“Rider, I do not wish for the blood of others to spill quite yet. While I am in the mood to gorge on it, we can’t let any of the pieces on this board fall so soon. They’re important pieces in overthrowing the rulers of this game. Our efforts will be in putting everything we need into motion.”
“...Though, a small treat may be in order if any get too close. It isn’t our fault they moved too close to the spider’s den, right?”
Was it the instincts of an Oni or a Killer that moved her in that direction? Did it even matter? Regardless, she would stick to her plan. For now, every piece on the board was too important to throw away just yet. The more chaotic things were, the better. Still, that didn’t mean fighting and maiming was off the table. A little taste of blood was allowed if the situation occurred. It was in her nature to revel in the most sacred of liquids.
With the familiars out and about, Kioymi made sure to check up on them for any updates on the areas observed. The conditions of these places need to be monitored in order to ensure her plan was moving smoothly. Thankfully, the blessings of her Servant would stop any sort of interference.
“Hmm? You want to go on a date or something? We’ll probably be a bit too busy tonight. Some fancy places in town are open past Noon, so we could go in the afternoon tomorrow? They’re in Shinto, so we can remain close. I’m hesitant to spend too much time in Miyama. That side of the Mion is a deathtrap.”
It was a deathtrap she was going to visit soon enough, but the less time spent there the better. She mentioned everything there in a rather casual tone, spending no extra time or thought in regards to the specific words used. In other words, the word “date” was used in the most neutral terms possible.
Her servant’s language was completely archaic. Nyoin? She had nearly forgotten what that meant. Still, Kiyomi wasn’t really in a position to judge. When dealing with her immediate family, she spoke in a similar way. Her rough tongue as a yakuza was probably an outlet for her childhood of proper speech. At least, that was how she justified it.
The civic center was one of the last places she wanted to set up. It was far too Western, even for what she was willing to put up with. However, it was ideal for her purposes. Namely, it had a leyline and wasn’t on the other side of the river. Besides, whoever claimed the mountain was asking to be killed. The civic center wasn’t an ideal place to hold in regards to combat. No, it was ideal because of the amount of shields present within it. Who would be rotten enough to kill so many civilians to get close? And a person that monstrous should be praised and rewarded with an alliance. It was a win-win situation for Kiyomi.
As the magus entered the civic center, the corner of her eye caught the change in her Servant’s appearance. It caught her off guard, though it had nothing to do with the appearance itself. Why didn’t her Servant just….go ethereal? There was no reason to be seen in the first place. In fact, why did her Servant even want to go out to eat? They didn’t need nutrition. What a peculiar card she had drawn…
The new appearance was pleasant, though a bit too plain for her taste. There was one part she liked though.
“Nice glasses, Rider. Did you pick those from the magazine Taiga had? I think they look really nice.”
She smiled with the compliment, not that she thought much of it. It was probably for the best she did as well, considering gaining access to the mayor would distort her personality. Well, it would have, if she wasn’t able to send all distortions like that to her sister.
Kiyomi moved through the town hall like she had exclusive access, considering she simply enchanted whoever tried to stop her from entering the mayor’s office. Of course, she made sure all sorts of security footage was destroyed after this. She had made that mistake once, and her lawyers really didn’t want to get involved in a case like that again. Personally, she didn’t see why they were so annoyed about it, but it was best to keep them at least somewhat pleased.
The mayor himself was….well, he was definitely given a much rougher treatment before the enchantment. It was a bit personal to Kiyo, something about how he deserved it after giving her a fine a few years back? Regardless, he would be in her pocket for the time being. She ensured to not harm anyone though, hurting civilians was wrong. Not that she cared much about right and wrong, but she saw no reason to harm the unrelated for the time being.
Well, with the civic center and town hall under her control, Kiyomi and her Servant began to set up their base.
Nighttime came swiftly upon Camp Oni. They were busy redecorating the area as well as setting up their bounded fields. A place modeled after her cities back home in Chūbu would do lovely. Those who visited the civic center would feel otherwise, but that was more of a “them” problem.
The information provided by her familiars was enough to dictate their plans. The information in the Foreign District was truly most interesting. What a cursed place it was becoming. The information at the Mountain provided the obvious, that someone had taken the best location in the war. The South Moor introduced her to a hidden rat of sorts, one that Kiyo had considered dead, but they’d be someone worth communicating with. The Miyama familiar was...disappointing.
Work harder, Miyama familiar!
In Shinto, there seemed to have been a flare for combat. What a meaningless affair. What were these pawns? Why fight others now, of all times? Were they too dense to understand the war’s true nature? Pawns fighting Pawns was what the controllers of this war truly desired. What sort of idiot would willingly play into that? Truly, Kiyo was the smartest participant in this war.
For now, considering everything seemed a bit too...hot at the moment, Kiyomi would spend her time relaxing with her Servant. Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi was on the TV they were watching, the Korean food they ordered was on their table, the lights were dimmed, and both shared the couch they were sitting on. While making progress is how Kiyomi would have wanted to spend the night, this was a fine substitute.
"Modern day Japanese animation is the greatest, can't you tell? We could never be defeated by those barbarians!"
Theodora Shinto District, Shinto Town, Verde Shopping Center
@Breo Her Master really was cute. She got to do all sorts of “dress ups” in life, but never on a girl. It was a fun way to spend the day and she hoped her Master enjoyed herself, even if it was something so far out of her comfort zone. Getting out of one’s comfort zone was important in development.
And also towards removing one’s mask, but that wasn’t why Assassin did this. There was no point in forcing something that would naturally come in time.
Now, of course, her Master did have to come and kill the nice vibe that was going on. The Executor just had to mention she had no intention of summoning Theodora. Tears would begin to fall from Assassin’s eyes, her hand being slightly too slow to catch the first few which dropped onto the table below. With a voice on the verge of bursting into tears, Assassin spoke to her Master.
“I see...you don’t want me. I thought we were getting along fine, yet you never wanted me. You probably hate me...I know it! I’m sorry I can’t be Justin- Kihihihihihihih!!!!!”
A shrill laughter broke the previous facade, with her previous whimsical face returning. She was the Greatest Actress in Rome, was she not? Putting on crocodile tears was one of the easiest tricks for her. She just hoped that didn’t upset her Master too much, it was all just in good fun!
“Of course you wanted to summon Justinian, he’s the greatest! I can’t fault you for that. And who would want to summon someone like me? I’m a problematic person who only follows their hedonistic desire. Why, I’d probably reject the person that actively tried to summon me. You can never know with those types, right?”
She was seemingly speaking earnestly. Of course, with the display she put up earlier, how genuine it was was up to interpretation.
“However...you weren’t going to get Justinian. What sort of wife would I be if I let another get their hands on him?"
Her lips began to curl into a dark smile, though the words coming out of her mouth didn’t make much sense. A Servant couldn’t stop another from being summoned or anything.
And yet. . . .
“Let us not worry what may or may not have been. We’re bound by the hip for now, right? Let us embrace one another during this partnership, regardless of what the past held. Glory can only be achieved with the hand dealt by fate! Let us, with the blessings of the divine, achieve victory in this bloodstained ritual! If not for glory, then for the Lord.”
The Servant raised her glass of wine, the generic sign of a toast to her Master.
It started earlier, much earlier in fact. One could argue that the Prime Grail War had begun once the Third Grail War ended the way it did. Someone actually gifted in seeing the future might have easily seen such a result. Unfortunately, none of the families present in that war were proficient in such a thing. In fact, it seems none of them still learned that lesson. If they did, they would have been smart enough to not even bother retrying such an idiotic war.
Well, in a way, Kiyomi did thank them. She needed this war after all. Once more, the stupidity of others fueled her interests.
This local tea shop Taiga had recommended for her was nice. She had spent the day prior with her friend, though it was mostly filled with shopping and kendo. Taiga was a simple person at her core, but it made her happy, so Kiyomi had no issues with it. While Kiyomi didn’t buy any of the clothing, she did model her current attire on it. It was a simple yellow T-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a white sweater wrapped around her waist. According to the advertisement, this was supposedly all the rage in Gifu? Something about the attire seemed a little out of date though...
The aroma of her Hōjicha brought comfort. This little moment in this tea shop would be the last moment of true calm before Kiyomi properly entered the war. She may have already arrived in Fuyuki and summoned her Servant, but she was not mentally present in the war. She was still here to visit her good friend Taiga. The actual reality of the war had not truly entered her mind, as she simply sought to enjoy the last moments of peace she may ever have.
With the last sips of tea entering her lips and washing out her throat, so too did this facade of peace wash away.
Kiyomi Mayama was a demon. It was time to act as such.
With a new look of conviction in her eyes, Kiyomi pulled out a folder she had. It was filled with her notes about the war.
To begin with, the Holy Grail War was always a scam. If you were not one of the Einzbern, Matou, or Tohsaka, then victory was never going to happen.
This is the unspoken rule of the Original Holy Grail War.
The Einzbern, Matou, and Tohsaka are the only ones who can truly seize victory. The rest simply exist as fodder. This is by design, of course. Who wouldn’t make a ritual where all the cards were in your hands? As an outsider, Kiyomi obviously hated it, but it isn’t like she could blame the founders. She would have done the exact same thing. Well, maybe she would have been a little less snake-y about it.
The Mayama stay honest to their alliances, at the very least.
Even among the founding families, there was clearly a pecking order. While any of the three were allowed to win, one family was clearly a Bishop to the other’s Queen.
The Matou were the creators of the entire system and ritual. If information is the most important thing in war, then the Matou were clearly more dangerous than any other. The old worm was a super genius for creating such a ritual, but to think the other families simply let this happen was hard for Kiyomi to process at first. Of course, she quickly understood that despite the Matou’s absurd advantage, even it was nothing to the Einzbern's.
The Einzbern were the ones who held the key. It was as simple as that. One family was in control of actually starting the grail. What a completely absurd advantage. Who would actually agree to this? Such an unfair advantage should have been stomped out in the first ritual, but it wasn’t. Maybe there truly was no other way, but as it stood, the Einzbern were the family with the greatest control over the war.
The Tohsaka.
Tohsaka…
They uh…
Hm.
They were the Bishops among the Queens. They could win the ritual, but they were clearly lesser than the other two. In fact, they were probably just advanced fodder for the Einzbern and Matou. They could never hope to have leverage or power while alongside them. Holding the land was a nice boost, but it was not even close to what the other two held up their sleeves. As it stood, the Tohsaka were like the little brother invited because mom told the bigger brothers to bring them along.
What a rigged game.
Of course, this meant that everyone else, including Kiyomi, were Pawns. There was no genuine path to victory for them. They were fodder meant to fill up the cup until the real game masters could claim victory. At base, this was unavoidable.
A Pawn can not win The Holy Grail
This too, is an unwritten rule.
That means that the goal of any Pawn is to become a Queen and turn the board inside out.
And so, this would be Kiyomi’s initial plan. She needed to elevate her status from Pawn if she ever wanted to win the Prime Grail War. It would not be easy, especially considering the information she had on hand.
The founding families were working together prior to this war. While they have formally declared war on each other, could such a thing really be the case? What if it was all smoke and mirrors? What if they sought to work together once more so they could abuse their advantages as the controllers of this game? Such an outcome was completely possible, and it was clearly the worst outcome for all of the players. In that scenario, the path to leaving the status of Pawn was nearly completely closed off.
The Matou representative was a monster. This was not a term Kiyomi used lightly, but there was no other way to describe him. In fact, Kiyomi had no problem declaring him the most dangerous thing in this war. Sure, she had no idea about the other Pawns, but they were not going to compare to him. If the situation between them was slightly different, Kiyomi surely would have skipped this war.
The Einzbern were relying on a mercenary. As much as she wanted to mock the family for falling to such a state, she could not blame them. The amount of effort spent to build the essentials for the war was absurd, so instead of relying on them in combat where it could backfire, a mercenary was the right call. Now, that also means they have no real way to ensure loyalty, but it was better off to not speculate with things like that. The Einzbern likely had a way to ensure some level of loyalty. The mercenary they were using was a powerful one though. He was famous in the West for his work or something? Kiyomi made a mental note to be especially on guard with him.
The Tohsaka completely bound themselves to those apes in the West, so they’ve become much more brutish. Barbarians were barbarians in the end though, so she actually gave little thought to the situation of their current head. Still, having them involved with the Einzbern and Matou would surely be an unprecedented disaster for this war. They controlled the land and had a barrier over Miyama, two things Kiyomi could not take for granted.
Fortunately, the situation was still likely within a manageable position. The path to victory was clear to Kiyomi, so all she needed to do was work to enact it.
“Rider, I believe I’m done here. How was the tea? Taiga suggested the place, so I hope it was to your liking."
Kiyomi was more than pleased with the Servant she had summoned. Considering her catalyst was a well preserved autumn leaf, there was a big chance of failure in the summoning. Thankfully, the compatibility portion of the summoning mechanism was working perfectly well. Truly, there was no better fitting for Kiyomi. What was better than one Oni Queen? Two Oni Queens. It was simple Oni math.
Of course, they had a myriad of other similarities, but that was left best concealed for now.
Regardless, she liked her Servant. They were a bit off, but it was not like Kiyomi was in a position to judge. A clingy Servant was better than one who you would never get along with. In regards to goals and war outlook, they were completely aligned. Her power also solidly placed her amongst the greatest Servants this war could provide. In other words, Kiyomi had drawn the winning card.
While her Servant was responding about the tea, Kiyomi began to weave five familiars from the tattoos present on her body. It was a simple task, one that would only take a moment. Everything needed to forge them was already done, all that was required was molding them into the right shape. Once that was done, Kiyomi’s five little shadow yokai familiars would be complete.
“Mind giving them a little blessing, Rider? The world can be harsh to little things like these.”
The five little shadows glided across the table over to the Servant, awaiting the Servant’s blessing. Once they received their blessings, they would mold into the shadow of nearby birds as cover, and depart. This would allow them to hide their presence even further, which was the main goal with a familiar scouting network. Their targets were the Outskirts of the Einzbern abode, the Foreign District, Southern Moor, Mount Enzo, and Miyama.
“Our next stop is to visit the Mayor. It has been a while, but unfortunately for him, I’m sure he remembers my face.”
With her familiars ready and her Servant behind her, Kiyomi began the walk to visit an old….friend. Sure, we can go with that.
She could feel the saliva drip down her chin, with her only barely catching it before her Master had exited the building.
Theodora had no idea who this Father Kotomine was, but the darkness lurking within him was something truly delectable. It was a walking calamity waiting to occur. The amount of darkness within was astounding, even by Theodora’s standards. It was well guarded, supported with a decent enough facade and mask. This Father Kotomine was not someone who would give into that calamity naturally, they were well too guarded.
It was odd, actually. He should have given into his darkness at least a decade prior. What made him so resilient? He was empty, she could tell. The darkness within should have filled that empty spot. For a man who seemed decently long-lived, maybe he simply never had the right encounter? Never before had he been properly encountered and shown the true way to live? As it stood, he was a man with a strong defense against his demon which lurked inside.
