Fate/Hollow Order
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Ask how Servants can be summoned and maintained without the Grail
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Ask how Servants can be summoned and maintained without the Grail
"So how the heck are we breaking the rules this time?"
"So how the heck are we breaking the rules this time?"
IKnowNothing
....What?
- Location
- I got lost so.....Where are we?
"I have no idea. Maybe someone's messing with the grail?"
"Well who is it this time?"
"IDK."
"Were you two talking about me?"
DimensionalGuy
Lazy Bastard
- Location
- Sweden
[X] Ask Professor Uvall what his story is.
LupineVolt
Now with 200% more Puns
- Location
- Michigan
He's Italian. If we introduce him to Microwave Pizza he may just allow the world to end to put a stop to such an atrocity.
- Location
- England, unfortunately.
- Pronouns
- She/They
Calzone then.
Sucal
The Devil’s Cut
- Location
- Bottom of the barrel
The person who introduced me to it was Italian.
LostDeviljho
Flame Dragon Princess
- Location
- The glorious Pacific Northwest
- Pronouns
- Any
[X] Ask Professor Uvall what his story is.
The Out Of World
Lichte's Brain
- Location
- -
- Location
- Italy
That...
...
It depends, but that could actually happen.
[X] Ask how Servants can be summoned and maintainedwithout the Grail.
.... So help me, was Da Vinci about to say "The Internet is a series of tubes"?!
Okay probably not, but it's an amusing end to that sentence.
(Also random note, @ZerbanDaGreat, but I don't think Da Vinci would still be confused by electricity after a few months here - it's fundamental enough to so much of our technology that probably the first thing she'd do is pick up a book on circuit design, if not jumping right to electromagnetism. Unless she was dumbing it down for us, which is entirely fair.)
Okay probably not, but it's an amusing end to that sentence.
(Also random note, @ZerbanDaGreat, but I don't think Da Vinci would still be confused by electricity after a few months here - it's fundamental enough to so much of our technology that probably the first thing she'd do is pick up a book on circuit design, if not jumping right to electromagnetism. Unless she was dumbing it down for us, which is entirely fair.)
Sucal
The Devil’s Cut
- Location
- Bottom of the barrel
Confused?
I think she was too busy going 'holy shit this is awesome' and internally rocking out to be confused. So many fun new things to discover, so many new variations of toast to make. Did you know some people melt cheese on their toast?
Nidhoggr
Suletta Permetta
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I like Da Vinci. She's fun.
Oh you sweet innocent child.
If nothing else, Olga Marie has style.
[X] Ask Professor Uvall what his story is.
TenfoldShields
Lounging on a Hoard of Words
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Ask Professor Uvall what his story is.
Rostam: "Goddammit there must be someone around here I can properlyfellate respect."
Rostam: "Goddammit there must be someone around here I can properly
Chapter Seven: Chaldea
ZerbanDaGreat
Daemon Noble of D E M O G R A P H I C S
- Pronouns
- They/them
"I mean no disrespect, Professor Lev, but I must confess your name is unfamiliar to me," you say. "Which is quite surprising. My family lives right on the outskirts of London you see, so we frequent the Clock Tower and keep abreast of current events. Would you mind enlightening me?"
Lev chuckles. "If you're asking for my life story, there's very little to tell I must admit. Which would be why you've never heard of me." He rakes his fingers through the curtain of unkempt hair covering the back of his neck. "My research was very much focused on theory rather than application. Insofar as the Clock Tower was concerned, I didn't turn up anything at all. I don't know what they expected of me! A 'normal' magus only gets fifty years to pursue their passions before they have to waste time training an heir! How's anyone supposed to get anything done in that short a time?"
"What sorts of things did you research?" you ask, diplomatically ignoring what you must.
"I've always been quite a man of the past." He pauses, a slight smile of self-deprecation crossing his face. "Well, I suppose that's a bit of a no-brainer for a magus. Let me rephrase. I'm fascinated with the past, with history. They say the future is the undiscovered country; I say the past is a country we crossed once to get where we are now and give no thought to returning to for a more careful search! A truly heinous amount of knowledge and culture has been lost, a thousand stories crumbled to dust that should have seen the light of day."
"Why come here? I mean, a place like this seems... ill-matched... for a magus like yourself."
