Monthly Create-A-Servant Contest

[Comun]

Happy belated or advanced birthday. Take care and remember the contest is a hobby, not a duty.

[DelRey]

Unfortunately, it looks like I'm not going to be able to enter the contest this month. There's just TOO much going on with my birthday and Christmas and work stuff from like three different jobs and other unfortunate personal circumstances that I'd rather not have to deal with but have no choice. It REALLY sucks that this happens on WhiteFrenzy's contest, someone I make no secret of admiring and there is a lot of cool stuff that I'd love to play around with, but I just can't cope with the stress of having to rush out something I'm proud of putting out. I'll do a relevant entry at some point but most likely it'll go to the regular thread. God knows I need to upload more there anyway. I'll stick around to vote when the time comes, though, I'm eager to see what everyone else produces!

Happy bday from me too! Dw, there will be other chances to participate in a contest. Either in mine next or the planned secret santa contest in january.
And dont feel pressured to release something, we do it for fun after all

[NINE-lives]

Could always try and do one yourself

I guess enterprise/Columbia could be considered a famous culture hero.

[WhiteFrenzy]

Unfortunately, it looks like I'm not going to be able to enter the contest this month.

Don't worry, bae. We all have a life and sometimes it kicks us in the chin.
Take care of yourself first and then one day come back with a certified banger™ like always.

AND I TOTALLY FEEL YOU, I HAVE SO MANY REVIEWS TO POST HERE. ALL THESE AMAZING ENTRIES. I FEEL YOU, TOTALLY.

[Kamera]

Advent Beast
Evil of Humanity

We beg for your help.
We raise our damned voice.
We are drowning within this sea of anguish.
You are the only one who can grant us salvation.

O you who have mastered all.
O you who have begun everything.


Advent Crown
Guardian of Humanity

O you who have let go of this world.
O you who have fulfilled all your desires.

Bear witness to our enlightenment.
Bear witness to our devotion.
Bear witness to our rebirth.
Bear witness to our wish.

Give us your blessing… Our name is Goetia!
Your humble Servant, Goetia, who will safeguard the future of all humanity!

I guess I have no choice.
May this be my last act of selfishness.
Let us fight together once again, my dear seventy two demons.
By this divine seal, I hereby declare—begin The Human Order Correction Ritual.

…

Well done.
Well done, indeed.
We praise you, Master of Chaldea.

You have fought, against all odds, and you have prevailed.
You have struggled, through all trials, and you have survived.
What you achieved truly deserves admiration.

…

And yet—
Despite all your efforts, there is still much to be done.
Despite all your sacrifice, there are yet greater evils looming.
Your journey is far from over, but your breath shows signs of exhaustion.

In that case,
Let me offer you a respite.
Let me lend you my power.

…

Before that, I need you to accept my apology.
What you struggled against was my responsibility.
What you fought was none other than my own error.

Because of my failure, you went through so much suffering.
Because of my incompetence, the world has been brought to ruin.
For that, I am truly sorry.

…

Finally, I want to show you my gratitude.
For the memories of the time I spent alongside and against you.
For the chance to learn and experience the romance of a human.
This time, I will assist you once again, not as Dr. Roman, but as King Solomon.

Let this be my opportunity to atone myself.
Let this be the moment to set right to what was wronged.
I will bring salvation to my own sin.

…

Class: Saver
True Name: Solomon
Gender: Male
Alignment: Lawful Good
Origin: Old Testament
Attribute: Man

Goetia who has grasped the concept of mortality.
Solomon who has learned the experience of a human.
This is an existence born from their reconciliation and reunion
Having proven his resolve, Solomon regained the loyalty of the 72 Demon Gods.
Guided by the King’s newfound ambition, Goetia has been returned to their original purpose.

No longer constrained by his responsibility.
No longer bound by their Sin.
Together, Solomon and Goetia have decided to help humanity.
Not because they’re obliged to, but simply because they want to.
Not out of condescending pity, but from their mutual understanding.

Parameters:
STR: D
END: A
AGI: D
MGI: EX
LCK: B
NP: A+++

Class Skills:
Charisma: A
The natural charm and aptitude to command armies and lead countries. An aura that raises the morale and capabilities of allies. As a peerless monarch that rules not only as a Human King, but also as Demon King and Animal King, Saver’s charisma is truly a divine blessing.

Counter-Hero: A+
An imposition that reduces the ranks and parameters of Heroic Spirits. The Class Skill of the Saver-class. In this case, it is attained by modifying the Nega-Summoning skill possessed by Goetia. It is effective against any Servant called forth through a summoning ritual, regardless of their Anti-Hero disposition. In addition, it not only ranks down their Parameters, but also seals their Noble Phantasms.

Territory Construction: EX
The construction of a special terrain that is advantageous to oneself as a magus. As the one who built the First Temple and led the Kingdom of Israel to its highest glory through numerous construction projects, Saver is the highest authority in this skill.

Moreover, for them it is somewhat of a precious memory. After all, the building of the Temple is one of the first moments in which Solomon and the 72 Demon Gods all worked together to achieve the same goal.

Personal Skills:
Revelation: -
The ability to hear the voices of heaven, allowing one to take the most optimal action. Proof of being an agent of God. However, this skill has been lost because Solomon has relieved himself from this duty, and now lives as a mere human.

Clairvoyance: EX
The ultimate wisdom that Solomon attained. The eyesight that contains a form of omniscience. It is a vision that grants him an unobstructed view of things past, present and future.

In the past, despite having the power to change fate itself, the King has ignored the suffering he saw with his own eyes, as to not overstep his divine mandate. Spurred by the King’s inaction, Goetia has taken it upon themselves to end human suffering once and for all, through the Human Order Incineration plan.

In truth, Solomon did not ignore his visions. The very creation of Goetia is proof of that. They are the King’s answer to securing the future, and preserving the past.

