Chapter 152: The World at Large
The story isn't all that long, however the way Percival articulates each word almost seems to stretch out each and every sentence. There is a conviction in his words as he regales him with the stories of Camelot.
The beginnings of a Prince who wandered the countryside, helping his people as best he could after pulling the sword from the stone. From that moment onwards, he is almost led to believe that Arthur was left with no other choice than to become King and lead their people. Perhaps it sounded forced to him, yet at the same time he hears the way Percival speaks of the Kingdom that Arthur built.
Pride colours his words, not something that he can understand. Pride in one's skills invites overconfidence, pride in one's life invites despair when faced with hardship that cannot be overcome. He cannot understand the pride that touches Percival's words or his tone, perhaps he remains unaware of the vice he is trapped in but it is not something he will comment upon just yet, or perhaps he will not speak of it at all.
For something else is present in his words.
Conviction.
There is pride, yes, yet there is fulfilment as well. Something clings to his every word, a type of speaking that can only come when you have completed your duty to the best of your abilities and have been left with no regrets at the end. That is how Percival speaks of the Kingdom of Camelot.
It elicits these emotions from the man, this sense of belonging and fulfilment. It sounds ideal, yet the coldness is not shaken from him. He has caught sight of the grim expression that Nobunaga keeps shooting his and Percival's way the longer the conversation has gone on, the knowing glances and the tone of the Knight have enlightened him.
Camelot must have fallen, an inevitable thing he supposed, give that they all spoke of it in a sense of past tense.
Yet that is not what he wishes to know.
"The people of Camelot…they found their lives fulfilling?"
Percival blinks at him, a curious look comes across his face as though he does not understand the question. Ash considers it fortunate that his helmet hides his features, else Percival might have witnessed his own confusion to match. It was not a question that should have taken much thought, yet the knight hesitates in his answer. A moment stretches out into several, then a dozen.
Finally, an answer comes forth. "I would believe so." There's a moment before he exhales "Yet, perhaps that is merely my own bias speaking." sadness touches him, his expression looks close to breaking but his will catches it at the last moment, now replaced with acceptance. He decides it's a disturbing expression for him to bear witness to the face of the knight who had previously been smiling widely as he spoke of Camelot. "However, I will not deny that the lives of the people were most certainly better under the rule of King Arthur. A simple fact I believe most fervently in. The raids of the Saxons were cut down, the people felt safe in their own countryside and the squabbling of the lords diminished."
"Squabblings?" A word that sticks out to him for its undertones, it sounds like a polite way of calling it infighting. His mind is drawn back to the streets of Lothric, the corpses and barricades drawn through the capital. The knights who perished at the hands of those who they once considered comrades, battlements scorched black by the riders of the wyvern battalions.
Undead corpses shambling through the streets as if marching under the orders of their betters, the hulking angel knights slaughtering their foes to this day. A city of corpses and despair. The sight brings a sickening feeling to his gut once more as he pictures this sight across an entire country rather than a single city.
It's disgusting to him.
He holds it in, the words of Percival ring true through his head. Arthur put a stop to the infighting.
"Hmmm." Percival speaks onwards, ignorant to his inner musings. "After the death of King Uther, the entire country descended towards infighting. Between the regular invasion of the Saxons and the different Lords who sought to carve out their own little Kingdoms, it would not be an exaggeration to say that all of Britain was in crisis."
There's a noise from his side, he glances and sees Nobunaga shaking her head from side to side. A hum escapes her as she notices the stares being sent her way "I did come from the period of the warring states, you know?" she remarked with a raised eyebrow, there's a noise of understanding from Percival. He doesn't know what the warring states is but he's heard of Nobunaga's ideal and life.
Ash found he had no complaints with them.
"We didn't get much in the way of invaders during my period, however there was certainly the issue of rival factions vying for control and only succeeding in damaging the already fragile balance of the country." She stated with a shake of her head "Chaos serves nobody in the end, each and every warlord probably had dreams of uniting Japan under their rule…" there's a moment, then she cracks a smirk. "Of course, only I was capable of doing something like that." With flourished movements, she pointed to herself "Make no mistake, King Arthur likely had the same reason for wanting to unite Britain. No one wants to live in a dead country and the longer infighting continues, the more damage will be done."
Silence descended amongst them, Ash looked on ahead and noted that Quelan was now looking over his shoulder at the group, his dull orange eyes blinking at them curiously for a moment before he turned back around, continuing his march through the snow with every step being a hiss of steam. "There was only one recorded instance of infighting in Lordran but it would not have been a case for unification, merely a dispute. To my knowledge…it was limited to-" a wet cough sounded from his lips, cutting off what he was to say. As the sputtering died down, the red skinned boy wiped his hand over his mouth "Limited to Anor Londo."
"A civil war amongst the Gods?"
"Hmph. Certainly sounds amusing." Nobunaga declared with a slight chuckle in her words "Evidently the Gods are not so far beyond the little humans as one might be led to believe." there was a moment of silence before she shrugged "Not like the opinions of the Divines matter to me. They were gone by my time and as such, I have little reason to concern myself with their opinions."
Quelan made a noise "In my state, I remain a Divine Spirit, distorted though I must currently be…should you be so ready to dismiss my opinion?"
