War Council
Twilight regarded the sole of her hoof in silence. No candles lit the room, but the pale moonlight was more than enough to make out the three red marks marring the violet. Ruler had told her that normally there would have been some kind of bruise on the spot where these things would appear, but who would have thought to check the underside of their hoof for something like that?
The pattern they formed was pleasant looking. At the center was a six-pointed star. It was the same shape as the center star of her Cutie Mark. The realization made her a little ill. Wrapping around the star’s sides, almost protectively, were soft, curved lines. They were decorated and entwined with fanciful patterns that brought to mind a bird’s wing.
Her leg felt fifty pounds heavier every second she stared at the brand that she’d been marked with. She’d been in dangerous situations before. She’d had the fate of all Equestria on her shoulders before. But this wasn’t the same.
She’d faced awful peril. She’d faced dark creatures and darker magic. But she’d never faced the most primordial conflict of all.
She’d never faced Kill or Be Killed.
***
Twilight’s mouth was dry and her coat was matted with cold sweat as the thing that had called itself Ruler, or was it Arturia, loomed over her. Her message might as well have been written in Buffalo smoke signals for all the sense it made. Chosen? Master? Summon your Servant? Holy Grail War? It was gibberish, and her fear wasn’t helping. After a silence that felt like forever, Twilight managed to just barely choke out a shaky, “W-What?”
The armored thing let out a small sigh, and Twilight could have sworn that she saw a pout appear on her face. “Perhaps this method was unwise. When you managed to bypass the suggestion spell I’d placed at the dress shop without even noticing it, I’d assumed you were a magus of extraordinary caliber. I expected your workshop would be well protected, and surprise would be my only chance to reach you in private without attracting notice. Your world is even more different than I imagined.”
Dropping to one knee, she extended her armored hand to Twilight. “It seems I owe you another apology. To frighten a lady and trespass in her chambers in the dead of night is truly despicable behavior for a knight. I can only beg your pardon, Twilight Sparkle.”
The ferocity that had been pouring out of her gaze instantly evaporated. She granted Twilight a disarming smile as warm as the mid-day sun. The change was so immediate and so complete it left Twilight a bit stunned, and before she realized it she had taken the outstretched appendage and been gently hefted back onto her hooves.
“Well, I guess you did fix my window after your… um, entrance. I guess since you apologized we can just… call things even and start over? You gave a few different names back there…”
She rose back to her feet with a soft clank. “Ruler would be best. That is my Servant class and title, and as a Master it would be most appropriate for you to address me as such. Besides, my name won’t have any meaning for you.”
“Well then, Ruler, I… we should… would you like some tea?” Twilight decided it may have been the dumbest thing she’d said in her entire life. But amazingly, after a moment of surprise, Ruler’s smile came back even warmer than before.
“Yes, actually. It’s been too long since I had a nice cup of tea.”
***
Twilight felt like she’d gone a week without breathing as she finally floated a tray with a freshly brewed teapot and two cups into the main room and took a seat opposite Ruler, who was resting on her knees on a cushion next to a hastily cleared table. She noticed that the woman had somehow made her armor vanish, leaving her looking much less imposing and her blue dress much more refined. Without the metal coverings, her hands were extremely dainty. She took the offered cup and sipped her drink with royal poise. While preparing the tea, Twilight had gotten a few preliminary questions out of the way, and she believed the answers. Ruler was not there to hurt her, despite the aggressive entrance. Only to talk. She was willing to answer any questions and explain everything she could about her message, no matter how long Twilight needed to take. Spike hadn’t been harmed in any way, only been charmed by a light sleeping spell so he wouldn’t wake during her entrance, and he would be normal in the morning.
This left her with one very obvious place to begin. “Just what exactly are you?”
Setting her cup down, Ruler began. “There are several answers I expect you’d like to that question. Firstly, the name of my species is Human, and you should know that my kind is not native to any part of this world. Secondly, I am something of a magical entity, not a normal mortal. I mentioned to you that I am a Servant, and to explain in brief this means that I am a Heroic Spirit that has been summoned into a physical shell by the powers of the Holy Grail.”
“Whoa! Slow down!” Twilight’s head was already spinning. “You’re called a human, and you’re not from Equestria. I assume that you taking on a pony form is some kind of disguise or magic that your species can do, or maybe even just you can do –“ Ruler nodded to confirm this before Twilight moved on, “-and you’re not just any human, but you’re special somehow. So what’s a Heroic Spirit and what’s a Holy Grail?”
