Fragments of Chaldea
A Fate/Grand Order Fanfiction Series
Fragment 41 Insight
Ah, the other end of the pseudo-servant spectrum. Ishtar has full control of Rin’s body, but the little Magus still had her personality influence the goddess. As a result we get an Ishtar that’s far more lenient and less temperamental than he real life counterpart. Combine that with an already established compromise and friendship with Emiya, Arturia, and the others who knew Rin, and the goddess finds herself in a very different situation.
She would have only known Gilgamesh at that point, and that wouldn’t have gone well at all.
Instead, she’s free to explore and follow an interest she’s always had: Influencing people when she desired. Gods and goddesses always have a problem with influencing others for their own entertainment, but at least this time, Ishtar is doing it for very positive reasons. The thing is, not everything goes according to plan. Definitely not here either.
I wanted to focus on a popular facet of Rin besides her tsundere attitude. The idea Rin has a habit of screwing something trivial up at the worst possible moment made for a great comedy premise, so I opted for that. Combine the idea with trying to be cupid on Valentine’s Day, and there’s a lot of scenarios that could happen. So I went for the big ones many would expect, but some, sadly, did not make the cut. I try to keep these to a set length.
Mashu getting frustrated with her father was always on the list, so what better day than Valentine’s Day? Always willing to appease his daughter, I simply wished their family relationship to be expanded. It’s not always rainbows and flowers, sometimes Mashu has to put her foot down.
Mata Hari as an accomplice for Ishtar was partially out of the need to give her more screen time. It was also the unique dynamic that pushed it. She’s often considered the weakest servant lore wise (not counting OG avenger), so to have her hang around one of the more powerful ones and form a friendship? She needed it, but it also serves to help bring Ishtar down… sometimes. All the praise from Mata Hari might just be making it worse.
For those wondering if I was teasing Mata Hari and Arash, don’t worry. This is a Valentine’s Day Fragment, meaning Ishtar is seeing everything with possibilities. I can at least reveal I have no intentions with those two, and just wanted to show Ishtar is a tad trigger happy today because she gets to influence humans.
The encounter with Gilgamesh was a must. I simply just wanted to convey the basics, since Babylonia will get far more into a unique dynamic involving those two. I shall reveal no more. What I will reveal, is that next week’s fragment returns to the fighting arena! Valeria Delaqua will have a light match to open up for the real, main event, but who’s going to duke it out? Find out next week on Fragmentball Z!
Fragment 40 Insight
As a side note, special thanks needs to be given to etheral-23 for all the assistance he’s provided making the Indian Heroes’ Fragments extra fluffy and insightful. They really do have quite the interesting backdrop going on, even with Type Moon’s small changes.
Starting to introduce a bunch of servants again. Besides the Douji onis, which some have been waiting for, Rama finally makes his appearance! I honestly feel pretty meh about what DW/TM decided to do to such a powerful hero, but it is what it is. The design makes sense since he’s in his youthful sense, but from the anecdotes of his story (and Karna and Arjuna’s for that matter), he should have been a lot more powerful, and another trump card for Chaldea.
If you haven’t guessed, I’m making slight pushes to restore that, but not overwhelmingly so.
He’s a rather interesting servant to write, simply because his mind is wizened and contains all the memories and knowledge he’s accumulated over his entire journey… yet he’s summoned in a youthful stage that has a tendency to act/speak before fully comprehending his thoughts. It’s like a sage telling a teen expert advice, and then they go off and get it partially right, except they share a body. It makes for quite the interesting dynamic. As shown in pieces of America, there’s also portions where the mind and soul/body act in tandem to show the true Rama.
There “Summoned-and-how-they-adapt” fragments are pretty staple at this point, but I wanted to do something different with Rama to shake things up. Most get summoned with a concept and idea in mind, and then wind up getting it fixed/achieved by the end of it. Gilles gets summoned and finds some consolation for his madness, and the Avengers are also a fine example of finding their niche.
Rama fails to find a hobby by the end of it, but it suits him just fine. He’s in a rush because he’s his youthful self, meanwhile his wisdom-filled mind is telling him to slow down and be patient. He only partially realizes he’s still getting settled, but wants things accomplished immediately. Can you blame him? He’s been pining after Sita since his separation during his actual legend. Now summoned in his youthful form, he’d be getting pretty impatient again.
I reintroduced the idea Karna and Arjuna can… “get along” on the surface, and for civility reasons. I also continued to make it clear Arjuna is not quite happy with that. This’ll continue to be expanded upon because, like stated before, it is not an easy dilemma to resolve in any way.
