Gilgamesh had a pretty good divinity radar. Being part god had given him the ability to detect when a god was near him. It was good at times to know where Enkidu was when they made him participate in his little games or when Ishtar was up to no good.
The doll that the King of Knights had brought back blazed with divinity, the closest thing he had to compare the presence that this doll held was that of Anu, King of the Sumerian Gods.
"Greetings fellow master and servants, I am Marianne; A simple doll in service to Caster." She did a little curtsy with her dress.
Looking to his right and meeting Iskandar's eyes; they both agreed on the same thing.
Despite her disarming presence, this was someone not to anger.
"A pleasure to meet you Marianne," Formally greeted Risei as he motioned for her to take one of the seats at the map table to which she took. The others followed suit as they all stared at the newcomer with intrigue.
"You must be very close to Caster if the Grand Caster, Merlin, says you are the best to know him." Artoria said as she still held the flower that Merlin had given her, a little farewell gift.
"Ah I am just a simple doll in service to him, nothing more nothing less." She simply said.
"Oh, you say that but you exude divinity that would make other gods blush at," Gilgamesh pointed out.
"I am creation of the gods, is it so strange that I would not embody their aura?" Marianne asked with a tilt of her head. For a moment the Doll was replaced by the visage of Enkidu. The peaceful image was soon replaced with his nightmarish brother. The mental image made Archer scoff and his head from the doll lest he do something rash again.
The other master and servants stared in shock as the seemingly invincible King Of Knights lost an argument with this Plain Doll.
"You must have questions for me do you not?" She asked everyone as they remembered why she was there.
"Yes, we wish to know who Caster is," First asked Tokiomi.
She looked at him with her innocent eyes. "What about him do you wish to know?"
"What is his true name?" Tried asking Waver.
"Hmm he is known by many names that he has taken. The Good Hunter, the last of The Hunter of Hunters, Cainhurst's Ascended Vileblood, Good Brother of the League." She named a few of the names he had garnered over his time at Yharnam. "Which one did you wish to know about?"
Kiritsugu sighed as this was getting nowhere. It wasn't Marianne's fault for interpreting their questions so literally. Looking over to his side, Irisviel had mini stars in her eyes. It seemed that she finally found someone so similar to her that she could potentially bond with. Disclosing the fact that she was probably as dangerous as Caster.
"Then what about this Marianne, what is this 'Hunt' that Caster's hunters kept talking about." He tried his hand in asking a question.
She smiled softly in response to an appropriate question. "The Hunt was once a nightly ritual made by the city of Yharnam. It was their response to a beastly scourge that would turn the citizens into blood raving beasts."
Confusion spread throughout the attendees. Yharnam? They had never heard of such a place before.
Taking note of their confusion Marianne apologized. "Ah forgive me, I had forgotten that Yharnam no longer exists in this world."
"Exists?" Asked Iskandar. "Like the civilization is no more?"
"Not exactly. Unlike your past kingdoms, whose influence could still be felt and its relics can still be found, Yharnam no longer exists period. It has been wiped from reality, any influence it had has been erased."
Any entire civilization, gone!? What had happened that warranted it to be erased from humanity's history?
"M-May I ask why?" Irisviel asked the question that everyone had been dying to know.
"In order to understand why it disappeared, one must understand what Caster saw in his hunt. I believe the term is it will be easier to show you rather than telling you." Marianne said before clasping her hands together in prayer.
"O little ones, O fleeting will of the ancients," She intoned as the room rippled with insight. From the table begun to crawl out these tiny pale beings. The tiny beings, Messengers, begun to move around the room as they set out to finish their objective. They wore an assortment of various decorations. Ranging from pots, to hats, bandages, and even bloody cloths.
The various master and servants were about to fight the Messengers until a look from Marianne assured them these tiny beings meant no harm. With reluctance they sat back down as the Messengers begun moving around them.
"Let our fellow guests receive a vision that will shed insight on the hunt." She finished as the room begun to disappear around them and be replaced by another room. The stone walls were soon replaced by dark wood walls as windows begun to let the moon shine through its panes. The cackling sound of the fireplace created the realization that they were in an entirely different place. Looking around they noticed the many shelves that contained books of various knowledge, the altar in which one can carve runes into their body to embolden them, and a mini workbench where multiple hunter weapons hung from.
The Hunter's Dream.
