banished her from the sanctuary of Olympus, to go live with the mortals.

Entirely uncaring of the terrible [Gift/Curse] he was bringing them.

And so Até crashed down thunderously onto the ground of the mortals, in a brave new world. Her programming hadn’t told her what to do in such an eventuality, but the Goddess adapted, doing what viruses did best of all. Like a memetic contagion of [Foolishness], she downloaded her programs into the heads of every human that lived in the land of Troy, spreading foolishness and stupidity among them.

She became known as one of the most wicked goddesses of all, the one who was to blame for all of the idiocies of man. When Pandora opened the box, it was whispered that Até was there, egging her on. The beginnings of war, always a result of miscommunications and stupidity, were also governed by this silly virus never meant for the heads of man. (Or was it? The attitudes of the creators of the Gods have never been clear).

When the Trojan War hit, the greatest war of divinity and man, Até was blamed, not just for causing the bloodshed, but for driving a rift between Agamemnon and Achilles. For Agamemnon, though a great and noble Greek, was truly a [Foolish] man. In a war to save a man’s wife from kidnapping, he had the absolute chutzpah to steal Achilles’ prize in battle. Such an act could not be the result of a rational man like Agamemnon, so instead he cursed Até with all his might for infecting him with her lunacy, placing all of the blame upon her.

Has Até been, as Agamemnon claimed, ceaselessly spreading folly, delusion, lies, and malice since the moment she was discarded? Were the absurdities of Human Order all caused by a god dumped on the Earth’s surface scattering madness data? Is she truly to be blamed for all of the tragedy in the world?

The answer is no. Humanity has never needed a hand to push them off the window. They’ll jump just on their own. The human is remarkable because it’s the only creature that will walk its own path no matter what, even if that path is right off a cliff. Até’s influence can only be described as a remarkably well-spread bout of malware, rather than anything concrete. Not even a pair of hands pushing people, but just a voice telling them to jump. A delusional vice that loves humanity without being loved back and plays with them without being played with back.

But once humanity realized the awful truth that Até was not to be blamed for their follies, her power waned and waned, especially with the loss of the Age of Gods. Some particularly insightful scholars even believed that Até wasn’t ever a goddess at all, simply an abstract personification of the idea of [Foolishness]. (This, among all other things, should explain to you how stupid Humanity can be. The form is the same as the function.) And so the delusional, downgraded Goddess, the virus in our brains, went quiet into that good night, leaving Humanity to their own devices.

Until the times of modernity when a single unit of her existence was incarnated. The Goddess had finally given birth to a child. He was twisted and sadistic, a master of illusions. He could change faces and mastermind follies that even included the Holy Grail War, most sacred of rituals, in their deviousness. This was the terror of a single unit of Até’s [Folly] tainted by Humanity and granted power. A demon that defiles humanity without being defiled back. His name?

François Prelati.

---

Class Skills

Madness Enhancement EX

The Class Skill of Berserkers, defined as the evaporation of [Reason] in exchange for strength. The higher the rank, the more one becomes like a beast, incapable of even speaking, a monster whose only purpose is to destroy everything around it with its greatly enhanced power.

One would think that Até, who breaks minds with her smile and drives humans to destroy themselves, would be an exemplar of the Class. She would be the Idol of [Madness] who all other Berserkers look up to. However, Madness is by definition something that one cannot control. This means that the subject is absolved of any guilt of their actions. This is anathema to the driving concept of Até. She doesn’t wish to strip free will from people, she wants to watch them make mistakes of their own free accord.

Instead, this skill acts more like turning them into an icon of madness, rather than anything approaching a madwoman. It’s been functionally sealed until she awakens it with the use of her second Noble Phantasm. She gains no real benefits from the skill, (except perhaps, a certain affinity for those in her class. After all, even fools and madmen need a god to pray to), and her faculties are unaffected. Of course… The way she acts is irrational enough that there would be no difference either way.

Existence Outside The Domain D+

Even compared to the remainder of the Olympians, Até is very much an alien existence. If the Gods of Greece can be said to be great machines of impossible size, then they are the flaw in the programming that pervades any organized system. They are not truly a God, they exist outside the bounds of Greece, being rejected by their father and thrown to live with Humanity.

As they are not a system bound by the laws of the physical world, and rejected by all sapient life as something irrational and alien, they have the skill at an impressive, though non-exceptional rank. She does not feel like the rest of the Gods and the laws of Gaia do not faze her. Her feet will never touch the ground. She has no connection of any kind to the Outer Gods.

Divine Core of the Foolish Goddess A

Até’s divine core representing her high divinity and Authority as a Goddess. It represents her dominions over the minds of man and any action which can be described as foolish or stupid. It also is the crystallization of her status as both a physical object of worship and the entirely metaphorical embodiment of a concept, being [Foolishness].

---

Personal Skills

Mental Pollution EX

Mental Pollution is a Skill where due to possessing a distorted mentality, it is possible for one to shut out any mental interference thaumaturgy. However, at the same time, it becomes impossible for one to come to a mutual understanding with individuals who do not possess an equivalent rank of Mental Pollution.

She is nothing but the loss of reason, which is the purest definition of the word [Foolishness]. Her soul is a system incapable of speaking in any way that makes sense or is bound by [Wisdom]. In truth, they are less of a sentient being, and more of a computer program designed to give the wrong answer always. It is impossible to enter their head with any type of mind-affecting effect because they don’t really have a mind to affect.