I also wanted to show Gilgamesh could respect certain servants. Though he is abrasive towards gods/goddesses as well, he has been shown to acknowledge certain individuals like Karna and Iskander. Going off of that, Rama and Arjuna would not be far of a stretch considering their might, but he would still place himself above them. I’ve got big plans for Gilgamesh later, since the “total-arrogance” spiel does get relatively old after a while. That said, don’t expect Gilgamesh to turn into… someone like Astolfo for an example. He’s not Gilgamesh unless he’s arrogant with a superiority complex, after all.
Ibaraki gets her candy obsession from the Halloween 2016 event. I had to make it a Snicker’s considering her usual antics and personal mindset. I thought it was rather fitting. “Better?” “Better.”
Establishing Rama’s friendship with Nightingale and Beowulf was a tad more complex than usual. Their interactions in America was pretty straight forward, but if you look at my summoning order for Chaldea, both berserkers were in Chaldea before the singularity even occurred. Just like the small tease Diarmuid had to fight himself, those two wound up meeting their “clones” as well, but with different results.
Overall a relatively straightforward chapter to show Rama fit in rather nicely thanks to his retained memories. He’ll be playing more key roles later on.
For those who were sad Ishtar is a lot more Ishtar than Rin upon summoning, I’ve got great news for you next Fragment. It turns out Rin’s tendencies have a lot more influence than Ishtar would like to openly admit, for far worse than for better. Thankfully, it’s not a drama thing though!
Prepare for a comedy filled Fragment next week! It’s Valentine’s Day in Chaldea!
Fragment 39 Insight
I wanted to play around with the idea about anger management. Based on Leonidas’ profile, he made a perfect fit for a rather mundane piece of everyday life. Most people relieve stress in some manner, and I thought that’s just what the lancer could use and would make for a decent premise. He doesn’t want to be seen as exactly like the hot-blooded “idiots” his fellow Spartans were, yet it’s in his blood. The question was, what was he likely to try and do to vent any frustrations?
I remember watching a documentary on the fated battle way back in High School when the Military Channel ran a few series I liked; That was the extent of my TV exposure as opposed to sitcoms/reality TV. Documentaries were awesome. Tangent aside, it mentioned how the Spartans often groomed themselves to psych themselves up for the battle ahead. While that had a mention, it opened the idea there may have been other outlets possible.
That’s when the idea he might find wood/metal working interesting came up. While smiths would likely do the bronze working of the day, it’s roughly the closest activity that he could relate to from ancient times since he knitting is a bigger stretch. Couple that with Spartan pride and his feelings about making his own items, and there’s the recipe for his introduction into the tradesman craft. This also allowed me to do a bit more background on Delaqua and her department, which is roughly the last “Quality of Life” one to be expanded upon.
The idea of him being a personal trainer came up a few times, but I really wanted to play with the idea he’d start his own little workout group of a higher level. This let me mix in a little bit of military bearing which I’m very familiar with, as well as the modern style PT with a touch of Spartan influence. That was my favorite part to write about in the entire section.
300 References were mandatory since he’s based off of it in FGO.
Like Sparta did in the past, I felt Leonidas would be one to keep only a few solid connections while remaining a solitary individual. I set him up with the ones who would likely be the best matches, and expanded a bit on his background with Delaqua. Hector was the latest and most interesting addition, because while they’re both famous defenders, his laid-back attitude would likely be another pressure point for Leonidas. I feel the dynamic of that friendship would be very humorous and polarized, so I tried to portray that in the best way possible: Their fighting styles.
A pretty Slice of Life entry by all means. No real serious drama nor anything super exciting, but that’s what the basis of life is about, no? Next time we touch on another hero with divinity and what they bring to the Chaldean table.
As a small bonus hint, Fragment 41 is Ishtar’s fragment, so it’s not her next week.
Fragment 38 Insight
Summer has come early this year! …and uploaded a tad early too.
The conception for this idea started a long time ago, literally before I started writing Their Guiding Light. Chaldea Summer Memories was huge, and including it in Fragments was guaranteed considering how much flak I would receive for not adding the fan service casual event. The issue was, how was I going to cram everything I wanted into one fragment, even if it’s an extended super length?
Simple: You had to build stuff in the event on your island(s), right? Then how about they build it in Chaldea so I don’t have to rush anything? That way, more situations and events can take place there without having to worry about Rayshifting loop holes.
The only issue then, would be making it viable. To be honest, this was the main, hidden reason I dropped the Chaldea altitude from 6000 meters. A cavity under Mount Enzou was possible by the three magus families in Fate/Stay Night, so building this colossal space inside a mountain should be feasible for servants. Casters with territory creation, item construction, and other skills would be the MVPs, but others could pitch in too by sneaking in material or helping with construction at various times of the day.