"Ah, I thought the same." Lev wags his finger in agreement. "That was until Olga told me what she wanted my help for. She has a way of doing that, you know. Just finding the one loose thread inside you and getting it hooked on some extruding part of Chaldea. And then it's all over. The more you try to pull away, the more you unravel. It's a choice between destroying yourself or creating. I created SHIVA. That... well, that was back in '99. Yet here I still stand."
"SHIVA?" you repeat, an eye on the screen. The first floor is coming up fast. You may not have Professor Lev's ear much longer. "I'd love to hear more."
He chuckles. "Eager, I see. In all honestly, it rather pales in comparison to some of the more recent inventions. Still, it formed an excellent base to allow things to proceed. After we snared Da Vinci it seemed as if we were leaping forward a year a minute on the technological front. But I've sidetracked myself, my humblest apologies. In short, SHIVA observes and reports both the past and the future."
Bing.
"Ground floor!" Lev says cheerily. "Come along, I can tell you're dying to know more. It's time for Orientation!"
You squint at the magus' retreating back, bewildered by the flippancy with which he admitted to creating a device to read time itself. You double-take as you remember the part about him feeling it was lesser compared to some of Chaldea's inventions. Then you realize he's a lot further away than you thought he was and you aren't about to miss Orientation after all that buildup. You dart out of the lift and quicken your pace as much as you can without doing anything as vulgar as sprinting down the hall like a hooligan. You gradually slow again until you're level with Lev, and reenter the command centre at his side.
Fifty magi, or thereabouts. Some of them have already changed into their Chaldea uniforms. Others still stubbornly wear whatever they please, splashes of colour against the ivory white. Some talk amongst themselves, but most wait in silence - whether easy or stony or impatient. The mundane staff cluster around the edges, filling out the gaps in the floor space. You see Marche near the front. She sees you too, waving.
"Ah. Made a friend already." Lev nudges you down the steps towards her. "Off you go."
You stumble a little, pursing your lips in well-suppressed offence at the casual familiarity, then set to work gingerly sidling through the throng of your peers over to Marche. No sense in making a scene over nothing. No sense in drawing any more attention to yourself than you already have. You were just lucky Lev discovered you and not someone less approachable. Though... you do have to wonder what he was doing going down to B5. Why go visit Da Vinci with so little time to spare?
"Something on your mind?" Marche asks. You've made it to her side.
"It's nothing," you reply automatically. You find a comfortable stance and wait. You don't have to wait long.
Olga Marie is announced by the clicking of her heels long before she comes into view. Her strides are long and brisk as she rounds the corner and enters the room, quick yet unhurried. The picture of poise. She arrives on the dais, resting her hands on the screens that surround her. She looks out over all of you, scanning the crowd methodically.
"Welcome," she says at last, "to the Chaldea Security Organization. I have seen you all personally at one point or another, so I will do you all a favour and cut to the chase. I gathered you all here, hand-picked, for one simple reason. You possess the capability to perform a Spiritual Dive, a merging of soul and technology. You are all, in simple terms, magi of the modern era."
You just scoff. Magecraft merged with machinery? Impossible. She may as well have declared that everyone there can mix oil and water. Some of the others aren't so restrained in their disbelief. Angry voices rise. There are shouts, jeers. You don't need to pay attention to the specifics. There's only so many ways you can say 'you're insane' after all. Instead you watch Olga Marie. She doesn't immediately snap off a retort. She doesn't scramble to restore order. She simply waits until the assembled magi grow tired of their complaints falling on deaf ears and peter out into nothing. Only then does she speak.
"First of all, let me make one thing perfectly clear." Olga Marie stares at every magus in turn, as if burning their faces into her memory. "You are not special. You are not unique. You may be able to perform Spiritual Dives but you are still men and women. You will treat each other, and the nonmagical staff, with courtesy and grace."
She pauses, waiting with the air of a crouched lion, until the disgruntled muttering dies down.
"Allow me to make a second thing clear," she goes on. "This is not a democracy. This is a dictatorship. From this moment on, you will only speak when spoken to. From this moment on you will only breathe if and when I authorize it. Those of you who take issue with this arrangement, I invite you to leave with my best wishes for your good fortune in the future. However if you will look out the window behind you-"
She gestures. The crowd turns. The technicians don't, long-accustomed to their high-rise workplace. You hear hushed murmurs among the magi as they realize where they are, trapped on the roof of the world.
