Fate: The Emiya Family Quest

[Random Tale]

Year 9: Irisivel and Maiya

It was decided that you would have a low-key year yourself this year. You would go demon-hunting in Mitakihara, using so many explosives that the demons wouldn't be able to dodge them even if they saw you coming, and you would work on healing Hayate's body between visits home. Meanwhile, Irisivel would run general classes on the Moonlit World, so that fewer people would run into what goes bump in the night as easily, and Maiya would work for MBI in the position of teacher... though the question remained of the class selection (Common Sense? Why was that even a class?).

Meanwhile, you finally got word that the surgeons from Mid-Childa had moved to Earth (with no one staying behind on the distant world), and they were willing to remove the Jewel Seed from Shirou. You took them up on the offer; that artifact was a potential danger, and it would be safer if it was gotten rid of once and for all. With the scholarships that your family received for Shirou's heroic efforts in Mitakihara, you could afford to put Illya through college, a decision that Illya was pleased by.

Still, there were other things that Irisviel and Maiya were able to do in the year...

Irisviel von Einzbern's Plans for the Year: (Choose 1)

Spoiler: Irisviel's Plans

[X] Irisviel: Research on Destroying the Grail
Outright destroying the Grail would likely be very costly, even if it would stop all future Grail Wars in Fuyuki. By doing research on what the destroyers are going to be doing, it might be possible to reduce the cost of taking the Grail apart.
(Benefit: Reduces cost of 'Nuking the Grail')

[X] Irisviel: Driving Lessons
She drives well… but if she's going to drive long-term in Japan, she's going have to spend a lot of time practicing to drive properly. You don't need to spend millions of Yen on parking fines and driving violations!
(Cost: 1 Resource) (Benefit: Opens opportunities for her, stays at home more)

[X] Irisviel: Reality Marble?
Yuuno, working with demons, has started to research the basics of Reality Marbles, in an effort to understand what they actually are. Having Irisivel help him out in his research may broaden everyone's perspectives, and, if the need arises, stop him from actually working to create his own Reality Marble.
(Benefit: Information, Irisviel stays at home more)

[X] Irisviel: Mundane Job (Write-in job)
Working on a manga series might be nice, but variety is the spice of life. Another job might be more useful, right? (Write-in job choice)
(Benefit: Possible Mundane Work, +3 Resources or +1 Resource, Stay at home more)

[X] Irisviel: Mangaka
The genderswaps of ancient mythical heroes seemed surprisingly well received. Perhaps continuing the series would bring in a good amount of money for use for the family.
(Benefit: Mundane Work, +4 Resources, Stay at home more, +1 Drawing)

[X] Irisviel: JSFD Propaganda Manga
A few of the higher-ups of the JSDF want to commission Irisviel to continue Moonlit World: Thus the JSDF Fought There. They hope that such a manga would inspire readers to become recruits for the JSDF, and not for Iskander's army. After the effective takeover of two key cities by Iskander's army, the JSDF is getting rather desperate.
(Benefit: Mundane Work, +4 Resources, Stay at home more, Increase recruitment of JSDF, +1 Drawing)

[X] Irisviel: Iskander Propaganda Manga
After the turnout of enough people to radically change the balance of power in Japan, Iskander would like Irisviel to continue his story in print form. He hopes that he would be able to further increase recruitment into his growing army with the continuing manga.
(Benefit: Mundane Work, +4 Resources, Stay at home more, Massively increase recruitment of Iskander's army, +1 Drawing)

[X] Irisviel: Card Artist
The Moto family head has requested Irisviel's artwork for a large number of cards for his 'Duel Monsters' card game this year. The pay isn't especially good, compared to the manga she tends to sell, but there is the probability that a Yggdmillenia magus may make an illusion of it in the future...
(Benefit: Mundane Work, +3 Resources, +1 Drawing, Irisviel's artwork gets on trading cards)

[X] Irisviel: Hobby of the Einzbern (Write-In Hobby)
Now that Irisviel is away from the castle, she has some freedom in what activities to pursue. Perhaps there is one she is interested in? (Write-In Hobby choice)
(Cost: 1 Resource) (Benefit: Opens opportunities, stay at home more)

[o] Irisviel: Magecraft Training
...Illya is too busy, Shirou's stuck in the hospital, Hayate can't use it, and Miyu has devoted herself to finding a bounded field that the Suzimiya girl can't break through. Only Kuro would be able to really pay attention, and she isn't particularly interested.

[X] Irisviel: The Dotting Mother
There is something to be said in just spending time with the family Irisviel is in. Of course, this gives the perfect opportunity to take care of the children and connect with the neighbors.
(Benefit: Home Knowledge, connect with neighbors more easily, -1 Upkeep this year)

[X] Irisviel: Other Plans (Write-In)
Perhaps there is something else that can be done?

Maiya Hisau's Plans for the Year: (Choose 1)

Spoiler: Maiya's Plans

[X] Maiya: English Translator (Legal)
If Irisviel makes another manga, Maiya could translate it again to increase profits overseas. If she doesn't, Maiya could instead serve as a translator for other mangas and be on hand if someone needs something translated.
(Benefit: Home Knowledge (IF Irisviel makes another Manga), +2-3 Resources)

[X] Maiya: A New Job (Write-In)
There are plenty of jobs out there, and while Maiya has little experience with a normal job, it might be a good idea for her to get one. There is the possibility that she'll be refused, though, since she is now a marked criminal… (Write-in job choice)
(Benefit: Possible Mundane Work, +3 Resources or +1 Resource, Home Knowledge if No Work)

[X] Maiya: Bodyguard
Hiroto Minaka, lacking the ability to get the Magus Killer to his side for the time being, has decided to offer a job to the Magus Killer's assistant. While he doesn't expect her to do as good of a job as you, hopefully, her mere presence and the knowledge that you trained her will deter most attackers, and have the few that are still determined enough to get at him will be able to be defeated by her. In particular, he wants Maiya to keep his ex-wife far enough away that he can sleep at night.
(Benefit: Work as a Bodyguard, +4 Resources)

[X] Maiya: Ruined Rep, Good Tool
Hiroto Minaka, growing increasingly concerned about the state of the world, has reluctantly put a hit on his ex-wife onto your family's desks. If she was just a normal woman, it wouldn't be worth notice, but as the Second Owner of Shin Tokyo, as well as having many secrets of MBI due to being a high-ranking ex-employee, and Minaka publicly throwing his support on the revealed Moonlit World side, he may have reason to be concerned. Kiritsugu has gained a reputation of being in the right place at the right time to do the right, honor-less thing, but Maiya has been marked as a criminal with few redeeming activities; fewer would bat an eye if it was discovered she killed someone.
(Cost: 1 Resources) (Success Rate: 48%) (Failure: Maiya Dead) (Rewards: Work as an Assassin, +6 Resources, Takami Sahashi dead)

[X] Maiya: A New Hobby (Write-In)
There might be a hobby that catches Maiya's eyes. Now that she's in a family that is trying to be normal, it might be a good idea to try it. (Write-In Hobby choice)
(Cost: 1 Resource) (Benefit: Opens opportunities, stay at home more)

[o] Maiya: Practical Magecraft
...Illya is too busy, Shirou's stuck in the hospital, Hayate can't use it, and Miyu has devoted herself to finding a bounded field that the Suzimiya girl can't break through. Only Kuro would be able to really pay attention, and she isn't particularly interested.

[X] Maiya: Home Life
Maiya has gone from one conflict to another. Perhaps it is time for her to take a long break and interact with the kids, and see if you can get some food from one of the other families.
(Benefit: Home Knowledge, connect with neighbors more easily, -1 Upkeep this year)

[X] Maiya: Other Plans (Write-In)
Perhaps there is something else that can be done?

Spoiler: OOC

I like discussion as well, but if no one appears to be going to say anything, you might as well go ahead and vote. At least you'll keep the quest going. Though no one has really commented on a few potential eye-openers of the past couple of updates...

At any rate, posting will become even more uncertain in the coming month or two, so don't expect me to update at the rate I did in the first few days of the quest.

 

[Random Tale]

Year 9: Hayate and Illya

In between classes the two women of the household were hosting, Irisivel and Maiya would be working on another manga for the JSDF. Irisivel would do most of the heavy lifting, while Maiya would translate it into English so it could not only reach more audiences, but also so that it brought in more money. After all, with a lot of the money in the English-speaking world, it could be said that money spoke English.

Illya, stuck in the role of Second Owner, will likely keep her nose down to deal with the ever-increasing piles of paperwork, but she has time to focus on a few projects that could use it. Hayate, with her limited mobility for now, is stuck close to home, which allows her to have a lot of time for hobbies. Shirou, of course, is stuck in the hospital, so he won't be doing anything this year, but that Jewel Seed will be removed at last.

