Chaldean Chronicles: Cadence of the Lostgrail
✅ Singularity 5 (Archived) / 〚🍀｜chief-chambers
Later that evening, your group is called to return to Epona's chambers.
Like most of the buildings here, there's scarcely any furniture inside. The floor is simply made of pounded earth and the roof is supported by a row of posts. At the opposite end of it, there's a workshop for artisanal crafts.
In the center of the room, there's a hearth, a fireplace surrounded by built-in benches in a half circle, where she's sitting.
When she sees your group, she makes a motion for you to join her on the empty spaces next to her.
She keeps her gaze steady at the fireplace, its flames reflected in her eyes.
"You're not the first Servants that have come here asking for the Holy Grail," she says. "There were three before you. They weren't as.. friendly as you.""It'd be dishonorable to reveal a warriors secrets behind their back. I can't give you their names. But I can tell you about our meeting."
"They were all heroes from my homeland. They came here to aid mankind, just like I did."
"It was not long after I became Surtr's vessel. I was already helping the Bructeri, but I hadn't been made their chief yet. Those Servants, they knew Surtr. They took issue with my presence."
She turns her gaze towards you.
"I don't blame them. I wouldn't have helped them with finding the grail regardless of what they thought of me.""..."
Epona falls silent after that. She looks back into the fireplace.
"The past nine years are all a hazy fog for me. My mother sent me away for my own safety, but I hated her for it. If there's one thing I still regret, it's that I wasn't able to fight with her."
"And then, I awoke in this Singularity. Surtr didn't just take me as his vessel. He let me have control. He made it so I'm no longer powerless."
She clenches her fists.
"I don't just want to help them. I want to save them."It's quite kind of her vessel.
Nitocris naively thought to herself, not knowing anything about Surtr.
"That's quite a benevolent goal you have there Epona, we'll make sure to help you on your path."
The Pharaoh smiles to the girl."You already are," she says. "I've seen what you've been doing. My people will remember this."
"Earlier, you said something about magic being the cause of the Undead I've been fighting. I take it you'll return to the battlefield in the morning?""I'll come too."
"If you wander around for too long, chances are you'll be attacked by the Romans.""That's a good way to describe them," Epona says with a confident smile.
"They're just one of the many monsters that run free in this land. With your help, I might be able to destroy the rest of them once and for all.""They do. He's the only reason I haven't been able to burn their settlement to the ground yet. I don't know his true name, but I think he's of the Ruler class." She scoffs. "Only a Roman could be a Ruler and still involve himself in war.""I don't know if they have anyone capable of magic," she says. "The Bructeri's seeress used to live in this village, but not anymore. If she was still here, she'd be able to tell you much more than I am. She probably could have prevented this Bounded Field from being made in the first place."
She contemplates for a moment, organizing her thoughts.
"The other tribes have magic users, but my contact with them is limited.""I'll protect you as best as I can. Will finding it be possible for you, Miss Bunny?" She says, accidentally echoing the nickname Nitocris has been given."Nitoc, yes. My apologies."
Epona's apology is sincere as it was an honest mistake."I will." Epona places one hand on her chest. "I'm sorry. Even though I'm a Servant now, I-I'm still not used to strange names."
Realizing she just said something insulting again, she quickly corrects herself.
"Ah.., foreign names, not strange," she says, growing flustered.
"A-Anyways. I'm going to keep watch over the village while everyone sleeps."After Muramasa and Tachibana fortified the entire village, Epona calls both of them to her chamber in the evening again.
"No, not at all."
She's leaning against the inbuilt stone benches in the center of the room.
"You've already done more than I ever asked for. I just wanted to thank you.""You keep saying that, but.."
Epona shakes her head.
"It's fine. If you don't want me to worry about it, I won't."
"I suppose my thanks is all I can give you then."
With those words of gratitude, she sees Tachibana out of her chambers again, but before Muramasa can leave, she turns to him.
"..Do you mind staying a bit longer?""No, I don't think I do," she says. "I just feel like talking."
