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    1. Art of Fun 10 yrs ago

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Ezekiel 'Zeke' Vilgore
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?"

  • Name: Ezekiel Vilgore


  • Age: Mid-twenties


  • Gender: Male


  • Appearance/Description: From first glance, Ezekiel is evidently from one of the most southernmost tribes, his skin and dark with silver blonde hair and near-reflective goldenrod eyes. His gaze is an intense one, and not in a pleasant sense - this child tries his best to scour the ones he looks at, seeking in them some sort of answer to a question only he knows. He dresses in garbs indicative of some role within the church.


  • Personality: Ezekiel is...off. There's something that's very hard to place about the boy, a certain lack of responsiveness at times hinting at something being wrong with him - being a moment later than everyone else at laughing at some form of joke, not smiling at a joyous occassion, an overly tight grip in handshakes, small things you don't really notice individually...

    Well, other than that he appears to be a near model citizen and holy-man. He can recite the Word off his head, provide sermons on the spot and be a spiritually encouraging individual. He never really takes the initiative in conversation, but the same could be said about him in almost everything, he's usually pushed into doing it. Not that he cannot make small talk, he's rather adept at that despite his hesitance.


  • Goals/Motive: Ezekiel's stock answer is 'to serve God, the Church and people in all things', but he does not believe that. He likes to think he does, but it's completely hollow. Hollow, that's a good word for Ezekiel. Nothing he does feels like it's worth the effort. His goal is disturbingly non-existent, he simply exists and does thing which are appropriate at that moment. He follows his orders to the letter, but never doing anything more. He kills, but feels nothing...but he does question. Maybe these questions will be the seed that will grow to drive Ezekiel.


  • Bio/History: Before Ezekiel was born into the world, missionaries from Aaester ventured far south beyond what most maps covered into a dry and unrelenting region of the world, seeking to spread the Faith. Finally, not long after the birth of Ezekiel, they came into contact with the only nomadic tribe in the region which had learned to thrive in the harsh desert - the Sharur.

    What allowed this tribe to survive was a mixture of raw hardiness, ingenuity and Etlu-Nasu. Etlu-Nasu is a unique martial art, in that it was developed to hunt and kill the Calamity Beasts which roam desert. The Sharur lacked religion, for the most part, but not spirituality. Upon the (cautious) introduction to the Faith a majority of the Sharur seemed to find answers in the Church dogma, the most accomplished hunter, who sired Ezekiel, being among them.

    Ezekiel never saw his father as a toddler, separated by the miles of land between the Desert and Aaester. He grew up in an a culture divided between the traditional spiritualism of old and the Faith brought to the Sharur by the missionaries. In the end, all it served to do was alienate him from his fellow tribesmen. He cared little for either approach and instead immersed himself in learning how to hunt with Etlu-Nasu. On what would have been his tenth year Ezekiel's father returned to the Sharur as a Cardinal Priest, if only briefly, to meet his son. Ezekiel's father tried to regale him with tales of the wondrous capital city, and of his life in the Church. None of it interested Ezekiel in the slightest, just like everything else. In the end, he was taken by his father to Aaester.

    What followed next...well, that's not allowed to be discussed to much of an extent, but let it be known that under his fathers watch Ezekiel was inducted into a less than savoury sect of the Church. The rest, as they say, is history.




  • Equipment/Assets: Funds, two bedroom apartment, some contacts in government, Church backing.
  • Abd-Al Malik,
    Summoning
    A pregnant silence filled the air between Servant and Master. Although invisible, Gwyn would still feel the heavy gaze of his Servant on him from its spiritual form. It finally broke with Saber's boisterous laughter.

    Hilarious! Hilarious! A fool who is quick to decry honour as non-existent on the battlefield, while holding to the standard of 'good' and an absurd ideal! I'd be careful, claiming horses do not exist when riding upon a stallion.

    Saber took a breath, calming its self before continuing, amusement still lining its voice.

    It exists, even more so than something like 'evil'. I want you to consider that before you interfere in any of my duels, and think about what it means for me and then yourself. As for Masters, I would treat them like the scum they are if they are so eager to resort to underhanded tactics - I do not take well to cowards. If you wish for them to live, then so be it, but should they use your own good nature against you I will hold nothing back in parting their bodes in half like the red sea.

    I was a king as well as a warrior, Master. I know all too well what it is to be crushed by your ideals, even those held from youth - perhaps that is why I was chosen from your blood...to make you realise this.
    Abd-Al Malik,
    Sports Stadium
    Saber made good on his Master's order, heading into the city to get a 'feel' for the place that would be its battlefield for the coming days. It was somewhat overwhelming, even if it had some idea of what to expect. A concrete jungle, towers of glass and odd vehicles! It desired to ride one of the iron stallions which had roared passed it, even if it was theoretically faster. It eventually grew tired of the tourism, remembering the promise of conflict.

