Hey everyone! GNAR here! >:D So, I've been really, REALLY craving to do a Fate/Stay Night RP, but since there's already a few going on, I would feel really bad if I were to make another one considering they are so close together. Buuuut... I had an idea based off of an old version of the RP that was here during the old site that was really popular, and I wanted to run it by you guys first. I remember it pretty well, so I created something off of the top of my head from an old story I had laying around while adding some of my own tastes into it. [hider=The Introduction!][i][b]Fate / Finem Venatus (Fate/End Game)[/i][/b] [i]“Do you know of the the Holy Crusades, young child?”[/i] [i]“You mean the wars that were fought in the holy lands? Yeah, we learned about them in history the other day!” squealed the young innocent child to their grandfather.[/i] [i]The old shriveled man laughed as he sat down, patting his lap as a sign for his granddaughter to take a seat. “Let me tell you a story, my young child,” said the man as the child leapt onto his lap. “History is a strange thing, in the sense that we know not what is true and what is not. You see, victors decide the outcome of history, and decide who is truly the villain and the hero. Allow me to shed a little light that those silly history books won’t tell you. The Holy Crusaders were indeed a string of known wars and fights over holy lands, but they weren’t fought for the land themselves.”[/i] [i]“Then what did they fight for?”[/i] [i]“They fought for a cup.”[/i] [i]The young girl looked up, puzzled at her grandfather at what he was saying. “A cup…? They fought over a simple cup?” [/i] [i]“Not just any cup, my dear!” laughed the old man. “This cup was one that was sought by many people of different races, and those who served them were all being used as fodder for an ancient and devious ritual carried out by the most manipulative of scoundrels since before the dawn of science, and when the realm of sorcery, magic, and fantasy was no secret or silly ideal.”[/i] [i]“What was the ritual for, grandpa?”[/i] [i]“To fill the cup.”[/i] [i]“Why not fill it with water instead?”[/i] [i]“Because this was a cup that could not be filled simply by water, but with something far more powerful. Do you know what that could be, my dear?” The young child shook her head. In response to this, the old man simply tapped his finger on the child’s chest, “The soul.”[/i] [i]“Why the soul?”[/i] [i]“That’s simple. You see, the soul is something that cannot ever truly disappear, it’s essentially a source of power. While the body, heart, and mind may crumble to ashes, the soul will never die. That is why these villainous people tricked these people to fight by telling them that they would find glory and wealth, and that they would find their heaven, or nirvana. These people needed strong souls, and what better than those of brave and loyal soldiers?”[/i] [i]“However, before I tell you more, I must tell you who these evil people were. See, my child, during the early stages of life that we call the Birth of Humanity, there were those who were gifted with powers that they did not comprehend themselves, but others would soon fear. These powers would soon be called Verum Amet, or True Magic, and with these powers these mystics would soon find that they could accomplish anything that they desired. Sadly, the greed of man is endless, and soon they wanted more… almost an insatiable hunger for more power than they could think of.”[/i] [i]“Why were they so hungry?”[/i] [i]“Greed does things that none can understand. It changes a person to unquestionable levels. So, to answer your question, I’m not too sure. They were simply greedy.”[/i] [i]“What did they decided to do to satisfy their hunger, then?”[/i] [i]“Well, they decided to bring forth something that would make anyone’s dream true; a device capable of granting wishes.”[/i] [i]“Like a genie?!” exclaims the little girl.[/i] [i]“Yes, my dear,” laughed the old man, “like a genie. Although, this genie didn’t have any willpower or values of its own, it was a device that simply was a device to achieve things that were impossible by any other means. To achieve this the strongest of the mystics gathered and utilized their powers to create a cup crafted from the bones that were said to be from the one who first stood on this planet; the progenitor of mankind. The only thing they needed now, was a mighty source of energy that they could utilize to grant their wishes. Thus, began the Holy Crusades to fill the powerful wish granting cup with souls.”