— Asteon —
David gauged a few things from what the servant said. She was hostile to any and all forms of communication and talking to her probably wouldn't lead to an unbreakable friendship. Also, no matter how much she insulted him, she did not show any signs of agression. The servant would be following the rules of the church. David loosened up a bit.
"I apologize if I offended you. It was not my intent. Please take your seat. We are guests in the house of God." David said the last part partly as a reminder to himself. He should be clearing his mind of unholy thoughts and focusing on the task at hand.
Mark knew that he was being eyed, especially that he didn't bring his Servant with him.
Least they're smart enough not to fight me.
He wondered if the Overseer will give him a talk for bringing in a firearm, despite the fact that he knows that he can't fight inside the church unless there is a dire situation.
"Nice place." The Filipino-Canadian of Chinese descent murmured as he looked around the place.
"House of god eh? Ha, as if I care about a house that belongs to one of them!" Archer stomped her foot on the floor, "A house that belongs to an all-seeing, all-powerful person? Don't make me laugh, no one is as powerful as I!" Archer began to laugh a little as she thought of someone being stronger than her.
After a little bit, she looked up at the unknown servant once more, "Any bastard god that you worship would be a nothing more than a mere footstool to me, you understand that, mongrel?"
Lucas only sighed once more, and simply shook his head and looked to his side, "Yo, you're here to see the Overseer also eh?" and spoke to the Asian man who was looking around.
edited 23rd Oct '11 6:51:16 PM by Wolffang
"What the hell are you doing?" "I'm playing a role, sir, what are you doing?"— Asteon —
David composed himself. "If a man curses another man, then God may forgive him, but if a man curses God, who can forgive him? I am sorry that you and I cannot see eye to eye." David closed his eyes for a few moments, muttering quietly. He opened them again, still holding his stoic expression. "May The Lord's will be done. I am a servant of The Lord, David, King of Isreal. I am Archer and I assure you that you will be put down by my hand."
Asteon ignored the dramatic back-and-forth between servants. He just shifted his eyes between the two normal people in the room, while keeping track of the girl in his peripheral vision.
Mark faced Lucas when he heard the question being directed at him.
"Yes, I am."
Thank you! Someone can speak English around here aside from me!
The SOU agent cleared his throat and continued to reply to Lucas. "I was told to head to this place and meet up with whoever's staying in this church, which reminds me of the stuff I've read about in the Balkans since it's being renovated."
Archer's smile drained a bit, only to be replaced by a full-hearted laugh. After a few moments, she calmed herself down, and a smile quickly swept across her face. She examined David once more, and gave off a small giggle.
"David, King of Israel eh? That title means nothing to me, you blind fool who worships a lesser being than I." Archer placed a hand to her hip, and grinned widely, "I am from the Archer class also, but unfortunately for you, I surpass you in every way... for I am the King of Uruk, Gilgamesh, and I'm known as the King of Heroes. I'm going to enjoy stringing your master's lifeless body onto this very cathedral once I'm done with you, just as a symbol to all who dares to challenge me."
Lucas gave off an irritated look as he heard his servant reveal her true name...however he simply ignored it as he was talking to the newcomer.
"You too eh? I was told by my family that the Overseer, or whatever they call themselves, is to be located here...Though," Lucas gave off a sigh, "they sure are taking their sweet time whoever they may be... Well, if they don't hurry up, I got a feeling this is going to be a battleground, very quickly..."
The young man promptly pointed towards the two servants, who were starting to make a commotion.
edited 23rd Oct '11 7:38:56 PM by Wolffang
"What the hell are you doing?" "I'm playing a role, sir, what are you doing?"The Asian youth stood up from her seat and moved away to a different bench once the threats were exchanged between the Servants. She didn't seem so much afraid as cautious and a tad bothered by the situation.
Thankfully for all present soon enough the sound of armored steps resonated through the entire Cathedral... and from a staircase at the back of the place that went into the catacombs emerged a young woman, clad in blue cloths and armor. Her blue eyes were filled with peace and confidence as she walked towards the gathered Masters and Servants.
However she walked first towards the young black haired lady and told her "Everything is ready, you'll find the words written on the page I left marked for you"
The black haired girl then nodded her head and thanked the peculiar Overseer, turning her head only once to regard David and his Master "A pleasure meeting the two of you"
With that she bowed her head and walked over to the back of the cathedral, disappearing down the staircase the Overseer emerged from.