Shirou's Focuses (Auto-Selected)

Spoiler: Shirou's Focuses

[o] Shirou: Community Connections
[o] Shirou: Kendo
[o] Shirou: Blacksmithing

Shirou's Event (Auto-Selected)

Spoiler: Shirou's Event

[o] (Shirou) ...received a steady stream of repeat visitors in the hospital, including Fate, Nanoha, Yuuno, and a lot of apparently unrelated girls.

Illya's Focuses (Choose 3, top 2 will be used)

Spoiler: Illya's Focuses

[X] Illyasviel: Anime
[X] Illyasviel: Art
[X] Illyasviel: Community Connections
[X] Illyasviel: Cooking
[X] Illyasviel: Guns
[X] Illyasviel: Kendo
[X] Illyasviel: Kyudo (Archery)
[X] Illyasviel: Manga
[X] Illyasviel: Music (Write-In Instrument, Default Vocal if no write-in)
[X] Illyasviel: Physical Education
[X] Illyasviel: Stealth
[X] Illyasviel: Studying (Magecraft)
[X] Illyasviel: Studying (General Moonlit World)
[X] Illyasviel: Studying (Mundane)
-[X] Illyasviel: Arithmetic
-[X] Illyasviel: Classical Mythology
-[X] Illyasviel: English Language
-[X] Illyasviel: Japanese History
-[X] Illyasviel: Japanese Language
-[X] Illyasviel: Science (Write-In Field)
[X] Illyasviel: (Write-In)

Illyasviel's Event: (Choose 1)

Spoiler: Illyasviel's Event

[X] (Illyasviel) …passed along an offer of a deal from the elder Matou child to what remained of the TSAB.
[X] (Illyasviel) …received and accepted an invitation from the head of the Yggdmillennia Clan to learn about each other.
[X] (Illyasviel) …spent a significant amount of time working with the local leaders to insert herself into Uminari's local politics.
[X] (Illyasviel) …spent a large amount of time working with the immigrant leaders to insert herself into Uminari's immigrant politics.
[X] (Illyasviel) …grudgingly pulled Hayate into helping deal with the large amount of paperwork that she had received.
[X] (Illyasviel) …accepted a request of refuge in the Emiya household for an employee of MBI that wanted to quit.
[X] (Illyasviel) ...followed you to Mitakihara in hopes of getting some family time with you.
[X] (Illyasviel) ...received a notice from a magus family in China about a potential new organization.
[X] (Illyasviel) ...sought out Yuuno to officially make him the Einzbern representative for the coming Holy Grail War, and also alerting him to some of his competition.
[X] (Illyasviel) ...sought out someone from Yggdmillennia Clan to willingly take up the mantle of the Einzbern representative for the coming Holy Grail War.
[X] (Illyasviel) ...turned her attention inward to focus on on her personal studies.

Focuses for Hayate: (Choose 6)

Spoiler: Hayate's Focuses

[X] Hayate: Anime
[X] Hayate: Art
[X] Hayate: Community Connections
[X] Hayate: Cooking
[X] Hayate: Guns
[X] Hayate: Kyudo (Archery)
[X] Hayate: Manga
[X] Hayate: Music (Write-In Instrument, Default Vocal if no write-in)
[X] Hayate: Stealth
[X] Hayate: Studying (Magecraft (Knowledge Only))
[X] Hayate: Studying (General Moonlit World)
[X] Hayate: Studying (Mundane)
-[X] Hayate: Arithmetic
-[X] Hayate: Classical Mythology
-[X] Hayate: English Language
-[X] Hayate: Japanese History
-[X] Hayate: Japanese Language
[X] Hayate: Studying (Underworld Knowledge)
[X] Hayate: (Write-In)

Remember: You can choose a single focus for anyone multiple times; just put a (2) or (3) next to the repeated choice. Note that this has no benefit if the related skill is maxed.
Prefered Format (so I can count with the tally system):
[o] Hayate: Stealth
[o] Hayate: Stealth (2)
Etc...

Spoiler: OOC

Quick note, this is the last year that you'll be able to work with six options for Hayate. Make it count.

If I don't update by the end of the week, it may be quite some time before I update again. Just so you know.

 

[Random Tale]

Year 9: Kuro and Miyu

In the coming year, Illya is planning to try to continue to make connections with the community, brush up on her English skills, and try to 'get fit' as much as her small body will allow. In order to deal with the increasing amount of paperwork, she'll be pulling Hayate in to help out. Hayate may have found a work-around with her being unable to use magecraft, which she'd look into during the year, and she'd spend more time studying various subjects to round out her education (though you kind of doubt she needs quite so many biology books).

Meanwhile, Kuro and Miyu are continuing to make their ways in the world...

Kuro's Focues (Choose 3):

Spoiler: Kuro's Focuses

[X] Kuro: Anime
[X] Kuro: Art
[X] Kuro: Community Connections
[X] Kuro: Cooking
[X] Kuro: Guns
[X] Kuro: Kendo
[X] Kuro: Kyudo (Archery)
[X] Kuro: Music (Write-In Instrument, Default Vocal if no write-in)
[X] Kuro: Physical Education
[X] Kuro: Stealth
[X] Kuro: Studying (Magecraft)
[X] Kuro: Studying (General Moonlit World)
[X] Kuro: Studying (Mundane)
-[X] Kuro: Arithmetic
-[X] Kuro: Classical Mythology
-[X] Kuro: English Language
-[X] Kuro: Japanese History
-[X] Kuro: Japanese Language
-[X] Kuro: Science (Write-In Field)
[X] Kuro: Studying (Underworld Knowledge)
[X] Kuro: (Write-In)

Kuro's Event (Choose 1)

Spoiler: Kuro's Event

[X] (Kuro) ...was dragged by Haruhi Suzumiya into a group she called the SOS Brigade.
[X] (Kuro) ...met with Itsuki Koizumi Yggdmillenia several times over the course of the year, and through him got Haruhi Suzumiya to calm down.
[X] (Kuro) ...dragged a girl in off the street who couldn't find her way home.
[X] (Kuro) ...got along with a resigned 'Kyon' when he wanted a break from SOS activities.
[X] (Kuro) ...started to hang out with Miyu's reading partner in class, Yuki Nagato.
[X] (Kuro) ...got along with a boy who unknowingly seemed to be the center of attention for three Yggdmillennia families due to having a distant bloodline with a dragon.
[X] (Kuro) ...continued to hang out with Makoto Itou, a boy who was a bastion of normalcy that was lost.
[X] (Kuro) ...met with an ordinary girl whose only claim to influence was her rich parents from before you exposed the Moonlit World.
[X] (Kuro) ...got along with an ordinary girl whose ordinary family was struggling to make do with the changes that the exposure of the Moonlit World has wrought.
[X] (Kuro) ...tried to help a girl whose adoptive family transferred over from Italy on behalf of the Church.
[X] (Kuro) ...encountered a boy who seemed to be very lost in trying to get back to his mother's pig farm.
[X] (Kuro) ...started playing the new card game that the Muto heir was showing around at school.

Miyu's Focuses (Choose 3):

Spoiler: Miyu's Focuses

[X] Miyu: Anime
[X] Miyu: Art
[X] Miyu: Community Connections
[X] Miyu: Cooking
[X] Miyu: Guns
[X] Miyu: Kendo
[X] Miyu: Kyudo (Archery)
[X] Miyu: Music (Write-In Instrument, Default Vocal if no write-in)
[X] Miyu: Physical Education
[X] Miyu: Stealth
[X] Miyu: Studying (Magecraft)
[X] Miyu: Studying (General Moonlit World)
[X] Miyu: Studying (Mundane)
-[X] Miyu: Arithmetic
-[X] Miyu: Classical Mythology
-[X] Miyu: English Language
-[X] Miyu: Japanese History
-[X] Miyu: Japanese Language
-[X] Miyu: Physics
-[X] Miyu: Science (Write-In Field)
[X] Miyu: Studying (Underworld Knowledge)
[X] Miyu: (Write-In)

Miyu's Event (Choose 1)

Spoiler: Miyu's Event

[X] (Miyu) ...was finally dragged by the Suzumiya girl into the SOS Brigade.
[X] (Miyu) ...continued her reading with Yuki Nagato, slowly becoming top of their class when it came to comprehension.
[X] (Miyu) ...made contact with the new local 'church girl' who had been transferred over from Italy last year.
[X] (Miyu) ...got lost following a boy trying to get to his mother's farm.
[X] (Miyu) ...got along with 'Kyon' when he wanted a break from Suzumiya's little SOS Brigade.
[X] (Miyu) ...got along with a boy who unknowingly seemed to be the center of attention for three Yggdmillennia families due to having a distant bloodline with a dragon.
[X] (Miyu) ...got along with Kuro's first friend outside of the household, Makoto Itou.
[X] (Miyu) ...met with an ordinary girl whose only claim to influence was her rich parents from before you exposed the Moonlit World.
[X] (Miyu) ...got along with an ordinary girl whose ordinary family was struggling to make do with the changes that the exposure of the Moonlit World has wrought.
[X] (Miyu) ...took to playing the new trading card game with the Muto heir.
[X] (Miyu) ...encountered a short-tempered girl who was desperately trying to find her way home.