Language of the Birds: A++
The ultimate knowledge that Solomon was blessed with. The divine language, from a time where there is no distinction between the speeches of humans, gods, animals, spirits, angels, demons, living and nonliving. It is also called the Unified Language or the Adamic Language. In essence, it allows perfect understanding and communication with all God’s creation.

Thanks to this knowledge, the royal subjects of King Solomon are not limited to humans, but includes every creature on Earth, including animals, spirits and demons. It is also his mastery of this Language that allows Solomon to unveil magecraft to humanity.

Daemonic Enhancement: A
A skill possessed not by Solomon, but by the 72 Demon Gods of Goetia. It is the aggregate of their fundamental disposition as demons that exist to materialize the wishes of humans. In essence, Goetia can turn a human’s desire into power through a Demonic Possession. Up to 72 individuals can be strengthened this way.

Because their tendency to corrupt and twist human desire has been neutralized by Solomon’s Seal, rather than the typical Demonic Possession of parasitic nature, it is more of a mutual symbiosis.

Noble Phantasms:
Lemegeton
He Who Masters All, Begins All, and Lets Go of the World
Type: Anti-Unit
Rank: EX
Ars Almadel. Ars Paulina. Ars Nova.
The Keys of Solomon. The Throne of Solomon. The Rings of Solomon.
These are the only things remaining from Solomon's Noble Phantasms. They are linked together by the divine sigil inscribed on them. The symbol that binds together all his works, his deeds and his wisdom, the embodiment of the individual known as the King of Magecraft.

The Seal of Solomon. The Star of God.

The absolute authority over magecraft. A Noble Phantasm that symbolizes the wisdom of King Solomon. It is a regalia that controls all magecraft, binds every demon and absorbs any knowledge. All magecraft performed by mankind are rendered invalid and put to his command. In essence, it is something that can be called Omnipotence.

Ars Theurgia Goetia
The Time of Miracle has Come, He is the One who Realizes All
Type: Anti-Beast
Rank: EX
The Human Order Correction Ritual.
The ultimate magecraft of King Solomon. The true purpose of the Seventy Two Demon God Pillars. After the failure of their Human Order Incineration Plan, and having once again acknowledged Solomon as their Master, Goetia is now ready to fulfill their contract as Guardians of Human Order.

[Wyvern]

Well now.

This is a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

I don't think I've seen this concept for a Solomon / Romani / Goetia servant before. It does make sense that after both of them learnt and experienced, that they would be able to come together and work for the greater good of humanity again. It's specially wholesome that Goetia, who'd been our enemy for the larger part of the first Act, ends up learning the value of life and mortality. While Romani learnt from his experiences as a human of hardship and redemption.

I could totally see this concept working.

Pretty good work all around, Kamera.

[Baron Magnus]

Scylla: A classic greek tragedy. No elaboration needed methinks.
Takashi Takeuchi:... you... this is a shitpost. You seriously... fine. I'll review it. It's pretty good. Like as an actual, summonable servant its god awful and so far out of canon... but as a joke servant? Great. I love it. Honestly. I rolled laughing for minutes at a time. I smile and chuckle whenever I see it. In a see of serious stories, this shines as comedic relief. Good job Morg. You've made living comedic relief on par with tamamo cat.
Gargantua: Weird details about the ritual making her aside, a servant that shows how flippant merlin can be is great... aside from that? Well written. I like the personality that comes through and I like how its offset by the scary amounts of strength she has. All around a great servant.
Oppanheimer: Great. A great servant... on par with maxwell's demon. I love how you've gone and made a servant so great. Seriously, well done. I think what I like most is how there's a certain subtext present. Again, good job.
Pope Horonius III: Another pope? Excellent fit for the prompt. Good job. the skills all fit, his personality comes through... all in all, great and great.
Darande: A freedom fighter servant!? It's well written!? It's also overall an excellent sheet!? Wow! What fortune!
Solomon: Wow. Great sheet. Combining two servants that could use a redemption arc and also resolving them as a force for humanity... I really don't have words beyond I've found one of my top three contenders with Mithotyn. Just need that last one....

[Morg van Destro]

Takashi Takeuchi:... you... this is a shitpost. You seriously... fine. I'll review it. It's pretty good. Like as an actual, summonable servant its god awful and so far out of canon... but as a joke servant? Great. I love it. Honestly. I rolled laughing for minutes at a time. I smile and chuckle whenever I see it. In a see of serious stories, this shines as comedic relief. Good job Morg. You've made living comedic relief on par with tamamo cat.

This is everything I could have wanted in a reaction. Watcher of Memes was practice. This right here is true power.

[NINE-lives]

Solomon: this is great! I absolutely love the idea of a beast of humanity like goetia reforming and becoming a guardian of the world. I wonder if you could do another reformed beast of humanity like tiamat. I also love the idea of Solomon possessing the unified language.

[DelRey]

I recently thought about "what would happen if someone with both Grand and Beast Aptitude would become a Servant?"
Of course thats right up Kamera's alleyway and he delivers something along those lines. nice work.

[Kamera]

Thanks for the feedbacks.

Actually Solomon really should've been released after I finish the four Lemegeton Servants, but the last one gave much more trouble than expected. Also that Tiamat reveal in Arcade sort of gave me that last push to finish it before FGO sniped me.

[Alexcoene]

Not sure if I'm quite stasfied with it, but I had this idea for a while and the contest was the perfect excuse to finally do it.


Class: Avenger
True Name: Shakusain/Retaruseta Kamuy
Alternate Classes: Archer
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Origin: Historical Facts, Ainu Myths
Natural Enemy: Sato Ganza’emon, Emperor Meiji
Armaments: Sword, Bow and Arrows

Parameters
STR: B
END: B
AGI: A
MAN: C
LUK: D
NP: B

Like: Nature, Wolves, Children
Dislike: Unfair dealings, Industrialization, Loneliness
Talent: Leading uprisings

Class Skills

Avenger: (D)
A Class Skill of the Avenger class, representing the state of an Avenger as one that gathers people's hatreds and grudges onto oneself. It is easier for one to accumulate hatred and resentment. The rate of mana generation becomes higher when receiving damage.
The rebellion of Avenger's human half caused great trouble for the Matsumae clan and Japan in general, and the mistaken belief he was working with the Manchu of Orankai caused them to see him as a threat to eliminate. But he wasn't a terrible monster in their eyes, but a nuisance to be eliminated, just like the wolves of Hokkaido were years later for the purpose of 'progress'.

