#servantember

[dlaprobably]

Servantember, Day 8: Captain James Misson (Pretender)

A salty sea dog to start the second week's worth of Servantember drawings, Captain James Misson! The legendary captain of the Victoire, Misson is best known as the founder of the fabled pirate utopia of Libertatia (or Libertalia), a democratic society that stood up for its people's freedoms and against authoritarian rule, distributing loot evenly amongst its population. Despite its sturdy fortifications and sprawling reach, its location has proven elusive, and while it lasted 25 years, far longer than most pirate outposts of its kind, there are few contemporaneous accounts of its existence. There are few records of Misson himself, for that matter, with many regarding him and Libertatia as nothing more than a story. And yet, here he stands, man, myth, and legend, as a Pretender Rider class Servant!

Fell down something of a research rabbit hole with this one it took me some time to climb out of, but it's my longest and most detailed profile yet, so I hope you enjoy it if you're reading this!

Lore Notes:

-On his initial summoning, Misson will appear a younger, more swashbuckling sort of man, the years having yet to take their toll on him, rather than the shabby-coated figure depicted above, who will typically only appear to Masters with whom a mutual trust has been established. He maintains the same unquenchable thirst for adventure and belief in his dream regardless of his age, and takes great delight in storytelling, relating tales of his own exploits and those of fellow rogues with equal pleasure.

-His ship, the Victoire, sails swiftly and silently, catching foes unaware and leaving no trace, an ephemeral vessel much like Misson's own unwritten voyages. It behaves much like a ghost ship, but appears the very picture of a dignified, undamaged warship when sighted. Its crew is invisible to enemy eyes while aboard, and consists of a motley assortment of lesser-known seafarers and long-forgotten names fearsome in their own time, many of them acquaintances of Misson himself in life. A skilled naval tactician well respected by his sailors, the good captain's Voyager of the Storm skill is at an A+ rank.

-Is as competent a duelist as he is at the helm, and a crack shot with pistols as well, with near supernaturally quick reflexes. He was known as a captain and a leader rather than a combatant, and loathed needless bloodshed, but claims to have taken a few pages out of the books of his piratical peers for this summoning. He'd still rather avoid direct confrontation, but needs must when the devil drives.

-Thomas Tew, Misson's contemporary and co-founder of Libertatia, is absent from the crew of pirates captaining the Victoire, having his own distinct Spirit Origin as the more well known pirate out of the two of them. Much as he would appreciate the help, Misson doesn't begrudge his absence, certain he has his own business to take care of.

-Misson's Noble Phantasm is Libertatia, a Reality Marble bringing forth the legendary settlement and its surrounding seas, allowing captain and Master alike to mount a strong defense while the Victoire remains on the offense. Raised forts forming an octagonal shape in the harbor, each armed with forty cannons, with the living spaces and the town proper below. Apart from its combat functionality, the town is as abuzz with activity as it was in its heyday. There's no shortage of resources to make withstanding a prolonged siege possible, but the firepower on hand and on loan should make short work of foes inexperienced at sea. Stray cannon fire from the fog enclosing the Reality Marble will hammer down on opponents, the hopes and dreams of captains throughout the ages who aspired to reach the place but never could, channeled into fighting on the captain's behalf. As well positioned and defended as the place is, it did eventually fall, and the fortifications do have their limits, and even in its empowered form as a Noble Phantasm. Dream or reality, Libertatia is as liable to fall as any fortress.

-In reality, there is no Captain James Misson. Attempts to find the location of Libertatia or other contemporary accounts of him have come up empty, and the most detailed account of him and his elusive Libertatia is a likely fictitious chapter in A General History of the Pyrates. A biographical tome published in 1724 about many of the Golden Age's most famous buccaneers, names such as Blackbeard, William Kidd, and Calico Jack Rackham among them, A General History helped solidify the modern idea of the era's pirates and their stories, and was a major inspiration for fictitious tales of piracy for over a century afterward, Treasure Island and Peter Pan being two notable examples. The Servant appearing in Misson's place is Captain Charles Johnson, A General History's mysterious author.

-Captain Charles Johnson is himself about as much of a ghost as Misson, with no records existing of a captain by his name, which is considered by most historians to be a pseudonym. Some theorize he was a genuine pirate or captain, others believe he was simply a particularly knowledgeable writer. A playwright by the name of Charles Johnson staged a play titled The Successful Pyrate about the career of Henry Every, but he seems to be entirely unrelated to the captain. Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe and hundreds of other works, is by far the most popular suspect, but a questionable one. Yet another candidate is printer Nathaniel Mist, who published some of Defoe's works, with the latter spying on the former on behalf of the British government. Johnson himself is keeping mum on who he is, and it hardly matters, given he's been summoned as Misson and Johnson rather than whoever he might really be.

