genessia | Action/Video

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Action - Genessia (streets, Welcoming Center, Commonspace)

[So. This wasn't a Rayshift. At least, not a normal one. Bedivere had been completely unable to get in contact with anyone from Chaldea, be it Dr. Roman, da Vinci, or his Master. This left him with a knot in his stomach. Sure, this place seemed nice enough, but he was needed somewhere else. At least no one on the streets was bothering him.

But, for the time being, Bedivere finds himself shoving his concerns to the back of his mind. Right now, he needs to gather information and find out where he'll be staying for the next month. As a result, a handsome though slightly androgynous-looking knight clad in his full armor and with a silver artificial arm can be seen walking along the sidewalks in Genessia, first from the Bay to the Schnee Company Welcoming Center, then from there to the Genessia Commonspace, where he'll check into his apartment.

You are free to catch him at any point during this.]

[Video]

[The feed shows a new face, one who appears to be wearing armor and whose right shoulder appears to be artificial. Behind him is one of the plain walls of a studio apartment in the Genessia Commonspace.]

Please pardon me; I am a new arrival here. As in, I've been here a mere two hours. I ask, are there any current events I should be aware of? I have yet to catch wind of any news, and I would like to know if there is anything I should seek out -- or conversely, avoid.

Also...recommendations of places to eat would be greatly appreciated.

[As a Servant, he may not need food to survive, but the psychological effects of it still work just fine. And he might feel less uneasy after having something good to eat. He'll probably take it easy for the rest of the evening, then start looking for a job in the morning.]

I thank you for your time.

[The feed closes.]

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[As Lancer approaches, Bedivere also notices something off. He can tell right away what it is -- there's another Servant here. After spending time in Chaldea, that feeling is unmistakable to him.

However, Bedivere manages to keep an excellent poker face, and his body language doesn't seem to indicate that anything is off. Until he can discern whether this Servant is friend or foe, he has to do his best to appear unassuming.]

Ah, I wouldn't say I'm lost; merely in unfamiliar territory. I have an address of where I need to go, but if you're willing to confirm my directions, I would appreciate it. I'm on my way to Genessia Commonspace right now.

[Poker face or no, now that he's in front of the other, Lancer confirms what he'd already suspected - there is something familiar about this man's essence, if not the man himself.]

The Commonspace? Then you are only just arrived here, correct? I cannot say that I spent much time there myself but I do have some knowledge as to their location.

[He spent maybe five minutes there before going exploring and then using up his stipend on hotel stays elsewhere until he could afford his own place. But that's enough for him to remember where they are.

Still, he can't quite hold in his curiosity - perhaps because this is the first time in Genessia he has crossed paths with another Servant.]

But I wonder...I do not recognise you as a Servant of Black and nor have I seen you amongst the Servants of Red. You do not strike me as an Assassin so can I assume your War was not mine?

[The other option is that the Red Faction had an extra ace up their sleeve but Lancer figures going for the less confrontational option is probably more diplomatic.]

Yes. I arrived less than two hours ago.

[Bedivere is content to take advantage of free housing hwile he explores and looks for employment. And he doesn't require lavish quarters.]

Black and Red?

[The terminology he's using confuses Bedivere. He's never heard anything like that. Were Servants divided into teams in one Holy Grail War? He's never heard of anything like that happening before.]

Er, my apologies. To be honest, I'm not a participant in any Holy Grail War. I am involved in a battle far larger in scale, waged for the sake of humanity's existence. Our foe seeks the incineration of not just humanity, but of all of human history, too. My Master and his allies are the only people capable of putting a stop to his plans.

[Well, now he's intrigued. Without knowledge of the Red Faction's true goal for the Holy Grail they had so recently claimed, Lancer can't profess to have any understanding of something on quite so grand a scale.

He has fought for his country, and for his Master. To fight for the entirety of humanity and its history is something far grander.]

And to think I was frustrated by being torn away from the chance to complete my goal. Though if it serves as any consolation, I have heard it told that should you manage to return, you will do so at the very same moment you were brought from.

[He doesn't know exactly how true that is, but it's the best he can offer for now.

That, and guidance towards the Commonspace, because he's intrigued to see how much he can learn of this grander situation.]