This was fine, Theodora was especially good at breaking them down. In fact, the only way to get any sort of darkness out of him was to be an existence similar to Theodora herself. It was a perfect compatibility.
A match made in heaven, if you will.
To break down the pillars of such a man was going to be quite the show…
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to occur in the immediate future.
While she was actually quite pleased with her Master, they were someone who was an “ally” of this man. It wasn’t something her Master would allow, at least for now. Theodora wasn’t the type to take much stock in this Master and Servant relationship, but she would try to accommodate them to some degree.
The sins hiding within her Master weren’t worth tearing out. They were the sort to develop naturally as this sort of event blossomed. Her Master entered this war as a child, but they would surely exit it as an adult. This was the sort of prophecy that Theodora was able to give, even if such things like divination were beyond her. As this was the case, Theodora felt she could simply get along with her Master. They were a good Christian girl, much like herself.
What else would make the two compatible?
Was it ⬛?Or ⬛? Maybe ⬛?
Who was to say?
Despite walking side-by-side with their Master for a bit, the Servant was caught in her own little world. It wasn’t until her Master called by her Class that she began to pay any attention to the situation at hand.
She laughed a small laugh at her partner’s frustration with the language. It was cute seeing her get all flustered. That wasn’t the sort of thing you would normally see from a member of the Church.
“The grail only provides so much, but I can make a guess. I was a polyglot in life, you know? Japanese has a limited amount of sounds, causing similar words, which requires an obtuse way to differentiate them.”
In that regard, it wasn’t too different from spoken Latin.
Now, the written version of Japanese was much more cursed than Latin.
“You speak it fine, at least, according to my ears. The Japanese are an overly polite people, wearing their societal masks much more readily than those from your homeland. They would never insult your grasp of the language. As long as the Japanese don’t say something like “Nihongo Jouzu,” you can consider your Japanese solid. It may sound like a compliment, but it isn’t. Masks can be even more painful than the reality which lies underneath them.”
This wasn’t an insult or anything. To Theodora, all of society was simply hiding in their own little masks, scared of ever revealing themselves to the world. It was a sad existence, never being able to reveal one’s true nature. This was fine, she would reveal it for them in time. It was a mercy she was willing to offer everyone.
“I guess I can help you out with the reading, though practice makes perfect with these sorts of things.”
She materializes next to her master to read the note, patting the Executor's head as she does so.
“Oh, we can worry about that little thing later. When one has a deep hunger, they must do anything they can to satisfy it~!”
A small wink was given at the end of the sentence.
“The note says that it is in Miyama. Let me lead you there~!”
She takes her partner’s hand into her own, then begins her charge down the hill into Shinto.
Kiyomi (紀代美), Kiyo, The Demon Princess of Chūbu, Big Sis
Age: 26
Sex: Female
Alignment: Lawful Evil
A family which claims descent from the Oni, Seki no Tarō. They appeared within the Gifu prefecture during the 1200’s, so this claim may not actually be far from the truth. The family lived as all half bloods did for most of their existence, preying on humans. They were feared as the “Great Monsters of Hida” during this early era of their existence, when their demon blood was much more thick.
The family remained this way until the arrival of the Portuguese, which would forever change their future. While they may have initially rebelled against the influx of Western concepts and goods entering their land, the success of Oda Nobunaga showed them they were wrong. The West held power. Onis like power. Therefore, the ways of the West needed to be bled dry until nothing was left.
Still, the ways of the past should never be lost. Japan was a mystical place, something that Western influence would surely destroy. Since this was the case, the Mayama took it upon themselves to record this information. They would take the ways of the past, the ways of the land, the ways of the Kami, and record it all to be kept forever. Using themselves as an archive, the Mayama would engrave these onto their flesh. It was this realization that sent them down the path of Magi in a world where a mixed blood had more mystery than any spell. Of course, their goal was largely different from those in the West.
It was around this time, in the early 1600’s, that the Mayama entered the criminal world. As they wanted action on Western knowledge to gain power, the family ended up enrolled with the newly formed Yakuza in Kyushu. In doing this, the Mayama also decided to gain backing from the Japanese Association, which was connected to some sort of weird magic organization in the West. They would act as something analogous to Enforcers in Japan, though this largely meant ensuring people paid their taxes. In exchange, they would no longer be active targets.
Basically, the family became a bunch of brutes who used the government as a shield in order to collect excess funds.
Of course, simple monetary value wasn’t enough for this family. They were Oni, existences which sought to gain power through any avenue they could. In this case, it was stealing the lifeforce of others. Normally, such a procedure was actually pointless in regards to a family which cared about their dynasty. Any excess lifeforce would simply disappear the moment the head of the family died. In order for this to benefit an entire family, something needed to be done.
The family made their land in the mountains surrounding Mount Haku. With this newly acquired sacred mountain of immense magical energy, the Mayama put their great ritual into action. At the center of a nearby (non-volcanic) peak, the Mayama built a great magical furnace. Within it, the excess lifeforce/karma/fortune taken from others would reside and be directed to the family head of the Mayama, which was decided by a special tattoo among their many. The excess lifeforce/karma/fortune was later saved for a ritual for their heirs. In burning the collective karma of others, it would allow their heirs to have a karmic inheritance which never properly belonged to them. It was an incredibly vampiric ritual, one which would only grow more and more sinister over the years…
They would sign contracts with others, with the collateral being their life. For those who could not pay, their excess lifeforce was given to the Mayama. Of course, as lifeforce is gauged by one’s natural lifespan, the family has been working hard to ensure that the Japanese have incredibly long lifespans.
The Mayama always had twins, there was never an exception. In order to provide the strongest possible head despite their thinning blood, the younger sibling would exist for the other’s sake. They would be forced to bear the same name, giving all of their lifeforce to the other, taking on the burden that comes with being a mixed blood, and act as a means to absorb the curses targeted towards the older sibling.
In essence, the younger was nothing but a battery for the elder. How such a difference a matter of mere minutes makes.
The Mayama were observers of the second and third Holy Grail War, though they took no active part in it. The family wrote notes about the war, seeing it as the most entertaining spectacle. Who didn’t like seeing idiots throw themselves into a grinder?
In the modern era, the Mayama family has only accrued more wealth and power. Despite being the most powerful Yakuza family in the Chūbu region of Japan, they’ve been funneling much of their wealth towards building up Japan since the Second World War. Now that Japan has taken everything of value from the West, the Mayama have been investing in an isolationist, Japan-First focused policy. Their bribing of wealthy politicians has been successful, though they’re currently struggling with Japan’s declining birth rate. They assume they should have it fixed in the next 17 years or so. With the large market share present in video games, the Mayama took a large amount of shares of the company SEGA. Kiyomi has worked as a creative lead on the release of next year’s blockbuster,
One of the Mayama’s greatest revenue sources beyond their yakuza ways is their construction company. As the Mayama act as the Suzerain of Oni in Chūbu, as well as Second Owners of a large amount of Gifu, their company has a near monopoly in the region. Of course, this construction company isn’t clean. Many of the cities near their home have been constructed entirely by their company, which has designed these cities as meccas of depression. The way nature in which they are constructed causes people to fall into sin and depression. This allows the family to then harvest it, and further add it to their furnace. It is truly a macabre display of power, but that is what it meant to hold power, right?
The Mayama’s main rivals are the Oni which reside in the Kanto region. This has been a century spanning in rivalry which has seen many die, yet it still does not end. There have been rumors of the Mayama coordinating with those in Kyushu in order to put an end to them, but these are merely rumors.
Probably.
Their connections as yakuza and Oni are largely kept in the south. Their closest ties are with those in Kyushu. The Suzerain of Oni have been their closest allies in the magical world, while the Fujimura Group in Fuyuki are their closest allies on the yakuza side of things. Rumor has it, the current head of the Mayama, Kiyomi, spent much of her time as a youth at their estate. She still occasionally goes hunting with the current head of the Fujimura Group.
Kiyomi was born a “miracle” child.
Of course, such a thing was simply forced by the Mayama, so even calling her a “miracle” is incorrect. The modern era has allowed an increase of lifespans unprecedented in the previous generation. The increased lifespan the family accrued with their “business” deals was all directed towards making Kiyomi the greatest heir the family had ever seen.
The blood of others paid for Mayama's greatest “miracle.”
Of course, Kiyomi was born with a twin, just as all the Mayam were. In make, they were exactly the same. The amount of Spiritual Debt in order to forge such two masterworks was astronomical, but clearly it was worth it in the end. Unfortunately, the twin, who was only thirty minutes or so late, was going to live a truly cursed existence.
The siblings lived as fairly standard children for the first eight years of their life. They understood what they were and how important it was to keep it a secret, but that was really the extent of it. The children found it odd that they both shared the same name with different characters, but they resolved it by creating nicknames for one another. The older sibling became “Kiyo” while the younger became “Yomi.”
Of course, the distinctions between the two would very quickly become near nonexistent.
The age of 8 was when children would truly enter the world of magic. This meant that Yomi needed to stop existing for her own sake, while Kiyo needed to be molded into the proper heir of the family. Of course, this meant that Yomi would be permanently locked to her bed while Kiyo would take all of Yomi’s energy. Kiyo was also forced to begin the family’s ritual tattooing procedure.
Now, the pain of tattooing a child was already probably enormous. However, it was far from that simple. The “ink” used by the family were negative thoughts and feelings which corrupted the flesh it touched. The sins harvested over four centuries were being inscribed upon the body of the child. The secrets of the family, their mountain, their kami, kami taken from others, and so forth would take over Kiyo. These tattoos would end up taking over nearly every inch of her torso and thigh.
The pain was indescribable, but even more harrowing was the mental torment. Humans often couldn’t even cope with their own sins. Imagine experiencing the sins of many many others, nearly all of which experienced a traumatic end? Truly, such a mental burden was too much for the child.
Her mind was broken. It was probably broken multiple times over. However, it was able to be pieced back together. Kiyo was the ideal heir to the Mayama, was she not? If she could not handle such strain, then the family’s hard stolen sacrifices were clearly wasted.
The recovery period was months, but Kiyo was ultimately close to a normally functioning person. Something was still clearly broken within her mind, but that was normal for both magi and descendents of Oni.
The greatest casualty of Kiyo’s procedure was Yomi. She was stripped of her identity, forced to give all of her life force to her twin, act as an anti-cursing device, and take on most of the mental burden felt by Kiyo. Much of the mental toll in regards to the tattoos is shifted over to Yomi, as well as Kiyo’s oni instincts whenever they flare up. Yomi’s existence was to support Kiyo, regardless of what they felt about the situation.
As the two were bound together, they could communicate with each other regardless of the distance. The two kept in contact with each other, even if they were barred from ever meeting in person again. Yomi’s mask was great, but it was clear that the burden she carried was going to be too much.
Kiyomi spent the rest of her childhood practicing and perfecting her family’s techniques and craft.
Yomi spent the rest of her childhood in her room, with her mind and body slowly degrading.
Kiyomi’s early adulthood was eventful. There was another fight with some of the few remaining Mixed Bloods from the Kanto region, but another peace treaty was established. She’s sure this will fade away in enough time, but it was largely unimportant. It wasn’t like they had a True Crimson Red Vermillion or anything like that.
Sheesh, imagine if they had one of those? Would be a wild fight.
A few years later, she was caught up in a ritual with one of the strongest magi in Japan. Despite them being Western in approach, they had a largely pleasant conversation while trying to solve the mystery behind the ritual. In the end, the maid did it, of course.
Several subspecies wars were beginning to appear in Japan, which forced Kiyomi to smash them out of existence. While her family had an interest in the grail, such knockoffs were pointless to them. It did allow Kiyomi to better grasp the nature of this “grail” and ritual, but they had neither care nor time for fakes. Japan was their land, and such rituals had no place along their sphere of influence.
This may or may not have resulted in several legal battles with the Association over certain dead magi, but Kiyomi’s ace legal team was always able to bail her out of any major consequences for her over-policing.
The last massive event to have occurred was Kiyomi running a few errands for the Association in Hokkaido. A Dead Apostle outbreak at occurred within the northern portion of the island. It was a dangerous event, but Kiyomi was able to put down the ringmaster of the event. They were a powerful type of Dead Apostle which achieved that position via magecraft, forcing Kiyomi to actually address them as something nearly equal.
This led to a minor crisis about how her own existence was no different from a Dead Apostle. In fact, if taken to the extreme, she was already towards the end point of a Dead Apostle conceptually. What else was she? She was a parasite which devoured the existence of others. Most importantly, she was something which devoured her own sister on a daily basis.
The guilt she had over her sibling was always there, but the encounter with the Dead Apostle only forced it to the forefront. More than that, it made the guilt worsen. Over the next few years, Kiyomi would grow to hate her own existence. Why was she a parasite? Why was she born first? Did the matter of 30 minutes really mean that much?
Well, it certainly did. It gave Kiyo a life of power and privilege, while Yomi a life of torture.
Talks of the return of the Original Holy Grail had reached Kiyomi through her networks. This caused her to track through the founding families, seeing as she had assumed at least two of them had died off. It appeared that the old vampire and his kin survived, the Einzbern remained eternally stagnant, and the Tohsaka had gotten deeper with their Western roots.
Disgusting, but none of it was truly surprising.
Still, this would provide her with a chance to right the wrongs of the past. She grasped the true nature of the ritual, but it was possibly her only opportunity to let Yomi live a life she deserved. Kiyo was the big sister, right? Wasn’t it her job to protect her younger sibling? It was something she had always failed to do until recently.
The Mayama were observers for the previous two Grail Wars, but they would no longer fill that role. Kiyo would ensure her wish, and all the consequences of pursuing such a wish meant nothing to her.
Magic Crest: None.
Magic Circuit Switch: Imagining the pain of stabbing her eye with a tattoo needle.
Quality of Magic Circuits: A
Quantity of Magic Circuits: B
Elemental Alignment: Fire and Water
Origin: Restitution Magecraft Abilities:
General Magecraft (日本語): The basics, just in Japanese.
Mixed Blood: The Mayama are a family which are descendants of Oni. While their blood is not as thick as some families, it is thick enough for members of the family to still be called monsters. The standard mixed blood has increased regeneration, and their physical abilities are placed well above the capabilities of a normal human. In Kiyomi’s case, who is actively stealing the strength of her sister, her physical ability further transcends what even most mixed bloods are capable of. Of course, she could still never match the ability of the Tohno’s secret weapon.
Beyond that, Oni mixed bloods have the ability to drain the lifeforce of others. The Mayama make active use of this in their contracts. They can also give their lifeforce to others.
Irezumi: The practice of inserting ink. In other words, tattooing. For them, sin is used as the ink for their creations. The Mayama are experts at the cultivating and harvesting of such things, so their inkwells are never low. This allows the family to manifest these sins upon their body and in reality. Specifically, the family are experts in using the memory of the sins and bringing those to reality. Of course, as a result, one is forced to wear the sins upon their body. Their impurity is worn on their sleeves, instead of burying it deep within. In essence, this is the medium in which the family actualizes their magecraft. It also makes for very potent ink to sign contracts with.
