"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Mental link"

"Noble Phantasms"

POV

Chapter 30: Signal restored

Ritsuka Group POV

He strikes at the hollow, the blow takes its head off, he turns to strike at the one sneaking up on him.

Its an easy kill, it will die before he-

A bolt slams into his back, he releases a cry of pain.

The hollow to his front charges forward, its knife slips into his throat.

He chokes to death on his own blood before his body collapses into ash.

He rises again near a bonfire.

He moves through the graveyard.

The hollows die, he cuts through them with little effort.

He continues on his path to the-

A hollow drops down from above.

Its knife slips into his skull, he dies before he even realises what happens.

He rises again, moving through the graveyard.

He dies several more times, learning each time he does.

He arrives at the courtyard. There sits a giant metal suit of armour, coiled sword through its chest. He approaches it, instinct telling him to retrieve the weapon that pierced the giant.

He grips the handle of the coiled sword and pulls, metal grates against itself as the weapon is wrenched free.

There's a silence.

Then the eye ports on the metal suit glow red, a hand lashes out and grips the halberd stuck in the ground beside it.

The giant wrenches it free, and with only a single hand, spins it towards the knight.

He raises his shield to defend himself against the blo-

Too late. The halberd splits him in half before he even-

Ritsuka woke up with a start, panting as he did. He groaned, pressing a hand to his face.

That was...quite the horrible dream. He kept dying, over and over again. He shook his head, grunting as he threw the blanket off his body and reached over to his shoes.

Sleeping while wearing a mystic code really was something uncomfortable. He blinked in thought, Da Vinci was supposedly a genius. Maybe she could work up a Mystic code that made it really easy to sleep in.

Then he abandoned that thought with a wry smile, the Director probably wouldn't approve of something like that. He chuckled at the thought, for some reason he imagined she would be furious as to that.

He stretched his arms out, moving to put his shoes on, then venture out into the camp. It wasn't actually a bad night sleep, certainly better than the rest they had in France at any rate.

"You spoke with them?" Ash blinked in surprise as Solaire informed them of his previous conversation.

"Indeed." The sun knight nodded "I made my report to the Emperor and explained our current situation."

"How?" Mash asked, eyes wide "We could communicate with Chaldea because of the interference."

Solaire turned to her, raising an eyebrow "I confess, I am not familiar with the tools that this 'Chaldea' use for sending messages, however I have found little issue with the summoning stones."

Ash blinked "Summoning stones, what do you…" his eyes widened, and his mouth went slightly agape "You placed a summoning sign near the Emperor, didn't you?"

"I did." Solaire nodded "Whenever I need communicate with her, I need only activate it and await her summons."

"Summoning stones?" Mash asked, curious "What are those, Ash-san?"

The saber turned to her "In Lothric, and I assume Lordran as well, summoning stones are commonly used by unkindled across timelines. They act as an anchor, if I were to place down a summoning sign, another undead like Solaire would activate it, then I would be called across timelines to answer the call."

Mash titled her head "Like a servant summon?"

Ash shook his head "Not entirely, the summons are temporary, barely more than ten minutes and once the time expires, I would be shunted back to my time of origin." he turned back to Solaire "I was unaware that you could communicate through summoning stones though."

"Ordinarily, you could not." Solaire agreed, then grimaced "However, Caster made modifications to them, doing so with the intention to allow rapid long distance reports."

Mash blinked at him "That sounds like a good thing though."

"It is, actually." Solaire admitted "Quite ingenious."

"So...how come you look so...annoyed?"

"It is not the summoning stones themselves, Lady Mash." Solaire shook his head "It is rather, the man who created them I have issues with."

"Is there something wrong with him?"

"Thus far? He has proven to be a great help."

"Then-"

"He lacks any form of boundaries." Solaire said "His entire line of thinking is cold. He focuses only on the end result, and he has made no secret of his disdain for those who have affiliation with Lords."