 

[Random Tale]

Year 9: Results

One could say that, despite the fact that Shirou was in a coma, it was a relatively good year for your family overall, until the very end.

Irisivel continued to work on her manga, promoting the JSDF in the hope that they wouldn't be overwhelmed by Iskander's slowly growing army. That was between public lessons of the Moonlit World, though: about once a week, she arranged for a public lesson in a high school gym to be taught about the Moonlit World. With that, more and more people became aware of the dangers of the Moonlit World, and are less likely to tick off something that they can't handle.

Despite that, there was the slight problem that Irisivel had managed to get a hold of the family car again... multiple times. While she never actually caused any accidents directly, she became known to the police force that she was a cause of many accidents indirectly, causing people to swerve to get out of her way. In one instance, it is suspected that her driving caused an elderly driver to have a heart attack of fear, but nothing could really be proved.

Maiya managed to get a hold of a teaching job at MBI, given to her by an increasingly paranoid Hiroto Minaka. While there were some easily understood subjects (a smattering of history, math, and Japanese language), other subjects such as common sense, home economics, and disguise were also on the itinerary. Once teaching began, however, the reasoning behind the course selection became clear.

Maiya was stuck teaching about seventy or so aliens that had, for all practical purposes, been raised in a lab. Most of them had never been outside of one, even.

Called Sekirei, these aliens possessed powers that would make typical magi drool with greed, from elemental manipulation to uncommon strength and power. They had been discovered in a crashed spaceship off a small island near Shin-Tokyo over a decade ago, and both Minaka and his then-wife Takami Sahashi had claimed them for research purposes. Using the technology of the spaceship, they built MBI up to fuel what Minaka had envisioned as a battle-royal in about seven years from now. That idea, the 'Sekirei Plan', was what drove a wedge into the marriage of the two scientists (the 'death' of the eldest child, Shirou, was the final straw to cause the divorce).

However, with the Moonlit World being exposed, lots of human aliens from another world settling on Earth, and learning his ex-wife is the Second Owner of the city he abandoned, Hiroto Minaka has decided that the original 'Sekirei Plan' would bring too much trouble on his head; it would only get as far as the opening stage before someone lost their temper and brought down everything on top of him. Instead, he was going with an 'Integration Plan', seeking to get the aliens he was keeping in the company basement into open society with no one any the wiser. They had a ways to go before he was satisfied with letting them loose; on top of getting them up to speed so that they wouldn't expose the entire race once let out, he wanted to undo a few 'modifications' that he had made (in short, return the sizes of most of the female Sekirei to something more resembling human females), and fix their genetics so that a 'winging' wouldn't occur.

Luckily, there was about a dozen or so Sekirei already in tune with the world outside the lab, so they were able to skip out on lessons. Unluckily, there was about another dozen that were simply too young for the lessons this year.

While in the middle of coming from a lessons, though, Maiya overheard from a couple of scientists that this ship that the Sekirei had come from wasn't the first of them to have landed on the Earth. After pressing for more details, a larger picture managed to appear. Apparently, some debated number of ships of Sekirei had landed on the Earth in the past, through crash landing after, in the '01's' (whoever that was) words, 'a second moon appeared from nowhere and confused the ships'. Further pressing of the scientists revealed that the Sekirei of the past had produced children with the native humans.

Confronting Minaka the next day, it was revealed that there was only one person in the family with Sekirei genetics, and he was currently comatose in the hospital.

Between lessons, Maiya continued to act as a translator for Irisivel's manga, helping it to spread to other countries, and help manage the household.

Illya continued to manage the duties of a Second Owner in Uminari, between renewing her physical education and her study of English language. She tried to make connections with the community, but her reluctant duties made her unable to fulfill that role. She appears to have an tolerance for Hayate, and while the two of them won't exactly go out and hang out together for long periods of time, they seem to get along. Maiya suspects that Illya may have her own plans for Hayate, considering how much paperwork she is shoving the younger girl's way.

Hayate continued to work on her studies as well, between math, biology (including a couple books that Maiya confiscated for reading in public), and formalcraft specialization of magecraft. Illya had high hopes for Hayate's ideal work-around for her ruined magecraft potential, but it turned out to be almost a wasted effort. True, formalcraft relied more on the skill of the user than their power, drawing Mana from the environment to make up the difference, but it turned out that most formalcraft uses needed a tiny bit of Od from the user to 'jumpstart' their use. That 'jumpstart' was something that Hayate was unable to provide, although she was able to make circles for other magi, most commonly Illya, were able to use.

The only instance of formalcraft that Hayate could use herself was a circle that was more concerned with preventing Mana from moving around than using Mana up.

Miyu and her friend Yuki managed to reach out to a girl called Sekai Saionji, expanding their small circle of friends to include someone with a more open personality that wasn't constantly demanding (unlike the 'Suzimiya Menace'). Miyu continued to work on finding a counter to the SOS Brigade marching through Bounded Fields, studied math extensively, and started helping Hayate in the kitchen.

Kuro, on the other hand, decided to reach out for another boy. After getting in trouble for giving the boy a 'Thaumaturgic Haircut', she and Makoto Itou started playing 'Duel Monsters' with a now bald Muto Yugi during recess breaks. She also worked on her magecraft, starting to favor illusions for her 'Spellcaster' deck, and started to wave around a bokken when she had the opportunity. She also tried her hand at archery, when she wasn't kicked out of the middle school for being too young to practice there.

As a side note, Taiga managed to get a job teaching English in a middle school somewhere in Tokyo. Her students are in good hands, especially since she is all-too-happy to use Ruby, Torashinai, and a card of some sort that she picked up during college, to deal with any threats to her class.

However, most of the events of note for you family this year had something to do with Mitakihara, and thus, you and Shirou.

You spent most of the year hunting demons in the city. Unlike many of the related demons you fought in the past, these ones were smart. They seemed to know exactly what was going to happen and did their best to avoid their destructions, all the while continuing to prey on civilians.

In fact, you managed to catch Miyuki Takamachi in one of their Reality Marbles before she got herself killed in a stroke of bad luck. The rest of the Takamachi family was extremely grateful for your timely appearance, as Nanoha was busy outside of town picking up Fate and Yuuno to visit Shirou at the time.

But the demons, while uncannily seeming to know your next actions, were all very 'squishy', and quickly fell to your explosives once you found them. One can't exactly dodge an explosion when it is reaching everywhere you're trying to dodge to. However, during your hunts, you started to come across some girls.

Bound together by making contracts with the Incubator Kyubey, about two dozen girls of various ages (though none older than 18) had started to gather to start to make lives around the giant 'Grief Pillar' that the great demon had dropped last year. In order to make sure no one really did anything to the Pillar, which allowed them to live without having to fight demons for survival, they had started a clan that they were calling the 'Medeis Clan'. Every single one of the girls had become capable of magecraft in some degree, even the youngest (a mere age of six). There were a half-dozen boys, boyfriends of four of the higher-ranking Pullea Magi (three for one girl), but the girls held all the power.

The only reason they were able to actually get away with going public late in the year was that Kyubey seemed to have disappeared completely from the face of the Earth... about the time you showed up in Mitakihara last year, actually.

That said, they were extremely grateful for what Shirou had done, and a few of the girls were eager to get him into the clan they had built. Some wanted to marry or court their savior, while the de-facto leader Hana Minami Medeis wanted legitimacy, which could be gained by having a boy from a legitimate magus family marry into the clan. While the Emiya name was somewhat disgraced in typical Thaumaturgic circles, no one could deny that they were magi, so Shirou was an ideal candidate, especially since he had done them a great service to allow them to live without constant battle.

And he was even friendly with them when they visited, even if he wasn't interested in marriage yet.

Which raised the question... with Shirou still comatose, how were the girls communicating with him? For that matter, how were Nanoha, Fate, and Yuuno able to get a response themselves?

It took most of the year, to November, about a month before Shirou finally woke, to finally get the complete picture.

Using either an Intelligent Device, in regards to Nanoha, Fate, and Yuuno, or one's own Soul Gem, in regards to the Medeis Clan, one could enter Shirou's mind mentally. For almost anyone else, circumstances would not line up well enough for the method to work.

Long-term unconsciousness in the subject. Technology, magecraft, or magic to make the connection. And most importantly of all, a stable, or near-stable, Reality Marble in the subject.

Shirou possesses a Reality Marble, one that reflects the burning rubble of Fuyuki that occurred at the end of the Fourth Grail War. In it, are dozens of swords and blades, from simple kitchen knives to actual Noble Phantasms. It is that Reality Marble that forms the basis of most of Shirou's Magecraft. And it shows just how deep his views of the world lie.

