Greatest of the Achaeans, Hero of the Rushed Life
ACHILLES
Class: Lancer
Attribute: Earth
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Source: Greek Myth, Iliad.
Likes: Victory and a pretty girl’s smile.
Dislikes: Fate
Talents: All the skills necessary for a hero
Natural Enemy: Hector, Penthesilea
Image Color: White Green
One can easily surmise that Lancer is no less than ‘a great hero’. It is in the way he holds himself, his confidence and his carefree smile in the face of danger, but at the same time, he is far from those knights in shining armor from fairy tales. While not a born rebel, he is ‘someone who openly and honestly follows his heart alone’, a hero that ignored the orders of his superior because he disliked him, and who only took up arms again for the sake of a slain comrade.
Because of that disposition that thinks little of those who believe they can order him around simply due to station, he has a fatal compatibility with ‘king’ types, and easily shows his dislike when around them. Even a Master is not exempt from this — while he is certainly loyal, should he be given an order he finds disagreeable, he would surely ignore it until the Master was forced to employ a Command Mantra. Exceptions to such inherent dislike are, of course, those that lead from the front, and he would doubtlessly find the most agreeable situation to be one of ‘a relationship between equals’. To such a person, he would surely entrust his back.
He strove all his life to attain a single goal, to fulfill his vows: when he was young, he was presented with a choice to either live many, many years in happiness and die unknown to the world or to burn brighter than any other man in exchange for a short life. His answer went without saying, and so, he consoled Thetis with the simple promise — that he would live and die like a proper hero, his name in every breath.
That is what being a ‘hero’ was in his eyes. Without placing any regard as to how his actions would reflect on him, he earnestly followed his heart to the very end, Even if he became the target of hatred, it did not matter — the life he lived was his and his alone, and his precious friends and loves were the only ones whose opinions meant something to him.
Training with Chiron, meeting Patroclus, fighting in the Trojan War, meeting Penthesilea and Hector — up to the very end, he sped through life like a transient gale and treated all of it, the good and the bad, like a joy to have experienced — all for the sake of that simple wish and the promise that came with it.
To Achilles, being a hero is synonymous with pride, with excellence, with being more than others. It is why he answered the call of the cup — to obtain glory, to follow through on his promise and wonderfully defeat other great warriors — the Grail itself is not something he concerns himself with.
But perhaps there is something else dwelling in his heart. Perhaps he would like to try. . .
No, that is not important anymore. What matters is his current goal, his pride and his duties. That is all.
In a way, that childish mentality is both his greatest asset and his greatest weakness — far more than the heel ever was.
Because of that disposition that thinks little of those who believe they can order him around simply due to station, he has a fatal compatibility with ‘king’ types, and easily shows his dislike when around them. Even a Master is not exempt from this — while he is certainly loyal, should he be given an order he finds disagreeable, he would surely ignore it until the Master was forced to employ a Command Mantra. Exceptions to such inherent dislike are, of course, those that lead from the front, and he would doubtlessly find the most agreeable situation to be one of ‘a relationship between equals’. To such a person, he would surely entrust his back.
He strove all his life to attain a single goal, to fulfill his vows: when he was young, he was presented with a choice to either live many, many years in happiness and die unknown to the world or to burn brighter than any other man in exchange for a short life. His answer went without saying, and so, he consoled Thetis with the simple promise — that he would live and die like a proper hero, his name in every breath.
That is what being a ‘hero’ was in his eyes. Without placing any regard as to how his actions would reflect on him, he earnestly followed his heart to the very end, Even if he became the target of hatred, it did not matter — the life he lived was his and his alone, and his precious friends and loves were the only ones whose opinions meant something to him.
Training with Chiron, meeting Patroclus, fighting in the Trojan War, meeting Penthesilea and Hector — up to the very end, he sped through life like a transient gale and treated all of it, the good and the bad, like a joy to have experienced — all for the sake of that simple wish and the promise that came with it.
To Achilles, being a hero is synonymous with pride, with excellence, with being more than others. It is why he answered the call of the cup — to obtain glory, to follow through on his promise and wonderfully defeat other great warriors — the Grail itself is not something he concerns himself with.
“To begin with, there’s few things I like more than fighting. Women, alcohol and even treasures — they’re all just accessories to it.”
But perhaps there is something else dwelling in his heart. Perhaps he would like to try. . .