We do? That's...rather convenient.

[Suspiciously so. As far as he knows, it would require True Magic to make possible. It also means something else.]

How did the people here come across that fact? They would have had to return home, would they not?

My thoughts exactly, though I would say it works to our benefit.

[It at least lends him one less thing to worry about for as long as he is here.]

From what I understand, there have been occasions on which some have been returned and then re-summoned. Though not through any control or action on their part, rather at the whims of those who are responsible for our being here to begin with.

Ah. That's...rather strange.

But I'm inclined to agree. We don't have to worry about not being there for those who need us this way.

[Bedivere already has failed his king. He doesn't want to fail his Master, too.]

Which is just as well, for those of us who have enough to contend with in getting to understand this place.

[He may be wrong, but he's going to go ahead and assume that this guy is probably not from a technologically advanced era given the armour. And for that, he figures it is only fair warning, to make clear that there may be things here beyond immediate understanding.

Outside of a force being strong enough to sunder a Servant's connection to their Master, of course.]

I don't doubt it for even a moment. Even the mere descriptions I've read about some of what is available in Nova City are beyond my ability to understand.

[Genessia is close enough to his Master's era that he's able to at least understand a decent amount of it. Nova City, though? Way too advanced.]

All things considered, I imagine I would feel the most at home in Fayren. It sounds the most like the medieval period in which I lived...though perhaps with much more magic.

Indeed, I would not recommend treading foot into that city lightly.

[Even with someone on-hand to guide him, Lancer had found Nova City overwhelming enough that he would really only venture there with a very good reason and ideally as rarely as possible.

He nods his agreement to the rest, seeing no harm in extending a little information to someone who, like himself, has found himself here without a Master.]

Fayren is indeed a good choice for those with magical inclinations. If nothing else, it is somewhere those like us may find alternative sources of mana, though they are regrettably finite.

Hmm. That's good to know. Thank you.

[So far, being separated from his Master hasn't caused him any trouble yet. But would it stay that way? It doesn't sound like it. Well, at least he knows where to look first.]

Is there anything else you feel a Servant ought to know?

Nothing in particular that pertains to being a Servant, necessarily. People may know of a version of your history, however, so that may be worth bearing in mind.

[He's dealt with that quite a bit, though a lot of that is down to having several alternate selves or descendants of alternates in Genessia.

He offers a wry smile, then.]

And depending on your history, you may find it takes some time to adjust to a lack of demands upon your time. Employment helps, to a point, but you may still find yourself with more free time than you might be used to.

I'm no stranger to that. Though it doesn't always happen, I am used to occasionally meeting someone who recognizes my name. I'm not nearly as recognizable as knights like Sir Gawain or Sir Lancelot, but I'm also not unknown.

[He also doesn't anticipate having enemies here. So he doesn't mind giving away his true name.]

But some more free time doesn't sound bad to me. Perhaps I can find my own pursuits to enjoy -- or more time to keep my skills sharp.

As you wish. And certainly, both of those are options here. Perhaps if there is an interest you wished you had more time to pursue.

[Which is partly why he spends so much time at the library, though that's also because if he's to find a path to power here he has to understand what he's contending with first.

He pauses, then, debating on whether or not to mention the other thing this man might come across.]

I also had neglected to mention before now...you may find here that there are others who share the same or a similar history to you. So that is perhaps something else to be mindful of.

...If you're mentioning this, then I must assume you mean in a capacity different than parallel worlds traversable by the Second Magic.

[Bedivere already knows courtesy of Merlin that there is at least one other version of him out there. But from the way this Servant is speaking, this is different.]

Perhaps...similar or the same history, but drastically different in character?

That is one way in which it manifests, yes.

[Because he and Dracula are entirely different and he will fight anyone who says otherwise. But he'd sooner not think about that manifestation of the legacy he so detests.]

In my case, there is also one who seems to be descended from an alternative version of myself although I couldn't say how similar we might be. Either way, there seems to be no end of possibilities for what this place might summon.

Well, that's still good to know in case I ever come across such an instance. You have my gratitude for that and everything else you've told me today.

[At this point, Bedivere feels comfortable smiling. This fellow Servant has been a great help.]

