so, i ask of thee, are you my master?

[anonily]

The HOLY GRAIL WAR Meme

 

Seven Masters, magi of the present day. Seven Servants, heroes of days past.One Holy Grail, granting whomever claims it a wish. Only one team of Master and Servant may claim it.
Who will it be?
For those unfamiliar with Fate/Stay Night or Fate/Zero, you can find a better explanation of the Holy Grail War here. (Note: The Holy Grail War in Fate/EXTRA functions in a dramatically different way, and one not followed for purposes of this meme.)

Instructions
1. Comment with your character. In the subject line, put that character's name, canon, and which role (Master, Servant, or either) you would like them to fulfill. Though not mandatory, it would be preferred that you give a brief summary of your character as they will (most likely) be AU'd into the setting. (NOTE: If your character can fill the role of Servant, I suggest you state which class(es) -- Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, or Berserker -- they fall into.)
2. Reply to others' comments. Pick your character's role (and the other character's if they list "Either" as their preference), then use the RNG to pick a scenario that fits the two characters' roles.
3. Enjoy! Though there might be triggers, depending on how the prompts are interpreted.


TWO MASTERS

1. Battle. Who says that Servants get to have all the fun? After all, most Masters try to kill each other, too. Whatever the circumstances, the two of you are locked in a fight. Neither of you are willing to use your Command Spells just yet, so no Servants here. Just two magi duking it out.

2. Alliance. There's a bigger threat out there. Either one Servant is exceptionally powerful, or the situation has changed and the participants need to take action aginst it. One way or another, you're teamed up with one of your rivals for the Holy Grail. How long will this last before you try to stab each other in the back? Or, will something more develop?

3. Protection. Uh-oh! One of you has lost your Servant! Unfortunately, there's no way you'd get to the church safely on your own, so the other one will help you get there! Or maybe you don't trust the priest presiding over the Holy Grail War and are giving shelter to them yourself? Given their track record, no one would blame you.

4. Death. One or both of you lay dying. It might have been by the other's hand, or by someone else's entirely. How will you spend your last moments in the presence of one of your rivals?

5. You, Too? Surprise! You may have been friends before, but you've just discovered that you're both Masters! How will you handle this revelation?

6. Wild Card. Roll again, pick one of the previous options, or make one up!


MASTER AND SERVANT

1. Are You My Master? The summoning is complete. Whether intentional or not, catalyst or not, a magus has summoned a Servant. What kind of meeting was it? Was everything totally under control, or did a hitch occur? Or maybe it happened in the middle of a life-or-death situation!

2. Identity. Either the Servant has flat out told the Master their identity, or they unleashed their Noble Phantasm. Either way, the cat is out of the bag. How will the Master react, now that they know their Servant's name and legend? Will anything change between the two?

3. Battle Aftermath. A battle has just ended. Who participated? Are either of you hurt? Did the Master have to use a Command Spell? Any number of things could have happened here.

4. Discord. Uh-oh. It looks like the Master and the Servant don't get along. Here come the arguments! Don't do something stupid, like waste a Command Spell over a triviality...

5. Love. And then, there's the opposite. Sometimes Masters and Servants fall in love with each other. How will this affect things?

6. Wild Card. Roll again, pick one of the previous options, or make one up!


TWO SERVANTS

1. Battle. This is what usually happens when two Servants meet -- they duke it out. This probably says enough as it is.

2. Alliance. There's a bigger threat out there. Either one Servant is exceptionally powerful, or the situation has changed and the participants need to take action aginst it. One way or another, you're teamed up with one of your rivals for the Holy Grail. How long will this last before you try to stab each other in the back? Or, will something more develop?

3. The Grail Dialogues. Maybe you're not interested in fighting just yet. Maybe you just want to sit down and talk with the other Servant. Find out what they want, what makes them tick. Get some wine while you're at it -- nothing like good wine to go with good talk!

4. Death. One or both of you lay dying...again. It might have been by the other's hand, or by someone else's entirely. How will you spend your last moments in this War in the presence of one of your rivals?

5. Identity. Congratulations, you've just learned each other's identities! Will this change the situation, or will you press onward?

6. Wild Card. Roll again, pick one of the previous options, or make one up!

Comments

[knight_king]

You are Rider.

[Though she feels this is so humiliating as it is ridiculous, she does not know if her Riding Stat covers 'Servants' as things permitted to 'ride' with such skill.]