Oblivion Correction: (A)
A Class Skill of the Avenger class. People are creatures that forget many things, but an Avenger never forgets. The critical effect of Avengers who attack from beyond one's memory is strengthened.
Originally, the grudge of the human chieftain known as Shakushain was focused on the injustice he's received from the Yamato people and his personal betrayal, but fusing with the Retaruseta Kamuy and learning of what happened to his people and his land greatly increased the scope of his wrath. His children who were betrayed, exploited, killed, robbed of their very identities... For their sakes, he will fight the world. Until the one he knows come back.

Self-Replenishment (Mana): (B)
A Class Skill of the Avenger class. One's Magical Energy endlessly surges until their revenge is accomplished. Recovers a minuscule amount of magical energy every turn.
As one half of Avenger is a Divine Spirit, he has natural top-tier energy regeneration.

Personal Skills

Divine Core of the Kamuy: (B)
A skill that express one being a Divine-class Kamuy, one of the many spirits related to natures worshipped by the Anui. A composite Skill that comprises Divinity, preserves the absoluteness of the mind and the body and repels all mental interference.
Due to merging with a mortal existence, the skill's rank has been lowered to B-rank.

Pack Hunting: (C)
A skill that acts as a composite of Military Tactics and Wild Beast's Logic, born from the mixture of Shakushain's troop-leading skills that allowed him to wreck havoc on the more technologically advanced Matsumae clan and the instincts of a Wolf god. Allows to lead others in quick, instinct-based maneuvers based on swiftly killing the enemy.
As an aside, a great reason for the Anui's respect for wolves is that they had noticed that the canine animal's hunting tactics were similar to the Ainu's own. As such, it is only natural that their fighting skills have a great synergy together.

Shapeshift: (C)
A Skill that refers to both borrowing bodies and appearance change.
Many Ainu myths speak of how wolves can change into human form, much like Kitsune of the Yamato people's legends, and can even interbreed with humans. Having merged with a divine wolf, Avenger share this ability and can at will change into the form of a large wolf, allowing him to truly fight like a wild beast.

Clairvoyance: (A)
Generally a must-have ability of the Archer class. It is also frequently used during scouting. Simply looking from a high location is sufficient to fully survey a town and search for enemies. In addition, Clairvoyance will affect the accuracy of bows. It connotes superior visual perception and dynamic occipital capture, such as to supplement the long-range aiming of projectile weapons.
Avenger can see perfectly down to the finest details for many kilometers, and can concentrate get visions of specific places even beyond that. This is inherited from the Retaruseta Kamuy, who used his supernatural visions to find a woman in a foreign land. This has boosted Avenger's archery to a far superior extant than before.

Noble Phantasm

Punishment of the Howling God

Horkew Kamuy

Rank: B

Anti-Unit

In Ainu culture, wolves were venerated and respected as Horkew Kamuy, the Howling God. The Ainus saw themselves as brethren of the animals, and so held the belief that transgressions such as killing a wolf yet wasting its meat and pelt would result in the hunter being killed by another one. Yet the Yamato people came and broke that alliance, causing the complete extinction of Hokkaido wolves and the decimation of the Ainu people. As the one who took on himself the role of righting these wrongs, thereby taking the place of the wolf meant to slay the hunter, Avenger bear within himself the accumulated grudges of both the wolves and the Ainu that lost their lives in such atrocities.

Normally, these grudges stay contained within him, further motivating his search for justice as he hears the voice of those lost. To activate his Noble Phantasm, he need to shift into his wolf form and unleash a mighty howl towards his targets. During that howl, the resentful spirits are unleashed from his mouth as a tornado of spectral wolves that rush towards the enemies, with even the human warriors taking the form of their beastly siblings. Any opponent caught is lifted in the whirlwind and attacked by hundreds of jaws moving to tear them apart. As it is an attack meant as a punishment, it possesses a strong damage boost against anybody guilty of great acts against nature or other cultures.

Description

Avenger is Shakushain, the Anui chieftain who lead a great uprising against the Japanese domination of his people, inhabited by the essence of the Wolf God that originally fathered the Ainu people. Due to their compatibility and the shared focus on seeking retribution, the two's minds are merged in a mostly harmonious way, and he tends to switch between their respective memories without thinking much about it. He is a stern and proud warrior who always maintain the dignity of a chieftain. He relish in physical activity outdoors, and prefer hunting for meat instead of buying it. In fact, he looks down on any 'needless' technology, seeing them as disservice to nature's ressource, and holds progress for progress' sake in disdain.

But as one get to know him, he may show yet a a warmer side to himself. He shows great care towards children, especially Ainu ones, acting like a stern yet loving father figure as he teach them everything he knows, and he also greatly enjoy of all dogs and wolves, as he see them as his brethren. All in all, despite his gruff attitude, he is someone who likes the company of others, and can't bear to see the suffering of those he cares or even to be alone, without anyone.

This is why he cannot forget, why he cannot forgive the actions of the Japanese government, who trampled over

the Ainu

his children

and exterminated

The Wolves

his brethren

. No matter how much it changes, those sins can't be erasen, and he shall strive to fight anyone tied to them, especially those who had a role in the Meiji Restoration. He won't rest until the injustice his people suffered is repaired, and with the grail, he shall bring back Hokkaido to the luxurious land it once was, where man and beast lived in harmony. And should it bring down this Japan they called 'modern', then so much the better.