-As a Servant, Johnson amounts to little more than the ideal of a pirate in the public consciousness, his appearance reflecting that. For what it's worth, he does seem to believe in the ideas he espouses, and thoroughly sympathizes with his subjects, which is why he saw fit to immortalize them in the written word. He might exaggerate with some, or dream up entirely fictional ones for the stories he couldn't justify ascribing to any existing ones, but every story gets somewhat out of hand after being passed on a few times, the wilder ones tending to be the more memorable ones.

-His Noble Phantasm as Johnson, A General History of the Pyrates, allows him to invoke the skills and feats of the figures he wrote about, granting him the skills in direct combat that Misson was never attested to have but others were credited with, for one. Libertatia is an extension of this Noble Phantasm, but is treated as a separate one tied to the Misson aspect of this Spirit Origin, and can be used in conjunction with A General History's more... general effects. If a "true" Captain James Misson were ever summoned as a Servant, he would have Libertatia as his Noble Phantasm, but the odds of that are exceedingly low given the lack of evidence for him. Still, Johnson had to get the idea from somewhere, and he'd be the first to say not to dismiss the possibility. At full power, A General History can summon a mighty fleet of the famous pirates themselves and their ships, their chronicler calling upon their legends to do battle and make their names once more. Maintaining both A General History and Libertatia at their maximum potential simultaneously would expend a frankly ludicrous amount of magical energy, but the resulting tale of adventure that would come out of it would more than make up for it.

-All in all, Johnson changes little as a Servant with the revelation of his true name, remaining the same jolly salt as when he's known as Misson, just more honest about the nature of his existence. A figment kept alive by the figments he kept alive in a sort of equivalent exchange, as long as there's people to keep reading and telling the stories, he's satisfied with his accomplishments.

-Other pirate Servants seem to be aware of both Misson and Johnson as separate individuals but perceive him as either of them at different times, which suits him fine. He's never been summoned alongside Thomas Tew, but that would doubtless make matters even more confusing.

Design Notes:

Unsurprisingly, I was big into pirates as a kid and it never went away, so it was a matter of time before I wrote up a pirate fanservant. I've been incredibly disappointed with Fate's canon handling of pirate Servants thus far for the most part (Blackbeard's writing has been improving in recent years but I maintain that the foundation for FGO's version is so broken there's only so much fixing they can try to do, the less said about Bonny and Read and how badly they botched them the better, Bart has one of my favorite designs in the game but every time he opens his mouth I want to cry, Drake is the only one that's actually cool even though she has very little to do with her historical counterpart from what I've seen), and I wanted to try my hand at doing a proper one not bogged down in a single bad joke for a personality.

I hadn't actually read any of A General History of the Pyrates before working on him, but it had been on my reading list for a long time and I had been aware of Johnson as a figure. The idea of him as a Servant first came to me when I was trying to think of legendary or fictional pirates that could qualify as Servants in contrast to the thus far historical ones, and while Johnson definitely existed in some capacity as the author of the book, it interested me how little we know about the guy for how influential his book was. As I looked more into the book, I looked into Misson, and while I initially had Johnson in mind as a Caster, the ambiguity of his identity and of Misson as his fabrication felt perfect for the Pretender class. The rest as they say, was history. Design-wise he's an amalgamation of Captain Hook, Long John Silver, and various other fictional pirates I had on the mind at the time, including this post, fitting enough for how he takes form, with the patchwork on his coat being extremely subtle symbolism for the fact that he hasn't taken the time out to buy a new one (and that he's a patchwork himself, incidentally). I imagine he does have a proper walking cane, but he uses the sword sometimes when he wants to seem dramatic or look cool. With that, I'll leave you to your own adventures, and wish you safe travels and good days over the horizon!

[suitov]

Nagito: Don't you worry i have a plan!

Hajime: Will your plan involve me getting set on fire again?

Nagito: I already apologize for that and thanked your contribution to my anniversary surprise.

Nagito: It's like I always say. You can't blame me when Nagitobers Komaeda is an anagram of Be Gae, Komit Da Arson.

Hajime: You've never said that. Besides, what's a Nagitober?

Izuru: It's after Servantember and before Komaedecember, Hajime. Do keep up.

