Fate/Liminality (Quest) [M]

[Rhomeo]

Rated M for violence, possible sexual scenes and anything else that could happen.

Link to OOC.

Pain.

Hot.

The smell of burning flesh.

A small gasp escapes your delicate lips as you cough up something you probably shouldn't. Memories that aren't your own are imprinted on your consciousness as you try to find your strength. Memories of the Grail War. Memories of a world that isn't your own. Memories of Servants.

Saber.
Archer.
Lancer.
Rider.
Assassin.
Berserker.
… Caster.

Brushing the few wispy blonde strands out of your eyes, you finally manage to pull yourself off the floor. What remains of the Summoning Circle is scorched, suggesting that something's gone horribly wrong. You know that better than your Master, the man standing in front of you, you imagine.

And he was a man, wasn't he?

Totally ignoring the fact that a good portion of his workshop is now unusable, the man takes a step forward. Out of worry? Confusion? Anger? You can't tell. He seems to stop himself before squaring his eyes at you.

“You. Are you supposed to be my Servant?”

Ah, yes, that was probably an important thing to hash out. You had just appeared in some ritual in front of him, inside the Summoning Circle, so… it seemed a stupid question.

But Heroic Spirits were not the only thing that crossed the barriers to answer the call of the Grail.

[] “Fufu… of course! I'm Servant Caster, and it is a pleasure to meet you, Master.”
[] Refuse to answer, simply give him a sweet smile.
[] Have a puppet answer for you!

Spoiler: Tutorial – Preferred choices! 

Oh boy, first post, first tutorial! Preferred choices are shown in bold. These represent what the Player Character wants to say, and will steer you towards what our personality is currently leaning towards. Think of it as a guide to follow if you don't know what to choose in a situation. There are certain advantages to morphing the personality over the course of the Quest, of course, but…

There are also disadvantages.

[Rhomeo]

Clutching the book in your hands up to your chest, you decide to give the man the most sickly sweet smile you can manage. If he looks perturbed now, he'll be even more surprised when… ah, there she is. A small miniature of you drops onto your shoulder, having been hiding in your hair. It gives the man a short wave as it smiles too. Your game done with, you reach out and brush your consciousness against his.

“Ufufu, sorry Master, I wanted to have a bit of fun. I am Servant Caster, as you can see.”

His eyes bulge a bit as you whisper into his mind, your words snaking around his mind in a way your physical words simply couldn't. After a few moments to compose himself, he nods at you.

“Very well, I am George Alanai, your Master. May I have your name, too?”

Ah yes, your name. Your knowledge of the Grail War told you that names were important. Very important. Giving him yours would be a sure sign of trust, but… who's to say he couldn't have that information ripped from his mind by an enemy?

Although, with your set of skills, the odds of that were rather slim.

[] Tell him your name.
[] Don't tell him your name.

[Rhomeo]

“Ufufu, I think not, Master.”

He raises an eyebrow at you.

“Why? You're my Servant, it only makes sense that I'd know your identity. You can't expect us to work together if I don't know your skills,” he explains, his emotions hidden behind that blank look he seemed to be so good at.

A part of you wanted to tell him. A very big part. In fact, it felt like not telling him was tearing you apart. But you refrained. You had to think about the most tactical decision, not necessarily the one you wanted to. You were a paragon of truth, but that didn't mean you couldn't just decide to say nothing.

“I know my skills well enough, Master,” you respond with a curt smile. “Allow me to make decisions related to combat.”

His eyes narrow further.

Master-Servant Synergy decreased!

“Very well then. I'd considered the fact that I might get a disobedient Servant, but… to have it actually happen is an annoyance. Do as you wish, Caster.”

With that, he leaves the room. You're now alone with your tome, a small puppet-replica of you and no real sense of direction in what to do.

… problematic.

[] Go apologise to your Master.
[] Explore the city!
[] Get to making puppets.

Spoiler: Tutorial – Master-Servant Synergy 

Second tutorial! This is an important stat, which gives a rough estimation of how close you and your Master are. It starts at 50%, which is pure ambivalence. The lower the stat, the more likely your Master is going to disagree with your choices, even if they're good ones. Abysmally low stats might result in having Command Seals used against you. Be careful!