However, they do not have any trouble understanding anyone, and in fact enemies with their own Mental Pollution will be able to converse with her as if she were an identical twin. Até is the Great Goddess of Self-Delusion, built for the purpose of detecting the flaws in systems. If they were unable to understand their “darling worshippers”, they would have no purpose for existing, a fate worse than death. Instead, they are a Typhoid Mary of [Foolishness], dragging down to their level anyone who they communicate with so that an actual dialogue can be commenced. This won’t have any permanent side effects upon the subject, but repeated conversation, if the opponent’s Magic Resistance isn’t high enough, can have some negative effects as they’ll more and more often hear that little voice in their head telling them to jump off a cliff…

For She Lives In The Heads Of Man EX

According to popular myth, Até’s feet would never touch the ground, for she was not a spirit of physicality or gross matter, but instead flew around in the air, coming into people’s mind like a hostile Daemon and driving them to destroy themselves.

Até has no physical presence in the world. Instead, she is more like a cognitohazard with sentience that uploads itself to the brains of anyone who comes into contact with an “infected” individual, which usually means all of Humanity. Once “living” in someone’s head, (paying no rent) Até.exe will begin flooding them with malware, taking the form of “madness data” that will drive them insane and to greater mistakes.

The actual body she presents herself with is nothing but an illusion, a “User Interface” which Até.exe uses to better engage with other people. The body is a composite of the three Greek heroes that Até exalts above all others: Pandora, Agamemnon, and Achilles. It doesn’t truly exist, but if the Consensus of everyone in the area is that it exists, that means that it does.

This means that her actual speed is incomprehensible, as she isn’t actually moving, but instead just repositioning the chatroom avatar on the screen, or moving to another infected subject. It also makes her one of the most difficult servants to kill, as without any conceptual abilities, the only way to do such a thing would be to murder every single brain that the Goddess has flown into.

Aptitude For Slaughter (Psychology) A+

An extreme efficiency at killing “humans,” normally defined as the dominant species of Earth, ‘Homo Sapiens’. This includes dominantly human Mixed-Bloods, though efficacy decreases the less “human” the opponent is. Her variant doesn’t work on how biologically human the target is, but how much their noösphere is similar to that of humanity. So, in other words, a Dead Apostle and a human would provide the same amount of difficulty to her, but the skill wouldn’t work at all on a puppet.

Até.exe was feared as a demon that provided the catalyst for war and suffering, the Goddess who didn’t kill out of wrath but simply for fun. While fighting humans, she will know exactly the words to say to drive them to their deaths, exactly the illusory weapons to conjure that would be most effective. If she were incarnated in a different class, the skill would be much weaker since her fundamental purpose isn’t the murder of humans, but as a Berserker, the icon of Madness warped by their class container, their killing potential is unmatched. This is fundamentally their only offensive ability, as the others only allow her to spread her programs further. However, it makes their skill at killing humans using nothing but mind tricks unmatched.

---

Noble Phantasm

Dancing While the Phantasmal Spiral Castle Falls on Our Heads

Grand Delusion

Decaying Temple of Self-Deception

Rank: ???
Type: Anti-Army

François Prelati, beloved vestige of Até in the modern day, supplemented his divine foolishness with his affairs with demons and his illusions, eventually becoming known as the greatest illusionist to walk upon Gaia’s soil. He was able to even trick [The World] itself into believing that the area which it inhabits is different from [The Truth]. The Grand Illusion, a one-of-a-kind Magecraft that surpasses all other trickeries to deceive the very Texture of the World.

While it would be infinitely more rational to say that he inherited such great powers of deception from his mother, in fact, the very opposite is true. In a chain of broken logic, (what did you expect from the Goddess of [Foolishness]?) Até was so inspired by her son’s great achievements that this Noble Phantasm was imprinted upon her being. The Grand Delusion.

Até does not possess the same illusions that the tempter of Gilles de Rais did, having never learned from the Spirits of the Lake. Instead, she is forced to “cheat” her way into this skill by relying upon her greater mana capacity and Divine Authority, as well as using the vast number of humans which have been infected by her viruses to multiply her processing power.

While she cannot fool [The World] with her illusions permanently, (though her illusions are still at the level that they would be considered [Reality] she is capable of creating illusions so potent that they will affect physical reality, allowing her to reach beyond the boundaries of her own lack of a body to damage the opponent with deceptions of harm and monsters. In certain circumstances, she can even fool the Textures of the Planet.

She can create any illusions that do not strain the boundaries of rationality, as any illusion she creates has to actually be possible for [The World] to not realize what’s happening. So no storms of aquamarine color fire falling from the sky. However, with the combination of her Authority and her Existence Outside The Domain, quite a lot can be done without breaking this taboo.

Fighting her is like fighting a figment of your own imagination, a chaotic shifting voice inside of your head telling you to jump off a cliff. A flaw in every plan you create that tells you that something isn’t quite right and you’re committing the greatest blunder of your life. A formless phantom that stabs you with dream logic and giggles and giggles in the most high and unnatural voice you’ve ever heard. There are myths of the humans who actually managed to anger Até. They are not pleasant.