“It may be somewhat difficult to understand, since the worlds we come from are very different from what I’ve seen,” Ruler warned. “However, you seem to be a scholar, so perhaps you will comprehend. In my world there is great power in ideas and concepts. If enough people believe that a thing is real, it can be made real when before it was not. A Heroic Spirit is something that began as a human, but accomplished great enough deeds during their lifetime that other humans began to basically worship them after they died, passing down the stories of their lives for hundreds and thousands of years. Their names and their deeds became legends and myths, and because of the belief in their greatness other granted them by sharing these deeds, the concept of that person became a higher being, almost like a god. Do you understand?”
Twilight nodded hesitantly. It was difficult, but she thought she understood. What she was talking about brought to mind her idol in magical studies, Starswirl the Bearded. He created so much amazing magic that ponies everywhere still remembered his name (even if they didn’t recognize a costume in his likeness) over 1000 years after he’d passed away. The founders of Equestria, like Clover the Clever and Smart Cookie were similarly remembered in the story of Hearth’s Warming Eve. That tale had been passed down from pony to pony long after their times had ended, and their names had deep meaning as a result. “I think I see. So you were also a famous hero in your world? So famous that even after you were gone people still remembered you and you became one of these Heroic Spirits?”
“Well, I… yes.” Ruler was clearly glossing over something with that answer, but seemed very pleased at Twilight’s grasp of her explanation. “When any soul becomes a Heroic Spirit, it transcend the bonds of time and space, existing in a place called the Throne of Heroes. There, it is our duty to act as guardians, and because the Throne is outside of the limits of the normal cosmos, we are capable of appearing at any time or any place on any world, should there be a threat which merits our appearance. Even on a world without humans, like this one.”
This alarmed Twilight. “Wait, you were sent here to fight some great evil?”
Ruler shook her head. “No, no. I don’t want to confuse you with even more needless details, but suffice to say that if there was a situation where Heroic Spirits were needed to fight on this world, they would be this world’s Heroic Spirits first and foremost. I and the other Servants were brought here by different means for a different purpose. This brings us to the Holy Grail War.”
She paused to sip her tea once more. She seemed suddenly tense, as if she were not looking forward whatever she was going to say next. All Twilight knew for sure was that anything attached to the word ‘war’ couldn’t be good.
“The Holy Grail War is a magical ritual. The Grail itself is a device that has the power to summon Heroic Spirits into the world by limiting their powers. These are what we call Servants. There are seven in all, anchored to the world by a contract with seven magic users which the Grail itself selects. These are called Masters, and you have been chosen as one of them.”
“What’s the point of the ritual?” Twilight asked.
There was a pause. It was almost too brief to notice, but it was there. Then, Ruler replied, “To grant any wish that the winning Master and Servant desire.”
Twilight’s eyes went wide, the strange hesitation passing from her thoughts. “Wow… any wish at all?”
“Yes. However, this gift isn’t free. If the ritual has a ‘winner,’ then of course it must have six losers. And those places are decided by combat between the Servants. Those six which are defeated become the means by which the miracle of a granted wish is made manifest. In the end, unless you are the winner, a Servant’s only purpose is to be a log on a fire.”
Twilight’s momentary wonder was instantly gone. “You mean… the Servants have to destroy each other?”
Ruler gazed deeply into her teacup. “I’m afraid it’s much worse than that, Twilight Sparkle. Servants are already spirits, ghosts basically, so even if we were to die, we would simply return to the Throne unharmed. But Servants are extremely powerful, and command weapons and magic the likes of which you’ve never seen. Defeating another Servant is difficult.”
Her tone darkened. “But if he has no master, a Servant will cease to exist. Normal mortals, even those who are highly skilled in magic or arms, are helpless children before the power of a Servant. It’s not impossible that they could defeat the Servants in battle, but the odds are so slim they’re not even worth contemplating, let alone relying on. Which means the best strategy is usually for the Masters to have their Servants attempt to slay the other Masters.”