It must be you. We cannot leave any room to mistakes when children's lives are at stake.

[axeatyourside]

I'll not argue that. If circumstances were less dire, I'd make a joke about me being an acceptable mount as well, but--

[Rider flaps a hand, dismissive. With his other, he heaves the axe up, and dismisses it in a twinkling of gold dust. There's no point in keeping it out right now, or adding extra weight for Saber to carry.]

But if anything becomes too much as we head in, tell me and we'll reconfigure this arrangement.

[knight_king]

As Saber, my Magic Resistance is higher, too. If we are against Caster, I would be the one less affected by his spells.

[She continues her reasoning, obviously not seeing the punchline of his joke; anything can be a mount to those with high Riding stats, right? Either way, she believes that she is somehow unable to dodge because she is carrying Rider, she does not need to, that's what she means, unlike he.

Even so, she does not foresee this a problem.]

That will not be necessary. Come. We must hurry. [She does not dismiss her sword, she will keep it and trust him to be able to stay on her shoulders. She looks at him expecting him to just leap on her shoulders so they could start this.]

[axeatyourside]

[Rider's not sure how to take the missed joke, but Saber's words make it clear that while their masters may have made an alliance of convenience, they seem to balance each other out well. Not as perfect as an old friend might, but it is damn fine for something left to chance.

With that look, Rider feels a twinge of red in his cheeks.]

Can you crouch down a little? I'm tall, but I'm not about to hop up three feet onto your shoulders.

[knight_king]

...

[Saber wordlessly assents with her head and turns to face the entrance of the labyrinth. From that position, she proceeds to sit seiza-style, perfectly upright and flawlessly rigid as the way she normally stands and moves. Even her breathing, for every occasion, is strictly regulated to not be wasteful.]

[axeatyourside]

Thanks.

[There's a note of apology in Rider's voice - he knows how silly this is, and how humiliating it must look from the outside. But he's careful as he climbs onto Saber's shoulders, kicking at nothing, not grabbing onto anything on Saber's person either, and one he's settled, he focuses his own gaze on the labyrinth before them.]

Whenever you're ready.

[knight_king]

I proposed this, you do not need to apologize.

[She answers him, shaking her head. She takes responsibility for her own actions and suggestions, after all. She wishes she can end this quickly and destroy Caster. She waits until he is settled and hopes for the best. If he falls this will be completely pointless.

She nods and takes off when he gives the signal he is confident to start. She rises slowly and, after a few tentative steps, bolts within the labyrinth walls. If he burdens her, her prana-infused Strength simply shrugs off the extra bulk to make it weightless.]

[axeatyourside]

[It feels like going into a full gallop, and in a way, Rider supposes it is. Saber is surefooted, and the confidence she has in her movement makes Rider think that the plan could very well work. Certainly his master has not expressed any problems with the decision so far - Rider would know otherwise - although he doesn't dare presume to speak for Saber's.

The labyrinth's character is distinct. For something new in the world, it has a thick patina of grime on the walls, a sense that the place is truly old. That it has been lying underground, waiting, rather than be a Noble Phantasm.

But more than that, there's a sense that the place is hungry. That it needs more than just Caster's mana, and that anything entering it is fair game.]

I'm not seeing any signs of the kids yet--

[knight_king]

[The strange maze is more than enough to occupy her attention, making Saber forget about the absurd strategy they have agreed to carry out. She has carried a few ladies in her arms, including her late wife, but she has never carried one of her companions, her knights, on her shoulders unless they fell on battle and that had been placed on one shoulder.

She scans the walls of the labyrinth, briefly, noticing the appearance of the ruin, before she gazes back to their path. It does not go unnoticed to her that the road she has been navigating has started to shift with every step onwards, she no longer will find the exit if she looks back, something they will worry about once the children were found.

She does not like when she steps on the ground, she feels like there are invisible tendrils, attempting to slow her down, to lull her into staying here forever. Perhaps if her Magic Resistance were lower, she would have been tempted to linger. This place is hungry: for mana, for blood, for company in general. She buries her uneasiness when she talks to Rider once more.]

Neither do I. This might be futile, thought I have to try. Hold tightly, Rider. [She warns him while she leaps toward the walls of the maze, trying to topple it when the wall starts to grow taller and taller until she could not reach it. She lands in front of it and the wall returns to its original height.

