Queen of Carthage Former Miyama Town, The White Forest, Collaborative Project: Yggdrasil's Revengeance
Avenger wasn't sure if she should be furious or excited. Its Troy after all, home to her enemies, the people she swore to destroy. Well, it didn't matter, its time to destroy Troy. As queen of Carthage, as Avenger, as Dido, she couldn't and wouldn't rest until Troy and her children were dead.
Actually, that brought up a good question. Why were they gathered here in the ruins of Miyama Town when Troy was across the river?
Nevermind, questions like that weren't important either. Dido had gathered her army and done what she could for them to make them just that much more useful. Between her army, her phantasms, and her rage, it was a good thing she'd set up a way to offset her costs before hand. With these preparations, Dido would crack Troy and bring her fury to her enemies, the one grudge that she clutched to even after her life.
"Master, why are we here? We have our army, and there's not much more time to waste for 'preparations.' We should already be in Shinto, tearing down their god's forsaken walls and burning the city."
Dido paused and paced in front of her army for a moment before releasing what was basically a snarl as her fire flared.
Louder, much less in control, Dido shouted, "We're wasting time! While we wait here the enemy mocks us." She paused and looked back at her army before addressing her master once more, "No more waiting. I can't restrain anymore. We attack."
-----------------------Moving to Shinto Town, Outside Troy-----------------------
Lilith(Hotaru Fujikawa)
Workshop, "Newly" Occupied House, Southern Moor
After a night's hard work and some much needed sleep, Lilith was ready to intervene in the affairs of the town. It seemed all the fun was happening in the "Native District," and she wasn't about to let them be cut out of the fun anymore.
Judging by all the chaos, there didn't seem to be much time left to act, especially if she wanted to capitalize on the situation. It would be a real shame to waste all her preparations to help the people of Fuyuki.
Lilith decided it was time to go. She gathered her things, most of them stored in a large basket that she carried out the door. "Come, let's show the city the way to peace. Let's share with them our peace."
--------------------------Moving to Native District, Riots----------------------- @DostHou
Queen of Carthage Forest Outskirts, near Foreigners' Lowlands
Dido's reaction was much the same as before. She shoved her master to the ground to protect him with her body, and her with the fire. Her ability to control it, keeping it from reaching Christopher.
When the lightning struck it was yet again stopped by her fire and, as Dido stood up, she produced a long strip of ox-hide. It was left in a circle around Christopher's feet, "I need you to stay here and this will protect you. I can't fight her if I have to focus on protecting you from her magic."
"Byrsa." Just that one name, and a burst of magic energy was all it took to raise the walls of Carthage to defend her master from this servant. Sure, it would drain on her reserves, but if she didn't needlessly waste energy on any fancy attacks and focused on burning her enemy away, it wouldn't be too much of a drain.
Finally, Dido could focus on her enemy. She turned the direction from which the attacks had come from and began to wonder who it was that had ambushed them while they were talking.
"It would seem you have me at a disadvantage, since you know my identity somehow. In that case, surely you must have some idea of how to fight me, or are you attacking my master because you can't think of another way to win?"
Dido produced yet another length of ox-hide, slightly longer and held it, coiled, clutched in her right hand.
"You can't be an assassin because your concealment isn't good enough. I would hope you are not a caster if those attacks are all you have. Hmm, well it doesn't matter. I might help burn away that mess. Before I do that, I'll have to deal with you, even if that means burning the forest away with you."
With that said, the ox-hide in her hand was engulfed in flame, the now flaming whip used to light a nearby tree ablaze. @BlueHelix@ManyThings
Queen of Carthage Forest Outskirts, Near Foreigners' Lowlands
Something was wrong. There was something nearby, a servant. Were they trying to hide? Surely they knew that wouldn't work right?
Avenger wasn't sure what the other servant wanted, but it couldn't be good. If something was going to happen, she'd be able to see it though. Using her future sight, she could see not just the attack, but where it came from. That didn't matter at this moment though. The explosion was trouble, for her master.
There wasn't time for words, only actions. Avenger had to protect her master, so she grabbed Christopher and pulled him in tight against her and shielded him with her body and flame. Christopher would be safe. @BlueHelix@ManyThings
Queen of Carthage Forest Outskirts, Near Foreign District/Miyama
Avenger frowned for a moment as she processed her master's words before a calmer look settled onto her face and she looked back to her master. She had let herself get out of hand and the best she could offer was a somewhat apologetic smile for her behavior.