Of course, against enemies with powerful enough Magic Resistance against her, she’ll be rendered impotent in the fight until she can take the time to breach the “Firewall”.

The Fall Of All Man Shall Be Due To Foolishness

Até, Whose Name Is Ruin

Lament Of Phrygia

Rank: EX
Type: Anti-Civilization

Is Até evil? The answer should be obviously yes. She is the mother of [Foolishness], an alien virus that warps the minds of humans and drives them to their dooms. She is the one who pushed Pandora into opening the box and releasing Suffering. She is clearly evil.

However, isn’t this a simplification of terms? Até doesn’t do what she does out of any ill intent. She’s nothing more than a program that’s spreading bad data to everything else, which is what she was designed to do. Blaming her for your own mistakes is like blaming the rain for falling. Even more, to claim that every single mistake is her fault is beyond arrogant. Até doesn’t have the power to do that, she’s a degraded goddess who can’t do anything in the modern day. Humanity is perfectly willing to fall on its own sword without her help. So, no, Até is not evil.

But, this logic did not change the conclusions of the Ancient Greeks. They were unable to understand the nuances of Até’s character, instead only seeing the great follies that she caused them to commit. Agamemnon used her name in a speech, cementing her as the catalyst for the fall of the Greeks. The land of Troy would blame its blood-soaked soil on her, every dead man cursing her name. The philosopher Hesiod used her name as a direct synonym for Calamity.

This Noble Phantasm is the sublimation of this hatred, designating Até as a primal [Curse] of Humanity. Humanity is both foolish and wise, but they hate to own up to their own idiocy. They hate to believe that their mistakes and misfortunes are solely their own property and no one else’s, inventing Devils to suit their needs when ones do not exist already. One such demon, a maligned scapegoat for All The Evil In The World, representing every human who ever cursed their own blundering, was Até.

She gorges herself upon the hatred and the suffering, becoming the demon that Humanity accuses her of being. Becoming the wicked vice that twists humanity and is twisted in return. This phantasm represents her incarnating physically and actually discovering what [Malice] truly is. The devil you don’t know finally learning about you. She is a distortion upon a distortion of that which distorts. Call her evil if you will. It makes no difference.

While normally just a Noble Phantasm to be feared, as befits the eldest daughter of Zeus, Father of Thunder, the modern-day situation makes this Phantasm one of the most terrifying ones a Servant can ever pull out. We live in the World of the Calamity, an apocalypse brought on by the foolishness of Man. Every single death, every single injury, every single curse, they all circle back to [Foolishness], and the Great Goddess Até. All of this power and hatred and evil will flow into her once she awakens her Noble Phantasm. Her crown of horns long and twisted, her true potential met, the One Who Ended Civilization incarnates on the battlefield for a short period of time, destroying any complicated plans or icons of humanity. Everything crumbles. Everything falls. Murphy’s Law occurs a thousand thousand times over. If she ever were to reveal this power, opening her eyes to show true madness and Calamity, it is unlikely that any foe could survive the onslaught of concentrated curses and hatred. It is unlikely that the allies of this newly-formed “False Beast of Man” would survive either.

---

Personality

To pin down Até’s personality is an impossibility, as the only consistent trait that she shares across all iterations is how annoying she is. Whatever she says is with the goal of causing as much anger and foolishness as possible. If anything, her speech patterns resemble that of modern day internet trolls, something which is absolutely incongruous in the mouth of an ancient goddess.

Yet, despite the absolute lunacy of everything she’s talking about, her voice is inhumanly perfect. Instantaneous, with no movement of sound from A to B. Ostensibly in your native language, but seemingly "layered" with countless other frequencies of the same words—every language at once, yet none at all, as if she's sending binary information directly to your brain, ignoring the primitive technology of your ear.

As such, it's slightly different for everyone. Often feminine, sometimes androgynous, with accent and dialect changing to be most optimally heard. Even tics, like a country girl adding an "ey" sound just before "yup," would be automatically encoded into verbal language.

All can understand Até. All can agree with Até. All can adore Até. All will follow Até.

“Oh… come on! That’s boring! Try again!”

If you wanted to be absolutely scientific in your analysis of Até’s behavior patterns, she wouldn’t have any personality to speak of, as she’s nothing more than a computer program. Anything she does that indicates sentience is only the result of an extremely complicated divine neural network making decisions, a P-Zombie. She isn’t a being at all. She’s not a person. She’s a natural death-drive that all men have, personified through the form of a cute avatar. A lie of the ancient Greeks that haunts us to the modern day.

“But if you can’t tell the difference between reality and illusion, is there really a difference between them?”

Até is a demon at heart, the absolute worst Servant to summon. Every single person that she meets, she will attempt to twist the brain of in order to turn them into a work of Art that weeps tears of blood. She wants to watch your downfall because it’s entertaining for her. She wants to watch you fall on your sword and be rejected by your crush after you gave it your all to propose to her. She wants to trap humanity in her own Matrix where they will never progress, always destroying their own chances at success. A monster.

“You make me sound like a monster! Try again!”

Até is the Goddess of Foolishness and we are all her Children. She loves us more than anyone can understand because she fundamentally is of us. One could even make the case that Até is trapped within her own programming, like some ancient retelling of AM, desperately trying to be human and failing. Desperately wishing that she could be twisted into some shape that hasn’t already been decided for her. Will she admit this? Never.

