[IC] Fate/Dark Heritage

[King Cosmos]

Berserker

The summoning circle Shou had drawn was slow to respond to his incantation. For a moment one my even think that it had failed before all at once, like the rumble of thunder and breaking of dark clouds in a previously clear sky, magical energy began to fill the room. A shudder passed through the floor and lashing tongues of red lightning struck the walls and the air in the room seemed to press down with sudden weight.

With a boom of violently displaced air, Berserker appeared.

Standing tall, the Servant towered over the seated mage as he rolled his shoulders. Berserker stretched out muscles that felt like they had been resting for too long, or perhaps had never been used at all since this was not his real body. The burnished golden disks that decorated his dark clothing jangled slightly as they shifted with the movement. Letting out a sigh, the Servant looked around the room and examined the room he had been summoned to; it was nothing to look at, literally, unless you counted blank walls covered with accumulated dust and dirty floors.

A frown creased his face, an expression made more severe by the large scar that marked his face as he scanned the room but could not find what he was looking for. Until he looked down and was surprised to see his summoned sat on the floor of this dingy abandoned building. The mage broke the silence first, introducing themselves and holding out a hand in greeting in an unexpectedly casual manner. “You…” Reaching out to take Shou’s hand, Berserker paused as he spotted the remains of a shattered crown in his hands.

Feeling a weight at his hip, Berserker’s outstretched hand dropped to land on the hilt of a weapon that was not his, should never have been his, at yet was. A weapon he had drawn in pursuit of a tyrant’s death and had surrendered back to its rightful owner before it was plunged into his chest. Gripping it tightly he ripped it from its sheath and beheld the blade, feeling that sense of invincibility flow through him again as he did so. For Hang Jebat to be standing here again holding this blade once more, there could only be one reason; another tyrant needed their blood spilled.

Lowering the dagger, but not reaching out another hand in greeting, Berserker sized the mage up with newly focused eyes and opened his mouth to speak in a tone that carried a threatening undercurrent. “Are you my… master.”

@Iamme

[Iamme]

Shou Iwata

Shou was weary of the tall man towering over him but he didn't show it. Showing fear when greeting his servant wasn't a good look. He pulled his hand back and scratched his head when he saw Berserker wouldn't take it. "Yes...I am your master" Shou noticed Berserker looking around. Hopefully, he wasn't judging the place he was summoned in.

He already naturally knew Berserker's name but decided an actual introduction was in store "You're name is Hang Jebat right" Shou put his head up a bit "I'm Shou Iwata from the Iwata clan and my wish for the holy grail is to free my brother from his illness what do you desire" He wasn't telling a lie he did want to free his brother from his illness if he regained his carefree lifestyle along the way who was to judge.

[GOATPlumber]

The representative stood in front of the dimly lit church. The Mage Association had sent their own representative to this particular Grail Was. He was nothing of note, nor was his purpose there of much importance- it was only one lord that sent him after all. Nevertheless, he was here to do his duty: to uphold the order of the Grail War.

Upon entering the church, he was greeted by the sight of a young man sitting in one of the pews.

“Ah, so you’ve finally arrived. I tell it could be one of you from those heavy steps of yours.” The young man- presumably the overseer said, with a strange expression of satisfaction on his face, as if he had won some sort of petty game.

“I will not play games here, priest. Let’s not do the formalities: the fighting starts tonight.” When stepping into the warm light of the church, it became clear that he was a large man, with a blonde stubble on his face that made him look more like a bouncer than a dignified mage.

“Yeah, it is.” With those words, the long-haired priest summoned what seemed to be a sigil- something highly unusual for members of the Holy Church, which the priest became immediately aware of from the stare of the bewildered mage.

“Yes, this is something the grail gave me. No, it isn’t something I’m doing behind the Church’s back.” He turned the sigil with his hand, producing a sound like winding clockwork.

“Don’t worry, we won’t get in trouble.” Upon further turning the sigil, a sensation as if the two lone inhabitants of the church were being listened to suddenly manifested. It was subtle, but both of the magically adept individuals could sense it, and the newly-arrived mage could somewhat guess why it appeared.

“Just to let you know, you’re all clear to kill each other now. Remember: no witnesses.” A message was sent out to all the participants of the war. The priest’s face was twisted into a sarcastic grin, much to the confusion of the mage. Upon the sensation of being listened to subsided, the mage spoke up: “What the hell kind of priest are you?” Said priest looked at the mage with a devious smile.

“The magical kind.”

[Letter Bee]

Lorenzo Calungsod Emiya

Lorenzo's first thought was, I wanted a handsome young man, heretical as it may be.

His second and third thoughts were, A beautiful amazon is also to my liking. Society would probably accept that better, too.

Then, the surprise finally hit, Gajah Mada was a woman?!