Ash frowned, crossing his arms "A character with a dubious nature." he sighed "Quite unfortunate, can he be trusted?"

"I have only met him twice." Solaire replied "And, while I dislike speaking ill of someone, twice was more than enough for me to have a solid grasp of his character."

Ash nodded "So we are to tread carefully around this Caster then."

"I would advise so, yes."

"Did you get their true name?" Mash asked, she frowned when Solaire shook his head.

"I did not, the Caster saw fit not to inform me of it." Solaire sighed "Primarily for personal reasons, he made several choice remarks about my allegiances and how he would sooner give his name to a 'savage beast of crippled mind than a slave to a Lord'."

"...Quite detailed." Ash remarked, shaking his head "Was their other news?"

"Yes." Solaire brightened "However I felt it best to inform you of that when-" he looked to the side "Ah, I see you have awakened, young Ritsuka. Blessings of the sun upon you."

"Huh?" Ritsuka blinked as he emerged from his tent, then nodded wearily to Solaire "Um, good morning to you too."

"Good morning, Senpai." Mash nodded to him, Ritsuka sent her a smile and a nod.

"Blessing of the sun upon you, Master." Ash nodded to him as well "You will be pleased to know that Sir Solaire was able to commune with Rome."

"Really?" The Master blinked, turning to the Sun knight "How? I thought we were still under interference?"

"The magic I used was stronger than the interference." Solaire waved him off "However, I do have news more relevant to you."

"Oh?" Ritsuka blinked "What is it?"

"It appears more allies have arrived in Rome, they also are from Chaldea."

"...Eh?" Mash and Ritsuka gaped in unison "Chaldea? How?" the young man shook his head "No, before that, who? We didn't have any other Master candidates." he turned to Mash "Did we?"

"Not to my knowledge, Senpai."

Solaire shrugged "Well, there was a woman of strong personality by the name of Olga Marie Animusphere when I communicated with Rome."

"The director? She's here!?"

"Quite so, along with a rather large suit of armour." He chuckled "Quite fearsome looking as well, I daresay I have not seen another suit like it." he shook his head "She merely inquired as to whether I had encountered you."

"Huh." Ritsuka blinked, then chuckled and sent Mash a small grin "Maybe she does care?"

"She also told me to tell you to hurry up and make contact with Chaldea." He went on "She went into extreme detail about what would occur if you did not."

"...I see." Ritsuka slumped his shoulders, then furrowed his brows "Did you pass along the information about who might be behind this?"

"I did." Solaire nodded "It seems that they already had some suspicions as to the individual behind this. The abominations we fought only confirmed it for them."

"Well, at least that's something." Ritsuka shrugged his shoulders "Is the Director waiting for us in Rome then?"

"She is indeed." He paused and then turned to Ash "I also had a message for your from them Emperor herself."

"Herself? Well that's…" Ash paused, blinking several times as the words registered for him "'Herself?' What do you mean 'Herself?'"

Solaire furrowed his brows "I mean, she asked me to give a message to you specifically."

"No, no." Ash frowned "I understood that part but…"

"I think the issue is...well…" Ritsuka searched for the right word "Well, you said 'she'."

"Yes." Solaire nodded.

"Emperor implies male, Solaire-san." Mash explained, looking somewhat dazed.

"So...it is actually odd?" Solaire asked, then seemingly sighed in relief "I was confused, Nero continued to call herself Emperor instead of Empress so I feared it was a cultural difference."

"Nero." Ritsuka parroted "Nero Claudius."

"Yes."

"Nero Claudius...the woman."

"Indeed." Solaire nodded, then scratched behind his ear, looking off to the side "And I assure you...she makes no effort to hide her womanhood either."

"...I'm...gonna go sit down." Ritsuka replied, rubbing his forehead.

"Are you alright Senpai?" Mash asked, the Master turned to her and then shrugged.