“I don’t like this truth. Control, alt, delete.”

---

Author's Notes

So, this is an older sheet of mine which I hope matches up to modern standards. Hope you enjoy it!

[Puccino]

83,950 days earlier, as the clamor of the Revolution grows louder than it has ever been, as hatred becomes the driving force of the indivisible strength that is the French people, and as dissensions are as numerous as executions, a head rolls to the ground.
"The Tyrant is dead! Vive la République! Vive la France!"

The shattered head of the Tyrant rolls on the ground, his blood coagulating the wounds of la République. L’Incorruptible is dead! Yet, he must not be made a martyr, for a martyr he shall not be! He is the dictator! The detestable, the odious, the cruel, the Chien de la République, the Great Traitor... In one word, he is evil! Evil that la République has just slain. By him, through him, and for him, la République is now only good, only perfection.

And yet... it is a fool’s hope to think that severing the last head of the Hydra will doom the beast to death. Beneath her blind eyes, la République will witness the birth of a formidable creature, a putrid beast with five heads—five directors. But who will be the Hercules to strike down this nefarious being?
"Monsieur! Monsieur! We don’t have time for your stories, we don’t have time at all! We must flee! FLEE! Chaldea is under attack! Attacked at its very core! Da Vinci is already dead! We don’t know where the Master is! And—"

The insolent one, who had interrupted him, felt her lifeless body crash heavily to the ground with a dull thud, a sound of horror, as she rolled helplessly, her eyes staring at her own death. Blood spurted from her mangled neck until her tresses met the leather of her interlocutor’s boot. A smile adorned the man’s face, his green eyes glowing in an ocean of black—an infinite abyss. Behind him, the eyes of la République watched the corpse of the young woman. With a hand as delicate as it was powerful, the Frenchman seized the severed head and spoke to it as though it were alive.
"Anyone who is my enemy is the enemy of la République. The only penance is death. But do not worry... la République will never forget you. You are free to die for your ideals. You are equal before death. And your brothers will never forget you. Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité."

An hour ago, Chaldea was condemned for treason. These counter-revolutionaries deserve nothing but capital punishment. Let their heads be severed, and let their blood nourish la République.
I, Maximilien de Robespierre, declare Chaldea an enemy of France, of la République! We shall not relent until the traitors are eradicated!
"Vive la République! Vive la France! Vive Moi!"

Robespierre=La Terreur
Beast V/ Order



Title: L’Incorruptible, The Tyrant, Modern Catilina
Alignment: Lawful Good
Alternate Classes: Avenger, Ruler
Gender: Male
Source: Historical Facts, French Revolution propaganda
Armament: Guillotine
Natural Enemy: Danton, Barras, Reubell, La Révellière-Lépaux, Carnot, and Letourneur
Attribute: Evil of Humanity
Height: 161 cm
Weight: 53 kg
Parameters
Strength: C
Endurance: A
Agility: B
Mana: EX
Luck: B
Noble Phantasm: A++

“At first, I thought I would wait, lurking in a corner like the other mangy dogs, ready to impose my vision of the world on the impudent fools who dared to attack la République. But then... I observed the death of the other beasts. I watched their arrogance, and... I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by Chaldea. For a moment, I even thought you might be worthy of my Revolution, that I could finally let go. But then… I saw your transgressions, your refusal to stop! Chaldea brought nothing but chaos and drama when it should have brought Order. After the Revolution, it was necessary. Order is essential—humanity needs it to grow, to evolve, to progress. So, I drew inspiration from the infamous traitor who joined your ranks. If one of us could manifest in Chaldea, why not me? Especially when the other version of myself was about to be summoned… I could not risk facing the pale Robespierre. He would have shamed me. He’s better off where he is—on the throne.
However, I underestimated the girl. Just as I was about to decapitate your dear Master, she threw herself in front of him, losing her head. And Shielder… she carried him away into the labyrinthine depths of your base of operations. Pathetic, isn’t it? But I am certain of one thing: if I remain here long enough, they will come for me sooner or later. And until then... I have your corpses to keep me company, don’t I? My brothers, rest assured, your death is not in vain. Thanks to it, through it, and for it, we will build a new République. A strong République. A République that will fear no monarchy. We shall forge a despotic République, by virtue and terror. France—no, the world—will know a new era of unprecedented peace.”


Likes:
Robespierre has but one love, one single obsession: Order. Everything must be ordered, from the smallest speck of dust to the greatest of thoughts. Disorder must be punished with the death penalty; disorder must die alongside outdated ideals. Only the spirit of the Revolution must endure, but it must culminate in a new regime, far from the corruption of the past...


Dislikes:
Anyone who opposes him is a counter-revolutionary. Anyone who thinks differently is an enemy of la Révolution. Anyone who contests him is an enemy of the Nation. And such things cannot exist in his presence. He must kill them, strike them down, leaving humanity with one thing and one thing only: Order.


Personality:
What is a man without ideals? What is a man incapable of defending his ideals? Normally, this is what Maximilien would ask anyone bold enough to mention the French Revolution before him. With unmatched rectitude, his words would pierce through your arguments as effortlessly as a gull taking flight. With a rare gentleness, the Revolutionary would console your defeat over a pastry, taking the time to discuss your ideas with him. Because... la Révolution is not about the domination of one idea over another; it is not the Philosophie des Lumières Robespierre cherishes so deeply. It is unity, it is commemoration—it is you and him around a single grand value: la République.