Meanwhile the Overseer glanced over to the gathered Masters and Servants "Welcome to the house of the Lord and my humble residence... I am Joan of Arc, and by the will of the Lord I shall referee this particular War"
— Asteon —
David broke off his stare-down with Gilgamesh when the sound of armour rang through the chapel. It echoed loudly off the walls designed to reverberate with music. Another servant had come. David tensed up once more. Asteon was still relaxed, and almost seemed bored.
As the girl left, Asteon acknowledged her with a nod, as did David. Though she seemed to be a minor figure, Asteon made sure to add a mental tab on her. She was related to this new servant.
"Welcome to the house of the Lord and my humble residence... I am Joan of Arc, and by the will of the Lord I shall referee this particular War"
David eased up when he realized that she was the overseer and not an enemy. He bowed to Joan as she finished her introduction. The patron saint Jeanne d'Arc, savior of France. Asteon didn't seem to be as interested in respect as David was. He wasted no time in bombarding her with questions.
"Hey. Something's off here. Joan of Arc? That means you're a servant, aren't you? A servant as an overseer? And why are there two Archer classes, right in this very church? Every war only has one of each class. Explain."
"It seems that someone needs to take control of their Servants and restrain them." Mark told Lucas before he heard the arrival of Joan of Arc.
The Joan of Arc? Never thought that I'd see her in the flesh.
Thoughts aside, Mark decided to greet her since he personally heard that she's overseeing the War.
"My respects to you, madam." Mark greeted Joan of Arc, taking off his cap and showed off his brown eyes before he bowed in front of her, his left hand on the side with his right hand holding the cap and placed on his chest.
"Joan of Arc eh...?" murmured Lucas as he examined the Overseer. He didn't really understand why Joan of Arc, a person who certainly should not be alive, was here in the flesh, possibly summoned as a servant, and was claiming to be the the Overseer.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Joan..." said Lucas as he bowed his head slightly.
Archer turned her eyes from David, glanced at her master, and noticed their respect towards Joan than towards her.
"Hmph... Yeah, show respect to a woman who was burned upon a cross, and accused as nothing but a worthless witch, and not the King of Heroes... Whatever, stupid mongrels."
Archer then sat back down, and folded her arms and crossed her legs as she leaned against the wall. Lucas gave off a worried look as he turned from his servant, and towards Joan.
"I apologize for that ma'am," spoke Lucas, who found that the rubber balls in his pocket were starting to become slightly more appealing.
edited 23rd Oct '11 10:36:52 PM by Wolffang
"What the hell are you doing?" "I'm playing a role, sir, what are you doing?"In two very different parts of town, two very different women spoke the same words at almost the same time.
One was in the catacombs of the Cathedral, the other in the roof of the high class hotel Sovereign.
''Ye first, O silver, O iron O stone of the foundation, O Archduke of the Contract Hear me in the name of our great teacher, the Archmagus Schweinorg Let the descending winds be as a wall Let the gates in all directions be shut, rising above the crown, and let the three-forked roads to the Kingdom revolve.''
One of them was from Japan, who since her earliest memories lived in complete humility. The other one was born in Finland, surrounded by luxury since birth.
''Shut. Shut. Shut. Shut. Shut. Five perfections for each repetition. And now, let the filled sigils be annihilated in my stead!''
One was barely casting away the title of child, while the other has carried the title of woman comfortably for many years.
''Set. Let thy body rest under my dominion, let my fate rest in thy blade. If thou submittest to the call of the Holy Grail and if thou wilt obey this mind, this reason, then thou shalt respond.''
One who has never attempted sorcery until this moment, the other who has practiced it for her entire life.
''I make my oath here. I am that person who is to become the virtue of all Heavens. I am that person who is covered with the evil of all Hades.''
One who wishes only for herself...
And one who wishes to change the entire world.
''Thou seven heavens, clad in a trinity of words, come past thy restraining rings, and be thou the hands that protect the balance-!''
And so, the two women spoke their words... calling upon the throne of heroes to bring forth a Servant to participate in this mad festival.
And both calls were justly answered.
That would be something that young Tsubame Akutagawa and Lady Janice Cornwall had both in common.
Joan merely smiled at the insolent King of Heroes and accepted Lucas apology before she glanced over to Asteon to answer his questions.
"Indeed, I am a Heroic Spirit summoned to this era. However, I was not called here to engage in this conflict but to administer it. The Throne and the Lord decided to make use of this misguided ritual and give it new purpose. As such, the gates to the Throne have been opened... and every Hero that desires to step forth to this battle has the clearance to do so"
"This is quite the interesting predicament."
Mark said after greeting Joan before wearing his ballcap.
"From what I heard, someone from the Church should be in charge as a neutral party. And I do mean THE Church." Mark told the Spirit. "Though I wonder if the ones from the Vatican are the ones in charge of being the third party considering rumors that I heard regarding the fourth war."
