The Huns are on our trail. We are people on the run.
The Romans' knees are buckled, their Empire staggers and creaks. Still, they look at us with spite, and hold in contempt the gods.
I see an ocean of blood the gods now promise me. And I promise my people we shall all drink our fill.
So we march on Roman roads. There is nowhere else to go.
But if we must step that way, we'll prepare a sacrifice. We'll gut their leaders and their chiefs and we'll raise those guts to the sky.
That did not came to pass, though that was then my dream.
They would all fall one day, but not because of me.
My people on this path are not alone for long.
Together, Goths and Vandals, Alemanni and Herules join.
Out of fear many Romans renounce their lonely god. Ancient names he had once ripped out are once more spoken aloud.
I taste the ocean of blood. I taste desperation.
Desperation much like ours. Desperation that would poison us.
The Romans now call me the 'lover of homicide'.
We are, eventually, too many. We must split once again.
Our many people become three armies with a single intent.
The largest of the lot heads for Florentia and sieges.
Desperation fills Stilicho as he frees slaves in swarms, turning them into warriors for his side that had so few.
Desperation fills Stilicho as he gambles all his troops against the largest of our armies, and me at its front.
We meet in battle at Faesulae. Both sides fight tooth and nail. Hands drag me by the neck and hands clasp me with chains.
I stare in Stilicho's sharp eyes that show something like regret. I doubt that's for what he'd done to me. Perhaps for something else.
I stare in Stilicho's sharp eyes and wish my teeth could to tear his throat out.
My mouth moves on its own, and speaks the Romans' tongue. A foolish request which I know will be disdained. Words that don't fit the title I've been given.
I ask for my followers to be spared and let live free.
He turns around and leaves without a word to me.
To make up for the slaves freed before we fought in Faesulae, the Romans would enslave those who had followed my promise.
I had tasted the ocean of blood but none of us could drink our fill.
The day after that day, my head parts from my neck.
< - ⪻ - ⋘ - ⪡ - ⫷ --
-- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⋙ - ⪼ - >
Lancer of the Pursued Tribes
⫷ A Promise Dripping Gore ⫸
Class: Lancer
True Name: Radagaisus
Alignment: True Neutral
Source: Historical fact and rumours
Region: North of the Danube
Attribute: Human
Natural Enemy: Flavius Stilicho
Armament: Spear
< - ⪻ - ⋘ - ⪡ - ⫷ --
-- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⋙ - ⪼ - >
DescriptionLikes: "Not suffering from hunger, thirst, or lack of sleep. I had no time for complex 'likes'. We were on the run. The fighting was only natural: we had nowhere to go. The call for blood was only natural: the only way to give us a greater goal. Without that sort of spark, thirsty, hungry and sleepless, my people felt already dead. I only act as I feel I should, and I keep my word. I like those who are the same."
Dislikes: "Chewing on bones with the marrow already sucked out. Liars and cowards who disrespect their oaths. Those who'd deny the gods and mock others' suffering without a cause."
Wish for the Grail: "I left a promise unfulfilled and my people to be slaves. Isn't it obvious?"
Lancer's mood tends to be wistful, and he's surprisingly soft-spoken for a man supposedly infamous for his bloodthirst. His words are clearly enunciated, but the tone of his voice seldom raises. Generally speaking, he does what feels natural for the survival of himself and those he values, up to and including committing murder in cold blood. However, he places high value in honesty and promises, in certain cases even when it'd be counter-productive to tell the truth or to uphold an oath. He is ambitious in proclaiming his goals, but humble in evaluating his accomplishments. Also, while Lancer has no issue with other polytheists worshipping gods other than his, he disapproves of monotheistic practices that deny the existence of other gods, and, for the same reason, of beliefs that deny all gods.
< - ⪻ - ⋘ - ⪡ - ⫷ --
-- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⋙ - ⪼ - >
ParametresSTR: B
END: B
AGI: A
MGI: C
LCK: C
NP: B
< - ⪻ - ⋘ - ⪡ - ⫷ --
-- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⋙ - ⪼ - >
Class SkillsMagic Resistance | B
Grants protection against magical effects. Differing from the Resistance effect that merely rejects Magical Energy, this ability cancels the spells altogether. At B Rank, it cancel all spells with a chant of two verses or less, and it's difficult to affect Lancer even with greater magecraft and Greater Rituals. Lancer is granted this rank due to holding some knowledge of magecraft from Central and Eastern Europe and having faced multiple experienced magi in combat, including his greatest opponent, Stilicho.