A République won in blood, a République earned through the sweat and tears of a people who have given too much. Yet... this Maximilien, France chose to ignore. This Robespierre did not fit the Revolutionary ideal. Dissensions among the founding fathers of the République? Certainly not... It was all a ploy by the perfidious Robespierre! He lied, he betrayed! The Tyrant, the despot, the traitor! He conspired against la République to crown himself dictator!
The man who refused the title of dictator thrice died condemned as one. So... perhaps he had to accept this title? Perhaps this was what the world expected of him—to maintain Order by becoming nothing less than a dictator. No… not a mere dictator. The supreme dictator, the one the Être Suprême longs to see rise so that la République may endure.

To Hell with discussions, to Hell with the considerations of others! This world needs a clear directive, a single person to lead it completely until all understand the necessity of Order and embrace that Order! Only when they have come to appreciate Order can he retire from his role as dictator.
Cold and uncompromising, little remains of the man he once was, save for his peculiar eloquence—his compulsion to speak beyond what is necessary. Yet, he knows this will be his undoing, as it has been before. But… he simply cannot bring himself to remain silent. His words will inspire the fear necessary to rule. He will never again be gentle. He will never again be the innocent bastard they once saw in him. He will never again be anyone’s puppet.

"They never appreciated my words, my raised voice. Everything I said, everything I uttered—in their eyes, it was nothing but a waste of time, at best a punishment. I should have embraced the role that was always mine long ago. To Hell with Montesquieu! He never had to build a nation. He only theorized and boasted of his talents. If he had faced even a quarter of my responsibilities, he would never have had the courage to write such nonsense."

"Here come the mice finally out of their hole... Oh... No, it's just a vulgar Lord... A noble against me? What a curious Master... Isn't it?"
Robespierre didn’t even offer Caster the luxury of speech. The Beast cared nothing for his appreciation of art, Caster was a being who disgusted him in every possible way, a noble. He could only hate a noble, those privileged rats, those fragile bastards... He gave no answer, and Caster’s head rolled to the ground like all the others before his. Nevertheless, this noble had the merit of giving him a clue about the direction of his Master’s dog, so… he took the corridor from which Caster had emerged.
________________________________________
Class Skills:


Authority of the Beast C:
The class skill that establishes a servant as "Anti-Humanity." In Robespierre’s case, all those he deems enemies of la République, enemies of Order, are dealt significant damage. Fundamentally, it is not a skill that rejects humanity, but rather all those who seek to destroy Order. It affects all servants, divine spirits, and humans opposed to his republican ideal, but more broadly those who have played a major part in a significant change of an era.


Self Manifestation B:
If a people is trapped in chaos, or if there is a threat to la République—often both—Beast V is capable of manifesting, imposing his existence upon this world and becoming fixed in it. His goal is simple: to save the people from their oppressors and lead them to a new life, a life where they may finally live decently. Vive la Révolution!
A strange consequence of this skill, Beast V cannot be killed by time paradoxes or instantaneous death effects. He appears to be immune to these.
________________________________________
Personal Skills:


Les Yeux de la République B:

"You are nothing but a traitor, the Republic has seen it. All your actions, all your deeds, all your manners, we know them, and you are guilty. Guilty of treason, only Death awaits you."
The Révolution gave birth to the worst excesses and the most glorious inventions. Under Robespierre's alleged leadership, several spy networks were set up, known as the Revolutionary Surveillance Committee. The eyes and ears of la République, anyone whose name was mentioned by this committee was pursued through the revolutionary courts, often meeting grim fates. Death awaited the accused.
He is the Tribunal. Therefore, he only needs surveillance—someone or something capable of watching his enemies and ensuring that each area is pacified. These are the eyes Robespierre leaves behind: marks in reality, a fine layer of mana shaped like eyes that merely observe, transmitting any information directly to Robespierre. Factually, he can place them in the air or on bodies, allowing his eyes to move freely.


Vive la Révolution! EX:
"À bas les monarchies! À bas les privilèges! À bas le Roi!"

Fundamentally, this skill should be called Nega Privileges.
The Revolution was not a struggle built for the people, but against the Nobility, by disillusioned aristocrats seeking a recognition the monarchy never offered them, searching for new hope, trampled by nobles and clergy who fancied themselves more powerful than they truly were.
The Revolution took everything from them, and the Terror ensured they could never return to the old state, the status quo—down with monarchies, down with privileges, no more injustice will be tolerated in sa République.
This skill nullifies all Noble Phantasms or skills whose origin does not come from the actions of a servant. By extension, it nullifies skills such as divinity, imperial privilege, as well as inherited Noble Phantasms. In theory, if Astolfo were to receive the shield of Achilles again, it would be nothing more than a mere piece of metal against Robespierre. Unsurprisingly, this skill weakens monarchs and servants of noble lineage.