"I'm sorry Master, you're right. I had forgotten why we came out here in the first place. I guess I got a little caught up in all the fun." With that she gestured back towards the remains of Miyama.
Avenger looked about, looking for signs of other servants, but not seeing any.
"We should head over to where we saw those lights the other night and see if we can learn anything new, in that case. We should be careful though, I can only assume the Einzbern servant won't show themself if we don't intrude, seeing as they haven't appeared to challenge us yet. However, it would be bad if they took us by surprise so close to their territory." @BlueHelix --------------------------------------------------------------
Lilith(Hotaru Fujikawa)
Workshop, Newly Occupied House, Southern Moor
Lilith was beginning to grow bored of the house. There just wasn't much fun to be had here, and hiding from the other masters didn't leave her much in the way of options for "resource" gathering. She would need to leave and interact with the others, now that the basic preparations were done.
Assassin had her own experiments to run and the plan to win the grail war was already in motion, so Lilith doubted she would have an escort on her trips, but that was something she'd just have to deal with. Her servant had responsibilities, things that she would just get in the way of or...well, she didn't feel comfortable around that one thing.
Still, it wouldn't hurt to ask, so Lilith settled down to await her servant's return. @DostHou
Queen of Carthage Forest Outskirts, Near Foreign District/Miyama
While he didn't respond to her, Avenger thought it was pretty obvious that her master wanted to leave. Well, he seemed interested in getting his samples more, but he looked like he was trying to figure out where to go. Eitherway, something felt wrong. It was time to go.
While the Christopher gathered the last of his samples, Avenger wrapped an arms around his waist and pulled him close to her, taking him up to carry, before running in the opposite direction, away from the fire, deeper into the forest.
[(Supposedly Shinto), Actually moving feeper into the forest, toward Einzberns]
Avenger could see the confusion in her master's eyes as she sat him down on the ground. It seemed the sudden transition had shaken him a little at first, but he would come to terms with it. Since the fun in Miyama was over, it was time to find some more while the others were distracted. "Why don't we pay the Einzbern family a visit, Master?"
[Travel to Einzbern Forest interupted] Avenger stopped to stare at the blaze as it began to rage out of control. It seemed there was a squabble going on nearby, but that interested her far less than the fire itself. Something seemed off about it, so she decided to use her clairvoyance.
In her minds eye, she saw and felt the flames. There was a reaction between her and the fire, but it didn't hurt. The fire changed, but so did she, they were stronger together. It felt good.
As she dispelled the foresight, she turned to her master and said, "It will help us if I walk into the fire." She looked back at it. "I have an idea but first I need to touch it, so wait here and I will be back in a moment."
While the others fought or tried to find a way to extinguish the flames, Avenger moved with the speed of a servant, engulfing herself in the flames. As the fire swallowed the former queen, her own curse manifested and the flames mingled as they became one and the same.
Avenger could feel her pyre change, the flames taking on the aspects and curses of the fire, in much the same way as the fire took on the aspects of hers. The flames engulfing the foreigner district began to change, taking on a coal black hue as curse spread to the fire. With a smile, Avenger turned away and moved back to her master, at that same incredible speed that a servant posesses.
As she returned, she said to her master, "With that done, we should probably leave. It seems like there are others gathering here, and I want to see how they deal with the fire from a safer location." More quietly she added, "We could also find some other ways to cause mayhem and have a little fun if you'd prefer, maybe even inconvenience or set back other masters." @BlueHelix --------------------------------------------------------------
Lilith(Hotaru Fujikawa)
Workshop, Newly Occupied House, Southern Moor
Lilith was surprised by Assassin's leaving suddenly. One moment they were discussing what to do with the day, and then she was gone. She was left alone with the "test chamber" they had created earlier.
It really was something to look at it, mesmerizing to see the lives thrown away in the pursuit of knowledge. Of course results were far more important than those they spent, but watching it, seeing the feral brutality still unsettled her. This is what happens to people who are trapped and forced to fight with no hope of escape, the only hope of survival being the last one left.
She shuddered and turned away from the "arena" to look out towards where Assassin had run off. She saw something in the distance, maybe smoke? It wasn't very clear and it wasn't her problem anyway.
Lilith turned back toward the house and walked back that direction, Stay safe, Assassin. With that thought, Lilith returned to the house to await Assassin's return. @DostHou
The duo had returned to the workshop without much to really justify their excursion. They'd shown up too late, really only seeing that someone had attacked the Matous and not much else. Avenger would see to it that there wasn't a repeat, and they were well informed.
