Dan1142000: All this is true and well observed, I do not dispute it... Nevertheless, it is not an error of the author.
Remember that Saber's Dragon Core transforms the energy from food into mana. However, Artoria walked for four days without eating through a snowstorm. It was already exhausted when she called on Avalon.
In Fate/ Stay Night Artoria is forced to dissipate her armor after using Avalon against Gilgamesh (also see the prologue of this FanFic) to have enough energy to use Excalibur.
Yes, Avalon is not an expensive Noble Phantasm, but that does not mean that its use is "free". Moreover, I am reluctant to use Avalon too often in my story, simply because it is a faculty that breaks the balance of forces. We see it in the previous episode. The scabbard is able to stop the ultimate weapon of the ancient Falmer. In fact, Avalon can even stop the power of a god... and even turn it against him.
Remember especially that I try to balance the forces between the "foreigners" (from the Fate universe) and the nationals of the TES license. That's the first reason the Servants were reincarnated into human bodies... Far too many FanFic authors import their favorite character into another universe just for the "locals" to serve as a punching ball to their favorite character. This makes the story predictable, repetitive, it removes all suspense (or how to ransack an epic in four lines) and besides it is not very respectful for the universe so scorned.
Halberd and shield
A long time ago in China, a gun dealer whose name has been forgotten had his stall set up in a small provincial town. With glibness, he praised his rather ordinary weapons. According to him, his halberds could break any shield, while his shields were impossible to shake.
These bragging of walking traders looking for customers do not deserve the ink needed to put them on paper. If not a wise philosopher lived in that city. When he heard the boasting of the merchant, he turned to him:
"And what would happen if I took one of your halberds to hit one of your shields?"
The arms dealer of course did not know what to answer, but on returning home the philosopher continued to meditate.
What would happen if we opposed the insurmountable force to the unshakeable defense?
The question often asked later was answered only by a series of paradoxes. Since - to merit the name of "insurmountable"- a force had to be able to annihilate any defense and that - to merit the name of "unshakable"- a defense had to be able to stop any force.
The question of the ancient Chinese philosopher never received answers because a lack of practical examples...
Shiro Emiya staggers, trying to catch his breath. The cross-shaped shield was heavy, dense and gave an impression of incredible hardness. On the verge of falling, he leaned on the black shield of Galahad.
Merlin also seemed tired and his features were drawn. Nevertheless, the Magus of the Flowers smiled:
"Congratulations, Shiro. You succeeded to Trace Lord Camelot. And its abilities were not diminished."
The Amber Eyed Hero nodded. Mechanically, he resorted to his Structural Analysis ability... The Noble Phantasm was qualified as B+++, specialized in the fight against the forces of Evil.
On the throne of the Falmer Citadel of Kalysha Shinji concentrated intensely. Usually, the adolescent so infatuated of himself considered as unworthy of him any prolonged effort. Lazy and lacking immediately in ideas, he was often content with fast and imprecise work. Even if it means discarding oneself on the first coming of any error and any breach... because - of course- it could not be his fault.
However, Shinji Matou was awfully proud. When he felt humiliated or annoyed, he could show tenacity in revenge that contrasted with his usual laxity.
On the throne of the former king-priest, his forehead was covered with sweat. Little accustomed to exerting great efforts, he really suffered... especially since the solar concentration mirror of the fortress was not designed to shoot several times in a row.
But Shinji continued to amass mana. Unlike the first two shots, it would not be satisfied with a low-power shot intended to destroy a group of individuals. He was going to volatilize the entire glacier... with no regard for the consequences for the environment and the people.
Avalon could never have stopped such an attack... because the action of this Noble Phantasm was limited to protecting his wearer. Shinji's desire to destroy everything was only a reaction of infantile pride... However, the cataclysmic consequences of the shooting would devastate the entire region. Even a person who survived the concentrated solar bombardment would be swept away by the annihilation of the glacier, and the collapse of the nearby mountains.
Merlin's Clairvoyance had fortunately enabled him to understand that only Lord Camelot could stop the ultimate weapon of the Falmers.
What defines evil is intent. A knife is not evil in itself. It can be used to cut an apple, or to stab a man. It's all in the hand that holds it.