She glares at the wall, unsurprised by what has happened.] Kuh- I assumed this would happen.

[axeatyourside]

Hm.

[Trying to leap up over the walls is a good plan. Rider would've done the same on his own, and probably tried to smash down the walls as he went. Saber's control, even if her frustration is palpable, is a painfully sharp contrast.

Rider rubs his chin, trying to make sense of what the next step might be. Burrowing under is just plain silly. Summoning the Bull is impractical.]

Maybe we should let the place guide us for a bit. Clearly we were expected, but Caster can't have planned for everything we might do when facing of against him.

i will be busy until Wednesday, I will try to write a tag or two every day tho!

[knight_king]

I do not think we were only expected by Caster.

[She says and lowers her blade, halting suddenly to stare at the crossroad ahead of them. Their road bifurcates in a symmetrical paths to take. The left and the right lead to identical looking places, like perfect mirrors to each other, from the details of ruin and decay, to the stones on the ground. This place is the most disconcerting. She does not like it.

She looks up, to try to focus on Rider's face instead, from this awkward angle. Perhaps she should let her fortune lead the way. She has a B Luck Stat and she trusts more on that parameter than the treacherous options the labyrinth gives.

So keeps her eyes on him while she whirls around and, almost without thinking, returns a few steps to take a new path that have been formed earlier from the re-arrangement of the old ones. That as been a gut feeling. Not the ones offered ahead of them.]

This place somehow feels… older and more menacing than he is.

[It emanates a kind of power the Servant did not seem to have in their past encounters. Perhaps because the level of mystery surpasses Caster's.]

No rush, I'll tag whenever I see something in my inbox!

[axeatyourside]

So what, we have a bonus servant, Labyrinth?

[Rider's not laughing, even if the comment is wry. There's no reason not to take the thought seriously. Feeling Saber looking up at him, Rider's careful to meet her gaze.]

It has kind of taken on a life of it's own, right? It'd follow for it to be almost independent from him, and have it's own particulars.

[Patches of moss dot the walls of the path Saber has chosen to walk down. The stones underneath aren't stones, but cracked mosaics having taken on the weight of something truly heavy. Some tiles are cracked, others chipped, a few missing all together.]

l-late

[knight_king]

I am not certain. Perhaps we have been fooled from the start.

[She says sourly. She does not like to fall into an enemy’s trap, if this is one, she dislikes it. Her gaze flickers briefly to gaze where she is walking in order to avoid running onto a wall, but her focus is on Rider, because she feels the more she looks at this labyrinth, the more it will disorient her senses.

She cannot rely on them until the road is clearer in the configuration. She takes turns like that, with her whole attention on him. The chipped and cracked surfaces on the construction material just make her more cautious. These are not ordinary walls to be damaged with any weapon.]

Hm. I think that Caster Class Servants are too troublesome. [Her voice carries some scorn, as if this was not the first one she has met.] Magi often summon what is beyond their control.

Psssh you're fine.

[axeatyourside]

Control's sometimes not the important part, you know. Sometimes it's the wrecking that's the key thing.

[After all, what good had the Bull of Heaven done, beside destroy portions of Uruk? There was never any attempt to control it - it was simply let loose.

Rider sighs, and folds his arms. To rest them on Saber's head, he suspects, would not go over very well, so he keeps them aloft. Below, the floor changes again, no longer mosaics but rough dirt. An older portion of the labyrinth, before anyone lined their homes with something firmer.]

[knight_king]

I know this, though admittedly it is difficult to understand how such action could be considered a sound idea.

[She takes her restrain seriously. Maybe too seriously. It is encompassing how much she avoids chaos with a set control: from her disciplined breathing, to her obvious tense posture and rigid hairstyle.

Her footsteps sound different, gone is the clack from metal hitting a stone surface, replaced by a muffled noise. Saber still does not stop or looks down.]

Rider.

[She asks, still suspicious that this maze could toy with her perception. She is the one with a close contact, so in case she is affected, he will be spared.]

What do you see?

[axeatyourside]

Emotional satisfaction is really great? Best way I can think of explaining it.

[The change in discussion from downright conversational to sensing that something is off again causes Rider to per up. There's no point in leaning forward right now - that'd just force Saber to find a way to redistribute Rider's weight again - but Rider does narrow his eyes. Attempts to see in the dim lighting, and ah.