"Ho?" Nobunaga hummed "The opinions I consider worthwhile come from those who understand what it is they speak of. It was also my opinion that the Gods cared deeply for those who realised their own potential, regardless of who they were. Though that would perhaps be different for you, would it not? For us, a God cannot exist without humanity yet I doubt the same can be said for you."
A God could not exist without humanity?
A strange enough concept to consider, though it was one that he could not find himself understanding or agreeing with. A God was a God regardless, standing above their Lordkin brethren because they embodied a fundamental aspect of the world, Gwyn was not simply the God of Light as much as he was Light. In much the same way that Nito was Death made physical.
"A God is a God. The opinions of the humans would have no difference on the matter."
"If worshippers do not exist, then who remains to validate their existence as a God?" Nobunaga questioned with a raised eyebrow, prompting a silence to descend amongst the group. "Though this is not the question that was set out to answer. We were speaking of King Arthur, were we not?"
"Hmmm. We were." Percival, to his credit, was not greatly put off by the words and instead continued on as though nothing had been discussed after his interruption. "And to your point, I cannot truly argue against the similarities of the unification of our two countries…at least on the principle of foundation." he flattened his features "Though I would not so swiftly state that you and my King were mirror images of one another. It is simply a case that you had the same goals."
Ash raised an eyebrow behind his helmet. A difference of path despite the fact the end goal remained the same? How was such a thing possible, perhaps it was simply a disparity in their situations that brought this about, however Percivals words planted seeds of doubt in his mind. If one had a duty to unite and govern their shattered Kingdom, why then would the methodology change between figures?
It wasn't that he disliked it, it was merely that he could not understand it. Perhaps a different unkindled would have acted in another manner to him if he had hollowed on the journey, he supposed not all would have done as he did. Perhaps none of them would be granted the sense to see the world but he could not grasp that. The truth was obvious to any with the strength to see it.
The ugly truth of the planet.
"Once my King took up the sword from the stone, their path became clear and it is one that all of us know very well. They travelled across the Kingdom, uniting the land in their wake and slowly assembling their own mass of followers and knights. Sir Bedivere was the first of them and quickly became the King's steward. Sir Kay was already present…though I believe being the King's brother might have disqualified him from really being considered the first."
Ash nodded his head in understanding, not at the latter story of Kay and this Bedivere, but for the former aspect of it all. This Arthur travelled their country and sought to unite the people in their stead, as was their duty as the one who would become King. That was right by his account, a King ensured the prosperity of their people and made sure their needs were met.
A King should only be as grand as the country they governed, that was how he viewed it. A King who lavished in ambition and grandeur while their people suffered was no more a King than they were a mere parasite.
Those words aside, he had very little reason to doubt the nature of Camelot thus far, it sounded rather ideal given the poor situation that Percival had initially laid out to him. Especially with his words and his peaceful expression.
"It would be a long winded tale to explain the entirety of the creation of Camelot, suffice to say that King Arthur, supported by Merlin, eventually managed to unite the Kingdom while banishing the Saxon invaders from the lands. At least for a time, raids were a common enough trend in the early years of the Kingship but it did not last for long, soon giving rise to what would undoubtedly be the golden years of the Kingdom."
Golden Years?
"And those were years of security and prosperity for the people?" Ash questioned with a tilt of the head, by all accounts the title sounded good enough. The notion that it was an era where the people and the Kingdom flourished.
"Quite so." Percival nodded his head "It would not be wrong for the people to whisper that the King was perfect in every way, in judgement, in rule and in action." he shrugged "Perhaps they were, I will not comment upon that as the definition changes from person to person. Though I am sure Gawain would answer without a moment of hesitation. That said, the King was indeed an astounding ruler, I have no complaints for their kingship and they did bring Britain out of the dark age of war and strife."
"How long?"
"Around ten years."
Ten years…
Ash wasn't even ten months.
He knew not the length of time that was ordinary for humans but a decade was something that sounded like a while, especially for a country that had been previously dealing with dangers from foreign invaders and infighting fools. Though the claim of Arthur's right to Kingship might be contested through the power of pulling out a magic sword, the results could not be denied if what Percival said was true.
"...They do sound perfect." Ash remarked after a moment of silence. No, perhaps it went beyond perfection, it was perhaps the ideal King he imagined one being. Who governed their people fairly, who ensured their lives were full of peace and that the Kingdom existed without concerns. Yet his mind remained troubled at the length of time…Ten years might have been a long time for him to consider, yet he recalled the age of Gael.
Percival made a pleased noise "I am happy that you think so."
"No one is perfect." Nobunaga cut off that train of thought swiftly, bringing the attention back onto herself. "Do not delude yourself into believing otherwise. A human remains but a human, they could very well go their entire life without making a single mistake but that is not perfection. That is merely an example of realising their true potential and using their skills to the best of their ability." she raised her hand, pointing towards him "Make no mistake. King Arthur might well have been a talented ruler…Perfect they were not. Your leader remains human…keep that in mind."
She turned her head "The moment you believe they are perfect, you create a pedestal and place them atop it. The expectation of their decisions now weighs upon your mind. As does the gap between yourself and your ruler. They should never doubt your abilities, but they should never once believe you to be some creature beyond their comprehension."
"...What do you mean?" Ash tilted his head, furrowing his brows behind his helmet.