While Shinji's will directed the golden mirror held by the statue of the god Auri-El, anger, it was his scorned pride and contempt of others that supported the (self-proclaimed) Great Magus. These emotions were definitively not positive ones. Thus, at that moment, the ultimate weapon of the Falmers was an incarnation of evil.
This had nothing to do with a detail, the shield of Galahad could release all its strength only if it faced evil.
Merlin concentrated and reached out to Shiro. Once again, a golden light appeared under the Hero's feet.
"Now!" cried the former teacher of Artoria.
Shiro Emiya strengthened his muscles and bones, raising the cross-shaped shield, he struck it in the ground:
"True Name, unveiling—I shall rise to the Siege Perilous."
The shield struck the ice with a blunt blow, skimming into its support. Immediately a complex barrier surrounded it, a pentacle formed of glyphs as woven of moon rays and fairy roots.
"The place that cures all wounds and dissolves all hatred, our home, sits here!"
"Manifest, Lord Camelot!"
Before Shiro, and around him, blue prana particles assembled to form walls of silver light that soon materialized in the form of a white stone rampart adorned with blue banners... the walls of Camelot, King Arthur's castle, the ultimate bulwark against the forces of evil.
Shinji belch:
"Die, you pathetic insects!"
As he laughed, the statue of Auri-El blazed with golden light. The mirror fashioned in the likeness of the flaming solar disk emits a wide ray of an unbearable brilliance. It bathed the entire glacial valley with a blaze of golden fire.
Like a sudden flood, the golden light surged to sweep everything in its path.
This blinding tidal wave collided with the alabaster wall and the world was shaken. The mountains trembled, avalanches ran down their sides. In the sky, the clouds were pushed back to the other end of the horizon.
Rin Tohsaka held onto a piece of ice as cracks opened in the glacier. She failed to fall into the depths, but Artoria caught up with her and pulled her to safety.
They both kept their eyes closed even though they were protected by Camelot's rampart. Staring at the sunlight from the solar weapon would have made you blind in seconds.
What would happen if we opposed the inexorable force to the unshakeable defense?
In reality, far from philosophical assumptions and general principles, we realized that there was never a really balanced confrontation. When two people opposed each other with equally powerful weapons, whether it was absolute powers or wooden swords, two things quickly made a difference between the duelists.
The first was that the insurmountable halberd like the unshakable shield was no more valuable than the one who held them in hand.
However, Shinji Matou had never "stooped" to seriously study the solar weapons of the ancient Falmers. In his arrogance, he did not doubt his complete mastery of his weapon.
On the contrary, Shiro Emiya knew that he did not fully control his Marble Phantasm and that the weapons he recreated from the blue print stored in Unlimited Bladework were not perfect. Every time he traced a Noble Phantasm, it was somehow a struggle against himself. Despite the risks for his mental health or the damage his Magic Circuits could endure, Shiro tried again and again to surpass himself...
The second thing that could upset the balance had many names. Some simply called it luck, others divine protection. These were all the external factors that could suddenly change the balance of power.
In a world like Nirn, luck was by no means a blind factor. The Ehlnofeys were gods who lost their immortality for following Lorkhan (1) at the beginning of time. They had died eons before. But by dying, they had become the Bones of the Earth. Merging into Nirn, they had become the will of this world. Unable to act on their own, the Ehlnofeys chose a champion, manipulating chance, and ruling over the realm of coincidence to favor him.
Now, these fallen gods had no reason to support Shinji who endangered their work as their Elven and human descendants (2). So they supported Shirou against his opponent.
The end of the fight came when Shinji lost consciousness, collapsing at the bottom of his throne. Medusa called the guards at the door to fetch a healer while she wore the "Great Magus" in his apartments.
On the glacier, a real trench had opened in front of the walls of Camelot, where the power of the solar ray weapon of the Snow Elves had broken against the wall. The ice had sublimated into steam, and a fog as dense as an oven hovered over the battlefield.