[dlaprobably]

Servantember, Day 4: Marie Tussaud (Caster)

Still doing these! Going to be making an effort to get these up more often, as I've got quite a few to get through and want to continue the ones I had yet to draw eventually. This is around the point where I started to come up with more detailed lore for some of these, so this one will be a bit on the lengthier side!

Day 4's idea was Marie Tussaud, wax sculptor and wax museum founder also known by her title of Madame Tussaud! Tussaud first made her name sculpting contemporary celebrities, such as Voltaire and Benjamin Franklin, under the tutelage of family friend Philippe Curtius. Narrowly avoiding the guillotine during the Reign of Terror, she was put to work sculpting the likenesses of those who weren't as fortunate. In later years she traveled to England, where she would eventually set up her famous exhibition.

Lore Notes:

-A relentlessly perfectionistic artisan who takes her work, the immortalizing of humanity's great heroes and legends, incredibly seriously. If a job is to be done, it ought to be done well, and she holds others to similarly high standards as she does herself. She can be a harsh critic but takes care to be a constructive one, and is much harsher on her own work than she is that of others unless it's truly careless. If your work does manage to impress her, consider yourself lucky, as she's much friendlier to those in her good books, but this is much easier to do than she makes it appear.

-Does no fighting herself, but uses wax-based replicas of other Heroic Spirits as her forces. They lack the full power of their properly summoned counterparts, and are rather less durable on account of their composition, but as detailed below, her support abilities imbue them with further power and the necessary magical energy to sustain their numbers, making it a mistake to underestimate them.

-Tussaud's Territory Creation skill is key to her operations, as it allows her to establish not only a workshop, but a museum in which to display her works. The museum's daytime operations and visits from the public allow its wax figures to passively gather magical energy while at rest, with the rate of gathering depending on attention given to the particular display. Her Waxen Legacy skill grants a small boost in combat power to replicas on display during the day, with the increase in power scaling on the figure's existing fame. Lesser-known figures are likely to benefit greatly from the attention brought to them, while it won't make much of a difference to already famous figures.

-Her Noble Phantasm, House of Wax, comes into play during the museum's nighttime hours, when the wax figures awaken in their powered-up forms to defend the museum like a fortress. While Tussaud will often send them out at night to face other Servants directly, they benefit more from the magical energy deposits the closer they are to the museum and their displays, and thus excel in a defensive capacity. Tussaud is also more easily able to make repairs on the fly from within the museum, and as a Caster not suited for direct combat, holing up in her workshop is the best strategy for her.

-A sort of sub-Noble Phantasm of hers exists in the form of the Chamber of Horrors, which she typically keeps partitioned off as a last resort. The more sinister figures dwell there, anti-heroes, villains, and even a few phantasmal beasts. While they remain open for the public during the daytime in their separate room, and she puts the same amount of care into their crafting as she does the more heroic figures, she fears what might happen if she were to let them loose at night.

-Her summoning as a Heroic Spirit has made her all the more philosophical about the nature of her craft, as it could be said that she does the work of the Throne of Heroes on a more mortal, individualized level. While Servants' manifestations are influenced by a great variety of factors, such as shifts in a figure's historical or societal perception, the territory in which they're summoned, and the influence of other legends on their own, her renditions are sculpted entirely through her artist's point of view, at her discretion. The Throne lacks sentience as far as she can tell, and thus lacks an artistic vision, but has nigh-unlimited magical energy to draw upon, and has no need for the medium of wax. She is the only self she's aware of, and thus can't speak as to how true a version of herself she is, as the Throne's recreation of Tussaud. Is she no more than a wax sculpture herself?

-May actually be made out of wax??? As far as her word goes, she's flesh and blood, insofar as any other Servant is, but some of her habits give reason to doubt this. She dines on wax food without batting an eye, and often draws a bath of hot wax to relax in at the end of a long day without any ill effects. She makes heavy use of her tools, but her and the wax almost seem to become as one in her sculpting at times in a rather literal sense, though it could well be a trick of the light. It may just be that she's taking advantage of her newly gained, if limited, resilience as a Heroic Spirit to satisfy curiosities of hers, but she offers no insight on the subject.

-Detests John of Nottingham, a fellow waxworking Caster-class Servant, for his lack of respect for his sculptures in both the crudeness of their crafting and their intended purpose. If summoned in the same environment as him, makes a point of rescuing his waxworks and, should they so wish, molding them into proper forms more to their liking.

-Is well aware of how fitting "Caster" is as a moniker for her, and has a sensible chuckle at it when it's brought up.