Yokai Creation: Ability to create yokai. Yokai exist as negative reflections of humanity, given birth by humanity’s inability to grasp the world around them. They act as explanations for unknown “phenomena,” tainted by the negative aspects of humanity in their representation. Yokai were forged and defined by humanity. Since this is the case, could they not be recreated by man once more?
The Mayama use the sins they collect in order to give birth to these yokai. As they were reflections of humanity’s negativity, this acts as the best method to give them life. They share the properties of the images they are built after, also acting as memories of them. As yokai can also be called living examples of sin, they make surprisingly good tattoos for Mayama family purposes.
Contracts: The magical ability to exploit language in written form to extort others. This ability in of itself isn’t actually magical, but the contracts used by the family certainly are. Kiyomi is an expert in regional, national, international, and magical law. She is also an expert wordsmith when it comes to the creation of said contracts. Kiyomi also has endless amounts of bribe money and blackmail material towards politicians in both the normal and magical world. In other words, she is among the most dangerous existences in regards to the law.
Fertility Rites: Simple rituals that assist with fertility and childbirth. The Mayama family only uses this to help secure twins and has little to no use beyond it. Kiyomi is personally disappointed in her family’s lack of attention towards them, as they could help solve Japan’s declining birth rate. Mystic Codes:
Cursed Body: The litany of tattoos littering the hidden parts of Kiyomi’s body are made from the family’s collection of sins. The sins presented here range from the mundane to the truly atrocious and all of them engrave their existence onto Kiyomi. They are often used as a source for the creation of her Yokai, which can then be tattoo’d back onto her. Another major use is using them to influence her while fighting, though this is much less often used.
Yomi: Her sister acts as a natural anti-curse agent, with curses sent to Kiyo directed towards her instead.
Omamori: An anti-curse amulet. What kind of big sister lets their younger sister be a shield?
Mayama Family Furnace: As the head of the Mayama, Kiyomi has access to the family’s collection of excess lifeforce. It serves little purpose other than to be given to others.
Kappa Maids: Kappa created by Kiyomi in order for them to act as maids. Since being a maid requires a higher level of intelligence, they’ve been given more brains than your average Yokai. However, in doing so, it created the opportunity for the Kappa to unionize. In order to stop this Mass Kappa Unionization Movement, Kiyomi has been paying them in cucumbers.
Yokai Clothing: Kiyomi’s attire is actually just several yokai in the shape of clothing. It is as durable as the Church’s attire, and acts as an autonomous defense system. As it is a yokai, she can change her outfit as she desires. This is a powerful boon for when the beach episode comes around.
Yama-Koroshi-Gatana (山殺し刀): An ancient relic of the Mayama family, dating back over 5 centuries. It was built when a member of the family defeated a member of the Touzaki, and used their magnum opus as a basis for the new sword. This new sword was forged on the Mayama’s Great Furnace, imbuing it with the cursed properties such a flame holds.
Since it is ultimately a sword made from the magnum opus of another, it can not match a true Touzaki mastercraft in strength. However, it is ultimately not that far off. The real power of this sword is its age. It is a sword which has accumulated the mystery of over 4 centuries. Simply removing the sword from its sheath is enough to crush lesser mysteries like bounded fields of modern magi.
It is the ultimate weapon of the Mayama family for a very good reason. A non-Oni could never handle such a cursed instrument.
Limitless Sake Gourd: A gourd with an endless amount of Oni-tier sake. It is unknown how the family acquired such a powerful device, but they wield its mightiness with a proud smirk.
Extra Magical Contracts: A surplus of contracts which happen to be magical in nature. Non-Magecraft Abilities:
Mayama Family Swordsmanship (Complete): The extension of the Mayama family’s ancient swordsmanship. The hidden sword techniques of the Mayama were feared across Japan for centuries, but was still fundamentally lacking something core to Oni. It remained incomplete until the Meiji Restoration, when all sorts of Western concepts were rapidly flooding into Japan. It was then when the Mayama Family were able to completely Oni-ize their fighting style.
In essence, Japanese swordsmanship is fatally flawed for the purposes of Oni. Oni are existences which value strength above all else, and as the ultimate avenue by which power is shown. Japanese Swordsmanship is tied towards Mysticism, with the pursuit of the state of [ ] being the ultimate end goal for them. What value did Oni have in such a thing? There wasn’t strength in that. The West saw swordsmanship as a method of murder. It was a very Oni approach to things.
The Mayama Family shifted away from the mysticism present in Japanese swordsmanship, and replaced it with methods to further crush those who challenged them. This is not to say it is a brainless style of fighting, but one which maximizes the ability to kill others. In this regard, it is the ultimate technique for combat. It may be a system void of mysticism, but their techniques are something which may even reach a level akin to magecraft. As Kiyomi is the greatest practitioner of these techniques, it is fair to call her the “Greatest Killer.”
Actually, it isn’t. However, it acts as a great ego boost for her.
It is fundamentally a system alien to those present in the East.
Mayama Family Martial Arts (Complete): The Mayama family’s secret Martial Arts technique. It is seen as an extension of their swordsmanship, meaning that it also saw an “upgrade” with the rise of Meiji. Once more, the mysticism of it has been torn away, being replaced by a mindset completely devoted towards killing.
It is an absolutely savage fighting style focused around strikes which maximize internal damage. Blows towards the torso to damage vital organs, punches to the skull to damage the brain, and so forth are the goal of this system.
As it is an extension of the family’s sword techniques, if one is a master in one, they are a master in the other. The two can not truly be separated, as the bond of ultimate bloodshed is shared between them.
Mayama Family Marksmanship: Despite the name, it really isn’t different from being a good shot. Guns are a device which only knows death, so there really isn’t any sort of fancy thing to be done with them. Still, in order to make other families envious of their skills, the Mayama claim to have a super secret gun technique they’re hiding from the world.
Diplomatic Immunity: The Holy Grail War is moderated by the Church. Kiyomi’s existence is an affront to the Church. Needless to say, she would normally never be allowed to participate in such a ritual. However, Kiyomi had managed to acquire a letter from some of the Association’s higher ups, which labelled her as an “Association Asset.” As this is the case, being hunted down by the Church would spark an international incident between the two factions. Of course, this becomes null-and-void the moment Kiyomi strikes one of them, becomes a city-tier threat, or threatens the secrecy of magic. Non-Magecraft Items:
Motorcycle: Kiyomi is in possession of a limited edition reinforced bulletproof Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R in Red. Kiyomi has a large collection of motorcycles, but she decided to bring her favorite down for the war. Obviously, she can drive it like a pro.
BlackBerry 7100t: A cell phone. It was still a flex to own one of these in 2004.
Nintendo DS: Using her connections, Kiyomi was able to procure one of these months before they were released. However, it lacks games.
Nintendo GBA SP: The device she actually plays games on. It comes in red. She has a collection of games she has brought to this war in case she gets bored.
M1911: Don’t ask questions.
Katanas: Extra Katanas she has brought. She is the type to only use her prized sword against those she finds “worthy.”
Money: She’s a Yakuza Queen, so she has lots of access to her wealth. She carries a decent amount in cash, but also has access to several cards.
Cucumbers: This is the currency in which Kappa deal with, so Kiyomi is always sure to bring a supply.
The Great Demonic Alliance of Mayama: An elite team of 50 lawyers which serve the Mayama directly. Many of these members are from branch families. They are feared throughout Japan and the greater magical world for their ability. This team has managed to win seemingly impossible cases, including a situation where familiar footage was obtained of Kiyomi breaking several violations.
Saint Theodora, Augusta, Assassin of Temptation, Rome’s Number One Actress, Hot-Blooded Empress of the Heart (by Justinian), That Bitch (by Belisarius)
Class: Assassin
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Gender: Female
Region: Eastern Rome Source: Historical Fact Attribute: Man
Likes: Justinian, Wholesomeness, Luxuries, Tags: Corruption Dislikes: Belisarius, People Who Would Harm Justinian, Women Prettier Than Her, Flutes Talents: Subterfuge, Manipulation, Administration, Riding Natural Enemy: Belisarius
Weapons: Daggers, Claws, Words, Sacraments.
The daughter of an animal tamer.
The Augusta of Rome.
The Great Calamity of Rome.
A loving wife.
A whore.
Theodora is an existence which can be defined in many different ways. Almost none of which are fully incorrect. She was a paradoxical existence which could only be understood as someone who “did whatever they pleased.” With no real line of logic, Theodora simply lived her life doing whatever she felt was proper.
Theodora was born the daughter to an animal tamer along with two older siblings. From birth, her and her sisters needed to work in order to survive. This would lead to them taking jobs at a local theater, a place where Theodora would begin to define herself. Acting came natural to the girl, and she absolutely loved manipulating the crowd. This should have been the first red flag, but it appeared nobody paid much attention to Theodora.
Over the years at the theater, Theodora would become the star attraction. Her skills and beauty would attract visitors from across the Empire. In the background of all of this, Theodora was using her wiles to break patron after patron, taking everything of value and ruining their reputation. Of course, the rumors of such a beauty would eventually reach the ears of a certain young prince.
It was this young prince that would forever change Theodora’s life.
They met at Antioch. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly, yet the heat was nowhere around. There was a fresh breeze from the sea as she first locked eyes with the prince. The wind had messed up their hair, yet neither seemed to mind. Being smitten by someone was nothing rare for the actress, yet there was something different about this feeling.
This is a day forever carved into her memory.
No matter how hard she tried to manipulate the man, he wouldn’t budge. The entire day was spent with her trying all of her tricks, yet the man was oblivious to all of her attempts. Even when she was as forward as she possibly could be, the prince simply laughed. Such dirty thoughts never seemed to even enter his brain.
At the end of the day, instead of the wild disaster of passion she was expecting, the prince simply kissed her hand.
It was this curveball which forever made Theodora chase after Justinian. Of course, the feeling was mutual. Even if she can never understand how such a beacon of purity could love a woman like her, she accepted his love with open arms. Love was never a place of logic, she knew that much.
Now, of course, their love was forbidden. A prince should have never had anything to do with a lowborn actress such as herself. The law itself had forbidden such a thing. Despite this, the two continued to see one another in secret. Now, the dynamic of their relationship was incredibly bizarre, but who was to judge another’s love? Even if found satisfaction elsewhere, her heart would never wave from the Prince.
Eventually, after enough lobbying by Justinian and Theodora, the Emperor legalized marriages between classes. And, after another year of the two simply admiring one another, they were married. This is another day carved into Theodora’s very existence. In fact, there was probably never a day she was ever quite this happy.
While her happiness never went away as long as she was with Justinian, things would become more difficult when he became Emperor. Now, Theodora was always supportive of her husband. In fact, she did most of the actual administration. Justinian was the dreamer who pursued his ideals, while Theodora would manage the simple day-to-day runnings of the Empire. She was oddly gifted in it.
The problem with him becoming Emperor meant that there were now others vying for Justinian’s attention. Most notable, Belisarius. Belisarius and Theodora hated each other upon their first meeting, and the hatred between the two only continued to rise. While Belisarius was the biggest problem, there were plenty of others. All of the magistrates, politicians, the populace, depraved whores, and so forth just kept throwing themselves at Justinian. With so many people fighting for his love, it was like he had no time for her. Such a result was...well, unacceptable.
And so, Theodora used her wiles to bring an end to such problems.
While her time as Empress would bring about an administrative Golden Age, it would also break apart the empire’s moral fabric. By the time she was done, the entirety of Rome would be flipped on its head. Every part of Rome had become depraved, much like her. Of course, they were all mindless beasts in comparison to her. The pursuit of hedonism can only truly be achieved by the greats.
Most notably, of course, was how she crushed Belisarius. In arranging them with her good friend, Theodora broke apart the general bit by bit. At the end of it all, he was bowing and kissing the women’s feet. In fact, this was a process all the high ranking members of society were forced to do. The Empire of Rome was wrapped around her finger, with nobody really stopping her.
Now, despite this massive shortcoming, Theodora was truly an efficient Empress. She helped create codes of law, rebuild Constantinople, new help for the poor, new rights for women, and even helped her own Christian community. It was this helping of the Miaphysite community that led to her becoming hailed as a Saint by later generations.
She also saw herself as a woman of Christ. Despite her unbelievably sinful behavior, she was the type to constantly attend church and did what she could to help the poor. Really, if it wasn’t for her horrifically depraved ways, she was the spitting image of a Saint.
It is this paradox that makes up Theodora. A woman who could do endless amounts of good, but was ultimately someone who existed to destroy civilization. Fortunately enough for Rome, Theodora died young. Her last moments were with Justinian, as he refused to leave her side.
This memory is another etched into her.
In this Grail War, she has but one wish. To be reunited with that idiot for all time.
Parameters: Strength: D Endurance: D Agiliy: A Magic: B Luck: A
Class Skills: Presence Concealment: C+ The capacity to hide one's presence as a Servant. Suitable for spying. The rank of Presence Concealment drops considerably when preparing to attack. For Theodora however, this rank isn’t dropped for the purposes of torture.
Personal Skills: Carnal Allure of the Sensual Demoness: A++ Theodora’s greatest strength in life was her allure. It was said that most who were even in her presence were instantly corrupted and fell towards hedonist temptations. A few whispers of meaningless nothings were enough to break down even Rome’s most rigid generals. Those who were the hardest to crack, like Belisarius, were simply mentally tortured on end until they cracked. In truth, this is the real function of the skill. It is a form of torture which continues to exert pressure on something until it cracks.
It acts as a specialized form of incitement geared towards individuals instead of groups. Through words alone, Assassin can shave down the mental of others until they revert to the beasts they are. As it is ultimately aimed towards one person instead of a group, the mental attack portion of this skill is increased. It is more effective against beings closer to Heroes and those with an adult mentality.
Needless to say, such charms are wasted on those who think like kids...
Innocent Monster: A An attribute possessed by Servants 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. As a consequence, the Servant's abilities and appearance have been rendered to conform to the specifications of their legend. Incidentally, this Personal Skill cannot be removed.
In the case of Theodora, the tellings of Prokopios have turned her into a Succubus. This has granted her increased strength, an ability akin to Mana Burst, fast regeneration, the ability to manipulate dreams, Mystic Eyes of Enchantment, Pheromones, and other things commonly attributed to Succubi.
Oddly enough, Theodora has no protest over the acquisition of this skill. If anything, she finds it fitting. This has made her more aligned with this skill than the usual recipient.
Malevolent Empress of Rome: EX Despite being the beloved wife of the Invincible Holy Emperor, Theodora would sink the entire empire around her. She would completely corrupt the moral fabric of the empire, causing near anarchy among the populace.
Theodora would completely destroy the cultural norms of Rome, degenerating the empire into a near perpetual pleasure palace. The poor would be taxed harder, the wealthy would be stripped of their wealth, women would control their men, and all sorts of atrocities would become the norm under her influence.
A variation of a skill possessed by a certain Sun Princess. It continues to gradually lower one’s parameters, their ability to resist her influence, and moral framework. Merely interacting with this siren is too dangerous.
Unless you’re that idiot...