"Well, King Arthur was a woman, Sir Gareth is a little girl. So hell, why not Nero." He chuckled "Who knows maybe Francis Drake was also a woman, or better yet maybe Minamoto no Raikou was." he chuckled shaking his head "Its just...how the heck can you get that little detail in history wrong?"

All he got where shrugs in return.

"You said you had a message?" Ash turned back to Solaire, the knight blinked and then nodded his head.

"I did, Emperor Nero requests that you hurry along to meet with her, she says that there is something important that must be discussed between the two of you."

"I...see." Ash nodded, slowly, still perplexed as to what a Roman Emperor could possibly have to talk to him about.

"Squire Kyrielight." Verndari's voice boomed across the camp "You are awake, good." Mash turned to him and tilted her head in confusion "Morning drills. We are going to continue your sword play."

"Ah!" Mash blinked, then nodded her head "Yes, Verndari-sensei!"

"I would appreciate being referred to as Ser Verndari." the knight reiterated, however he shrugged "But your customs, as I have been informed, denote a similar tone of respect. So I will allow it."

"Yes, Sensei." Mash nodded, giving Ritsuka another smile before jogging over to the looking glass knight.

Solaire, Ash and Ritsuka watched her go, the former crossing his arms and humming to himself "She has spirit, does she not?"

"Quite so." Ash agreed, a small smile on his face "Although she seems to lack confidence in herself."

Solaire chuckled, shaking his head "She seems to be new to combat."

"She is." Ash nodded "She had barely been fighting for an hour before I met her." he sighed "I suppose it is to be expected though, only those with natural talent have little to fear when they first engage in battle."

"True." Solaire nodded "I can see her potential, however...something appears to be holding her back."

"Her true name." Ritsuka blurted out, the two knights turned to him with raised eyebrows "The...um...servant whose powers she possesses. They didn't tell her their true name."

"And...true names hold power?" Solaire inquired, Ritsuka nodded causing the knight to frown.

"Curious." He hummed, then allowed a smile on his face "I would guess that this servant did so for a reason."

"Huh?" Ritsuka blinked "What kind of reason?"

"Perhaps he hopes that Mash will realise her own potential, rather than inherit their own." Ash guessed "It might be to allow her the opportunity to feel as though she is using her own powers, rather than borrowing the knowledge of another."

Ritsuka blinked, then furrowed his brows, turning his attention back to Mash, watching as she and Verndari ran through several motions in practising sword techniques "Huh. That's...thats actually a pretty nice way of thinking about it."

"I do not claim to understand the thought process of the one behind this." Solaire interjected "But this is my own personal assessment."

"No, no." Ritsuka waved him off, a smile coming to his face "That sounds...that sounds pretty good."

"Quite so." Solaire nodded "...Do you think she would be interested in joining the Sunlight Covenant?"

Ash blinked, then furrowed his brows "That is...A very good question." he turned to Ritsuka "Another good question would be if you wished to join the Covenant as well?"

"Me?" Ritsuka blinked then waved his arms "O-oh, no offence but I don't think I could make that kind of commitment. I mean, you guys are really heroic and all, being summoned to help people in times of need, but I don't think that's really...me."

"Ah." Solaire nodded "I understand. However, the Sunlight Covenant is always open to receiving new members."

"That sounds like the kind of thing I'd have to ask Farram." Ritsuka sheepishly replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"...What did you say?" Solaire asked in a hushed whisper, eyes wide and giving Ritsuka his full attention "Did you just...you…" he gripped the boy by his shoulders, causing him to freeze "You know the name of the Lord of our Covenant...how? Scarce few in the order even knew that it was not Lord Gwyn who created us, fewer still know the name of the one who did."

"Ah…" Ritsuka squirmed "We...um...we met him."

"...By the flame…" Solaire released him, backing away "You met…" he turned to Ash "You both met…"

"Yeah…" Ritsuka nodded, then cringed "Last Singularity, in France."