"-you'll find that a rather difficult prospect. I must also inform you that the last flight out of Chaldea has long-since departed. So unless any of you thought to pack high-altitude survival gear, I would advise each and every one of you to suck it up."
She pauses again, watching the crowd intently. Silence. You can hear nothing but the quiet hum of electronics whirring away.
"Excellent. Some intelligence from you all. Let's get down to real business then." Olga Marie glances down, swiping a finger across one of the screens at her disposal. A steel shutter slides down over the window like a descending guillotine blade. The lights dim, casting a deep gloom across the room. A sudden light chases away the shadow, an illusory globe metres across that slowly revolves in mid-air. The Earth's landmass glows a gentle green, pulsing with life.
"This is the Earth as it exists currently, viewed through my family's second successful project," she goes on. "All life, observed at this present instant. However, combined with the Historical Observation Lens SHIVA designed by my colleague Professor Uvall-"
Lev inclines his head from the shadows behind and beside Olga. She swipes a hand across the screen in front of her, and the greenery clinging to the illusory globe shivers and pulses like the beating of a great heart. She pauses, then swipes her hand back. The movement reverses.
"-CHALDEAS can be used to observe the progress of life on this planet throughout history. This facility, or rather a prototype form of it, has been operational since the turn of the century. By breaking from tradition and combining our talents and knowledge, Professor Uvall and I have been able to look forward hundreds of years. We have not merely been predicting the future like some cheap carnival sideshow. We have seen with absolute certainty what forms the Earth will take in the coming century, and those beyond. However, recently, that prediction changed."
Olga Marie scrolls the globe along the timeline, slower this time. You spy a date readout hovering a little way from the globe, rattling through the days and months and years to keep up. You look back at the globe. The green pulse of life continues, swelling and contracting like a heartbeat, never changing one way or the other.
And then, all at once, it's gone. The Earth is cold, grey, and utterly without life. You look at the date as you know everyone else in the room does, disbelieving.
'June 27th, 2016'.
"Do you understand why I brought you all here?" Olga Marie shows no sign of wavering. Her voice is as strong as ever. "Unlike most of you, I could not care less if anyone knows what we did here. If you came looking for glory, you will be sadly disappointed. You are here because the world will end in six months when it is impossible for such a thing to occur naturally. No seismic event would be intense enough without causing damage visible to SHIVA. There is no economic collapse. There is no World War fought with nuclear arms. There is nothing. On June 26th humanity exists, and the next day they do not. The answer is obvious. If the answer is nowhere to be found in the present, it must lie in the past."
She pauses for just a moment, expecting the obvious questions. The impossibility of what she's already told you all. The impossibility of changing the past to resolve it. The impossibility of everything she's asking of you. You couldn't speak even if you wanted to. All you can do is stare at that inert husk of a planet hovering over you, your mind trying and failing to conceive of death on that scale. It feels like ants are crawling through the carved lines of your Crest. You clench your fist tight, silently willing the ice in your stomach to disperse. You feel a hand around your flexed forearm. Marche's hand. You look at her as she stares up at the globe herself, swallowing. You force your arm to relax, letting the bunched and tense muscle go loose. Marche draws her hand back, still not looking at you. Probably embarrassment. You don't blame her. Anyone would need something to hold on to after hearing that.
"This year, we completed the answer. A spiritual computer, TRISMEGISTUS, a true fusion of magecraft and machinery. By utilizing SHIVA, it has been able to observe human history with unprecedented accuracy over two thousand years into the past. With this new asset, we have our solution. TRISMEGISTUS discovered a singularity, a period of time within 2004 that did not exist in our history until very recently. Fuyuki, Japan. The site of the Fifth and final Holy Grail War."
A murmur spreads throughout the crowd. You blink, brow furrowed. Could that be the source of their ability to summon and preserve a Servant? Some kind of... time-based manipulation of the Holy Grail system?
