Disperse, Thread of Bonds, and Unite All Under Friendship
Filum Unionis: Borgia
"Now, now, let us put all this senseless fighting to rest. Best to lay down your arms and talk things out peacefully. After all... aren't we all friends here?"
Type: Anti-Team
Rank: B+
Range: -
Max Targets: 20 people
A crystallization of Caster's entire way of life; his nepotism, connections, and the thread of conspiracies he supposedly masterminded. In order to maintain his position, he forged numerous strategic alliances throughout Renaissance Italy, to the point where the nobles, members of the church, the military, and the statesmen all swore allegiance to him despite his questionable actions. His only staunch opposition was the Medici family, and their voices hardly mattered when he had "friends" from all over Italy (as well as the Crown of Aragon) by his side. In a sense, Caster's rise to power can be attributed to "the power of friendship" and the powerful bonds he forged... as well as massive amounts of wealth, but that's beside the point.
This Noble Phantasm is proof of those bonds. Whenever one considers themselves to be a "friend" to Caster (regardless of Caster's own opinion on the matter), they are automatically branded with a "seal of approval" and accepted into his "group of conspirators". This mark can be terminated by either Caster himself or the individual in question at will. Imitating the nature of Master-Servant contracts, Caster can freely communicate with his conspirators through telepathy, akin to a remote communicator. He can also transfer his mana to them, granting them temporary boost to physical abilities and healing minor injuries. Secondly, he could also perform this neat party trick where he instantly teleports an item from a nearby conspirator's hands into his own (this includes weapons and even Noble Phantasms, though he would still be incapable of using them), based on his... questionable definition of friendship.
Offensively, these "bonds" manifest as mana strings that Caster can freely control from his body. Initially, these strings have little offensive potential; at most they're useful to trip up enemies, briefly bind them, or knock weapons off their hands. However, the stronger these "bonds" are, and the more "friends" he has, the stronger these strings become, eventually strong enough to inflict deep cuts on the enemy. All in all, a Noble Phantasm that weaponizes "the power of friendship" itself.
Manifest, Thread of Lies, and Subjugate All Under Servitude
Filum Mendacium: Dantalion
"Oh my, what's this? Are you actually pointing your sword at me? Oh dear, whatever shall I do? Are you sure about this? Maybe we can sit down and talk about this over tea? After all... aren't we all friends here?"
...At least, that's the part of this Noble Phantasm that Caster would freely disclose to his "friends". There is a darker aspect to this Noble Phantasm that he keeps hidden. Caster sees himself as someone standing at the very top; everyone else, no matter how close they are to him, must always contribute something to his cause. His friendships was always built upon the principles of pragmatic utility, and terrifyingly enough, it worked, most of the time.
This Noble Phantasm siphons a certain amount of mana periodically from all of Caster's "conspirators". While the amount taken is small enough to only cause mild feelings of fatigue, Caster could also utter a certain incantation to instantly absorb massive amounts of mana from one target, sucking them dry and temporarily incapacitating them.
There are two other applications of this Noble Phantasm made possible through Dantalion's authority. First of all, based on their ability to "show one person to the summoner no matter where they may be", Caster always knows of his conspirators' whereabouts, so long as they still bear that mark. He could also receive clear visions of their surroundings through an incantation.
The most terrifying effect of this Noble Phantasm is its ability to "change the hearts of men", as per the Demon God's authority. Rather than direct mind control, this authority translates into the ability to whisper powerful suggestion spells into the minds of his conspirators. Caster cannot explicitly force a target to do something that they are strictly opposed to. However, the moment he could persuade the target that even 1% of them actually wants to do said action, this Noble Phantasm may set in, poisoning their minds further. In later stages, even if the target knows that Caster did
something to them, they can no longer discern which of their thoughts came independently, and which are born of
sinister whispers.
All of these effects can be cleared simply by verbally renouncing one's friendship to Caster, erasing the conspirator's mark. However, Caster's persuasive powers may make it difficult for one to do so.
"
You'd really think I'd do something so depraved and immoral? Ah, you wound me! Now, now, I know my actions can be suspicious sometimes, but I would never inflict any kind of harm upon my friends. Renouncing our friendship right now is a bad idea. All this suspicion, this growing rift between us, it's exactly what our enemy wants. They want you to think that I've only been using you from the beginning! The moment you renounce our bond, I can no longer save you, and you'll certainly meet a tragic end by their hands. So please, bear with me for a little longer. I only did this to protect you."
Source
Death's Sweet Embrace, Ghost of the Renaissance
La Cantarella
"
I see. You're certain about this? Is there nothing I can do to convince you? ...Very well then, it can't be helped. I wish you luck in all your future endeavors. Allow me to pour you one last glass of wine to celebrate the dissolution of our partnership. Cheers!"
Type: Anti-Unit
Rank: C
Range: -
Max Targets: 10 people
A killer most profane, a murderous ghost whom allegedly murdered several of the pope's political enemies; a poison that may or may not exist. According to legend, the Cantarella was a deadly poison supposedly used by the Borgia family to dispose of their enemies. It was thought to be a type of powerful arsenic with a pleasant aftertaste, supposedly mixed into food or drink. Yet even now, the mere existence of this poison is but a hypothesis. None of the Borgia family's crimes were ever truly proven, and it was equally possible that those allegedly murdered by the Borgias actually met their end through natural illnesses or simple food poisoning. Even if they were actually murdered, there was no proof that these crimes were perpetrated by the Borgias or their allies. Thus, one common interpretation states that this poison was just a rumor used to slander the Borgia name. Caster himself chose to remain tight-lipped on this matter, brushing off every question with a smile.
As something that exists between the borders of truth and rumors, this Noble Phantasm takes the form of "a poison without an origin point". There is no magical concoctions or special powders that Caster would need to mix into the target's consumables. This was based on the public perception that "
these people died after sharing a meal with him at some point, so the Cantarella must be at fault, even if I've never personally seen him use it". All Caster has to do is offer any kind of food or drink to his target and once this consumable enters the digestive system, he has a certain window of time to "detonate" the poison before the item is fully digested (or converted into mana in case of Servants). This window of time is six hours for humans, and two hours for Servants. While this poison is almost assuredly lethal for humans, most Servants can survive this poison, though they would still suffer from a few hours' worth of diarrhea, excessive vomiting, and difficulty breathing.
Due to his principle of "not wasting potential assets", Caster prefers to use this Noble Phantasm only as a last resort, for those he simply couldn't convince to join his side, or those deemed to volatile for him to use. Occasionally, he may utilize this Noble Phantasm in smarter ways, such as detonating the poison after the target receives food from someone else in order to frame said individual and sow animosity.
"
It's easy to silence someone permanently with poison, but it's just... far too messy for my taste. I'm not an Assassin, you know? I don't consider myself good at killing, nor do I take any pleasure in it. Then again, if I truly must dirty my hands... why waste all that effort on poisoning one person when you can accomplish much more? The life of one person, in the grand scheme of things, holds little value. The friends they have, on the other hand... it would be much more beneficial to cripple these connections first. What happens after that, you ask? ...Haven't you been paying attention to the previous lesson? You befriend them! Oh, it's just so much easier to 'save' someone when they have no one else to turn to, after all!"
Originally Posted by DelRey
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
