King Midas
Class: Berserker
Master:
Alignment: Drunk Neutral
Sex: Male
Height: 176 cm
Weight: 68 kg
Attribute: Earth
(Parameters with Mad Enhancement on)
STR: D
CON: C
AGI: D
MGI: C
LUK: A
Noble Phantasm: B
Legend:
The legend of King Midas being about one man’s greed for gold leading to his demise… is only one interpretation. If a Heroic Spirit is one of the extraordinary men and women that humanity has put on the pedestal known as “hero,” then unless Midas can only be summoned with a polluted grail, he definitely has a heroic side.
Putting that aside for a while, most people are familiar with Hawthorne’s moralistic version of the myth. In the myth, Midas, King of Phyria, sheltered Dionysus’ tutor Silenus. In gratitude, Dionysus granted Midas a wish which was used so that anything Midas touched would turn to gold. After finding out this wasn’t as great as he thought, he asked for it to be rescinded and washed in the Pactolus, turning the river sand into gold.
Before Hawthorne, the story was chiefly aetiological rather than moralistic; it explained why the Pactolus was so abundant in electrum, an alloy of silver and gold used for coinage and also served as the basis of the Lydian economy. Therefore, one could say Midas is a hero who created the basis behind the Lydian economy.
As for the reason why this heroic form of Midas can be summoned as a Berserker is in his other story. After the events of the golden touch, Midas became a follower of Pan who goaded Apollo into a music contest. Tmolus, a mountain god was the judge and after hearing both pieces immediately awarded the Apollo the victory. Midas did not agree with the decision and was struck with a pair donkey’s ears which shamed him greatly.
Midas would attempt to hide these ears under headwear, but of course his barber knew. Unable to keep the hilarious secret any longer but still finding his life wanting, he dug a hole in the ground and shouted “King Midas has donkey ears,” and covered it up. A thick bed of reeds grew in that area and would whisper those words.
Known as Folktale Type 782, it is a common story form around the world from Ireland to Korea. In most of the stories the one with the animal ears is a person of power or related to a person of power. For example, in the Phillipines the story is about a mayor with horns, while in India it was the son of a raja with ox ears. One interpretation is that the secrets of these authoritarian figures are actually much sillier than even a lowly barber. Another is the ramifications of leaking information one has received in confidence. That we have no idea how a secret is going to spread after it is leaked. The barber believed his secret was safe with the ground; he had no idea that a clump of reeds would grow on that spot and spread the secret. In that respect, this second story may have a more moralistic intention than the first one, especially since it is a story type that is spread all around the world.
Tactics:
King Midas is a symbol of good fortune – an idol so to speak; therefore, he is not meant to fight only to bless others. Because of this role, Midas is a self-loathing man. With an inferiority complex, he does not believe that his legend is that great, merely warped.
While his trials were of his own making, his legend is definitely one of a fool and a victim. Yet, it is the results of his victimhood that he is worshipped. The aspects that embody this Midas are ones of divinity and kingship, yet he knows that he is none of those things. At the same time, he cannot deny these things. “I am a Berserker, yet I can’t even drown myself into an oblivious madness.” Perhaps this is the true punishment for a fool who has been raised up as one of the greats of humanity. On a happy note the Divine King Midas has no trouble with his greed anymore.
Midas is not a king who fights, but rather makes others fight. While he can turn items into gold with his Noble Phantasm, gold does not make a very good weapon and it is almost impossible to touch another Servant or their weapon without them cutting his head off. Since has no martial legends, other than luck, his parameters are disgustingly low, even for a Berserker.
He can be summoned as a Rider. One may call him his Rider form as his “Lily” form as well.
Class Skills:
Mad Enhancement: - (Temporarily C)
Sealed and usurped by 「King Midas Has Donkey Ears
Dignity of the Phrygian King
Originally, parameters other than MGI and LUK rank-up. However, one is entranced in a Dionysian stupor.