"This singularity has been deemed a potential cause of human extinction. Which brings me to my earlier point. You were all chosen for your ability to perform a Spiritual Dive. TRISMEGISTUS has developed a process by which that ability can be exploited to send you to the battlefield. To send you through time itself. Leyshifting experiments have been conducted ever since TRISMEGISTUS was completed, and the technology has been perfected. You will be rendered down to base particles, atoms charged with the energy of your soul, and flung backwards through time where you will be reconstructed. From there you will be able to resolve the cause of the anomaly and return home, to this time. Using this facility's FATE suystem, we will be able to summon and assign a Servant to each and every one of you for combat purposes. If we resolve it, we may save the world. If not, we will have taken a crucial first step towards understanding the reason for our coming eradication, and with that be better-equipped to continue the war. And let there be no doubts - this is a war. You are all soldiers on the front lines in the battle for humanity's continued existence. You must act with discipline. You must fight with everything you have and everything you are. If you die, you will know that you died so that seven billion men, women and children will have the chance to continue to live."
Olga Marie looks out at the assembled fifty. You feel yourself go as still as a statue. Your mouth is dry and parched but you can't even swallow. The crawling itch in your Crest refuses to fade. This is what you wanted. This is what you believed the Hargave magecraft truly needed. You don't just have 'something' to protect any more. You have everything to protect. The enormity of it all overwhelms you once more. You feel indescribably small. What can you hope to do against the vastness of history?
Olga Marie beckons into the darkness. The globe dissolves into thin air and the window shutter slowly rises again, bathing the command centre in light. Three shapes are illuminated as they step out of the shadows that hid them previously. You blink in shock. The first, closest to Olga Marie, is unmistakeable even in the bland Chaldea uniform. Luvia Tohsaka-Edelfelt, one of the family's two talented scions. Her blonde curls have been tamed, but there's a hardness in her eyes. A dedication not unlike what you've seen in Olga Marie's. The second is the man you saw by the lift, finally front-and-centre for study. An Einzbern homunculus, a model build to resemble a man in his late twenties. His eyes are the colour of fresh blood, yet bright and friendly. His silvery-white hair is unruly and a bit too long, and he appears to have grown a well-trimmed beard in an effort to look distinguished. He isn't wearing the combat Mystic Code, but Chaldea's (lack of) colour scheme is unmistakeable on his formal dress. The third is another man, roughly the same age as the other two. A good-looking young man in a lab coat, his curly hair clearly fighting the combing he gave it. Most people would find it strange it was on the purple side of blue, but magus genetics have done stranger things. His features are mixed, hints of Japanese mixed with more Slavic roots.
"This is Luvia Tohsaka-Edelfelt, the leader of Team A," Olga Marie explains. "If you have been chosen or would like to volunteer for the first expedition to set up a beachhead in the 2004 singularity, see her. If you have any questions, concerns, or information you believe will help, see her. The full list of names for the first expedition will be made available shortly. The man beside her is Alfonsviel von Einzbern, our chief consultant on Leyshifting and the FATE systems. If you require any information about either process, please see him - and do not waste his time asking about catalysts. We do not have the time, money, or inclination to procure one for all of you. You will take what you are given and be grateful for it."
Einzbern? You thought they were on their last gasp. Olga Marie was able to ally with them too?
"Finally we have Shinji Matou, our Head Medic. If you require a checkup before Leyshifting, or wish to report prior conditions, see him. He will be looking after your health during the expedition and ensuring that deconstruction and reconstruction go as smoothly as possible. He will be able to answer any concerns to you have." She pauses for the last time, casting one more look across the assembled magi. "I will not wish any of you luck. Luck is the crutch of incompetent leaders. I will only express my anticipation for the moment you return to this time victorious. That will be all."
Olga Marie turns and leaves, her pace as unhurried as ever. The head Medic and the Einzbern homunculus share a glance. Tohsaka-Edelfelt scans the crowd, studying every face she sees intently. You look away before her gaze settles on you.
"... Marche?"
She's vanished. You look up, just in time to catch her walking away as fast as she physically can without having to break into a run. Head down, arms crossed over her chest, hurrying back to the dormitory block. You don't blame her, you suppose. If you feel queasy and uneasy, a hedge-mage like herself is likely ready to vomit. The crowd shifts around you, undulating like an animal, as throngs of magi break off to approach one of the indicated three or hurry off to their assigned rooms themselves. Some of them stay only briefly, asking but one or two questions before departing. Some linger. In a minute, you're going to be alone in the middle of the room.