For Twilight Sparkle, it felt like time stopped. The gears in her head ground to a screeching halt, refusing to process what she’d just heard. But it wasn’t long before they began to click forward, one thought at a time. The Masters kill all the other Masters to win. The Masters are herself and six other ponies. Therefore, six other ponies… and even she…
“NO!” She stood up and slammed her hoof into the table “What you’re saying isn’t possible! There’s no pony in all of Equestria that would ever hurt another pony! Let alone… it just wouldn’t happen! I don’t know what kind of things you humans are, but we’re not like that! I won’t have any part of this and nopony else will either!”
Ruler sipped her drink calmly. “Perhaps you’re right. This is a very peaceful place based on the time I’ve been here.” She set down her cup, and looked Twilight Sparkle square in the eye, matching the pony’s righteous anger point for point with her own commanding spirit. “But think hard before you make that decision. Remember what is at stake. Any wish. Your heart’s deepest, most secret, most impossible desire. The thing you thought you could never have even if you worked your whole life for it, suddenly within your grasp. Are you so certain that there is not one member of your race who would be willing to do something terrible for that chance? Perhaps not choose to kill, but at the very least be willing to put others in danger if it meant their dream would be fulfilled?”
Twilight wanted to say no, and end the conversation then and there. She wanted it desperately. She wanted it more than anything she’d ever wanted. But she knew it wasn’t true. It had only been a few weeks ago, after all, that she had come within a bare few inches of her own end when a reckless Pegasus, Lightning Dust, had knocked her and her friend’s balloon out of the sky with a tornado. All just to make herself look good at the Wonderbolts' Academy. She’d been so consumed by her ambitions, when confronted with what could have happened all she had to say was, “Yeah, but they didn’t get hurt, right?”
It would be naïve to think that only one pony like that existed in the entire world. And if these Servants were as dangerous as Ruler claimed, their powers that unspeakable, the odds of a normal pony defeating or escaping from one that small, then all it would take for a tragedy was one single bad egg with one at their command.
“We have to stop this! Ruler, you’re telling me all these things, you must know how to stop this war from happening!”
“I…” Her eye’s looked pained, as if she were struggling with something inside. Her hand tightened into a fist, and she slammed it into the table in frustration. Finally, she simply sighed. “I cannot help you stop the Grail War, Twilight Sparkle. I am a Servant, and I am bound to the will of my Master. And as Ruler, my only Master is the Grail. I am not a competitor in this battle, I am a proctor. My task is to see that all the chosen Masters, including you, call forth your Servants, continue to fight toward victory, and abide by the rules. I can share information with you, as I have been, but only information which will help you fight, or help the Grail War move toward its conclusion.”
“Why? You’re supposed to be a great hero, right? A hero wouldn’t just stand by and let this happen! You have to help!”
In response, she placed her left arm on the table and partially rolled up her sleeve. Twilight gasped. The entire backside of her arm, from hand to elbow (and as far as she could see, continuing upward even further on the still covered part of the arm) was marked with intricate red tattoos. Patterned with sharp triangles at threatening angles and what looked like butterfly wings, the marks were an incredible sight, beautiful and somehow terrible. “These are why even a hero cannot defy the Grail War. They are called Command Spells, and they carry the authority of absolute obedience. Every Master is given three, allowing them to exert total control over their Servant and give them orders they would otherwise never obey up to three times. As a special element to my powers as the Ruler, I am given many more, and the power to use them over any other Servant, so that I can ensure the safety of the Grail and force the battle to continue if it stalls.
“But remember, I am the servant of the Grail, and the Grail is the source of the Command Spells. Which means it has infinite means by which to command me with absolute authority should I disobey.” As Ruler stared at the command spells, bitterness entered her facial expressions. Twilight wondered what she was thinking, but before she could muse too extensively about it, Ruler’s gaze returned to her. “If you wish to see that none are harmed by this battle, Twilight Sparkle, you have but one course: summon a Servant of your own, seek out the others, and defeat them before any bloodshed occurs. I cannot help you, nor give you any information that might lead you to a way to stop this battle through other means. You are already selected as a Master, and the Grail will not retract its choice. The only way to be released is to die before you summon your Servant, and if you do, the Grail will pick another in your place until all seven Servants appear.