Design Notes:

Tussaud seemed like an interesting idea to me as a rather different sort of artist-based Servant, where most of the canon ones are painters and writers. I'm aware there's an "official" Tussaud design that was drawn for some Fate comedy manga as part of a competition, but I still wanted to do my own take on her. Her appearance was meant to evoke both the image of the distinguished, aristocratic Madame and the more practical craftswoman, hence the apron over the frilly dress, and while I considered going with a poofier powdered wig look for the hair, I settled on the slightly fancy-looking bun. Her work in progress is based on the infamous Bootleg Saber/Sader figurine, but whether she's resculpting her into a more accurate depiction or whether this is her grand design, who can say! John of Nottingham, referenced in her lore notes, is another one I've drawn, and he's only a couple of days after Tussaud, so you'll be seeing him real soon.

[dlaprobably]

Servantember, Day 3: Baron Munchausen (Pretender)

For Day 3, I spun Baron Munchausen! The fictional creation of writer and swindler Rudolf Erich Raspe based on the real-life Baron Hieronymus Karl Friedrich von Münchhausen, known for his recounting of impossible feats such as riding on cannonballs and voyaging to the moon.

Lore Notes:

-A man unconcerned with the constraints of "possible" and "impossible", if something needs doing, he'll do it without a second thought and worry about the laws of physics and other such trivialities later. He's unflinchingly loyal to his Masters and will help them accomplish whatever it is they wish to, but he does so with the understanding that their works will serve just ends. You wouldn't lie to him about that sort of thing, would you?

-His Pretender class status is the result of his vastly overtaking his real-world counterpart in fame, to the point where most people are only aware of the fictional one. While the original Baron Münchhausen is summonable as a Servant, he's substantially weaker due to few tales of his own exploits surviving and his own tales being more grounded in reality.

-Both Münchhausen and Munchausen are capable of existing as separate Heroic Spirits, but neither can truly exist without the other. The version that's typically summoned is an amalgamation using Münchhausen as a basis in reality with Munchausen the legend layered over him, about 20% Münchhausen and 80% Munchausen, and usually in the Saber, Archer, or Lancer class.

-His Noble Phantasm, Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvelous Travels and Campaigns in Russia, grants him his reality-bending abilities, allowing him to reenact any of his fabled deeds and carry out new ones, as long as he's able to weave together a satisfactory tale out of them. Conventional logic need not apply, but there should be a narrative consistency to whatever unlikely strategy or daring escape he's about to carry out, lest the audience find it unconvincing.

-An easy-going, agreeable fellow for as dangerous as his abilities are, he enjoys carrying out reckless endeavors and attributing them to his real-life counterpart, and in the rare cases when they're summoned separately, playing pranks at his expense. Needless to say, Baron Münchhausen is not amused by this in the slightest.

-Recounts all manner of stories involving his crossing paths with other legendary figures, all of them as fabricated as the last and none particularly flattering, usually involving his defeat of the others. Few other Servants are willing to indulge him, and most dismiss them as the lies that they are.

Design Notes:

While improving my grasp of anatomy was a goal of mine as I worked on these, for this one I let myself get a little weird with it, as I felt Munchausen should look cartoony and exaggerated to reflect his equally exaggerated adventures. The pose is meant to evoke the famous incident of him pulling himself out of a swamp by his own hair, though space limitations meant I went with his coat collar instead. I went for something of a resemblance to a puppet to both reflect his artificiality, his dependence on the real version as something of a tether, and one of the inspirations for his general design (no points for guessing who, though feel free to try!).

[dlaprobably]

Servantember, Day 1: Johannes Gutenberg (Caster)

So, back in January, I decided I would take out two New Year's resolutions in one (doing stuff with all the concepts I had for Fate OCs and finally getting around to practicing drawing), and ultimately I decided to give myself a month-long challenge of drawing a character a day, chucking the list of names into a randomizer wheel and drawing whoever came up. I didn't quite manage to stick to the daily thing as I ended up busier than expected, some days having to double or triple up to play catch-up, and I didn't manage to stick to it for the whole month, but I made it 23 days in, which was pretty damn close, and I do intend to get back to the rest at some point. With all of that said, I'll be posting those here for the next while, each with a bit of lore/trivia/etc. to go with them under the cut.

First one to come up was Johannes Gutenberg, German inventor who revolutionized European publishing with his printing press! He's accompanied by Titivillus, a demon said to be responsible for causing mistakes in manuscripts on the devil's behalf, and considered to be a possible origin for the term "printer's devil", used to refer to a printer's apprentice.