No, that is not important anymore. What matters is his current goal, his pride and his duties. That is all.
In a way, that childish mentality is both his greatest asset and his greatest weakness — far more than the heel ever was.
The greatest hero of the Trojan War, and one of the most famous to ever walk the lands of Greece. Son of Peleus and the nymph Thetis, one could say that his greatness was determined from the moment of his birth.
Trained by the centaur, Chiron, his upbringing was certain to endow him with all skills required to become a formidable hero, and the chance to obtain fame was thrust upon him the moment war erupted between Troy and Greece over the kidnapping of Helen, wife of Menelaus. Departing with his warriors and his sworn friend Patroclus, Achilles sought to carve out his name on the beaches of Troy.
What followed were ten grueling years of war, with Achilles remaining the greatest warrior for the Achaeans. However, tragedy began when he had his falling out with Agamemnon, which would cause him to retreat to his tent and forbid his warriors from entering battle.
As the Achaeans were driven back, his friend Patroclus would don Achilles’ armor and lead them to recover, but he would be slain by Hector in the process. In grief, he returned to the battlefield and killed Hector, all the while mourning the loss of his dear friend. Shortly after, Paris would avenge his own brother, wounding Achilles’ heel and robbing him of his immortality.
. . .With arrows piercing his heart and a smile on his lips, he thus left to educate the Trojans on what a true warrior was one last time. A final shining moment before that star was snuffed out for good.
As predicted, his life was frightfully short. But in return, his name as a hero was carved upon the world.
Trained by the centaur, Chiron, his upbringing was certain to endow him with all skills required to become a formidable hero, and the chance to obtain fame was thrust upon him the moment war erupted between Troy and Greece over the kidnapping of Helen, wife of Menelaus. Departing with his warriors and his sworn friend Patroclus, Achilles sought to carve out his name on the beaches of Troy.
What followed were ten grueling years of war, with Achilles remaining the greatest warrior for the Achaeans. However, tragedy began when he had his falling out with Agamemnon, which would cause him to retreat to his tent and forbid his warriors from entering battle.
As the Achaeans were driven back, his friend Patroclus would don Achilles’ armor and lead them to recover, but he would be slain by Hector in the process. In grief, he returned to the battlefield and killed Hector, all the while mourning the loss of his dear friend. Shortly after, Paris would avenge his own brother, wounding Achilles’ heel and robbing him of his immortality.
. . .With arrows piercing his heart and a smile on his lips, he thus left to educate the Trojans on what a true warrior was one last time. A final shining moment before that star was snuffed out for good.
As predicted, his life was frightfully short. But in return, his name as a hero was carved upon the world.
STR: B+
CON: A
AGI: A+
MGI: C
LCK: D
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance: B. Ability to negate spells that attempt direct interference on oneself, different from the ‘resistance’ of magi. Even if facing High Thaumaturgy or Greater Rituals, it is difficult for him to be affected.
Personal Skills:
Divinity: C: Measures one’s aptitude as a Divine Spirit. He possesses it at this Rank owning to being the son of Thetis, a minor deity.
Affections of the Goddess: B. Denotes being beloved by a Divine Spirit — hin his case, his mother, Thetis, which offers benefits. Outside of MGI and LCK, he receives a Rank-up to his stats.
Battle Continuation: A. Denotes the ability to retreat to allied territory upon defeat and the ability to continue fighting despite heavy injury. Even if he were to receive a fatal wound, such as having his heart gouged out or otherwise suffering extensive damage to the spirit core, he would be able to fight on before vanishing.
Bravery: A+. Refers to the ability to negate mental interference, such as pressure, confusion or fascination. Also has the side.effect of raising melee damage.
Noble Phantasms
The Spear-Tip of the Star Traversing the Sky
Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē
Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē
Rank: B+
Type: Anti-Unit
Maximum Number of Targets: 1
Range: 1-10
Achilles’ spear, passed down to him by his father, originally a wedding gift courtesy of Chiron. Boasting excellent craftsmanship, it is a sturdy weapon with a jet-black shaft and a teal spearhead, well-designed for close quarters combat while also being suited for throwing. It is for this spear that Achilles boasts qualifications as a Lancer-class.
Its main function once the name is called out is the establishment of a ‘duel field’, accomplished via magecraft close in nature to a Reality Marble to create ‘a fair battleground between two opponents’, existing outside of time. Within it, ‘flukes’ such as divine help or luck are invalidated and rendered useless, and the warriors are allowed to duke it out without having to worry about outside interference. However, the opponent must first agree to Achilles’ challenge before he can deploy it.