"If even one dark soul has been chosen, he could slaughter every other Master until the Grail chooses a group who are all willing to fight. Even if only those who are good have been chosen and they all refuse to fight, remember that the Servants have the chance to have a wish granted as well. If the Master refuses to fight properly, they might attempt to kill other Masters until all the Servants are summoned just to ensure they have this chance. And I can tell you that four of Servants have already been summoned, so there is no point in hoping that every candidate will refuse and the other Servants shall never enter this world. It is too late for wishful thinking, Twilight Sparkle. Nothing can avert this fate.”
***
Twilight stared at her marked hoof. The Command Spells were red, she realized. Blood red.
The rest of her little meeting with Ruler had left her in a daze. She’d shown her where the Command Spells were on her body to prove once-and-for-all that Twilight had been chosen to be a Master. She’d explained the method by which Twilight could perform the summoning, drawing out a picture of what the circle looked like, instructed how to make it and what words to say to make it complete. It was completely unlike any magic Twilight had done before, but Ruler had assured her it would work. Then Ruler told her the final choice of what to do would have to be hers. And to top it all off, she thanked Twilight for the tea.
Twilight realized she should have kept grilling the Servant. Demanded to know who had made this Holy Grail, why they had sent it to Equestria from whatever world it came from, by what means, how she could send it back, what the rules that she alluded to were, who the other Masters were, how much time she had to make her choice, and a million other things. But all she could do was glare at that teacup. It was absurd, but somehow the fact that the bearer of such horrible information had taken her favorite tea made her indescribably angry. She sat their boiling with rage, trying to find words to convey her fury to this… alien invader, this herald of horrors from another world. But by the time she did, Ruler had returned to her pony form and vanished out the door. Twilight followed, but by the time she looked out into the street, there was no trace of her.
And so she’d begun glaring at the marks that had been forced on her by this despicable Holy Grail, forcing all the anger she hadn’t vented on Ruler onto them. There was a lot of anger to vent, so it took a long time. Finally, her clock struck one in the morning.
She had to fight. She couldn’t possibly fight. If she did nothing, ponies could die. If she fought, she could die. Or she might be responsible for other ponies dying when she made her Servant fight them. Of course, if she did nothing she might be indirectly responsible for other ponies dying who she might have saved. If she didn’t summon a Servant, she would be helpless if one of the others came after her. If she did summon a Servant, she might be forced to take a life when one of the others came after her. If she summoned a Servant, it might well have its own agenda that put ponies in danger, and she would have to deal with that. If she didn’t summon a Servant, she would have no way to oppose the agendas of the six other servants if they were something terrible.
She would have given anything to go back in time an hour and face the conflict of truth against storytelling. She didn’t want to be imagining the things she was imagining.
But no matter how many times she closed her eyes, the marks on her hoof weren’t going away.
Twilight set her face in stone and dried her tears. “I have no choice. If I sat here doing nothing while somepony was hurt, I’d never forgive myself. I have to believe that I can end this war without hurting anyone! I can get help from the girls, and Zecora, and the Princesses! We can do this together!”
She paused, and looked over to the wide open floor of her library. “But first things first.”
***
From atop the pointed dome of the Ponyville City Hall, Arturia Pendragon watched the night. She knew what was coming. She knew she had done precisely what was necessary, said the words that needed to be said for the remaining three Masters to fight. Her Charisma skill had doubtless been an asset in convincing such peaceful, loving creatures that fighting was the right path. Or maybe they were more like humans than they seemed, and all they needed were excuses to seek out their dreams at the expense of others.
She shook her head. Such pessimism was not befitting of the King of Knights. And those that had sent her would certainly look down on her if they knew she had lost so much hope before things had even begun. But that didn’t reduce her desire to fall on her sword in shame for facilitating this pointless battle on a peaceful world.
She held on. She had to believe that these little ponies would find out the truth, and discover an answer. Even without her help. After all, it was the entire reason this was happening. They had to succeed. Even with King Arthur and the power of Excalibur as their enemy.
The town’s clock tower struck two. She felt magical power surge in three different places around town.
“I wish you luck, Masters of the Sixth Holy Grail War.”
***
Twilight remembered every detail of Ruler’s instructions. Every intricacy of the magical circle from the other world that would allow the summoning. She’d learned a summoning spell before, but this was nothing like any pony magic. The words of the incantations didn’t even rhyme. But learning new magic and putting it into practice was the thing she was best at in the whole world, the special talent that had given her a Cutie Mark, and she wasn’t going to fail now.