When the call in the church had been answered, there came a bright light.
After the light from the summoning disappeared, Tsubame Akutagawa's servant became visible.
The Heroic Spirit that stood before the girl was not what one would expect, he didn't seem to give off a firm air but rather a soft one.
What seemed like a teenage boy stood in front of Tsubame. Boyish blond curls and loose clothing without any armor...not exactly the look of a warrior.
The only thing that pointed to the servant being of a special nature was the staff he held in one of his hands. It was black, giving off a gleam that would make it look like it was made of onyx or obsidian.
"Yo-you're my master right?"
edited 24th Oct '11 5:54:45 AM by JustaUsername
Some people say I'm lazy. It's hard to disagree."Hear me! I am Beowulf, War-King of the Geats, and I challenge whoever is brave enough to battle for glory!"
Saber's booming voice resounded within the Cathedral, gathering the stares of all those currently present. In reaction to this, Gerard puts his palm to his face.
"Oi, Beowulf, what the heck are you doing announcing your name like that?!" Gerard whispers to the burly Servant angrily. Beowulf laughs heartily in response to this.
"There is no glory to be found in a battle without exchanging names, is there not?! Now come, whoever is brave enough to accept my challenge!"
Gerard just sighs and sucks it up. Why did I get this guy as a Servant again?
edited 24th Oct '11 10:20:52 AM by LiberatedLiberater
MAL || vndb || BlogSince the Grail War has begun, I decided it would be best to visit the church. Getting Familiar with the Supervisor could give me an edge. I walked the entire distance to the Cathedral Sainte Marie. It's truly a beautiful building, we have no such Cathedrals in Japan, but I guess our Temples make up for that. Still, this foreign beauty is completely stunning.
I walk inside to see a riotous group of people butting heads. For what's supposed to be a neutral ground, the air is thick with deadly amounts of hostility.
"Lancer." Tomoe responds immediately. The tall black-haired beauty materializes by my side, her eyes on the competition. With so many servants out and about, it only makes sense to have mine ready to protect me.
"Who among you is the supervisor? I would like to introduce myself." I hate having to act so stiff and formal, but if I drop my guard, the opponent will have the upper hand.
TVTropes Nuzlocke Thread. - Arceus Help Us All.Avenger slowly stood up when he saw the small figure entering the amusement park.
Alright, it might be a carny out on the town, but given this city was the site of the holy grail war...someone walking around in medieval body armor with a big sword on their hip was almost centrally a Servant.
Now the question was, Saber? Rider? Or was it Lancer? Had to be one of the Knight classes, with that armor styling.
Avenger slipped down from the roof, making sure to grab his bag of essentials. Bandages, and a few rather explosive ideals he had 'liberated' from those who kept them. The plastic explosives was his main weapon, but he had to set up a trap in order to use it properly. The cell phone he had stolen would suffice as the detonator.
I figure I was one of the first summoned, if not the first. He had not bothered to check in with the so called referee, as honestly, this was war and it meant taking the gloves off sometimes.
He sneaked into the park with ease, going over one of the fences and touching down. Putting the back over his shoulder, he made his way quickly inside towards the Ferris wheel. Working quickly, he slapped two packages of plastic explosive onto two of the arms that held up the ferris wheel, so if it fell it would squash everything in one area. Hopefully. Quickly making sure the phone would set off the explosives, he made his way towards where he had seen that Servant.
His ability, Mystery Phantom Image, would now be taking effect, making sudden images of him appear for split seconds at the edge of the Servant's vision.
— Asteon —
David looked around at all the new arrivals. Each entry made David more uneasy. More threats to account for. One proudly declared his name as Beowulf.
"King Beowulf. These are neutral grounds. Please sheathe your sword for a while longer."
Asteon didn't seem to care about the commotion. He asked more questions to Joan, getting almost angry at the thinning of his chances to win.
"So... Joan. What you're saying is that we've drawn a lottery here? I joined the war hoping for a one in seven chance to win. How many heroes have been summoned? How many more will come? How in the world do I win this grail war if there's an endless supply of servants joining in?" Asteon withheld his final concluding curse words at risk of being eliminated from the war by disqualification.
"Ah, how wonderful! Not only do we have a blind religious rat king who follows a lesser being, but now we have an annoying bloodthirsty and mindless barbarian who thinks he's a king, and a vixen who has a master who thinks they are more important than I. Just what we needed, more insignificant and stupid mongrels who think they are worthy to be in the presence of a true king..." spoke a disgusted looking Archer as she indicated David, Beowulf, Tomoe, and Amagi.