[/i] [i]“What happened after it was filled, grandpa?”[/i] [i]“Well…” the old man sighed as he closed his eyes, a bitter smile on his lips as he stroke his granddaughter’s head. “It would seem as if the greed of those mages was stronger than they had previously thought, and in an instant, just as they were drawn together by it, they were wedged apart by greed. Man became so overcome with greed that they decided that only one was worthy of the miracle the artifact possessed... and thus even more blood was spilled.”[/i] [i]“But this time, it was not with simple people, toys, or trinkets… but with the greatest of all powers that were available to them; beings called “Champions”. A mutual agreement was made, and thus a second ritual was held, which would later be coined as the “The Calling”. Do you remember those tales I would tell you when you were young? Of how there were people who rode on winged-horses, slew mighty dragons, and wielded holy swords? The tales of how some gained bodies of invincibility, while others wielded weapons forged by their parents who were gods. These were what those mystics so very sought; the ultimate familiars who were the embodiment of the heroes of those fairy tales, history, and telltales. Some, however, were even creatures and monstrosities... while some were gods themselves!” spoke the old man as stretched his arms out to exaggerate. [/i] [i]“With this, the ancient artifact known as the Holy Grail was born, and with its birth erupted the hundreds among hundreds of wars to obtain the Holy Grail. With these wars came legends, stories, and tales that became altered by scholars which would become the stories we now listen to today, and which only added fuel for future mages to use as servants for their diabolical needs.” [/i] [i]“So, what happened next? Did anyone get the Holy Grail?”[/i] [i]“At the time? No, but mostly because of how chaotic the nature of the wars were with no one to govern and rule over the others. However, despite the greed of man, there is a redeeming factor that will always surprise all. The possibility to that even when faced with impossible odds, man will always find a way to go beyond their limits in order to achieve their goals. The impossible was getting through all the other servants and masters who so sought the Holy Grail, while the goal was to actually get to the Holy Grail.” The little girl’s eyes brightened up with excitement at what she was hearing. “One person found it impossible to obtain the Holy Grail without bypassing all the others, and so he created something that be capable of bypassing them! This creation would soon became known as the ‘Lance of Longinus’.”[/i] [i]“That’s the spear that killed the son of god, isn’t it, grandpa?”[/i] [i]“That it is, my dear. Just as its legend foretold, it did just that. It was used by a mighty Servant, whose name was forever erased, and he showed his power by killing the Strongest Servant; the one we call the son of god. However, because of the Lance of Longinus’ power, it prevented anyone from ever using the son of god as a Servant ever again.”[/i] [i]“Isn't that like cheating, though? To create something so powerful?”[/i] [i]“To the one who created it, it was not. He found it fair game due to the chaos that was transpiring, and in his mind, I believe he thought it was the best action.”[/i] [i]“So, did he win the Holy Grail?”[/i] [i]“No, he did not. For you see, my child, even with this mighty power at his command and with a Servant capable of erasing others, it was no match for what would happen next. They united with one another to defeat their common foe. This event would forever be known to them as the 'The War for the Lance'. Sadly, even while under this single banner, it was all a ruse for backs were stabbed and friendly blood was spilled... all in order to see who could obtain the Lance of Longinus for themselves.”[/i] [i]“So… there wasn't anyone who was truly good in the alliance, was there?” muttered the little girl as she frowned with disappointment.[/i] [i]“I wouldn't say that, for there was one pair above all the others that decided that this was a dangerous path. On his own, and without the others knowing, this pair challenged the ones with the Lance of Longinus. After a fierce battle, and a mighty blow, the Servant and Master who wielded the unholy weapon were slain. At this time, the pair were left with a treasure beyond their wildest dreams; the Lance of Longinus and the Holy Grail were before them.” The old man paused as he looked as his granddaughter, who looked as if she knew what was going to happen next. To this, he smiled. “You’re thinking they took them both, aren’t you?” She nodded her head. “Well, when I first heard this story, I thought the same. Instead, the two used the Lance of Longinus to destroy the Holy Grail.”