[Rhomeo]

With your Master's outburst, you can't help but feel as though you've… made a mistake. Pressing one palm against the ground and the other clasping at the book against your chest, you manage to stand up. Everything feels off as you wobble to the door your Master walked through, leaving the charred remnants of the Workshop behind. You find yourself in an ornate hallway, with windows open to the night sky. As the other room had none, you only had the dim lighting to look by. With the stars… it was somewhat beautiful, you concluded.

Not sure which room George entered, you decide to go for the door that's slightly askew. It pushes open to reveal a large dining room, which your Master is sitting at. A veritable sea of papers covers the polished wood, revealing just how much time this man likely put in to preparing for this War. It touches your heart a little, so you step forward to apologise.

“Master?”

He looks up, surprised.

“Yes, Caster?” he mutters with a tired glance in his eyes.

“I wanted to apologise for my words earlier.”

“… what do you mean?”

“It's not that I didn't want to give you my name, it's just...”

The words die in your mouth. You cannot lie.

You can't.

Still…

“I have good reasons to not tell you who I am,” you manage, brow furrowed in concentration. “My identity is one I can't reveal lightly, but with time… and trust…?”

Slowly, the man smiles and stands up.

“It's fine, Caster. I summoned you without a catalyst, after all, so it's no surprise that I'd get someone with their own set of troubles. I won't push the matter, but if you decide to tell me I'll take it as a sign of your trust.”

Well, that went better than expected.

Master-Servant Synergy increased!

Now, what do?

[] Explore the city.
[] Make puppets!

[Rhomeo]

Now, considering only one of your dolls came through with you, you'll have to go about making more. With a grand gesture, you leave the room and move back towards your Master's workshop. It's… a bit of a mess. You could clean it up and use it as your own, that might please George. Alternately, making your own in the house would be simple enough, but wouldn't give you all that much gain in the end. Lastly, setting one up on the Leyline itself…

Ah yes, the Leyline, you could feel it beneath the city. Pure magic. You could use that.

Still, in the end, you decide to set up your own workshop in the room beside George's. It's practically empty, bar for a small bed in the corner and a few oddities here and there. You reach deep down for your magic to begin constructing the room, when…

…

It's not there.

Panicking, you reach deep down into your reservoirs of magic and pull. Slowly, strands of magic form on your fingers – your strings. They have no dolls to control, but you should still be able to use it to shape things. But you can't even hold it for a few moments before the strands collapse, unable to keep their form.

… what's going on?!

Skill revealed!
Creature of Another World (?): You're from another universe… and the world doesn't like that. Every day, roll to acclimate to your new world.

Why aren't your powers working properly?!

[] Calm down. Reach deeper and pull.
[] Leave it. You should return to spirit form and conserve your energy, that's likely the problem.
[] Stop and try to remember what it feels like to use your powers, emotion is key in magic.

[Rhomeo]

Pulling on what vestiges of your memories that you can, you reach down and pull out that emotion you felt when you first touched magic.

When you first won a battle.

When you first… were.

A shock runs through your body for a split second before every dormant circuit in your body lights up. Prana flows, like a river. Realisation and understanding dawn on you.

This isn't your world, you need to adapt.

And in one push, you open all of your circuits to maximum.

Skill lost! Skills gained!
Check Character Sheet for details.

---

Alone in her workshop, working tirelessly, the figure of Tohsaka Rin slumped over her latest gem. She'd been doing her best to set up for the Grail War, but it was thankless work. Not to mention expensive. Each gem ended up costing as much as a small house, it was-

A wave passed through the room. In her hands, the gem shattered into a million tiny pieces. The backlash travelled up her circuits, effectively short-circuiting the Magi girl. With her years of experience, however, she managed to close off her circuits before any major damage happened.

In that moment, however, Rin vowed to find whoever just threw all that money down the drain.