< - ⪻ - ⋘ - ⪡ - ⫷ --
-- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⋙ - ⪼ - >
Personal SkillsVampirism | C
The ability to consume another's blood to replenish one's own health and magical power. Despite being a regular human, Lancer's fame as a 'lover of homicide' who promised his people an ocean of blood granted him this Skill, though not at an exceptionally high Rank.
Mass Expedition Leader | C
A movement-oriented variant of the Charisma Skill that boosts the ability of one's allies during combat and represents the ability to rule. With this variant, the boosts primarily concern the AGI parametre, only secondarily STR, and barely, if at all, the other parametres. At C Rank, this Skill doesn't grant the ability to lead a nation competently for a prolonged period of time. However, Lancer's commands will seldom be questioned, and he'll be able to transport masses of people extremely quickly across large distances, all while mantain a sense of unity of purpose among them even when they're forced to split along the journey.
Faith Erosion | C+++
Opposing divine mysteries change in nature and form to suit this Servant's needs, typically becoming more ineffective. For Lancer, this effect starts at C Rank and gradually increases as his existence as a summoned Heroic Spirit persists. It also undergoes a much sharper increase each time he triumphs in a battle across the course of a Holy Grail War. A Skill derived from the waves of abandonment of Christianity and resurgence of pagan gods that briefly ensued as a consequence of his campaign across the Roman Empire.
< - ⪻ - ⋘ - ⪡ - ⫷ --
-- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⋙ - ⪼ - >
Noble PhantasmPromised Blood Ocean
Entrails of the Empire
Type: Anti-Unit/Anti-Army (Self)
Rank: B
Range: 2~5/0
Targets: 1 person/Variable
Lancer's promise to his people of an ocean of blood. The promise that had guided desperate masses with nowhere to go and a newfound tribute to offer: the blood of the Romans, who gave no aid and denied their gods.
The promise manifests as a seemingly ordinary spear. However, any blood it draws rides on the weapon's shaft and flows back to Lancer, draining the target and contributing to Lancer's Vampirism Skill. Moreover, the spear bypasses anything defined as skin, no matter how tough. Once Lancer's weapon has stabbed inside a target, Lancer becomes able to control any organs it pierced, extracting them out of the body with just a thought and even manipulating their hardness to turn them into chains with which to bind other foes. Though telekinetic control over the organs' movements only lasts a few seconds, modifications of their properties, such as changes in hardness, last much longer and revert much more gradually. Lancer himself can only wield one such lance, but by invoking its True Name, since part of his promise was that everyone would be able to drink their fill of the ocean of blood, he's able to create any number of copies of it, as long as each of them is wielded by a different person. The wielders all earn the Vampirism C Skill as well so they actually consume the blood flowing back to them. The copied weapons retain the blood-draining, skin-bypassing and organ control capabilities, but are visually slightly different and have no True Name Release.
< - ⪻ - ⋘ - ⪡ - ⫷ --
-- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⋙ - ⪼ - >
Bond Craft EssenceQuestions Arisen, as a Matter of Course
I lied to you, Master. When you asked about my wish for the Grail.
I despise lying, so I'll set things right.
When I first promised my people an ocean of blood, it felt right. It felt good. It felt like the only thing to do. If I were to go back, I think I may do the same again.
Then, if it felt so natural, why did it end like that?
Despite everything, the Throne recorded my name. It's a miracle I can barely fathom.
In many Romans' memories, I soon began to blur together with many centuries' worth of enemies they'd defeated.
In the end, their Empire faded away and many Romans' names started going the same way.
Did the path towards their end feel that natural to all of them, too?
And if we all feel the same, what is the true reason that some reach their goals and others fail?
These are the sort of selfish things I wish to ask.