    It found the perfect arena. A sports stadium, if what the sign outside was true. A vast field with an open sky, surrounded by empty and elevated seats, although there would be none to fill the seats for this sport. It nodded to its self and began to forum from dark particles, standing upright with its blade in the ground before it. Its many eyes stared beyond the stadium, seeking something.

    "Face me."

    A simple phrase that carried with it untold weight, the Saber's presence being made painfully aware to any Masters and Servants within the city and beyond. The meaning behind it was clear; a challenge to all those who would meet it.
    Bloop. Got caught up in University things, had to sort that out and kinda forgot to post. My bad.
    Hero
    "Welcome. This is indeed the correct group. Ignore Angelo, he appears fixed on anything with ovaries." Elise looked between the two newcomers then back to the rest of the group with a 'hmph'. This would do.

    "For the newcomers sake, I'll give a quick outline of what I'd had planned: We look for an associate of the ones who slew our parents, and we get what we can from him. About the World Heart, its location, about how our parents were killed - anything relevant you can think of. There's an individual who I have in mind, but he will most certainly not go down without some injury."

    Elise finally brought her hands from her back, straightening out her uniform. The snake-like smile on her face had not wavered from the moment she'd shown herself, appearing to be fixed there. "I suppose some introduction is in order once again. I am Corporal Elise Sternn, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
    Abd-Al Malik,
    Summoning
    One of the many eyes twitched at Gwyn's words. Saber crossed its arms and instead looking outside from the door Gwyn had opened. It was indeed eager to fight, but now it had some concerns - ones that would be addressed immediately. Saber took heavy steps towards the door, entering spirit form before it reached Gwyn.

    Your bravery is admirable, Master, but you will not face a Servant so long as it is my foe. Do as you wish to their Master, but it is my duty to the Saber class to best other Servants in combat - alone. It is the greatest honour.

    There is an exception. If a coward sends their servant to best you rather than I, then we shall defeat this servant to the point where they'll cry for their mother, and then humiliate their Master by making them lap around this place in nothing but their undergarments for all to see - and then we can make them clean our boots!

    Saber sounded incredibly eager at that prospect - to a very weird degree. Seems the swordsman had a degree of sadomasochism running through it. It made a sound akin to clearing its throat through the link it shared with Gwyn, putting those rather uncouth thoughts aside.

    Unless you have other things you wish to discuss, then lead the way Master.
    Michiko,
    Hotel Room
    It was only through willing ignorance that Michiko had not noticed her Servants state of undress. Unfortunately, her Servant did not let it go unnoticed. The girls eyes widened, a surge of red spreading from her chin to her ears

    "L-Lancer!"

    With a squeal Michiko brought her hands up to cover her face, turning away from Lancer. Of course, even with an egregious would on her shoulder, Lancer was definately stunning - and that was part of the problem for Michiko. Inadequacy was its name, and tormenting Michiko was its game. When her embarrassment finally settled down she looked back to Lancer, specifically at her wound, and leaned over. She took a deep breath, trying to get herself back in the zone. Resolved, Michiko shut her eyes. The empowering and stressful sensation of her circuits kicking to life came from her eyes, readying herself for the spell she was about to cast.

    "An artifact... we could always try to temporarily ally with another Master and Servant if he becomes a problem, I guess."

    "If he's still alive...then I'll try my best to heal it now. I won't be feeling too well tomorrow. You'll need to be really quiet to get the most out of it, okay?"

    Her eyes opened, the slight glow coming from the right iris being a clear indicator of magecraft at work. Her mouth began moving, the words coming from her mouth something other than English; Welsh, actually. An odd language for a young Japanese girl to be speaking. With each verse, the young magus' gaze seemed to become more and more distant, her expression falling flat by the time she finished on the eighth verse.

    Her next movements were robotic, preprogrammed for a situation just like this. Hands lightly waved over the large wound, brushing the parted flesh without consideration for the Servants comfort. A moment passed, something processing within Michiko's head, and then she got to work. Thin blue threads formed at the ends of her fingers, prehensile and moving without any visible influence from Michiko. What came next was focused silence, the strings threading through the parted flesh and bringing it back together, tying it together. It was a painful method but it was a very accurate one.

    By the time she'd finished, the wound was completely sealed by the ephemeral threads. The final stage of the healing was the payoff, her hands placed back on the now-closed wound and glowing the same blue as the threads. The pain would begin to fade after a few moments, the flesh, cartilage and blood vessels being repaired over the time she held her hands on Lancer.