Torture Techniques: A A Skill that represents one's possession of outstanding torture techniques. Plus modifiers are added when using torture tools to deal damage. Because it strengthens bloodshed and agony, further damage is continuously added after the ordinary damage
In the case of this Servant, modifiers are added when mental attacks are used. Intoxicating Delight Not so Bad once you Try it, Right? Rank: B Type: Anti-Unit Range: 1-15 Maximum Number of Targets: 1
The crystallization of the demoness’ destruction. Theodora’s destruction of Rome was never physical. Instead, she destroyed the dignity of the once sacred empire. What should have been a kingdom of purity was turned into a depraved gynocracy. A hedonistic hell had been forged onto this kingdom, all through Theodora’s actions. Everyone from the peasants, to elites like Belisarius, were forced to grovel and submit to their August. This Noble Phantasm is the representation of how Theodora made a once heavenly kingdom into a degenerate abyss.
This destruction of the empire manifests as a simple kiss. A kiss of passion, a kiss of intimacy, but most importantly, a kiss of degradation. Once the target has been kissed, or had been blown one, a spiritual toxin begins to take root within their core. Their spiritual foundation begins to fall as their base impulses begin to rise in a euphoric fashion. What were once great Heroic Spirits, are reduced to mere shadows of themselves. In fact, this Noble Phantasm is even more effective against those that shine brightly. While this isn’t a move which can kill another, it is absolutely a sure kill technique towards one’s dignity.
With this technique and her skills? There is little surprise that Theodora was able to completely smash the moral framework of an empire.
Considering it is a slow, mentally agonizing break down of an individual, it is considered a form of torture. Unless, of course, someone would be twisted enough to consent to such a Noble Phantasm? Theodora Reflection of Civilization’s End Rank: C Type: Anti-Unit Range: 0 Maximum Number of Targets: 1
Despite being born as a simple girl, Theodora’s existence was one which served to bring the fall of civilization. She was neither a kind of punishment of God, nor the spawn of Satan. In truth, she was simply born this kind of twisted. It could be said that it was the origin point of the existence known as Theodora. She was simply born something which existed to bring calamity.
Of course, Theodora was not born with some sort of super calamity beam or anything. Instead, such a thing manifested in her ability to exist in society, and prey on the dark shadow it casts. A problematic existence like her should have never been within society, yet she remained within it and drained it. She could feel the negative emotions of others, identify them, and use her skills to have them consume the individual. After all, only a very select few could say they harbor no darkness within them. This ability to strip the heart’s of others bare led to wild accusations, including her having some sort of expansive surveillance system within the houses of every Roman.
This Noble Phantasm is the crystallization of this aspect of Theodora. It acts as an ability for Theodora to latch onto civilization, and to detect and identify the negative emotions within others across even great distances. Whether they harbor anger, a broken heart, or an insatiable lust, nothing can be hidden from this instinct of Theodora’s. Of course, this allows her to break down others to an even greater degree. Calling her a parasitic existence would not be wrong in the slightest.
Kiyomi (鬼黄泉) Mayama (魔山)
Kiyomi (紀代美), Kiyo, The Demon Princess of Chūbu, Big Sis
Age: 26
Sex: Female
Alignment: Lawful Evil
A family which claims descent from the Oni, Seki no Tarō. They appeared within the Gifu prefecture during the 1200’s, so this claim may not actually be far from the truth. The family lived as all half bloods did for most of their existence, preying on humans. They were feared as the “Great Monsters of Hida” during this early era of their existence, when their demon blood was much more thick.
The family remained this way until the arrival of the Portuguese, which would forever change their future. While they may have initially rebelled against the influx of Western concepts and goods entering their land, the success of Oda Nobunaga showed them they were wrong. The West held power. Onis like power. Therefore, the ways of the West needed to be bled dry until nothing was left.
Still, the ways of the past should never be lost. Japan was a mystical place, something that Western influence would surely destroy. Since this was the case, the Mayama took it upon themselves to record this information. They would take the ways of the past, the ways of the land, the ways of the Kami, and record it all to be kept forever. Using themselves as an archive, the Mayama would engrave these onto their flesh. It was this realization that sent them down the path of Magi in a world where a mixed blood had more mystery than any spell. Of course, their goal was largely different from those in the West.
It was around this time, in the early 1600’s, that the Mayama entered the criminal world. As they wanted action on Western knowledge to gain power, the family ended up enrolled with the newly formed Yakuza in Kyushu. In doing this, the Mayama also decided to gain backing from the Japanese Association, which was connected to some sort of weird magic organization in the West. They would act as something analogous to Enforcers in Japan, though this largely meant ensuring people paid their taxes. In exchange, they would no longer be active targets.
Basically, the family became a bunch of brutes who used the government as a shield in order to collect excess funds.
Of course, simple monetary value wasn’t enough for this family. They were Oni, existences which sought to gain power through any avenue they could. In this case, it was stealing the lifeforce of others. Normally, such a procedure was actually pointless in regards to a family which cared about their dynasty. Any excess lifeforce would simply disappear the moment the head of the family died. In order for this to benefit an entire family, something needed to be done.
The family made their land in the mountains surrounding Mount Haku. With this newly acquired sacred mountain of immense magical energy, the Mayama put their great ritual into action. At the center of a nearby (non-volcanic) peak, the Mayama built a great magical furnace. Within it, the excess lifeforce/karma/fortune taken from others would reside and be directed to the family head of the Mayama, which was decided by a special tattoo among their many. The excess lifeforce/karma/fortune was later saved for a ritual for their heirs. In burning the collective karma of others, it would allow their heirs to have a karmic inheritance which never properly belonged to them. It was an incredibly vampiric ritual, one which would only grow more and more sinister over the years…
They would sign contracts with others, with the collateral being their life. For those who could not pay, their excess lifeforce was given to the Mayama. Of course, as lifeforce is gauged by one’s natural lifespan, the family has been working hard to ensure that the Japanese have incredibly long lifespans.
The Mayama always had twins, there was never an exception. In order to provide the strongest possible head despite their thinning blood, the younger sibling would exist for the other’s sake. They would be forced to bear the same name, giving all of their lifeforce to the other, taking on the burden that comes with being a mixed blood, and act as a means to absorb the curses targeted towards the older sibling.
In essence, the younger was nothing but a battery for the elder. How such a difference a matter of mere minutes makes.
The Mayama were observers of the second and third Holy Grail War, though they took no active part in it. The family wrote notes about the war, seeing it as the most entertaining spectacle. Who didn’t like seeing idiots throw themselves into a grinder?
In the modern era, the Mayama family has only accrued more wealth and power. Despite being the most powerful Yakuza family in the Chūbu region of Japan, they’ve been funneling much of their wealth towards building up Japan since the Second World War. Now that Japan has taken everything of value from the West, the Mayama have been investing in an isolationist, Japan-First focused policy. Their bribing of wealthy politicians has been successful, though they’re currently struggling with Japan’s declining birth rate. They assume they should have it fixed in the next 17 years or so. With the large market share present in video games, the Mayama took a large amount of shares of the company SEGA. Kiyomi has worked as a creative lead on the release of next year’s blockbuster,
One of the Mayama’s greatest revenue sources beyond their yakuza ways is their construction company. As the Mayama act as the Suzerain of Oni in Chūbu, as well as Second Owners of a large amount of Gifu, their company has a near monopoly in the region. Of course, this construction company isn’t clean. Many of the cities near their home have been constructed entirely by their company, which has designed these cities as meccas of depression. The way nature in which they are constructed causes people to fall into sin and depression. This allows the family to then harvest it, and further add it to their furnace. It is truly a macabre display of power, but that is what it meant to hold power, right?
The Mayama’s main rivals are the Oni which reside in the Kanto region. This has been a century spanning in rivalry which has seen many die, yet it still does not end. There have been rumors of the Mayama coordinating with those in Kyushu in order to put an end to them, but these are merely rumors.
Probably.
Their connections as yakuza and Oni are largely kept in the south. Their closest ties are with those in Kyushu. The Suzerain of Oni have been their closest allies in the magical world, while the Fujimura Group in Fuyuki are their closest allies on the yakuza side of things. Rumor has it, the current head of the Mayama, Kiyomi, spent much of her time as a youth at their estate. She still occasionally goes hunting with the current head of the Fujimura Group.
Kiyomi was born a “miracle” child.
Of course, such a thing was simply forced by the Mayama, so even calling her a “miracle” is incorrect. The modern era has allowed an increase of lifespans unprecedented in the previous generation. The increased lifespan the family accrued with their “business” deals was all directed towards making Kiyomi the greatest heir the family had ever seen.
The blood of others paid for Mayama's greatest “miracle.”
Of course, Kiyomi was born with a twin, just as all the Mayam were. In make, they were exactly the same. The amount of Spiritual Debt in order to forge such two masterworks was astronomical, but clearly it was worth it in the end. Unfortunately, the twin, who was only thirty minutes or so late, was going to live a truly cursed existence.
The siblings lived as fairly standard children for the first eight years of their life. They understood what they were and how important it was to keep it a secret, but that was really the extent of it. The children found it odd that they both shared the same name with different characters, but they resolved it by creating nicknames for one another. The older sibling became “Kiyo” while the younger became “Yomi.”
Of course, the distinctions between the two would very quickly become near nonexistent.
The age of 8 was when children would truly enter the world of magic. This meant that Yomi needed to stop existing for her own sake, while Kiyo needed to be molded into the proper heir of the family. Of course, this meant that Yomi would be permanently locked to her bed while Kiyo would take all of Yomi’s energy. Kiyo was also forced to begin the family’s ritual tattooing procedure.
Now, the pain of tattooing a child was already probably enormous. However, it was far from that simple. The “ink” used by the family were negative thoughts and feelings which corrupted the flesh it touched. The sins harvested over four centuries were being inscribed upon the body of the child. The secrets of the family, their mountain, their kami, kami taken from others, and so forth would take over Kiyo. These tattoos would end up taking over nearly every inch of her torso and thigh.
The pain was indescribable, but even more harrowing was the mental torment. Humans often couldn’t even cope with their own sins. Imagine experiencing the sins of many many others, nearly all of which experienced a traumatic end? Truly, such a mental burden was too much for the child.
Her mind was broken. It was probably broken multiple times over. However, it was able to be pieced back together. Kiyo was the ideal heir to the Mayama, was she not? If she could not handle such strain, then the family’s hard stolen sacrifices were clearly wasted.
The recovery period was months, but Kiyo was ultimately close to a normally functioning person. Something was still clearly broken within her mind, but that was normal for both magi and descendents of Oni.
The greatest casualty of Kiyo’s procedure was Yomi. She was stripped of her identity, forced to give all of her life force to her twin, act as an anti-cursing device, and take on most of the mental burden felt by Kiyo. Much of the mental toll in regards to the tattoos is shifted over to Yomi, as well as Kiyo’s oni instincts whenever they flare up. Yomi’s existence was to support Kiyo, regardless of what they felt about the situation.
As the two were bound together, they could communicate with each other regardless of the distance. The two kept in contact with each other, even if they were barred from ever meeting in person again. Yomi’s mask was great, but it was clear that the burden she carried was going to be too much.
Kiyomi spent the rest of her childhood practicing and perfecting her family’s techniques and craft.
Yomi spent the rest of her childhood in her room, with her mind and body slowly degrading.
Kiyomi’s early adulthood was eventful. There was another fight with some of the few remaining Mixed Bloods from the Kanto region, but another peace treaty was established. She’s sure this will fade away in enough time, but it was largely unimportant. It wasn’t like they had a True Crimson Red Vermillion or anything like that.
Sheesh, imagine if they had one of those? Would be a wild fight.
A few years later, she was caught up in a ritual with one of the strongest magi in Japan. Despite them being Western in approach, they had a largely pleasant conversation while trying to solve the mystery behind the ritual. In the end, the maid did it, of course.
Several subspecies wars were beginning to appear in Japan, which forced Kiyomi to smash them out of existence. While her family had an interest in the grail, such knockoffs were pointless to them. It did allow Kiyomi to better grasp the nature of this “grail” and ritual, but they had neither care nor time for fakes. Japan was their land, and such rituals had no place along their sphere of influence.
This may or may not have resulted in several legal battles with the Association over certain dead magi, but Kiyomi’s ace legal team was always able to bail her out of any major consequences for her over-policing.
The last massive event to have occurred was Kiyomi running a few errands for the Association in Hokkaido. A Dead Apostle outbreak at occurred within the northern portion of the island. It was a dangerous event, but Kiyomi was able to put down the ringmaster of the event. They were a powerful type of Dead Apostle which achieved that position via magecraft, forcing Kiyomi to actually address them as something nearly equal.
This led to a minor crisis about how her own existence was no different from a Dead Apostle. In fact, if taken to the extreme, she was already towards the end point of a Dead Apostle conceptually. What else was she? She was a parasite which devoured the existence of others. Most importantly, she was something which devoured her own sister on a daily basis.
The guilt she had over her sibling was always there, but the encounter with the Dead Apostle only forced it to the forefront. More than that, it made the guilt worsen. Over the next few years, Kiyomi would grow to hate her own existence. Why was she a parasite? Why was she born first? Did the matter of 30 minutes really mean that much?
Well, it certainly did. It gave Kiyo a life of power and privilege, while Yomi a life of torture.
Talks of the return of the Original Holy Grail had reached Kiyomi through her networks. This caused her to track through the founding families, seeing as she had assumed at least two of them had died off. It appeared that the old vampire and his kin survived, the Einzbern remained eternally stagnant, and the Tohsaka had gotten deeper with their Western roots.
Disgusting, but none of it was truly surprising.
Still, this would provide her with a chance to right the wrongs of the past. She grasped the true nature of the ritual, but it was possibly her only opportunity to let Yomi live a life she deserved. Kiyo was the big sister, right? Wasn’t it her job to protect her younger sibling? It was something she had always failed to do until recently.
The Mayama were observers for the previous two Grail Wars, but they would no longer fill that role. Kiyo would ensure her wish, and all the consequences of pursuing such a wish meant nothing to her.
Magic Crest: None.
Magic Circuit Switch: Imagining the pain of stabbing her eye with a tattoo needle.
Quality of Magic Circuits: A
Quantity of Magic Circuits: B
Elemental Alignment: Fire and Water
Origin: Restitution Magecraft Abilities:
General Magecraft (日本語): The basics, just in Japanese.
Mixed Blood: The Mayama are a family which are descendants of Oni. While their blood is not as thick as some families, it is thick enough for members of the family to still be called monsters. The standard mixed blood has increased regeneration, and their physical abilities are placed well above the capabilities of a normal human. In Kiyomi’s case, who is actively stealing the strength of her sister, her physical ability further transcends what even most mixed bloods are capable of. Of course, she could still never match the ability of the Tohno’s secret weapon.
Beyond that, Oni mixed bloods have the ability to drain the lifeforce of others. The Mayama make active use of this in their contracts. They can also give their lifeforce to others.