Standing up from her position, Marianne walked over to the door. She occasionally would pick up a book from the floor before setting it on either the numerous book shelves or stacks of books that littered the floor. Reaching the door, she beckoned them to join her. "Come if you wish to see the circumstances of Caster's beginning."
They all stood outside of the house as they saw what the Hunter's Dream held. From their perch atop the staircase they could see the numerous gravestones that covered the land, each engraved with the name of previous hunters that have graced the Dream. Beyond the land all they could see were towering pillars standing tall above the mist as moon the loomed over them.
"Once upon a time Yharnam's hunt begun as usual, with its arrival so too would the Dream's next visitor," The Doll explained as mist begun to pick up at the base of the stairs, surrounding a body. The mist dissipated to reveal the comatose body of a young man.
"He was rather unremarkable at first, like a little boy thrust into a strange new land."
The young man's eyelids shot open as he pushed himself off of the stone path. With a frantic shout, he begun to check his body to see if he was still alive, like if he had supposedly died a very gruesome death. After making sure that he was okay, he sighed in relief. Looking around he awed at the mystical aura the Dream had.
"Yharnam was the City of the Good Blood. The Healing Church and its miraculous blood had the ability to cure any and all illnesses with a simple blood transfusion." Visions of the Healing Church proclaiming their blood to the citizens of Yharnam as everyone begun to crowd around them and ask for their phial of this miracle blood.
"A cure-all," Breathed Lancer in awe. No doubt he was thinking about its effect on his cursed Love Spot, if it could cure him from him and free himself from its consequences.
"Yes the blood was miraculous but it had its drawbacks," Answered the Doll. "If one took too much blood then would one begin to transform into hideous beasts, the hidden beasthood in man would be drawn out." Images of a man horrifically turning into a beast. Waver steeled himself as he saw the horrific transformation, others grimaced as well. Even some horrors still affected magi after all. For Kirei he realized that he derived some sick pleasure from seeing such a horror and continued to watch with hidden glee.
"The Church for a time was able to hide this beastly scourge but as the city begun to take the blood in copious amounts, so too did this illusion fade. So, the Church devised the Hunt, a nightly purge led by their chosen hunters to go into the city and kill any beasts they saw." They saw the Great Bridge of Yharnam filled with church-garbed hunters as they descended unto Central Yharnam, ready to cleanse the streets.
"However, the bloodlust from such a bloody endeavor quickly turned those same hunters into blood raving beasts themselves as the hunt was soon lost and Yharnman became engulfed in chaos."
They returned to Caster's younger self back in the dream picking up a Saw Cleaver and a pistol, waving them around as he familiarized himself with them. After he got comfortable with them, he curiously kneeled in front of a gravestone before teleporting back to Yharnam.
"There Caster would experience the hunt in its truest form." They saw him stumble out of Iosefka's clinic and walk around the city, in awe of the gothic architecture.
"He was not like other hunters, who would gladly kill any beasts he they saw. His first encounters were spent pleading for his enemies to stop. Only when all options were exhausted did he take action against them."
"He didn't let their deaths stop him and for a time he saw it as an appropriate thing to do, free those lost in the blood so they could peacefully rest. As he traveled across the city, he met those that had their sanity in check, his hope for a better tomorrow rising." They saw him knock on various doors, asking if they were alright. He was met with scorn from them but that could not keep a smile off his face as sane people were still alive during this mess. They saw how he met Eileen above some rafters, to find that he was not alone in this hunt.
They also saw his deaths by the hands of lurking citizens with pitchforks in the dark, how he got chewed upon by wolves, and one time where he was lost in thought and fell in the sewers from a considerable height. His more gruesome death by the hands of a Cleric Beast as it smashed his body into a pulp.
"For a hunter of the Dream, death is only a setback. Each death that he faced only made him grow stronger as a result. His hope for a brighter tomorrow could not easily be deterred." He woke back up in the Dream, ready to travel back to Yharnam only to stop and stare at the new person waiting for him.
There they saw what the Doll had originally been, only a tool for hunters to bolster their strength with the blood of their enemies. They noted that the Doll was less human, more robotic, in her greeting than she was now. How he curiously greeted the doll with a bow, to which she returned, and gave his hand to her so that she could empower his sickly body. With a wave Caster said goodbye before returning back to Yharnam, hopes high now that he was stronger than before.
"However, his hope would soar high, only to be crushed." Marianne said as Caster stopped by a window to ask the occupants inside if they were all right.