The time for rest was over eitherway, though. Avenger donned her "disguise" and went to talk to her master. "I am back, Master. We shouldn't find ourselves unaware of the actions of others anymore. That won't replace direct observation or a fight though, so let's go check out all those lights from the forest." Avenger paused for a moment, considering something and asked, "Unless you had something else planned already?"
Lilith gently stroked the fur of one of her new familiars. Her hands gently stroked over the red fur of the shiba sitting in her lap. He really was a good dog, even before she had made him hers.
Sadly it was time to get on with things. The acolytes had returned from crafting barriers around the mansion and it was time to let them rest, for now. Lilith moved the dog aside and stood, before mentally ordering her new familiars to disperse and assume their duties.
As she bathed, Lilith ran down a mental checklist of their accomplishments last night. It wasn't huge but it was definitely more than a start. The acolytes had spent the night putting up barriers. Nothing too fancy really, just some illusions and alarms. Nothing that would do anything against someone trying to cross the barrier. She had also sent off a couple acolytes to abduct some pets for her to make into familiars. Lilith, herself, had assisted Assassin in setting up their own barriers, a cage to contain a certain experiment the servant wanted to try. After that, some familiar crafting and then a few hours of sleep. It was a decent use of the night.
Once she was done with that, Lilith dressed herself and, wondering what her servant was up to, opted to use their connection to see what, the lovely assassin saw. What she saw shocked her. It seemed Giulia was out in the fields running those tests she had helped her get set up for. That all made sense. It was the simulation itself that gave Lilith a start. It was barbaric, monstrous even. Inhuman was another word that came to mind.
Lilith decided it best to not watch too much more. As a magus she could understand, but it was still brutal. She could almost see similarities between the simulation and the combatants in the grail war.
Giulia, I see you're busy with your experiment, but I don't think we can rely entirely on remaining hidden and playing the long game, at least without finding out what the others are up to. I want to use the day to gather some ingredients and items. I would like it if you would accompany me, or use this time to spy on some of the other masters. I know that, errr... simulation is important to you though, so I understand if you need to stay and watch over it. @DostHou
Avenger offered her master a smile before saying, "That sounds like a good plan. Let's see who we can find, maybe we can make some allies or learn something about some of our other opponents. It would be nice if we didn't have to worry about trying to take out the big players, like the Whitehall girl or the families, on our own. We should probably start with our immediate surroundings."
It was good that they had come to see things in the same light. It was also good to see him looking more serious, not that she minded the way Christopher had been before, but a situation with no idea of who the enemy is, merits some degree of caution, even in something time limited like the war.
Time was wasting.
Avenger walked over to her master and said, "We should get started while we can, now that we have a plan and a destination. I want to see who we are matched up against in this war and what they can do."
Lilith had settled on this house when she came to Fuyuki. It was out of the way enough that she wouldn't have much in the way of nosy neighbors interrupting her, and the price was extremely reasonable. The previous owner, who was looking to sell anyway, had practically given it away thanks to a quick charm spell, a little flirting, and quick romp. In all, it was a satisfying purchase. Lilith loved what she did.
Now, she found herself in the middle of a sort of storage shed. Inside were some of the acolytes, working to finish the preparations. There were candles set about and enough "materials" to draw the summoning circle. Small animals like birds, snakes, and rabbits, really whatever they brought or found were gathered and drained of their blood. The corpses had already been cleared away though, leaving behind a bucket of still warm blood.
With a smile lf satisfaction, she realized everything was ready and the acolytes had already left her to it, off to rest or work on personal tasks, for the time. She turned her attention to where the circle would be and began.
Before long, she stood before a circle, painted in red on the floor of the shed. The shed itself was dark, so the candles had been arranged and lit, mostly for lighting honestly. With everything ready, Lilith raised her hand, before having an idea, and cutting the tip of her finger, adding her blood to the circle. That done, she once again raised her hand, this time gathering mana into her circuits and infusing it into the circle. The she began to chant.
"Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation Let my great Master Hanada be the ancestor Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall Let the four cardinal gates close. Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate.
Such a boring chant. I really should have taken the time to create something more...fun.
I hereby declare. Your body shall serve under me. My fate shall be your sword. Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail If you will submit to this will and this reason…Then answer!
I wonder who I will be paired with. What kind of spirit will I attract? I hope someone with a sense of humor. Maybe good looks.
An oath shall be sworn here! I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven. I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell!
This is exciting. Almost like gambling really, the game of chance. A roulette to see what hero will answer the summons.