Irezumi: The practice of inserting ink. In other words, tattooing. For them, sin is used as the ink for their creations. The Mayama are experts at the cultivating and harvesting of such things, so their inkwells are never low. This allows the family to manifest these sins upon their body and in reality. Specifically, the family are experts in using the memory of the sins and bringing those to reality. Of course, as a result, one is forced to wear the sins upon their body. Their impurity is worn on their sleeves, instead of burying it deep within. In essence, this is the medium in which the family actualizes their magecraft. It also makes for very potent ink to sign contracts with.
Yokai Creation: Ability to create yokai. Yokai exist as negative reflections of humanity, given birth by humanity’s inability to grasp the world around them. They act as explanations for unknown “phenomena,” tainted by the negative aspects of humanity in their representation. Yokai were forged and defined by humanity. Since this is the case, could they not be recreated by man once more?
The Mayama use the sins they collect in order to give birth to these yokai. As they were reflections of humanity’s negativity, this acts as the best method to give them life. They share the properties of the images they are built after, also acting as memories of them. As yokai can also be called living examples of sin, they make surprisingly good tattoos for Mayama family purposes.
Contracts: The magical ability to exploit language in written form to extort others. This ability in of itself isn’t actually magical, but the contracts used by the family certainly are. Kiyomi is an expert in regional, national, international, and magical law. She is also an expert wordsmith when it comes to the creation of said contracts. Kiyomi also has endless amounts of bribe money and blackmail material towards politicians in both the normal and magical world. In other words, she is among the most dangerous existences in regards to the law.
Fertility Rites: Simple rituals that assist with fertility and childbirth. The Mayama family only uses this to help secure twins and has little to no use beyond it. Kiyomi is personally disappointed in her family’s lack of attention towards them, as they could help solve Japan’s declining birth rate. Mystic Codes:
Cursed Body: The litany of tattoos littering the hidden parts of Kiyomi’s body are made from the family’s collection of sins. The sins presented here range from the mundane to the truly atrocious and all of them engrave their existence onto Kiyomi. They are often used as a source for the creation of her Yokai, which can then be tattoo’d back onto her. Another major use is using them to influence her while fighting, though this is much less often used.
Yomi: Her sister acts as a natural anti-curse agent, with curses sent to Kiyo directed towards her instead.
Omamori: An anti-curse amulet. What kind of big sister lets their younger sister be a shield?
Mayama Family Furnace: As the head of the Mayama, Kiyomi has access to the family’s collection of excess lifeforce. It serves little purpose other than to be given to others.
Kappa Maids: Kappa created by Kiyomi in order for them to act as maids. Since being a maid requires a higher level of intelligence, they’ve been given more brains than your average Yokai. However, in doing so, it created the opportunity for the Kappa to unionize. In order to stop this Mass Kappa Unionization Movement, Kiyomi has been paying them in cucumbers.
Yokai Clothing: Kiyomi’s attire is actually just several yokai in the shape of clothing. It is as durable as the Church’s attire, and acts as an autonomous defense system. As it is a yokai, she can change her outfit as she desires. This is a powerful boon for when the beach episode comes around.
Yama-Koroshi-Gatana (山殺し刀): An ancient relic of the Mayama family, dating back over 5 centuries. It was built when a member of the family defeated a member of the Touzaki, and used their magnum opus as a basis for the new sword. This new sword was forged on the Mayama’s Great Furnace, imbuing it with the cursed properties such a flame holds.
Since it is ultimately a sword made from the magnum opus of another, it can not match a true Touzaki mastercraft in strength. However, it is ultimately not that far off. The real power of this sword is its age. It is a sword which has accumulated the mystery of over 4 centuries. Simply removing the sword from its sheath is enough to crush lesser mysteries like bounded fields of modern magi.
It is the ultimate weapon of the Mayama family for a very good reason. A non-Oni could never handle such a cursed instrument.
Limitless Sake Gourd: A gourd with an endless amount of Oni-tier sake. It is unknown how the family acquired such a powerful device, but they wield its mightiness with a proud smirk.
Extra Magical Contracts: A surplus of contracts which happen to be magical in nature. Non-Magecraft Abilities:
Mayama Family Swordsmanship (Complete): The extension of the Mayama family’s ancient swordsmanship. The hidden sword techniques of the Mayama were feared across Japan for centuries, but was still fundamentally lacking something core to Oni. It remained incomplete until the Meiji Restoration, when all sorts of Western concepts were rapidly flooding into Japan. It was then when the Mayama Family were able to completely Oni-ize their fighting style.
In essence, Japanese swordsmanship is fatally flawed for the purposes of Oni. Oni are existences which value strength above all else, and as the ultimate avenue by which power is shown. Japanese Swordsmanship is tied towards Mysticism, with the pursuit of the state of [ ] being the ultimate end goal for them. What value did Oni have in such a thing? There wasn’t strength in that. The West saw swordsmanship as a method of murder. It was a very Oni approach to things.
The Mayama Family shifted away from the mysticism present in Japanese swordsmanship, and replaced it with methods to further crush those who challenged them. This is not to say it is a brainless style of fighting, but one which maximizes the ability to kill others. In this regard, it is the ultimate technique for combat. It may be a system void of mysticism, but their techniques are something which may even reach a level akin to magecraft. As Kiyomi is the greatest practitioner of these techniques, it is fair to call her the “Greatest Killer.”
Actually, it isn’t. However, it acts as a great ego boost for her.
It is fundamentally a system alien to those present in the East.
Mayama Family Martial Arts (Complete): The Mayama family’s secret Martial Arts technique. It is seen as an extension of their swordsmanship, meaning that it also saw an “upgrade” with the rise of Meiji. Once more, the mysticism of it has been torn away, being replaced by a mindset completely devoted towards killing.
It is an absolutely savage fighting style focused around strikes which maximize internal damage. Blows towards the torso to damage vital organs, punches to the skull to damage the brain, and so forth are the goal of this system.
As it is an extension of the family’s sword techniques, if one is a master in one, they are a master in the other. The two can not truly be separated, as the bond of ultimate bloodshed is shared between them.
Mayama Family Marksmanship: Despite the name, it really isn’t different from being a good shot. Guns are a device which only knows death, so there really isn’t any sort of fancy thing to be done with them. Still, in order to make other families envious of their skills, the Mayama claim to have a super secret gun technique they’re hiding from the world.
Diplomatic Immunity: The Holy Grail War is moderated by the Church. Kiyomi’s existence is an affront to the Church. Needless to say, she would normally never be allowed to participate in such a ritual. However, Kiyomi had managed to acquire a letter from some of the Association’s higher ups, which labelled her as an “Association Asset.” As this is the case, being hunted down by the Church would spark an international incident between the two factions. Of course, this becomes null-and-void the moment Kiyomi strikes one of them, becomes a city-tier threat, or threatens the secrecy of magic. Non-Magecraft Items:
Motorcycle: Kiyomi is in possession of a limited edition reinforced bulletproof Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R in Red. Kiyomi has a large collection of motorcycles, but she decided to bring her favorite down for the war. Obviously, she can drive it like a pro.
BlackBerry 7100t: A cell phone. It was still a flex to own one of these in 2004.
Nintendo DS: Using her connections, Kiyomi was able to procure one of these months before they were released. However, it lacks games.
Nintendo GBA SP: The device she actually plays games on. It comes in red. She has a collection of games she has brought to this war in case she gets bored.
M1911: Don’t ask questions.
Katanas: Extra Katanas she has brought. She is the type to only use her prized sword against those she finds “worthy.”
Money: She’s a Yakuza Queen, so she has lots of access to her wealth. She carries a decent amount in cash, but also has access to several cards.
Cucumbers: This is the currency in which Kappa deal with, so Kiyomi is always sure to bring a supply.
The Great Demonic Alliance of Mayama: An elite team of 50 lawyers which serve the Mayama directly. Many of these members are from branch families. They are feared throughout Japan and the greater magical world for their ability. This team has managed to win seemingly impossible cases, including a situation where familiar footage was obtained of Kiyomi breaking several violations.
Saint Theodora, Augusta, Assassin of Temptation, Rome’s Number One Actress, Hot-Blooded Empress of the Heart (by Justinian), That Bitch (by Belisarius)
Class: Assassin
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Gender: Female
Region: Eastern Rome Source: Historical Fact Attribute: Man
Likes: Justinian, Wholesomeness, Luxuries, Tags: Corruption Dislikes: Belisarius, People Who Would Harm Justinian, Women Prettier Than Her, Flutes Talents: Subterfuge, Manipulation, Administration, Riding Natural Enemy: Belisarius
Weapons: Daggers, Claws, Words, Sacraments.
The daughter of an animal tamer.
The Augusta of Rome.
The Great Calamity of Rome.
A loving wife.
A whore.
Theodora is an existence which can be defined in many different ways. Almost none of which are fully incorrect. She was a paradoxical existence which could only be understood as someone who “did whatever they pleased.” With no real line of logic, Theodora simply lived her life doing whatever she felt was proper.
Theodora was born the daughter to an animal tamer along with two older siblings. From birth, her and her sisters needed to work in order to survive. This would lead to them taking jobs at a local theater, a place where Theodora would begin to define herself. Acting came natural to the girl, and she absolutely loved manipulating the crowd. This should have been the first red flag, but it appeared nobody paid much attention to Theodora.
Over the years at the theater, Theodora would become the star attraction. Her skills and beauty would attract visitors from across the Empire. In the background of all of this, Theodora was using her wiles to break patron after patron, taking everything of value and ruining their reputation. Of course, the rumors of such a beauty would eventually reach the ears of a certain young prince.
It was this young prince that would forever change Theodora’s life.
They met at Antioch. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly, yet the heat was nowhere around. There was a fresh breeze from the sea as she first locked eyes with the prince. The wind had messed up their hair, yet neither seemed to mind. Being smitten by someone was nothing rare for the actress, yet there was something different about this feeling.
This is a day forever carved into her memory.
No matter how hard she tried to manipulate the man, he wouldn’t budge. The entire day was spent with her trying all of her tricks, yet the man was oblivious to all of her attempts. Even when she was as forward as she possibly could be, the prince simply laughed. Such dirty thoughts never seemed to even enter his brain.
At the end of the day, instead of the wild disaster of passion she was expecting, the prince simply kissed her hand.
It was this curveball which forever made Theodora chase after Justinian. Of course, the feeling was mutual. Even if she can never understand how such a beacon of purity could love a woman like her, she accepted his love with open arms. Love was never a place of logic, she knew that much.
Now, of course, their love was forbidden. A prince should have never had anything to do with a lowborn actress such as herself. The law itself had forbidden such a thing. Despite this, the two continued to see one another in secret. Now, the dynamic of their relationship was incredibly bizarre, but who was to judge another’s love? Even if found satisfaction elsewhere, her heart would never wave from the Prince.
Eventually, after enough lobbying by Justinian and Theodora, the Emperor legalized marriages between classes. And, after another year of the two simply admiring one another, they were married. This is another day carved into Theodora’s very existence. In fact, there was probably never a day she was ever quite this happy.
While her happiness never went away as long as she was with Justinian, things would become more difficult when he became Emperor. Now, Theodora was always supportive of her husband. In fact, she did most of the actual administration. Justinian was the dreamer who pursued his ideals, while Theodora would manage the simple day-to-day runnings of the Empire. She was oddly gifted in it.
The problem with him becoming Emperor meant that there were now others vying for Justinian’s attention. Most notable, Belisarius. Belisarius and Theodora hated each other upon their first meeting, and the hatred between the two only continued to rise. While Belisarius was the biggest problem, there were plenty of others. All of the magistrates, politicians, the populace, depraved whores, and so forth just kept throwing themselves at Justinian. With so many people fighting for his love, it was like he had no time for her. Such a result was...well, unacceptable.
And so, Theodora used her wiles to bring an end to such problems.
While her time as Empress would bring about an administrative Golden Age, it would also break apart the empire’s moral fabric. By the time she was done, the entirety of Rome would be flipped on its head. Every part of Rome had become depraved, much like her. Of course, they were all mindless beasts in comparison to her. The pursuit of hedonism can only truly be achieved by the greats.
Most notably, of course, was how she crushed Belisarius. In arranging them with her good friend, Theodora broke apart the general bit by bit. At the end of it all, he was bowing and kissing the women’s feet. In fact, this was a process all the high ranking members of society were forced to do. The Empire of Rome was wrapped around her finger, with nobody really stopping her.
Now, despite this massive shortcoming, Theodora was truly an efficient Empress. She helped create codes of law, rebuild Constantinople, new help for the poor, new rights for women, and even helped her own Christian community. It was this helping of the Miaphysite community that led to her becoming hailed as a Saint by later generations.
She also saw herself as a woman of Christ. Despite her unbelievably sinful behavior, she was the type to constantly attend church and did what she could to help the poor. Really, if it wasn’t for her horrifically depraved ways, she was the spitting image of a Saint.
It is this paradox that makes up Theodora. A woman who could do endless amounts of good, but was ultimately someone who existed to destroy civilization. Fortunately enough for Rome, Theodora died young. Her last moments were with Justinian, as he refused to leave her side.
This memory is another etched into her.
In this Grail War, she has but one wish. To be reunited with that idiot for all time.
Parameters: Strength: D Endurance: D Agiliy: A Magic: B Luck: A
Class Skills: Presence Concealment: C+ The capacity to hide one's presence as a Servant. Suitable for spying. The rank of Presence Concealment drops considerably when preparing to attack. For Theodora however, this rank isn’t dropped for the purposes of torture.
Personal Skills: Carnal Allure of the Sensual Demoness: A++ Theodora’s greatest strength in life was her allure. It was said that most who were even in her presence were instantly corrupted and fell towards hedonist temptations. A few whispers of meaningless nothings were enough to break down even Rome’s most rigid generals. Those who were the hardest to crack, like Belisarius, were simply mentally tortured on end until they cracked. In truth, this is the real function of the skill. It is a form of torture which continues to exert pressure on something until it cracks.
It acts as a specialized form of incitement geared towards individuals instead of groups. Through words alone, Assassin can shave down the mental of others until they revert to the beasts they are. As it is ultimately aimed towards one person instead of a group, the mental attack portion of this skill is increased. It is more effective against beings closer to Heroes and those with an adult mentality.
Needless to say, such charms are wasted on those who think like kids...
Innocent Monster: A An attribute possessed by Servants 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. As a consequence, the Servant's abilities and appearance have been rendered to conform to the specifications of their legend. Incidentally, this Personal Skill cannot be removed.
In the case of Theodora, the tellings of Prokopios have turned her into a Succubus. This has granted her increased strength, an ability akin to Mana Burst, fast regeneration, the ability to manipulate dreams, Mystic Eyes of Enchantment, Pheromones, and other things commonly attributed to Succubi.
Oddly enough, Theodora has no protest over the acquisition of this skill. If anything, she finds it fitting. This has made her more aligned with this skill than the usual recipient.
Malevolent Empress of Rome: EX Despite being the beloved wife of the Invincible Holy Emperor, Theodora would sink the entire empire around her. She would completely corrupt the moral fabric of the empire, causing near anarchy among the populace.