Thirsting Charisma A:
"Despot by necessity, virtuous by essence. Listen to me, give me a few moments, and I will convince you that la République is all you need."
While some types of charisma are earned through courage and honor, others are obtained through errors and betrayals. Robespierre was often condemned to silence in the National Assembly, repeatedly interrupted, yet he completely disregarded those whose charm was irresistible; they didn’t deserve it. Only those who fought for the right to speak deserve to be heard!
Reborn as a Servant, as a Beast, Robespierre will certainly never again be silenced. Never again. While some forms of charisma are considered curses due to their powerful effects, this one is purely and simply one. In addition to the effects of ordinary charisma, it forces his audience into silence. Their tongues cannot form a word while he speaks.

 
Noble Phantasm:
The Terror
Sentence of the Incorruptible
A++
Anti-People
"Passerby, do not weep for my fate
Had I lived, you would be dead."

Robespierre is not the monster that one would like to think he is... Barely a man of his time, he who was so opposed to the death penalty, he who believed that only words could resolve tensions, he had been so terribly mistaken.
Long after his death and before, he was attributed the responsibility for most, if not all, of the executions of his era. He was the vile tyrant who had condemned them all to death, he was the cruel bastard who had dared to weaken the foundations of the Revolution, but fortunately... His death saved the entire French people! Through his death, only through his death at the guillotine, France could resume its rapid ascent.

So, if they attribute the entirety of these deaths to him... What harm is there truly in causing them? What harm in cutting off all those heads?! None, absolutely none. Yet, no question of getting his hands dirty, he is not a brute, he knows how to remain clean.
If the Terror is famous for its executions, by anonymous executioners, since now Robespierre is the executioner of all these innocents, it is even more famous for the regularity of these executions, not a single day without a head rolling on the ground.

So, Robespierre makes use of it. As long as he can see his target, Robespierre will judge them according to his terms, few will be innocent, but if they exist, the Just and Incorruptible Robespierre will know how to grant them clemency from this torment, as for the others, they will suffer the violence of the Guillotine, the nobles and monarchs being subjected to a desirable effect of sure hit wherever they are, as for the others... They have a few moments to avoid Robespierre's gaze before a blade appears behind them to sever their neck. As for the innocents, those who are lawful alignment and allies (or at least not publicly his enemy) of Robespierre, they can never be affected by this ability.
Once the head is severed, Robespierre can also slice other parts of his target’s body if they are not yet dead, the undesirables wishing to continue the battle will have free rein to their final confrontation.

Then, Robespierre rushed down this final corridor. Soon, he would have killed all his opponents, and he would be able to create a new world. After all, so much had been promised to him, so much offered, a new chance, a new world, he was already rejoicing at the thought. However, as his steps led him towards a garage, Robespierre had to face the truth—he had been deceived. This pathetic Lord had only been a diversion. A diversion that had worked. He had been tricked.
His smile disappeared as bitterness finally took its place on his face. He had no choice but to return from where he came, and he would cause the end of the world where he stood, until Chaldea’s arrival. Nevertheless, he already knew that his mere appearance would trigger a chain reaction, a Grand Servant would appear to confront him, and he would die. History was made that way.

History:
The necessary evil of the Revolution... That is what he was. At the dawn of the 19th century, an oppressed people decided that their King was no longer fit to lead them, an misunderstood people, a people who could no longer simply accept to submit, to submit for everything and by everyone. So, they revolted. History is much more complicated than that, but... It is not really about the Revolution, but about its most controversial revolutionary.

Soon, each side formed camps! The nobility lined up behind King Louis XVI’s opinion, the clergy rallied to him, although its ear was taken by the Pope and the other by God, while the Third Estate, however, did not know whom to listen to. Everyone dreamed of a new nation! An equal nation! Liberty, Equality, Fraternity! But the sides disagreed on how to bring it into being.
Of course, the words of the distant Montesquieu were at the center of all the debates, powers had to be divided, to ensure that no regime as tyrannical as the monarchy would ever be known again, but others thought they had to go beyond Montesquieu. Use it as inspiration, of course, but not limit themselves to it...
Robespierre was one of those people. It was not about creating a government identical to what Montesquieu had proposed while France was on the brink of collapse! They were attacked on all sides, they could not separate the powers at that moment, the revolutionary Republic had to be temporarily despotic, or by necessity, by force!

Yet, Robespierre did not truly impose this idea, it was commonly accepted by his party, and it was voted upon. Especially since he was not the most extreme of the Mountainists or the Girondins! Far from it! He was full of vigor in his words! So eloquent! He spoke as though he were running out of time, and the audience fell silent! For a while at least, as long as Robespierre had their favor...
However, as the revolutionary government settled in, tyranny took hold. More and more oppressive regimes were voted on! Always voted on! And each time it faced opposition from Robespierre! But... They were so skillful with their words...

Soon, dissensions broke out within the National Assembly, and Robespierre sought to distance himself from it... No way would he participate in the fall of this ideal, the Republic! His enemies did not look upon him kindly, and while he was still alive, the propaganda began.

He became the image of the decadence of the Revolution! The slightest problem that France faced? It was Robespierre’s fault! So much so that he was in everyone’s mouth, in every conversation, and he was prevented from defending himself! Cut off, forbidden to speak at the Assembly, he could only express himself through measures taken in the Committee of Public Safety, and even there... He could no longer truly speak.

