Letter Bee

Fate/Novus Apocrypha - An Alternate Greater Grail War (Reboot)!

@hatakekuro, Approval One.

Fate/Novus Apocrypha - An Alternate Greater Grail War (Reboot)!

@hatakekuro, Hmm, very powerful. Not sure if it does not violate Rule One.

Fate/Novus Apocrypha - An Alternate Greater Grail War (Reboot)!

@Cu Chulainn, Approval one, sorry for the delay.

Fate/Novus Apocrypha - An Alternate Greater Grail War (Reboot)!

We need a new Caster of Red now that Mavro has dropped (he said so on Discord)!

Fate/Novus Apocrypha - An Alternate Greater Grail War (Reboot)!

Daniel Palaiologos

"Lovise!" Daniel waved hi at the arrival of his friend, saying, "I'm glad to see you, Your Highness!"

More confident now, the feelings of humiliation fading as he faced the group he was supposed to lead, the boy introduced himself, saying, "My name is Daniel Palaiologos, of the Clock Tower. I brought in the Palaiologoi as a family and their lands and holdings into the Magus' Association's fold when my grandfather, who is now leading the so-called Philosopher Kings, revealed his treachery to Humanity. This also means I am the rightful Second Owner of all of Greece's magical territory and my Grandfather has usurped my right. But my claim to a leading role within this team isn't based on my 'rightful ownership', but rather on the fact that I can provide you guys with information on the Purple Faction."

Daniel sighs, "Long ago before I joined the Clock Tower, Grandfather fed me with lies about how the Magus' Association were 'Magic Nazis' who worshipped Cosmic Embodiments of Supernatural Tyranny and how their goals were to sacrifice 'Normal Humanity' for their 'Ascension', their fusion with The Root. This was false, but it rang true to me because it was a coherent creed. However, it turned out to be their creed, not the Clock Tower's - It was their beliefs and not my future faction's. And so helping you against him is not just a family spat: It is also an attempt at redemption in the eyes of the Magus' Association and all of Humanity."

He paused, "Now, useful information - The Dead Apostle Ancestor in the Philosopher Kings' Ranks is an Apocryphal one: The Thirty-First when there should only be Twenty-Nine. This Dead Apostle Ancestor, one of the earliest recruits into their group, is Oyuki, a former innkeeper with an otherworldly beauty who was accused of murdering travelers, which somehow turned her into the source of the legends of the Yuki-Onna and also a Vampire without a parent. Or so I was told back when Grandfather was manipulating me. Nevertheless, she can drain Mana from people through touch - That's something I have seen for myself. Oh, and she's also a potential Master Candidate, which is bad as she already has Noble Phantasms of her own."

Continuing after another pause, Daniel then said, "Another senior lieutenant of my Grandfather is one Mikagami Shikiya, a Mixed-Blood Incubus who can copy any of a Magus' abilities by drinking an ounce of their blood, and also access their memories and emotions. He is probably also a Master. Now, as for the subject of Darnic..."

He took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Helstein, Mr. Trask, the both of you are right - We should conduct a limited Non-Aggression Pact with Darnic while conserving our forces and resources for the future confrontation with him or my Grandfather. Let the two factions of foes fight, but if Darnic sends someone to seal a pact with us, we should treat them as hospitably as possible in order to gain a potential defector or at least loosen some lips..."

@Th3King0fChaos@SkyHresvelg@Unlucker@Phonic@hatakekuro@SSW

Fate/Novus Apocrypha - An Alternate Greater Grail War (Reboot)!

@Sakaki Chizuru, Approval One, too.

Fate/Novus Apocrypha - An Alternate Greater Grail War (Reboot)!

@Reflection, Approval One, btw.

Fate/Novus Apocrypha - An Alternate Greater Grail War (Reboot)!

Lancer + Rider + Assassin of Black versus Rider + Assassin of Purple

What did the Philosopher Kings believe, and how was that relevant to this current conflict?

The first article of their belief was that Mystery must be preserved through offensive action - By keeping the masses ignorant and curtailing their advancement, their understanding. If it meant sending the Santa Maria, the flying ship and Noble Phantasm of Rider of Purple, to rain down a fine mist composed of smallpox serum across towns and villages south of Patras, in order to weaken the population's belief in the achievements of science once the disease had incubated and broken out, it was a small price to pay to establish the natural hierarchy of Magecraft users over Mortals.

And that leads us to the second article of their belief: That Hierarchy is the pathway to reaching the Root, and that Tyranny and the crushing of one's inferiors by sacrificing them to supernatural symbols of cosmic oppression, was how one slowly crawled their way up the cosmic food chain and fused with the Root, which is the 'Ultimate Tyrant' due to being highest on the metaphysical pyramid. And so upon sighting Lancer of Black making his way south, Rider of Purple, with a voice like thunder, shouted from his ship:

"Servant of Yggdmillenia, Anastasios of the Philosopher Kings bids you heed these words - We have sown the smallpox plague in the villages south of your Headquarters, a precursor of future calamities thrown at this decadent world we live in. We do this to teach those ungifted with supernatural power, those complacent sheep who nevertheless demand rule over the world, that their place is to be slaves to those who are gifted with rulership. For Kingship and Tyranny are the same steps up the ladder of Ascension, so says Anastasios Palaiologos, he who crawls up the top of the Pyramid of Steel and Skulls."

He then continued, "Now you have a choice - Fly up to where we are, fight us where we are strong, and thus be taught your place as well, or alert your Master Darnic to our actions and thus force him to spend valuable resources healing those we have infected, and risking the secrecy of Magecraft itself. Or do both and risk utter failure!"