Nobunaga sighed "Which do you imagine would make for the more comforting story? That a boy plucks a magic sword from a rock and then a prophecy carries him around the country with fate dictating his every action and eventually landing him in the throne of an entire Kingdom where he is once again this perfect being who makes no mistakes?" she raised an eyebrow "Or that they were a simple human who was dealt a decent hand but through hard work, devotion and cultivating their abilities they rose to become a King and brought an end to their countries suffering?"
She raised her hand "One tale is a story told at a campfire to amuse children. The other is told to people who believe that they can accomplish more in their lives if they truly believe in themselves. King Arthur was not some perfect being delivered to Britain in a time of crisis…they were simply a good king who earned their place on the throne and governed as best they could."
Ash stared at her, then frowned "Would the second story not encourage ambition?" he voiced back, not making an effort to hide his frown in his words. That would come dangerously close in his own mind. Encouraging people to reach beyond what they could find comfortable and look to achieving grandeur.
"I would hope so."
"...Why?"
"Why?" Nobunaga blinked at the question "Why should you limit yourself to being content with life? What is the purpose of having potential if you would never realise it?"
"The chance of causing more harm than good should be reason enough to avoid it. How many do you suppose have perished on account of ambition?"
"Ambition is what drives humanity. How else could you expect them to accomplish anything?" A scoff came from her throat as she stared at him "You think humanity would have parted from the Gods if they were not ambitious? If they did not believe they could live their lives beyond the yoke of the Divine guidance?"
That was…
"...That is not…" He couldn't respond for a moment, the weight of her words rattled around in his skull. An argument he had not considered. "...The duty of humanity should be to do right by one another. If they believe the Gods are a threat to that…then their duty would be to part with them. There should be no room for ambition in the equation."
A sigh was his answer "Equation." she parroted the word back, tasting it and then making a face as though she had sucked a lemon. "That is an odd word to use with humans…This hearkens back to your devotion to duty. You'll find that ambition and duty are not as mutually exclusive as you believe."
"...Excuse me?"
"Is it not the duty of an empire to survive? To prioritise their people?" She raised an eyebrow at him "Suppose the only method to accomplish this comes at the cost of expanding their borders. That is an ambitious move on account of the Emperor, they are absorbing new territories into their domain yet it is serving their duty to keep their people safe and secure." she smirked at his silence, "As I said…not so mutually exclusive. A guard might take his duty as seriously as you…but that does not mean he does not have dreams of commanding rather than being commanded."
…
What response was he there to give?
This was not something he had expected, nor was it something he could reply to immediately.
Ambition and duty?
The two were so opposed to one another that he could not even begin to understand the logic that governed Nobunaga's statement.
What madness generated these wild assertions? He could not even begin to understand where they came from yet they were spoken to him with such conviction that he very nearly believed what she was saying for a brief moment. A dangerous position to be in, yet she had been a monarch or an approximation of one if her history was any indication.
If she had been a leader, then surely she would know what was best for her people. If that were the case, then why would she espouse such notions as ambition and desire as driving forces for humanity? Would it not have been wiser for her to instead speak greatly of duty in a similar fashion to what he had heard of Camelot? It was a train of thought he could not truly comprehend, yet he found himself unsurprised by that. There was no empathising with those who had flaws in their logic from the very outset.
And yet…
Her actions had evidently worked for the benefit of Japan, perhaps she had been motivated by desire and ambition for control, but it had ended what was called the warring states and brought an end to the confusion of a fractured country. Something was missing in these two states of being. He could not envisage someone with such feeble motives as greed being capable of accomplishing such a task.
Perhaps it was something else, then?
…A flaw in her logic. She had not had a chance to rectify her understanding of the world, perhaps mistaking her own conviction in seeing her duty to end the state of Japan's warring period as something relating to greed? It was not like there wasn't a link to be made between the two of them. It could very easily be said that working to control an entire country was a truly ambitious goal and yet it must have been her sense of duty that saw her through the chaos.
It must have been.
Greed alone would not have served her nearly as well.
How unfortunate that she was working off flawed logic, it was something tragic to behold. Mistakenly believing that her own greed was the source of her strength and not her longing for fulfilment. She had not given him reason to doubt her yet, but this was something that he had trouble overlooking. It was not a similar state of emotions when he thought of Drake, the womans very presence had disgusted him to no end.
With Nobunaga it was more…
It was pity.
That was the correct word for it.
She did not understand her true strength like he saw in her, believing it to be something else and placing her own logic within the realms of something as grim as simple desire. A terrible state of affairs, something that would perhaps need rectifying. Not at this present moment, though. That could come later, so long as Nobunaga would eventually understand that it was her duty that saw her through rather than her ambition, then he could consider his task content.
The thoughts that travelled his mind were briefly set aside, turning from the Archer without another word spoken between them and focusing his attention once more onto Percival. There was still something that he needed answering. "You have spoken of Camelot's rise to power. Does it still exist?"
A coughing sound came from Nobunaga to his behind, he did not face her but the clear surprise in her reaction was apparent even to him. Percival locked up, his eyes remaining straight ahead before he turned his head in the direction of Ash, both his brows raised and his expression something akin to anger for the briefest of moments. The anger gave way to confusion as his brows furrowed and his eyes widened.