[ ] Speak to Tohsaka-Edelfelt. You'd like to know more about what the 'battlefield' will entail.
--[ ] Volunteer for Team A.
[ ] Speak to the Einzbern homunculus.
--[ ] Ask about Leyshifting.
--[ ] Ask about the FATE system.
[ ] Speak to Shinji Matou.
--[ ] Ask for a checkup.
--[ ] Ask why a Matou descendant is doing a mundane's job.
[ ] Go after Marche. You don't have much of a plan for what to do if you find her.
Lev chuckles. "If you're asking for my life story, there's very little to tell I must admit. Which would be why you've never heard of me." He rakes his fingers through the curtain of unkempt hair covering the back of his neck. "My research was very much focused on theory rather than application. Insofar as the Clock Tower was concerned, I didn't turn up anything at all. I don't know what they expected of me! A 'normal' magus only gets fifty years to pursue their passions before they have to waste time training an heir! How's anyone supposed to get anything done in that short a time?"
"What sorts of things did you research?" you ask, diplomatically ignoring what you must.
"I've always been quite a man of the past." He pauses, a slight smile of self-deprecation crossing his face. "Well, I suppose that's a bit of a no-brainer for a magus. Let me rephrase. I'm fascinated with the past, with history. They say the future is the undiscovered country; I say the past is a country we crossed once to get where we are now and give no thought to returning to for a more careful search! A truly heinous amount of knowledge and culture has been lost, a thousand stories crumbled to dust that should have seen the light of day."
"Why come here? I mean, a place like this seems... ill-matched... for a magus like yourself."
"Ah, I thought the same." Lev wags his finger in agreement. "That was until Olga told me what she wanted my help for. She has a way of doing that, you know. Just finding the one loose thread inside you and getting it hooked on some extruding part of Chaldea. And then it's all over. The more you try to pull away, the more you unravel. It's a choice between destroying yourself or creating. I created SHIVA. That... well, that was back in '99. Yet here I still stand."
"SHIVA?" you repeat, an eye on the screen. The first floor is coming up fast. You may not have Professor Lev's ear much longer. "I'd love to hear more."
He chuckles. "Eager, I see. In all honestly, it rather pales in comparison to some of the more recent inventions. Still, it formed an excellent base to allow things to proceed. After we snared Da Vinci it seemed as if we were leaping forward a year a minute on the technological front. But I've sidetracked myself, my humblest apologies. In short, SHIVA observes and reports both the past and the future."
Bing.
"Ground floor!" Lev says cheerily. "Come along, I can tell you're dying to know more. It's time for Orientation!"
You squint at the magus' retreating back, bewildered by the flippancy with which he admitted to creating a device to read time itself. You double-take as you remember the part about him feeling it was lesser compared to some of Chaldea's inventions. Then you realize he's a lot further away than you thought he was and you aren't about to miss Orientation after all that buildup. You dart out of the lift and quicken your pace as much as you can without doing anything as vulgar as sprinting down the hall like a hooligan. You gradually slow again until you're level with Lev, and reenter the command centre at his side.
Fifty magi, or thereabouts. Some of them have already changed into their Chaldea uniforms. Others still stubbornly wear whatever they please, splashes of colour against the ivory white. Some talk amongst themselves, but most wait in silence - whether easy or stony or impatient. The mundane staff cluster around the edges, filling out the gaps in the floor space. You see Marche near the front. She sees you too, waving.
"Ah. Made a friend already." Lev nudges you down the steps towards her. "Off you go."
You stumble a little, pursing your lips in well-suppressed offence at the casual familiarity, then set to work gingerly sidling through the throng of your peers over to Marche. No sense in making a scene over nothing. No sense in drawing any more attention to yourself than you already have. You were just lucky Lev discovered you and not someone less approachable. Though... you do have to wonder what he was doing going down to B5. Why go visit Da Vinci with so little time to spare?
"Something on your mind?" Marche asks. You've made it to her side.
"It's nothing," you reply automatically. You find a comfortable stance and wait. You don't have to wait long.