Lore Notes:

-A dignified, serious sort, for the most part, befitting of his status as a master craftsman. He's constantly tinkering with something or other, and thrives on new ideas, however foolish they might seem in concept. He admires creativity in his Masters, and when he does manage to get a plan going, he can't help but have himself a good laugh. It'd be easy to underestimate him based on his lack of magical ability, but you would come to regret it quickly, as he can be a dastardly son of a gun when he wants to be.

-Gutenberg's magecraft is based on the spread of information. While his combat ability is practically nonexistent, he excels in his particular niche and is very much a force to be reckoned with.

-His main Noble Phantasm, Das Werk der Bücher, is the conceptual embodiment of his invention of the printing press, and the free spread of information it entails, granting his Master unlimited access to information on their opponents, as well as the ability to pass on that knowledge to others far and wide if they so wish. It can also be weaponized to bombard one's enemies with useless information, serve as a distraction, or even print money. As long as it's within the realm of distributing information or printing things, he can make it happen. The main drawback of this ability is that it takes extensive setup, as he must first rebuild his printing press from scratch with all of the trial and error that it took the first time.

-His passive Noble Phantasm, Aventur und Kunst, allows him to read through existing archives and written texts pretty much instantly as long as he can access them in some format, as well as allowing him free reign over physical printing of said information, since he claimed his initial period of research granted him the secret of printing.

-He's a frowned-upon choice by the Mage's Association and mage society at large, what with the importance of one's methods maintaining their secrecy. If there's a Holy Grail War banlist, he's certainly on there, however unofficially.

-Titivillus typically hangs around Gutenberg's rival, Johann Fust, but has unwittingly been dragged along with Gutenberg this time. As part of his responsibility as a demon is collecting stray chatter and misspoken words during church services, he carries his ERRATA sack with him. He's agreed to serve as a proper assistant to Gutenberg while he's around, peppering his enemies' works with typos, making them trip up their words at critical moments, and generally helping out with printer's devil duties. He may not seem like much, but it might be he's just holding back until he gets the raise he's been hoping for.

-While Gutenberg's workings mainly involve printing and information, he's also quite skilled in the making of mirrors. They have no magical effects whatsoever, and mostly just kind of look nice, but maybe you can pass them off as something special and make a quick buck?

Design Notes:

Went fairly straightforward with the depiction to start things off, using the few existing posthumous portraits of Gutenberg as a reference for his appearance. The coat was initially going to be designed to look like an open book, but I liked the idea of making it out of pieces of type more, so I went with that instead, keeping the book thing to the lapels. There are two easter eggs hidden on the coat, if you're interested in looking for them! Finally, Titivillus was the result of me going down a rabbit hole researching the term "printer's devil", and I thought the office worker getup made sense for a more bureaucratic, word-based type of demon.

[dlaprobably]

Servantember, Day 7: Third Murderer (Assassin)

Another Assassin for Day 7, one whose exact identity is shrouded in mystery! The Third Murderer is an enigmatic figure from the play Macbeth, supposedly sent by the king to join the First and Second Murderers in killing Banquo and his son Fleance, but taking the first two by surprise, and having specific knowledge of Banquo's riding habits. The three kill Banquo but fail to kill Fleance, after which the Third Murderer disappears from the narrative once more while one of the other two reports to Macbeth. Who exactly the Third Murderer is and why they know what they know has been the subject of much debate, with some productions of the play casting existing characters in their role, and their brief but baffling role leaving a notable impact on discussion of one of the Bard's masterpieces.

Lore Notes:

-More ghost than person, they seem to evade any sense of grasp one might have on them, anything that might serve as an identifying trait or give an indication of there being a self slipping away like sand through one's fingers. They've been cast in the role of a bringer of death with the information needed to see the deed done, and there is where their existence begins and ends. They'll act according to their Master's will with little to say on the matter, lacking any real opinions of their own, although their abilities are rather limited as befits them. Whether they are the role itself taken on a life of its own or whether they truly are someone, they are defined only by the act they committed, and anything else that would pin them down is extraneous.

-As cloak and dagger personified, their high-ranking Presence Concealment allows them to stand offstage until the moment they're needed, essentially rendered nonexistent until their Master calls them forth, and hidden even to their contractor until the script calls for them. When manifested, they can take on the face of any concerned in the drama that unfolds, though this seems to be less an intentional means of deception on their part and more a quirk of their Spirit Origin that happens occasionally. If they can be said to have a true face, it's certain to go forgotten, and any face they do show to the crowd is that which is best cast as them.