Lore

Through various Ainu tribes, there is a legend that say that their people are descended from a wolf Kamuy, their names for the various gods of nature. Tough his name varies depnding on the specific version, the name Retaruseta Kamuy, 'The White Wolf God', shall be used for convenience's sake. He was one of the many gods living in the far past of the Age of Gods, in a land which was mostly bereft of humans. He was the god of the Poroshiri-dake mountain, and he enjoyed a simple life of hunting and running in the wilds that were his home. And yet, without company, he grew lonely. So using his divine powers, he casted his vision across the world to search for someone fitting to keep him company. Seeing a beautiful princess, he called her over to him and made her his bride. Together, they sired the Ainu.

Tough they lost their beastly traits over generation, they never lost their kinship with nature, and particularly with wolves. As such, they built on several islands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk an ethnic group that did its best to live in harmony with nature. Eventually, they came into contact with the Yamato people of Mainland japan. The relationship between the two groups were at first mostly a mercantile one, with the hunting Ainu relying on importation of rice and metal. But things came to an head when after a gold rush leading to the formation of the first Yamto settlement in Hokkaido, the Japanese government decreed that the Matsumae clan would have complete control over all transactions with the Ainu. This was a disaster for the later, as it meant that they were forced to rely on a single source which had complete control over the price it would buy and sell ressources, and the clan began to net salmons before Ainu could catch the fishes.

The dwindling ressources even caused conflicts amongst the Ainu groups to arise. Such was the case for the Hae and the Shiburachi, lead by a chieftain named Shakushain. He would win over the conflict, but as the Hae were favored by the Matsumae clan for the gold on their island, and he knew that he would need to expect a Japanese counterattack. And so, he amassed a force of himself, composed of many tribes who were feeling desperate due to Japanese domination, and led them into well-coordinated assaults on the Matsumae's trading point. This pressured the later enough that they had to accept reinforcements from the mainland, which would eventually surround the rebellious chieftain.

Seeing that he had lost, Shakushain surrendered. He would attend a party to celebrate the new peace but it proved to be the last mistake of his life. The party was none other than a trap set by the samurai Sato Ganza’emon of the unarmed chieftain and his general. Shakushain would spend the last moment of his life cursing his murderer with rage. After the war, the Japanese government would expand their settlement and their domination on Hokkaido, putting more financial pressure.

The treatment the Ainu would recieve would only worsen through the ages, as Japan would take direct control of Northen Hokkaido in the 18th century and had Ainu woman being taken en-mass to be violated or forcibly married. But things truly came to ahead after the Meiji Restoration. Taking inspiration from western ideals, Japan would treat Ainu territory as if it was their own version of 'the Wild West', and would set out to fully colonize the lands to give them to Yamato settlers with the natives being forced to work as laborers and robbed of the very right to possess their own culture. Furthermore, local animals such as the Hokkaido Wolves were seen as pests and 'obstacles to progress', and so were systemically exterminated. It was only very recently that the statut of indigenous people was given back to the Ainu.

And as all of this happened, Retaruseta Kamuy could only watch as his rage grew from how his children were treated. Having long been reduced to a Divines Spirit since the end of the Age of Gods, he was powerless to do anything but curse both the Yamato people and his own inability to help his progenies. And so, his hatred stewed more and more until an opportunity came. Tough as a god, he couldn't normally be summoned through the Servant system, he chose to infuse himself within his child who caused the more trouble for the invaders: Shakushain. Their ancestral bond and shared grudge for the Japanese nation made for a great compatiblity, and so they became able to be summoned as the composite servant, Avenger.

Interactions

Sitomai
"I see that one of my children is inhabiting you. Why don't you show me how you hunt?"

Hessian Lobo
"Men hunted down your prey without moderation, then used your mate to trap you... Scum everywhere..."

Mash
"A costume of wolfkind, hmm? I remember my wife also... No, never mind, forget I said anything, got it?"

Romulus
"You were raised by a wolf as well, and yet you formed a nation that did nothing but take from others. I suppose it's what they call bitter irony."

Columbus
"So this is the kind of behavior they used as models...! Bastards like you only deseerve a slow death!"

Emperor Meiji and Associates
"You stole lands, enslaved my people, stomped over their culture and exterminated anything that was inconvenient to your petty ambitions! AND YOU DARE CALL YOUR REIGN A RESTORATION?"

Sarama
"...good girl."

[DelRey]

neat sheet, seeing more ainus is welcome. Good job

But perhaps check for spelling mistakes before posting. They arent ruining the enjoyment, but there are many avoidable ones. And the Name and Class part in the intro were mixed up/arent there.

[Alexcoene]

Damn, that was embarassing. Thanks for pointing it out.

[DelRey]

Top Level Creator Notes:

I hope you read my Summer Project

Come, come to my garden. There is the rose you seek, the flower you miss so much.
She belongs to you, but she was taken.
Tragic fate, but it was foretold.
Come, come to her prison. There is the rose you seek, the blossom behind a wall of thorns.
She belongs to you, but other roses are in your way.
Lamentable dilemma, but you need to choose.
Come, come to a decision. There is the rose you seek, the petals fall like the sands of time.
She belongs to you, but at the cost of many others.
Cruel path, but it needs to be tread.

Come, come and bleed. Suffer for beauty, safe her life. Become ugly and be embraced by death.
She belongs to you now.
Was it worth it?
Dismal life, but now you may call yourself...