Furthermore, while that would be its sole effect normally, when summoned as a Lancer, it gains a secondary, passive ability similar to that of the Yellow Rose of Mortality — wounds inflicted by this spear are cursed in such a manner that they cannot heal so long as it exists.
Comet Form
Dromeus Komētēs
Dromeus Komētēs
Rank: A+
Type: Anti-Unit (Self)
Maximum Number of Targets: 1
Range: 0
A continuously-active type Noble Phantasm — the embodiment of his legend as the fastest of all heroes across all eras, able to run through the battlefield in a single breath, unimpeded by obstacles or distance.
Certainly, his Parameters themselves are high, but not unattainable for a Servant. However, his speed alone greatly stands out as divine, and could almost be equated to instantaneous movement. So long as it falls within his sight, reaching that destination would take less than an instant.
However, it comes with the caveat that it is tied to his heel, so being hit there would disable the Noble Phantasm and reduce that speed to more manageable levels for the enemy. Wounds to that place alone are highly difficult to heal.
He does not worry about that much, though. The title ‘Humanity’s Swiftest’ is, after all, not for show.
Dazzling Star that Surpasses Death
Aristeia Astéri
Aristeia Astéri
Rank: A+
Type: Anti-Unit (Self)
Maximum Number of Targets: 1
Range: 0
The armor Hephaestus forged for Achilles in order to replace the set he lost to Hector, crafted to the best of the god’s ability at Thetis’ request, a companion piece to his shield, described at length within the poem.
If the shield is something that encapsulated the world Achilles lived in, this armor encapsulated the man himself. Brighter than any flame, dazzling to the point of disbelief, the gift from an Olympian to a man that might as well have been his foster brother. According to Homer, when Thetis came to ask for his aid, the god plainly stated that if he should be able to hid him from death come his final hour, he would have done it without a second thought — so he poured over his work, determined to surpass all that came before, the pinnacle of his craftsmanship.
Its main function is an enhancement and shift to the ability that was bestowed upon Achilles’ body by Thetis — rather than ‘a body that does not acknowledge damage’, it became ‘a body that rejects damage’, returning Achilles to a state of perfect health post-injury. While in battle this is limited to a slow trickling of regeneration, outside of it, he can simply pay for the cost all at once and return to top-shape.
It is not regeneration borne of magecraft, or the Curse of Restoration of certain creatures, but a top-class Mystery based on the 'rejection of that which led to Achilles' injury in the first place', and 'damage being fixed' is just a side-effect.
Due to this, it goes without saying that the armor seals the the proper effect of the Amaranth of the Brave. The only caveat to this ability are wounds to his heel — which is only natural. Since it necessarily works by enhancing the inherent capacity of his body and he loses that capacity if his heel is struck, the armor will be unable to do anything about it.
It also possesses a secondary effect Hephaestus added to get the man out of the pinches he was sure to find himself in, granting Achilles a bonus of a temporary modifier with regards to checks he needs to perform, though he will lose them immediately after the test is finished, whether he has succeeded or failed.
Regarding the quality of the pieces themselves. . .it’d be akin to finding a legendary set that raises the character’s AC by about 100. Nobody can say Hephaestus was unskilled. Indeed, it will never lose its brilliance, regardless of the circumstances.
As an aside, if it is not being worn for whatever reason, he possesses a box to store it, though it is not special beyond being sturdy and heavy. The manner in which he puts the armor on or takes it off, however, is nothing short of dramatic.
The Miniature World Enclosed by the Azure Sky
Akhilleus Kosmos
Akhilleus Kosmos
Rank: A+
Type: Barrier
Maximum Number of Targets: 1
Range: 0
Achilles’ shield, with its description occupying five pages of the eighteenth book of the Iliad — forged by the smith god Hephaestus as a companion piece to his glorious armor, it depicts the world as Achilles knew and understood it, in all its beauty and ugliness, and is said to defend against most any attack by deploying a Bounded Field on the same class as Rho Aias, protecting against attacks by deploying a miniature world.
“To oppose this shield is to make the world your enemy,” is what was once said about it.