As the flying ship moved to soar above Lancer and Assassin of Black, one can see the silhouettes of a crew, a crew not of humans, but of Oni Mixed-Bloods and Vampires, loading the vessel's cannons to fire when ready, and a small, light, female figure giving commands to them...

@SSW@Yukitamas@HiddenBlue

Fate/Novus Apocrypha - An Alternate Greater Grail War (Reboot)!

@Unoedipal@ColourlessKing@Phonic@Unlucker@Th3King0fChaos@Lord Indra@SSW@hatakekuro@SkyHresvelg@Reflection@HiddenBlue:

I added a 'Mundane Skills' section on the Master Sheet!

Fate/Novus Apocrypha - An Alternate Greater Grail War (Reboot)!

Anastasios Palaiologos and Lucius Tiberius/Saber of Purple (Purple Faction)

As he stood on the balcony of his Neo-Gothic manor house in Mount Taygetus, a Neo-Gothic manor house with towers and a high concrete wall meant to emulate the castles of old, Anastasios Palaiologos prepared his defenses. Now that he and Lucius had demonstrated their strength against both the Clock Tower and Yggdmillenia, no-name Magi with lack of talent or good sense had signed up to be part of the new world order Anastasios had promised them, an order where those without a connection to the Supernatural knew their place. Same for the creatures of darkness which both the Clock Tower and the Holy Church hunted - Dead Apostles and at least one Dead Apostle Ancestor.

Of course, he wasn't blind. The Yggdmillenia Family, whom he had personally betrayed, was calling for his head, the Clock Tower, and the rest of the Magus' Association likewise. Blind fools - Too afraid of the so-called Counter Force to consider radical solutions to the loss of Mystery and the beauty and wonder it represented. Would they rather have the ancient cultures of the world be wiped out by a consumerist mega-culture with no judgment or end goal beyond the comfort of complacent 'masses'?

Not that the obsolete moral framework of compassion and love and 'humanity' didn't have any use - It had allowed him to manipulate his grandson long enough for the latter to distract the Clock Tower from his own plans for a Greater Grail War. Now the clock was ticking to doomsday, and he couldn't be happier...

Darnic Prestone Yggdmillenia and Vlad III/Lancer of Black (Black Faction)

Darnic hated to admit it, but Anastasios Palaiologos' treachery had put all of Yggdmillenia on the back foot, forcing them to change the Catalysts for Servant Summoning, uproot themselves from their home territory of Trifas Castle, and go further into debt trying to transport themselves to the outskirts of Patras, Grece, a crowded city whose thousands of civilians needed regular mental interference not to notice anything. However, not all was lost, for several former dependents of the Palaiogos Family who despised Anastasios' madness and his grandson's weakness had aligned themselves with Yggdmillenia, providing them with a mansion and workshop as well as resources to build a new Homunculi army.

Footsteps can be heard heading in his direction - It was Vlad Dracul, Lancer of Black, his would-be trump card in the war. Where once he would have been summoned as a King, now 'Dracula' was a warrior and bodyguard whose position was to be beside him, warding off all threats. Either way, it was time for himself to sit down on the throne provided by the Plethon Family, their hosts, and give a speech.

"Scions of Yggdmillenia..." Darnic trailed off as he started his speech before the assembled Masters and Servants. "We find ourselves on the backfoot, faced with superior forces on both sides, and uprooted from our home due to treachery within - Anastasios Palaiologos must pay for this! But there is hope, not only in our own strength of will and body but also in this immutable fact - Our enemies hate each other more than they do us!"

"Right now, Anastasios and his gaggle of traitors plan the doom of Humanity, including those who wish for the nobility of Magecraft, and that opens up an opportunity for us. I predict that the Clock Tower will abase itself before us and ask for a truce, and it is then that we will pretend to accept it, just as they pretend to keep it!"

Daniel Palaiologos and Iskander/Rider of Red (Red Faction)

Daniel Palaiologos did not like being humiliated, over and over again. First by falling for his Grandfather’s lies, then by having to pay a fine to the Clock Tower. Granted, the latter was an organization he had wound up joining anyway and much to his surprise, had enough decent folks within it in order to warrant siding with. But the point was that losing all of the Peloponnese to his Grandfather and his so-called ‘Philosopher Kings’ was the latest indignity he was suffering in this entire twisted business.

At least he had enjoyed a year or so under Lord El-Melloi II's personal tutelage, that was a surprising twist in the drama which his life had become. He and Lovise, his fellow Master of Red, had become friends there, too, which was another good outcome of this mess. Nevertheless, this entire business stung.

The Red Team had been gathered near the ruins of the Hexamillion Wall - Daniel may have been a former enemy of the Clock Tower, but he knew the area and thus had a claim to leadership of the Team. So he chose to 'politely request' that the Red Team were to meet up to form strategy here first, a strategy which amounted to him clearing his throat and saying bluntly, "If you guys are wondering why the Mages' Association chose a place with so few luxuries, well, Shielder has a Personal Skill which can improve any pre-set defenses into a magical fortress that can break entire armies like water. And what is this wall but a pre-existing defense with a personal link to Shielder's past life? This and the Leyline will mean that we have the best defense of all three Teams."

A pause for breath, before the boy continued, "Now, for other business: The Philosopher Kings have an extraordinarily powerful Dead Apostle on their side. We need a truce with Yggdmillenia as a result as they hate Dead Apostles too. Will you guys agree, or disagree? If you agree, say yes. If you disagree, say no. Then we can all get to know each other, send our armies against the Philsopher Kings at once, or just split up according to our personal strategies for winning the war."

Iskander was beside the boy, hopefully lending his presence and charisma passively to his Master's suggestions and making the other Red Masters and Servants more receptive to them...