---

Metaphorically flexing your new circuits, you raise your hand and watch as the tendrils of prana jump forth to do your bidding. A desk is formed, as well as a chair, which you promptly sit at. Now that you've got a hold on your powers, you can finally get to work!

What sort of dolls should you make, though?

[] Quality! Stronger dolls are necessary to fight off enemy Servants.
[] Quantity! Drown them in legions of your dolls.
[] A mixture! It's diverse and useful in more situations.

[Rhomeo]

Rather than sheer legions of dolls as you sometimes enjoy, you decide it would be far better to focus on fewer, stronger dolls. You already have a design in mind for a few… specifically one, that you had made once before. If you're to participate in this War, you'll need to make him all over again. Luckily, with how magic in this world works, you can expedite much of the process. Creating the materials from scratch and sewing them together creates a calming atmosphere and, by the end of the night, the workshop is populated by a dozen or so dolls.

Every one has a lifeless stare, but when you reach out and connect to them with a string of prana… they come to life.

A smile plays at your lips.

“Impressive,” a voice says from the doorway. “I only hope they're powerful enough to deal with a Servant.”

“We can only hope, Master,” you reply with a sweet smile, pulling your tome up to your chest as you drop the strings from the puppets. “Normally I would think it best for me to stay in Spirit Form, however...”

“You need to work on your dolls, I understand,” he shakes his head. “My reserves can hold out for the duration of the War, so keep doing as you will. However...”

“However?”

“I'm heading into the city to meet a certain individual. I was wondering if you would like to come with me.”

A certain individual, eh?

[] “Who are they, Master? I feel that's somewhat important~”
[] Ask him not to go, don't be stupid!
[] Just go with him, you can ask on the way.
[] Decline. Puppets!

[Rhomeo]

“Alright then, let's go!”

Your Master seems surprised, but he quickly nods and leads you out of the room.

Master-Servant Synergy increased!

After a quick foray into a side room, your Master leads you down the hallway and to a staircase. It snakes its way down in a spiral pattern into a beautiful entrance hall, but you don't have any time to explore the rest of the first floor as you're led straight to the front door. Before you exit, however, your Master turns back.

“It might be wise to… change over to Spirit Form here,” he notes. “You're a little inconspicuous, you know.”

“Not a chance, I'm going to experience the world while I'm here!” you beam at him.

The smile seems lost on him, though.

Master-Servant Synergy decreased!

Walking together through the residential district is… well, not uncomfortable, but it certainly isn't something you enjoy. George doesn't even try to talk to you, instead focusing on the path ahead. He seems like the type to have the city layout memorised already, so that can't be what he's concentrating on. Perhaps if you…

Hmm, perhaps not. While you're sure you could-

Wait, you could?

It's as though a memory is whisked away before you can fully grasp it, never to return. Well, it's probably not that dramatic, but you feel as though you've lost the opportunity to do something. Frowning, you let your thoughts wander over memories for the remainder of the walk. Some of them are fuzzy, but a lot of them seem quite nice. So long ago…

“We're here.”

And here you were.

It was a grand old building, albeit there was an air of… oppressiveness, surrounding it. For some reason you can't help but shudder. George doesn't seem to mind as he steps forward and pushes the doors open just enough to move in. As you both step inside the building, however, you note that someone else is already talking to the Priest. Two someones, really.

And you note that the second is a Servant.

Why so many people would want to talk to a man of the faith is beyond you, but it doesn't really matter. You both stand aside and wait, but you do catch the tail end of the conversation with your acute hearing.

“… and if there's anything I can do to help you-” the woman sputters.

“There's no need, Bazett,” the man responds with a smile that makes your skin crawl. “Now please, there are other people here to see me.”

The woman nods before turning on her heel, eyes immediately beelining straight to your Master. He straightens up in response, but no words exchange the four of you. It's all rather…

…

Tense.

You both make your way over to the Priest, who's still wearing that obnoxious smile. You don't trust him for a second and from your Master's posture, he doesn't either. Still, it must be a necessary meeting. You tune out of the conversation before it even begins, instead deciding to…

[] Try and grasp that power you felt earlier.
[] Try and grasp those memories you nearly had.
[] Try and grasp a new concept or idea to work with.

