Servant Saber:
Identity: Nameless Crusader
Alignment: Neutral Good
Summoning Catalyst: Sword of Godfrey De Bouillon (Fake)
Strength- C (B)
Agility- D+ (C+)
Endurance- B (A)
Mana- E
Luck- D
NP- A+
History: Saber is an existence giving form to all the myriad thousands who abandoned their homes and livelihoods to partake in the Crusades to Jurasalem. It was a movement initiated by power-hungry nobles for political reasons, but those who followed it were simply pursuing an innocent wish.
They wanted to be relieved of their burdens. They wanted their lives to mean something. They wanted forgiveness for the crimes weighing down upon their hearts.
For reasons that weren't their own, these countless beleagured, half-starved peasants were driven into the Holy War across Europe and elsewhere. Not knowing how or why, all they felt was an unmistakable yearning for 'something'.
Something beyond this world of suffering and injustice. A world where everybody could be happy, and nobody would have to shed tears. If their bodies could be cast to create a bridge to that shining future, then they would gladly give them up.
And so. All those people whose names were forgotten by history; men, women and children alike threw away their lives for an utterly pointless war orchestrated by those who cared not for their lives or aspirations.
But... even so, their shared dream of a 'better world' cannot be so easily extinguished...
Appearance: A short, rather under-fed looking girl with lightly disheveled dusty blonde hair down to her upper back and cloudy, turbulent blue eyes. Though clad in armor, she does not give the impression of a warrior nor of nobility. The armor fits poorly on her scrawny frame, and simple cloth rags cover the parts left unguarded. Her body from the legs down is left bare save for a pair of beaten-down sandals.
Personality: Saber is a generally melancholic person. She feels weighed down by all the forgotten Crusaders whose names she alone bears, and feels a duty to insure that those people are not forgotten by history. Recognizing that her holy war was a mistake and the Jurasalem she sought after in life was no more then another city, she still does not believe the path she embarked on to be wrong. In her heart, she still seeks after the 'Jurasalem' of her dreams. Her only wish would be to insure the names and faces of every person to have died in the Crusades (Christian and Muslim) is recognized by history, casting a last light on those who died forsaken even by God. And relieving her own burden as well.
Likes: 'The Holy Land', hope
Dislikes: being forgotten, suffering, despair
Talent: all the skills necessary for crusading
Natural Enemy: Saladin
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance (A-)- Spells below A-rank are nullified outright, and even A-rank spells are weakened greatly. At this rank, it would not be inaccurate to call the Servant a 'Magus Killer'. Saber bears the combined piety of every single person to have died in service of the Crusades, granting a truly high rank. But as it's born from faith, it is not effective on those spells originating from her own religion.
Riding (D)- Ability to ride animals. At this rank, the Servant is capable of handling a few different kinds of animals and small vehicles (i.e. motorcycles, electric scooters) with some skill. It goes without saying that many of the Crusaders relied on mounts to carry them on their long journey to Jerusalem.
Personal Skills:
Expert Of Many Specializations (C-)- Access to and use of many expert skills. Saber is able to tap into all the Skills of those who died in pursuit of the Holy Land. While most of them were simply uneducated farmers and peasants, their knowledge and experience taken together is nothing to scoff at. Medicine, navigation, riding, swordsmanship, army tactics, sieging and more can be practised at D~C proficiency.
Nameless Hero (-)- The nature of a hero whose True Name has been forgotten by history. Saber's particular appearance is surely borrowed from one such Crusader, though their name and identity have been lost. To anyone looking in, all her stats, Skills and Noble Phantasms will be listed as N/A.
Crusader (A+)- Historically speaking, it is the title of one sworn to repel Islamic influence from the Holy Land. But over time, its meaning has been distorted into 'anyone who fights strongly for a religious cause'. When facing enemies of Pagan or demonic origins, or those with the Skill Golden Rule, Saber is given a Rank-Up to all parameters save Luck and Mana. The latter aspect derives from how the Crusades in truth were motivated by desire to pillage the riches of Jerusalem.
