Arachne, Eternal Weaver
Class: Caster
Master:
Alignment: Neutral Good
Gender: Female
Height: 160 cm
Weight: 50 kg
Attribute: Earth
STR: E
CON: E
AGI: C
MGI: B+
LCK: D
Noble Phantasm: A
Legend:
The core part of Arachne's legend is well-known, so this will be kept brief. To be specific, this is the Arachne of the Metamorphoses. A human weaver whose craft surpassed even the gods. In her arrogance, she challenged the goddess Athena to competition, and managed to best her, but consequently enraged Athena with her impudence. In the aftermath of this competition, Arachne committed suicide, only to be transformed into the first spider through the poisonous herb of Hecate.
As an aside, this particular creation is largely the result of a certain reference in Fate/Apocrypha.
Tactics:
On paper, an excellent Servant that requires a bit of work to use properly. As with most Casters, Arachne is best suited for setting up in a particular area, creating her territory, and from there preparing for eventual conflict through strengthening her domain and designing magical items. The utility of her first Noble Phantasm, while not useful in all situations, is also a valuable card to play.
When push comes to shove, though, it is possible to turn her from a half-hearted support Servant into a brutal combat monster. When utilized in conjunction with her second Noble Phantasm and a tactical mind, defeating even first-class Servants could be a distinct possibility.
Of course, that second part of the story is something that shouldn’t be tapped into in the first place. Only the most cold-hearted and victory-obsessed of Masters would seek to walk down that road, and even those who do should understand what doing so means. If you have the strength of will to do so and the tact to avoid the bad end that awaits you, though, then perhaps Arachne the monster will serve you better than Arachne the human ever could.
As a human, Arachne herself is a fairly straightforward individual, albeit one who works poorly with figures of authority. Prideful in her craft but generally considerate of others, she can be called a partner easy to get along with so long as she is viewed as a partner and not as a subordinate; in those cases, one should expect the same acerbic nature that angered Athena. Praise her when she’s worked hard, but don’t let her ego be overinflated. Don’t focus on combat and victory so much that you neglect the beauty of the world around you. Face forwards with a smile and let her stand beside you. In that sense, a certain boy from the mountains would probably have an excellent dynamic with her.
Indeed, it is better to simply treat her as a human like any other. Combat potential is nil, magecraft ability is mediocre, but possessing a Noble Phantasm that the Master can utilize, first-rate Territory Creation, and the ability to make Mystic Codes on par with Noble Phantasms, if the Master is willing to work alongside her all the way, they will have a steadfast and caring ally.
Class Skills:
Tool Creation: C+++
The capability to create items containing magical energy.
On the general view, Arachne’s capacity in this is middling at best. While common items can be created, their quality is mediocre and scarcely deserving of the Caster class. However, this is overturned when creating that which is “woven”; in this field, whether past, present, or future, she cannot be matched by another. In terms of creations such as cloths and shrouds, it is possible to make Mystic Codes on par with a Servant’s Noble Phantasm.
Territory Creation: B+
The skill to build a special terrain that is advantageous to oneself as a magus.
In truth, Arachne’s own magecraft skill is merely enough for the creation of a Workshop. However, when used in conjunction with the personal skill Seamstress to reserve the leylines of an area, the creation of a “Web”, superior to a Workshop, is possible.
Personal Skills:
Seamstress: A
The talent of a weaver, a capacity that bases itself around strings. It is the ability to see, create, and affect strings; in other words, one could consider it analogous to a hybrid between Mystic Eyes and Pure Eyes.
At Arachne’s level, it is possible to see the connections between any two things, whether this be the physical thread that holds a dress together or the magical thread that connects a Master to a Servant. Moreover, it is possible to interfere with these strings as desired, as well as create new ones.
A first-rate ability which acquires surprising utility within the context of a Holy Grail War. All the same, though, it is a talent ill-suited to the heat of fast-paced combat.
Monstrous Strength: EX
The increase of the STR parameter for a time denoted by the rank of the skill, in exchange for the acquisition of monstrous traits. In this case, the skill is nonstandard as the transformation is permanent, and there is no gradual mode of change into the monstrous form. Once used, Arachne becomes the monster in full, and her status as a hero drops to the bare minimum.