Being a part of the Dionysian traditions is what qualifies Midas as a Berserker.
Personal Skills:
Golden Rule: EX
Riches are fated to revolve around one’s life. This skill is directly related to 「」. Luck is also rank-up.
Being able to turn whatever one touches into gold is seen as a curse in the legend, leading his repentance. However, in the modern earn the term “Midas Touch,” or “Golden Touch” is seen as a good thing. The luck or ability to make money out of anything. Because he is the one behind the idiom that characterizes this skill his rank is so high and this is also the reason why his luck is so high.
One might describe his ability to create wealth as the entirety of his strength.
Divinity: C
One’s Divine Spirit aptitude.
Midas is definitely the child of Gordius; however, his mother is another issue. While some stories say his mother was a seer, the Phrygian Mother-Goddess Cybele has also been called his mother. No one is sure if she was actually his mother or “son of Cybele” was a title given to Phrygian kings. On the other hand, it does not matter much considering what this aspect of Midas represents.
Noble Phantasm:
Rank: B
Type: Anti-Unit
Range: 1
Maximum Targets: 1 person
Whatever one touches turns into gold.
A divine blessing/curse from the God of the Vine, Dionysus. Most of what that Midas touches instantly turns into gold; however, because this is a divine blessing, those with a higher Divinity than Midas are unaffected. For items, being a Divine Construct also has the same effect. Those who have an equivalent Divinity must take a resistance check. Larger objects may take longer.
This Noble Phantasm is a proper deterrent from melee combat. Having one’s weapon transmuted into gold means the physical and conceptual properties also change. Strong Noble Phantasms may not be affected much, but weaker ones may have a considerably lowered performance.
While Midas later deemed this a curse, to have a “Midas Touch” is generally considered good. Many companies have advertised and still advertise themselves with this slogan, ironic when you think about it. As stated before, Midas can be seen as the reason why the region of Lydia flourished – a pillar of their community was electrum coins. The deposits of electrum they mined were from the Pactolus and the reason why the electrum or “white gold” was there in the first place was because of Midas.
One peculiarity is that gold is normally attributed to solar deities. In Greek mythology gold is generally attributed to Apollo, his lyre, tunic, buckles, bow, quiver, and sandals. While it is understandable why Midas wanted gold and why Dionysus fulfilled such a request, question still remains why gold? The obvious answer is that it is because minted gold represents the debasement of a spirit – Fafnir turning into a dragon for instance. However, Midas’ gold is not minted and Midas is very connected to Apollo so that easy answer may not be the best answer.
Another interesting note is Midas’ relationship with Alchemy. The main goal of the classical alchemist is the philosopher’s stone which has the ability turn lead into gold. It is a little known fact that Midas is also attributed with the discovery of certain types of lead. Needless to say, Midas’ touch is nothing like a philosophers’ stone since it has nothing to do with Moon Cell Theory or spiritrons. Yet, whatever Midas touches turns into gold, he has connection to lead, and he “created” electrum, an alloy of gold and silver – the strokes of classical alchemy run thick in his legend. One might say he is the Magnum Opus itself, a man’s journey for the philosopher’s stone and more importantly to recreate himself as something distinct.
King Midas Has Donkey Ears
Dignity of the Phrygian King
Rank: C
Type: Anti-Unit
Range: 0
Maximum Targets: 1 person
The greatest shame and pride for King Midas as well as his greatest Noble Phantasm. From the anecdote of Apollo punishing Midas with donkey ears because of Midas’ apparent inability to hear properly, it became a sore point for the king later on.
Midas bestows upon all who see these ears one of two things. The first is his Mad Enhancement. This is permanent, but is also considered the bestowal of a mental interference. An advantageous revision is given against heroes with legends that have to do with alcohol, especially wine. The second option is to purge the person of mental interference. This is not curing the person, but the stripping away of desires and emotions. The result is a much more rational but cold person. An advantageous revision is given against heroes who are related to solar gods or the sun. The moment his ears are seen, his divinity is stricken.