< - ⪻ - ⋘ - ⪡ - ⫷ --
-- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⋙ - ⪼ - >
RelationshipsVlad III
"You spilt so much blood legend made it your favourite drink. Yet you did that for one god and to keep others out; I killed for many gods and so my people could barge in. We are both mired in gore, and looked at with disgust by many who would never dare approach the likes of us. Yet, in the end, we are not the same."
Olyndicus
"Warrior, prophet, rebel, facing off against the Romans. Oft forgotten in favour of others who waged that same war in those same places. I understand. We should join forces."
Altera
"Thus the Huns that banished my people would be lead by such a being only a few decades after I'd perished. I see now how masses led by a mere 'lover of homicide' could never invoke as much fear in the Romans as soldiers helmed by the 'Scourge of God'. Even so, I'm prepared to face you without hesitation whenever it should become necessary."
Flavius Aetius
"A Roman youth raised among the Huns. Born to the Empire who enslaved us and raised among those who exiled us. Yet neither Romans nor Huns stayed loyal to you in the very end. Are you looking to tame more savages after the 'Scourge of God'?"
Gildo
"Of all of Stilicho's opponents, certainly among the pettiest. A manipulative turncoat who cared for nothing but herself. Odious as you are, your lands were too far from my people for you to be of any concern to us in life. I haven't grown to wish for your company in this state, either."
Alaric
"The Attila to Stilicho's Aetius, or so many say. I have a hard time seeing either side of the comparison. At the very least, you've entwined your life with Stilicho's for decades, and been a thorn in his side that hurt him deeper than I ever could've.
Your ideal Rome and the libation I promised are both immense and violent, capable of moving multitudes. But they are not the same goal. Hence, I care not whether your vision shall come true or fail, as long as mine can eventually succeed."
Flavius Claudius Constantinus
"Straightforward and beloved, awe-inspiring bravery, etched deeply within history and within many a myth. If I had to have a rivalry with Stilicho after all, I wish it could've been more like the one between the two of you."
Flavius Stilicho
"You could never put your answer to my last plea in words. The time has come for you to do so. Then we shall cease to speak once more, and I shall bite your throat, and rip out all your insides, and drain away all your blood."
Flavius Ricimer
"Ricimer, I could have never fought like you did. But you drained the most part of the ocean of blood I had once promised them. And that must be respected."
< - ⪻ - ⋘ - ⪡ - ⫷ --
-- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⋙ - ⪼ - >
Creator's NotesSource for the faceclaim
Source for the bond essence craft image
*looks at guy who is famous nearly exclusively for calling for bloodbaths and loving murder* hmm yes True Neutral please
In all seriousness, the mindset I gave to this interpretation of Radagaisus is fairly interesting to me, and I hope I know enough about Fate's alignment system to have assigned the correct one to such an odd case like him. In terms of Magic: the Gathering colours, I feel like this interpretation would probably be mainly black-green.
He has many marks of a potential Avenger, and would fit their stereotypical aesthetic well enough, but is ultimately driven by a lot more than hatred towards the Romans and/or the Huns; other than that, there's not only his love for his people, but also his true Wish for the Grail, and the contradictions between them. Speaking of which, I know usually people just put both the false wish and the true wish in the Personality section, but in this case, I thought it'd make for a neat Bond Craft Essence, so I made an exception.
Still don't really have a consistent standard formatting across all my sheets, hopefully this sheet's works well enough for the figure.
I feel like he talks kind of weird and don't really know where that came from, nor do I think it's all that pleasant in a vacuum, but it had kind of become a pretty prominent part of the sheet fairly fast so I chose to let it in.
Thought about putting more in this section but it'd mostly be a reflection on the frequency with which I make sheets and what makes me enjoy working on certain sheets more than on others, as well as a comparison of the Stilicho, Gildo, and Radagaisus sheets under that specific light, so maybe I'll post that in the Servant/Project Idea Thread at some other time.
By the way, I linked to my own Watcher Stilicho-Ronove in the Relationships section - and I hope that helps explain the Magic Resistance section of this sheet, since he's a magus - but AndrosTC also made an interesting Saber Stilicho! The line would remain the same for both versions, though, so that's why it's not mentioned in that section.
Originally Posted by Baron Magnus
Reply With Quote