    Definitely not the cleanest healing job, but it wasn't a wound anymore. Lancer was back in a decent state, but Michiko looked worse for ware. Sweat rolled from her hairline, colour having progressively left her face through out the entire process. That magic was pushing the limit of what she was capable of in a short amount of time, and the effect was clear.

    Whatever 'mode' she had put herself under dropped rather suddenly after her work was complete. She slumped onto Lancer, her breathes ragged and drifting into the realm of unconsciousness.
    Michiko,
    Hotel Room

    Oh. Dear. Some bandages certainly was not going to help too much with those injuries. Michiko blinked, just standing on the spot for a good few moments as she went through the options in her head. Healing was not something she was particularily good at, but she was at least capable of it, unlike bolstering. To mend Lancer to a workable state would be a sloppy, drawn out affair if she tried it - but it didn't need to be her who did it. She knew of a way, but to do that so early would leave her worn out the next day...

    The young magus weighed her options with a sigh, gesturing for Lancer to sit on one of the two beds in the room.

    "Is the other Servant dead...?" She asked cautiously, not wanting to sound insolent or pushy towards Lancer. "I mean, I just need to know if anyone else knows that you're hurt, as all. I can heal you, but the way I do it takes a lot out of me."

    She sat on the bed, closing her eyes. "I'm sorry, Lancer. That could have gone better, if I'd planned for us to be attacked tonight." She bowed her head in deference to her. Guilt, a product of her social anxieties, ran through her head. If Lancer were summoned by someone better than her...
    Al Abd-Malik,

    The creature waited for its master to finish talking before its body shook, a thunderous laughter coming from it. Demon - Saber had been called similar many a time in its life, and it was equally as amusing each time! Some people were blinded by initial seeming, letting it cloud their ability to guess its nature. It would not call its self evil like a demon, but everyone was the hero in their own story; what was it to claim that it was not evil? That was for others to judge from its actions, after all.

    "Demon?! You think I, one pulled from the Throne of Heroes, to be a demon?! Amusing, Master. In all things, appearances can be deceiving - the Ophanim appear to be two burning wheels covered in eyes, and they're angels! The Seraphim are no better. By all means, I'm a kindly peasant in appearance compared to them. Consider that, the next time you consider my nature."

    "You may call me Abd Al-Malik, or Saber if you wish to keep it simple. All you need know about my identity is that Saber is undoubtedly the class which I shine the most in." While speaking and without hesitation, Saber reached into the bag with its claw-like fingers, taking a handful of colourful candy and tossing it into the impenetrable smog that obscured its face.

    "The introductions are complete, Gwyndolyn. All that remains for us is battle and victory. Point me to my first foe, and I shall best them in your name as well as my own."
    Somewhere, Elsewhere

    Finally.

    Finally I am chosen. The Throne, t'is a boring place to which I am unfit to dwell. There be no conflict to be resolved, no enemies to face, no people to lead. What business do I, a warrior and leader, have in waiting? Time passes strangely there, but I know I have waited long for this moment, and that is enough. So I ask myself again, why have I been waiting?

    For the opportunity. To fight the greatest again, for the thrill of the quest. It is worth it to know I shall feel the fiery adrenaline pump through my very being, to meet steel against those who may even - the thought almost makes me shudder eagerly - defeat me. It had simply been too long since the last. Of course, there was a price for this opportunity, as there was a price on all good things.

    A Master. I spit at that. Respectful, that I shall be. Honest, yes - but there be only one person whom I shall refer to as master in the most genuine sense and it t'is not anyone from the day and age I feel myself being pulled into now. A glimpse of the one who calls me, as the body which is 'mine' is actualised.

    One thing.

    One single thing is communicated in the instant that I become within the world.

    An unbreakable will, the heart of a hero in the making.

    How nostalgic.

    Abd Al-Malik

    A single step was all it took to part the dust and airborne energy, the undeniably overwhelming presence of Saber nearly energising the air and cracking the very ground it stood upon.

    It being used rather appropriately.

    Saber could barely be called a man from its appearance, several vertical and bloodshot eyes, attached to a head obscured by an ominous black smog, locked onto Gwyn. They stared into the young man, scouring his very character. Its gaze could cause skin to crawl, for paranoia to build in the peripherals of ones vision. This thing was no knight in shining armour - it was a monster in warped flesh shaped to be like armour, blues and purples seamlessly transitioning into one another on its body.

    At its side, a blade fit to match its giant wielder. It appeared just as warped and uncomfortable as the thing that held it. An eye on the hilt looked to Gwyn as the others did.

    "Ye be foolish in that you do such things."

    The voice did not sound like it came from a mouth, but from the entire things being. The vertical eyes squinted at their master, scrutinising.

    "I smell it on the air - to have used so much of your own blood for this." Saber snorted. "A fool! I have been summoned by a fool who would not collect that of others."

    "...But a fool who is quickly earning respect."