Noble Phantasms:
Gladius Godfreius- False Sword Of First Crusade (E~A, Anti-Unit): "Sword of Godfrey de Bouillon", the man who lead the First Crusade alongside his brothers. A holy artifact showcased at his grave in Jurasalem, its name (along with that of its owner) has become synonymous with the concept 'Holy War'.
In fact, this is not the true sword of Godfrey. Rather, it is a convincing forgery scavenged by Saber's Master for the purpose of the summoning ritual. The true artifact would summon Godfrey himself as a top-tier Heroic Spirit, but the fake...
Not truly associated with Godfrey, the catalyst is in fact the very concept of "Crusade" itself, summoning a hero that could be called the spirit of the Crusades. Her existence is closer to a wraith then a Heroic Spirit though, so it might be thought fitting that a 'false' sword serves as catalyst for a 'false' hero. A thick and hefty broadsword. The ornamentations of gold and silver all along the blade and hilt mark it as a recreated weapon never to have been used for combat. In addition, the blade itself is unbalanced and not ideal for slashing.
As a Noble Phantasm, it starts out merely as a normal sword. But its attributes increase by a rank each time the blade tastes the enemy's blood, insuring that it deals more damage for each successive blow landed on the enemy. The sword can only 'level up' four times, with A as the maximum rank it can reach.
As a visual effect, the blade becomes coated in an shimmering aura of light, starting out faint but growing progressively more luminous with each 'level up' until it's downright blinding. Also, against foes of Pagan or demonic origin it combines with her Crusader Skill to make the sword 'level up' at twice the normal rate (E~C~A instead of E~D~C~B~A).
This symbolizes the nature of the Crusades, which started out as a small force of peasants but grew in scope and number of recruits as more cities were looted and more people were killed. Lords and knights flocked to the Crusades, eager at the chance to strike down 'heretics' and achieve fame and glory immemorial. In this case, the sword's gaining power represents the growth of the Crusades and the damage to the opponent represents the number of enemies killed by the Church.
Sanctis Peregrinatio- Onwards, To The Holy Land (A+, Anti-Army): A Noble Phantasm that can only be used when Gladius Godfreius is at maximum capacity. Raising her light-infused sword and pointing it firmly into the distance, Saber recites the declaration of Pope Urban II which ushered in the first Crusade:
"All who die by the way
Omnes qui per viam mortis
,
whether by land or by sea
Sive per terram sive per mare
,
or in battle against the pagans
Aut in prćlium: et super gentes
,
shall have immediate remission of sins
Immediate, et remissionem peccatorum
.
This I grant them this through the power of God with which I am invested
Hoc eis dona Dei in virtute, qua indutus sum!"
Then as she invokes the Noble Phantasm's True Name ("Onwards, To The Holy Land
Sanctis Peregrinatio!
"), all accumulated light is expelled outwards from the blade's tip in the form of a great conical blast. An Anti-Army level destructive attack, gouging the earth itself with holy light to form a trench extending for several miles in front of Saber. This calls to mind the trail of ruin left by the Crusaders in their insatiable desire for the Holy Land, looting and pillaging cities in their wake.
Using this Noble Phantasm sacrifices all the sword's 'levels', returning it to the level of a rank E sword.
Jerusalem- That Holy City, Reclaimed (EX, Reality Marble): "Jerusalem", capitol city of Israel and foremost holy site to both Judaism and Christianity. The reclaiming of that city from the Muslims was the purported goal of the Crusade, though in truth it was proposed more from political motives then anything else.
Regardless it was that very ideal of Jerusalem reclaimed from sin and made once more into the shining city of myth, that drew the thousands upon thousands of peasants to embark on such a mission, staking their very lives and wellbeing upon it. It was never the true city of Jerusalem that exists as capitol of Israel that motivated them, but their image of 'Jerusalem the Utopia', a heavenly site that is the resting place of the Saints and the end goal of all pilgrimages across history.