Olga Marie is announced by the clicking of her heels long before she comes into view. Her strides are long and brisk as she rounds the corner and enters the room, quick yet unhurried. The picture of poise. She arrives on the dais, resting her hands on the screens that surround her. She looks out over all of you, scanning the crowd methodically.
"Welcome," she says at last, "to the Chaldea Security Organization. I have seen you all personally at one point or another, so I will do you all a favour and cut to the chase. I gathered you all here, hand-picked, for one simple reason. You possess the capability to perform a Spiritual Dive, a merging of soul and technology. You are all, in simple terms, magi of the modern era."
You just scoff. Magecraft merged with machinery? Impossible. She may as well have declared that everyone there can mix oil and water. Some of the others aren't so restrained in their disbelief. Angry voices rise. There are shouts, jeers. You don't need to pay attention to the specifics. There's only so many ways you can say 'you're insane' after all. Instead you watch Olga Marie. She doesn't immediately snap off a retort. She doesn't scramble to restore order. She simply waits until the assembled magi grow tired of their complaints falling on deaf ears and peter out into nothing. Only then does she speak.
"First of all, let me make one thing perfectly clear." Olga Marie stares at every magus in turn, as if burning their faces into her memory. "You are not special. You are not unique. You may be able to perform Spiritual Dives but you are still men and women. You will treat each other, and the nonmagical staff, with courtesy and grace."
She pauses, waiting with the air of a crouched lion, until the disgruntled muttering dies down.
"Allow me to make a second thing clear," she goes on. "This is not a democracy. This is a dictatorship. From this moment on, you will only speak when spoken to. From this moment on you will only breathe if and when I authorize it. Those of you who take issue with this arrangement, I invite you to leave with my best wishes for your good fortune in the future. However if you will look out the window behind you-"
She gestures. The crowd turns. The technicians don't, long-accustomed to their high-rise workplace. You hear hushed murmurs among the magi as they realize where they are, trapped on the roof of the world.
"-you'll find that a rather difficult prospect. I must also inform you that the last flight out of Chaldea has long-since departed. So unless any of you thought to pack high-altitude survival gear, I would advise each and every one of you to suck it up."
She pauses again, watching the crowd intently. Silence. You can hear nothing but the quiet hum of electronics whirring away.
"Excellent. Some intelligence from you all. Let's get down to real business then." Olga Marie glances down, swiping a finger across one of the screens at her disposal. A steel shutter slides down over the window like a descending guillotine blade. The lights dim, casting a deep gloom across the room. A sudden light chases away the shadow, an illusory globe metres across that slowly revolves in mid-air. The Earth's landmass glows a gentle green, pulsing with life.
"This is the Earth as it exists currently, viewed through my family's second successful project," she goes on. "All life, observed at this present instant. However, combined with the Historical Observation Lens SHIVA designed by my colleague Professor Uvall-"
Lev inclines his head from the shadows behind and beside Olga. She swipes a hand across the screen in front of her, and the greenery clinging to the illusory globe shivers and pulses like the beating of a great heart. She pauses, then swipes her hand back. The movement reverses.
"-CHALDEAS can be used to observe the progress of life on this planet throughout history. This facility, or rather a prototype form of it, has been operational since the turn of the century. By breaking from tradition and combining our talents and knowledge, Professor Uvall and I have been able to look forward hundreds of years. We have not merely been predicting the future like some cheap carnival sideshow. We have seen with absolute certainty what forms the Earth will take in the coming century, and those beyond. However, recently, that prediction changed."
Olga Marie scrolls the globe along the timeline, slower this time. You spy a date readout hovering a little way from the globe, rattling through the days and months and years to keep up. You look back at the globe. The green pulse of life continues, swelling and contracting like a heartbeat, never changing one way or the other.
And then, all at once, it's gone. The Earth is cold, grey, and utterly without life. You look at the date as you know everyone else in the room does, disbelieving.
'June 27th, 2016'.
"Do you understand why I brought you all here?" Olga Marie shows no sign of wavering. Her voice is as strong as ever. "Unlike most of you, I could not care less if anyone knows what we did here. If you came looking for glory, you will be sadly disappointed. You are here because the world will end in six months when it is impossible for such a thing to occur naturally. No seismic event would be intense enough without causing damage visible to SHIVA. There is no economic collapse. There is no World War fought with nuclear arms. There is nothing. On June 26th humanity exists, and the next day they do not. The answer is obvious. If the answer is nowhere to be found in the present, it must lie in the past."