    Saber knelt before Gwyn with its gaze downwards, a heavy sounding movement that made a 'thud'.

    "I ask of you, are you my Master?"


    Class: Saber

    Alias: Abd Al-Malik

    Gender: Male (?)

    Height: 7'0

    Alignment: Honourable Evil?

    Outfits: Generally in spirit form if in public.

    Personality: Saber is a creature which follows the chivalric code and few words, lest they be for its Master or those it deems respect-worthy. Surprisingly enough, despite the creatures very intimidating initial appearance, its a rather joyous fellow among those it is comfortable with, willing to crack jokes and exchange snark with no issue. While unwilling to declare its true name to any who would face it, Abd Al-Malik is a believer in fair and honourable duels and detests underhanded trickery - it may even demand that its master not interfere in a conflict between it and another servant no matter the situation.

    Stats:

    Strength: B+
    Endurance: B+
    Agility: C+
    Magical Energy: B
    Luck: B

    Class Abilities:

    Magic Resistance (C+): Cancel spells with a chant below two verses. Cannot defend against Magecraft on the level of High-Thaumaturgy and Greater Rituals. In Saber's case, Magic Resistance is equatable to that of A rank under certain circumstances.

    Riding (B): Most vehicles can be handled with above average skill. However, cannot ride the likes of Phantasm Races such as Monstrous Beasts.

    Personal Skills:

    Charisma (B): Suitable for a king of a country.

    Prana Burst (A): A normal weapon that is not on the level of a divine mystery can be destroyed in one blow. Raises defense several times.

    Battle Continuation (B): The servant may endure grievous wounds without issue and receives a bonus to retreating from combat while heavily wounded.

    Shrouded in Mystery (B): At this rank the exact identity of the servant cannot be discerned through any means of scrying (be it a Noble Phantasm or otherwise), but may be recognised by Heroic Spirits of the same legend or figured out through piecing together.
    Michiko,
    Hotel Room

    The wait was agonizing. For the entire time she was running, she could almost feel the fight between Lancer and the Plague Knight. By the time she'd finally sealed herself away, it felt as if the fight was coming to an end. The adrenaline faded, and the panic returned. For minutes Michiko paced the hotel room, her small hands going through her hair over and over. She tried her hardest to keep her mind away from the worst possible outcome - Lancer's defeat. Her Servant wouldn't be defeated this early into the war, right?

    No, that line of thought certainly was not conductive or helpful. Instead, she planned for the best by getting whatever first aid equipment she could ready for her Servant's return... did they even need stuff like this? Michiko hadn't looked into that in the slightest. Maybe they just needed more prana?

    Her thoughts were interrupted, and in the best possible way. The girl immediately ran to the side of her Servant, the worry in her eyes evident as she stared up at the wounded woman.

    "Lancer! Are you hurt?"

    She didn't ask if she won - that didn't matter right now. What mattered was making sure Lancer was ok. Michiko turned around and moved to fumble with a first aid kit laid out on one of the beds, knocking some things to the floor in her haste. She picked up a clean bandage roll, moving back to face the servant with a look of determination. She might not have been the best magus, but she could at least do this.
    The Gardener,
    Going for a Stroll

    This was unavoidable. William's explanation of his style was interesting, but Rider could already see how he intended to use this particular skill of his. He paused, waiting for William to do the same, and held out his hand.

    "I would suggest you take one skill at a time over the course of days, but if that is what you wish. Come, Master. Place your forehead against my palm."

    Indeed, in a way this skill of his was potentially his greatest strength, even taking into account his Noble Phantasm. It was no destructive force, but the utility it offered anyone who would be his Master was immense.

    "You may feel immensely dizzy, confused and or ill for a few days upon receiving them. It needs time to sort out, you see."
    "Interfamily is the likely case..."

    Amjad appeared almost sleepy as he stared at the report, scanning over it multiple times. He was no professional investigator, but he had his moments of brilliance. A few questions came to mind, hoping their answers would offer some clarity on who exactly they were dealing with.

    "They might have hired someone, you know - or received something from somewhere which let them do this." The middle-eastern mage paused before continuing, eyes not leaving the case report, almost robotic in his analysis and delivery.

    "If it was interfamily, then I think a new element was introduced, be it something or someone. If they could have done this all along, why didn't they do it earlier?" The moved to bite down on his thumb, thinking. "Maybe it was ghosts." He adds. If he was kidding or not, no one knows. His line of thought allowed for some narrowing down; if someone was hired, they could possibly find out who it was and work from there. If it was something which allowed them to pull off the robbery, then Amjad himself could probably work towards narrowing down what allows for an individual to pull off what could be considered a 'clean' robbery. If it was a form of magic, rather than an item, the others could probably discern it together.
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