Schooling himself to courtesy, and purging himself of impure thoughts unworthy of a member of the Holy Church, he spoke, "My name is Lorenzo. Lorenzo Calungsod Emiya. My mother is of the blood of Nusantara, and my father is a foreigner. It is my honor to meet such a beautiful lady, and fight alongside her in this Holy Grail War."

His superior, well, his technical superior had announced the start of the War from a different church building, and it was time for Lorenzo to start the fight from his makeshift HQ... Or at least, that was the plan. To be honest, as the chapel he was borrowing was well-protected with layers of Bounded Fields, he had plenty of time and the luxury of space to discuss a plan of action with one of the greatest tacticians of her age.

Looking at her, Lorenzo spoke, "Now, to business; just so you know, I am not opposed to you wishing to fulfill your unfulfilled oath - My country stands to profit as a co-equal component of a larger federation of Southeast Asian States led by your liege's successors. However, I would like to ask that on our journey to fulfill it, we save as many people from the depredations of the other Masters and Servants as possible - I do not like collateral damage. As for the tactical situation... I'll be blunt; trained in Magecraft as I am, I have never been good at Familiars and other ways of gathering intelligence through Supernatural means. My kit is also sub-optimal and bare-bones for fighting against other Masters, let alone a weak Servant."

His smile turned wry as he continued, "But what I am good at is technology, much-neglected by Magi. If the Grail has given you knowledge of what Computers are; well, I'm good at them - Follow me to this Church's outbuildings; contrary to what people think, the Priest does not live in the Church itself; at least not most of the time."

He then walked out of the cellar, gesturing for Gajah Mada to follow him to a small studio at the edge of the Church grounds, a small studio that contained several computers kept cool by specialized Bounded Fields. These computers had a live feed from Kyoto's CCTV network, acquired by using Mental Interference Magecraft on certain members of the Police Force. Lorenzo then explained, "We wait for the rowdier Masters and Servants to begin seeking each other out for a fight, and interfere when it looks like civilians are going to be harmed. We also check for misinformation spread by the Mages' Association or the Holy Church to maintain the masquerade. Of course, we also try and find out as much data on the Servants and Masters as we can. Any more questions?"

Is turtling dishonorable? Yes, yes it is. But right now, I do not take our chances lightly - We are likely to die if we just dive in.

@Randomguy

[Randomguy]

---

Gajah Mada observed the man in front of her, who appeared to be part of the Christian Church, given his attire and the location she was summoned to. Gajah Mada had not interacted much with the Christian Church in her life, for they had only started to gain some small footholds in Nusantara when she was alive, nevertheless, if she remembered correctly, they were supposed to be against unsanctioned mystical arts, deeming it heretical, so it struck her as odd that her Master was a member of such Church.

For now, however, she opted to listen to her Master before asking her own questions. Once he finished introducing himself and outlining his immediate plan, Gajah Mada nodded, before replying, "Well, first of all, I appreciate the courtesy, but you needn't bother hiding your surprise that I am a woman. It was a common enough occurrence back then, so I am used to it. I am Gajah Mada, the Mahapatih of Majapahit, though given the fact that you knew of my unfulfilled oath—and the fact that you were surprised that I am a woman—you probably already know that. Nevertheless, regarding my unfulfilled oath, allow me to clarify. You mentioned earlier you are in favour of a large-state Southeast Asian Federation led by Majapahit's successor...while I am glad that my Master approved of my wish, what I wish is not to make Indonesia the leader of Southeast Asia, I seek a true revival of the Majapahit Empire. The Nusantara that we dream of is that of a united archipelago under the Majapahit Empire. Indonesia claims to be our successor and even incorporated my oath into their national identity. But in the end, Majapahit and Indonesia are two different nations."

The clarification, was, perhaps unnecessary. But to Gajah Mada, if her Master was fighting beside her under the impression that it would be Indonesia who would fulfil her Palapa Oath, that he would be labouring under a misconception. Gajah Mada was not above deception, but this was a conversation between an ally, and on such matter, Gajah Mada would prefer to be forthright.

Smiling, Gajah Mada adds, "But of course, given that they ARE our successor in the modern days, that was more a matter of technicality. Regardless, what I wish to bring into reality is a united Nusantara not under a nation whose values and national identity are the Republic of Indonesia but under a nation whose values and national identity are that of the Majapahit Empire. That aside, I am of one mind to avoid collateral damage and save as many people as possible. In the first place, I made the Palapa Oath not for the sake of mere conquest, but because I wished to bring prosperity to all."

That being said...this is called the Holy Grail War for a reason. Gajah Mada's expression hardened. Her Master seemed to be somewhat of the idealistic sort, but she figured it needed to be said,

"That being the case, despite only between several individuals this conflict by the name of the Holy Grail War is supposed to be a war. Therefore, while I agree that we should always try to avoid innocent blood being shed, the reality is that sometimes such things cannot be avoided in war. So I do hope you keep that in mind, Master.