She was told that fresh blood was the best medium for the spell, another sign of just what a mess she’d gotten into, but it was possible to substitute with other enchanted materials provided they were potent enough. In her case, since Ruler had explained that part of the spell took the form of a heartfelt request for the hero’s aid, Twilight knew just what to use from her alchemy laboratory: the powerful potion mixture of Seeds of Truth and Heart’s Desire. When she spoke out the words of the chant, if she was truly committed to this path, the mix would react to her honesty and passion, and the full power of her magic would be released.
As she poured out the liquid into the proper shapes and lines, she repeated the first part of the spell, which would complete the preparation of the circle.
“An origin of Silver and Iron. A Foundation of Stone. The Archduke of Contracts. Hear me, in the name of the great master, Schwienorg.” Ruler had told her that she couldn’t hesitate during this first part, so she didn’t stop to dwell on if she’d pronounced that name correctly, and went on, drawing a new line with each word. “Let a wall rise against the descending wind. Let the four cardinal gates be shut. Rise above the crown, and revolve the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom!”
Her beaker of potion flourished in the moonlight as she performed the last steps and dripped the last markings into place, not even pausing for a breath. “Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Repeat five times, and then shatter with every filling!”
There was no flash or spark, but it was done. She had to hope she’d done it all correctly. The next step of the ritual was to place a catalyst that would entice the arrival of the desired Heroic Spirit. But Ruler had noted that this Holy Grail was from a foreign world, and was only capable of calling forth Heroic Spirits from that place, not ones native to Equestria. That being the case, there were no catalysts to be had. Which meant that Twilight’s only choice was to use her own body as the catalyst. By default, this would call forth a hero that was spiritually compatible with her soul. Ruler had warned her that this could be very unpredictable. Twilight had to hope for the best.
Steeling herself, she stepped into place, and channeled pure, directionless magical energy. She allowed it to flow through her body and into the air and ground. When she reached the peak of energy she could circulate through herself, and felt like every cell was infused with power, she opened her eyes and spoke.
***
Elsewhere in Ponyville, at virtually the same moment, two others had completed their own summoning circles. They had used their own special components, and submitted themselves as their own catalysts. They were as ready as they would ever be. And they spoke the same words.
“I declare.”
Twilight strained as the flow of her own power into the circle overwhelmed her, but managed to speak the words.
“My will shall create your body, and your sword shall create my fate! Follow the call of the Holy Grail! If you shall accede to this mind and this reason, then come forth!”
The chanting caused the three circles to glow and blasts of wind to swirl around them. One of the other ponies could not bear to keep looking at the storm and shut their eyes, but stubbornly refused to quit and continued with the words.
“I hereby swear an oath! I shall become all that is virtuous in Heaven! I shall dispose of all that is evil in Hell!”
One of the three, no less taxed by the act than other two, spent the effort to speak additional words. The words seemed to be filled with dread and ill omens, but they could not stop.
“But let Chaos cloud your eyes! For you shall be one caged by madness, and I shall wield your chains!”
Twilight felt like she was going to burn alive with all the power flowing through her. But this was the end. She had to focus. She had to believe with every ounce of her heart. The words had to be true.
All three of them raised their hooves, exposing the Command Spells hidden upon them. The symbols lit up an evil red as the final stage of the contract was forged.
“From the Seventh Heaven, clad in the Trinity of Words, come forth from ring of restraint! Guardian of the Holy Scales!”
***
It took Twilight a moment to realize that she’d fainted. There had been a tremendous reflexive pulse of magic as she completed the spell, and it had been accompanied by a physical wave of force as the wind reached its peak. After channeling more power than she could ever remember doing before, the combination of the feedback and knockback had simply overwhelmed her. But she had only been out for a few seconds, as smoke and crackling energy was still filling the room. The moonlight couldn’t pierce any of it, and for a moment things were so still Twilight was afraid she’d failed.
And then she heard a voice.
On some level it reminded her of Rainbow Dash. Bold, self-confident, maybe just a bit arrogant and mocking. But this was a male’s voice. It rumbled like thunder. It carried authority, demanded respect. It was, for lack of a better description, a hero’s voice.
“A horse, of all things. To think that it would be this long after my death when the Gods see fit to play their final joke upon me.”
