Letter Bee

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

Red Team

"I've always wanted to get up on your chariot!" Daniel said as he took Iskander's hand. "I always wondered what it had been like for Lord El-Melloi II..."

Daniel had heard of rumors of his mentor, the one who taught him how to be the best Magus he can be, had once summoned Iskander for a long-ago conflict. Although he knew better than to pry too deep into said mentor's affairs - He didn't even know if Lord El-Melloi II saw him as more than an annoyance - He had nevertheless heard about how the Magus formed a bond with Iskander and how the former had grown as a person due to the Servant's influence. Just like he himself had grown as both person and Magus thanks to Lord El-Melloi II's teachings.

Looking at the ship which embodied the malice he had mistaken the Clock Tower of holding, Daniel Palaiologos shouts, "If any of you return to my grandfather, tell him this - He is dead to me and will be dead in truth soon!"

------

"All right," said Assassin of Purple to Saber of Red, "Best to cut our losses anyway."

And she stepped aside and leapt off the corner of the boat, even as Rider of Purple/Columbus pulled out a pistol and shot at Saber of Red, while his other hand held a cutlass. At the same time, Oyuki hurled more spears of ice to counter every arrow Karna shot, yet every time each spear hit ever arrow, the point of contact and explostion drew near to the Dead Apostle Ancestor, who was staggering backwards, crawling closer to where Rider was presumably being torn apart by Saber of Red's lightning-fast assaults. Then even as one of Karna's arrows hit a spear she was just forming a meter away from her face... She enfolded Rider of Purple/Columbus in a frosty embrace, biting his neck even though such a gesture was unecessary from an Energy Vampire and Apocryphal Dead Apostle Ancestor.

Columbus melted down into pure Ether and Mana, which was swiftly absorbed by Oyuki even as the Santa Maria began to vanish into motes of light. Now, the Apocryphal Dead Apostle Ancestor could... Flee for Mount Taygeyus, flee to the region where Sparta once stood. She was conceding the fight, even as Karna kept shooting arrows of flame at her, arrows of flame countered by increasingly more powerful ice spears as she kept zooming towards the Purple Faction's territory...

------

Ren no Nurarhiyon held the blood of Nurarhiyon, but the legend of Nurarhiyon himself was younger than he'd like to admit - This was why older Mixed-Blood families of Japan were quick to laugh at his claims of being the 'Supreme Commander of all Mixed-Bloods', especially as his famiily were newcomers to wealth and power, 'upstart noveaux-riches', from the Mixed-Blood families' point of view. But due to the hazy relationship between Belief and Mystery, Ren's phantasmal bloodline allowed him great power anyway.

What was said great power? Why, a 'discount' version of an Assassin-class Servant's 'Presence Concealment' which was nevertheless miles above the sensory capabilities of mere gaijin Magecraft. The source of this 'Discount Presence Concealment' ability was the legends of the Nurarhiyon being able to enter the homes of people and drink tea and smoke there as if he were the owner, legends further enhanced by Television and Manga, concepts which he would allow to continue existing even when Humanity has been enslaved to the Philosopher Kings. Not merely that, but his Human Half, though contemptible compared to his Yokai/Phantasmal Beast half, had psychic powers in the form of Pure Eyes, which allowed Ren to see the Bounded Fields and other magical defenses that Vanitas Crudelis Hiram had put up in his underground lair and thus sneak past them.

As he moved closer to the very door of Vanitas' chamber, Ren was in high spirits as he prepared to burst through said door and cut down the Atlas Alchemist. However, he had one oversight: His Pure Eyes failed to account for the existence of surveillance cameras which used modern science and technology...

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

The Queen of Bees

“A large influx of bees ought to put a stop to that!”

Casual wear:

Art by Razalor

Name: Kesi Shenouda

Age: 56

Faction: Red

Rank: ???

Persona
-Hard-working
-Cooperative
-Boisterous
-Controlling

Wish:

Colony Collapse Disorder. Overuse of pesticides. Unsustainable farming. The modern world, created by humans, is unfriendly to the creatures that the Shenouda ward. Naturally, Kesi’s wish is to restore a world in which bees can thrive once more, respected as the sacred creatures they are.

However, her methods are naturally incompatible with this modern world. If her wish were to come to pass, it would be a disaster for humanity.

Though Kesi is not much of a fighter or mercenary, staring down the end of her family’s millenia-long duty it was easy to jump at the chance of fighting for a wish-granting device.

Magecraft:

Switch: Bee Stings over every inch of skin, and her insides.

Circuits: BxB

Elemental Alignment: Wind

Attribute: Flow and Transfer

Magecraft that excels at the transmutation and creation of materials, closely linked to Alchemy. Though it isn’t the Shenouda family’s main specialty, some of the alchemical techniques of ancient Egypt are a useful addition to their toolkit.