< - ⪻ - ⋘ - ⪡ - ⫷ -- ֎ -- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⋙ - ⪼ - >< - ⪻ - ⋘ - ⪡ - ⫷ -- ֎ -- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⋙ - ⪼ - >

an artist.
♬

A S S A S S I N
of Sand, Petals and Demise
= Edvard Munch =
- The Angel of Death -
________________________________________________________________________

First Ascension Second Ascension Third Ascension Final Ascension

Class	Assassin
Alternative Classes	Foreigner, Halloween Assassin, Lover/Avenger, Voyager
True Name	Edvard Munch
Aliases
Origin	Norway, Historical Fact, Folklore
Height/Weight	182cm/75kg
Alignment	Lawful Evil
Attribute	Human

STR	END	AGI	MAN	LCK
D	C	C	B	D

Likes	art, his sister Sophie, death
Dislikes	death, sickness
Talent	painting, stealing of time
Natural Enemy	Children Servants, Telesphorus, Baldr
Armament	brush, gunblade
Catalyst	any version of his 'The Sick Child', sand of Asgardstrand

________________________________________________________________________

< - ⪻ - ⪡ - ⫷ -- Class Skills -- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⪼ - >Class Skills

Presence Concealment C++
Hides one's presence as a Servant. Compared to other Servants the rank does not drop at the moment of attack. Assassin is in a constant state of the "unwanting desire to kill". There is no killing intent in his action. He does not wish to bring suffering, he wants to make you beautiful.
His murders are an act of kindness and an act of necessity. Therefore his presence and attacks are difficult to detect.
When you hear a prayer from the shadows, you are chosen to be a canvas. Rejoice.

Divinity -
Neither there nor sealed, it is an empty seat for something that belongs not to him. A connection was established. Like the 『 Frame 』he is, he needs to be filled by something divine worthy to be encased. The more he works on his Noble Phantasm the higher the rank can rise. The higher the rank rises, the closer the angel is...

Seeds of Madness (Death) D
This skill is acquired through his Self-Realized Monstrocity Skill.
His lifelong delusion. Assassin imagined that the black Angel of Death and the Angels of Insanity and Sorrow followed him since the day of his birth. A condition inherited by his father. He converted his Mental Suffering into his own artistic drive. In essence At the Boundary of the same rank.
He invites death and transforms it into inspiration for his art. The child will take a beautiful last breath.

________________________________________________________________________

< - ⪻ - ⪡ - ⫷ -- Personal Skills -- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⪼ - >Personal Skills

Soul Painting A+
A skill that denotes a special style of painting. Instead of painting how the world is, the owner paints the world how he feels. What Soul Painting was then is called Expressionism today.
It grants Assassin's paintings the feeling of 'Death'. What this potent mental interference attack manifests as is dependant on each person.
It takes effect as soon as somebody looks upon his mask, which was painted with this power. His appearance is death itself. How will you react?
With Terror or Joy? Panic or Calm?
An individual that was confronted with death throughout their existence. He observed it, lived with it, was haunted by it, depicted it and now he delivers it. His art shows the beauty and terror of the last breath.
At this rank the skill transcends the previous limits. Instead of just invoking feelings with his art, his feelings fabricate art itself. A skill similar to Delusion Trigger, which affects reality according to his fickle whims.
His art is death. Each bullet, each wound and each kill are his brush and canvas, his hammer and marble. Therefore it shall transform into something awe-inspiring.
Wounds sprout marvelous flowers, from open fractures springs a tree of life and angelic wings of smoke ascend from bullet holes.
Life is ugly. The life therenext is plain. Death does not have to be ugly. Death is art, death can be beautiful if you just let him paint you.
A skill that not only paints with his soul but also paints souls themselves. A dangerous ability that blurs the human perception of death.




Sleepy Sand B
Allows the production and control over a certain kind of magical sand. Acts similar to the Throwing Skill with bonus damage to eyes.
Assassin wept when he wiped the sleep in her eyes away. The sand of her final slumber, from which she would never awake. He weaps as she is buried in the sand of Asgardstrand where they used to play.
He does the same for his victims. With a gentle touch he can manifest the sand of his target. It makes them tired and sleepy, but they have to accept his gentleness...or are unable to resist.




Self-Realized Monstrosity EX
If the Innocent Monster Skill is the quality of a Servant 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, what would one call when such transformation comes from within? The illusion of abnormality in the owner's own mortal coil realized.
Assassin has the EX rank because the scale of his illusion was carried over in the Throne manifold. His vision of being followed by three angels led to him being a magnet for shared manifestations. When summoned he will never be alone. He is an empty vessel that has to be filled by other servants, demons, gods or other entities.
This time, it is not the case. Not yet. Assassin is not yet complete. Almost...




Independent Action (Stolen) B+
Able to act without a Master for an extended period of time. To remain longer in the world the user has to take the "time of independence" from others.
In 'The Sick Child' they held hands. Their hands could not be told apart. A unity of death and life.
What he steals from his victims is the time that belongs not to them, but to his dear sister. The sands of time are cruel and unforgiving. He has to become like sickness and rob their time away. With a gentle touch life and death become one again and time flows towards Assassin.
He could last more than just a couple nights, but the time he gathers is used elsewhere.
Like the barely blooming flower observes the unfeeling hands of death approach, so will his victims see their time run out.
Petal after petal will fall until he can rebuild his rose.
He will find a way to get her back. Even if he builds sandcastles in the sky. Even if it means becoming more and more like a force of nature.



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< - ⪻ - ⪡ - ⫷ -- Noble Phantasm -- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⪼ - >Noble Phantasm

Rived Pestle

To touch thy Soul

Assassin's first of two weapons. An elegant silver gunblade. Assassin once had a difficult relationship with a woman. She wanted more than he could emotionally offer and harassed him nto marriage. But their strained bond was torn in one fateful night.
It is unclear what events unfolded at Asgardstrand, but a shot was fired. The result was him losing the upper part of his left middle finger. The insecure flower lost one of his petals and the weapon of this anecdote now manifests as his Noble Phantasm. It represents the moment he was closest to death. If it was 'closest to his own death' or 'closest to Death itself' stays a mystery.
Because of said anecdote, it is a weapon of self-harm that shoots parts of himself at his victims. For that he uses his Sleepy Sand Skill to create sand from his own body. The rough sand is then ground into the shape of a bullet.
Victims shot are part of him, his dream and his art. As such they are affected by Soul Painting. The structures pouring out of their broken bodies are made from a mixture of both sands.
His works are his children. He wishes to make them his masterpiece, his body is an acceptable sacrifice for it.
"Yes, let us become family. Become my art, become my child." he thinks.
With this brush, he will finish the painting of their life.