"My word...To fight alongside the Patron Lord." He gave the pair a look of awe, then blinked when he noticed the two pointedly looked away from him "You did fight alongside the Patron Lord, did you not?"

Ritsuka rubbed his forehead "Well...kind of."

"...Kind of?"

"He had been summoned by the progenitor of the Singularity." Ash interjected "It was likely his title as God of War which meant he had been summoned to begin with."

"O-oh…" Solaire blinked "So...you fought the Patron Lord?"

"Well…" Ritsuka gave a small smile "For a little while anyway. Turns out that Jeanne Alter, that was the name of the Servant who summoned him, evil copy of Jeanne D'arc, kept insulting his honour. Like...really started insulting him." Ritsuka explained "Then he got...angry about never being able to actually finish any of his fights."

"I see." Solaire nodded his head, turning to Ash for a further elaboration.

"In the end, Lord Farram turned on Jeanne Alter, He had already engaged her in a duel when we arrived to finish her. He was already injured in his fight against several servants before he fought her, the two fatally injuring eachother in the ensuing battle. He killed her Caster servant before he died however." Ash briefly surmised, then allowed a smile to grace his face "He also requested that we should summon him so that he may fight a war he has interest in."

Solaire stared at the two in shock before he shook his head and released a small laugh "That is...quite the tale…" he pinched the bridge of his nose "But…" he turned to Ash "How did he react to fighting a member of his own covenant?"

"He found it amusing." Ash chuckled "He also expressed pride that a warrior of sunlight could pose a genuine challenge to him."

Solaire studied his expression for several seconds before a smile came to his face "Yes...I suppose that would be the reaction I would expect." he turned to Ritsuka "I would ask that you also summon me after this crisis is resolved. Truthfully...I have always wanted to meet the Patron Lord of the Covenant."

Ritsuka laughed, shaking his head "We'd be happy to have you to be honest."

"And I would be happy to join you." Solaire replied with a small bow of his head, then gestured over towards the centre of the camp "I also believe it would do you well for some breakfast. I realise that you might be quite famished."

"Oh, I wouldn't want to impose but…" His argument was cut off by the sound of his stomach rumbling, he looked away as Solaire raised an eyebrow and gave him an amused smile "I...suppose I can join you."

"He's only saying that because he hasn't tried the rations." Aulus joked as he walked past "Not the worst thing I've ever eaten...but you've never seen the worst thing I've ever eaten."

"No need to frighten the young man, Centurion." Solaire shook his head, Aulus gave him a small shrug.

"Just making sure he manages his expectations." The centurion replied, then looked over to where Mash and Verndari were practising, he let out a huff of disbelief "And I thought the Emperor was something else…"

"Huh?" Ritsuka blinked "Did they also fight?"

"For the first few weeks." Aulus admitted "That was before Prefect Solaire arrived, along with the Emperors consort." he shrugged "Not that anyone can really stop the Emperor is she wants to do something mind you." he smiled "She's very much...impulsive like that."

"I believe she would refer to it as...artistic flair." Solaire added on.

"Hmph." Aulus grunted, smile still on his face as he turned to Ritsuka "Come on, kid. I think Caius was cooking something special."

Several Romans around them let out pained groans at the name, causing Ritsuka to blink in surprise before another voice called out across the camp.

"Just for that, I'm gonna spit in your fucking stews! All of you!" The presumed Caius shouted out.

"Caius, do not." Solaire commanded with a frown "We do have guests and I would prefer you not do anything to insult them."

"...Yes, Prefect." The man grumbled.

"So…" Ritsuka changed the topic "How far are we from the fort?"

"I would say we shall be there by midday." Solaire replied after a few moments thought "And from there, you will likely be rushed off to Rome. The good news is that when I left the fort, they had secured the border into Gaul. The roads will be far safer to travel."

