driftfleet | (no subject)

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?

The Holy Grail War... Well.

"Humankind's potential has always shone the brightest in conflict", is what the Moon Cell deduced from its observations. War, while terrible, brings out the best in people, refining them. In order to understand this potential in humans, the Moon Cell invited magi to partake in a war themselves.

But ordinary fighting between ordinary people only brings ordinary results. So, to facilitate these battles, we Servants are summoned- Heroes and villains from history. We who had our existences recorded in the Moon Cell, who left our mark upon the world for good or evil, those of us whose stories endured for many hundreds of years after... We are recorded as Heroic Spirits in the Throne of Heroes- That is, the Moon Cell's records- and summoned as Servants. Though, to make it easier on the Moon Cell's system memory and the like, we're fit into one of seven classes, and have our parameters and abilities adjusted accordingly.

And so, as Servants controlled by the magi who are our Masters, we fight each other. Over seven weeks, the losers of each battle are killed. From one hundred and twenty-eight Masters in the first week, sixty-four in the second, thirty-two in the third... Until in the end, only one is left.

And as a reward, the strongest, who must be the most pure example of mankind's potential, is allowed to access the Holy Grail. The Moon Cell Automaton, the records of the planet, of all the potentials... Well, it's still a computer. You input your wish, and the Moon Cell Automaton will start influencing things to bring about your wish. It's an omnipotent wish-granting machine that can reshape the entire world, entirely through manipulating what already exists on the Earth.

[..........

what the heck]

That's... that all sounds horrible. War brings out the worst in people as much as anything else. So much fighting and death, just so a single person can get their wish? What a cruel way to determine one's potential.

[He's seen the sort of destruction war can bring about- the damage it causes to the land and those living on or around it. And so much malevolence, too...]

The machine doesn't care about morals. Simply who is the strongest example of 'human'. Even if it's cruel, it is the truth. After all, war will always birth a hero.

[She doesn't look particularly happy, but her voice isn't particularly upset, either. It sounds more like she's just talking about an unpleasant fact, like a rainy day.]

A hero only to the winner's side.

... Not always.

Those who try to stop the war, those who try to end the suffering, those who give everything they are to save people... A doctor who runs into battle, unable to fight, only to try to save even one life... These are all heroes as well.

...I suppose.

[He's become somewhat disillusioned with the concept of heroes ever since finding out how many of them were hellions, oops.]

I'm against war, regardless, so I'm not a fan of this machine.

... I see.

[There's a strange, distant expression, but one that bears a slight hint of... Well, it can only be called sad amusement, at Mikleo's statement.]

It isn't the thousand-year-old story I spoke of before, but would you like to hear a different one? The story of a victim, whose very Origin was war itself, yet hated war more than any other.

[Oof. Why does he feel like he said the wrong thing, there? He stands by his words, but...]

If I offended you, I'm sorry. I'm sure there's a lot about the situation that I don't understand.

No... After all, I agree with you. War is in the end, always futile, and more trouble than it is worth.

But it does undeniably bring results.