-From Hence to th’ Palace Gate gives them a sense of one of their target's habits, as if they knew them personally. This could be an aspect of their routine as with their first target, but could just as easily apply to a personal preference of theirs when it comes to taste, or a particular quirk of their personality that stands out as notable. Never a major vulnerability or weakness, but still something a friend turned enemy could exploit if one was unfortunate enough. It could be used to orchestrate a target's end, for scouting purposes, or to another unrelated use entirely. Perhaps you could point it out to the target and make them feel self-conscious over it?

-Their Noble Phantasm, Dagger of the Mind: Who Did Strike Out the Light?, recreates the circumstances of their one and only famous deed, the assassination of Banquo, Thane of Lochaber. The First and Second Murderers are summoned by their side to strike down their target, and under cover of dark they strike simultaneously. A simple, effective, but ultimately incomplete plot, doomed to fail in the long run, but not without first extinguishing the life of another of its players. Someone must be present to bear witness, be it another intended victim escaping unscathed, the one who ordered the deed carried out, or a mere bystander serving only the role of audience. Upon execution, the contractor will be haunted by the soul of the one they had killed, the spirit causing no physical harm, but remaining until either the contractor's death to an enemy or the conclusion of the play as a reminder of the light struck out. The Third Murderer will disappear for offstage some time after this Noble Phantasm's use, in preparation for the next time the same old story plays out.

-Is proficient with swords and daggers, favoring quick, ruthless strikes and retreat into shadows. Can borrow the proficiencies of any whose face they take, although this is as unpredictable as their taking on the faces, and as out of their control. Of course, they're not meant to be fighting anyway unless accompanied by their compatriots, at which point their opponent should already be considered dead. The honor of the duel is reserved for the king at his own end, after all.

-Their existence is as much a mystery to them as anyone else, and even they're not sure who, if anyone, they are. It is possible, should their Master will it, to put a face to the nameless, to cast the nobody mercenary they might have once been who took a bit of coin to snuff out that kind man's brief candle, but it would be a face without meaning or memory of who they were beyond that which defines them. The assassin's cloak is truer that it conceals, and is ultimately all that's required.

Design Notes:

Found myself looking into this guy after reading the play for myself some time ago, and was fascinated by their whole deal! Shakespeare is one of my favorite canon Servants, and I feel there's plenty more that can be explored with regards to stagecraft and theater when it comes to Servants (two other favorites of mine also having it as a big part of their deals). The Third Murderer is simultaneously the senseless, dispassionate killer and any one of the play's named characters with whatever motive they might have had, their disguise meant to give an equal impression of a nondescript contract killer or someone trying their utmost to embody that role. As I'd drawn John of Nottingham in medieval/Renaissance-style garb for the day before, I decided on having them resemble a different take on their archetype, that of the stoic, Death-like figures in westerns (Lee van Cleef's "Angel Eyes" in The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly and Charles Bronson's "Harmonica" in Once Upon a Time in the West being two good examples), with the anachronistic clothing serving to further emphasize their presence as a weird outsider among their co-conspirators and within the narrative of the play itself. I imagine if they were depicted in an animated medium, their comings and goings would be accompanied by spotlights and curtains, their cloak itself taking on the appearance of a curtain they could disappear into like a Dracula or Meta Knight. I feel like I've rambled on enough about this one, so I'll leave it at that for now, but I hope they're as interesting to you, the reader, as they are to me!

[dlaprobably]

Servantember, Day 6: John of Nottingham (Caster/Assassin)

A relatively obscure figure for Day 6! John of Nottingham was a famed sorcerer in 14th century England who was hired by the people of Coventry to kill King Edward II and various associates of his through magical means. Nottingham's method involved sculpting wax effigies of his targets and inflicting the means of death upon them, which he first tested on the effigy of a non-target, Richard de Lowe. de Lowe reportedly died soon afterward, but that was as far as Nottingham got before his assistant turned on him, the scheme was exposed, and he was arrested along with his assistant and the other conspirators. While they were declared not guilty, Nottingham died in prison before the verdict was reached.

Lore Notes:

-A skilled, if shortsighted magical practitioner, his fame was well-earned but ill-timed, most crowds in his day being tough ones when it came to sorcery. He may not be as much of a celebrity as he once was, but if you need magic done quick, cheap, and decently well, he's your man. While his craftsmanship is serviceable, he's not much of an artist, and will prioritize function over form, much to the dismay of some of the crafts themselves. They're also not terribly pleased with being created just to die, go figure!