"Oh, that's good." Ritsuka nodded "And how long would that take?"

"Depends on whether you have a horse or not." He shrugged "You likely will so...Perhaps three, maybe four days."

"That's a while." Ritsuka noted, then shrugged "But, I suppose I should have expected that."

"Oh, I think a good walk it nice for the soul." Solaire joked "I always did enjoy a hike through the country...its certainly more hospitable than Lordran."

"...We were attacked by Giant spiders, a frost knight and monsters within the span of a few days."

"And it is still more hospitable than Lordran." He turned to Ash "Although I cannot speak for your homeland."

"Lothric." Ash replied, then nodded his head "Rarely managed to go more than an hour without being beset by some form of Hollow or monster."

"So you see, young Ritsuka." Solaire grinned at him "This land is actually very welcoming!"

"...I feel so bad for you both right now." Ritsuka replied, sending them both looks of pity.

Olga POV

"Still, this is most upsetting." Nero lamented, crossing her arms and pouting "To think that this Ashen one was so far away. I do wish he would hurry along and meet with me so that we may discuss his servant."

Olga remained silent as Nero continued to complain, sat at the far end of a large dinner table with a small meal in front of her. She looked over to the far corner…

And saw her Berserker sitting on the ground near an open window, staring at a bird. Somehow, that was the least distressing thing she had seen thus far.

While she was disappointed in the limited capacity of communication that the Saber servant Solaire had demonstrated, she was at least pleased to learn that Master Can-...Fujimaru Ritsuka had not been incompetent in his travels and had been able to identify at least two of the servants they would have to deal with.

Unfortunately, discussing plans with Emperor...Empress? Emperor Nero had been less than fruitful.

The extravagant woman had spent most of her time complaining that it would take Ritsuka's group, specifically Ash, perhaps a week to finally arrive in Rome. While Olga was less than pleased at the timeframe herself, she knew it was for entirely different reasons than the flamboyant Emperor.

If there was one other person who seemed to share her exasperation with the Emperor right now, it was Pontiff Sulyvahn.

Ironically enough, the presumed half fae, was actually rather nostalgic to her. Carrying himself like a Lord in the Clocktower, perhaps one of the more morally grey Lords, but one nonetheless.

He was sat at the table, the Emperor having dragged him there to celebrate communing with Ash and being on the first step to securing her consort.

The Caster had fervently refused, and it was only when Nero manhandled him into the room with a disturbing amount of strength that he joined them. Then proceeded to just sit at the table and stare at it, presumably tuning out Nero's rant.

Eventually his blank, root covered face, turning in her direction.

"So, you have History with the Saber servant called Ash?" She started the conversation, at least looking for some stimulation, and would make her aware if there was going to be any tension between them.

"He killed me."

Well...that answered that question. There was probably going to be an issue.

"Wi-" Olga coughed "Will there be an issue?"

"That depends upon him." Sulyvahn replied "The mystery of his Firekeeper is one I need answered."

"Why?"

"They are forbidden from having eyes." Sulyvahn explained, then raised a bony finger and pointed at Cecilia, the woman sat next to Nero, seemingly listening to the blonde haired woman's rather long winded whining "And yet...she has them."

Olga frowned "Why are they forbidden from having eyes? Surely Clairvoyance is a useful skill?"

Sulyvahn let out an amused laugh "It is precisely because they are Clairvoyant. They would see that which they should not and betray their purpose of tending the flames." he lowered his arm "If she is not blind, then she saw beyond the flame. And the Ashen One betrayed his purpose."

"Is that...bad?"

"Bad?" Sulyvahn rested his elbows on the table, interlocking his fingers "It means I was killed for no reason."

"...Oh."

"Hmph." The Pontiff grunted "But no, for the moment I shall not seek to kill the unkindled. Unfortunate as it is...we share a common objective."

Olga narrowed her eyes "And what is that?"