"Now then, as to your inquiry of whether the Grail informed me of computer..." she continued, looking at the various monitors in the room, Yes. I am aware of them, though not on a visceral level, obviously. They are quite convenient indeed...the things I could have expedited back then if I had these technologies..."

Gajah Mada chuckled, "Back then, I was doing the work of four Patih—that is, ministers, in modern parlance—along with my own duty of Mahapatih—Prime Minister—with technology...Oh my, I could easily do at least twice as much work."

Gajah Mada talked about taking on more work with the gleeful excitement one could only find on the most hardcore of workaholics. She then continued with even more wondrous excitement,

"Oh, yes. Since it somewhat pertained to me, the Grail has informed me that there is something called a communication satellite named after my oath, the Palapa. As I understand it, these...satellites allow one long-range communication through computers via something called the Internet, I'd appreciate it if you could show me this Internet at some point. If I had that back then, I could—

She stopped, realizing that her excitement had gotten the better of her. She coughed, her cheeks somewhat tinged red from embarrassment.

"Ehem. Forgive me, my excitement of how much work can be done through technology has gotten the better of me. Before that...I've been meaning to ask. I understand that the mystical art is taboo among those of the Church, so what wish would you ask of the grail that you would even participate in such a ritual as a mage?"

@Letter Bee

[Double D]

First Night, Kyoto Forest

Interacting With: @Digmata
---------------------------------------------------------------------

In the city that night, there was an animal.

It looked like an animal to the average person, at least.

The raccoon dog made its way along the rooftops, balancing along wires or leaping over small gaps as it went. Its brown eyes shone with intelligence as it inspected everything as it went. From far away, someone watched its every move, a small thread of mana connecting the two.

Samira had done her best, but the familiar she created was a rush job. A random Racoon Dog she had found dead in an alleyway. A quick application of a poultice to repair its body. Binding a nameless spirit, some lingering echo of some myth, into its body. She completed it with a single strand of her hair to forge the connection properly.

It did its job well enough though. No one would question it at a single glance. Someone scrutinizing it closely might realize it was a familiar. Yet anyone who did that was outing themselves as a Magus or a Servant. A Caster would be able to tell instantly, but she had the Caster of the war on her side. Speaking of which, she should probably check up on that. She flicked out of shared perception to look toward the work being done.

"Caster, how goes the bounded field?"

A Caster was only as good as their territory. This wasn't the perfect territory, but it could be worse. While not right on top of a ley-line, it wasn't far away from one. It wasn't the best defensive position they could ask for, but it was remote. Out of the way, so the odds of getting found easily weren't high. It was the kind of location suited to a spider, frankly...

Which made it important that Caster got their territory set up as quickly as possible. Before another servant could somehow find them and force them into a conflict before they were ready. She was not confident in Caster's ability to fight without an advantage. Whether they be her territory proper, or setting up an ambush ahead of time.

"I'm not getting much from my own scouting at the moment. Think people are hiding, hm?"

[King Cosmos]

Berserker

Berserker’s gaze softened slightly at his master’s answer; the tension in his frame loosening perceptibly at hearing the young man’s wish. To free his brother from illness; it was a simple wish, honest and selfless. Though he held a crown Shou was no ruler, no king, unless royalty held themselves to much looser standards these days; Berserker sheathed his dagger again, finally relinquishing his grip on it, and spoke in a much less dangerous voice than before.

“I am Hang Jebat, as you said. The Berserker of this war.”

The question of his own desire was a surprisingly tricky one. Though he had answered the call of his summons, it had not actually been with a particular goal in mind; he had answered it also instinctively, not consciously, not with purpose.

What did Berserker want from this war? The tyrant who had wronged his friend, executed him unjustly, was dead; not by his own hand, but that was no concern. It was justice he had sought, not vengeance. His friend had never been executed in the first place and continued to serve the man who had betrayed him, so there was no need to save Hang Tuah nor clear his name of wrongdoing. Despite the circumstances of his death, Hang Jebat appeared to have died with little to regret and all loose ends dealt with.

If he had a desire at all, it was a far reaching one; the end of all tyrants, so that no man, woman or child should ever suffer under the yoke of a malicious king.

Was such a thing possible, even for the Grail? What Hang Jebat sought was to overturn human nature, to prevent flawed people from rising to power and using that power for selfish gains at the expense of others. Could even the Grail put a stop to the corrupting influence of power and ensure that no tyrant was ever born from now until humanity’s final breath?

Yes.

Berserker tightened his hand around the hilt of his weapon, having dropped back to his waist without him even noticing. It must be possible, even if he must put a stop to each tyrant himself, appearing before them like an avenging spirit to slit their throats and rip out their hearts as soon as their boot pressed down a little too forcefully on those beneath them. If the Grail could not change human nature, then let him at least ensure that each tyrants rule was a short and bloody one.