Cost of Artistry

To stroke thy Soul

Assassin's second weapon. A brush with extraordinary durability.
His childhood was painted in the shadowy black, tears and the pale skin of his dying sister. His passion for painting was awoken early. His sibling gifted him a single brush, with which he started his life as an artist. Assassin painted many pictures depicting the moments at the death beds of his mother and sister. All with just this one brush.
But it can hardly be described as such. It is a size-changing pole-like weapon. A weapon that knew no combat in life, yet is deeply familiar with death. Gusts of sands are released with each hit.
Instead of "applying something", it "takes something away". A mysterious object he uses on his victims.
As he kneels down and cries for his victims in the honor of the beauty they have achieved, he takes this Noble Phantasm and caringly brushes their eyes. He once again cleans the eyes of those who died too early.
Sand drips from Assassins eyes. Are those tears of himself or of his mask?

Det Syke Barn

The Sick Child is the most Beautiful Nightmare

His muse, his rose, his sister. Once he is summoned he begins working on his artwork. The Sick Child is one of Assassin's major works. For one year he worked on the first of six versions he created over a span of forty years. He scratched and removed layers and colors. Reapplied them, corrected and rearranged for months until he was finally satisfied. An emotional depiction of a very important moment in his life. It depicts his beloved sister Sophie, who died of tuberculosis when she was only fourteen. He uses the stolen sand to create a new perfect image of this moment...and her. To bring her back, give her the time she once had.
But it also is an attempt to create a ritual. He painted what he saw, he depicted what he felt in those seconds in his young life. He felt this presence, which would haunt him for the rest of his life. The three angels that followed him, perhaps they can grant his wish now and breath life back into her.
The depiction of the most beautiful flower and the greatest nightmare - a dying child.
A statue of flowing sand, devoid of real life, acting like a soul which just stares into the distance. On a throne of pillows, his angel Sophie sits once again at the threshold between the now and thereafter. A skin transparent as if devoid of life. A gaze directed into the nothingness of hell.
Will this piece of true art fill his heart when she blooms again?
Will his Saint Graph be complete when the angels return for him?
What will take its first breath once it is completed?

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< - ⪻ - ⪡ - ⫷ -- Lore and Background -- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⪼ - >Lore and Background

Edvard Munch (1863–1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, The Scream, has become one of the most iconic images of world art.
His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dread of inheriting a mental condition that ran in the family. He was saying that he inherited the Seeds of Madness from his father, since birth he felt as death is constantly approaching and the Angels of Insanity, Sorrow and Death stand beside him. Studying art in Kristiania (today's Oslo), Munch began to live a bohemian life under the influence of a nihilist, who urged him to paint his own emotional and psychological state ('soul painting'). From this emerged his distinctive style.
Travel brought new influences and outlets. In Paris, he learned much from Gauguin, van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec. In Berlin, he met a Swedish dramatist, who inspired his major canon The Frieze of Life, depicting a series of deeply-felt themes such as love, anxiety, jealousy and betrayal, steeped in atmosphere.
One of his famous paintings is 'The Sick Child', a depiction of the last day of his sister. Around eight years after her passing, he started to paint this moment from memory. Over the span of the next 40 years, he would paint five more and several other versions such as Lithographs. Especially the first version is full of emotion because it is his absolute depiction of what he felt. He rearranged the compositions, repainted it on the same canvas and scratched away the color, over and over. After one year he presented it to the public and received harsh criticism. Just a sketch, too rough, not true art. Many descriptions would denounce his innermost painting. It remained a scar in his mind. The death of his sister, years later of his mother and then later on the death of his father had severe impacts on his body, mind and soul. An obsession with death that began right that fateful moment when he saw his sister slowly fading away. A sandstorm from the afterlife that began in his childhood and now reaches the world's shore as a Servant.

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< - ⪻ - ⪡ - ⫷ -- Quotes and Relationships -- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⪼ - >Quotes and Relationships

"Life is ugly, the afterlife too. There is no heaven that allows you to meet your late parents or beloved sister again. It is a half-sleep, an existence of deprivation. Only darkness, no light, no sound. Only the smell of putrification from your rotting body in the tomb in which lays your mortal shell.
Yet we owe nature a death, we can not escape it. We walk from one ugly plain of existence to the next.
But I...can make the gateway a feast for the eyes. For the brief moment you pass, you can see true beauty. You become true beauty. The End is important for all things. It needs to be beautiful, no it needs to be perfect, even if that is not enough. It is the least I can do for those poor souls."

"Death only paints in pallid tones. Black and pale hues. Where is the expression of it? Let them go out with a fire of colors! I will extinguish it with my tears of joy and sorrow."

"Ahhh…I fear their Death, I admire my death. I fear my art, I admire their art. I am haunted by them, yet I chase both.
Death is ugly, death is beautiful. Art is ugly, Art is beautiful. Death is art, art is death. And I am an artist.
It is not for me to decide if I want or not, I simply have to. For I am a Bringer of Death and a Bringer of Art.
Were they the same all along?"

"Great Art needs great suffering. It has an inherent touch of cruelty. The starving artist is seen as noble, a sacrifice for their art. Now they suffer for me, yet I cry with them tears of joy and pain. Yes, my bullets are my tears. Suffering does not go away, it is just shared. I am a Tree of Life and Pain and I spread my seeds so new flowers may grow. I am a gardener of death that cuts those flowers to nourish the rose. Beauty is pain, but it is worth it. For her."

Telesphorus:
"A flower I can not pick. It's roots bore too deep inside the river of tears. A beauty that achieved excellence, but prevents me from doing so too. Ah...I am torn, you are just but one thorn on my path. I will find a way. Even if you sting the deepest and your song is the sweetest. It will not be in vain."

