Moonlit Sonata

Fate/Empty Providence

???, Ryuudou Temple, ???

From the temple that stood atop a mountain, a pair of existences conversed.

Or at least, they did if one could call what was happening a conversation. A magus, surprise briefly flitting across their face as they received word from their ally, looked towards a nearby woman who bore a lazy grip on a crimson lance. Surprise was written over with a trace of unease as the magus attempted to garner their Servant's attention.

"Oh, ah, Berserker? We've just gotten a report, it seems the others got into a brief scuffle with one of the enemy Servants, a Rostam of the Rider class. They drove him off, but-"

"Eeeh? So what, you're sayin' that the fuckin' pompous-ass bow prick managed to draw blood before I got a chance to?"

Without warning, the Berserker interjected, her face twisting in a derisive sneer as the grip on her spear tightened. In response, her Master could only falter back slightly.

"...I, um, well yes, but that's really beside the-"

"What kinda bullshit is that?! Here I am, workin' my ass off on this place, and you're telling me that he gets to hurt people before I've even seen a damn Servant?"

"B-Berserker, we don't have any control over what the other participants do, please calm down-"

"Calm down? Calm down?! If you want me to calm down, then maybe you should'a summoned one of those prissy calm fucks in the Throne instead'a me! Oh, I've got it, how about that little bitch saint who prayed so hard that she made a dragon fuck right off? I bet you two'd get along just great."

Silence reigned for several seconds, the overly-harsh exhales of the Berserker clashing against the faltering form of her Master, whose eyes were now flitting about as one would expect a trapped animal's to.

"...I...I'm going to go back to talking with the monks now."

"...Fuckin' slut."

Such is life in Fuyuki.

Fate/Empty Providence

@Beloss
It's generally case-by-case depending on the reasonability of the situation, if taking action simultaneous to the enemy is feasible, and things like that. In this particular instance, outright dodging it wouldn't have been feasible, but making an effort to try and mitigate some of the damage by meeting it with a blow would have been possible, even if a proper attack couldn't be launched in the time allotted.

Yes, that monstrous arrow's speed meant reacting to it would be difficult, but at the very least an effort to dodge or deflect it would have been enough to mitigate the force behind it; namely, with the strength that Rostam boasted, it would be reasonable to think that even a hasty attempt to deflect the arrow would at least make it a notably lesser threat.

Fate/Empty Providence

_{Tohsaka Manor}
???, Abandoned House

After that lone arrow had pierced its target, concealed amidst the Bounded Fields layered around the manor, the Servant who had launched the attack could only let out a slight sigh, a wistful smile playing at the edge of his lips.

"...he survived. I thought he looked like a strong one, but to survive my strongest arrow without even trying to strike it...Ha, it seems like this won't be as boring as I was worried it would be. I'll have to do things properly next time I see him."

From behind him, a brief set of footsteps rang out, that individual called the Servant's Master coming to a stop beside him. In contrast to the Archer, the magus's expression was tense, as though the encounter just now had been more worrying for them than it had been for the nearly-dead Servant.

"You're lucky that he was able to survive. I told you not to use those attacks just yet; we should leave the killing for Berserker for now. The fewer cards we play now, the better...all the more so when there's Ruler watching from a distance." The magus murmured, shaking their head with a touch of disdain. In response, though, the Archer could only laugh, a hand going behind his head as his wistful grin became bashful.

"Ah, you'll have to forgive me. It just got my blood boiling, I couldn't help myself."

Shrugging, the Master raised their hands up helplessly. "Well, he lived, so it's fine in the end. We got some interesting information, too. Strength and Constitution at the peak, the capability to survive fatal wounds, mace-user, and some sort of defensive armament, likely a Noble Phantasm of some sort if it was able to mitigate that arrow of yours." They remarked, having gleaned all of the information displayed by Rostam just now via Master's Clairvoyance. In response though, the Archer could only puff up slightly out of pride.