She walks over to her table at the end of the room that functions as a workshop for handicrafts. She takes two mugs and pours a drink into both.
"Here," she says, handing one over to him. "Let's go outside. There's a place I've grown really fond of." (edited)Epona leads to a small hill that overlooks the village.
"I stand watch here every night," she says. "Not just for the Romans. I can never be too sure if the serpent might attack. So I thought it only makes sense if I give my sleep to the villagers. It's not like they could stand a chance even if they wanted to help."
". . ."
She glances over to him. She didn't just want to make idle conversation.
"..After we fought Ruler last night, I think I understand a little more about myself. I guess the fog around my memories is starting to lift.""You knew?"
Epona reacts with embarrasswd surprise, but then she sighs. "I guess it's no use trying to hide it from a Servant."
When he asks her what she remembers, she sits down and motions for him to follow.
"When I first awoke here, I remember the feeling of Surtr's presence. It was scary. I'd never fought before, so I didn't know how to react other than being afraid."
She laughs. "If I could talk to myself back then, I would have told her 'just pick up a weapon and fight, you idiot!'"
She places her arms around her knees, holding herself.
"But it was alright. I didn't have to fight. His presence simply vanished and I was left with his powers. I don't know why he did that. I wish I could ask him. If I had one wish, I think it's that I want to thank him. If it weren't for that, I would have never been able to fight like this."
She lets go of herself again and picks up her mug, an apologetic smile on her face. "This probably sounds like nothing to you. You're an actual hero. I must be boring you." (edited)"Who are you calling a brat?"
Epona makes an annoyed expression, but when she realizes he's praising her, she quietly listens to him.
She doesn't know what to say to that, so she buries her embarrassment in the mug with alcohol that's too bitter for her. She makes a face but dutifully swallows it.
"I'm happy to hear you flatter me, but you don't have to try to get on my good side." She peeks at him with her face still hidden in the mug.
"And.. you're wrong. I don't feel like I can be called a real Heroic Spirit. I didn't accomplish anything deserving of that."
In her life, she was remembered as nothing but a victim. She didn't even have a name that was written down in history, despite her mother's fame. After the Romans attacked her family, she had already lost her purpose.
"The only defining thing about me is what I couldn't do. I couldn't help my sister, my mother or my father when they were attacked. All I could do was watch them suffer. That's the only mark I left on history."
Even then, all she'd ever wanted to do was help them. She hated to see them suffer and she wished to protect them. It didn't even occur to her that she was suffering too.
"Even my name is just from plays and stories invented by playwrights and authors. But... here, I've finally had the chance to make a change. Even if it's only a distortion in history, I don't want to abandon these people for the grail. I know that makes me selfish, but that's how I feel."
She speaks earnestly from her heart, prepared to be admonished for her selfishness."You are?" She lowers her cup, not hiding her face anymore. "..What is it?"
@[11]Arran [5]SkyeAfter Epona listens to his wish, she puts both her arms together so her hands can touch the ground in the space between her legs.
"Karma? That's Buddhism, right?"
She looks onto the village below them.
"Maybe allowing me to do this will help Surtr's karma. Make it less.. bad? What's the word you use for it?"
"Mhm, negative."
She nods.
"I think that's a nice wish. But isn't it a bit simple?"She doesn't really know anything about weapons but she believes him that it's really difficult, so she doesn't comment any more on that.
".About the village.. my feelings changed. I don't want to ignore the grail anymore. If I didn't, wouldn't I just be another enemy to humanity? I'd have to fight all of you, and in the end, nothing good would come out of it. So.. if I can, I'd like to help you too."
Feeling herself get too sentimental, she takes her mug again and takes another sip, only to make a face at how bitter it is again.
"It's getting chilly. You should go inside again."
@[11]Arran [5]Skye"This is the drink of my people. Drinking it fills me with pride."
She stubbornly objects and drinks the entire rest of it, but when shes done, she coughs.
She turns away.
"Anyway! I need to keep watch. So if you want to sleep, you should go, Mu..Muramasa."
She tries to say his name again and finally gets it right too.The chief's chambers were destroyed alongside the village..