Able to withstand the assault from Anti-Unit or Anti-Army Noble Phantasms, its true defensive capabilities can only be witnessed if Achilles seals all his other Noble Phantasms for the duration of the use, in which case it will become capable of defending against even Anti-Fortress or Anti-Country type attacks.
Head of Voronin, Corpse Queen from the Frozen Wastes
Anastasia Aleksandrovna Voronin
Gender: Female
Age: 31
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Rank: Fes
Objective for the Grail: Would you believe her if she told you she joined on a whim? Of course not. But, all the same, that cup is not exactly the goal per se. Certainly it would be nice to get her hands on such thing, but still, her main goal for the Holy Grail War is the battle itself.
Or rather, the exquisitely rare materials she may acquire from it! Ah, just thinking about it is enough to make one’s heart shiver, isn’t it? Such wonderful opportunity.
Still, she would be lying if she said ‘there is absolutely nothing else’. In fact, as many a magus hailing from the same location can tell you. . .
Why, there is this library. . .
Biography
A magus is nothing without their family. This is a known fact, and her situation is no different.
The Voronin — an old line hailing from Eastern Europe, they were those that took up their practices while under an era of persecution through the Middle Ages — a time when the Church was far more hands-on regarding ‘heretics’, particularly those of their brand, forced to leave their ancestral home for greener pastures.
A family of necromancers that sought the truth of eternity. A clan of fools that dabbled into forbidden practices for what they deemed to be a higher purpose, relentless in the pursuit of their chosen path. They thrived, making a home in Russia and establishing themselves among the slavic regions, trailblazers regarding their craft.
That was the sort of family she was born into. From the moment she could walk, she became immersed in education of anatomy, the study and symbolism of different body parts, methods of embalming and burial. Though she grew up and met peers once she left for London in order to continue her studies and honor the family name, none were ever friends.
The dead were closer companions to her than the living.
In a way, she was fine with such thing — power is intoxicating, and is there a grander power than that of twisting the natural order? To pervert and violate their forms, to disturb their rest and destroy their peace. . .in a way, it was nothing short of exhilarating. What is companionship compared to holding such things at her fingertips? She may hold herself with the decorum of a proper lady, but her true personality shines through, and it is hard to mistake her for anything other than a childish witch.
Yet, in that childishness, there was a heart, and that heart understood the lessons that had been drilled into her.
Death is an inevitability — and to be a magus is to accept it. Necromancers were considered to be even extremes within such society, often travelling to disaster zones or walking through battlefields to obtain the materials for their research.
But the creed of the Voronin did not accept death. It scorned death. It spoke of it as an inconvenience, an enemy to be destroyed, surpassed and forgotten. And perhaps she understood why.
‘There raise not the dead’.
‘One can never recover lost things’.
These are certainly facts of life. To overcome those rules, a miracle would be required.
But. . .if those you lose are gone forever, if you can never hold them again, if you must cry for their passing. . .is that end not unbearably sad? Is that end not terribly hopeless?
Death is scary. It is nothing but an ultimate separation that ends in grief. So in that regard, hating death, hating mortality, was perfectly acceptable. That is why that clan dedicated themselves to such pursuit, that is why that clan wished to achieve [ ]. That is why — they will achieve a miracle.
To do so, their path is that of ‘observing every death and every survival of death’, throughout history. If such an undertaking can be achieved then. . .they will surely find there an answer to ‘absolutely surpass death’, and touching the Swirl of the Root will come as second nature.
And then, there shall be no tears shed for the departed anymore.
A clan of fools who searched for happiness not in the future, but by clinging to the past, and molded this woman into what she is today.
Everything she does, she does because of her sense of duty toward her family — and because she truly pities those that die. In her benevolence, she gives them a second chance, she offers their bodies use, she makes them ‘better than what they used to be’. And with her art, all will be together forever.
She truly loves them.
Magecraft
Magic Circuit Switch: The feeling of a nail being driven into her eye.
Magic Circuit Quantity: C
Magic Circuit Quality: A
Elemental Affinity: Water & Fire (Origin: Desecration; Attribute: Restoration)
The basics were mastered in little time, as expected of someone of her position within such family. She attended the Clock Tower for instruction regarding General Magecraft — though it would be more accurate to say ‘politicking’, since such things had already been taken care of in her homestead — and later advanced her education in other departments. Possessing talent and charm — when she was not busy being creepy, that is — one could say that her trajectory was perfect.