"Avoiding stagnation." Sulyvahn replied "For that alone, shall I tolerate him."

Olga grimaced, she was right. Sulyvahn reminded her too much of the Magi in the clocktower, she knew where she stood with them. And knew enough not to trust them. Every word that the Caster spoke was practised, seemingly born of kindness.

But so many other Magi spoke in a similar tone...Lev did as well.

"Romani?" Olga called into her communicator "Has there been any sign of Fujimaru or Mash yet?"

"None so far." Romani's face popped up, his lips in a small frown "Although with what you told me of this Solaire, we can roughly pinpoint their location as approaching Martigny." he smiled "So they are getting close to Roman territory."

"Well, that is at least something." She sighed, then frowned turning to Sulyvahn "Solaire mentioned a 'Witch of Chaos'." she asked "What do you know of them?"

"A band of fools." Sulyvahn scoffed "It is only because their end result is so amusing that I do not wish they all died in their fire." he waved his hand "They are talented Pyromancers, but that is the only positive connotation that can be ascribed to them."

"So can they offer aid for us resolving this current problem?"

"You will find them useful attack dogs." Sulyvahn answered "Nought much else."

Olga slumped in her chair, then looked back over to Nero.

Who was still talking to Cecilia.

"I have been subject to this for several weeks." Sulyvahn spoke up, no doubt sensing her inner thoughts "You find it does not become easier to tolerate."

"Hmmm…" Olga groaned, palming her face, then pinched the bridge of her nose "What do you know of our opponents?"

"Saint Aldrich is a Lord of Cinder." Sulyvahn explained "He is, in effect, a God. His knowledge of the Deep and how to influence it is beyond mine, as far as direct confrontations go, he would not risk it. Preferring to allow others to fight his battles for him, only personal preference however. In direct combat...he is quite skilled. The master of the Spiders, however, is unknown to me."

"And this Vordt?"

"He is mine." Sulyvahn replied, Olga blinked at the rather blunt admission "He is a dog. Whatever talent he had is long gone."

"And you tell me this why?"

"Because you will no doubt learn of it when you next commune with the unkindled." Sulyvahn scoffed "It is better that I explain it now rather than later. Regardless, Vordt is nothing more than brute force. A simple enough task to dispatch him."

"And why is he with this 'Aldrich' and not with you if you created him?" Olga asked with narrowed eyes.

"Because he is not aware I am here." Sulyvahn waved her off "On that note, neither is Aldrich, I presume. I suspect his attention will be focused on the unkindled, giving me the freedom to work." he shot a glance towards Nero "If only someone had the stomach for it."

"I have explained it before." Nero spoke up with a sudden intensity in her voice "What you proposed doing is unacceptable. Monstrous even and I shall not allow it."

"Yes, you have made your disdain for my methods well known." Sulyvahn replied in a tone that made it obvious he was rolling his imaginary eyes. "That does not detract from them."

"If you wish to craft beasts, use the spiders you captured."

"They are far more complicated to work with." Sulyvahn argued "Besides, you were the one who proclaimed they would stop at nothing to safeguard Rome."

"Within reason." Nero frowned "I will not have you abscond with the citizens of my Rome to perform experiments on them."

Sulyvahn grunted and shook his head "If you wish to hamstring yourself, that is your own prerogative. However I would prefer you did not drag me into such things."

"Sulyvahn." The Firekeeper spoke up, turning their attention towards him "Thou shall have more to concern thyself with when mine Lord arrives." she explained in a soft voice "Perhaps thou shalt convince thine allies of thy usefulness."

Sulyvahn titled his head, leaning back into his chair and crossing his arms "A threat, Firekeeper?"

"Thou forget, I cannot threaten or cause harm." She countered in the same tone of voice with a fixed smile "I only offer a reminder of thine own precarious situation."