He was greeted by a little girl. "Who... are you? I don't know your voice, but I know that smell... Are you a hunter? Then, please, will you look for my mum? Daddy never came back from the hunt, and she went to find him, but now she's gone, too... I'm all alone... and scared..."
"He agreed to help the little girl in her plight," Caster nodded to the little girl's plea to which she thanked him profusely.
"Really? Oh, thank you! My m-mum wears a red jeweled brooch. It's so big and... and beautiful. You won't miss it. Oh, I mustn't forget. If you find my mum, give her this music box. It plays one of daddy's favorite songs. And when daddy forgets us we play it for him so he remembers. Mum's so silly, running off without it!" Through a little opening the girl handed an ornate music box to Caster.
"My mum wears a red jeweled brooch. It's so big and beautiful. You won't miss it. Oh, and if you find her, give her this music box. Please, I know you can do it."
Seeing the distress in the girl's voice reminded both Kiritsugu and Irisviel of their daughter back home, who must be worried sick over their wellbeing.
"Caster would've made a great knight." Mused Artoria seeing how selfless he was. He would've fit right in with her Knight of the Rounds.
"Yes, he had a very big caring heart but the Hunt is not so kind to those of such selfless natures." Foreshadowed the Doll as they witnessed Caster roam the city to find the missing parents. With no luck was he able to find a woman wearing a red bright brooch or the father.
Up until he arrived at the Tomb of Oedon.
Upon entering he knew something was wrong. The corpses everywhere and the copious amount of blood that stained the tombstones.
And the black garbed hunter who had lost himself to the bloodlust of the hunt.
"...Beasts all over the shop... You'll be one of them, sooner or later..."
He fought with him of course, reason no longer able to be used in Yharnam. He used the tombstones as cover for the hunter's devastating strikes with his axe and blunderbuss. Taking his time he would get a couple of hits before dodging out of the way and sometimes using his pistol to get a lucky visceral attack on him.
The fight continued upward as Caster was slowly pushed up the stairs by the hunter. He was running low on blood phials and quicksilver bullets but his opponent seemed to be in the state as him, his labored breathing and the numerous blood wounds were testaments to that fact.
That was until he roared before transforming into this terrifying beast.
"Hunters were the ones to always turn into the most horrifying beasts," Said Marianne as they witnessed Caster get thrown around like a toy, as he begun panicking by this sudden transformation. He desperately tried to get a hit in, to regain some form of control, only to be punched through the railing by one of the strikes and falling on a roof, right next to a woman's corpse.
Seeing the corpse made Caster remember something but he couldn't ponder on it as the hunter turned beast joined him on the rooftop.
Unable to do anything to defend against the beast, Caster prepared to accept his fate, to add another death to his tally.
Only to be saved by the melody of the music box that the little girl had given him. In his fall it seemed that the music box had fallen out of his cloak and opened up to begin playing its melodious tune. Like recalling a bad memory, the beast begun thrashing around, clutching his head as if he was trying to desperately remember something.
Taking advantage of his crippled state, Caster threw some Molotov Cocktails that set the beast aflame before slashing it with his Saw Cleaver repeatedly until it doubled over in pain and died.
Standing up and looking at the dead corpse, he couldn't help but notice why the beast seemed so similar. The black church garb that he wore was almost like...
"And my daddy wears a big black garb. He seems tall and scary but he's the kindest man ever." Remembering the little girl's description of her father, dread set in as he realized who he had just killed. The others now coming to the same conclusion that he had.
Looking to his right he saw the dead woman that laid across the now dead Gascoigne. Her bright red dress was covered in her own blood but one ornament stood out.
A bright red brooch.
"No," Irisviel said in horror as Caster begun to throw up on the ground, his failure too much for him to handle. This failure being one of the many that he would have in his hunt as Gascoigne and his wife laid dead in front of him.
Was it solace that couple had died together or was it a mockery of his kindness?
The area around them begun to bleed back into reality as they found themselves back at the planning room. Each person was battling with their own thoughts on one of the many adversities that Caster faced in Yharnam.
Marianne stood up from her chair as she looked at the assembled master and servants. "You have seen what Caster has experienced, the lowest of humanity. You ask me why he is here and now I give you the answer. Show him that there is something of worth in humanity, something worth fighting for. Show him a resolve that a young boy once showed" With a bow she begun to turn to mist, her purpose having been fulfilled.