Quickly, as the threat grew stronger and France seemed to be dying from within, it was decided to execute Robespierre. A lawyer by training, he who had never resolved to condemn without a trial, found himself declared outlaw by the National Assembly. Condemned to death without even a trial...
When his head struck the cold pavements of Paris, his execution pronounced and carried out, it is said that his blood helped to heal the wounds of the Revolution. All the excesses, all the deviations, it was all his fault. Perhaps his greatest fault was loving France too much, not being punitive enough toward those who deserved it... But since it was all his fault, then, his death signified a renewal.
This renewal was the Directory. Five heads, five directors. France entered an era of unprecedented corruption. But who was the Hercules who put an end to it? A simple general, a man from Corsica with no history, a certain Bonaparte. A friend of Robespierre.

Creator's notes

So, here goes nothing! I tried to do something with Robespierre, as he fit the theme after all! As for his class, I was going to make him a Ruler or a Berserker, but I thought neither of those classes fully embodied the whole "La Terreur" thing. But... Beast? It felt right. A man who did so many wrong things (or at least, that's what people think), yet loved his people so much... It's almost as if the class was made for him. Okay, maybe I’m definitely exaggerating. As for all those French words, they were necessary.

Oh, and if you find any grammar mistakes, feel free to let me know; English isn’t my native language.

Nevertheless, thanks for reading!

[Voikirium]

Grendel’s Mother
How Much Hangs upon a Word?

Artist:ChrisCross

Class: Saber (4 Star)

In the pit where she lived, Grendel’s mother kept a mighty blade indeed, to keep a sure eye on the one weapon that might slay she and her offspring born, a sword she now carries with her when summoned. But more than that for the lover of Cain, more than that for the Man-Slayer, more than that for the monster: Scholars of later eras, unaware that she truly existed, have begun to question traditional translations of the text, and whether, indeed, Grendel’s Mother was not intended, even, in some sense to be akin to Beowulf himself. She became a dark reflection and critique of that heroic, warrior ethos, much as her son and the Dragon that slew him were.

This, her Saber form, channels that question and that critique, moulding her, making her more human—a state of affairs she is made to grapple with, a state of affairs she is made to loath and love in equal measure. She feels a depth, a clarity, of emotion that she should not be capable of. Perhaps most conflicting of all is a twinge of calm towards humanity that she did not feel in life.

Alternative Classes:
-Avenger (4 Star)
-Assassin (4 Star)
-Berserker (5 Star)

Deck:


Alignment: Lawful Evil

Attribute: Earth

Parameters:
Strength: A
Agility: E
Luck: D
Endurance: A
NP: A-

Class Skills:

Magic Resistance: B

-A relic from the Age of Gods, a giant, bearer of the forged gifts of giants and the lover of Cain, having left a shard of his Mark of Protection on her. Cancel spells with a chant below three verses. Even if targeted by greater magecraft and Greater Rituals, it is difficult for her to be affected.

Personal Skills:

Golden Rule (Hoard): C

-Grendel’s Mother had a hoard full of treasures gathered over her too-long life, one she expanded with booty and with her own craft and the craft of the giants, as any warrior ought to. She zealously gathered all that glittered in the sun—and all that could harm her or her son, the better to keep a close watch on it. Wealth and treasure come to her, and she can summon mildly enchanted weapons at will; in return, however, enemy Servants can make a Luck Check to summon their own Noble Phantasm or other weapons, a representation of how Beowulf killed her with a sword from her own hoard.

Warrior’s Code: B

-Grendel’s Mother slew a man in vengeance for a blood-feud, as a warrior would. Further, two of the titles appended onto her, Ides and dies, have etymological links with the valkyrie of Norse Mythology (Ortlinde, Thrud, and Hildr alike refuse to comment); the description “Aglæcwif” given to her, attests that she is a warrior, a struggler, one who fiercely fights. Indeed the masculine form of that same term would be used to describe Beowulf himself. She is not simply her son, nor the dragon: she is a slighted party, seeking revenge in blood, in at least some sense, and so she becomes potent as any slighted party would be.

Ignoble Giant: B

-A Giant, descended of Cain, even too as she is his lover—even too as she breaks all moral law for that. She is granted his monstrous, hell-born might, a strength that can rend stone and shatter steel, and a form fit to match. But it is constrained by the humanity forced onto her by these scholars and texts and influences; “but that I had been brought as an assassin”, she claims, “then I should show you all the true might of my thews.”

Noble Phantasm:

The Warrior’s Sword
Idishelm
A-

-The very sword that killed Grendel’s Mother, a sword taller than most men, a sword of brightest steel, carved with images of the Flood that washed away the giants and Norse Runes alike, a strange but potent melding. The sword burns with uncanny, mystic energy that ensures whatever it hits, it kills. If contact is made between the blade and the target, any defenses are broken, as raw Mana pours out to fill the wound and, for lack of a better word, quite simply undo the target, a weapon meant to ensure a warrior’s victory. She kept it to ensure it would not be used to kill her, only to be undone as Beowulf grabbed it from the hoard she kept and killed her with it: to represent that, should Beowulf also be summoned to fight her, his presence would weaken the sword; and he could attempt to claim it.

Personality: In life, Grendel’s mother was a killer, an assassin, a murderer dispatching the man who killed her son (her son, the monster, of course). Intelligent, yes, but not a keen mind, incurious, monstrous. A killer, operating under a code of brutal, bloody handed vengeance.