Yuuno had been performing research on Reality Marbles to not only understand the demons he was summoning better, but also to understand Shirou's Reality Marble better (with no intent to actually create a Reality Marble of his own, he states). His constant meetings with Shirou had been mainly research meetings in that regard, but he also helped aside Nanoha in making sure that Shirou didn't neglect all of his studies while trapped in his own head. Alongside that, he sadly admitted that Nanoha seemed to have been trying to push an emotionally crippled Fate to Shirou so that the two could lean on each other, in the hope that they could keep each other alive. The creation of the Medeis Clan seemed to irk the more determined girl, especially when they admitted that a good number of them seemed to be courting Shirou themselves.

Between visitors, Shirou was left alone in his own mind, Shirou took to trying to swing swords around, especially in his left hand. On top of that, midway through the year, he arranged a deal with various Medeis Clan representatives, in that he would teach them a little of his magecraft in exchange for passing on lessons on blacksmithing, in the hope that he would understand swords even better.

Of course, with contact becoming impossible in early November, it wasn't possible for you to see him in his mind yourself, but the inability to reach him meant one of two things, in that he was dying or starting to wake up. The later proved true when, mid-December, Shirou finally woke from his long sleep to much acclaim.

Though he still lacks a right arm (for now), there have been some debates about what to do about it. A couple of the Medeis Clan are debating on using their magic to restore the missing arm, while what's left of the TSAB and some of the JSDF are interested in simply replacing it with an Intelligent Device. At least while Shirou was unconscious, a few Mid-Chilian surgeons were able to safely remove the Jewel Seed from Shirou's body.

Meanwhile in Uminari, thanks to the giant Grief Pillar in Mitakihara, you performed 'experimental magecraft' on Hayate, slowly undoing the self-destruction of her body over the course of the year. While it doesn't deal with the root cause of the problem (meaning that she'll eventually fall back into a wheelchair, but not for a long while), and her ability to use magecraft remains neigh-impossible (with the discovery of the prana-isolation formalcraft circle giving her slight potential) the many years of her body's slow decline has mostly been dealt with. She's now walking with a walker instead of riding about in a wheelchair, much to the pleasant surprise of others in the community.

Life in Uminari continues to go on around your family. Beyond the SOS Brigade's constant explorations making many mages frustrated, there was the sudden increase in the Harlaown family numbers. In early February, Amy Limietta gave birth to twins, pushing back and shortening her wedding ceremony to Chrono Harlaown to late April, much to the amusement of several of the Mid-Childan immigrants.

Casting your gaze wider, thanks to Irisivel's manga, the JSDF were able to keep increasing recruitment slightly, but it is the Moonlit side of things that gathered your attention.

First off, there was the blatant summoning of Lancer in Misaki City. In normal circumstances, a Servant's summoning was noteworthy enough of an achievement, even if nothing of note happened afterward. However, the bloodbath afterwards of this particular summoning drew lots of attention. One of the maids of the Tohno family managed to summon her Servant in what appeared to be blind luck, and then used said Servant to slaughter almost everyone in the Tohno mansion, leaving only her sister (a fellow maid), the heiress, and a boy the head had hidden away alive (though the last was amazed that he had lived, considering that the Servant had attacked him). On her way out of the city, she had her Servant wound Nrvnqsr "Nero" Chaos, the 10th Dead Apostle Ancestor, who happened to be passing through on personal business, and then kidnap the Tohno heir.

As a side note, that's two contracts you no longer need to complete.

Of more relevance to you was the events that occurred in Fuyuki. After a falling out with her family, who were fleeing to Nix, Luviagelita Edelfelt instead fled to Fuyuki, much to the amusement and acceptance of Rin Tohsaka. After receiving Kaleidostick Sapphire, the Finnish girl joined with the Kaleido Knights in order to push back and destroy the Dead Apostle that the Bloody Page had been calling 'War'. Apparently, the 'Rider' that the Ancestor had created had lost patience in waiting for all four to appear, and decided to go on a rampage. The man halved Fuyuki's population before he was finally put down.

Sometime towards the end of the year, Tohsaka announced that evacuating Fuyuki would be a very good idea for the coming Grail War next year, and started efforts to encourage people to flee the city. She had heard from a reliable source that the next war would not only be the last in Fuyuki, but also be a Great Grail War with twice the destructive potential.

Across the world, Magi seemed to finally be on the back foot in regards to the conflicts against mundane authorities. Most notable was Nix, which lost two of its three territories back to the United States as Nix at first overreached themselves, and then withdrew to their core Kingdom to avoid too many costly losses. While the US worked to regain the use of their military bases from the many traps that the Magi of Nix had left behind, they were stopped short of working to reclaim the State that had once been one of the top economies of the world because of the largest world-shaking event this year.

Zeoticus Gremory, a Chinese Magus with demonic heritage and connections to the Chinese Government, saw that, with the collapse of the Clock Tower, there was no single organized force that united Magi against the peoples of the world which would, in some views, try to stop the righteous search to reach the Root. And after the surprise of Magi wore off, on top of a handful of Magi turning traitor to the cause, the developed world was starting to find their footing and strike back to great effect.

Taking cues from the United Nations, Gremory contacted significant Magi from countries around the world, inviting them for a conference of Thaumaturgic Countries. China, Egypt, Korea, New Babylon, Nix, Vegas, and a half-dozen other countries with strong Moonlit connections were all invited and attended (Japan was on the list of those invited, most likely a courtesy notice, but the message got lost somewhere in the paperwork...). Together, they founded the 'Mage Court of Gaia', an alliance of Moonlit Countries that stood together to maintain what magecraft they had left, deal with moonlit threats before they got out of control, make agreements that were beneficial to them, and simply stand against the tide of angry mundane governments.

One of the first things the Court did, threating with Nuclear Weapons and a Noble Phantasm, was force the United States to stop its war against Nix, much to the frustration of the larger country and the horror of many other countries. The second thing they did was sign a handful of accords of things to never do. Most of these included things that breakers got Sealing Designations for in the past (Yuuno is going to be marked as an International Thaumaturgic Criminal if he is found out, now), but you noted that one of the accords, one against combining modern weaponry, tools, and Thaumaturgy, had your name on it.

In fact, the Court labeled you International Thaumaturgic Criminal #1 for breaking the masquerade, and continuing to work for purposes to expand public knowledge of the Moonlit World. Irisiviel and Maiya were also marked, on top of Shirou, Nanoha, half the public members of the former TSAB, and lots of other names, but yours was the most notable, considering you had an Accord also named after you.

Japan is going to be grudgingly welcomed to the Court if it ever decides to make its presence known there, but considering its now full of International Thaumaturgic Criminals (in the court's eyes), it is going to be a cold reception indeed.

The Grail War is going to be starting in a little over a year. Hopefully, even with Shirou's desire to fight Ruler himself and Yuuno working to summon Merlin as his Servant. But with both the Blue and the Puppetmaster being rival Masters, on top of it going to be a Great Grail War, whatever that meant, it is going to be a long year...

Spoiler: Results

Total Costs this Year: 16 Resources, 3 Time (Time Negated)
Total Results: +4 Time (Demon Hunting), +4 Resources (JSDF Manga), +2 Resources (Moonlit Classes), +7 Resources (Alien Teacher), +3 Resources (English Translator)

Shirou has been discharged from the Hospital, and is now conscious.
The Jewel Seed has been removed from Shirou.
Illya has a College Fund, and will be leaving the household at the end of the next year.
Taiga has a job teaching and protecting students in Tokyo.

Kiritsugu: +1 Guns, +1 Magecraft
Irisiviel: +1 Drawing, +2 Moonlit Knowledge, Reputation (Crazy Driver)
Maiya: +1 Influence

Shirou: +1 Blacksmithing, +1 Influence, +2 Kendo
Illyasviel: +1 English, +1 Physical Education
Hayate: +1 Arithmetic, +1 Biology, +1 Influence, +2 Magecraft (Formalcraft Theory Specialization), +1 Moonlit Knowledge, Removes Frail Body and Isolated traits, alters Handicapped trait

Kuro: +2 Archery, +1 Kendo, +2 Magecraft (Illusion Specialization)
Miyu: +2 Arithmetic, +2 Cooking, +2 Magecraft

Shirou is Close Friends with Nanoha Takamachi. (relationship decrease!)
Shirou is Loose Friends with Ai Fukui Medeis.
Shirou is Loose Friends with Aya Suzuki Medeis.
Shirou is Loose Friends with Fate Testarossa.
Shirou is Loose Friends with Hana Minami Medeis.
Shirou is Loose Friends with Miho Hamasaki Medeis.
Shirou is Loose Friends with Minoru Mori Medeis.
Shirou is Best Friends with Yuuno Scrya.
Hayate Yagami and Illyasviel von Einzbern are Loose Friends.
Kuro is Loose Friends with Yugi Muto.
Miyu is Loose Friends with Sekai Saionji.

The Takamachi Family is Friendly towards the Emiya Family.
The Medeis Clan is Helpful towards the Emiya Family.
The Mage Court of Gaia is Feuding towards the Emiya Family.