[Rhomeo]

While the two men talk, you decide to reach down at the power you'd been holding back before. It isn't, as you'd previously thought, the ability to reach in and see other people's thoughts. No. It was the power to see…

…

Spirits.

And there was one in the Church, watching you. You try to tell George, but you find yourself… captivated by this being. Its power is ridiculous, far above your own. It's like a golden shining light, taking up all of your senses.

And it moves.

It's coming.

“Master, there's a spirit coming.”

“Spirit?”

“A Heroic Spirit, and it's coming for us.”

George, to his credit, maintains a composed visage while talking to the Priest. He seems to round up the conversation rather smoothly and gives the man a quiet smile before turning. You both make your way out of the Church, but just as you're about to exit…

“She saw me.”

It's a voice that inspires command. So much so that you have to turn, to which you see a black-clad man with golden hair and red eyes. Anger brims just below the surface. One wrong move could result in you losing your life here.

“Uh… hi,” you manage, rather feebly.

You're entirely taken by his presence, it's… utterly ridiculous. Who is this man?

He merely gives you a smile.

“Father Kotomine, I didn't realise there was already a Servant without a Master,” George starts, his face surprisingly calm.

“Ah, that would be the argument I would use, yes,” the priest responds with an outstretched hand. “Unfortunately, your Servant knows the truth, doesn't she?”

You swallow. Hard.

“Not so fast, Kirei,” the other man smiles, taking a few steps forward. “This girl isn't yours to play with; she's mine.”

“As you say.”

And so, the golden-haired man walks over to you. It's slow. Deliberate. Every step has a purpose. You want to turn tail and run, but you can't pull the strength to do so from anywhere. Then, as he stands in front of you…

He pats you on the head.

“You will return to the Church this evening, I wish to talk to you. Return with your Master now, I'm sure you have much to explain.”

Unable to contain your surprise, you nod under his hand and he drops it. The smile on his face is not… a pleasant one. Perhaps something you would attribute to a hunter who just killed a mighty beast.

You and George make your leave of the Church, but to your Master's credit, he doesn't immediately accost you with questions.

Not out loud, at least.

“You can't just use your powers like that,” he almost seems to sigh. “At the least can you explain your skills to me? I'd like to know in advance before something like that happens again.”

[] Eh, why not.
[] No, definitely not.

[Rhomeo]

Well, it can't do any harm, can it?

“I'm a puppeteer, of course; but I imagine you already knew that.”

“Your Workshop gave it away,” he responds, a slight smile touching his lips.

“Of course. Well, there's a fair bit more to me than just that. I'm… not quite human, where I'm from I was called a magician, but you would call me a youkai, I imagine.”

“A youkai… Japanese spirits?”

“Yes, that sounds about right,” you smile sweetly, skipping beside him. “As such, I have a natural affinity with these Heroic Spirits. It makes it easy to spot them, I guess you could call me a bit of a spirit radar. That man from earlier though… he wasn't quite right. A Heroic Spirit, but not a Servant.”

“Are you saying...”

“He's the one who won the last War, yes.”

Silence rebounds along the link for a few moments.

“Well, thank you for trusting me with this.”

“You did ask nicely, after all!”

George chuckles and shakes his head. Despite that cold exterior, you think he quite enjoys jokes. You'll have to keep that in mind.

Master-Servant Synergy increased!

---

After returning to your Workshop, you set out some papers you'd borrowed from George to plan out the rest of your day.

You have 3 action points to spend!

[] Make more dolls!
- [] Quantity.
- [] Quality.
- [] Mixed.
[] Explore the city!
- [] Take George?
[] Spend time with George!
[] Work on reinforcing your Workshop. “We can make you better.”
[] You have an idea… (Write-in)

Spoiler: Tutorial - Action Points 

In some instances, you will have the option to do multiple things during a period of time. Usually resigned for day phases, you'll end up with a fluctuating number of Action Points depending on prior choices/other commitments.