Theodora would completely destroy the cultural norms of Rome, degenerating the empire into a near perpetual pleasure palace. The poor would be taxed harder, the wealthy would be stripped of their wealth, women would control their men, and all sorts of atrocities would become the norm under her influence.
A variation of a skill possessed by a certain Sun Princess. It continues to gradually lower one’s parameters, their ability to resist her influence, and moral framework. Merely interacting with this siren is too dangerous.
Unless you’re that idiot...
Torture Techniques: A A Skill that represents one's possession of outstanding torture techniques. Plus modifiers are added when using torture tools to deal damage. Because it strengthens bloodshed and agony, further damage is continuously added after the ordinary damage
In the case of this Servant, modifiers are added when mental attacks are used. Intoxicating Delight Not so Bad once you Try it, Right? Rank: B Type: Anti-Unit Range: 1-15 Maximum Number of Targets: 1
The crystallization of the demoness’ destruction. Theodora’s destruction of Rome was never physical. Instead, she destroyed the dignity of the once sacred empire. What should have been a kingdom of purity was turned into a depraved gynocracy. A hedonistic hell had been forged onto this kingdom, all through Theodora’s actions. Everyone from the peasants, to elites like Belisarius, were forced to grovel and submit to their August. This Noble Phantasm is the representation of how Theodora made a once heavenly kingdom into a degenerate abyss.
This destruction of the empire manifests as a simple kiss. A kiss of passion, a kiss of intimacy, but most importantly, a kiss of degradation. Once the target has been kissed, or had been blown one, a spiritual toxin begins to take root within their core. Their spiritual foundation begins to fall as their base impulses begin to rise in a euphoric fashion. What were once great Heroic Spirits, are reduced to mere shadows of themselves. In fact, this Noble Phantasm is even more effective against those that shine brightly. While this isn’t a move which can kill another, it is absolutely a sure kill technique towards one’s dignity.
With this technique and her skills? There is little surprise that Theodora was able to completely smash the moral framework of an empire.
Considering it is a slow, mentally agonizing break down of an individual, it is considered a form of torture. Unless, of course, someone would be twisted enough to consent to such a Noble Phantasm? Theodora Reflection of Civilization’s End Rank: C Type: Anti-Unit Range: 0 Maximum Number of Targets: 1
Despite being born as a simple girl, Theodora’s existence was one which served to bring the fall of civilization. She was neither a kind of punishment of God, nor the spawn of Satan. In truth, she was simply born this kind of twisted. It could be said that it was the origin point of the existence known as Theodora. She was simply born something which existed to bring calamity.
Of course, Theodora was not born with some sort of super calamity beam or anything. Instead, such a thing manifested in her ability to exist in society, and prey on the dark shadow it casts. A problematic existence like her should have never been within society, yet she remained within it and drained it. She could feel the negative emotions of others, identify them, and use her skills to have them consume the individual. After all, only a very select few could say they harbor no darkness within them. This ability to strip the heart’s of others bare led to wild accusations, including her having some sort of expansive surveillance system within the houses of every Roman.
This Noble Phantasm is the crystallization of this aspect of Theodora. It acts as an ability for Theodora to latch onto civilization, and to detect and identify the negative emotions within others across even great distances. Whether they harbor anger, a broken heart, or an insatiable lust, nothing can be hidden from this instinct of Theodora’s. Of course, this allows her to break down others to an even greater degree. Calling her a parasitic existence would not be wrong in the slightest.
Hildr was one of the few valkyrie to live life as a human, though she met a tragic fate like the rest of them.
Created by Odin yet the child of Hogni, Hildr was doomed to eventually break programming. Her base nature was already aligned towards being human, but her father would only complicate the problem. In one of his adventures, he had consumed the heart of the dragon, turning him into a draconic existence. Seeing as Hildr was his daughter, that burden was also placed onto her.
This was the first break, dragons weren’t valkyries.
Hildr would have her own adventures, using her father’s sword and armor. Fight men, beasts, monsters, and everything in her path. She was a valkyrie at the end of the day, even if she was slightly more human than the average valkyrie.
Despite her power, the life of an adventurer would not last long for her. When it was time to settle down, her over protective father slew all suitors. Of course, in her own warped view, this meant they were unfitting. However, one man was up to the task of truly earning her love.
The king of Northern Germany, Hetel, would wage an all-out war for her hand. A gesture which may have been repulsive to some, but one that immediately impressed the valkyrie. Any man willing to throw away the lives of tens of thousands of men had to have been worth something, right?
This Hetel continued to surprise her, through his ingenuity and subterfuge. By the time he had managed to reach her castle, Hildr was truly in love. The war would continue to rage on for a few more years, but eventually a truce was made, and HIldr and Hetel could be together.
This was the second break, a valkyrie shouldn’t love.
Hildr and Hetel would have a daughter who would have her own epics and stories, but a happy ever after was never in Hildr’s future.
It was a simple hunt for Hetel and Hogni, nothing that should have escalated. However, after a failed catch, the two would begin to insult one another. As tension grew, Hildr tried to defuse the situation, but it was too late. Hogni had drawn the sword of tragedy, Dáinsleif. The battle between Hildr’s husband and father had begun, with nothing she could do to intervene in the fight.
And so, she didn’t.
Hildr could do nothing to stop the fight once it had begun, but she could ensure the fight never ended.
Using her endless sorrow as the fuel for her miracle, Hildr would ensure that this conflict lasted forever. Whenever one had defeated the other, the conditions of the fight were reset. Endlessly ensuring that this fight would continue, Hildr was stuck to see the two most important people in her life fight forever. All while doing so, Hildr prayed for a miracle.
Unfortunately, such a miracle never came. The version of her as a human may have been recorded in the throne, but this fight still continues on the Reverse side. The existence known as Hildr will forever be stuck with this fate, and no miracle will ever be able to free her of this.
Wish: To free herself from this sorrow. Parameters: Strength: B Endurance: B Agility: B Mana: B Luck: E
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance: A Grants protection against magical effects. Differing from the Resistance effect that merely rejects Magical Energy, this ability cancels the spells altogether
At this rank it cancel spells of A-Rank or below, no matter what High-Thaumaturgy it is. In practice, the Servant is untouchable to modern magi, so it would not be an exaggeration to title the Servant a 'Magus Killer'
Riding: B Denotes the ability to ride mounts and vehicles. Most vehicles and animals can be handled with above average skill, even vehicles that did not exist in the time period one was alive in, for they are no exception. However, cannot ride the likes of Phantasmal Species such as Monstrous Beasts.
Personal Skills:
Divinity: E The measure of whether one has Divine Spirit aptitude or not. At high levels, one is treated as a mixed race of a Divine Spirit, and the level declines when the Heroic Spirit's own rank as a Monster or Demonic Beast raises. It can also decrease due to one's dislike for the gods.
It also has an effect which reduces special defensive values called 'purge defense' in proportion to the Divinity's Rank. It can break through Skills such as Protection of the Faith and Enlightenment of the Sacred Fig
As a valkyrie, her original rank in this skill was A. However, as this form of Hildr is closer to human, draconic, and a personal grudge against the Fates, this skill’s rank has lowered.
Enrapturing Beauty: EX A skill denoting the disastrous nature of one’s natural beauty. Hildr’s beauty captured all those who gazed upon her, but such a thing was far from a blessing. Every time such a thing occurred, heartbreak and disaster would follow.
In essence, the skill acts as a mental interference which draws those who look at Hildr, towards her. They are captured by her beauty and want to continue gazing at her. However, those who are ensnared by her beauty are weakened. The longer they continue to interact and think about her, the lower their stats will become.
Mana Burst: A The increase in performance caused by infusing one's weapons and body with Magical Energy and instantly expelling it. Simply put, recreating the effect of a jet burst by expending large amounts of Magical Energy.
At Rank A, even a stick can become a weapon of great power. A normal weapon that is not on the level of a divine Mystery can be destroyed in one blow. Can also raise one's defense several times over.
Primordial Runes: - The possession of and knowledge about Runes that came from an older era. Those with possession and knowledge of Primordial Runes can also make use of the classic Rune Magic
She has Runes hailing from Scandinavia, also known as Scandinavian Magic Crests. These runes are different from the Runes modern magi use. These are Primal Runes with the power of the Age of Gods. Because of the Norse chief god Odin, they had spread throughout the world.
Dáinsleif Demonic Sword of Endless Sorrow Rank: B NP Type: Anti-Unit Range: 1 Maximum Number of Targets: 1 Description: A cursed blade that can only bring ruin. Originally owned by her father Hogni. Dáinsleif is the sword he uses during his eternal battle with Hedinn. It was constructed by dwarves and was originally among the pile of treasures guarded by Fafnir. Somehow, the sword ended up in the possession of Hogni, it would eventually be loaned to Hildr in some of her many stories.
Despite Dáinsleif’s reputation as a sword of ruin, it is not one which births ruin from nothing. It does not cause sorrow, but it does increase it. The true nature of Dáinsleif is of an amplifier. Hogni and Hedinn would fight regardless, Dáinsleif merely amplified the tragedy to an even higher level. It is an empty sword seeking to be filled, and will amplify that which is placed within it to a rank beyond Dáinsleif itself.
Whenever this sword is drawn, tragedy will ensue. Of course, tragedy only makes this sword stronger...
Alchemist of the Tell Tale Heart, The Runaway, The Falcon of Isis, The Unmoving Great Library, The Drunkard of Slaughter, The Eye of Ra
Faction: Black
Age: Mid-30’s.
Sex: Female
Rank: Pride (Level 95)
The Shesemu were a longstanding family within Atlas. While they were never on the level of Atlas’ Six Sources, they could be considered a step or two away from them. Originally, they were a family of traveling surgeons before finding a new purpose and home within the Titan’s Pit. The actual story here does not exist in any records, but there is little to assume anything notable occurred beyond this being the origin story for one of Atlas’ more prominent families.
The Shesemu spent generations attempting to appeal to the Six Sources. As the Six Sources explored the potential of the human body, the Shesemu worked with blood in an attempt to impress them. This striving towards achieving the greatness of Atlas’ greatest families ended when the family gave birth to a true genius, Mehi. Mehi was the genius of his generation with the ability to use up to seven partitions. His research in medicine and mathematics were groundbreaking at the time, on top of him pushing his family’s alchemy beyond what they ever believed possible. Mehi’s magnum opus was going to be revolutionary within Atlas. Yet, surprisingly, the day before he was able to unveil it, the current head of the Eltnam had presented it.
This was odd, as Mehi had shared none of it with anyone. In fact, it was in a field the Eltnam were not specialists in. Yet, miraculously, the Eltnam was able to copy his thesis and research perfectly. What transpired was obvious, of course. Using their Etherlite, the Eltnam stole his idea and the credit for it. The rumors of the Eltnam as vultures were completely true. They were abominations who pried into the minds of others, violating and stealing whatever they pleased. Truly, they were no better than the vampires which existed on the surface.
The illusion of the Six Sources grandeur had been smashed, with the Eltnam revealing themselves to be monsters. It was known that the Eltnam were this vile, yet the other families of Atlas did nothing to stop them. The Shesemu would no longer work to impress these jokes of Alchemists. Calling them openly antagonistic would be wrong, but the family’s policy had forever changed. If Atlas was a prison which locked both people and information inside, then the Shesemu would guard their knowledge better than the rest. No longer would they let the fruits of their research be taken. Mehi’s magnum opus had changed. Using his heart as the basis, Mehi would create the Mystic Code, Ma’at.
It is in this environment, namely one which hated the most influential family in Atlas, that Io was fostered in. Io’s brilliance shined at a young age, with her very quickly being hailed as the best head of the Shesemu since Mehi. Of course, as Io was raised to be a good little calculator, this attention meant nothing to her. Her goal as an alchemist was to avoid The End. From childhood Io consumed herself with nothing beyond what was needed to save the primates.
Of course, such a thing would very quickly break a few things. Only ever coming to the same conclusion, that of humanity’s destruction, would very quickly make those unprepared deranged. With her six partitions, Io got to see even more new and creative ways for humanity to stop existing. The very concept of Atlas was to crush oneself in order to hold up the world. It became increasingly likely that Io was to be another such casualty. However, there was one event that forever changed her.
The naming of the next Atlasia.
The next Atlasia was truly a genius, even if she was still a child. With seven partitions, it was not like Io could even form a logical argument as to why it should not be her. And yet, this was the greatest sin done to the Shesemu family since Mehi.
Sion ELTNAM Sokaris was to be the next Atlasia.
The current head of that cursed dynasty was to be the next director of Atlas. The last time an Eltnam was in that position, he went mad, became a Dead Apostle, and then became a force of nature. For the first time in her life, Io had an emotional reaction to something. The greatest danger to Atlas, therefore humanity, were the Eltnams, yet they kept receiving blessing after blessing.
Surprisingly, this had little to do with jealousy over the position. While Io was absolutely one of the modern geniuses of Atlas, she had no illusion she would be crowned Atlas. It was a game of politics, something the Shesemu had been hiding from since they were robbed. Io also wanted nothing to do with the role. It seemed like a role that would distract her from her work. What drove this was a general hatred of a family which went against everything both Magecraft and Atlas stood against.
This event broke something within Io far faster then endlessly predicting humanity’s doom ever would. As years passed, the constant ruminating on this Sion would get in the way of her research. Io went from nothing more than a calculator, to something which could express at least one emotion. It was that of hatred, but it was better than nothing. In fact, she became capable of two emotions when Sion became a wanted fugitive after a TATARI showing. This calculator experienced bliss, as finally, the Eltnam were getting their punishment.
And yet. . .that is not how it happened.
Despite being absent for three years, trading Atlas’ secrets, and becoming a wanted fugitive by both the Church and Atlas, Sion was allowed to return to her place as the next director.
This, of course, was the final straw for Io.
Time after time, the Eltnam were given special treatment. This cursed family continued to break rule after rule, but nothing was done. An illusion had been destroyed, that of Atlas’ supposed competency. If this was going to be a foolish institute run by the worst of them, then there was little point in staying. Escaping Atlas was an ordeal, but one she would strive towards. There was little to be gained remaining in this dump.
It took her several months of planning, but she eventually devised a method to escape the Titan’s Pit. It required an intense understanding of the security system, as well as an absurd amount of copies of herself created through her blood, but Io would finally taste the fresh air she had never done before.
Of course, Io would remain a wanted fugitive in the eyes of Atlas. It was unlikely that they would call in the Association at large, but to be sure, Io initially fled to Japan. While she was there, she befriended one of Japan’s most famous magi. The brunette found Io that her current approach to saving humanity was pointless, as only a human could save humanity.
Io, taking this about as literally as she metaphorically could, moved to Las Vegas. She learned from a brochure that this city was nicknamed “Sin City,” so Io believed that there was no better place to learn what it was like to be a Primate. And so, Io delved into everything the World of the Primates truly had. It was like a sheltered child unleashed onto an unsuspecting city.
She was kicked out of all the casinos on the strip within a week.
While those earnings were enough to let her live comfortably, Io wanted to try to live a normal life. Yet, instead of working as a waitress or something,she runs an illegal clinic out of her home. Her primary demographic are those without health insurance.