"You…you speak truly?" Percival whispered to himself, wetting his lips and glancing away from him. "It does not, no. Nor has it done so for well over a thousand years by now." That was saddening to hear, but not at all unsurprising. He'd already suspected such things when it had been mentioned as something in the past tense, but all the same a concrete answer served him better than mere estimations.
Yet that feeling of hollowness in his gut grew ever larger with the confession.
"How?"
"...What I say next is something I was not present to witness." He spoke in a sombre tone of voice, full of regret. Even Quelan was now visibly casting an ear to the conversation, his head turned in their direction just enough that his right eye could lock onto their forms. "By that point I had…passed from this world." With an inaudible sigh, he seemed to brace himself for his next words. "The events which led to the fall of Camelot had been mounting over the years. Perhaps through blindness on our part or perhaps through events that were always destined to be. The earliest I can believe would be the words of Sir Tristan."
He turned to Ash "Please withhold your judgement of him. His words were spoken in a drunken haze as he was succumbing to poison. I do not truly believe he intended to utter them aloud as he left the Round Table." Ash would give no such promises, but a man dying for any reason would do strange things. He understood that better than any other he had met. "He claimed that the King does not understand the hearts of men…a sentiment that was gradually gaining support throughout the country, not that we could see at the time."
Quelan made a curious noise "Does not understand the hearts of men? The King is the ruler of the Country…you cannot rule those you do not understand…" he made a wheezing noise as he brought his fist to his mouth and visibly fought back another smouldering sputter. "What weight would these wor-" a wet cough "-words hold?"
"Told you, that's the problem with being perfect." Nobunaga had reigned in her voice, now sounding more smug, or perhaps self-assured. "The more people believe you are perfect, the more they become jealous of you. How can this individual who has never made a mistake in their life possibly seek to govern me? It would imply all my failure is of my own doing. A perfect person cannot understand the life of the imperfect, so then how could they possibly understand the cost of their actions?"
Percival was silent for a moment "I shan't comment on such matters. Though perhaps it is the truth that there were few who could match step with the King. All the same, they truly were the ideal King in my eyes and the eyes of many others. For some, though? They could bear the burden of the King's rule no longer, it was not an easy path…perhaps I hold some resentment to the rebels for their actions."
"As well you should." The Archer declared without a moment of hesitation "Understanding the motive of a Rebellion does not suddenly grant it justification. Regardless of how they feel, the Leader is the leader for a reason…I had more than a few rebellions to face in my time as well, one from my own brother, in fact."
This was disturbing news for him.
Percival continued ever forwards, unaware of the growing apprehension in his body as the story started to unravel. "There came a point where something broke. With the death of Sir Agravain at the hands of Sir Lancelot…swiftly followed by the man slaying Sir's Gaheris and…Sir Gareth." Ash could have sworn he heard a crack in the voice with the second name. "The Round Table was shattered. Sir Lancelot fled with the Queen after his affair with her was made public and the King issued them a pardon-"
"A pardon for an affair with your wife?" Quelan sounded positively baffled by the recent turn of events, Ash could say with confidence that he shared this confusion. For what reason would you pardon a man who slept with your own wife? Not that he could truly understand what the topic of matrimony was about…or love, for that matter. His reaction with Nero had been based purely on the idea that he didn't want someone lusting after the Firekeepers body and for that alone. "For what reason would…?"
"That is not for me to know. I was dead by that point." The words were delivered like a sledgehammer, a forced calm in his voice. "Then came the reveal that Sir Mordred was actually the son of the King…or it would be better to refer to them as the bastard child." he winced "I do not know what manner of conversation took place between them…but all I can say is that when King Arthur and Sir Gawain left for distant campaigns, Sir Mordred…acted on his own accord."
"...His own accord?"
"The King had rejected his demand to be named as the legitimate heir to Camelot and - in his rage and grief - Sir Mordred announced rebellion across all of Camelot, splitting the country in half. With the King absent with many of the best knights…Sir Mordred quickly swept aside all opposition to a point, assuming greater command of the country. By the time of the King's return…the damage had been done. It would not matter which of them had won that day…the Kingdom was shattered and nothing would restore it."
A bitter smile came upon his face "...Sir Kay perished in granting the King passage into the land. Sir Gawain died upon the field of Camlann and both the King and Sir Mordred slew one another at Camlann. Sir Bedivere was one of the few to remain alive in the aftermath…what became of him after, I cannot say…though I doubt he ever recovered from it, having been the first Knight of the Round."
…How horrifying.
"...Sir Lancelot, you say?"
"...I do not know what transpired between Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere-"
""Gwynevere?"" The surprise came from both Ash and Quelan at the name, it was one they recognised all too well. The Princess of Sunlight and the second child of Lord Gwyn. All Ash ever knew of the Queen was her handiwork, the ruin of her Kingdom and her flight from her home had left its scars upon Lothric. The madness of her husband and the enlightenment of her children…all if it ended with her fleeing into exile once more.
Further thoughts of her…
He stumbles with the blow, his foe looms over him with the height of nearly twice his own. The sword in his hands already moves before he has a chance to react. The sword in his right arm - a weapon far too large for his diminutive body - is swept aside with a glancing strike.
The attacker advances, raising the sword for a proper blow.