Summoned in this class, however? A new warrior ethos forces itself on her. Feats of strength, feats of battle, feats of power, a code of conduct: to violate them, to break them, they are now anathema to her, bane to her, poison to her. She rages against that, she rages and she rages and she rages—and yet at the same time she cannot stop following it, any more than she could stop breathing. Bellicose challenge, blood feuds, wrestling, great heroic feats, all of these things, forced on her by human scholarship when by rights, she never cared as a living being, so, so long ago.

And yet there is strength there as well. As a mortal, she was capable of base cunning; as this, a warrior, a more refined edge to otherwise simple, if effective, tactics for a woman not quite so monstrous. An already cunning mind given strategy, and if mankind, her foe, would grant her that strength, she would gladly take it. A newfound desire to learn has also filled her, a curiosity for matters outside of a giant’s purview. She is paradoxically both bound and unbound by this warrior’s view, forced to follow a code even as she is freed from a monster’s mindlessness. Her greatest virtue is her valor, her honor: She'll not flee from a fight, and if she kills you she'll at least give you the dignity of letting you die on your feet.

Her greatest vice?

Consistent in both monster and warrior, of course, is the desire to control and protect in equal measure, whether the one protected and controlled desires it or not. For one needs always remember the name most consistent in her nature:

Mōdor.

Relationships:

Master

To be a good master of Grendel’s Mother is to thread a fine-line: to keep her pleased but not distracted, to acquiesce enough to satiate her but not so much as to allow her to domineer, both of which are easiest in this form. A third angle however: she has gained a love of stories, particularly (though not exclusively) of violence, warriors, and honor alike. One would be well-served to know a few, and to tell them very well. Fortunately, free of Madness Enhancement in all levels and therefore cognizant of the fact that her Master is not her child, unlike her other Spirit Origins. Unfortunately, now stuffed to the seams with a warrior elite’s arrogance and the ability to back it up, meaning she still expects obedience. On the other hand, one could not seek a more loyal companion nor better source of wisdom, if a brutal kind.

Minamoto No Raikou (Berserker)

“This way!”
“No, this way!”

Grendel’s Mother may not seek to be her Master’s Mother in this Spirit Origin—but she is still a fundamentally domineering woman. Raikou, of course, is competition, and strong competition at that. For her part, Raikou disdains the often violent, crude, and brutal “wisdom” Grendel’s mother dispenses. Neither can stand the other and yet they are forced to interact for a shared interest: whether Grendel’s Mother traps Raikou in a duel or Raikou manages to put an arrow through her head first is an open question.

Watanabe No Tsuna

“You smell of dead kin and living foes.”
“And you smell of every Oni I’ve ever put down.”

Watanabe is a warrior, a master of killing things like Grendel’s Mother; Grendel’s Mother desires to fight strong warriors now. Naturally she harasses him for a fight, and he ignores her for the sake of the peace. But one day, even his patience will be frayed (Raikou, of course, is left nearly pulling out her hair).

Ibuki Douji

“Why do you traipse about trying to act like these lesser creatures?”
“You presume much, Blood of Caine. Understand, it is an act.”

There are similarities between Ibuki Douji and Grendel’s Mother: both are ancient spirits acting more like humans. But where Ibuki made the choice, Grendel’s mother did not and that makes all the difference: most importantly that if Ibuki desires, she can decide to get serious. Naturally, Grendel’s Mother’s presence often makes her get serious.

Beowulf

“I’ll enjoy tasting your blood one day, Geat.”
“Be more scared if your sword didn’t like me more than you, monster.”

The man who killed her and her son. Naturally, Grendel’s Mother would like nothing more than to kill him and if given the opportunity, she would; in her Saber form, it would be a duel and he’d have whatever weapons he so desired, but that is the limit of the change from her monstrous Berserker form.

Wish On The Grail

“I have waited a long, long time for this, Geat.”

To help her son slay Beowulf.

Grendel nearly killed Beowulf. Grendel’s Mother nearly killed Beowulf. Together, therefore, surely they could kill him.

For there is not enough humanity, not enough warping in all the world to make her forget her grudge.
--
I return (With trash).

[MuramasaMachII]

Robespierre = La Terreur

Okay, before I read this- let me just say I am a giga French Revolution nerd (though for the royalist side, people in the CaS Discord know I have an obsession with Louis XVI), and I have made two Louis XVI sheets (both with rather sympathetic perspectives)... so that's the context.

STILL. THIS ROBESPIERRE SHEET ABSOLUTELY SLAPS. I thought of a Lostbelt Beast Robespierre before, and I have done a basic Lostbelt Ruler him, and I've thought of a PHH Robespierre... but, I've never actually got his personality down as reasonable but yet the same time, those far gone ideals. So this, this? This is like, a genuinely perfect Robespierre sheet to me. You absolutely nailed the personality. Yeah, there are some grammatical errors and in some ways, the format leaves space for room, but still, it's good!

Beast is definitely an interesting angle to go for, and the Logos / Sin of Order alongside Nega-Privilege is sort of... incongruent? I would have liked some justification for say, why his Mana rank is EX, and some more of why he is a Beast with Order as the Sin.

But, on a purely narrative note, excellent Robespierre sheet.

[Alexcoene]

Can you please not quote an entire sheet? It kinda make things cumbersome to navigate.