She pauses for just a moment, expecting the obvious questions. The impossibility of what she's already told you all. The impossibility of changing the past to resolve it. The impossibility of everything she's asking of you. You couldn't speak even if you wanted to. All you can do is stare at that inert husk of a planet hovering over you, your mind trying and failing to conceive of death on that scale. It feels like ants are crawling through the carved lines of your Crest. You clench your fist tight, silently willing the ice in your stomach to disperse. You feel a hand around your flexed forearm. Marche's hand. You look at her as she stares up at the globe herself, swallowing. You force your arm to relax, letting the bunched and tense muscle go loose. Marche draws her hand back, still not looking at you. Probably embarrassment. You don't blame her. Anyone would need something to hold on to after hearing that.
"This year, we completed the answer. A spiritual computer, TRISMEGISTUS, a true fusion of magecraft and machinery. By utilizing SHIVA, it has been able to observe human history with unprecedented accuracy over two thousand years into the past. With this new asset, we have our solution. TRISMEGISTUS discovered a singularity, a period of time within 2004 that did not exist in our history until very recently. Fuyuki, Japan. The site of the Fifth and final Holy Grail War."
A murmur spreads throughout the crowd. You blink, brow furrowed. Could that be the source of their ability to summon and preserve a Servant? Some kind of... time-based manipulation of the Holy Grail system?
"This singularity has been deemed a potential cause of human extinction. Which brings me to my earlier point. You were all chosen for your ability to perform a Spiritual Dive. TRISMEGISTUS has developed a process by which that ability can be exploited to send you to the battlefield. To send you through time itself. Leyshifting experiments have been conducted ever since TRISMEGISTUS was completed, and the technology has been perfected. You will be rendered down to base particles, atoms charged with the energy of your soul, and flung backwards through time where you will be reconstructed. From there you will be able to resolve the cause of the anomaly and return home, to this time. Using this facility's FATE suystem, we will be able to summon and assign a Servant to each and every one of you for combat purposes. If we resolve it, we may save the world. If not, we will have taken a crucial first step towards understanding the reason for our coming eradication, and with that be better-equipped to continue the war. And let there be no doubts - this is a war. You are all soldiers on the front lines in the battle for humanity's continued existence. You must act with discipline. You must fight with everything you have and everything you are. If you die, you will know that you died so that seven billion men, women and children will have the chance to continue to live."
Olga Marie looks out at the assembled fifty. You feel yourself go as still as a statue. Your mouth is dry and parched but you can't even swallow. The crawling itch in your Crest refuses to fade. This is what you wanted. This is what you believed the Hargave magecraft truly needed. You don't just have 'something' to protect any more. You have everything to protect. The enormity of it all overwhelms you once more. You feel indescribably small. What can you hope to do against the vastness of history?
Olga Marie beckons into the darkness. The globe dissolves into thin air and the window shutter slowly rises again, bathing the command centre in light. Three shapes are illuminated as they step out of the shadows that hid them previously. You blink in shock. The first, closest to Olga Marie, is unmistakeable even in the bland Chaldea uniform. Luvia Tohsaka-Edelfelt, one of the family's two talented scions. Her blonde curls have been tamed, but there's a hardness in her eyes. A dedication not unlike what you've seen in Olga Marie's. The second is the man you saw by the lift, finally front-and-centre for study. An Einzbern homunculus, a model build to resemble a man in his late twenties. His eyes are the colour of fresh blood, yet bright and friendly. His silvery-white hair is unruly and a bit too long, and he appears to have grown a well-trimmed beard in an effort to look distinguished. He isn't wearing the combat Mystic Code, but Chaldea's (lack of) colour scheme is unmistakeable on his formal dress. The third is another man, roughly the same age as the other two. A good-looking young man in a lab coat, his curly hair clearly fighting the combing he gave it. Most people would find it strange it was on the purple side of blue, but magus genetics have done stranger things. His features are mixed, hints of Japanese mixed with more Slavic roots.