The blow is heavy, his body shudders and protests as his feet are swept away from the ground and he finds himself striking the ground with no small degree of force. There is barely a moment of reprieve to recover from the attack when something catches the corner of his eye.
A boot, there is little left to imagine.
It strikes his ribs, his body screams and he soon follows, the sounds of shattering bone are accompanied by his bloodied wails as his chest caves in. The knight stands over him once more, the sword poised to finish him-
"Enough."
The single voice cuts through, it flows like clean air through his ravaged body. Even as his hearing is muffled the voice is crisp.
There stands a shadow in the distance, their stature curved far more so than the knight before him and their height easily rises above them. Perhaps it is merely his position as a mere child that grants him this perspective, all who wander this training room are giants to him.
Her golden eyes stare down at him, the distance is difficult and her face is featureless. Not an ounce of detail to be seen anywhere beyond the silhouette.
The knight turns, facing the woman "He is bested for today, let me take him back to the chambers so that he might-"
"No." The voice rings through his mind, the opposition is silenced.
A glow encompasses his body, his bones are mended once more and he feels as right as when he first stepped into the confined room. Before the beating began.
"Again." The golden eyes spare him barely a glance before the shadow steps back into the darkness, he is left alone with the knight once more. The man of steel turns his square shaped helm back to him.
There is not a moment of movement from him, save the shuddering of his arm.
"...As the Queen orders."
He is dragged to his feet, the beating resumes.
He was dragged from that odd vision by the voice of Quelan once more, though his mind now burned with the strange memory. Something he had no recollection of, glancing towards his chest where he now felt something ripple around in him. That was not a memory of his own…
"The Princess of Sunlight herself?" Quelan turned his body around fully, no longer walking and now fully invested in the conversation "What would…how did…what?"
"Princess of Sunlight?" Percival raised his brow at the title, Ash had the strangest notion that they were not referring to the same individual. The confusion in the face of the knight was not something he imagined could be faked. Which might have made it a simple case of coincidence between the two worlds.
Like Salaman and Solomon.
"I know nothing of the title." The knight continued onwards, tilting his head and raising his other brow to join the first. "Now I confess curiosity, you know of the name…Ah, a different world with the same individual, perhaps?"
"She was a Goddess."
"Then again, perhaps not." To his credit, Percival did not miss a beat in correcting himself, the reply being delivered smoothly as he dismissed the idea of them being the same. Something that also worked to confirm Ash's own suspicions about her identity as well. "In any event…the matter of Lancelot and Guinevere is evidently complicated, the King would no so readily hand out a pardon for such an act unless they felt it deserved…though perhaps it laid the seeds of rebellion in the minds of many others, the thought of plotting without the threat of ramification."
"From your own explanation, he killed three knights." Ash replied with a dubious tone of voice, even ignoring the actions previously done out with the affair with the Queen of the Kingdom, such a thing could surely not have gone unpunished. "...He went without facing punishment?"
"He entered self-imposed exile and was not there when the King perished, though…I believe he wished to be. Perhaps that is punishment in its own right."
Suddenly the actions of Ser Verndari did not seem so foolish in his mind, given the importance the woman placed on the value of her duty as a knight, he could imagine that she would not have taken that knowledge well. Especially given her friendship with Sir Gareth. Though whether it was done out of revenge or out of justice…Ash could not comment upon it, having not been there when the actions were instigated.
Whatever the case, he was similarly questioning the wisdom of allowing Lancelot to live let alone grant him the option of exile. Such treachery to the Kingdom should have been met with a swift end, both for the sake of Lancelot who should have felt horrified at his own actions and grant him peace of mind, Ash imagined that a Knight should have gone mad with the ramifications of what he had done. How else could the Berserker form of the Servant be explained?
That was simply Lancelot having gone Hollow, that was the only explanation that made sense to him.
"...It would have been better for him to die." The words slipped out easily.
"Perhaps." Surprisingly, Percival offered no counter argument to the statement but he made no effort to agree with it either. Instead choosing a more neutral manner of response. "But I am not the King and I am not going to question their choices, especially not when the matter has not been brought up for well over a thousand years and our collective bones have turned to dust." he shrugged "Suppose I did disagree with the King and believe Lancelot deserved execution for his crimes, there is nothing I could do about it now. Even if he stood before me…his death would serve nothing but my own sense of self-righteousness."
"Gratification." That was…true enough. Killing Lancelot now was pointless for the sake of the crime, but this was now a matter of Lancelot's sake as well. The shadowed Berserker who stalked the halls and spoke in grunting noises akin to an animal. It was a terrible sight to behold and even with his demonstration of skill…
Perhaps he should bring forth the case to Ritsuka?
…
No. He would never agree to the mercy killing because he cared for the Servants as people, not for the tools they were. Appealing to the nature of mercy on behalf of Lancelot would grant him nothing, much like it granted him nothing when he very much desired to kill Drake. Perhaps it would simply be another burden for him to bear.
Or maybe being summoned was Lancelot's chance to atone for his failures, just as he was returned to life to atone for his own sin of trying to link the flame. A second chance to make the correct decision this time.
He would withhold judgement for now.
However, the fact remained…
"Camelot…fell to Mordred, then?"
"Indeed."
"...Because he was not granted the title of heir?"
"...A simple way of putting it but…I believe that is where it stemmed from."
