driftfleet | (no subject)

[Finally, he hunkers down and leans, his expression serious and very interested.]

Okay, I'm ready- please, go on.

[... she actually starts applauding at that light show, but.]

Didn't you hear me? I said it's boring. Anyway, it's rude to pry into a lady's past, especially before you've even introduced yourself.

[Gurl, he almost liked you for about .5 seconds.]

History isn't boring. And if you didn't want to tell me, you should have said so in the first place!

[Excitement deflated somewhat. He was hoping it would be a good story, too.]

Anyway, you didn't introduce yourself, either. My name is Mikleo.

I go by Caster. It's nice to meet you~!

[is it really, though]

And history is boring. The past is the past! The present is where opportunity lies!

People don't look for opportunity in history. Its importance lies in experience, lessons learned from the success or failure of those who came before. History is how society progresses.

[Though her face retains a cheery smile, her ears droop, and her tail seems to sag low.]

Those lessons... How many of them are real? History is something written by the winners, after all.

Of course. That's why it's important to take the time to study history more carefully and discern the truth for yourself, rather than just accept what you read at face value. The real story can be found by those who bother to dig for it.

It can't always. Those who have truly destroyed the original story now have their version peddled as the 'real story'.

... And eventually, those false tales twist and twist, reaching back to twist even the original to match the new story.

I refuse to believe that it's ever impossible to find the truth. No matter how hard people may try to erase what happened just because it's inconvenient, there are always clues buried somewhere.

Perhaps. But that is not how people work. People will always prefer the dramaticized legends over the truth, and so the truth will inevitably fade.

People in general, sure. The wider populace don't have the time or inclination to go digging for more- they have their own lives to lead, and it's easier to just accept what they hear and move on. Legends do have their place in society, regardless of the actual truth behind the tales.

But true historians aren't interested what's more dramatic. History is more than just pretty words.

... It is not always. There are some cases where nothing short of a 'miracle' will allow the truth to come out again. And even then, that miracle will only allow for one person to know the truth.

[It sounds obvious by this point she's not just talking about the same thing Mikleo is.]

[Yeah, this is getting suspiciously specific. Curious, but he won't be deterred.]

That sounds less like a miracle and more of a curse.

[Or an oath, perhaps...]

No, never a curse. Just the summoning of legends as Servants.

........Come again?

I'm not really fond of repeating myself, you know.

I heard what you said, what I'm asking for is an explanation. Summon legends as servants? How is that even possible?

With the Moon Cell's recordings of the world, keeping the legends within the Throne of Heroes... It's too much of a pain to explain all the details.

[That makes even less sense than before.]

Can you at least explain the basics...?

Well, if you ask me with a face that pathetic, I guess I have to... What do you want to know first?

[> Ask about the Moon Cell]
[> Ask about the Throne of Heroes]
[> Ask about the Holy Grail War]

[At least he's marginally better than Sorey about asking one question at a time.]

Hmm... what's that Moon Cell you mentioned? Some kind of historical record?

It's a giant mass of photonic crystal, some thousands of kilometers across... Well, it might be easier if I say it's an alien supercomputer that has become the moon? It watches over the Earth, and takes a complete record of the entire world about once every nanosecond, and stores it in its records.

You can call it an absolute existence that knows everything that happened in the history of the Earth, but one that will not ever divulge its records. It doesn't communicate, doesn't teach. All it does is watch and record.

[....

There. Is a lot of stuff there that went right over his head. But even so-]

A record of an entire world's history, and it can't be shared!? Why not?

Well... Actually, there is one way for only one single person to access the Moon Cell's records. By winning the Holy Grail War.

In doing so, you get access to the Holy Grail... That is, the Moon Cell's records. A complete history, that not only records what happened, but also the pasts that could have happened, and extrapolates potential futures from them. It's an omnipotent machine that can grant any wish, you know?

But it's still a machine. Its only purpose is to observe. It can't share itself, because that isn't its purpose.

I see... like a singular, giant Earthen Historia, really... or maybe a more apt comparison would be a connection to the earthpulse itself...

[mumble mumble mumble TAKING NOTES]

What is the Holy Grail War?