[hider=Saber - Sword Saint]
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[center][i]“My art is different from yours. It consists not so much in defeating others but in not being defeated.”[/i][/center]

[b]Name:[/b] Tsukahara Bokuden

[b]Title(s):[/b] Sword Saint

[b]Class:[/b] Saber

[b]Gender:[/b] Male

[b]Attribute:[/b] Human

[b]Alignment:[/b] Neutral Good

[b]Personality:[/b] Bokuden is a warrior who has fought in many battles, defeated multiple famed opponents, and who feels he no longer has anything to prove. The adventurous spirit he had in his youth has been sated, having travelled the country three times over on pilgrimages, and his desire to prove his strength and his skill has been replaced by a calm and assured confidence in his own abilities.

He is a warrior who seeks to avoid unnecessary conflict, a rarity for a samurai born and raised in a tumultuous time of war and bloodshed, who would rather talk his way out of a fight that draw blood if possible. 

[b]Objective for the Grail:[/b] “It’s a small and somewhat selfish wish, but I’d like to see the school I created restored to its former glory. My techniques were given to me by Takemikazuchi , so to see them lost to time and war saddens me.”

[b]Biography:[/b] Bokuden was born in 1489 as the second son to Yoshikawa family, Shinto priests of the Kashima shrine who were in the service of the Kashima clan. The Kashima shrine was considered to be a holy place of Budo, or Japanese martial arts, as a thousand years prior a priestly celebrant named Kuninazu-no-Mahito built an altar at Kashima Shrine and by praying day and night he attained the secret techniques of the Divine Sword; these techniques were passed on mainly to the Yoshikawa family by the Shinto priests of Kashima Shrine. These secret techniques are called Kashima-no-Tachi (the Sword of Kashima) and, as the time passed, their name was changed from Kashima Jōko-ryū to Kashima Chuko-ryū. As a child Tsukahara Bokuden was taught the family heirloom of Kashima Chuko-ryū by his father Akikata.

At the age of 10 he was requested for service and adopted by the Lord of Tsukahara Castle, Tsukahara Tosanokami Yasumoto. This man was the advanced student of the founder of Tenshinshouden Katori Shinto-ryū, and he taught Bokuden the style called Katori Shinto-ryū. From his early life Bokuden was taught two styles of Kashima and Katori by his fathers and, during his early years, he already distinguished himself as the one having outstanding skills in swordsmanship.

At the age of 17 Bokuden set out on his first of three pilgrimages, during which he found his first real taste of combat against the renowned swordsman Ochiai; Bokuden defeated him easily and chose to spare the man, only for his humiliated opponent to try and ambush him later in revenge. Bokuden killed the more skilled opponent with a single cut and was then forced to take the Ochiai’s place in the armies of the local daimyo as a result. He spent the next few years fighting in fierce battles, often on the front lines, and didn’t return home until nearly thirteen years after his departure.

Upon returning home the first time, he isolated himself for prayer as Kashima shrine at the advice of his master to repair the spiritual damage of many life-or-death encounters. It was a rigorous ascetic practice that lasted about 1000 days, during which he stayed at Kashima Shrine and practiced the art of the sword, praying to the deity of warfare, Takemikazuchi. Through this ascetic training Bokuden acquired the secret techniques of “Hitotsu-no-Tachi”, or “One Stroke”, from Takemikazuchi who appeared to him in his dreams. Combining these techniques with his existing style, Bokuden then began to call his style Kashima Shinto-ryū from then on.

Tsukahara Bokuden became the lord of Tsukahara Castle at the end of his second pilgrimage at the age of 45, taking a wife who unfortunately died only ten years later. By the time of his third pilgrimage he was famous enough to be followed by a large retinue on his travels, attended to by eighty followers and bringing along multiple spare horses and three large hawks which flew at the head of his procession. It was at this point that he decided to take on a student in order to pass on his techniques and experience to the next generation.

In his later years, Bokuden handed over his place at Tsukahara Castle to his son in order to convert to Zen and become a Buddhist priest. He died at the age of 83.