-Has a decent assortment of spells to work with, but his real talent is with curses. While his wax effigies were designed with assassination at a distance by his hand in mind, they have access to the Presence Concealment skill even when Nottingham is summoned as a Caster, making it feasible for them to carry out assassinations themselves. Efficacy may vary depending on their form, however, and they have the endurance that would be expected of magically reinforced wax. Incidentally, Nottingham is silent when it comes to the circumstances of his own mysterious death.

-His Noble Phantasm, Regicide by Proxy: Test Run, is based on the assassination plot's one success, the death of Richard de Lowe. By creating a wax effigy of anyone not considered one of his main targets and inflicting some manner of death upon it (stabbing into it with lead pins is his traditional method, but it's optional), Nottingham can bring about their death in a matter of days. It's a fairly powerful curse, though it of course has its limitations. While Nottingham's "main targets" would of course include any of his opponents in a Grail War he's summoned to, anyone he has a strong enough motive to strike against will likely also be counted, and mages are particularly resistant to the curse regardless of their status as targets. Non-magical acquaintances, friends or loved ones of his targets who Nottingham hasn't personally met would be fair game, as would any unrelated individuals whose presence his targets are depending on for their own plans. Perhaps he could even bring about a target's death through the death of a non-target individual, but it's yet to line up so nicely for him. There are restrictions, but for what's basically a guaranteed kill if his choice of victim works, it seems fair enough to him. The only real worry's the effigy's feelings on the matter, so he leans toward more destructive methods of death.

-A fully powered version of his Noble Phantasm, Regicide by Proxy: The Waxwork Plot theoretically exists, but it would necessitate the test run going off without a hitch first, and Nottingham surviving long enough to pull it off before a countermeasure could be found. He has yet to pull it off, but when the day comes, it'll be a grand one, and he'll achieve what he couldn't in life. Maybe he'll even manage to pull off a comeback off of that!

-Doesn't really get why Madame Tussaud hates him as much as she does, and doesn't plan on changing his methods anytime soon. If summoned in the same environment as her, may antagonize her for a laugh, or attempt to take her waxworks for himself to use as materials for his own plotting.

-Believes himself the more deserving of the "Caster Caster" title as a waxworker himself, as well as one who was a sorcerer in life, arguably making him a Caster Caster Caster. Since his waxworks tend to be more hand-molded and slapped together, nobody takes this claim of his seriously.

Design Notes:

I'd read about this guy in the past and forgotten who he was by the time I came to him for this project, but he seemed like an interesting dude! My first instinct for him was to go full Renaissance era wizard, but since he seemed like more of a businessman than in it for the love of the game, I ended up leaning more toward Renaissance wiseguy. A pretty powerful mage, all in all, but one who takes his power for granted and takes the danger he's put himself in far too lightly. The effigy to the right is meant to be that of Richard de Lowe, far cruder than that of Nottingham's real targets since he was an afterthought, while the one to the left is that of Edward II, better formed to leave no room for error, but displeased with his lot as a sacrificial facsimile and intent on avoiding it. His interactions with Tussaud are the first consideration I really gave to the interplay between these characters and other Servants, and there'll be more of that in future profiles.

[dlaprobably]

Servantember, Day 5: Franz Liszt (Foreigner)

Franz Liszt, Hungarian composer and pianist, is Day 5's pick! Famed for his vast and varied number of works, his skill at the keys, and his influence on countless other musicians of note, Liszt has gone down in history as one of the greats of the Romantic era, and his work remains incredibly popular to the present day.

...However, there was a curious period in his younger years where he was observed to have a bizarre effect on audiences. Crowds at his concerts would experience extreme joy, scramble to get near him, and fight over whatever belongings of his they could get their hands on, up to remnants of cigars. Physicians at the time were baffled by why there would be such a reaction to an attractive fellow like him, and eventually declared the phenomenon a medical condition termed "Lisztomania".

Lore Notes:

-A polite but anxious gentleman, happy to play his music and teach others, but fearful of the potential side effects. While he seems much himself as he was in life and doesn't much understand why he's been brought back in this way, the spectral piano tells a different story. He insists that he doesn't know anything about magecraft or whatever this is that's been summoned along with him, that he'd really rather it went away, and that he'd like to go back home now, please.

-All readings show an outpouring of otherworldly energy from him, indicating the presence of some great and terrible eldritch being mixed in with his Spirit Origin. He behaves much as any musician Caster might, his playing and conducting rendering sonic attacks possible through the power of his keyboard, despite his best efforts. His music, much like the keyboard, takes on a glowing, staticky aura as it surrounds friend and foe alike, but attempts at studying it in more specific detail have proven ineffective. Whatever it is that's fueling this, it's powerful and not of this Earth, but the compositions and their notes are exact matches for those of Liszt's, no matter how unusual they may seem on observation.