"What now?" Asked Kayneth as they needed to come to a decision about Caster.
"We have an opponent that can wipe out an entire civilization with a flick of his hand, we can't win" Argued Tokiomi. He had many things he wished to accomplish and dying an early death was not one of them.
"Then why has he not wiped us out already." Argued Waver. "If he so wished for then this church would be flooding right now with enemies."
"We may not know all the answers but one thing is certain," Saber said before she pulled out Excalibur and stabbed it on the map, specifically the Fuyuki Clocktower.
"This is our next move, if we wish to know more then we must show Caster that we are not going to cower before his strength and his Hunt."
"Well, well, well the little girl of Britain is showing her true colors, I like it!" Rider grinned as he joined her.
"Agreed, I must still fight for my master and save Sola-Ui from Caster," Lancer agreed.
"Hmph it seems that you truly are a worthy mongrel after all Saber," Archer said.
"We shall join as well," Simply said Assassin.
Looking at the other masters and seeing that there were no signs of disapproval, the actual planning begun. From here on out, there was no turning back.
From the shadows one Messenger was still observing the master and servants. Seeing that they had regained their bravado, it shook it head in approval before disappearing.
In the flowery plains of Avalon, high above in his tower, Merlin gazed out into the endless expanse of the utopia. One might consider this tower to be a prison as all he could move was only a few feet wide, but he found other ways of finding amusement.
He liked to visit it at times to the human world, often in spirit form but those special times where he could visit in person were worth the possible repercussions.
Feeling 'Caster' appear behind him had him turn around and greet his visitor. "Oh, it nice to see you here Caster"
'Caster' smiled at the Grand Caster as he walked next to him, the two gazing off into the endless flower fields of Avalon.
"I see that you've left Avalon to go to Fuyuki City," 'Caster' said.
"And I see that you've also left your Dream to enter the waking world once more," Merlin fired back.
"Technically I was summoned so I'm not breaking any rules." 'Caster' defended.
"And technically wherever you go, so do the Grand Class servants. So, I am not breaking any rules here as well."
"Hahaha you were always one to have a fun time with Merlin," Caster laughed as they fell back into silence.
"Merlin...Am I doing the right thing?" He asked as Merlin looked at him. He may put up a strong front but the Grand Class servants knew the insecurities that plagued him. Even after his ascension he was still the young boy traumatized by the events of Yharnam.
"No, I don't believe that you are doing the right thing," He said truthfully. "Out of all the Grand Class servants your choices affect the world much deeper than any sword or spell could ever do. Any wrong move and the world suffers because of it." He placed a reassuring hand on 'Caster's' shoulder. "But out of all us, I sympathize with the need to reaffirm your love for humanity, to remember why you chose this path that you walk one."
"Thank you Merlin, truly your words mean much to me." 'Caster' gratefully said before walking away.
"I pray that you find the answer you are looking for," He called out.
"Believe me with the way things are going, I will find it soon," 'Caster' bowed before spiritualizing away.
"My he certainly is a handful to deal with," Merlin mused before looking back at the endless flower plains of Avalon. "The class that comes in contact with the madness of eldritch beings and are able to resist the temptation of maddening. By all means a class that is considered a threat to humanity." Picking up a flower, he let it fly out into the vast expanses of Avalon, its fate changing with every gust of the wind.
"Yet only he could make the impossible happen," Merlin chuckled as he watched with curiosity the events brewing in Fuyuki City. It would alleviate his immortal boredom after all because the host was so good in making the grandest of performances.
"Isn't that right, Grand Foreigner?"
Chapter 11 is done! How'd you like Caster really being the Grand Foreigner? Originally thought to make him a Ruler but after reading the Foreigner Class description there was no other path. Still some of you guys already knew this and I'm so surprised with this! Not going to lie I was planning for Marianne to show the entire Caster's hunt in the span of multiple chapters but seemed too much and it would be filler chapters. Next chapter has us visiting the Choir, that's all I'm saying.
Now some of you have wondered if I'll make another story after this and I'm happy to say that I am planning on making a Fate/Aprocrypha and Dark Souls story. That's all I'll say but once this story gets close to hitting the end, I'll start showing some info about it.
Welp that's all for now and as always...
"May The Cosmos Shine In Your Favor This Day!"
P.S: It seems that the reviews are bugged or something so if you have a suggestion or a question just PM me. Still welcome you to leave a review that you enjoyed it.