Currencies: 4 Resources, 9 Time
Expected Upkeep Next Year: 8 Resources, 1 Time

Local News:

• SOS Brigade continues to cause headaches
• Duel Monsters: Sales declining
• Rumors of lost child

National News:

• JSDF: Slightly increased recruitment
• Touho Clan: massacre with Lancer
• Medeis Clan: founded in Mitakihara
• Fuyuki:
  • Dead Apostle 'War' rebelled and slain
  • Heavy civilian casualties
  • Luviagelita Edelfelt flees to Fuyuki
  • Second Owner declares evacuation required for 6th Grail War

International News:

• Mage Court of Gaia founded in China by Zeoticus Gremory
  • Japan missed invite
  • Kiritsugu declared Magecraft enemy #1
• USA reclaims WA and OR before being stopped from continuing to attack Nix by Mage Court
• Rumors of an unwelcome author in US...

Spoiler: OOC

That took too long, but I hope you find the update welcome.

Final Taiga Stats:

Spoiler

Taiga Fujimura:
Age: 23
Yearly Upkeep: 2
Traits: Kendo Star (Known for Kendo), Torashinai (User of the Cursed Tiger Bamboo Sword), Kendo Master (Max Kendo Skill) English Speaker (Max English Skill)
Skills: Arithmetic 1, English 10, Influence 10, Japanese History 1, Kendo 10, Magecraft 7, Moonlit Knowledge 4, Underworld Knowledge 7

 

[Random Tale]

Another View: Zouken and Kyubey (2002-2003)

Zouken sat quietly at the table and stared blankly at the summoning catalyst in front of him. Though he personally disapproved of bullets, he could see some of the use of them.

Maintaining the masquerade, mainly. Or, these days, what little masquerade there was left.

It had been a very eventful last decade for the Matou family. The abandonment of them by Kariya, and the adoption of Sakura, had been just the start. The Fourth Holy Grail War had occurred on schedule, and Zouken himself had managed to get a hold of a position as a participant due to the rampant chaos and the extra Lesser Grail. Of course, due to the ruler of New Uruk, it didn't amount to much, but it did cause him to drag what remained of the Matou to Uminari while Fuyuki recovered.

It was there that he got a glimpse of new types of magecraft, using powerful mystic codes in order to blast targets or generate wishes. It was the second category, with the two Jewel Seeds he had gotten a hold of, that had interested him the most. However, after an... eventful night in the city, he decided that such magecraft would be better studied from a distance.

But it had been beneficial regardless. On top of what research he had obtained over the course of his studying of the Jewel Seeds, it had given his grandson a glimpse into a workaround for having no magic circuits. A glimpse that made him want to reach for it, even if it tossed him into a Grail War fifty-five years early.

Which left the patriarch a bit of a problem. There was too much use to be gained from Shinji alive to let him simply perish in the fifth Grail War. At the same time, a typical compatibility summon would not only give the boy a Servant that would not only have an attitude that was difficult to work with, but would kill him quickly from prana depletion.

So Zouken, trapped in Fuyuki with the Kaleido Knights and the Bloody Page, had to do some quick and limited searches for a relic of some kind.

What was needed was a Servant that wouldn't kill Shinji just from existing. There were four factors that influenced a Servant's power, and thus, cost of existence.

The first was Class. There were originally seven Classes for Servants in the Holy Grail War: Archer, Assassin, Berserker, Caster, Lancer, Rider, and Saber. The Einzbern had managed to add Avenger, and the Servant dancing around Fuyuki (literally, at times) proved that there was a Ruler Class as well. The relevance was that each of the Classes had different upkeep costs on the Master. While he had no idea about Avenger (let alone Ruler), Berserker was infamous among Magi in the know for its upkeep costs (win quick or die quick), while Assassin, fitting with low power of one who targeted mortals instead of other Servants, didn't have much of a cost of Prana.

The second factor was the age of the legend of the Servant. The older the legend, the more powerful the Servant... with a proportionally high Prana upkeep, as well. A legend that was born a few years ago? Cheap.

The third factor was the location of the summoning of the Servant. If a Servant was summoned in their homeland, or at a location significant to their legend, they would get a boost in power, but the cost would be increased as well. If you wanted your Servant cheaper (and weaker), it would be best to summon them far away from any landmark of their legend.

The final factor was tied to the second: the renown of the legend in question. If a lot of people knew about the stories surrounding the Servant, its cost would be increased, while if it was just a footnote in someone else's story, they would likely be cheaper in comparison. Practically everyone knew about Hercules, but fewer knew about Gilgamesh, so Hercules would be more powerful and cost more, even if Gilgamesh had the older legend (though Zouken was personally wondering if the differences in age and renown balanced each other out).

So, in order to get Shinji through the Holy Grail War alive, or at least make it so that Zouken could claim the Grail from Sakura, they needed an Assassin that was born in the past hundred years whose legend was nearly unknown.

Jack the Ripper was considered, before Zouken put them aside for someone who not only existed in the last hundred years, but had known skill in killing magi, the target of Assassin.

Zouken Matou wanted Kiritsugu Emiya.

Not only was he a known assassin (requirement one: Class: good), but he was currently existing (requirement two: Age: good), and his legend was only known in a few select circles (requirement three: Renown: good). And, as Zouken thought of the time, it would only be a matter of time before his legend faded from memory, giving Shinji a Servant that he could work with without getting killed.

Of course, since he was last known to work with the Einzberns before he betrayed them, Zouken had Shinji promptly Command Seal the confused man to preempt any ideas of striking at the Matous. Shinji then performed some cleverness of his own and used another Command Seal to close any loopholes that the first had left.

Despite mutterings from the Servant on how he should have just died, should have ruined leylines, and the Grail War was earlier than he thought would be, he performed surprisingly well.

Sure, the two Noble Phantasms he possessed were either supplementary (Tools of the Trade) or passive (Magus Killer), but those two were all he needed, killing not only Caster in one of the first nights of the Grail War, but also the Master of Rider sometime afterwards. True, he had failed to kill the Master of Saber, but then again, they had personal experience with the original beforehand. Hunting down the Master of Berserker didn't go well; she had been told to be ridiculously paranoid in fear of Kiritsugu Emiya, which carried over to taking measures to prevent assassination from Shinji's Servant. It took sabotaging her escape ship in order to get her into a position where she was in the open, and even that had been not enough, with Zouken's Lancer and Assassin stuck fighting Berserker, and losing.

But still, it showed that Emiya was the ideal Servant for Shinji, with the fired bullet before Zouken as the catalyst.

That was before the collapse of the Masquerade.

Now, the man was practically a household name, being the #1 enemy of the Mage Court of Gaia. His renown was now on par with other, older Assassins. It would be a gamble that Shinji would have to take in the next year, summoning the man again. But this time, the stakes were higher.

The leylines of Fuyuki were practically drained, a Ruler was dancing in the rubble, and other Servants were already being summoned. The Tohno massacre by one of the maids with Lancer was only the tip of the iceberg. An Avenger had been summoned, and he had heard that both Aozaki sisters had decided to use the upcoming Great Grail War to settle things once and for all. And that wasn't even counting the fact that there was not only a Dead Apostle Ancestor looking to get involved (with three Dead Apostle servants), but also the cursed Kaleido Knights (it had been a relief that they had finally stopped trying to recruit the materials), and it was likely that the Magus Killer wouldn't be able to help but to meddle again.

They needed to move carefully, or this last chance for the Grail would be lost...

---

They were ill.

Query: Why did they think that summoning a [designation: Servant] was a [beneficial] idea?

The system had been threatened by the [immature grief supplier]. Succeeding in the [Holy Grail War] would reduce the amount of [grief] needed to fight entropy.

Query: Why did they allow the [designation: Command Seals] form?

Unknown. [Grail] must have chosen randomly.

Query: Why did the [designation: Servant] summon themselves?

[Emotion: hatred] of themselves.

Query: Why was [designation: Servant] also a [mature grief supplier]?

Unknown. No record of this [mature grief supplier] exists. No record of potential [contracted] with the potential to [mature] into this [mature grief supplier] exists.

Query: Why did the [designation: Servant] hate themselves?

Answer: [mature grief supplier] has memories of life before they [matured].

Query: Why has the [designation: Servant] prevented return to [Earth]?

[Emotion: hatred] of themselves.

Query: How did the [designation: Servant] [seal] the [designation: Command Seals]?

Unknown.

Query: How did the [designation: Servant] manage to achieve what they did?

Unknown.

Unknown.

Unknown.

They didn't understand. They didn't understand! They didn't understand!

They were [designation: insane]. They had been made [designation: insane] by the [designation: Servant].

Query: Is this what [humans] called [human name: 'Hell']?