It was everything Ash could do to avoid snarling at the thought, his shoulders trembled and his armour shuddered as he fought back the fury that welled within him. The notion that the Kingdom Arthur had worked tirelessly to create was undone by but a few acts of desire and ambition. Lancelot who could not put hold to his lust, the people who could not understand the value of the King's vision and Mordred for letting ambition control his actions.
Foolery that could all have been prevented if they had just followed their duty.
Again, the actions of the few ambitious and the stupid had wrought destruction and death upon the whole. Why could they not even accomplish the simplest of tasks? Maintaining a clear focus on their duties as was assigned to them and perhaps Camelot might still have remained to the present day.
"...I see." He eventually spoke out, turning his head straight ahead and marching forwards, moving past both Percival and Quelan as he waded into the snow. He had no intention of leaving the group, but he could not contain himself all that well if he had to stare at them. Ranting about humanity would leave him with very little he could accomplish. "...How did your rule end, Nobunaga?"
"Me?" He heard the surprise in the woman's voice, though it was short lived as she answered. "I got betrayed by one of my retainers and with my defeat all but certain I chose to commit seppuku rather than face the disgrace of defeat." there was a moment before she let out a sigh "Didn't even get to unify all of Japan, I guess my other retainers saw to it and I'd already done most of the work…still…"
Her words became little more than ringing in his ears, his mind remained focused on the storm ahead of them and the buildings on either side blurred in and out of his vision. This was turning into a grim theme, how often had this cycle been repeated here? What was worse was that it was not simply the design of the Gods that had brought this about.
The humans had done it to each other…
The vices remained the same but the perpetrators were different this time around, perhaps it was his folly for believing that humans had greater sense than the Lordkin. Though he wasn't sure where that belief had come from. The existence of Drake should already have thrown doubt into those words…but he could not-
His brows furrowed, his eyes glanced around behind his helmet as he realised something.
Not the only one as the voice of Nobunaga reached his ears "Where the Hell did this fog come from?"
The attacks had been coming in regular intervals ever since they had first begun. What had initially been a rather violent offensive with high powered arrows being thrown their way from an, as of yet, unknown assailant had forced them into a long and gruelling walk where they had constantly had to check their surroundings.
Ritsuka bit back a jolt as another clang of steel reached his ears, violet light danced across his eyes as he took a half step backwards as heat washed over his face. Shying his head away from the flames which consumed the form of Llew for all of half a second, they dissipated to reveal the knight still standing proud with his sword raised up like a shield once more, the weapon having been brought up to block the attack once more.
It had been harrowing initially, but at this point Ritsuka was getting used to it. The attacks would become more violent depending on which turn they took. With the Archer having the benefit of being able to fly and escape them and lacking a ranged option of their own…it became clear to even him that they were being forced in a certain direction. It was an understanding that came over all of them.
"Caster?"
"Yes?"
"I feel like a Servant to the Archer, right?"
"You will, yes." Caster confirmed not even a moment later "You would, without a doubt, feel like an incredibly weakened Servant based solely upon my damaged Spirit Core and diminished Saint Graph…but a Servant you will remain to their eyes." a pause, Ritsuka could even feel the curious nature of the Caster through the link between the two of them, he was getting a little better at that. "Shall I assume you intend to use the Command Seals on your hand to your advantage in this battle?"
"It's the one thing I can think of. The Archer isn't trying to kill us so I don't know what else we're supposed to do here…except see where they are trying to lead us." Ritsuka didn't much like the idea of being ferried around by a hostile Servant, he was guessing hostile because he didn't know too many people who said 'hello' by shooting arrows at people. "Using a Command Seal at the right moment will probably give us a pretty decent advantage, wouldn't it?"
There was a silence from the Caster, Ritsuka wasn't sure if they agreed or disagreed with his statement considering the lack of a response. All the same, he would have to explain the reasoning to the others so that they knew what he might be planning to do. For whatever reason, the mental link between himself and the newly contracted Servants - minus Fran - still wasn't working so he'd have to do it the old fashioned way.
"Llew?" Ritsuka called out to the still smoking knight, the man remained silent for a moment with his helmet focused on the distant rising of a ramshackled house. It was a thing that the further along they were being funnelled the more their surroundings had changed. The distance between the homes got wider and wider and the scenery had become rougher, slopes marred their every step and dark grey rocks jutted from beneath the snow.
"They continue, our path is being set out by them." Was the initial comment he received from the knight, it wasn't much of a revelation considering they had all virtually guessed something like that at this point. Or rather, Ritsuka imagined they had done. "Their blows are to harrow us and they maintain a distance. No amateur marksman are they…"
Shooting a look in the direction of the latest attack, Ritsuka was treated to the sight of the blur of the Archer once more vanishing into the clouds and out of sight. Pulling his lips into a thin line, he fought back a sigh as he dropped his voice into a quiet whisper, directing his attention to the girl still sitting on his back. "You sent your book Familiars out, did they ever get this far?"
"They did, Mister Ritsuka." Nursery whispered back to him "They are leading us towards a clearing, there was a single building that lay near the centre of it but very little else. My Familiar was destroyed before it could get much further…" she lamented with a slight jostle on his back indicating she was shaking her head from side to side. "I am sorry to say that I know little else beyond that much."