"Now I know why people drink..." said Lucas as he wiped his face with the palm of his hand. Shaking his head, the young man raised his other hand up, as if to say he's sorry for his servant's rude remarks.
edited 24th Oct '11 3:18:43 PM by Wolffang
"What the hell are you doing?" "I'm playing a role, sir, what are you doing?""I think you might be misunderstanding something here, my good magus" Joan said, fixing her gaze on Mark though her eyes too wandered towards Asteon "There is few people more able to represent the Church than my person. And besides, this War is now in the hands of a higher power. What the practitioners of the occult which brought about this ritual planned before does not apply any longer"
"No longer is this merely an engagement with the end of satisfying the greed of a few magus... but a true contest for the heroes of old who wish to test themselves. The prize remains the same but now you don't necessarily need to be summoned by a magus to participate"
It was at that moment that she was forced to notice the violent behavior of Beowulf and the continued hostility of Gilgamesh and she was forced to act. Stepping forward, her armored foot made a loud noise which echoed through the whole Cathedral.
She was a small woman... but all assembled warriors could suddenly feel the sheer menace coming from her slender form "As the Overseer I am under the obligation of maintaining peace on these neutral grounds. Seeing as how the two of you, King Beowulf and you golden haired lady are not in the mood to have a civilized discussion I shall ask you to remove yourselves from my Cathedral..."
Her posture, and the sheer sense of danger which the Servant released were more than enough signs that the Maid of Orleans felt more than capable enough of removing them from the premises if the need arose.
The first thought that came to Tsubame was that she must have made a mistake somewhere along the ritual... She was told it didn't matter if she didn't know thaumaturgy... Maybe she got some of those Latin letters wrong...
Without any doubt the young man standing in front of her didn't have the same air as the man she had met upstairs. Her surprise and disappointment was clearly evident in her face as she answered the man "Yes... I appear to have summoned you..." The girl said, checking the back of her hand and finding three markings there "So I must be your Master"
When the light from the summoning circle faded, a tall figure could be seen standing in the middle of the circle. As he moved, the red cape he wore rippled as he made his way towards his Master. Taking in her blue eyes, he bowed in a sweeping gesture before turning to face the blond.
"I ask of you: Are you my Master?"
— Asteon —
Asteon whispered to himself. "Bull****." He left his seat to leave the cathedral, feeling rather insignificant amoung the collection of legendary heroes gathered in the building. All his work. Useless. What a load of ****.
David began to chase after him, "Asteon! Wait a sec!" Asteon paused for a moment. It looked as if he would ignore his servant and keep going, but he eventually turned around just shy of the doors, next to Beowulf and his bookish master, and waited for David.
Once assured that his Master was not leaving, David turned back and went to the front of the church, at the Altar. He knelt dowd and silenced the extraneous noises of the church in his own mind and gathered his hands together in prayer. He said nothing, and was completely motionless. There was no indication of his gesture being anything other than a simple prayer to god.
A Golden Casket
◊ appeared in front of David. It simply came into sight. No one would have noticed it appearing or materializing from one moment to the next. It was simply there, at the altar, as if that were its place since the beginning. The casket did not give off a radiance, divine light or anything of the sort. It was simply a golden box.
David spoke to Joan. "Maid of Orleans. I ask that you permit me to leave this here. Its original home was in the tabernacle of Isreal. I wish that it remains in the house of The Lord. It is the Ark of the Covenant, the greatest treasure of the material world. All that I ask is that no one lay a single hand on it, lest The Lord incur his wrath on them."
Mark blinked his eyes upon seeing David summon the Ark of the Covenant.
What the? THE Ark of the Covenant?
He began to rub his eyes to make sure that his eyesight was fine.
I remember hearing stuff on some legends on that thing. I could ask that guy that the French branch could guard it. On the other hand...
The SOU agent decided to ask Joan instead of wasting time on his thoughts further. "Are there any regulations that we need to abide since you mentioned that the ones in charge of overseeing this war are now different?"
edited 25th Oct '11 12:15:34 AM by Ominae

Archer looked up at the servant who was addressing her, and quickly gave off a look of disgust. "What I'm here for is none of your business, you vile cretin. Why don't you hold your peasantry tongue, get on your knees, and bow your head to me, your king, like a good little mongrel?" asked the girl as she stood up, and pointed to the floor with her hand.
Lucas shook his head and gave off a sigh as he heard his servant speak towards the unknown servant. We're so going to get in a fight at this rate...
"What the hell are you doing?" "I'm playing a role, sir, what are you doing?"