The Artist:
"Tssk. Amateur. We all wear our masks, I chose to make my own. But yours is so obvious, yet some still did not see through you. I will have no regret putting you to sleep. One artist that has to destroy true beauty is enough for this sick world."

Nostradamus
"Curing through Death...I see. I wish I could ask you to heal her with Life. But men of your profession and faith...no. I will not let you touch her again."

Sandman:
"Curious...how curious...stay asleep, child. Come between me and my rose...and you will return to whence you came."

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< - ⪻ - ⪡ - ⫷ -- Craft Essence -- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⪼ - >Craft Essence

A Life's Work, A Death's Work

"I have seen her die. So many times. In her bed, in memories, in dreams, in those paintings. But there was always one detail I would never forget.
Her fleeting beauty.
Her look into the far distance, as if she observed death approaching.
Her transparent skin showing the life within her, a soul transitioning to the life thereafter.
The shining red lock hanging in her face, wavering to the ethereal breeze when the soul leaves the weakened bud.
She was an angel, the only angel I wished to...
Her life ended so early, too early, much too early.
Why?
My beautiful sister died while my ugly father continued living.
Where were his prayers? What did they do? What did they prevent? What did they pretend?
He let his child die. I would never…
The young die and the old live. Beauty vanished and ugliness prospered.
I swept away the sand in her eyes. When she breathed her last, I heard a voice sing "Beautiful."
Then I realized the morbid aesthetic of life and death. I approached it all wrong.
You pick the flowers when their beauty peaks. You leave the weed to rot.
They do it to make their splendor eternal.
The sick child is the most beautiful. Young death is the most sacred.
To become an artist you have to create art.
To be a true artist you have to create undying beauty.
Therefore I have to create her when she was the most sublime.
Only then you can truly be called…an Artist.
Master...thank you."

Barely conscious the Master lies against the wall listening to his monologue. He expected to hear more about his art while they create the traditional Craft Essence to support his fellow Servants during combat. Assassin stealing away so much magical energy came to a surprise.

"A precious color. Your sand is special, Master. I will not kill you, do not fear. No death I could provide for you would come close to her. You may see her first. My work is now complete. The last petal for my rose. Sophie..."

________________________________________________________________________

"Which is the lie? The mask, or my face?"

P R E T E N D E R
of Sand, Petals and Demise
= Munch-Pesta =
- The Agent of Death -
________________________________________________________________________

⪻ - ⫷ -- Pretender Munch-Pesta -- ⫸ - ⪼Pretender Munch-Pesta

What are life and death in this mysterious world?
Were human lives just playthings of the gods? Each birth according to the deities' whims and plans?
Of course not.
Humanity worships them and spun great tales of how those powerful beings created the small buds in their flower garden, despite the reality being quite the opposite.
There is no fate when a mortal is conceived. They have a biological life as much as they had a biological evolution. Not designed by mother goddesses, but observed.
We were not born from mud and earth.
When we are born, nature, not the World, gave us time. Everyone received a set amount of time until they run out of it. A number of breaths, each heartbeat part of our biological countdown. But receiving 'time' does not prevent you from dying before it runs dry.
Random events, murderous intents, sickness, actions of gods, your own will, they all can end you beforehand.
You are not born with fate, you shape it or let it be shaped.
Nature and the World are different things.
There were agents brought forth to cull those with more time than the World wished to have. Gods of Death. Agents of the Planet in the Age of Gods to allow the will of the dominant species to remain uncontested.
They were put in charge of the mortals' souls and the distribution of death according to the rules, whatever they may be.

One of those agents roamed the lands of Scandinavia. A degraded goddess of old Scandinavia, now tasked with a new role.
As a gardener of The World who reaps the crowded orchard.
________________________________________________________________________

Rive av Pesta

To touch thy Soul

Rake of Pesta

Kost av Pesta

To stroke thy Soul

Broom of Pesta

Nattmara

The Sick Child is the most Beautiful Nightmare

The gardener was a Queen, discarded for the role she played and fulfilled. She brought Death so new life prospered. She gathered the toxic weeds and culled the forest of the strong trees, so only the youngest may grow to provide shadow in the green field.
Then she was discarded for centuries, absorbed back into the nothingness as equal to the ones she reaped before.
But Death may not die, for the death of Death is eternal life. So she returned for The World with new tasks only a Ruler of Death could fulfill.
Degraded, from royalty to wandering hag, she walked across her realm as a part of the sick and dark collective. An agent of the one that is Pale, because he could not ride through the dense and vast forests of the North.

With her she had three objects of power.
The list of her targets,

a rake

the weapon to carve out the victim's time

and

a broom

the object to absorb it when it fell to the earth

.
If you see her walking with the rake, some may escape death. If she is sweeping near a village none will survive...or have survived. Help her out and you may receive an easy departure from this sickness-ridden world.
It was centuries ago when she was last active. She left silent villages in her path and when she was done the majority of human life there was returned to the earth.
There she gained a new name. Pesta - The Pest, the Great Man-Death, the Black Death. The Personification of the Black Plague of the 14th century.
As the local Avatar of 'Death through Sickness' she embodies the suffering from deadly diseases that kill young and old alike.
A fitting role, she played that one millennia ago.
Like the Queen she once was, she ruled over spirits called Nattmara. Small, childlike apparitions formed from the deaths she herself caused by giving shape to the life that should continue if The World did not interfere. They are vestiges of sand that could slip through any crack in the house and visit the sleeping victims. Her 'children' traveled to the next village in her path and heralded/warned of her coming. Folklore tells stories of them "riding your chest" so that you can not move anymore and have to experience a living nightmare. They even target cattle and agitate and exhaust them. Their presence can be seen the next day, when fur, hair and even plants curled up and from the sand that remained in the corners of your eyes. The 'nightmare spirits' became known as the omen of death and inspired the story of the Sandman.
The 'time' Pesta and Nattmara steal manifests as sand in their hands. It can manifest differently in the grasps of other gods, but it certainly inspired the imagination of humanity being born from dirt and the metaphor for "the sands of time" centuries later.
When the Age of Men covered the whole planet she remained, barely. The World rested, resigned to try another time, another disease will arise to trim the flower bed. So Pesta lingered around those who would die. A basic instinct of a waning spirit. Deaths that were not willed by anyone, just unfortunate happenstance. As it should be in the Age of Men.
Many years of wasting away as a hollow husk passed until she observed a young woman die of sickness. Pale skin, red hair, given up on hope, comforting a woman who still clings on it and her alike. And this boy...crying.
Fascinating.
This boy's sand is fluctuating, filling and emptying on a whim, for he was just a 『 Frame 』. A death that was waiting to happen but does not arrive. A life that tricks death in coming and leaving. An existence inherently hollow, on which both life and demise can not hold onto.
That boy was Edvard Munch. This mystical moment will be remembered.
The Queen of Death was drawn to him over and over.
The Admirer of Art realized he was followed by an Angel of Death.
This moment would be the inspiration for his "The Sick Child".
And it is also the birth of what would become
Munch-Pesta.
Thus Art and Death became one.
________________________________________________________________________