I do have one more question, however. Are there any other Servants here that you're aware of?

Not at all. I hope it may prove to be of use.

[It's not a Grail War, there is no reason for him not to be genial to potential allies. Certainly it can't hurt, he thinks, to avoid animosity between two Masterless Servants.

And speaking of Servants:]

I cannot say for certain. There have been occasions where I have sensed a trace of what might be another Servant but we have not yet had the pleasure of crossing paths, if indeed they are present and I am not merely mistaking another similar yet different magical aura.

[It wouldn't happen back home but Genessia's a whole other matter.]

I see. In that case, I should keep an eye out for any more.

...But I should introduce myself properly. I am a Saber-class Servant. My true name is Bedivere.

[With how gracious he's been to him, Bedivere can't help but feel he should show some kindness in return. That includes revealing his true name.]

Bedivere, then. A pleasure.

[Lancer inclines his head in acknowledgement of the gesture. Something that might not mean much to some, but he knows what it means for a Servant to reveal their True Name.

Then again, around here it's not so much the Servants his True Name has caused problems with. And with the courtesy shown, he sees no harm in offering the same.]

My true name is Vlad III Tepes, though that is not, I believe, how most would remember me. Rather fittingly, I am of the Lancer class.

[No need to mention he's one of those cases where he might have been summoned as something else.]

[That leaves Bedivere feeling surprised. He never imagined that the infamous Vlad the Impaler would be this courteous toward a stranger, fellow Servant or no. Perhaps the tales had his demeanor wrong; it was well within possibility that his infamous brutality was simply a tool and not a vice.]

Vlad III, the ruler of Wallachia who fought to protect it from the Ottoman Turks. I am familiar with your reputation. An honor to meet you, sir.

[He bows, hoping to convince Lancer of the sincerity in his words. Regardless of reputation, Bedivere always considers it an honor to meet other Heroic Spirits. Even if he should fight the most evil of Anti-Heroes, he would still consider it an honor to do so.]

And you are correct. Based on what I have witnessed, people tend to be more familiar with the fictional interpretation of Dracula than with the historical facts of your life, barring, I would assume, your fellow countrymen.

Ah, is that so? I suppose I should not be so surprised that my infamy reaches further than I might have cared to think, previously.

[If he notices Bedivere's surprise at all, he makes no mention of it. He is used to people assuming that the bloodthirsty carnage for which he is most known had been anything but the necessity he had seen it as.

That said, the pleasant demeanour which he has held to thus far cracks at the mention of that most hated name, the monster that haunts him both from within and - especially since his arrival at Genessia - from without. Even as he bites back the low growl in his throat, the biting resentment bleeds into his every word.]

A fact of which I have become increasingly aware in my time as Servant. That such a stain should linger on my legacy is an insult I do not take kindly.

[To put it mildly.]

[Bedivere notes the change in demeanor; he'd have to be both blind and deaf to miss it. It sounds like the subject of Dracula is something of a minefield as far as Vlad himself is concerned. He frowns, looking pensive.]

Yes, I can hardly blame you for that. I'll do my best to not draw attention to the subject in the future.

[At that, he lifts his eyes. This time there's a sense of conviction to them.]

No matter what anyone says or has said about you, you have been nothing but gracious to me since my arrival here, and you have my appreciation and gratitude for that. I only form my opinions on people based on what I see of them firsthand, not on what I hear about them.

[Bedivere harbors a determined dislike of prejudice and judgment. He won't even begrudge Mordred, despite her role in the fall of Camelot and in King Arthur's death. And, when in the Holy Land, he had no qualms about allying himself with the followers of the Old Man of the Mountain.]

I very much hope we can maintain a favorable rapport with one another while we are both here.

[And in that moment, as the subject is set aside, civility returns to Lancer's voice and demeanour. He is not so irrational to believe that it had been a deliberate provocation and for all his reputation in war and bloodshed, he isn't one to seek out a fight for no purpose.

He inclines his head in agreement with and appreciation of Bedivere's comment, the gracious former king once more.]

Of course. I see no reason to believe that would not be possible here, under current circumstances.

[If a Grail War kicks off at any point, all bets are off but he's happy to believe that's not so likely here, at least not any time soon.]

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