Io has had this life for roughly a decade now, meaning it has left an actual impression on her. While she wears a mask on some level, it can be said she has graduated from the status of calculator.
Now, if this graduation was a good thing is an entirely different debate. . .
The situation with the Holy Grail was something she had learned through some forums on the DarkWeb. With a little more search and some calculations, Io had figured out the general situation and status of things.The wish was fascinating, but she mostly just wanted to stop Anastasios Palaiologos. His ideal would surely spell the end of humanity, therefore it was her job to stop him..
Initially, Io was going to join the Red Team. However, there was a non-0% chance that someone from Atlas would partake. To avoid a dramatic team situation, she teamed up with Darnic. She actually holds almost no respect for Darnic, considering he was a politician before a magus. Unfortunately, it was the best outcome for her.
Wish: To avoid The End by bringing humanity to the next age.
Personality Traits: -Manipulative -Loves humanity -Confident -Observant -Difficult -Hates Dead Apostles, Six Sources, Eltnam, Taxes...a lot of things
Command Spell: The combination of the three lines around the Eye of Horus twisted together.
Magic Crest: None.
Magic Circuit Switch: Dividing the number 532514 until it approaches 0.
Quality of Magic Circuits: E
Quantity of Magic Circuits: E
Elemental Alignment: Wind and Water
Magecraft:
Atlas Alchemy (Blood): Despite sharing the same name as the Western tradition, Atlas Alchemy is fundamentally different. While the former focuses on the “transmutation of matter,” the Alchemy of Atlas focuses on the “transmutation of phenomena.” Unlike Western Alchemists, those within Atlas are closer to the original alchemists, the Egyptian Metallurgists who saw to transmute the Soul. Of course, such a thing is on the level of True Magic in the modern era. Instead, much more emphasis is on the “Mind.”
In particular, the Shesemu focus on this transmutation in regards to blood, and by extension, the heart. The heart, or Ib, was believed to contain one’s memory, will, intentions, sins, and thoughts. In essence, the Ib could be considered the “Mind.” For reference, the Ka was the “Soul” and the flesh was the “Body.”
Blood acts as a retainer of information. It is for this reason that Dead Apostles feast on the blood of the living. Their body is not held together by flesh and nerves, but the information provided by the blood of others It is this transmutation of information which exists in the blood that Io truly excels in. The editing of the information that makes up her blood can result in the recreation of shapes, forms, and phantasms. In her own hands, it is an extremely potent and dangerous tool.
Ancient Egyptian Surgery: Not an actual ability of magecraft, but a mundane skill which has reached a level on par with magecraft. Despite Egyptian society being among the first in human history, some of their earliest medical knowledge would not be rediscovered until the Greeks. There was little to no distinction between the physical and spiritual, as what was done to one was felt by the other. In order to cure the spiritual blight of the Heart, a physical surgery was performed on the vascular system in order to match it. It is techniques from this subset of medicine that Io is an expert in.
In essence, Io can edit the physical body enough to match an effect as though it was enacted on the spirit itself. For example, Io would deal with the infestation of Sakura Matou by physically removing the worms in her nervous system. This is as opposed to Kotomine, who accomplished it through the spiritual medium. Another example would be imitating a curse by mimicking the end result of it. Io could perform a surgery which would decrease the physical life of a target as if they had been cursed by a gandr.
Of course, it shouldn’t need to be said, but her mundane skills as a doctor and surgeon would put her among the greatest in the world.
Memory Partition and Thought Acceleration: The standard abilities of an Atlas Alchemist. Thought Acceleration can be considered an analogue to overclocking a human brian. Memory Partition is the ability to create multiple spaces and rooms within the brain. As one of the modern geniuses of Atlas, Io has a maximum of 6 partitions.
Mystic Codes:
Ma’at - That Which Must Never be Weighed: The result of a family scorn. The culmination of Shesemu's rage. A mystic code which was forged to prevent the family’s secrets from ever being stolen again. The lasting testament of the Shesemu’s hatred of the Eltnam, Ma’at. Ma’at, the feather of purity of Ancient Egypt, would be the concept for the undefiable future of the Shesemu.
Ma’at takes the form of a heart filled with the family’s rage. Literally, as it has been passed down to each head since its creation. As the heart acts as the center of the family, it is within it that the family’s secrets are kept. The accusations, fear, anger, and other negative emotions aimed at the Eltnam built up inside of the heart. In other words, it is a heart made up of Malignant Information, something which acts as a barrier to Etherlite. A user of etherlite who aimed to pry into the heart would quickly have their thought processes shut down, with the more unfortunate ones potentially dying. In this sense, it truly is the ultimate counter to the Eltnam’s thieving practices.
In many ways, it could be compared to the crests used by Western Magi.
The heart does have purposes beyond serving as a device to deny the Eltnam. The lingering computation power of the previous heads remained through each one, giving the heart an absurd processing power. This has granted the heart a processing power on par with a photonic crystal. It also pumps out more blood to replace any missing amounts. Most importantly however, is that it acts a quasi-familiar which syncs its existence within the owner of the heart. Once placed within, Ma’at becomes a part with its owner on all levels. The blood it pumps around the body becomes a part of Ma’at, therefore a part of Io’s existence as well. Even if her blood is to escape her body, it is still fundamentally a part of her.
Animo;Delere Replica: Animo;Delere was a weapon forged by the Shesemu family in the past. Its function was to release a “toxin” of spiritron hackers (slashers) which broke apart the information which put a person together. In essence, it distorted the information to make it impossible to be pieced back together, something akin to the bullet used by a certain magus killer. Effectively, it broke apart an existence and stopped it from being put back together.
...Unfortunately, the original was placed within Atlas’ vault and Io was unable to reclaim it before escaping.
Fortunately, she was able to make a replica. Now, while the original was able to completely change an existence in a strike, the same can not be said of the replica. The replica slowly shaves apart the information. With each wound, memories, beliefs, and even thinking ability is stripped away. Eventually, after enough attacks, the existence which once was will no longer remain.
The replica takes the form of a scythe.
Blood Flow Stimulant: A small pin which, when stabbed into one’s neck, causes blood in the body to move at an increased rate for a maximum of 5 minutes. The increased flow of blood allows Io an increase in strength, speed, stamina, and thinking speed. In exchange, she burns through nutrients at a much higher rate.
Grand Loaded Optimized Character Killer (G.L.O.C.K): Just a glock.
Mundane Skills:
Math: As a calculator from Atlas, Io’s skill at math would put leading mathematicians to shame.
Medicine: As a member of a family which once specialized in surgery, Io is proficiencent in all sorts of medicines.
Ancient Osirian Martial Arts: A system of martial arts based around fast lethal strikes. It also includes scythe techniques.
Marksmanship: A decade in America does things to you.
Computers: Considered running a computer repair shop before her clinic, but decided otherwise as the health industry made more money.They have done a few hacking missions for a secret three letter organization.
Gambling: A decade in America (Las Vegas) does things to you.
Hildr
Faction: Black
Class: Saber
Attribute: Sky
The human aspect of the Valkyrie Hildr.
Hildr was one of the few valkyrie to live life as a human, though she met a tragic fate like the rest of them.
Created by Odin yet the child of Hogni, Hildr was doomed to eventually break programming. Her base nature was already aligned towards being human, but her father would only complicate the problem. In one of his adventures, he had consumed the heart of the dragon, turning him into a draconic existence. Seeing as Hildr was his daughter, that burden was also placed onto her.
This was the first break, dragons weren’t valkyries.
Hildr would have her own adventures, using her father’s sword and armor. Fight men, beasts, monsters, and everything in her path. She was a valkyrie at the end of the day, even if she was slightly more human than the average valkyrie.
Despite her power, the life of an adventurer would not last long for her. When it was time to settle down, her over protective father slew all suitors. Of course, in her own warped view, this meant they were unfitting. However, one man was up to the task of truly earning her love.
The king of Northern Germany, Hetel, would wage an all-out war for her hand. A gesture which may have been repulsive to some, but one that immediately impressed the valkyrie. Any man willing to throw away the lives of tens of thousands of men had to have been worth something, right?
This Hetel continued to surprise her, through his ingenuity and subterfuge. By the time he had managed to reach her castle, Hildr was truly in love. The war would continue to rage on for a few more years, but eventually a truce was made, and HIldr and Hetel could be together.
This was the second break, a valkyrie shouldn’t love.
Hildr and Hetel would have a daughter who would have her own epics and stories, but a happy ever after was never in Hildr’s future.
It was a simple hunt for Hetel and Hogni, nothing that should have escalated. However, after a failed catch, the two would begin to insult one another. As tension grew, Hildr tried to defuse the situation, but it was too late. Hogni had drawn the sword of tragedy, Dáinsleif. The battle between Hildr’s husband and father had begun, with nothing she could do to intervene in the fight.
And so, she didn’t.
Hildr could do nothing to stop the fight once it had begun, but she could ensure the fight never ended.
Using her endless sorrow as the fuel for her miracle, Hildr would ensure that this conflict lasted forever. Whenever one had defeated the other, the conditions of the fight were reset. Endlessly ensuring that this fight would continue, Hildr was stuck to see the two most important people in her life fight forever. All while doing so, Hildr prayed for a miracle.
Unfortunately, such a miracle never came. The version of her as a human may have been recorded in the throne, but this fight still continues on the Reverse side. The existence known as Hildr will forever be stuck with this fate, and no miracle will ever be able to free her of this.
Wish: To free herself from this sorrow. Parameters: Strength: B Endurance: B Agility: B Mana: B Luck: E
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance: A Grants protection against magical effects. Differing from the Resistance effect that merely rejects Magical Energy, this ability cancels the spells altogether
At this rank it cancel spells of A-Rank or below, no matter what High-Thaumaturgy it is. In practice, the Servant is untouchable to modern magi, so it would not be an exaggeration to title the Servant a 'Magus Killer'
Riding: B Denotes the ability to ride mounts and vehicles. Most vehicles and animals can be handled with above average skill, even vehicles that did not exist in the time period one was alive in, for they are no exception. However, cannot ride the likes of Phantasmal Species such as Monstrous Beasts.
Personal Skills:
Divinity: E The measure of whether one has Divine Spirit aptitude or not. At high levels, one is treated as a mixed race of a Divine Spirit, and the level declines when the Heroic Spirit's own rank as a Monster or Demonic Beast raises. It can also decrease due to one's dislike for the gods.
It also has an effect which reduces special defensive values called 'purge defense' in proportion to the Divinity's Rank. It can break through Skills such as Protection of the Faith and Enlightenment of the Sacred Fig
As a valkyrie, her original rank in this skill was A. However, as this form of Hildr is closer to human, draconic, and a personal grudge against the Fates, this skill’s rank has lowered.
Enrapturing Beauty: EX A skill denoting the disastrous nature of one’s natural beauty. Hildr’s beauty captured all those who gazed upon her, but such a thing was far from a blessing. Every time such a thing occurred, heartbreak and disaster would follow.
In essence, the skill acts as a mental interference which draws those who look at Hildr, towards her. They are captured by her beauty and want to continue gazing at her. However, those who are ensnared by her beauty are weakened. The longer they continue to interact and think about her, the lower their stats will become.
Mana Burst: A The increase in performance caused by infusing one's weapons and body with Magical Energy and instantly expelling it. Simply put, recreating the effect of a jet burst by expending large amounts of Magical Energy.
At Rank A, even a stick can become a weapon of great power. A normal weapon that is not on the level of a divine Mystery can be destroyed in one blow. Can also raise one's defense several times over.
Primordial Runes: - The possession of and knowledge about Runes that came from an older era. Those with possession and knowledge of Primordial Runes can also make use of the classic Rune Magic
She has Runes hailing from Scandinavia, also known as Scandinavian Magic Crests. These runes are different from the Runes modern magi use. These are Primal Runes with the power of the Age of Gods. Because of the Norse chief god Odin, they had spread throughout the world.
Dáinsleif Demonic Sword of Endless Sorrow Rank: B NP Type: Anti-Unit Range: 1 Maximum Number of Targets: 1 Description: A cursed blade that can only bring ruin. Originally owned by her father Hogni. Dáinsleif is the sword he uses during his eternal battle with Hedinn. It was constructed by dwarves and was originally among the pile of treasures guarded by Fafnir. Somehow, the sword ended up in the possession of Hogni, it would eventually be loaned to Hildr in some of her many stories.
Despite Dáinsleif’s reputation as a sword of ruin, it is not one which births ruin from nothing. It does not cause sorrow, but it does increase it. The true nature of Dáinsleif is of an amplifier. Hogni and Hedinn would fight regardless, Dáinsleif merely amplified the tragedy to an even higher level. It is an empty sword seeking to be filled, and will amplify that which is placed within it to a rank beyond Dáinsleif itself.
Whenever this sword is drawn, tragedy will ensue. Of course, tragedy only makes this sword stronger...
Darnic’s words seemed to be falling on deaf ears. This was, of course, because Io had her airp*ds in. She was currently listening to the music of the “modern” era, which of course meant music from the 90’s. Since she spent her past decade focusing on the 80’s, Io figured it was time to focus on a new era of music to celebrate the dawn of her second decade in the United States.
More importantly, she just hated the sound of Darnic’s voice. The airp*ds could only do so much, so Io began to hum to herself. She was mildly confused how a song about losing one’s spirituality was a hit in 1991, but by this point she had learned that questioning the popularity of things was a pointless exercise.
Once the “leader” of their faction had finished his monologue, Io removed her airp*ds.
“Okay so, I’ll go establish relations with the Red Faction. It is statistically unlikely for anyone present to decline such an offer. Those who are not present do not matt-”
Damn, she wasn’t quick enough to finish that statement before he called. Considering it was an excuse to further avoid the man at the helm of her faction, she would pick up the phone. Io was kind enough to raise a finger at Darnic, signifying a pause of sorts as she answered the phone.
“Yo. You know that song birds don’t spend much time in Vegas, right? Their songs ring hollow against the noise of urban society. There is just too much competition, and a little bird’s song has no innate appeal. Now, would you get on to the status report and stop wasting time.”
She was supposed to hate the nickname, she got that. In fact, when she remembered, she would give a retort to tell him to stop calling her that. Unfortunately, Io really did not care about such a thing. A name serves as one’s identity to others, but identity was already something needless to her.
A primate needed to save the primates, but an individual was not needed to save individuals.
“Smallpox? What a...strange idea. Say, did you know that the smallpox vaccine was the first ever invented. In the year 1793. Who would even use such a trick in an era largely removed from that disease? It would have to be a Servant, right? Why would a Master do something like that?”
And so, the supercomputer known as Io Shesemu Mathoris got to work.
...Actually, it was a really simple procedure. Such a thing was simple for anyone who had lived in the United States for an extended period of time.
“...You don’t know much about the New World, right? There was a myth circulated that many of the explorers who came brought over Smallpox blankets in order to kill off the Native population. The actual event that may have spawned this was a British outpost in the late 18th Century. Regardless of the facts, the belief of the modern age has an effect on those summoned for the Holy Grail. Following me so far?”