Exhausted, Shiro released the shield of Galahad, which immediately dissipated a shower of blue particles. The walls of Camelot had also disappeared and his horrified gaze discovered the devastated glacier. Large pools of boiling water dug funnels into the ice. The crevices widened as shocks rocked huge chunks of ice to the depths. The stability of the whole seemed in great danger. Shiro realized that a chasm could open beneath them at any moment.
Nevertheless, before he could say anything, a sudden pain passed through his body, radiating from his spine and spreading throughout his body. He tried to straighten himself, but his left arm and leg hung inert like wooden prostheses.
He turned to the magician:
"Merlin... I can't move..."
A worried expression passed over the exhausted face of the old teacher of Artoria. He put a hand on his back and concentrated a few moments:
"It's not good news... To put it simply, you've pushed your Magic Circuits too far. They're completely jammed in the entire left part of your body. But it could have been worse. I mean, you could have killed yourself, completely fried your Magic Circuits or stayed paralyzed for life."
Merlin concentrated and a heat spread through his body:
"Well, that should help you. However, it is out of the question that you use your Magic Circuits for three days... at least."
Rin Tohsaka also got up. She and Saber discovered the extent of the disaster. The landscape had been completely turned upside down. Worse, there was no trace of the sleds, the dogs and their guides. They had hardly survived thanks to their extraordinary abilities... but no normal human could remain alive in the midst of such a cataclysm. Besides... a jolt made her fall to her knees. Horrified, the young Magus saw a real ice cliff rise about ten meters in front of her. Turning around, she understood that it was in fact the opposite... the ice plate on which they were standing had just sunk into the glacier. It leaned sharply to her right, on the point of tipping!
As she was struggling to get up, once again with the help of Artoria (silent but worried) Merlin shook his head with dismay:
"I have no choice, I'm going to use all the prana I have left to get us out of this. Hold on to me."
There was a brief flash of light and the quartet disappeared.
Hundreds of miles away, Rin, Artoria, Shiro and Merlin reappear near the fountain in the centre of the formal garden that flanked King Eadwyre's castle in Wayrest.
The sky was blue, the temperature spring. With their thick furs still covered with snow, Tohsaka and Emiya seemed quite incongruous. As for Saber, she wore her armor on her blue dress.
However, forgetful of their environment, all stared at Merlin who stared at his hand... The fingers had become translucent and the wind that blew softly carried away blue particles. The magician had a sad smile:
"To use all its prana for a Masterless Servant can have only one way out... "
Saber's eyes widened:
"Merlin, you sacrificed yourself to save us?"
The Servant bombards the torso with pride and uttered in a grandiloquent tone:
"Such is my devotion to my king."
Rin pressed her hand on her face in the classic gesture of the facepalm:
"Before everyone starts crying a river... I remind you that Merlin is safe! He'll just wake up in the Garden of Avalon and be able to come back to us soon."
The Magus of the Flowers cast a disgusted look at the Red Devil:
"You could have let me enjoy my hero status a little longer, Miss Tohsaka!" He turned to Artoria and smiled: "But she is right, my king. I received eternal life as punishment for interfering in your destiny... I would come back. Unfortunately...it would take me months, maybe even years. And of course, you will no longer benefit from my help until I return." Merlin closed his eyes." Now, let me focus... there's one last thing I can do before I go."
There was very little energy left for the half-succubus, fortunately it was a matter of using an innate faculty. He concentrated on sending a message to the one person who could still prevent the resurrection of Angra Mainyu.
His body gradually became transparent. When Merlin opened his eyes, his consciousness began to fade. His last thought was bitter. He had been immortal since his birth and the curse of the Lady of the Lake made him impossible to kill... Nevertheless his life continued to resemble a succession of failures. Once again, he abandoned his king while she faced great dangers.
In the depths of the glacier, Archer fought for his life.
It began with three successive shocks, each more violent than the other. After the third, blocks of ice had broken away from the ceiling, followed by streams of boiling (!) water...
Hero Emiya saw only one thing that could trigger such a catastrophe: an A or Ex rank Noble Phantasm! Did Saber and Gilgamesh face each other again on the surface?
The tunnels of the Snow Elves had been invaded by water. It was a real cataclysm. The vaults threatened to collapse, undermined by the waves that had engulfed the vestiges of the Elven civilization. The former Servant ran, dodging the blocks that broke from the ceiling.