This Noble Phantasm is a complicated one consisting of three components. The first part is the reason behind the name of this Noble Phantasm. Like it was stated before, there are innumerable stories about a noble with animal ears. The unique thing about Midas’ ears are that they were transmitted from the Anatolian people. Anatolian coinage has been shown to depict their rulers with donkey ears as a symbol of royalty. Furthermore, an Anatolian seal of the king of Mira read “rich in donkeys.” Another hieroglyphic inscription called Taragsnalli, another Antaolian king, “the descendent of donkeys.” In broader mythology, Priam used mules to ransom for Hector’s body and Jesus rode on a donkey to Jerusalem. Therefore, this Noble Phantasm is the embodiment of Midas a king, not an ass.
The second component would the donkey’s connection with Dionysus. The donkey, seen as a base and lustful creature has been attributed to Dionysus as they carried his cradle and his tutor Silenus is depicted as having the ears of a donkey or simply riding one. There is an immediate parallel with Midas and his own ears. Enough so that Greek writers have argued for centuries that Midas has donkey ears because of his association with these characters.
Yet in the myth it is Apollo who gives Midas the donkey ears instead, supposedly as a punishment. That makes no sense considering donkeys were sacred to Apollo. Perseus himself supposedly watched Hyperboreans sacrifice donkeys to Apollo and donkeys were also sacrificed to him in Delphi. Apollo must have given the ears of his sacred beast to Midas as a blessing, hoping that he could hear better as in those days, it is believed those with larger ears could hear more and better.
So then this Noble Phantasm is a combination of kingship, Apollo, and Dionysus, so then why does it usurp a Berserker’s Mad Enhancement? Apollo and Dionysus, both sons of Zeus are seen as two extremes. Apollo as an ideal is rational, logical, and illuminating while Dionysus is liberating, wild, and chaotic. In fact, this dichotomy is called “Apolloian and Dionysian” and first appeared in Nietzsche’s works. This philosophical concept is the core of this Noble Phantasm which combines aspects of Apollo and Dionysus. It is an incredibly delicate balancing act, but it still is a balancing act. The Dionysian (Berserker) aspects of Midas must exist but must also be in balance with the Apolloian side. Therefore, the random Mad Enhancement episodes.
Finally, the balance between Dionysian and Apolloian is supposed to explain the ideal person – someone who is logical but at the same time filled with passion. A person whose spiritual journey is complete – as if they completed the Magnum Opus. However, a person is a person, not a god. In that respect because of this Noble Phantasm Midas is unequivocally a symbol of humanity - a king of humans - and therefore must be human. This is no great mystery. Even if Midas is from the Age of Gods, the Apollo/Dionysus dichotomy is incredibly modern and is merely instruction on how one should his life. What this Noble Phantasm does represent is the majesty of a human king, someone that everyone should allegedly strive to become.
No wonder he loathes himself so much.
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The thinking behind this Servant is “blessings and curses being the same thing like mentioned in God Hand,” and “Servant Midas summoned with a unpolluted grail.” He is the same type of Servant as say Marie is.
Apologies if you don’t like the whole “Berserker but doesn’t really have ME” thing. That was something too good to pass up.
He is not meant to fight, after all he is a symbol of the good times. Summon someone with a legend about fighting people if you want someone who can fight. But he can wreak havoc around the battlefield sending people in a frenzy or crushing Servant-Master relationships.
The Golden Touch ability sounds pretty good, but is pretty useless if the opposing Servant doesn’t care about their weapons.
His wish for the grail would be something like "have this false worship be taken away." Basically, the opposite of Vlad's, he wants how his name has turned into something good to be stricken from history.
Originally Posted by FanFictionReader12
Though, I still wouldn't say mine was bad outright but, yours is just something else entirely.
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