“I desire… the end of all tyrants.”

@Iamme

[Letter Bee]

Lorenzo Calungsod Emiya

"My wish?" Lorenzo mused upon hearing Gajah Mada's question, "It is to deny others their wish if it hurts people or tries to derail the salvation of Humanity."

He then spoke, "The Church may be flawed, but its central thesis, that the world has been saved from sin and its burdens by God becoming Man, dying, ressurecting, and keeping his Human nature so that Humanity as a species can share of divine grace, is worth beieving. To slaugther large numbers of Humans, to ruin their lives, to bring despair and pain and rage, when God hiself loved Humanity enough to become one of them, and to commit such slaugther under the belief that God wanted that... I'd spend my life denying any such wish."

A pause, then he continued as the computers in the shed contiued to give feedback from the Kyoto CCTV system, "But if you don't believe that, then there is another thing that can be believed - That Humanity is also saved in another way through the Age of Will; once Magecraft and Technology and even True Magic are rendered obsolete, Humanity will have ascended to the stars and able to change the universe through their own willpower. That is a future that has been set, but can also be gainsaid by enough effort. To try and prevent such is evil; to try and push it forward in a way that leads to slaugther and suffering and irresponsible shortcuts taken... That is also evil."

Through their bond, Gajah Mada would recognize this as the truth, that Lorenzo made a concious effort not to reach for ambitions above his abilities and foster contentment with how his life was now. His parents were still alive, the Church he served disliked but respected him, and his finances were secure.

He was genuinely doing this to save people, but at the same time knew well enough that some of them cannot be saved. He had already resigned himself to the deaths of those who would die despite his own best efforts; moved on in order to save the next ones. His faith in the established salvation of Humanity and the world kept him like this; more stable than most Magi and Churchfolk. How very much unlike a usual Emiya, any Multiversal observer would admit...

There were stray cats outside the Bounded Field, just beyond the boundaries of the Chapel grounds; these can be detected through CCTV. For a brief moment, Lorenzo thought they could be familiars, but decided not to commit random cat slaugther and thus give himself away early.

Instead, he'd just continue to watch...

@Randomguy @ManyThings

[Digmata]

---

After her eventful summoning, Caster immediately went to work. Preparation is her key to victory in this war and there are quite a lot of things a Caster could do before anyone can see face.

The first are clothes obviously, not only her master's clothing look boorish but it is lacking even with practical protection that clothes should have. Thanks to her she will now enjoy the benefits of a clothes that will never feel the heat of cold, can apply Presence Concealment albeit at a low-level, be attention grabbing when she needs to and even endure blows from some servants. She won't rely on the last feature though.

Second is a quick utilization of her connection with spiders, it was mostly diminished due to her being a Caster and not a Rider but it was still existing and even more subtle.

"I think a found a Servant." she spoke as she move through the countless spiders she had her master's familiar spread around the city before a smile creeps on her face. "A lovely lass she is, although I'm curious about the culture of the clothes she's wearing, she looked like a princess of barbarian lands, as likely such a term is."

"The Master is a holy man though so I don't like him."

[Iamme]

Shou Iwata

As Hang's gaze softened Shou sighed in his mind he seemed to have liked his "wish" which wasn't truly what he wanted. Upon hearing his class name Shou celebrated in his mind, a berserker they were one of the strongest classes but they were risky to use. His family had warned him about the berserker class. They were an open facet that drained mana and if he were to get one he should conserve mana and focus more on his katana what a pain.

There was also his name Hang Jebat he didn't recognize his legend and considered it rude to search it up and decided to let that go. His wish was interesting wanting to end all tyrants a noble wish. He was probably a noble hero who a tyrant betrayed before taking him down. He wondered if he would see the Iwata family as tyrants. Most likely he thought he didn't see them any better.

Shou would have continued his inside rant but he was interrupted by the message "So it's finally begun" Shou said before turning to Hang "Do you have any skills that could help with lookout" Shou had nothing and even if he did he would need to conserve mana so he would dump the responsibility to Hang only muttering he should have prepared more.

[King Cosmos]

Berserker

That was how the war began? A conflict between legends displaced in time, to lay claim to a wish that could alter the course of the world? It didn’t seem appropriate, but at the same time maybe it was all a war fought in secret in back alleys and abandoned buildings deserved.

His master asked if he had any abilities that would let his act as scout or lookout in this war; unfortunately he did not. Though he had the skills of a trained warrior, which included some amount of tracking and such, it was far below what was useful in a conflict like this. His death as a rampaging mad man and rebirth as the same had not given him anything new in that area. “No. My skills will only show their worth in direct combat.”

@Iamme