He had survived until then thanks to his speed and agility, leaping from ice block to ice block in the midst of the madness that had seized the labyrinth of the ancient Falmers. However, he knew that his chances of survival were diminishing from moment to moment...
Climbing with a few leaps a high stone pyramid that valiantly resisted the waves, he positioned himself on the upper platform and concentrated:
"I am the bone of my sword"
"Steel is my body and fire is my blood"
"I have created over a thousand blades"
Having completed the three phases of the pre-Projection process, Archer could Trace even the most expensive Noble Phantasms.
Unlimited Bladework contained mostly swords and other weapons that approached the concept "sword" which was the element of Shiro Emiya, the root of his Magecraft. Lines of energy in front of his outstretched hand formed a kind of wireframe model that acquired colors and densities in a few seconds.
His fingers closed on the handle of a Persian shamshir, a "lion's tail" (since that was how the term was translated) scimitar beautifully adorned.
This Noble Phantasm had a famous possessor, the Persian hero Rostam, perhaps the greatest hero of the legends of this country.
Archer brandishes the sword towards heaven:
"Out of my sword I beheaded the beast, and blood flowed out of his chest like a torrent."
شمشیر بهار
(3)
According to legend, Rostam was lost in a desert as he sought to deliver the Shah prisoner of the white demon. Dying of thirst, delirious, the hero implored God... and a sheep appeared guiding him into the desert. Where the animal came to rest, Rostam planted his sword in the ground and a spring sprang from it. Soon after, the hero faced a dragon and slaughtered it... draining it of its blood which formed a veritable tidal wave. Crystallization of these legends, Rostam's shamshir controlled the liquids.
Responding to Archer's will, the Noble Phantasm slowed down the flow of water that broke into the rooms and redirected it to the widest corridors so that the water was quickly discharged.
He then drew a nameless Noble Phantasm, a dagger capable of launching an ice attack. Sculpting the water with the sword of Rostam, freezing it with the dagger, he closed the cracks, and einforced the walls.
Exhausted and hungry, Archer leaned against a wall. He had not eaten all day, but the iron discipline to which he had bound himself for centuries enabled him to forget suffering and discomfort.
His eyes closed. Sitting he slept...
Archer's eyes opened on a landscape he knew by heart. In a sky obscured by clouds of smoke turned gigantic gears. The air stink the smell of fire. Up to the horizon there were only dunes, a mineral landscape sculpted by the wind... sand dunes planted with swords of all kinds; Some were only coarse pieces of metal, others could have been used for the coronation of a king, some were European, others came from Asia or the Maghreb. An infinity of weapons planted like so many crosses, each representing a person that Archer had killed...
His version of Unlimited Bladework surrounded him as far as the eyes can see, a Marble Phantasm which served as Noble Phantasm to Archer, the only magic that was allowed to Emiya Shiro.
Archer sighed with annoyance. He slept, knew he was asleep... and yet he was here. His Marble Phantasm was a prison from which he could never really escape because Archer had forged the jails bars himself before planting them in his own heart with his own hands.
Sitting on the highest dune, Archer let his head fall down to contemplate the sand. His lips forming a bitter fold and his eyelids letting filter a burning look of a black anger... Emiya Shiro deserved what happened to him.
Archer jolted as he heard a strange voice interrupting his self-pity:
"This is Hero Emiya's answering machine, speak after the beep... Biiiip!"
Furious and annoyed, Archer turned to Merlin, standing a few steps away. The Magus of the Fowers was pinching his nose:
"You have a new message, today at 15:19"
Archer made a dismissive gesture:
"I've always hated answering machines..."
The magician stopped pinching his nose and smiled with a frank smile:
"But the message is important. The one you call 'your stupid version' just confronted Shinji Matou...
With furrowed eyebrows, Archer listened to Merlin recount the clash between the new master of the Kalysha fortress and its younger version. He nodded when the Magus of the Flowers had finished:
"I see" simply noted Alaya's former dog.
"As I am vanishing, I am sending you this last message. It is very important that you do not give up on freeing Sakura Tohsaka."
Archer turned backwards with this false nonchalance that always boiled Rin's blood.