They were... [emotion: a͕͍̦͟f̪̫͇̮r̸͔͚̙̤͈͢͠ą̸͉͇̞̜i̦͙d҉̯̹̠̺͘͝ ̫̞͔̮͉b̪̤͔͚͠e̥̤̠͞y̫̠o̜̥̲̰̤̞n̢̙̜̠͕d̸̳̩͟ ̵͙̖̟̲ą̹͓͕̤̪͟͝l͏̘̼̲̗͞l̠̣̰͉ ̴̻͍̳̤̣̯̰̻͜ͅr̨̢̝̭̩̦̱è͎̠͓̦͎̱̬ͅc̩͙̟̺͠k̛̮̪͚̯̲̣̟̼̟͢o̱̰̻͍ṉ̷̡͓̯̪i̼̗͠n͚͕̯͓̩̹̖g̱̯̣͟͝].

Spoiler: OOC

A glimpse as to what is going on in the world around you in this quest. No, the Matou family don't realize that they accidentally sealed Assassin's most powerful Noble Phantasm.

I hope to post voting options in the coming week or two. Its time to prepare for the Grail War, if you are interested (Shirou sure is, and Yuuno is going to be a Master for sure).

 

[Random Tale]

Fate: The Emiya Family Quest: Closing Results (2018)

Spoiler: OOC

It's been a long time, hasn't it?

With the escalation, the continuing contradictions to canons, falling out of favor of one or more fandoms, and the release of new entries to franchises that surpassed my work, this quest became unwieldy to continue. Eventually, I started another quest with the same premise, one that was toned down, closer to Nasu, and had a set turn limit that had been reached. But this quest, the Emiya Family, was left unfinished.

If there's any loose ends I forgot in this world, let me know, and I'll add them to this list.

The 6th​ Grail War of Fuyuki (2004): The Last Grail War of the East

By virtue of being the last surviving Master with a Servant, Yuuno won by default, even if he never claimed the prize. After constant battles claimed both Shirou's Servant and four of Yuuno's Servant's 'tails', as well as getting cursed by a temporarily manifested version of Ruler's 'master', it was decided to take the notes and equipment stolen from the Puppetmaster's workshop and just leave Fuyuki.

After Shirou and Yuuno fled with the last three bodies of Yuuno's Assassin, the Grail appeared to misfire, taking out the northern half of Hokkaido.

Zouken and Sakura Matou were killed by Shinji Matou beforehand, Rin Tohsaka and her non-Servant allies were killed by an enemy Servant's Noble Phantasm that affected them beyond their own death.

Spoiler: Hidden Information

With the Counter Force having failed to get Shirou and Yuuno to stick around and destroy the Grail, a Counter Guardian was sent in to do the job instead. In the meantime, one of the Servants was Disease, the Second Rider of the Apocalypse, who fell to Rin's group, but not before fatally infecting them with a disease. Shinji was able to locate Zouken's Crest Worm with a mystery in his new trident, but pierced before he realized where said worm was located.

MBI: The Sekrei Plan:

The Sekrei Plan was canceled outright. The CEO funneled their efforts to the quiet release of the Sekrei into the world. This was hampered with the malfunction of an experimental machine, which wiped out over thirty of the aliens, as well as ten of MBI's own scientists. After the remaining aliens were all 'trained' adequately enough to blend in, they were all kicked out to the streets. MBI then focused exclusively on new technologies and medicine based on what they had gathered from the ship they had found.

Emiya Clan of Uminari:

After the turn of the millennium, despite all the effort that they put in to help the world at large, the Emiya family fell into a long decline. Although the common consensus is 'do not provoke', the fact remains that their glory days in the eyes of the public are long past. Of the old generation, Irisviel was looked upon the most favorably due to the fact that her crimes were mere driving tickets when she wasn't able to hypnotize the officers fast enough. Of the current generation, Miyu is the only one who doesn't have a controversy. Of the future generation, the two children were born out of wedlock.

Medeis Clan of Mitakihara:

Despite their hopes of Shirou eventually wedding one of them not being fulfilled, the Medeis Clan became a legitimate magical faction in the world. Due to their requirements to live, they couldn't leave the city for long periods of time, but their magic made any frontal assaults doomed to fail. Their support by local friendly mages of the remaints of Yggdmillennia and naturalized refugees from Mid-Childa helped deal with any underhanded efforts against them.

Yggdmillennia Clan of Mitakihara:

With the Emiya Clan rapidly losing power, and their own political power fading due to the actions and activities of their own members, what was left eventually moved to Mitakihara and aligned themselves with the rising Medeis Clan. Although leadership was eventually left in the hands of Caules Forvedge Yggdmillennia, Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia often swings by with the SOS Brigade on their travels.

The leaders of each major family branch are Gordes Musik Yggdmillennia, Caules Forvedge Yggdmillennia, Celenike Icecolle Yggdmillennia, and Roche Frain Yggdmillennia, with Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia serving an advisory role to each when he's in Mitakihara.

Of note, Fiore Forvedge Yggdmillennia eventually died due to complications from her magecraft, Itsuki Koizumi Yggdmillennia was used for Darnic's purposes, and Celenike's hobbies has left both Japan and East Iskandra scrambling for ways to hold her long enough to execute her.

Kingdom of Nix: The Magiocracy of the West, the Vegas Kingdom

Thanks to the Mage Court, the Kingdom within the States retained a tight grip on both Nevada and California. Despite hopes from the rest of the developed world that the new Kingdom would collapse from rampant mages unable to retain a stable population and manage a government, with pressure and assistance from the rest of the Mage Court, the mages in Nix started to reign in their most blatant impulses and activities, and got around to actually managing their lands to allow themselves to keep with their research.

With Director Lord Brishisan preferring to remain in research, Lorelei Barthomeloi became Queen of Nix. Although there are rumors that there is no heir on hand, Queen Barthomeloi promises that Prince Barthomeloi will only be allowed in public once he has reached perfection, as required of a Barthomeloi.

Egypt: Alchemist Sanctuary

After carving out a piece of Africa, and holding it against all conventional forces, Atlas brought peace to its section of the continent. Although they kept shooting dirty glares at Japan and East Iskandra, they became known to be isolationist members of the Mage Court, preferring to be left to its own devices rather than intervene in global politics.

New Uruk: The Golden King's Kingdom Reborn

Although it was founded at a whim, Gilgamesh proved to be an acceptable ruler of the land he carved out for his rule. Initially held back by ancient views, over the course of a decade, Gilgamesh modernized his government with a council of advisors. Although he does still hold the final say, said council has tempered most of the Golden King's worst impulses.

The citizens of New Uruk are encouraged to excel in whatever fields they put their efforts into; science, the arts, or just making the best modern wine, the best are preferred in most manners of life. Magi are welcome in New Uruk, but must be wary to not engage in human experimentation, lest they anger their host.

By virtue of bringing the 'biggest gun' to the table, he brought a grudging peace to the Middle East; none of the other parties were happy with the results, but were unable to protest Ea.

Uniquely, there are three holidays in New Uruk that are not celebrated elsewhere: Gilgamesh's Birthday, Endiku's Birthday, and Kotomine's Birthday. On each of those days, all non-essential businesses close for the day, a grand feast is held, and a toast is raised to either the departed, or the King's continued good health.

Korea: Self-Destructive Slayers of Primate Murder

Combining near-modern weaponry with magecraft, Korea was able to succeed where Russia had failed, using a new form of weapons of mass destruction called Oblivion Missiles to kill Primate Murder. In a rare instance of solidarity, the United Nations, the Mage Court, and all surviving Dead Apostle Ancestors that could be communicated with all agreed that Korea had crossed a line, and had to be taken down.

While preparing to defend itself, at least one of Korea's Oblivion Missiles misfired, taking the entire Kingdom down with its own weaponry.

To this day, researchers from all factions are still trying to figure out how clean up the fallout of the Missiles without having the cleaners perish from what is being termed 'Oblivion Radiation'.

Deadpool: Living Servant, Living Superhero, Terror on Criminals

With his hunting grounds in New York becoming clearer of crime due to his actions, Deadpool has expanded the web of his hunts all up and down the east coast of the USA. Though technically an ally to the US Government by targeting the worst criminals he can get his hands on to feed and survive, his feedings ensure that few of his targets survive long enough to make it to trial.

Kishua Zelretch Schweinorg: Wizard Marshal, Former 4th​-Seated Dead Apostle Ancestor, Former 3rd​-Seated Dead Apostle Ancestor, Wielder of the Second Magic, Hero of Africa (Dead, died 1918, age unknown)

Although Korea's slaying of Primate Murder saw Zelretch rise from the 4th​ Seat to the 3rd​ Seat among the Dead Apostle Ancestors, on the dawn of 2018, Atlas revealed that they had discovered that he had died a century beforehand, apparently staked in the back. Atlas had been using his Gem Sword in order to find their footing against a more hostile mundane world ever since they had conquered Egypt. Around the world, toasts were held in his name, mundane and moonlit alike.