She continued to keep her finger up at Darnic, keeping him informed that she was still not going to talk to him.
“As this is the case, the myth can only be applied to certain figures. Namely, explorers from the Age of Exploration and the leader of the Siege of Fort Pitt. We can slim it down even further, as the Servant must be worthy to reach the Heroic Spirit. This would leave us with names like Columbus, Cortez, Pizzaro, de Soto, and de León.”
Them being all hired by Spain was in line with the era, even if the British were the likely origin point of the smallpox blanket myth.
“Within those five, I’m sure you can narrow the rest down. I doubt Purple would summon the latter three. While the last two were brutal, their achievements are not impressive enough to be summoned by a team trying this hard. Pizzaro defeated the largest empire in the Americas, Cortez has his connections to Quetzacoatl, and Columbus was the man who made the Americas a known continent. I’m sure you can figure out who the Servant is between these three. Only someone absolutely heinous would work with Team Purple, but I guess they are all pretty sinful. I believe in you. Well, sorta.”
Not really, but she learned that pretending to believe in people was good for building team morale.
“I’ll have Aldintabruthe head down to your location. I’ll pass him a cure for smallpox and he’ll do...something involving cheese to help the village. If you have any updates, just send me a text. I need to go establish relations with the Red Faction, we’re going to be in a truce with them or something. There should be someone from Atlas amongst their ranks, but it is unlikely they sent anyone super important. Anyway, if we’re done here, lates.”
Seriously... a smallpox outbreak? It was not completely out of her calculations, but the potential chances of that were no miniscule that it might as well have been. At the very least, this Purple Faction was going to be entertaining. After giving the man silence for a few seconds, she hung up her phone.
“Anyway, I’ll be heading out. See ya Darny~!”
Darny seemed to have been the name chosen to upset Darnic. He had a much greater sense of self than she did, so she assumed it would hit much harder.
”Caster, I’ll need you to bring me to where the Red Faction is. According to my calculations I made from scouting data, some should be at the Hexamilion Wall. No individual existences are known, but we will make do.”
On the way to her Servant, Io would pass a vial filled with a liquid over to Aldintabruthe and inform him of the current situation.. The liquid was clearly a magical vaccine to smallpox she engineered out of her own blood. As a world class doctor and an alchemist, creating arguably the most simple vaccine was fairly easy. Where she got the vial, however, was a mystery lost to time.
Alchemist of the Tell Tale Heart, The Runaway, The Falcon of Isis, The Unmoving Great Library, The Drunkard of Slaughter, The Eye of Ra
Faction: Black
Age: Mid-30’s.
Sex: Female
Rank: Pride (Level 95)
The Shesemu were a longstanding family within Atlas. While they were never on the level of Atlas’ Six Sources, they could be considered a step or two away from them. Originally, they were a family of traveling surgeons before finding a new purpose and home within the Titan’s Pit. The actual story here does not exist in any records, but there is little to assume anything notable occurred beyond this being the origin story for one of Atlas’ more prominent families.
The Shesemu spent generations attempting to appeal to the Six Sources. As the Six Sources explored the potential of the human body, the Shesemu worked with blood in an attempt to impress them. This striving towards achieving the greatness of Atlas’ greatest families ended when the family gave birth to a true genius, Mehi. Mehi was the genius of his generation with the ability to use up to seven partitions. His research in medicine and mathematics were groundbreaking at the time, on top of him pushing his family’s alchemy beyond what they ever believed possible. Mehi’s magnum opus was going to be revolutionary within Atlas. Yet, surprisingly, the day before he was able to unveil it, the current head of the Eltnam had presented it.
This was odd, as Mehi had shared none of it with anyone. In fact, it was in a field the Eltnam were not specialists in. Yet, miraculously, the Eltnam was able to copy his thesis and research perfectly. What transpired was obvious, of course. Using their Etherlite, the Eltnam stole his idea and the credit for it. The rumors of the Eltnam as vultures were completely true. They were abominations who pried into the minds of others, violating and stealing whatever they pleased. Truly, they were no better than the vampires which existed on the surface.
The illusion of the Six Sources grandeur had been smashed, with the Eltnam revealing themselves to be monsters. It was known that the Eltnam were this vile, yet the other families of Atlas did nothing to stop them. The Shesemu would no longer work to impress these jokes of Alchemists. Calling them openly antagonistic would be wrong, but the family’s policy had forever changed. If Atlas was a prison which locked both people and information inside, then the Shesemu would guard their knowledge better than the rest. No longer would they let the fruits of their research be taken. Mehi’s magnum opus had changed. Using his heart as the basis, Mehi would create the Mystic Code, Ma’at.
It is in this environment, namely one which hated the most influential family in Atlas, that Io was fostered in. Io’s brilliance shined at a young age, with her very quickly being hailed as the best head of the Shesemu since Mehi. Of course, as Io was raised to be a good little calculator, this attention meant nothing to her. Her goal as an alchemist was to avoid The End. From childhood Io consumed herself with nothing beyond what was needed to save the primates.
Of course, such a thing would very quickly break a few things. Only ever coming to the same conclusion, that of humanity’s destruction, would very quickly make those unprepared deranged. With her six partitions, Io got to see even more new and creative ways for humanity to stop existing. The very concept of Atlas was to crush oneself in order to hold up the world. It became increasingly likely that Io was to be another such casualty. However, there was one event that forever changed her.
The naming of the next Atlasia.
The next Atlasia was truly a genius, even if she was still a child. With seven partitions, it was not like Io could even form a logical argument as to why it should not be her. And yet, this was the greatest sin done to the Shesemu family since Mehi.
Sion ELTNAM Sokaris was to be the next Atlasia.
The current head of that cursed dynasty was to be the next director of Atlas. The last time an Eltnam was in that position, he went mad, became a Dead Apostle, and then became a force of nature. For the first time in her life, Io had an emotional reaction to something. The greatest danger to Atlas, therefore humanity, were the Eltnams, yet they kept receiving blessing after blessing.
Surprisingly, this had little to do with jealousy over the position. While Io was absolutely one of the modern geniuses of Atlas, she had no illusion she would be crowned Atlas. It was a game of politics, something the Shesemu had been hiding from since they were robbed. Io also wanted nothing to do with the role. It seemed like a role that would distract her from her work. What drove this was a general hatred of a family which went against everything both Magecraft and Atlas stood against.
This event broke something within Io far faster then endlessly predicting humanity’s doom ever would. As years passed, the constant ruminating on this Sion would get in the way of her research. Io went from nothing more than a calculator, to something which could express at least one emotion. It was that of hatred, but it was better than nothing. In fact, she became capable of two emotions when Sion became a wanted fugitive after a TATARI showing. This calculator experienced bliss, as finally, the Eltnam were getting their punishment.
And yet. . .that is not how it happened.
Despite being absent for three years, trading Atlas’ secrets, and becoming a wanted fugitive by both the Church and Atlas, Sion was allowed to return to her place as the next director.
This, of course, was the final straw for Io.
Time after time, the Eltnam were given special treatment. This cursed family continued to break rule after rule, but nothing was done. An illusion had been destroyed, that of Atlas’ supposed competency. If this was going to be a foolish institute run by the worst of them, then there was little point in staying. Escaping Atlas was an ordeal, but one she would strive towards. There was little to be gained remaining in this dump.
It took her several months of planning, but she eventually devised a method to escape the Titan’s Pit. It required an intense understanding of the security system, as well as an absurd amount of copies of herself created through her blood, but Io would finally taste the fresh air she had never done before.
Of course, Io would remain a wanted fugitive in the eyes of Atlas. It was unlikely that they would call in the Association at large, but to be sure, Io initially fled to Japan. While she was there, she befriended one of Japan’s most famous magi. The brunette found Io that her current approach to saving humanity was pointless, as only a human could save humanity.
Io, taking this about as literally as she metaphorically could, moved to Las Vegas. She learned from a brochure that this city was nicknamed “Sin City,” so Io believed that there was no better place to learn what it was like to be a Primate. And so, Io delved into everything the World of the Primates truly had. It was like a sheltered child unleashed onto an unsuspecting city.
She was kicked out of all the casinos on the strip within a week.
While those earnings were enough to let her live comfortably, Io wanted to try to live a normal life. Yet, instead of working as a waitress or something,she runs an illegal clinic out of her home. Her primary demographic are those without health insurance.
Io has had this life for roughly a decade now, meaning it has left an actual impression on her. While she wears a mask on some level, it can be said she has graduated from the status of calculator.
Now, if this graduation was a good thing is an entirely different debate. . .
The situation with the Holy Grail was something she had learned through some forums on the DarkWeb. With a little more search and some calculations, Io had figured out the general situation and status of things.The wish was fascinating, but she mostly just wanted to stop Anastasios Palaiologos. His ideal would surely spell the end of humanity, therefore it was her job to stop him..
Initially, Io was going to join the Red Team. However, there was a non-0% chance that someone from Atlas would partake. To avoid a dramatic team situation, she teamed up with Darnic. She actually holds almost no respect for Darnic, considering he was a politician before a magus. Unfortunately, it was the best outcome for her.
Wish: To avoid The End by bringing humanity to the next age.
Personality Traits: -Manipulative -Loves humanity -Confident -Observant -Difficult -Hates Dead Apostles, Six Sources, Eltnam, Taxes...a lot of things
Command Spell: The combination of the three lines around the Eye of Horus twisted together.
Magic Crest: None.
Magic Circuit Switch: Dividing the number 532514 until it approaches 0.
Quality of Magic Circuits: E
Quantity of Magic Circuits: E
Elemental Alignment: Wind and Water
Magecraft:
Atlas Alchemy (Blood): Despite sharing the same name as the Western tradition, Atlas Alchemy is fundamentally different. While the former focuses on the “transmutation of matter,” the Alchemy of Atlas focuses on the “transmutation of phenomena.” Unlike Western Alchemists, those within Atlas are closer to the original alchemists, the Egyptian Metallurgists who saw to transmute the Soul. Of course, such a thing is on the level of True Magic in the modern era. Instead, much more emphasis is on the “Mind.”
In particular, the Shesemu focus on this transmutation in regards to blood, and by extension, the heart. The heart, or Ib, was believed to contain one’s memory, will, intentions, sins, and thoughts. In essence, the Ib could be considered the “Mind.” For reference, the Ka was the “Soul” and the flesh was the “Body.”
Blood acts as a retainer of information. It is for this reason that Dead Apostles feast on the blood of the living. Their body is not held together by flesh and nerves, but the information provided by the blood of others It is this transmutation of information which exists in the blood that Io truly excels in. The editing of the information that makes up her blood can result in the recreation of shapes, forms, and phantasms. In her own hands, it is an extremely potent and dangerous tool.
Ancient Egyptian Surgery: Not an actual ability of magecraft, but a mundane skill which has reached a level on par with magecraft. Despite Egyptian society being among the first in human history, some of their earliest medical knowledge would not be rediscovered until the Greeks. There was little to no distinction between the physical and spiritual, as what was done to one was felt by the other. In order to cure the spiritual blight of the Heart, a physical surgery was performed on the vascular system in order to match it. It is techniques from this subset of medicine that Io is an expert in.
In essence, Io can edit the physical body enough to match an effect as though it was enacted on the spirit itself. For example, Io would deal with the infestation of Sakura Matou by physically removing the worms in her nervous system. This is as opposed to Kotomine, who accomplished it through the spiritual medium. Another example would be imitating a curse by mimicking the end result of it. Io could perform a surgery which would decrease the physical life of a target as if they had been cursed by a gandr.
Of course, it shouldn’t need to be said, but her mundane skills as a doctor and surgeon would put her among the greatest in the world.
Memory Partition and Thought Acceleration: The standard abilities of an Atlas Alchemist. Thought Acceleration can be considered an analogue to overclocking a human brian. Memory Partition is the ability to create multiple spaces and rooms within the brain. As one of the modern geniuses of Atlas, Io has a maximum of 6 partitions.
Mystic Codes:
Ma’at - That Which Must Never be Weighed: The result of a family scorn. The culmination of Shesemu's rage. A mystic code which was forged to prevent the family’s secrets from ever being stolen again. The lasting testament of the Shesemu’s hatred of the Eltnam, Ma’at. Ma’at, the feather of purity of Ancient Egypt, would be the concept for the undefiable future of the Shesemu.
Ma’at takes the form of a heart filled with the family’s rage. Literally, as it has been passed down to each head since its creation. As the heart acts as the center of the family, it is within it that the family’s secrets are kept. The accusations, fear, anger, and other negative emotions aimed at the Eltnam built up inside of the heart. In other words, it is a heart made up of Malignant Information, something which acts as a barrier to Etherlite. A user of etherlite who aimed to pry into the heart would quickly have their thought processes shut down, with the more unfortunate ones potentially dying. In this sense, it truly is the ultimate counter to the Eltnam’s thieving practices.
In many ways, it could be compared to the crests used by Western Magi.
The heart does have purposes beyond serving as a device to deny the Eltnam. The lingering computation power of the previous heads remained through each one, giving the heart an absurd processing power. This has granted the heart a processing power on par with a photonic crystal. It also pumps out more blood to replace any missing amounts. Most importantly however, is that it acts a quasi-familiar which syncs its existence within the owner of the heart. Once placed within, Ma’at becomes a part with its owner on all levels. The blood it pumps around the body becomes a part of Ma’at, therefore a part of Io’s existence as well. Even if her blood is to escape her body, it is still fundamentally a part of her.
Animo;Delere Replica: Animo;Delere was a weapon forged by the Shesemu family in the past. Its function was to release a “toxin” of spiritron hackers (slashers) which broke apart the information which put a person together. In essence, it distorted the information to make it impossible to be pieced back together, something akin to the bullet used by a certain magus killer. Effectively, it broke apart an existence and stopped it from being put back together.
...Unfortunately, the original was placed within Atlas’ vault and Io was unable to reclaim it before escaping.
Fortunately, she was able to make a replica. Now, while the original was able to completely change an existence in a strike, the same can not be said of the replica. The replica slowly shaves apart the information. With each wound, memories, beliefs, and even thinking ability is stripped away. Eventually, after enough attacks, the existence which once was will no longer remain.
The replica takes the form of a scythe.
Blood Flow Stimulant: A small pin which, when stabbed into one’s neck, causes blood in the body to move at an increased rate for a maximum of 5 minutes. The increased flow of blood allows Io an increase in strength, speed, stamina, and thinking speed. In exchange, she burns through nutrients at a much higher rate.
Grand Loaded Optimized Character Killer (G.L.O.C.K): Just a glock.
Mundane Skills:
Math: As a calculator from Atlas, Io’s skill at math would put leading mathematicians to shame.
Medicine: As a member of a family which once specialized in surgery, Io is proficiencent in all sorts of medicines.
Ancient Osirian Martial Arts: A system of martial arts based around fast lethal strikes. It also includes scythe techniques.
Marksmanship: A decade in America does things to you.
Computers: Considered running a computer repair shop before her clinic, but decided otherwise as the health industry made more money.They have done a few hacking missions for a secret three letter organization.
Gambling: A decade in America (Las Vegas) does things to you.