There's actually something of note.]

Aside from walking on dirt again, we've got a three pronged path coming up and uhm--

[Rider's eyes go left, a flash of colour catching his attention.]

There's a bright purple jacket about three meters ahead and to your left, it looks it. I can't guess if it's child size or not, but we should probably check it out.

[knight_king]

[She is not concerned about emotional satisfaction, only with what is righteous and what will be the best strategy to finish a battle with the least casualties. She has never understood the thrill of the older Heroic Spirit’s sense of glory or conquest. Saber is silent because she does not understand, her obvious blank expression speaks louder than her words would do in that situation. And, after that chat, she prefers to focus on the maze. She keeps walking, this time she slows her pace so Rider can describe the surroundings with more details to her.

He tells her about the path split and about his findings. Breadcrumbs that could lead them to the children or perhaps they were place there to mislead them? She will take the risks, she cannot ignore this.]

We shall take the left path.

[axeatyourside]

Hopefully Caster's not just having us on.

[It is, for Rider, the immediate assumption. It'd certainly make sense, given the older path that they've stepped down and how the patina on the walls seems even older than Rider. Ridiculous, of course, Rider knows. He's the first story. Nothing is older than he is.

But the idea of actually finding the children gives Rider pause, and he angles his head down to try and catch Saber's eye.]

I'm going to guess that if we're getting kids out of here, it's going to be on me, right?

[knight_king]

[This is starting to resemble an old hero’s quest rather than a battle for the Holy Grail, perhaps that is what Caster wishes. Some Servants are not even in this world to claim the Grail, as ridiculous that is for Saber, she is among the minority who has a need to claim it.

She nods and meets his eye as her pace speeds up again. He suspects correctly.]

Yes, with your Noble Phantasm, you will be doubtlessly faster.

[She is a knight before she is a Servant; she is prioritizing the children’s lives over winning the Holy Grail this time.]

I will stay and face our opponent while you escape with the children.

[axeatyourside]

I'm gonna need so many more nose ropes.

[The Bull of Heaven isn't exactly something one rides like a traditional mount. It's more gently steering and praying the overgrown cow will go in the correct general direction. The damn thing could be a Berserker all on its own.

Rider frown, uncomfortable with the fact that he might struggle to deliver on his end of this alliance.]

There's another turn up ahead it looks it. One's got curved walls, the others are straight sided.

[knight_king]

I do not know if we can find rope inside the labyrinth, Rider.

[Saber entrusts the task to Rider, nonetheless. She is strong, but she cannot carry fourteen - if they are fortunate to find all of them alive- children to safety with only two short and slender arms. She suspects she will be occupied with Caster and the destruction of the place he summoned.

Her head tips to a side, hearing this. It is difficult to not see, but to trust on something as unreliable as her High Luck Parameter to take the best choice. She turns to the left, and wonders which path she has chosen.]

Which road are we on now?

[axeatyourside]

[Rider shifts, doing his best to look over his shoulder without redistributing his weight too much.]

Straight sided, from the looks of it.

[knight_king]

If there is any change—

[She has started to say when a high pitched wailing cut her off. The voice came from every direction, as an echo scattered in the labyrinth. It was incorrect to say it was a single wailing, but multiple voices weave together in a same lamentation that make the walls shake slightly.

Saber stops briefly, trying to discern from which direction it came from but she has no luck. Her attention turns at Rider, hoping he has some skill that will allow him to track it.]

[axeatyourside]

[At that noise, Rider perks immediately. His ears strain, searching, searching, searching. It's like being in a forest again, sound coming everywhere and no where. Where he could track an animal if he needed to, now it's limited. Moving off of Saber's shoulder carries too much risk.

So Rider waits for the noise again. It comes, but with more voices. Louder voices. But as horrifying as the wailing is, it gives him a sense of where it's coming from.]

Ultimately we need to head northwest. It looks like the curved path leads that way, but I can't be certain unless we go down it. How does your luck stat feel about taking the chance?

[knight_king]

[Saber nods and does not answer, at least not with words, the way her body accelerates after he issued his challenge on her luck speaks without need of confirmation. They are not gambling their lives, but the lives of those kidnapped children. She races through the labyrinth, at the direction that he has pointed.

She stops only because there is no path ahead anymore, nothing except for an empty space and beyond it, a platform.]

Where are we?