Spiritual Evocation as a field was of great interest and she displayed above-average skill, and elemental magecraft was picked up on a whim to supplement her other capacities, but, as expected, the field where she truly excelled was Necromancy.
The art of giving rise to the dead, the art of beating the natural order, the art of ‘recovering that which has been lost’. That is the key Thaumaturgy pursued by the Voronin.
To begin with, Necromancy could be divided into two branches: processing select body parts to create different artifacts — perhaps something that could be called a mix of spiritual evocation and curses — and the more ‘traditional’ sort that raises the corpses for one’s own purposes — from corpses, giving rise to abominations that dwarf the living, grander than they were at any point before their deaths, remoulding flesh and bone.
The latter in particular is something she possesses exceptional talent for, even where the standards of her dedicated family are concerned — even Magic Circuits, which would normally remain outside of the reach of a necromancer, can be manipulated as the ‘physical part of the soul’ that can be found in the body. Stripping her minions of all but the barest minimum, she can craft horrors that suit each particular need to perfection.
She makes them strong. She makes them beautiful. She makes them better than they were.
To surpass death, they must surpass what they used to be. That is why, that is why —
Yeah, if they must be made monsters in order to surpass death, then so be it.
Regarding flesh, she has yet to meet any match. After all, her Origin facilitates the twisted experiments and her Attribute means getting the materials to a proper working condition to begin with is rather easy — she prides herself on the quality of her creations.
Naturally, as a side effect, she also excels in healing — but that is not something that sees much use.
Crest: Voronin family crest — hails back to the 12th century, situated right over her heart.
Mystic Codes
Right Hand of Fate: As it implies, a hand. Mummified, and stuck in the shape of a fist with the thumb between the index and middle finger, it draws upon an old belief that such shape can ‘ward off curses’.
Naturally, that sort of thing is not really true, given that curses affect the ‘fate’ of one, rather than their actual physical form. Rather, it is a sort of Mystic Code that acts as a ‘return to sender’ cheat, bouncing the effect back onto the individual that tries to curse her.
It was passed down by her father, and boasts of having faithfully served her family for more than three hundred years.
Čërnyj Zahoronenija — Wailing Paradise of the Falsely Living: The ‘secret among secrets’ of Voronin. In appearance, a great obsidian sarcophagus decorated with gold, a storage unit.
In their homeland, there exist traditions saying that the souls of the dearly departed linger in the hearth of the home to care for the living.
For them, a family of necromancers spanning centuries, the ‘hearth’ is the ‘symbol of their craft’. Though they might have had to move to different locales, they always carried such thing with them — and so, it gained that property of ‘being that which stands at the center of the household’ and ‘something that binds Voronin’.
The sarcophagus is the resting place wherein the heads of Voronin are laid to rest. . .a burial that takes place while they are still alive. They, who have already finished their business with the world of the living, enter the ‘world of the dead’ that is the grave, and thus become its inhabitants. Their dreams and grudges are inconsequential, their hopes do not matter anymore — once the crest has been passed down and their successor has been properly groomed, they are ‘dead’.
That is all that is required of magi, after all.
Each successive head becomes a subject for the next one to use as materials, a thing to be crafted and modified. It was her father’s fate, and it will be hers many years down the line — and once that is over, they are sealed within the sarcophagus, to be used by the next head should the need arise. Combined with the properties of the ‘grave’, they willingly choose to ‘take over the role of the living dead’.
However, that is only part of the equation. Something else was needed to add the proper foundations to the process — for which they turned to the legends of neighboring lands, long ago.
There exists a common wisdom in the cold north — to become ‘draugar’, one needs only to interact with the evil spirits and the infection will set in — akin to curse upon their existence. That is why the head that began the process purposefully sought them out after their child was ready to take over, and why he accepted that curse.
From then on, from that first head to the current generation, all Voronins that are shunted into the sarcophagus are, too, ‘infected’ by the previous ones — and in doing so, they guarantee eternity.
Undeath for the foundation. Acquisition of roles as the path. Acceptance of fate as the trigger.
Denizens of a world for the dead while still alive. The choice of a clan of fools that could not let go of the past to the point this became an agreeable solution.
Perhaps a hopelessly, despairingly romantic one.
”Ahh, you annoyed me, you really did. With that said, you’ll get to see a spectacle before I flay you alive — now bear witness and be crushed by magnificence spanning seven hundred years.”
Exceptional Benefit: 7 days worth of preparation.
