Fate/True
Far away from the modern world rested a holy cup. It was nestled deep inside of a cave, far from human eyes. A thin layer of dust covered its rough wooden shape as a testament to the fact that it had remained untouched for a long time. This cup was the Holy Grail, the real Holy Grail, and a shadow of its glory had once been a part of a great and terrible contest between mages.
It was an artifact of untold power, powered only by untold sacrifice, and it had been untouched for a very long time. In another world, maguses would have their servants fight to the death over this grail. In some worlds it would become corrupted and in other worlds it would remain pure. Sometimes it would grant a great wish and sometimes the only people capable of using it would die terrible deaths. In this world, the world of ours, it had once caught the blood of a simple carpenter, and was forgotten.
Until now.
Golden power flowed forth from the grail as a strange light illuminated the cavern that it rested in. The cup's power had been touched by Alaya herself, and soon a golden liquid seeped out from the top of the grail and onto the pedestal it sat on.
The water continued to flow outwards in all directions before moving with an unnatural motion, congealing into a single large pool which then sprang upwards in defiance of gravity. The gold continued to spew from the chalice as the liquid turned into a pillar and rose higher and higher into the cavern. All the while radiant power saturated the cave with energy.
And then the liquid fell away, leaving behind a single gold-haired man who was dressed in a fine golden armor. He blinked once and then clicked his tongue, all the while smiling arrogantly.
"You summon me for this grail war, not to compete, but to administer it. Not to act, but to direct." He noted to no one in particular, although his conversation partner was listening intently. "I hope, for your sake Alaya, that this war proves to be entertaining. For me to wager the use of my personal treasure is already asking a lot, this contest had better be adequate repayment. "
His name was Gilgamesh, the great King of Heroes. In the entire world, everything was his possession. Indeed, he was to be the ruler of Alaya's great Grail War. In this impromptu war, there was no one better suited for administering this tournament than him. And, while Gilgamesh had half a mind to simply tell Alaya to screw off, she did promise at least some semblance of a show that he had never seen before.
"I suppose that I can at least orchestrate a performance for the ages, even if you give me mongrels instead of real actors."
So he would humor her, at least for now.
It wasn't like she could wish him out of existence in a heartbeat. Nope, that had nothing to do with his willingness to aid the goddess of humanity.
"Well, first things first, I guess I should summon the masters for this contest. I don't think they actually know what they're doing in this world." Gilgamesh mused as he picked up the Grail beside him. With a careless shrug, he tossed the Holy Grail into the air behind him, not at all watching as it disappeared into a golden portal that led to somewhere outside of this world. After all, all the treasures of the world were contained inside his Gates of Babylon – the cup would be safe for now.
"By the command of Alaya and the servant Ruler, I summon forth the minds of the fourteen masters for this war!"
At his command, fourteen lights were summoned into existence. Each one corresponded to a master that Alaya had chosen to participate in this tournament. Gilgamesh himself didn't know who the masters were, but Alaya had promised him that he would soon enough find out. Regardless, they were sure to be disoriented and confused, at least one of them was registering nothing but complete terror at the situation. He could feel their emotions, and they were the finest appetizers for the finest meal.
This would be fun.
"Greetings chosen meat bag masters! I am servant Ruler and I have summoned forth the fourteen of you with a magnificent announcement, so rejoice!" Gilgamesh proclaimed with a radiant grandeur, throwing up his arms and bathing the cavern with treasures from his personal vault. "I declare that this Holy Grail War will commence! The fourteen of you will summon forth fourteen legends like myself, although vastly inferior to me, in a bid to gain my favor. The winner of this war will be the last master to retain control of their servant and I shall bless them with any wish in the world."
"Be it material, such as gold, or immaterial, such as returning a loved one to life or fixing a mistake of the past, no wish will be too great. Now, summon your servants and prepare for war. I grow tired of this lecture so I'll not bother with the finer details. Instead, you shall simply know the rules."
Gilgamesh snapped his finger and smirked devilishly as he drank the terror of the fourteen lights before him. With a simple cue, Alaya had inserted the rules and finer details of the grail war into their heads. Such magic was unfortunately beyond the great king of heroes's abilities but there was no point in letting the actors know that. No, it was best to let them think him as truly omnipotent.
"Know now what you do, with that knowledge in your minds, I shall see you in one month's time in the Holy Land of Judea. There we shall create the most magnificent performance to ever grace this world. Now get out of my sights you mongrels!"
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the War for the True Holy Grail. If you cannot already tell, this will be a Fate/Stay Night based RP. You will create your master and servant, and pit the pair against others for the One True Holy Grail. While I'm alloying any Servant other than Emiya and Gilgamesh to be summoned, I would ask that you actually try to make your own servant, or borrow one from the lists provided.
If you have never heard of Fate/Stay Night, feel free to ask any questions. This is mostly an interest check so I and the people more familiar will be more than happy to explain and expand things for you. For now, here are some of the basics~
The Grail War - is a competition that decides the ownership of the Holy Grail through intense battle royale. While there have been many conflicts over supposed Holy Grails in the past, this term refers to those specifically based around Masters, usually proficient magi, summoning Servants, Heroic Spirits brought forth as familiars, and meeting in battle until only one pair is left to claim the Holy Grail. The collateral damage is only limited by the discretion of the master.
Master - is a designation given to an individual, usually a mage, who has become one of the formal participants of the Holy Grail War by obtaining Command Spells and forming a contract with a Servant.
Heroic Spirits/Servants - are spirits of heroes who achieved great deeds in life, having become objects of worship after their deaths. Usually, the greater and more known of their tale, the stronger the Spirit of the Hero... Heroes with names such as Arthur Pendragon, Joan of Arc, Beowulf, and others.
In this particular War, there will be two pairs of the seven classic classes to summon from.
This covers a great deal on the concepts of Servants, the requirements for summoning, and a few of the 'official' servants that could be summoned. Of course, this list is pretty limited.... which is why This link provides a great list of potential servants!. Exact details on what is and isn't allowed will be covered later.
Looking for dedicated players who want to create something beautiful and have a pocketful - maybe two pocketfuls and all you can cram in hands and mouth/s - of fun! So now I ask, beckoned by the Grail... are you my Masters?