[b]Weapon:[/b] Odachi and Kodachi (long sword and short sword)

[b]Parameters:[/b]
[i]STR:[/i] B
[i]END:[/i] C
[i]AGI:[/i] A
[i]MGI:[/i] E
[i]LCK:[/i] A

[b]Class Skills:[/b] 
[i]Magic Resistance (B)[/i] – Aside from being a famed Samurai, Tsukahara is also the latest in a long line of Magus; his family, in their service of the Kashima shrine, were diviners practiced in the art of Urabe fortune telling. Although never trained as a Magus himself, Tsukahara still possesses magic circuits and has some innate protection against Magecraft. Cancel spells with a chant below three verses. Even if targeted by High-Thaumaturgy and Greater Rituals, it is difficult for them to be affected.

[i]Riding (C)[/i] – Most vehicles and animals can be handled with above average skill. However, cannot ride the likes of Phantasmal Species such as Monstrous Beasts.

[b]Personal Skills:[/b]
[i]Eye of the Mind (False) (A)[/i] – Eye of the Mind represents a natural talent to foresee/sense and avoid danger on the basis of an innate 6th sense, intuition, or prescience that has been further enhanced by experience and skill. In life Tsukahara was a preternaturally skilled swordsman, one who was able to defeat many famed opponents and take part in multiple battles at the site of the fiercest fighting without once being injured by his opponents.

From his first duel with live blades at the age to 17 to his retirement from combat in old age, defeating all challengers and surviving ambushes and assassinations, Tsukahara killed over 200 men without once feeling the sting of a blade. It could be said that Tsukahara’s swordsmanship is at the level where trying to attack him with a melee weapon of any kind of pointless. He doesn’t have the best of luck with arrows however.

[i]Kashima Shintō-ryū (A++)[/i] – A school of traditional Japanese swordsmanship created by Tsukahara Bokuden after spending 1000 days training at the Kashima Shrine and praying to the deity of warfare, Takemikazuchi. It was said that Takemikazuchi appeared to him in a dream and taught him the secrets of “Hitotsu-no-Tachi”, or “one sword/stroke”, after which he renamed his style Kashima Shintō-ryū after the shrine. As the creator and first master of this style, Tsukahara has a rank above A in this skill.

Created during a time of feudal war, the school's techniques are based on battlefield experience and revolve around finding weak points in the opponent's armour, thus giving Tsukahara an advantage against armoured opponents that he might otherwise have difficulty fighting. The style also contains a number of iaijutsu techniques that allow for striking as the sword is drawn.

[i]Disengage (B)[/i] – In his later life Tsukahara grew tired of constantly feeling the need to prove himself against strong opponents as he was already extremely confident in his abilities and he began to see the merit in avoiding conflict as opposed to having to constantly show himself to be the best. This mentality culminated in the creation of the “No Sword Style”, where Tsukahara defeated an arrogant younger opponent by tricking him into jumping off of the ferry they were on to have a duel and then promptly leaving him on an island alone. Has the effect of returning battle conditions to what they were at the beginning of the match (1st turn) and restores the condition of this Skill to the initial value.

[b]Noble Phantasm:[/b]
[i]Name:[/i] Divine Sword Style - One Stroke
[i]Title:[/i] Strike Without Fear of Reprisal
[i]Rank:[/i] A
[i]NP Type:[/i] Anti-Unit
[i]Range:[/i] 1-2
[i]Maximum Number of Targets:[/i] 1
[i]Description:[/i] The ultimate technique granted to Tsukahara Bokuden at Kashima Shrine; taught to him in a dream by the God of Warfare Takemikazuchi at the end of his 1000 days of ascetic training. A counter attack delivered at the last possible moment before an opponent’s attack reaches, avoiding all damage and striking the opponent with an unavoidable swing of Tsukahara’s sword. However, while powerful this Noble Phantasm can only be used when Tsukahara has had a chance to view his opponent’s fighting style or techniques.