[/i] [i]“W-What?!” exclaimed the little girl with surprise.[/i] [i]“Yes, they destroyed them both. The impact of these two powerful devices caused the Lance of Longinus to become nothing more rubbish, while the Holy Grail was nothing more than a broken cup.”[/i] [i]“S-So, they ended the wars?! What happened next?!”[/i] [i]Smiling, the old man continued. “Simple, my dear, with both artifacts gone, the mages had lost their reason to continue fighting. They disbanded and the servants were no more under their control and simply faded back into nothingness. The heroes of this ordeal, however, died as they destroyed the artifacts, for it required more power than they could wield to do so, and thus they used their very lives to accomplish such a task.”[/i] [i]“That’s sad though… is that really how the story ends?”[/i] [i]“Unfortunately… it is not. You see, as the years went by and unbeknownst to all... the Holy Grail slowly returned.”[/i] [i]“W-What?! How could it do that, Grandpa?!”[/i] [i]“Remember how I told you that the strongest power, is the soul itself? Well, the Holy Grail was an object that was meant to absorb and use souls. Think about it, my dear, for centuries humanity fought for the Holy Grail, but not only did soldiers, innocents, and mages die… but also the Champions that were the servants of those master mages. All those powerful souls as they were slain were absorbed into the Holy Grail, giving it powers that no mere mortal could comprehend.”[/i] [i]“But if it was destroyed, how could it come back?”[/i] [i]“Well, with all those souls at its disposal, the Holy Grail became sentient and developed a mind of its own. In fear of someone creating a weapon capable of destroying it, which was what happened, it had decided to do something that no one had expected. It created a Champion of its own, one that would carry another Holy Grail that was created, and which also held the sentience of itself. The Holy Grail that this created Champion held was the True Holy Grail, while the one that was destroyed was simply the container of its stored energy.”[/i] [i]“So… does that mean that the sacrifices that the Master and that Servant made were meaningless?”[/i] [i]“Not exactly… they allowed the world to recover and heal, and for the lives of the greedy mages to pass until the true Holy Grail could recover and select those worthy of using its power.”[/i] [i]“What does that mean?”[/i] [i]“It means, that instead of chaos like before where even innocents were killed, the next war would be contained and kept secure, while keeping casualties to a minimal. See, while the Holy Grail slowly recovered its power and began to create a new body for itself, it sent messengers in the form of seals upon peoples’ bodies. With the seals came information into their minds that told them where the town that the Holy Grail was to be located, along with the image of the Holy Grail’s Champion that they would have to see in order to be fully accepted into the Holy Grail War. The Holy Grail made its Champion the Overseer of the war in order to prevent chaos like last time from happening.”[/i] [i]“Huh… Alright, well what happened next, Granddad? Who were the people that responded to the Grail’s summoning like, what or who did they summon as Servants, and who won?!” squealed the little girl as she bounced on her grandfather’s lap.[/i] [i]“Well, that’s where this story is going… It is simply a prequel to the true story, the story of Fate / Finem Venatus, the Holy Grail War that ended all Holy Grail Wars… but that, my dear, is for another night…”[/i][/hider] So what do you guys think? I don't like stepping on any toes, but this Fate RP wouldn't involve the Nasuverse whatsoever, allowing a lot of freedom as you can tell from the introduction. I also planned for there to be ten (an eleventh class is in the works) Servant Classes instead of the normal seven which would be interesting, along with the ability for there to be more than one Servant summoned from a single class (I don't know if that was clear in the story, but it's what happened). Basically, Fate RP without all the Servant/Master restrictions and all that Nasu jumbo! Thoughts? :/ Edit: OH GOD FORMATTING IS CONFUSING. EASIER, BUT CONFUSING. ;-;