Attribute: Preservation

Magecraft that keeps things in stasis of various types. Not only the preservation of the dead, but the preservation of life against that force. It also helps for purposes of stabilisation once something has been changed.

Bee Magecraft

The use of bees as a core of a family’s magecraft. Unlike Beast Magecraft, there is no taking upon the attributes of the beast oneself, but rather acting as the human custodian of the creatures, simply utilising them for various purposes.

In particular, bees are used to create honey, beeswax and venom, and are used as familiars.

Within the Egyptian culture sphere, bees were considered sacred, associated with the soul, the pharaoh and Ra. Though these institutions are largely dead, the Shenouda family preserve them.

Specialised Familiars

As the hive is full of bees of varying role, each specified to a certain purpose, so are they used by Kesi. Bees can be modified for varying purposes, including the delivery of different venoms.

As bees in egyptian mythology are spiritual entities, representing the ka (spirit), Kesi’s bees can interact with the sah (spiritual body), inflicting wounds that require spiritual surgery to fix.

Sacred Honey

The honey produced by the family hives. Just as ordinary honey, it is used as a medicine, preservative and food at various points. However, it is enhanced by its status as a ‘food of the gods’, something sacrificed both to animals and statues of gods in various rituals.

A versatile substance that can be used to heal and treat wounds and diseases, as well as its multitude of ritual uses.

Beeswax Poppets

The ancient belief that sculpting a statue of a person out of beeswax could be used to directly harm the person it imitates. Similar to the later technique of poppets, it’s naturally a type of curse that would normally backfire upon the caster. In the Shenouda technique, the karmic backlash is faced by the hives they tend rather than the family… an elegant solution, if the family didn’t also greatly depend on their bees almost as much as their human family.

Crest: None

Mellification

A mythical technique of mummification alluded to in Chinese medical texts, that nonetheless has its origin in Egypt. Near the end of their life, the person to be mummified begins imbibing nothing but honey and bathing in honey until their death. After which, they are mummified utilising honey, then sealed away until the body becomes an edible goop.

This is the method the Shenouda family uses to pass on their magecraft, rather than a Crest. Each family head undergoes this process and is eaten by the next, while their spirit (ka) joins the family hive.

Though it’s a technique that’s foundational to the family, it’s not something that can be used for combat. It could be used on people outside of the family, simply to create a healing confection that goes even beyond the family’s sacred honey, but the length of time it requires makes it impractical.

Mystic Codes:

Ankh Charms

Generic protective charms in the shape of the Ankh, the key of life. With the addition of ‘preservation’, it becomes a tool designed to keep Kesi in a healthy stasis.

Was-Sceptre

A symbol of power, a mystic code that sets one as the pharaoh of the hive, keeper of bees. Essentially, it just assists with guiding an enormous swarm of bees of varying specialties. It can be seen as improving the APM of a dedicated RTS gamer.

@SSW

Can you move this to the Characters Tab, btw?

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

@GreenGoat, Approval One. Ask Sky for a second review on Discord as well.

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

@GreenGoat, Approval One. Ask Sky on Discord to review the sheet as well.

Fate/Novus Apocrypha - Continued Recruitment

From the looks of it, only black and red teams are open yeah? Red team seems full up.

@GreenGoat

Black and Purple, and yes, Red Team is full.

Fate/Novus Apocrypha - Continued Recruitment

So we just take control of existing servants and/or master or can we make our own? Do we need to play both master and servant?

@GreenGoat

You can make your own if there is a slot. And the latter is optional.

Fate/Novus Apocrypha - Continued Recruitment

Fate/Novus Apocrypha - The Ends Justify the Means (Reboot)!

The Story So Far

The story has further diverged from what it was supposed to be, as the alternate timeline of an alternate timeline proceeds to its own destiny.

There are now three, not two, teams fighting for the Holy Grail: The Red Faction, which champions the Magus' Association and its preservation of Humanity against cosmic threats, the Black Faction, whose struggle is for revenge against that same Magus' Association and the perceived humiliations heaped onto them by the heads of that organization, and the Purple Faction, which believes that the road to The Root of all Knowledge requires embodying the concept of Cosmic Tyranny, and seek to use the Grail to slaughter and enslave the rest of Humanity into ignorance and fear.

Needless to say, the Purple Faction's position is unpopular and their arrogance is great, great enough to drive Red and Black into a temporary truce to deal with these upstarts. And now, the Purple Faction reels, their Vampiric allies proving of no use against a concerted effort to suppress them. The identities of their Archer and Rider have been revealed, and the latter is being pursued unto death, along with his Master, one of the most powerful of said Vampiric allies. But those who believe in Cosmic Tyranny as their path to achieving Ascension and access to The Root would not be so easily put down - They seek new Masters and their summoned Servants in order to gain their vengeance!