"Hmph." Sulyvahn grunted, something that could almost be misconstrued as a laugh. And not one with any trace of good will in it. "Very well. Far be it from me to die to the same unkindled twice." he turned to Nero as he rose from his chair "I shall continue my work on the spiders." he huffed "Measure your expectations. Should you change your mind, I shall be waiting."

"Then you shall find your wait long." Nero commented absently as the Caster left the room. Olga looked between the three with a raised eyebrow.

"Problems I should be concerned with?" She asked, Nero arched and eyebrow at her before sporting a wide grin and waving her hands.

"Perish the thought." She laughed "I forget that the Pontiff is lacking in his appreciation for humans. But he is some form of nature spirit from what I can see, so it is understandable." she sighed "Very pitiable too, the poor man feels nothing when he gazes upon my beauty. Truly lamentable."

"...Very." Olga replied through gritted teeth and a twitching eyebrow. She took in a deep breath before composing herself again "Is there anything else I should be made aware of, Emperor?"

"Please, call me Nero!" The woman grinned "A pale rose such as yourself should not stand on ceremony when talking with me. It would be a shame to constrict such a flower like yourself to forced mannerisms." she waved a hand at the Firekeeper "You should act like dear Cecilia here, do you not see how she radiates beauty by merely sitting there."

Olga turned her attention to the Caster, the woman's eyes were hidden behind the metal cover on her head but she still got the distinct impression she was looking at her. Olga furrowed her brows as she looked at the Firekeeper more closely.

She had excellent seating posture.

She huffed, dismissing the thoughts and turning back to Nero "Very well, is there anything else that I need to know?"

"Umu!" Nero nodded her head "I have decided to house you, and your soon to arrive companions, in this palace! I shall name it the Pale Rose Delegation in honour of your beauty!"

"Congratulations, Director." Romani's voice called out through the communicator "I'll put that down in the mission log."

"You'll do no such thing!" Olga hissed at him, her face bright red in embarrassment "I'm being harassed by a Roman Emperor with a historically incorrect gender! Tell me when you can detect Fujimaru and then tell him to get over here before I go insane!"

"...Yes director." Romani nodded, scratching the back of his head "I'll put that down."

"Umu! You and your formless mage are free to speak in front of me!" Nero went on, interrupting the two, although her face went slightly despondent "Although the fact you would deprive yourself the chance to look upon me is saddening."

"I-…" Olga slumped her shoulders, burying her head into her hands "I'm tired…"

"Eh? But it is only the start of the day, and I wished to display you to all of Rome!" Nero whined, not unlike a child "It always does the people good to see me add another flower to my garden!"

"...Flower?"

"Umu!" Nero nodded "Girls, boys, it matters not! I love to collect objects of beauty...although most of those are mirrors." she waved a hand at Caster "That is why I have also collected her, she shares my wondrous face and has such appealing mannerisms! Is she not the perfect consort?"

"Thou art most kind with thy words, Emperor." The Firekeeper replied, giving no indication that Nero's words had affected her in any way. "However, thou shall find mine Lord...most protective of me."

"Of course he is!" Nero agreed "If I had such a flower like yourself in my garden, I would be most protective of it as well."

"...They are our allies, Olga." The white haired woman muttered to herself "They are our allies." something nudged her shoulder, she looked to the left to see Berserker towering over her.

The giant servant held out something too her, pinched between his fingers.

Olga stared at the bright blue bird feather in his giant hands being offered to her, she sighed. Then slowly raised her own hand to take the improvised gift.

She stared at it with a dull expression "At least this will help me remember to remain strong in the face of...excitable people, right?" she asked the Berserker.

The Dragon Slayer armour stared down at her, not saying anything.

AN: Yes, the Firekeeper is a Saber face.

Because when I thought about how she would look well...lets face it. Most of us would picture the Firekeeper being a Saber Face in Fate. Yes, Ash is also a Gawain face.

Meaning is shall be most amusing when he meets other Knights of the Round Table...and Gawain himself.