"Hey, don't worry about it." He put some cheer into his voice, softening it up as he adjusted her on his back. "It's more than enough. At least we know where we're going, more or less…Anything about this house you know about?"
Nursery was silent for a moment. "It was a small house, very olden…though this was all I could gleam at a distance. A single floor and what appeared to be a porch at the front." A beat "It looked to be rather homely, actually. Not all that threatening and perhaps a place where a family might have stayed once."
Llew made a noise, lowering the sword when sufficient time had passed "The home of the Archer, perhaps, or maybe the one who owns this land…" he exhaled "No matter. They clearly desire us to meet with them but will not entreat us in a manner befitting of a true audience…yet our force is hardly one that a sufficient number could not exterminate." he muttered, looking back to them.
Ritsuka didn't want to put them down…but they were missing a lot of their heavy hitters. Between them, he was functionally useless at anything but giving commands, Nursery had admitted she wasn't suited for combat all that much now that she was trapped in a foreign Reality Marble, he didn't know where Fran stood in comparison to a Servant - and he really didn't want to put her down - but numbers could overcome anyone.
Llew was probably their best card, certainly looking every bit as skilled as he was imposing-
"He is a personal Knight of the Royal Family." Caster supplied before he could even complete the thought. "The safety of the entire Family was in his hands, especially as he was the captain of the order for a time. Taking a seat on the Kings Council as their chief of defence. Apparently he was rather skilled at the job, earning even the Queen's favour…All that aside, it can be assumed that he is quite skilled."
That was good to know, at least. Even if he already suspected it, being absolutely certain of it was still a nice thing.
"I'm thinking we let them lead us to where they want us to go." Ritsuka spoke after a moment, resuming his walk and glancing over his shoulder for a split second.
"Guh?" Fran made a clear noise of confusion, while the others weren't quite as vocal he could still see the aura of surprise about the two of them.
"They're leading us somewhere and if they wanted us dead…well…we're in a Reality Marble, aren't we?" He looked to Llew, it was more a matter of convincing him than anything else. "You talked about the Corvians, right? So it would make sense that they should have jumped us en masse by now, shouldn't they?"
"...That is not incorrect." Llew replied after a moment "However, the fact remains that they have not yet made an effort to approach us normally. Loosening arrows is not a show of peace." he pointed in the last direction they had been defending from. "This Archer who harrows us at every turn might very well be leading us towards an ambush…though I confess that the distance is not something I could cover unless-"
"I don't think they know I'm a Master." He whispered, briefly interrupting Llew "So if we do get in trouble, I can use a Command Seal to boost you…would your Noble Phantasm be able to help if I did that?"
"Against numerous foes?" There was silence, then a single nod of the head "It is indeed Anti-Army. One of my skills will grant you protection against it, should the moment arise…"
Ritsuka withheld a blink, he didn't really want to know why he would need protection against his own allies Anti-Army Noble Phantasm. Unless it was one of those point of origin ones where it just couldn't be aimed. Because that was now something he would have to worry about, all the same.
"Yeah, if push comes to shove we can probably use that and escape." He paused for a moment, then took in a breath. "Unless you think it's too risky. There's a good chance we are gonna walk right into a trap here." Looking around, he studied the expression of Fran and then towards the posture of Llew. Sure enough, it was pretty hard to get a reading on either of them.
He could see Nursery's face either so that was another problem but he could feel her stiffening slightly. "So I'm open to any other sort of counsel on the matter before we get interrupted by another flying arrow aimed towards us. Any ideas?"
Llew did not speak for a moment "...Fighting an Archer with the superiority of the air is not something I can do without a ranged weapon on hand. Seeing as how we are all either close ranged fighters or no fighters at all, we are far outside of our zone of comfort. Suffice to say they clearly need us for something…therefore it would be prudent to spring the trap." a beat "Can you still not make contact with your other allies?"
"No."
"Then we have no reinforcements to speak of…and the capabilities of Caster will likely serve us if he is as skilled as he boasts."
"Such bold words from a knight who took his own life. Perhaps if his will was as strong as his tongue was sharp then we might have met."
…That was unquestionably over the line, he believed he inferred as much with the internal scowl he sent towards the Caster. Reflex or not, there were just some things that you really shouldn't make jokes about.
"I was not joking. He was the one who perished by his own blade. The reason remains elusive and he is the only knight to have ever done something such as that in the entire history of Lothric." There was a curious hum "Though I wonder who it was that broke him…I shall assume it was Gwynevere who did so, she had quite the knack for bringing out the worst in people without meaning to."
"Gwyne-Gwyndolin's sister?"
"Indeed. I've seen your interactions with the little serpent boy…To think the wretch was still alive as well. Saddening that Gwyn could not keep better control over his children than-" Caster abruptly stopped speaking, a silence coming over them that Ritsuka found to be more than a little "...Ho, that is clever. Very clever of them."
"Huh?"
"The storm only conceals the Archer until the moment they attack. Though perhaps it is not the storm itself…but the skills of another?" Caster mused for a moment, then continued onwards before Ritsuka had the chance to question him further. "Regardless, I would assume that we have been blind. The Archer is only revealed because they attack, much like the presence concealment of an Assassin cloaking them until the moment comes to strike."