Kaname Madoka: Seeking Doctor of Mitakihara

After patching Shirou up to allow him to live long enough for paramedics to arrive and save him, Madoka focused more heavily on medicine, seeking to help people. Despite proving to be a natural at her profession, and also a natural at using what little health-related magecraft she was taught, she admits that she believes that there was something more important that she was supposed to do…

Spoiler: Hidden Information

Kyubey: Imprisoned Incubator

Unbeknownst to anyone, their Servant for the 6th​ Grail War, the Avenger that might have been known as Akuma Homura had they actually arrived to fight, keeps the Incubator imprisoned in revenge for what they caused to her while she was alive. With the Incubator not generating enough Od to power Avenger by themselves, nor collecting new Grief Seeds from Earth, their Grief stockpile to fight the heat death of the sun is being depleted. Because of this, the heat death is approaching faster than any scientists have predicted.

Homura Akemi: Timeline Jumper

After fleeing from one confusing timeline and binge-eating all the food that she took with her, she spent a few days calming down in a saner timeline before resuming her quest to save Madoka.

Oriko Mukuni: Lost Foreseer

Having turned into a Witch long ago, the first local version of her Witch was eventually slain by Kiritsugu by using a large number of explosives that the Witch couldn't dodge even if it saw it coming. Unfortunately, before then, it had produced an ungodly number of familiars, which had similar powers, and were able to start fleeing whenever Kiritsugu or someone with weapons they couldn't dodge was in their areas. Said familars kept growing up and producing more familiars of their own.

While able to see danger coming, the only reason they haven't wiped out more people is that a select few people have the ability to prevent them from escaping.

SOS Brigade: Seekers of Ascension

Thaumaturgic Crimes: Active Spreaders of Thaumaturgy (Philosopher Sealing Designation), Dead Apostle Research (Philosopher Sealing Designation)

Led by Haruhi Suzumiya, the group is a bunch of adventure seekers traveling the world with the goal of more effective immortality, though its leader is still angling to become one of the 27 Ancestors. The other members include a formerly mundane man going by 'Kyon', a Mid-Childa descendant named Ryoko Asakura, a Yggdmillennia magus by the name of Darnic Prestone, and their former babysitter Mikuru Asahina.

Waver Velvet: Default Winner of the 4th​ Grail War, El-Melloi the Second, Former Lord of the Clock Tower, International Thaumaturgic Criminal, General of King Iskander, First Prime Minister of East Iskandra (Alive, Aged 43)

Thaumaturgic Crimes: Active Spreader of Thaumaturgy (Philosopher Sealing Designation), Master of a Living Servant (Philosopher Sealing Designation), Debt Dodger (Philosopher Sealing Designation)

After his King passed due to not wanting to kill both of them through increased prana upkeep, Waver took his King's place as the leader of the king's army. Although lacking his King's own charisma, Waver proved adept at many tasks, including reorganizing the structure of the army to instead be a kingdom carved out of Japan. With many former TSAB assets in their possession, East Iskandra successfully seceded from Japan, with Waver Velvet becoming its first Prime Minister. Although he and his close confidants desire to conquer all of Asia, Africa, and Europe to fulfill Iskander's dream, East Iskandra holds back, understanding that such actions would draw the attention and ire of the rest of the world.

Shinji Matou: Master of Assassin of the 5th​ Grail War (Kiritsugu Emiya), Master of Black Assassin (Kiritsugu Emiya), Curse-Bearer of Demise (Died 2004, Aged 17)

Shinji Matou was killed by his own Servant in the 6th​ Grail War to trigger his Servant's Noble Phantasm; said Noble Phantasm resulted in the deaths of not only Shinji, but also both the targeted Servants who were fighting each other and Aoko Aozaki, as well as putting Touko Aozaki in a position where she could be killed by Yuuno Scrya.

Before he died, he as able to kill both his Grandfather and his Sister in a single blow, and was able to hold off a weakened Rin Tohsaka and her allies when they had tried to take their vengeance on him. Somehow, after his death, he got cursed by something that had manifested in Fuyuki for a few hours.

Yuuno Scrya: Default Winner of the 6th​ Grail War, Master of Red Assassin (Tamamo), International Thaumaturgic Criminal, Curse-Bearer of Demise (Alive, Aged 33?)

Thaumaturgic Crimes: Active Spreader of Thaumaturgy (Philosopher Sealing Designation), Forbidden Research into Reality Marbles (Hermit Sealing Designation), Alternate Self Summoned as a Servant (Shielder) (Philosopher Sealing Designation), Inheritor of the Puppetmaster's Work (Hermit Sealing Designation), Master of a Living Servant (Philosopher Sealing Designation)

For the 6th​ Grail War, Yuuno attempted to summon a Caster, unaware that both the Black and Red positions of Caster had already been summoned. Instead, he got a set of nine fox-women in the Assassin Class that, all combined, could have been summoned as a Caster instead if he had acted sooner. Almost immediately, eight of the women turned against and killed the ninth, in retaliation for being left on the moon.

(Elsewhere, a Clock Tower representative tried to summon Solomon using the false Seal you had swapped in for the real Seal. They instead got an alternate version of Yuuno in a new class, Shielder, one who had never met Shirou and had retired from field work to focus on organizing the Infinity Library.)

During the Grail War, Yuuno and his allies had stumbled upon Touko Aozaki's workshop while she and her Red Rider (Dr. Eggman) were busy fighting her sister Aoko Aozaki and her own servant, the Red Lancer (Shinji Ikari). The Matou representative and his Black Assassin intervened, killing both sisters and their Servants, at the cost of Shinji Matou. While Touko attempted to recover by using a prepared puppet body, said puppet body was right in front of Yuuno and his Servant, prompting the group to not only foil her attempt to return, but make sure she stayed dead.

Later on in the Grail War, after the battles had reduced the numbers of his Servant and exhausted the resources that he had brought in and knew how to use, he, Shirou, and what was left of the Red Assassin decided to take their gains and flee home.

After the Grail War, Yuuno devoted his time to researching the materials he stole from the Puppetmaster's workshop. Although he eventually lost his original body from being pounced on by his what was left of his Servant (who insisted on being called his wives), and their upkeep shut down most of his on-the-spot major magecraft, Yuuno was able to create new bodies for himself like Touko used to be able to do.

Jail Scaglietti: The Time-Space Administration Bureau's Last Mistake, International Thaumaturgic Criminal

Thaumaturgic Crimes: TYPE-MERCURY Research (Philosopher Sealing Designation), Manifesting a Servant without a Grail (Philosopher Sealing Designation), Large-Scale Depopulation (Philosopher Sealing Designation)

Despite expectations of a short lifespan, Scaglietti remains alive to this day, and has remained a thorn in the side of many nations on Earth. He spent several years in South America studying TYPE-MERCURY, coming up with ways that might kill a TYPE. Of note, there has been no success, but though his efforts have failed, his effects have been noticed, with the deaths of every citizen in a pair of small cities to allow the summoning of an ancient Saint-King for a few months. Despite the efforts of many people wanting him dead, it took until Takamachi to finally wipe him from Earth.

Spoiler: Hidden Information

While Nanoha did succeed in killing Jail, the effort left her exposed to the Numbers, resulting in her own death. Furthermore, one of the Numbers gave birth to him roughly eight months later, giving him a second chance at life. Fortunately for the world, its going to be a few years before Jail is going to be capable of tormenting the world again.

Fujimura Tagia: Tiger of Tokyo (Alive, Aged 38)

Although she wasn't the most effective teacher when it came to passing on knowledge to the next generation, she was widely considered one of the best regardless. She was protective of the students under her care, defending them against all threats from the Moonlit World. Her reputation was so that she was the main reason anyone from the Moonlit side gave Tokyo a pass, at best simply using the city as a staging point to move somewhere else in Japan or East Iskandra, and do their experiments there. Due to Illyasviel as the Second Owner of Tokyo, Taiga typically learned of Magi that promised to behave themselves in the city, and simply chastised them when their experiments ran amok if they didn't hurt anyone.

Illyasviel von Einzbern: Water-Paranoid Second Owner of Tokyo (Alive, aged 32)

After leaving home and completing collage courses, Illya moved to Tokyo and became the Second Owner there after the previous Second Owner had decided to get into politics (mainly by serving as an advisory role to the Japanese Diet to grant them a magus perspective on various bills, and hopefully nudge some laws to be beneficial to magi). In the Moonlit side of the world, her policies were a mixture of mundane pragmatism and magus sensibilities; keep experiments on animals or your own family, and you won't bring down the Emiya family on your head. If you decide to go against that, one had best get off her territory.

Of her personal projects, based off of a miscalculation in her youth, she was determined to prepare Tokyo for the rising sea level by preparing to turn the city into a modern-day Venice. This is despite the reassurance of Hayate and several scientists that the sea isn't rising that fast.

Makoto Itou: Missing Playboy (Last Seen: August 2013, aged 18)

Makoto gained a reputation in his last year of High School, sleeping around with any girl he could. Kiritsugu's daughter Kuro was his girlfriend for a few months before Makoto's reputation reached her ears, causing her to dump him. The last report of the boy's location was from a friend of his, Sekai, saying that he realized that he had messed up and was planning to make amends with Kuro and be faithful.