"Probably. I can't imagine anything less being able to slow down that attack. Even if I'm weaker than when I was alive, I'm still the one who ■■■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■."

His Master seemed to mostly be thinking by now, though, setting Archer's comment aside. "A mace would make it more likely that they're not one of the Knight Classes, but those parameters are the sort you'd expect from something like a Saber. Mm, either he's a Saber or Lancer who's hiding his true weapon, or he's a Rider or a Berserker. He's almost certainly no Caster or Assassin, and given his weapon and para-"

The magus cut themselves off as they felt the flow of prana briefly distort, their eyes flitting back over to the Servant with a look of surprise as a horse of absurd stature appeared. "...a mount." He murmured under his breath, as if in disbelief that he had witnessed the release of a Noble Phantasm so soon. "Archer, did you hear him say a true name? I couldn't make it out over that...laughter."

Several seconds of silence reigned, the trio of Master, Servant, and horse departing the perimeter, before the Archer saw fit to speak back up. "A bowman's senses are to always be keen. Rakhsh. He invoked the name, and then referred to it by that name a second time. I doubt that I misheard. Ha, it seems that I just attacked the chief hero of a culture sphere."

"...Rostam, then?" The magus murmured, their brows furrowing for a moment before they nodded to themselves. "If that's the case, then that defense of his must be that suit he was said to wear. Pity I didn't get a better look at him before he left, or we'd have gained that much more information. Well, at the least, I suppose there's no shame in having him survive your attack, then, but we shouldn't expect next time to go the same way. I'll send the information to our allies up at the temple."

"Understood. I'll resume fortifications. This still isn't up to the standard I'd like it to be at." Archer commented, turning to set off deeper into the manor. "Ah, I know we're aiming for our wishes, but still it's exciting. I hope some of the other Servants are strong ones as well. People finally able to match me, it's such a thrilling feeling."

Fate/Empty Providence

The first three pairs to visit Ruler will get free cookies that he bought to welcome the participants.

Fate/Empty Providence

Ruler, Church Interior, Backroom

"Let's see. A new Rider and that Archer at that one house. A Lancer at the cemetery. An Archer at the...docks? Berserker at the temple. Assassin over in the west fields. Berserker in Miyama. Rider in the east fields. No Sabers or Caster yet, though? Hm."

Lounging in an oversized chair, a near-empty wine glass being tilted around in his hand, the man who had been appointed to serve as the administrator of the Holy Grail War went over the information provided to him by his Class Container. Having claimed this section of the church has his own, planting his flag and marking it as his own domain-...in other words, having told the priests that he wanted to stay here, he had remained in this situation for quite some time.

The glass was once more raised to his lips, being drained dry of its contents before being set down. Not for the first time today, he glanced down at his own attire, a product of his discovery of modern clothing after being summoned. Really, this suited him far better than that trash he'd been summoned in.

If there was someone witnessing this display, they would likely be wondering why Ruler was sitting there, alone, talking to himself out loud.

...well, it was a good thing nobody was witnessing it, then.

"...now that I think about it, maybe I should have made an announcement that the war's participants need to come register with me after being summoned. That would probably make sense given the scale of this one."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Well, I'm sure they'll be conscientious enough to come say hello regardless." He murmured to himself, reaching over to refill his wine glass with a rather worrying level of practiced ease.

Alone with nothing but his mind and his booze, the great Servant who stood as the king who would preside over this war simply continued on.

Fate/Empty Providence

Well since Yukimura's partnered up now:

@Ijoyen

For being summoned in Staging Ground, the following benefits are accorded.

-Rank-up to MGI (D -> C).
-Rank-up to LCK (C -> B).
-Addition of a plus modifier to STR (B -> B+).
-Acquisition of Personal Skill:

Prana Burst (Flames): C+
The body and weapons may be infused with magical energy, using instantaneous release to elevate one's ability. In Lancer's case, burning flames turn into magical energy that infuses her spear. During use, the plus modifier on STR is active; in all other cases it is treated as inactive. However, the prana efficiency is horrid. Using it once is enough to deplete a Servant with E rank MGI almost completely.
Less a result of the Servant's abilities and more a form of inherited capability from the Noble Phantasm "Crimson Demon of War", a means of tapping into part of the Noble Phantasm's power without directly invoking it. While the Noble Phantasm is itself active, prana efficiency improves immensely and this skill is treated as continuously active, though this does not mitigate the cost of the Noble Phantasm itself.