Munch's Origin is 『 Frame 』and he himself can only become part of who is framed with him.
An artist that is famous as the one spearheading the Expressionistic Movement in Europe. This aspect manifesting as "Assassin" represents his Delusion of being followed by the Third Angel, the Black Angel of Death.
But this time it is true, he was indeed followed by something. The paintings associated with it are deeply personal and break from the norm of his time. People in his paintings were distanced from themselves as 'human' and became more symbolical. They became representations of memories, lifeless actors in a stageplay that remain in the theater of his mind. Each represents an emotion that he felt in those moments, and therefore all are him, mere projections of his inner world. Each emotion is a role he played.
The perfect vessel is an empty one. The best actor is the one that is hollow and can be filled with purpose. An actor that became the role itself, because he could not be anything else.
Deceiving even themselves to the point of not knowing who they are, despite them holding their true name.
Something may have died with her, perhaps he was empty before and played the part as tragic artist.
Pesta was just a background character in his life, familiar with playing her part. Bringing death to one, bringing death to gods, bringing death to all, what is the difference? Yet she remained, lingered somewhere unseen, a presence felt yet not detected.
Ahh...what are they indeed? Who is standing before you? Who are they playing? Who is behind the mask?



________________________________________________________________________


Is it Munch obsessed with bringing his sister back to life, that he unknowingly forces the true ghost who followed him into his Saint Graph? Is he becoming the Angel of Death?

Munch-Pesta

Is it Pesta that was so fascinated by an artist depicting death, that she plays another role as a reaper of souls? Is she creating the most beautiful Nattmara in her eyes and becoming stronger the more she reaps?

Munch-Pesta



________________________________________________________________________

Whatever the case may be, the situation can turn dire.
His creation is a Nattmara, a Herald of Death serving a force of sickness and disease.
With it completed and Pretender revealing their Class, it unlocks the Anti-Human Order Skill.
The apparition has the Powerless Shell Skill and is not recognized as a threat or Servant. Its nature allows for a high rank in Territory Infringement, making physical fortifications useless. The sand it is made of is not mere sand but a property of Pesta's nature - a life-absorbing substance that spreads through the air or contact. It is in essence a lower-ranked version of Contagion.
As a form of art from Pretender, it consists of the victims' sands, all imbued with their feelings born from Soul Painting - an imitation of Innocent World.
Left unchecked it can grow in influence and become a vessel for something more. A chain summon that uses "Sophie" as the host of the Pale Rider and begins the End of the World.

The Master can not keep their eyes open anymore. They fall to the side. "They need to know..." they think, but their thoughts are interrupted by their painful coughs. They could walk out this door and Chaldea would only notice when it is too late. But when the Master almost gave up hope they heard a radiant voice and a golden shine through their closed eyelids.

"No. This time I arrive before the world's end. I won't let this sorrow ripen to foul greens."

...and then a song of light.

________________________________________________________________________

< - ⪻ - ⪡ - ⫷ -- Notes -- ⫸ - ⪢ - ⪼ - >Notes:
Will be continued...with my second entry...kinda.
You thought the Pretender craze calmed down? Think again!
Special thanks WhiteFrenzy and pinetree. Your blog and last Servant respectively provided the idea of using the table function to add those decorations on the side. I have many lines to use in future sheets now, but idk how often I will use it. I dont want my sheets to look like grandma's facebook page.
Also thanks to Morg, the kind devil knows why.
When I started the concept phase I wanted to create some kind of mystery, making Chaldea believe several Hassan-like servants of various classes invaded. Like Lancer for the brush, Gunner for the gun, etc. And then go straight to the Pretender sheet instead of fooling the reader. Didnt work out, now you had to read more.
I hope you liked my experiment.

NittyGritty Style last words:

[NINE-lives]

I guess only voyager edvard munch is left.

[MrEvanTheOne]

I don’t know how you can make four sheets of this guy and still never have it seem stale, but you do.

bravo, delrey, absolute 10/10.

[pinetree]

Your Edward Munche's Frame is a dangerous concept. It'd be really easy to let the tag-along take over the sheet, specially with so many iterations, yet every time you surprise with a new perpective on the guy. Great work yet again.

Though I gotta say that I felt like you overdid the presentation this time around, the Jhin imagery fits but there's so much of it that if you know the character, it's hard to stay centered on what you're presenting rather than what Jhin already is.

[DelRey]

thanks folks

and i can see what you are saying, pinetree. But i think they just share the premise of mad artist and go in different directions.
But yeah, it was hard to leave out some art I have found. Curse and blessing of a popular figure. Thanks, I keep it in mind for the future.

[NINE-lives]

Edward munch is gonna become to delrey what chiyou was to delrey or Cain is to roydgolden.