The only Assassin that Ritsuka had at Chaldea was Sasaki and he hadn't actually spoken with him at length yet. He should probably do something like that just so he was aware of the strengths and weaknesses of other Servant classes…except Sasaki carried himself like he was a Saber so perhaps he might not provide a very traditional point of view.
"Consider such a thing at a later date. For now, think on my words. If the Archer is revealed every time she attacks, how many do you suppose have gathered who have yet to attack us?"
Ritsuka blanched at the implications as they settled in his gut, dropping as though they were made of lead. His eyes now darted away from Llew and towards their surroundings with a much greater sense of urgency as he looked for anything out of place, the sparse buildings in the distance and the pale dead trees he could now see only added to his mounting dread.
"...It's not just Archer out there."
"Hm?" Llew stopped walking, making a half turn and facing Ritsuka with the helmet aimed towards him, though it was only for a brief moment before he steadied himself once more and brought the sword up. Ritsuka hadn't sensed anything and Caster hadn't screamed any warnings into his ear, so he assumed it was his current posture that had put the knight on edge. "You are certain?"
"Just a guess." He wasn't going to start making those kind of assertions with complete confidence just yet, but he wasn't going to keep quiet about them anyway. "Caster thinks they might have some sort of presence concealment."
"...It would explain the Corvians moving without being detected by us until the last possible moment." Llew whispered quietly, his body now more visibly tense. "It is no longer the one enemy that we can see that is the problem…it is the dozen we cannot." a noise escaped the throat of the knight, whether it was begrudging respect or annoyance was something Ritsuka couldn't quite tell. "That is quite the shrewd plan…yet distracting us long enough to gather reinforcements…"
"New plan. I think springing the trap is a bad idea."
"I am inclined to agree." Llew did not even hesitate with agreeing to his words "But there is no telling how many allies the Archer has gathered by now and escaped from this location…" he trailed off, the closest building was at least twenty metres to their left. The one after that was probably a good thirty or so from their current location. Even if they had Servant level agility, so too did Archer.
"Nurse, can you make some sort of distraction for us to get close to the house?"
Nursery was silent for a moment before she made a brief whisper in his ear "There is something I might summon to grant us the chance to escape…but to do so quickly would require the use of a command seal, otherwise I shall need time to complete the chant, Mister Ritsuka."
"We'll keep that option open." He whispered back to her, then went internal with his queries. "What about you, Caster? I don't know about using a Command Seal in case we have to but it might be our only shot if it's as bad as you say."
"You assume there is anything I am capable of beyond a mere flicker of mana?" Ritsuka winced at how insulted Caster sounded, as though there was genuine anger with the admission. Then again, Caster was probably being held back on account he wasn't inside his own body. "...Though my Noble Phantasm has now had a greater time to acclimate to your body. Perhaps I might be able to deploy some base spells without tiring you…recall the strain you went through with casting the simple map, however."
Ritsuka remembered it well, it was as exhilarating as it was exhausting to him. "Fair enough then…we might need to work on a rapid escape with the others if push comes to shove and we get jumped by multiple people. I should be able to keep up with the others if I run, right?"
"I am not a Servant built for races, I am no track hound." Caster scoffed rather loudly in his head "But you will not watch them turn to specks on the edge of your vision. Right now you would do well to keep that right hand of yours covered up from view…one moment."
Rituska blinked for a moment, then felt a strange tightness on his right hand as something covered his skin. His gaze fell upon it at the faint noise of cracking reaching his ears, eyes widening as a thin layer of blue coloured crystals virtually grew over his hand and now covered his right hand like a clove. It was downright freaky.
His hand now felt really stiff.
"A little warning would be helpful, next time."
"Is the human saying not, 'it is better to ask forgiveness than permission'?"
"Are you going to ask for forgiveness?"
"For what?"
"...There we are then."
The fact remained - aside from his new freaky glass glove - which was now really strange the longer he looked at it.
"It's like Cinderella's glass slipper." Nursery whispered out over his shoulder, turning his head slightly Ritsuka noticed her eyes fully locked onto the altered limb with a very childlike glee about her expression and her tone.
"...If this falls off, do you think a prince will show up and return it?" He couldn't help but ask, snorting at the flush that came upon the young girl's face.
"Do not so readily joke about losing your limb." Llew chided them "Especially not when the reality of the situation now makes certain that is a possibility." he made a half turn, then paused as he stared at something in the distance. "...Hmph."
Ritsuka paused, then glanced past the knight and similarly found himself blinking.
It was as though she had just emerged.
A woman who was perhaps his own height or a touch larger was now standing a short distance from them. Wearing long robes of pale white colouration, she was also adorned with a long black cloak around her shoulders with a hood extending up to her head. In her right hand was clasped a scythe easily longer than Cu Chulainns spear and black in colour, in her left hand was what looked like a club of a similar design but less than half the length.
The woman made no move, content to merely stare at them from the short distance they were at.
Then she spread her arms wide, the scythe vanished from her right hand and the club from her left. Making a clear show of disarming and prompting Ritsuka to raise a lone eyebrow at her.
"...I suppose she wants to talk?"
"...So it would seem." Llew made a noise "Do not lower your guard, I have never known a nun to carry such savage weapons…Though she had made a call for parley. Though the choice of whether we honour it remains yours."
Ritsuka didn't even hesitate "Might as well…"
It might offer them some proper answers.