-Liszt's Noble Phantasm, Lisztomania, puts his audience into a state of high emotion, compelling them to dance, sing, swear their undying loyalty to the musician, fight one another, and generally go wild. He swears he's not doing anything differently from normal, and even when he refuses to play, his music flows through the keys as if of its own volition. Absolutely nothing seems to happen to those who are wearing ear plugs or sufficiently covering their ears when the Noble Phantasm is used. For that matter, it doesn't seem to affect those who don't care for his music one way or another, or even audiences who moderately like or dislike his work. How odd.

-An easy enough Servant to work with despite his reluctance and the otherworldly force's mercurial nature. Caution is advised should whatever it is manage to fully emerge, if it is at all possible. Direct combat is not recommended, but if you point him at a foe, the music will generally do the rest.

Design Notes:

A bit of a shorter one this time around! Foreigner Liszt was entirely inspired by my reading about the phenomenon of "Lisztomania", and my knowledge of Liszt's music is limited to listening to a few of his compositions in preparation for this. Sorry to any Lisztheads out there who feel I didn't do him justice! I'll leave the proper Caster Liszts to people more familiar with his work. Design-wise I just drew the man himself as he looked to the best of my ability, with the real weirdness coming forth in the spectral keyboard and glowing aura. As for the nature of the beast, who can say? One thing can be said for sure, though:

[dlaprobably]

Servantember, Day 2: Ötzi the Iceman (Avenger)

Next up is Ötzi, also known as the Iceman, a rare posthumously famous Servant, known as one of the oldest and most well preserved mummies due to his unusual status as an ice mummy. While his cause of death was initially inconclusive, it was later found that an arrow to the shoulder most likely killed him, and he's determined to pay back the deed.

Lore Notes:

-A straightforward, practical man of few words, point him to an enemy and he'll dispatch them with ease. Any distraction from the arrow embedded in his shoulder is a welcome one, and all attempts at removing it have proven futile, as it's seemingly attached to him in this summoning. He's rarely in a good mood on account of this, but who could blame him? That said, his wrath is only ever directed at the vague idea that exists in his mind of his killer, so his coldness toward others isn't ever meant personally.

-While he seems relatively well adjusted compared to his fellows in the Avenger class, he lacks most memory of his target or of his life in general, leaving him in a rough spot compared to those who know full well who they're after. He's sure he'll know who they are when he sees them, but as someone entirely unknown to history up to now aside from being "Ötzi's killer", what are the odds they'll ever cross paths? Despite the seeming futility of his quest, he presses on, as it's not like there's much else he can do.

-His Noble Phantasm, Fineilspitze, recreates the circumstances of his death on the icy Alpine peak and inflicts it upon his opponent, but stops short of killing them, instead freezing them and sentencing them to the same immortalized fate as he was. Unfortunately, this does cause Ötzi's own injury to flare up with pain, causing him some damage as he strikes at his opponent.

-As a seasoned hunter, he could also qualify for the Archer or Assassin classes, but would be less powerful due to the lack of any remarkable legends regarding his own deeds. He has no recollection of the others whose blood was found on his belongings save for a faint memory of a hunting partner, but it seems the blood on his weaponry is proof enough of his qualifications.

-While some have spoken of a "curse of Ötzi" surrounding those involved in his discovery, he dismisses the notion entirely, bearing no ill will against them even though their actions made his summoning possible. His going down in history was an accident, and while he's grateful in a way to be remembered, he would've rather it happened some other way that didn't see him brought back like this.

-His status as one of the older Heroic Spirits out there has earned him a place of respect among his peers, and while he doesn't feel as if he's particularly worthy of it, he supposes it's better than the alternative.

Design Notes:

Ötzi came to mind while trying to think of figures who'd qualify as Servants that were older than Gilgamesh, as Ötzi died around 3230 BC, while the oldest reckoned date for the writing of Gilgamesh isn't until about a thousand years later. I thought a more scaled-back, simpler Avenger with a simpler vengeance could be interesting, and his design was intended to reflect that, his clothing and axe based off reproductions of those found with him and lacking the typical edgelordery that comes with Avenger class Servants (which I love, for the record!). I initially considered drawing him shirtless to show off the tattoos he had, but I didn't and still don't trust my grasp of anatomy enough to draw him as jacked as he deserves, so maybe some other time!