"This is Luvia Tohsaka-Edelfelt, the leader of Team A," Olga Marie explains. "If you have been chosen or would like to volunteer for the first expedition to set up a beachhead in the 2004 singularity, see her. If you have any questions, concerns, or information you believe will help, see her. The full list of names for the first expedition will be made available shortly. The man beside her is Alfonsviel von Einzbern, our chief consultant on Leyshifting and the FATE systems. If you require any information about either process, please see him - and do not waste his time asking about catalysts. We do not have the time, money, or inclination to procure one for all of you. You will take what you are given and be grateful for it."
Einzbern? You thought they were on their last gasp. Olga Marie was able to ally with them too?
"Finally we have Shinji Matou, our Head Medic. If you require a checkup before Leyshifting, or wish to report prior conditions, see him. He will be looking after your health during the expedition and ensuring that deconstruction and reconstruction go as smoothly as possible. He will be able to answer any concerns to you have." She pauses for the last time, casting one more look across the assembled magi. "I will not wish any of you luck. Luck is the crutch of incompetent leaders. I will only express my anticipation for the moment you return to this time victorious. That will be all."
Olga Marie turns and leaves, her pace as unhurried as ever. The head Medic and the Einzbern homunculus share a glance. Tohsaka-Edelfelt scans the crowd, studying every face she sees intently. You look away before her gaze settles on you.
"... Marche?"
She's vanished. You look up, just in time to catch her walking away as fast as she physically can without having to break into a run. Head down, arms crossed over her chest, hurrying back to the dormitory block. You don't blame her, you suppose. If you feel queasy and uneasy, a hedge-mage like herself is likely ready to vomit. The crowd shifts around you, undulating like an animal, as throngs of magi break off to approach one of the indicated three or hurry off to their assigned rooms themselves. Some of them stay only briefly, asking but one or two questions before departing. Some linger. In a minute, you're going to be alone in the middle of the room.
[ ] Speak to Tohsaka-Edelfelt. You'd like to know more about what the 'battlefield' will entail.
--[ ] Volunteer for Team A.
[ ] Speak to the Einzbern homunculus.
--[ ] Ask about Leyshifting.
--[ ] Ask about the FATE system.
[ ] Speak to Shinji Matou.
--[ ] Ask for a checkup.
--[ ] Ask why a Matou descendant is doing a mundane's job.
[ ] Go after Marche. You don't have much of a plan for what to do if you find her.
- Location
- England, unfortunately.
- Pronouns
- She/They
ALFONS RETURNS!
IKnowNothing
....What?
- Location
- I got lost so.....Where are we?
[X] Speak to the Einzbern homunculus.
--[X] Ask about the FATE system.
--[X] Ask about the FATE system.
Deadly Snark
Tryhard As Fuck
[X] Speak to the Einzbern homunculus.
--[X] Ask about Leyshifting.
I dunno about you guys, but this Leyshifting sounds like something that would be highly interesting to a Magus specialized in Wards and other forms of protection. Any information that would allow us to improve upon on our mysteries and thus our chances of survival is excellent.
--[X] Ask about Leyshifting.
I dunno about you guys, but this Leyshifting sounds like something that would be highly interesting to a Magus specialized in Wards and other forms of protection. Any information that would allow us to improve upon on our mysteries and thus our chances of survival is excellent.
TenfoldShields
Lounging on a Hoard of Words
- Pronouns
- He/Him
OKAY SUPPORTING CAST IS BACK
/me huffs into a paper bag
(AHHHHH AND ALFONS AND SHINJI AND AHHHHHHHHH)
[X] Speak to the Einzbern homunculus.
--[X] Ask about the FATE system.
Yeah, uh, now's a really good time to ask how this whole Servant thing's going to work actually. The best. The absolute best time.
...We should really get this sorted out yeah.
/me huffs into a paper bag
(AHHHHH AND ALFONS AND SHINJI AND AHHHHHHHHH)
[X] Speak to the Einzbern homunculus.
--[X] Ask about the FATE system.
Yeah, uh, now's a really good time to ask how this whole Servant thing's going to work actually. The best. The absolute best time.
...We should really get this sorted out yeah.
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The boys live! The rivals have joined together in some fashion!
All that's left if to find the original best friends and find the dragon and her knight/shield.