From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three greet words of power, Come forth from the ring of restraints, Protector of the Holy Balance!"
And with a flash, the lgiht that had been building vanished, leaving behind the figure of a servant.
Well it got the beauty part down for sure. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Workshop, Newly Occupied House, Southern Moor, Night
Lilith stared at her command seal. It sat on the back of her wrist, marking her as master to all, unless she chose to wear gloves of some sort. What kind would look good though? It probably doesn't even matter.
She turned her attention to her servant. The dark haired woman had said she was an assassin, perfect for her really. Direct engagement wouldn't be wise, but that was fine by Lilith. They could just avoid the other servants and kill people indirectly, or gather allies and support them.
"Giulia, what would you like to do tonight? I think I should spend tonight improving my defenses and creating more familiars to help spy on our enemies." She paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. "I will defer to you though, what do you think would be the best use of tonight? We could go out and look for something fun to do, or we could stay in and find something fun to do here," she said as she offered her servant a smile and a brief suggestive look.
Objective for the Grail: She will use the grail to reach the root, and use the knowledge she gains to obtain status within the Sires and grow the cult’s following and influence.
Personality: The pursuit of life and her pleasures is a driving force in Lilith’s life. She particularly enjoys the pursuit of power, especially over others and, hopefully, life itself. As such, knowledge and magecraft is a means to an end, as are those who ask for her help furthering their own bloodline or “hindering” another’s. As much as her peers frown on murder, and she herself sees it as barbaric, but there are some situations that can’t be solved with words, and as such she isn’t afraid to bloody her hands with a knife or firearm. Still, she does not like to fight physically, and would much rather deal with opponents indirectly and from afar.
Bio:
Lilith's blood can be traced back across central and southern Europe, as well as Japan. In Europe, her ancestors practiced a form of witchcraft derived from either the Britons or the Germanic people, most of that knowledge is lost to her and her family. Some time during the early 6th century, in Italy, one of her ancestors happened upon a demon in the Alps. To further their knowledge and studies, they made a deal with the demon. Not only did this affect their studies, but it added the blood of a rather lusty demon to the bloodline of this brave magus. Following this, the family became reclusive, travelling across the continent with each generation, moving eastward, to avoid being exposed or caught by witch hunters. Eventually they escaped into Asia.
On the Japanese side, Lilith's ancestors were a small family of magi practicing a form of black magic or witchcraft specializing in fertility magic and curses. The family began researching their craft during the early 11th century. The didn’t make themselves known to others for the most part, but occasionally assisted those desperate enough to find them. They also used familiars and curses to punish, either for clients or potentially revenge. Despite this the family remained reclusive, rather than end up on the wrong end of authority. Over time their family began to grow as new members joined or were born into it, and before long the family became a sort of fertility cult composed of a handful of "families" and "bloodlines."
Around the late 12th century, while the cult was still in its infancy, the two bloodlines merged via the son of the fleeing Europeans and the daughter of the main family of the fertility cult. The child, they decided, would learn the cult's tradition and the witch's arts he carried would die with him. Over time the foreign features and blood began to thin. With the current ruler and heir, they might as well be fully fledged Japanese. That is not to say the effects of the demonic blood have vanished even if it thinned. It is just more manageable now.
Initially the Sires were slow growing, with tight restraints on who learned of their existence, let alone those allowed in, mostly restricted to growing the families. As time went on the reigns were loosened slightly, however it wasn’t until recently, within the last generation, that the cult saw any real expansion. It grew from a small cult of a small handful to dozens of members, however growth was still slow. As such it is the Sires’ goal to increase their size and influence. They hope to achieve this by opening up to other organizations and trading their skills and services to others in the forms of fertility charms and rituals to help further magic lineages.
Lilith was born into the Sires of the Seed, a child of prominent members of the cult, themselves descended from one of the original founders. As such Lilith’s blood contains some semblance of the blood of her succubus “ancestor.” Due to being born inside the cult, she was surrounded by “family” the entire time and was well cared for during her developing years, but as the child of a fertility cult, she gained an early knowledge of the Sires’ magecraft and the lurid acts and rituals that go with it. To say she took to it, both sex and the related magecraft, like a fish to water might be an understatement. She even picked up on a much lesser used subset of the “familial magecraft” and learned to use her magic to remove one’s ability to have children in any conventional method, though, like her fellows, she keeps this quiet when she isn’t using it.