Arachne is none other than the “first spider”, capable of giving rise to swarms of her kin. Due to this status and age, her monstrous form has acquired strength and mystery that is first-rate among Magical Beasts. Thanks to this nature, though, she is capable of retaining human reason in this form, instead of simply becoming a mindless animal. Moreover, due to possessing this status, all spiders which exist are merely her children, and thus are subject to her dominion. It is not mental interference, but rather the awakening of an instinct primal to them as spiders to serve their mother.
However, Arachne will quite simply not utilize this ability of her own will. It can thus be considered sealed unless a Command Seal is used. Once activated, her mentality is twisted along with her body, her human empathy replaced with a bestial drive. Alignment additionally is altered to Neutral Evil at this time. From being a doting, if hubristic, housewife, she becomes an obsessive monster whose emotions are amplified beyond compare. Annoyance becomes hatred, anger becomes killing intent, love…
...well, let’s leave that matter aside.
High Speed Divine Words: D
The talent to activate magecraft through speaking in the tongue of the Age of Gods.
At this rank, High Thaumaturgy-level magecraft can be cast at the speed of Five-Counts. A decidedly weak capability by the standards of her era as Arachne was never a true magus so much as one who merely created magical things. Her efficacy as a standard Caster can only be called pitiful.
This skill is sealed with the activation of Monstrous Strength.
Noble Phantasms:
Undoing of Inner Monstrosity
Cloth of Purification
Rank: -
Type: Anti-Impurity
Range: 1
Maximum Number of Targets: 1
The peak of Arachne’s craft and the crystallization of her as a weaver. As an aside, this Noble Phantasm possesses an analogue of itself in the modern day; whether the two are truly one and the same, though, is up for debate.
Put simply, it is a passive-type Noble Phantasm of purification. Pain, disease, poison, mental interference, and so on are washed away by its touch. Moreover, so long as it is worn, any such impurities will not be permitted to take root in the first place. It can be considered something that stands on equal footing with the legendary Aqua Vitae, but it is worth noting that it will not do such things as heal damage.
As a seamstress does not make cloth simply to be worn by herself, this can additionally be utilized by beings besides Arachne, for instance her Master, if permissions are acquired.
This is Arachne’s craft, her pride, and her joy. The touch of the fabric, the way the light dances across its threads, the transcendent beauty given form by mere human hands. It would hardly be an exaggeration to call this Noble Phantasm “Arachne herself”.
Creation of Newborn Monstrosity
Herb of Hecate
Rank: A
Type: Anti-Unit
Range: 1
Maximum Number of Targets: 1
If Arachne’s cloth is the story of her life as a weaver, this is the story of her fall into a monster.
A jar which contains herbs. The jar possesses no special properties, but the herbs are creations of the goddess Hecate. While similar in atmosphere to a curse, in truth the effect that they realize is more akin to poison than magecraft; thus, in order to stave off the effects, poison resistance at a rank superior to the Noble Phantasm is required; this can vary depending on the dosage, though.
Upon contact with oneself, the herb transforms one into a newly-born Monstrous Beast-class spider. This obviously does not apply if the being is “already a spider”. Both one’s mentality and abilities are twisted into those suitable for a spider. In other words, they are forced to join the ranks of spiders and begin anew. A profane trump card against which death is often preferable.
However, it is not without its costs. As this Noble Phantasm is itself the recreation of Arachne’s fall, she cannot wield the tool of her own demise without paying an appropriate price. In order to materialize this Noble Phantasm, the transformation of Monstrous Strength must be activated. It thus goes without saying that, as with the skill itself, this Noble Phantasm should be considered sealed. While in some cases this portion of the legend was seen as a gift so that Arachne could weave for all her life, to Arachne after becoming a Heroic Spirit it is everything she despises about herself and her story. It is something she has come to view as the ruination of her life and simultaneously the heart of her legend. It is a pain that she wouldn’t wish even on the goddess who cast it upon her, thinking it a gift. It is a horror that she would rather die than release upon the world.
...this, of course, only holds while she is Arachne the human.
Originally Posted by venomking
Posting Permissions