------

As you can see, Fate/Novus Apocrypha is going pretty well, and the plot is progressing nicely. However, we need more players for the Black Faction (our own Yggdmilenia), and the Purple Faction (our band of Original Characters who stole the Holy Grail and moved it to Sparta), and we are still ready to accept new applicants.

This Link contains what Servants and Masters are available for all Teams. Note that any Purple Faction Servant not Columbus, Wu, and Oda Nobunaga can be replaced with your own Servant if you wish to apply an OC Servant!

The OOC Discord

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

Red Team

Ren no Nurarhiyon and the Night Parade of a Hundred Mixed-Bloods had emulated the real Nurarhiyon and the Night Parade of a Hundred Yokai as far as they could without attracting the wrath of the Mixed-Bloods who preferred to live with Humanity or those organizations who hunted down those who preyed on 'innocents'. As one group, they had haunted the dark spaces of Tokyo, teaching those who wandered there to fear the night, feasting on the blood and life force of those who fell into their hands, be they 'evil' or 'good'. They had upheld the ancient traditions of their various clans as much as they could, resisting the call of modernity and the hollowness it represented.

And now the Night Parade was gone, just like that, obliterated in one single blow by Saber of Red's Noble Phantasm, but Ren no Nurarhiyon and Archer of Purple were nowhere to be found, the former having shouted a Command Spell to order the latter to whisk them away before Saber of Red's Noble Phantasm had activated. That left the also critically-injured Oyuki, who was struggling to regenerate from the burning wound dealt to her, to raise her hand, seemingly in surrender... Only to 'flare' her Command Seals and shout for her Servant to do something as well.

"Rider!" was her shout.

Rider and Assassin of Purple + Lancer and Assassin of Black

Before Assassin of Purple can avoid Lancer of Black using her Chinese Martial Arts, Rider of Purple, who had been controlling the ship through willpower alone, suddenly grabbed her wrist. Before she can utter a word of indignant protest, she, Rider, and the Santa Maria were suddenly warped through space, pulled towards where Rider of Purple's Master had called for his presence. Lancer and Assassin of Black, however, were not included in the teleportation, and unless they shifted into Spiritual Form at once, would fall from a great height to the ground below.

On the plus side, they managed to get a good blow in and Yggdmillenia had been alerted to the Purple Faction's 'smallpox gambit'. Vlad himself would feel the sensation of praise, of pleasure, from his link with Darnic...

Red Team

To the surprise of most everyone on the Red Team, a large flying ship, modeled after the vessels of the early age of exploration, warped into space, carrying its Captain, evidently a Servant, a young-looking girl in Chinese robes who had her wrist held by the Servant and might be one herself. Both enemies acted quickly, the Captain shouting, "Santa Maria - Drop Anchor!", while the young-looking girl leaped down to pick up Oyuki, somehow managing to dodge Karna's flaming shots (A-class Agility?) before unceremoniously throwing the Dead Apostle Ancestor's regenerating body abroad the ship.

In the meantime, the 'Drop Anchor' Noble Phantasm caused several mystical chains with a ship's anchor attached to the end to manifest and begin smashing the area at random, with one anchor hurling towards the approximate location of Belisarius/Saber of Red and two others hurling towards the Masters...

"Hexamillion Wall!" Only for Shielder to activate his Noble Phantasm and cause a stone wall to rise up and 'soak' the anchors hurling towards the people he was supposed to protect. Thank me for this later, Your Highness, he telepathically whispered to Lovise.

In the meantime, Karna was firing arrows at the young-looking Chinese girl, each arrow being dodged by the latter but setting the ship's deck afire, putting Oyuki's life in further peril. He would have eventually hit either the girl (Assassin of Purple?) or switched targets to the Captain (who was obviously Rider of Purple) or finished off Oyuki, if not for an anchor of the Santa Maria hurling itself at him and being easily dodged.

Then, red mist, of a slightly lighter, more pastel shade than blood, burst forth from the ship, covering the entire area. Daniel, having transformed his clothes into a more elaborate set of magical attire, then gestured to blow the mist away from the Masters' position, instinctively recognizing it as some sort of danger.

For as the Santa Maria used the cover of the red mist to flee, the Rider of Purple shouted, "Ha! I hope you enjoy airborne smallpox serum!" before flying his sheep away at a velocity not expected from such a bulky vessel...

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

@Red Alice, Approved as well. Post in the Characters Tab.

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

Red Team: Do not neglect the Night Parade of a Hundred Mixed-Bloods - Even the weakest of them can withstand one or two blows from a Servant, while the strongest of them can withstand five blows from one.

Ren no Nurarhiyon himself can withstand six or even seven blows from a Servant and can turn himself and his troops invisible with a power akin to a weaker version of an Assassin's Presence Concealment. Karna can see through that with his Clairvoyance Skill, but it's still going to be useful for him if used right. He also emits a pheromone which allows his Mixed-Blood troops to keep their lucidity and even think tactically despite surrendering to their Inversion Impulse.