Fate/Empty Providence

NPC Profile- Unknown Archer has been added to the character list.

Fate/Empty Providence

_{Tohsaka Manor}
???, Abandoned House

...foolish. All too foolish.

Yes, there was no doubt that, among the Servants of this Holy Grail War, in terms of physical offense and defense, Rostam was superb. No doubt, he was secure in that notion, and rightly so. However, in this instance his actions could only be called overconfident.

Yes, that monstrous arrow's speed meant reacting to it would be difficult, but at the very least an effort to dodge or deflect it would have been enough to mitigate the force behind it; namely, with the strength that Rostam boasted, it would be reasonable to think that even a hasty attempt to deflect the arrow would at least make it a notably lesser threat. Instead, though, he had simply chosen to rely on his physical defenses, allowing that arrow to strike him at full force.

Unfortunately, if Rostam stood at the peak of Heroic Spirits in terms of physical capacity, then the enemy Servant stood at the peak in the art of the bow.

As if that absurd defense worthy of the title "Noble Phantasm" did not exist, the arrow struck Rostam and bored a hole through. Piercing the great Servant's midsection, the sheer force behind the arrow was something that seemed to be utterly impossible. No...even if his mace and that arrow had collided at full force, something told him that the arrow would have, inexplicably, come out as the victor. If one were to convert its strength to the standard scale, then it could be said to have left the realm of that very scale; in other words, such codifiers as "an A rank blow" had become irrelevant.

Was this the result of a Noble Phantasm? There certainly hadn't been the release of a true name, but perhaps the enemy Servant passively possessed such a thing, or perhaps it was an innate capacity that defied logic. Regardless of the cause, that blow which could be granted the moniker of "EX" struck Rostam, barely slowed down by the obstruction of his Noble Phantasm.

This is a death sentence. Even with Rostam's level of constitution, this lone arrow is enough to bring him to an early grave. Or at least it would have been, were it not for that simple capacity of the Rider's to endure in spite of possessing fatal injuries. And yet, even that would fail him were another such blow from the unknown assailant to come down.

However, that attack did not seem to come. The enemy Servant and Master were still nearby, likely watching from within the layers of protection that the Bounded Fields surrounding the abandoned manor afforded them, and yet they did not seem to wish to pursue another attack. Was it because they simply did not intend on killing Rostam, or was it because that lone arrow was something with a proportional cost, leaving them unable to act for the time being?

Regardless, with an injury that should have been fatal were it not for Rostam's own abilities, and indeed that would become fatal were it not healed before reaching such a state, a new crossroads was now present before the Master and Servant. To advance forwards with a Servant who could no longer fight, or to fall back in the face of the enemy.

@Beloss @Holy Grail

Fate/Empty Providence

Also, somehow missed this, but @Cu Chulainn

One day ago, Hisoka finally settled in, setting the proper bounded fields in order to make himself a proper workshop.

Some of you have summoned your Servants already after arriving in Fuyuki while some have yet to do so, but what is shared amongst you is that you have arrived in foreign spiritual land. Such things as workshops, integral to a magus, will need to be built from scratch, if at all.

To keep things even across the board, you all start with zero prep in Fuyuki.

Fate/Empty Providence

@Moonlit Sonata

Ah, I see. I re read everything, and yeah that makes sense.

May I ask where this arrow is aimed? It said it was not targeting his spiritual nodes, so, not his heart or head, yet it is still aimed to take his life, which makes me think it is heading somewhere specific. Or is it not important?

@Beloss

You can consider it to be aimed around his center of mass.