Afterwards, he disappeared. The only leads on said disappearance were Sekai Saionji and Issei Hyoundou, both of which were traumatized and discovered to have geases on themselves. Although it narrowed the suspect list down to magi in the area, the disappearance went unsolved. The only clue that was able to be extracted from Sekai before the geas killed her were the words 'Nice Box'.

Kuro Emiya: High School Mother and Magus (Alive, Aged 23)

Although she was able to graduate from High School, the birth of her child 'Nanoha Emiya' caused her to miss the ceremony. DNA testing pointed to the child likely being the missing Itou boy's, but without the boy himself to provide samples, it was unable to be made a sure thing. Later analysis showed high-count and quality of magic circuits in Nanoha, but it has yet to determine her aptitude.

With poor circumstances, Kuro was the only child of the Emiya family to remain in the city of Uminari. With a child to feed, she forewent further schooling and entered the workforce as a magecraft specialist with a local branch of a supermarket. Her Aunt Maiya works part-time to help pay the bills.

Kuro has plans in works to teach her daughter a castration mystery early on. She also takes great satisfaction talking mockingly to a box when she believes no one else is listening; Maiya is uncertain if she ever heard the box talk back.

Miyu Emiya, Yugi Moto, and Yuki Nagato: Card Duelist Royals (All Alive, Aged 23)

A friendship formed while in Elementary school, the trio remained together for most of their school years. Miyu brought a perspective on local magecraft, Yuki brought a perspective on Mid-Childan magecraft, and Yugi brought a mundane perspective, though it all blended together after they taught each other what they learned from their families. The three became fierce competitors in numerous Trading Card Game tournaments, constantly advancing far, even when instances where one of them won outright were few and far between. Although Miyu and Yuki are of average Japanese height, Yugi has remained shorter than them, even into adulthood, a fact that has had the three of them forced to repel bullies constantly.

Though all remain virgins, and have every intent to remain that way for a while yet due to Kuro's mistakes with Makoto, they live together to reduce living expenses on what they win from tournaments.

Fate Testarossa: Maid of the Tsuikimura Family (Died 2016, effective age 29)

Lacking the desire for a further education, and unwilling to leave the familiar environment she grew up in, Fate eventually fell into becoming a maid for the Tsuikimura family. After Nanoha had forced her to interact with both her and Shirou in their teenage years, Fate had held out hope to see them again. After word of Shirou's death reached her, Nanoha dropped off her daughter, and then Nanoha disappeared completely, Fate broke completely again, and starved herself to death.

Hayate Yagami Medeis: (Alive, Aged 32)

Although Kiritsugu had intended for Hayate to be a chain of sorts to prevent Shirou from getting himself killed, it was a chain that was ignored completely as he ran off to Aftica after graduating High School. Despite repeated attempts to convince him to return to Japan, he ignored Hayate in favor of saving dozens or hundreds of people in his travels.

Despite the failure of the goal, the method to attain it was successful. After a decade of work healing her body through magic from Kiritsugu's contract, Hayate made a full recovery, able to walk without issue and use basic magecraft. With the Emiya family's financial, magical, martial, and political power dwindled to near nothing, Hayate moved to Mitakihara and joined the Medeis clan, serving as an aide to Hana Minami Medeis. Hayate's relationship with the clan is also meant to make sure her condition doesn't relapse.

Irisviel Emiya: Terror of the Streets of Nippon, Mangaka (Died 2017, Aged 33 effective age 52)

Although her subjects had jumped around over the first few years of her work, Irisviel finally found her niche as a creator of historical fiction manga series. She continued to publish first-hand accounts of Iskander's adventures, and then expanded into Tamano-no-mae's story, before writing about other famous historical figures based on what she could research. Although her income was minimal, she remained the primary income-bringer of the Emiya household until her death.

Maiya Emiya: (Alive, age 66)

For several years after her release from prison, Maiya solely remained a translator for Irisviel's manga, and caretaker for the children of the household. As Illya, Shirou, Hayate, and Miyu all left for new lives, Maiya got a second job at a local grocery store. Although she is hoping to retire from work, and eventually track down her son from before she met Kiritsugu, she fears that if she left Kuro and her daughter Nanoha alone, something bad would happen.

Shirou Emiya: Divisive Hero of Africa, The Second Magus Killer, Curse-Bearer of Demise (Died 2015, Age 28)

Thaumaturgic Crimes: Persistent Interference with Enforcer Duties (Hermit), Unjustified Elimination of 27 Magus Families (Philosopher)

After graduating High School, Shirou left Japan and traveled Africa, Europe, and Mainland Asia, fighting in various causes and saving as many people as he could. He occasionally ran into Nanoha Takamachi on either the same side or opposing sides of their conflicts, and they usually came to blows to try to get the other to leave the fight and return to safety.

(A mercenary that had worked together with them at the same time stated that they were not supposed to be left alone together, as they'd either kill each other or make a baby if left unobserved. With the revelation of Vivo's existence, it is assumed that the later occurred.)

Eventually, Shirou ran afoul of New Uruk by supporting a group of mercenaries that opposed Gilgamesh. Having heard of Shirou's ideals, and how he had always attempted to live up to them, the Golden King personally executed Shirou to honor him.

Nanoha Takamachi: Divisive Heroine of the East, Attacking Survivor of Primate Murder (Missing, Age 31?)

Thaumaturgic Crimes: Persistent Interference with Enforcer Duties (Hermit)

After graduating High School, she traveled to mainland Asia to begin her travels across the world's battlefields to save as many people as possible, often running up against the Mage Court's Enforcers. Though considered a hero by those she saved, she was just as often considered a bully with a big stick getting involved with things that were fine just left alone. A trail of collateral damage is known to have followed in her wake, all the way to her final disappearance in South America.

While he was still alive, Nanoha often ran across Shirou, sometimes as a teammate and sometimes as an opponent. It is known that the two were childhood friends, and wanted the other off the battlefield for their own protection. It is rumored that they were not supposed to be left alone in a room together, in fear that they would either kill each other or Nanoha would be forced off the battlefield for nine months.

Shortly before Korea succeeded in killing Primate Murder, Nanoha made an attempt herself at long range. Though she failed, the Counter Guardians present were able to keep Primate Murder down for a week, long enough for Nanoha to finally gather enough of her mind to retreat away from its killing aura. While she was hospitalized for starvation and dehydration, Korea unleashed its first Oblivion Missile.

In 2016, Nanoha revealed she was a mother by Shirou by revealing Vivo Emiya to the world. She dropped her daughter off with her father's family, and then traveled across the Pacific Ocean to South America, where she disappeared. It is assumed that the battle that put an end to Jail Scaglietti's crimes claimed both her own life and that of her opponent.

Vivo Emiya: Child of Shirou and Nanoha? (Age 9?)

In 2016, Nanoha appeared in Uminari one last time carrying a girl named Vivo Emiya, and left her in the care of the Emiya family before disappearing again, never to be seen again.

Spoiler: Hidden Information

A homunculus based on the DNA of the Saint-King, Vivo was created by Jail to allow him to retain the use of the Saint-King's tools after they faded due to Prana depletion. Luckily, she escaped into Nanoha's arms. Upon learning the girl didn't have a mother or father, Nanoha gave her the name of 'Emiya' to discourage people from getting ideas, and dropped Vivo off at the Emiya household in her old hometown. Nanoha was perfectly willing to have people think Vivo was her biological daughter with Shirou, with plans to explain the actual situation to the Emiya family after she brought down Jail, and the wider world once Vivo had grown up. Unfortunately, she died before she could explain anything to anyone.

Unbeknownst to anyone, thanks to Jail's actions, Vivo has the possibility to become a Pseudo-Servant of the Saint-King.

Kiritsugu Emiya: Magus Killer, Masquerade Breaker, International Thaumaturgic Criminal #1 (Died January 2018, Aged 56)

Thaumaturgic Crimes: Unjustified Elimination of countless Magus Families (Philosopher), Alternate Self Summoned as a Servant (Assassin) (Philosopher), Breaking the Masquerade (Philosopher)

After an eventful parenthood, he slowed down, and focused more on home projects. Though only one of his children remain in Uminari, the household gained two grandchildren. Despite multiple calls from the Mage Court for his head, and several attempts on the lives of both himself and his family, he managed to keep those he cared about alive, save for when Shirou personally gained the attention of his to-be executioner.

Early in 2018, he spoke with Vivo on a park bench, before showing her a black gem with pink streaks the size of an egg. After some time, it briefly turned completely black before fading away, at the same time he mentioned seeing a 'Gretchen' in front of him. Vivo didn't realize her grandfather was dead until morning.

Spoiler: Closing Thoughts

Finally, I can close this, and have it stop haunting me. Its been over six years since we last posted in this thread, back when I was in university, and now, long after I had given up on it, I have put it to rest.

The reboot, A Father Above the Grail, is already complete. Unfortunately for curious cats, due to future plans, I am NOT revealing the aftermath of that world over there just yet, though I will be posting a preview of what I intend sometime soon.