As her carnal lusts grew, so to did the lust for power and before long, the adult Lilith was craving the title of High Mother. However that positioned relied on the opinions of the eldest members as well as her contributions in the forms of knowledge, practice, and, most importantly, children. It should be no surprise that a cult devoted to sex and fertility would place emphasis on the acts of siring and birthing children. Knowing all of this, Lilith plans to bring back knowledge from the Holy Grail to further the Sires’ craft and use this to gain favor to win the seat of the previous mother.
---
Number of Magic Circuits: D
Quality of Magic Circuits: C
---
Elemental Affinity: Fire
Magecraft:
All of The Sires of the Seed’s magecraft can be summed up in a few categories, the basics, formalcraft, and witchcraft or black magic. A firm grasp of the basics is necessary to begin with. Formalcraft and to a lesser extent witchcraft are the basis of the studies in the (Cult Name). Most of the members are not derived from any major families so many lack the breeding that creates powerful magi with their carefully bred magic circuits and familial library of knowledge. Instead they rely on rituals and external sources of mana to feed their mysteries. Add to that a study of “witchcraft,” and you get the foundation for the magecrafts used by (Cult Name).
As a prominent member of Sires of the Seed, Lilith is well versed in the arts of the specialized fertility magecrafts and curses of her predecessors. She prefers familiars of a Japanese nature, dogs and foxes, using them to gather supplies, manipulate others by possessing them, spy, and sometimes act as conduits to spread or target her spells and curses. By combining her skills in fertility magecraft and her knowledge of curses, she can help propagate lines, or exterminate families by sterilizing them. Finally she is rather fond of potions. Potions of love, aphrodisiacs, some small amount of medicine, and poisons for both the body and the soul. Through a combination of the essence of others, her potions, and her own magecraft, Lilith, like many in the Sires, is able to extend her own youthfulness, improve the chances, almost a guarantee really, of conception, and negate or minimize risk of complications, even those brought on with age.
Crest: 5 generations
Cupid’s Arrow: A wand that holds charms passed down through the family. The wand itself acts and amplifier, focusing and empowering the charms which contain the actual spells. It was a gift passed down through her family from her great grandmother and the charms contain a small array of illusion and charm spells, as well as a few minor curses to bring ill fortune and disease on her foes. While it isn’t a powerful offensive weapon, it lets her confuse or weaken her foe, assumably, so that she can either escape or fight back on more equal footing.
The wand itself is smooth and phallic in shape with a rounded tip. On its shaft are glyphs and kana carved by her predecessors as well as more recent carvings of western symbols.
Shibari: An enchanted silk rope that will entangle and bind anything Lilith throws it at after empowering it with her magical energy. It will bind the hands, feet, and body of any human or animal it touches, though it is not particularly strong and can be broken by larger, stronger animals, or easily ignored or broken by spirits or servants.
Lilith’s Sting: Just a knife. The design is a stiletto meant for thrusting and stabbing, the length of the blade is about 6 inches.
Exceptional Benefit: Support Magi-Having declared her intentions to the Sires of the Seed, the council decided it best offer their support by sending other members of the cult to support Lilith. While they are there to help, she is unsure if that is the only intent.
Avenger finished straightening her jacket, then set to fixing the tie. Satisfied with how she looked for now, she admired how she looked in the suit in the mirror. It was a surprisingly good look for her. However, she tired of looking at the reflection and returned to her master.
Since her summoning, Avenger had set up her defense and helped her master prepare the workshop when he wasn't tailoring an outfit or two. In the short time since the summoning circle had been used and the servant had donned her new suit, the workshop had been prepared to ward of unwanted guests.
Since night had fallen, it was about time to go out and either gather some info on the enemy or pick a fight to get to know the abilities of some of the others. Of course some might be out for blood, but it'd be a good bet the other servants were testing their opponents or plotting and preparing for the real war to come. Sure the war was on, but it was too early to start planning how to beat your enemies without any real information.
As Avenger finished her preparations, her master began to talk about the beginning of the war and heading out to fight others, particularly the one attacking his familiar. "I am sorry Master, but I must have forgotten my manners. I would rather not accept such an invitation." She paused and added, "I would much rather not walk into another master or servant's arms when there must be others in the other parts of the city. Maybe we can get the drop on one of them, and it shouldn't be too hard to either fix or replace your familiar depending on its condition later."
Avenger took on a more authoritative voice and said, "We should spy on one of the other masters in their workshop, perhaps the power players. If we don't do that we should explore the city and find another servant, one who is not calling us out."