It is a place without sin.
A place where no one has to shed tears.
A place where the strong don't senselessly oppress the weak.
Utopia...
By invoking its name, Saber can call forth that fabled city as a Reality Marble. Beautiful and magnificent beyond even the highest mortal city, the streets are pure gold like transparent glass and the buildings are of crystal-clear jasper.
Unusually for a holy city, is has no central Temple. But this is because the entire city itself is a kind of Temple, built for the glorification of God.
It goes without saying that violence of any sort is unthinkable in such a holy city. Thusly, a powerful suggestion effect is applied to anyone within the Reality Marble's boundaries, making it extremely difficult for them to form any hostile intent towards Saber or anyone else. Defying this heavenly mandate requires Skills granting resistance to mental interference (such as Bravery, Mental Pollution, etc) of rank A or higher, or Nature Of A Rebellious Spirit at rank A+.
Even so, anyone to take action against Saber will find themselves gradually weakened the longer they remain in the Reality Marble, sapping their Mana over time as punishment for their transgression. In gameplay terms, all enemy Servants receive a Rank-Down every five turns. Such effects notably do not apply to Saber herself or her allies, who are deemed 'soldiers of God' fit to judge any enemies to intrude upon His paradisic domain.
As New Jerusalem was said to be the resting place of all Saints, it is here that Saber can call upon their power. By reciting their name, she can give herself a single Skill or Noble Phantasm belonging to the Saint in question. Only one at a time can be applied, with the latest overwriting the previous. As a visual effect, the ghostlike image of said Saint will be superimposed over Saber herself while their respective ability is active.
As a last resort, Saber can also choose to call upon all the Saints at once, appearing all around Saber as transparent figures shrouded in divine light. All of them then proceed to use their strongest Noble Phantasms in unison, utterly annihilating Saber's enemies before the combined power and Mystery of each and every Canonized Saint from across Judeo-Christian lore. In the unlikely case where Saber's opponent is themselves recognized as a Saint, that particular one is obviously not included in the overall barrage.
For one ignorant of traditional Thaumaturgy, manifesting this Reality Marble is the only kind of Magecraft Saber can hold to her name. It is a miracle born from the faiths of each and every soul making up her aggregate existence. The final answer to all those souls who perished in search of .
It goes without saying that this is Saber's absolute trump card. But due to her very low reserves of magical energy, there is no way she can cast this Reality Marble under normal circumstances. The amount of Mana required for her to do so is would drain most Masters dry in a matter of minutes.
Only if Saber was blessed of a Rin Tohsaka
truly exceptional Master
overflowing with magical energy, or else finds a way to tap Mana from some greater source, could she even contemplate utilizing this Noble Phantasm in combat. Even then, it would only be for a time of around five minutes or so.
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Probably the most unusual Saber I've ever done. I wavered between doing a "nameless Crusader" sheet versus just doing a straight one for Godfrey himself (or let's not kid ourselves here, herself) but ended up deciding this approach was by far the most interesting of the two. Inspired by a few ideas I've seen (not so much here in particular) for a "nameless/forgotten hero" Servant embodying all those who died in battle without being remembered.
As you can all see, I took ZSB1999's advice regarding Godfrey's sword as an NP, so much kudos to him.
Jerusalem NP is wanked to Hell and back I'm aware, but I at least tried to balance with the statement that it's next to impossible for her to manifest it normally. I imagine in a hypothetical Fate fanfic, she'd only be able to use it right before fighting the final boss through somehow drawing power from the Grail itself, which of course ends in her blasting said final boss in the face with ALL SAINTS BEAM!!!
Moreso then usual, I'd really like commentary on this one considering how unorthodox the concept is, and how it took more planning then usual to finally put it out. Hope y'all enjoyed it!