The essence of this technique lies in the wielder’s ability to accurately judge the distance between oneself and the opponent’s blade and in choosing the right moment to strike; if done correct the swordsman has nothing to fear as the enemies blade will never reach them and they are therefore able to devote all of their energy towards attacking at the moment they commit to an attack and leave themselves open. It was this technique that allowed Tsukahara to defeat his toughest opponents without receiving so much as a scratch in return.

It can also be used defensively, as even if Tsukahara’s sword cannot reach the enemy this Noble Phantasm can be used to parry or deflect attacks, as was done during his duel with a master of the naginata where he was able to intercept and destroy his opponent’s weapon before winning the duel with his next strike.
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[hider=Master of Witchcraft]
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[b]Name:[/b] Thomas Gardner
[b]Title(s):[/b] Magister Templi, Third Order of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
[b]Gender:[/b] Male
[b]Age:[/b] 63
[b]Alignment:[/b] Lawful Neutral

[b]Objective for the Grail:[/b] To bring the Holy Grail to the Golden Dawn, if only to throw it in their faces.

[b]Personality:[/b] On the surface Thomas is a polite and charming individual, the very picture of an English gentleman. Having spent the better part of his life as part of what is essentially a secret society Thomas has developed a way of dealing with people that can best be described as aggressively diplomatic; he is friendly, approachable, and amiable and yet rarely if ever gives any sort of hint towards his true feelings or motivations.

A determined individual who is not easily swayed by others and someone with the fortitude to forge his own path and follow his own goals even if others seek to place obstacles in his path, yet savvy enough to toe the line and not make enemies unnecessarily. Such social acumen was needed to survive in the Golden Dawn, especially when he is seen as such a… controversial figure by many.

[b]History:[/b] Thomas comes from a long line of Magus; not the most impressive line, nor the oldest, and their name hasn’t always been Gardner, but a long line nonetheless. Thomas’ family have been practitioners of Witchcraft in Europe and Britain since the middle ages, engaging in both sides of the art as both black witches focused on curses and hexes and white witches focused on protection from the former. 

Even with this age the Gardner Magic Crest is not as well developed as it could be. Being a witch in Britain has always been a hazardous occupation and the family has been forced into hiding a number of times over the years as the craze of witch-hunting rose and fell in popularity. In particular the writing of the Witchcraft Act of 1604 was nearly the death of the Gardner line and their Magic Crest was all but lost during this period.

Thankfully they managed to outlast the witch hunters and the family survived, though diminished in size and power. Over time they began to recover and the complexity of their crest grew in leaps and bounds, however it wasn’t until Thomas’s grandfather and great grandfather that the family truly began to flourish. They are the ones mostly responsible for making the family what it is, at least in terms of wealth and influence. That being said, it was also his grandfather than nearly ruined them.

Thomas’ grandfather joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn after being invited to be a member by another magus via their joint association with the Clocktower. Being a talented Magus in his own right his grandfather quickly rose through the ranks but was at the same time a controversial figure who upset a lot of people by publishing books on occultism. The books were complete nonsense which he saw as both a way to make money while also having some fun but others in both the Golden Dawn and the Clocktower saw it as potentially threatening to reduce the amount of mystery in the world by revealing secrets about Magecraft. In the end he was acquitted and no punishment was given, but the Gardner name was forever tarnished by the accusations.

This controversy has directly affected Thomas as well and means that a number of people within the order have taken a disliking to him on principle. It doesn’t help that his style of Magecraft is seen by some as out-dated, archaic or even barbaric in nature; it seems even Magi are not immune to developing certain stigmas around witchcraft. There have been numerous occasions where people have tried to question whether or not his family should even be allowed to keep their association with the order, citing his grandfather’s past discretions as reasons, and whether or not Thomas and his obsolete style of magecraft can possibly contribute anything of worth to the order.

This did not prevent him from climbing the ranks to become a member of the highest order of the Golden Dawn, as progress through the ranks is determined by skill and learning rather than politics, but he had to fight his way through opposition every step of the way.