He stepped through the mist. He was tall, and his muscles incredibly defined. His skin was a shade of brown that was almost bronzed, and his long, carefully-tied hair was a rich, royal purple. A short, well-trimmed beard gave strong definition to his jaw line. He wore a simple but regal tunic of rich wool, died in dark blue shades and tied with a fine leather belt, from which hung a gleaming sword. The blade was just over two feet long, and narrowed along its entire length to a vicious stabbing point. He lazily draped his hand over the gold and ivory of the sword’s hilt, and with the other touched a simple stone necklace engraved with an unfamiliar symbol.
Twilight wasn’t sure what to say. Whoever this was, he had arrived. He was an awe-inspiring sight. And he was a reminder that there was no turning back. She was putting her life on the line. And he was her only hope.
At last, he spoke again. “I am Hector. Tamer of Horses. Prince of the invincible city of Troy. I have heeded your summons and come forth as the Servant, Saber.” He offered her a very small bow.
***
Standing before the other two summoners, two other servants spoke. One, a towering figure in pitch-black armor that made him seem more monster than man and obscured his every feature. The other, a figure of beauty with rose-colored hair, her leather greatcoat’s deep neckline and her clinging pants and tall boots leaving nothing to the imagination. One spoke with difficulty, the other with laughter. Both said the same words, joined by the mighty Hector. Words that may as well have been a starting gun… or an opening volley.
“I ask of you: Are you my Master?”
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Hector. Cool. Who hasn't read the Iliad, after all? Wonder if the Berserker is a bait-and-switch.
"surprise would be my only chance to reach you in private without attracting notice" - thought it'd be something like that.
As I remember it, not all Heroic Spirits are Counter Guardians, but that's probably not important.
First typo spotted: "Are so sure that there is not one "
Feels appropriately epic, looking forward to more. Thanks for the read so far and have a great day.
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Always glad to be intriguing.
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No comment on Shirou/Archer. But you can be sure this crossover isn't going to be entirely one-sided.
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I hope I can meet your anticipations.
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I have heard about that. Here's hoping UFO Table is as good with this as with Zero.
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I'm glad you found it mostly enjoyable. I was worried about stilted dialogue, but hopefully it'll be less of an issue moving forward. I've always found introductions in crossovers to be challenging because its easy to alienate half of the audience by writing about things in a way where fans of one work will get totally lost on stuff from the other work. Erring on the side of self-consciousness and self-reference is sort of how I try to address the problem. Of course, if you go too far it ends up being painfully pedantic. I hope I at least avoided that much.
I won't address your questions, but I'm glad I managed to perk your curiosity. Getting the Fate fans interested in what was going on rather than pissing them off with "rules violations" was the goal, and I seem to have gotten there with you at least. A couple of your notes did get addressed in chapter 2, so I'll look forward to hearing from you about it.
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Sorry I hit on one of your pet peeves by having Arturia just break into Twilight's house. At least based on the second comment her reason seems to have mollified you. Also sorry if the point where I went in-your-face on that story motif was a bother to you. I have a habit of running a sliding scale on this sort of thing, so that people who don't pick up on some parts will still get in on what I'm trying to do. Its something I picked up from Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan; the villain spends half the movie quoting Moby Dick to character's faces so that parallel is really obvious, but people who paid attention noticed that Khan also had Paradise Lost on his bookshelf, and the movie has a lot of parallels with that story that are a ton more subtle, but maybe even more numerous than the Melville stuff. To make up for it, I promise I will go out of my way to use "perverse" should the need to adjective in that way arise. No promises on "could of," though, we do have Apples running around.
As for the Counter Guardian thing, I was trying to keep the explanation simple, and since Arturia had signed up for Counter Guardian status herself is seemed natural that she would emphasize that part of being a Heroic Spirit. I at least tried to leave little bits in the conversation to make it clear she was oversimplifying and skipping over things.
Also, I can't help but feel I'm being damned with faint praise having my prose described as decent, but I appreciate that it was given in the spirit of a compliment
And thanks for pointing out the typo, and my small error on the gauntlets.
Great chapter.
Whoa, you gave Twilight control of one of the Nine Worthies? Well, I must say sir, I did not see THAT coming, but I sure aren't against it, it make so much sense I'm surprised no ones done before!
Just 2 questions, 1: are any of the other Worthies gonna make an appearance? And 2: Will any of the servants from Fate gonna play a role here? (I'm mostly hoping for Shirou and Gilgamesh, but any of the others would do fine to.)