"I suppose, of course, that this young girl suddenly took on great importance." He straightened his eyes and stared at Merlin with an annoying acuity: "What are you hiding from me, Magus?"
"You want to know everything? So listen and especially... look... "
With a gesture of the hand, Merlin swept the scene, and the landscape disappeared replaced by a vision of hell... a hell familiar to Emiya Shiro.
Sitting on the bollard preventing cars from riding on a bike path, Archer was on top of a hill covered with small houses typical of the Showa era (4). It recognizes the city cut in half by a river spanned by a red painted suspension bridge. He was near Mount Enzo and saw to the left the old town of Miyama and to the right the high towers of Shinto... ravaged by a horribly familiar fire. An entire neighborhood burned around what would become Fuyuki Central Park.
With his throat dry and his fists pressed, Archer faced Merlin, but the magician did not seem to notice his anger.
"You were not the only one to see his destiny sealed the day Artoria destroyed the Grail of Fuyuki. Because, unfortunately, even the light of Excalibur reinforced by two command seals has not been able to completely destroy the Lesser Grail... fragments have survived."
Merlin nodded slowly and the scene changed again. This time they were in a large room resembling an underground hypogeum. Loculi were built in the walls. They did not welcome coffins but something even more horrific... Each stone box offered a sickening swarm of huge insects... worms devouring magic constituting the Crest Worm of the Matou. Wrapped in a swarm of lusts worms, Sakura was in the pit dug in the middle of the vast room. Merlin spoke again, pointing to the little girl who was staring at the ceiling with dead eyes:
"Thinking that the fragments of the Lesser Grail were a definite advantage, Zuken Matou implanted them in Sakura, in order to transform her into a second container of the Holy Grail that he could control. His calculations were greatly compromised by the fact that the Fifth Grail War began only ten after the Fourth, when his plans were not yet ready to bear fruit. However, Sakura is now linked to the Grail... and thus to Avenger."
"And that's why Shinji kidnapped Sakura?" asked Archer.
Merlin nodded:
"Exactly! There is no doubt that Angra Mainyu will do something to Sakura to exploit her connection to the Grail. While I was spying on them, I couldn't guess what... But it doesn't matter, their purpose is not difficult to guess. Avenger wants to return to life transformed into the Supreme God of Evil and Sakura could give him the opportunity.
As the dream dissipated and Archer awoke, Merlin's voice still came to him faintly:
"You are the last person who can stop Avenger's resurrection."
(1) Lokhan "the drum of doom" (in old Aldmeri) is a deity that appears in all the religions of Tamriel. The Elves see in him a deceiver and a tempter who would have pushed the gods to create the world, imprisoning souls in matter. For humans, on the contrary, he would be the protector of humanity. The Nords revere him under the name of Shor, under which name he is integrated into the imperial pantheon... but not venerated. To the proponents of this theory, with mortality, souls would have been freed from eternal and aimless wandering and could now hope to attain divinity by leading a righteous life. This fundamental disagreement on the nature of Lorkhan reflects the succession of wars having opposed the Mers (elves) to the Men (humans). Without knowing whether the disagreement is the cause of these conflicts or the opposite.
(2) Once mortal, the Ehlnofeys were divided into two groups. Some settled where they were, others went to visit their new home. Less affected by their new world, but also less adapted to it, the sedentary became the Elves. The wanderers gave birth to the humans. The Khajiits (Nirn's cat-men) were created by the Mers. As for the Argonians, they are the only playable races in the games of the TES series to have no relation with the Ehlnofeys. They were created by the Hists an intelligent plant race that lived on Nirn before the arrival of the Earth Bones.
(3) The sword of the spring (in Persian). Rostam would make an excellent Rider class Servant, his horse Rackhch having participated in all his exploits and it was not an ordinary stalion since he managed to tear the shoulders of a dragon with a stroke of teeth! Rostam is also not a minor hero, although he is unknown in the West. The most famous literary work of medieval Persia, the Shâh Nâmeh (or "Book of Kings") is a dedicated recitation of his epic legend.
(4) Japanese period corresponding to the reign of the emperor of Japan known in the West as Hiro Hito, which is 1929-1989.