When Thomas first received word of the Holy Grail war in the east he tried to keep it a secret, wanting to enter the war himself without the Order learning of it, but it was not long before others found out and the expected arguing and politics began. The Golden Dawn wished to send a member to participate, but all wanted the glory for themselves and none could agree on who to send, other than that it should definitely not be Thomas. Rather than argue in his own defence or try to convince the order to sanction his participation in the Holy Grail war, Thomas opted to simply make the decision for all of them and leave; he acquired a suitable catalyst from the Golden Dawn by what some would consider theft and headed for Japan, lacking the resources of the order to which he may or may not still be a member but backed by the considerable wealth of his family. However his theft of the catalyst would turn out to be pointless, due to the peculiar nature of this war.

--- 

[b]Magecraft:[/b]
[i]General Magecraft[/i] – The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is more than capable of teaching novices the basic magecrafts to the same level of competency as the Clocktower.

[i]Elementalism[/i] – Those in the First Order of the Golden Dawn must study the concepts of elementalism and prove their understanding before moving on to the next level. Every member of the Golden Dawn who has advanced past this stage not only knows how to use magecraft that matches their affinity, they also have knowledge of all the other affinities they cannot use. Thomas himself has a dual affinity for fire and earth.

[i]Bounded Fields[/i] – While knowledge of and even proficiency in the use of bounded fields is expected in the higher members of the Golden Dawn, Thomas has taken this understanding even further. He is capable of casting Advance Bounded Fields and Bounded Fields that are supremely hard to detect; over the course of many years he has honed his ability to combine Bounded Fields with his other specialties, particularly Sympathetic Magic, to create some interesting effects.

[i]European Witchcraft[/i] – An old form of magecraft not much favoured within the Clocktower due to its close association with curses, European Witchcraft is as much to do with the protection and prevention of curses and afflictions as it is with creating them. Thomas is well versed in the common practices of European Witchcraft including scrying, divination (particularly that will allows for objects/people to be found), healing and protection from harmful magecraft. His particular focus in this area is in the creation and use of Poppets and other items.

[i]Sympathetic Magecraft[/i] – A style of magecraft dictated by the laws of Sympathy and Contagion based on the idea that one can influence something, even people, based on its relationship or resemblance to another object. Thomas gained a basic understanding of this craft through his studies of European Witchcraft which makes use of Sympathetic Magecraft in places, particularly in the creation and use of Poppets. Finding himself particularly interested in the subject Thomas continued his studies in this area over the course of decades in order to become a true master of the art, even beyond what is often associated with European Witchcraft.

[b]Weapons:[/b]
[i]Grand Poppet[/i] – The ultimate expression of Thomas’ art, the Grand Poppet is an item created by Thomas over the course of decades using the principles of European Witchcraft and Sympathetic Magecraft. It is a humanoid figure; a doll woven out of Thomas’ own hair and stained with his blood, creating a Poppet so steeped in Contagion as to be considered unwise or even obscene by other practitioners of his craft, were they to learn of it.

The aim of Sympathetic Magecraft if often to create an object that in some way resembles the object or person that the Magus is attempting to manipulate, but in many ways the Grand Poppet is more ‘Thomas’ than Thomas is and as such it attracts much of the harm that is intended for him whether that be magical in nature or physical.

[i]Ring of Vampirism[/i] – A Mystic Code in the form of a ring which allows for the extraction of blood from a person over short distances, which is then stored inside a small internal reservoir. This object has an extremely short range, between five and ten feet at the most, and works best when in direct contact with the target with greater distances slowing the process of extraction. The target feels no pain and the quantities of blood being extracted are so small as to cause no negative effects to the target. However, due to the innate protection against invasive magecraft that all Magus have, against them this ring is only useful for drawing blood from an open wound.

[i]Image Capturing Glasses[/i] – A simple pair of glasses capable of capturing and storing an image of whatever the wearer is observing at any given time and recalling that image when requested.

[i]Amplifier Staff[/i] – A simple amplification style Mystic Code resembling an ornate cane or walking stick. Intended to be used to strengthen Thomas’ elemental magecraft in particular should he ever need to get his hands dirty.
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