While I could just say “Screw it, fantasy setting. I do what I want,” I chose to attempt to explain it plausibly. I placed quite a bit of feasibility into this, including having the makeshift ocean as fresh water from snow melt instead of actual sea water.
As a small joke, why no salt water? Because this Chaldea doesn’t have as much salty tears from rolling the gacha.
As the grand opening of the space, I crammed as much as possible of the actual summer event (Part 1) into it. There are no pigs or mention of Arturia’s newfound sport, but that’s because I have plans for that later. It’s nice not having to cram everything into this single fragment.
There’s really not much to say in this author’s note. It’s a fragment with no spotlight character, but sheds some light on many at the same time. Some teases there, hints here, and a bunch of other goodies… and this quickly became the quintessential Super Fragment for the Slice of Life premise.
I hope you all enjoyed this one! Definitely an ideal way to shake Chaldea from any lingering stress or discontent.
Here’s some of the music I was listening to while writing this. I’m big into Tropical House, but any classic surf tunes like the Beach Boys write, Calypso music, etc. can work well. Whatever you like to listen to at the beach really.
Fragment 37 Insight
Just a small aside before we get into this note, I’d simply like to point out that servant spotlight decisions aren’t all that random. Usually the servant has something to do with the events involved, that way they’re not simply watching something occur… and if they are watching something occur, it applies to them in some way better than most other servants. Could others theoretically take their part? Yes, but barring duplicating a spotlight, it makes for an interesting challenge on who shows up and when.
The big example of this is how Hans’ own perspectives in the last fragment helped push him towards actually exploring a possibility he had been putting off for months. Then you have the major fallout and who deserves justice caused in the subplot of Fragment 36… which makes for a great stage setting for another hero who has an experience or a dozen about dealing with views on justice.
Poor Siegfried got the bad end of the stick in FGO’s gameplay. While it would be great to finally give him an actual combat spotlight as compared to Apocrypha (technically that was mostly Sieg), this is a Slice of Life premise. A hero who now follows his own sense of justice needs to apply that to the rather mundane world around him. As stated in the fragment, for someone who has dealt with the matter in mostly violent means, it takes a little more thought and creativity when applying it in a peaceful situation.
So to do it, I simply gave him some scenarios where his views have to be applied differently. He can still be a hero, he just simply needs to figure out how to. Thankfully he’s been here for months, so that’s hardly an issue for him at this point. There wasn’t much need for any real development, so I concentrated more on fluff and how he reacts with his given perspective. I think it turned out fairly well, and acts as a perfect bridge from the rather brutal turn last fragment took.
We’ll be going into happier slice of life entries again, so it was imperative I solve the huge issue that could theoretically factionalize Chaldea. How does one do so? I gave Roman some development that pointed towards his serious attitudes during the singularities to show he’s willing to throw a lever if necessary. Through rather aggressive maneuvers, for him at least, he’s managed to stabilize Chaldea with the help of one of the accused. Even if the borderline censorship could be questioned, who in their right mind would argue a spontaneous festival to put everyone’s mind at ease?
To the director’s relief, the public apology also made sure it was more of a fun time than a distraction.
It’s been a bit since Chaldea received some of its zanier antics, so I decided to introduce it… by accident. While Nobunaga did run around with a cake bomb, and there were some fluffy moments with several servants, the primary one needed to be different. Accidentally introducing something to Chaldea everyone loved seemed like a great idea, but I didn’t know how to pull it off. Taking a break from brainstorming, I decided to browse the Valentine’s Day gifts to see if there were new translations and… I remembered the Sphinx Kittens were a thing. Problem solved.
Which brings the last point. It was sort of abrupt, but Chaldea is used to dealing with issues quickly at this point. Since a love potion was shown to take roughly a day back in Heroine X’s Fragment, the counter to it should be fairly quick so long as there’s consent from the servant, which there is. Brynhildr acknowledged canonically that Siegfried is not Sigurd, but can’t help controlling herself in her urge to kill him. With the help from someone who had to deal with a love issue herself, Kiyohime, with the help of Tamamo and Arash, would only need to convince her. Yes, another thing solved by alchemical potions, but how many issues in modern day are solved with consumable medicine? I’m limiting myself to how many applications it gets though, and there’s another specific problem later that gets solved through other means.
That said, this was one of the longer insights. Next week, Fragment 38 is unique. It’s one of the super Fragments (Like Heroine X, Dantes, Jalter) but it does not have a servant spotlight. There’s a very good reason for this. All you need to do is wait patiently and see what pops out, but if you’ve been reading the blatant teasers, it should be fairly obvious. Whatever they’ve been renovating at the Party Cave… it’s now complete.
Fragment 36 Insight
Hans was slightly trickier than most. It could have wound up overwhelmingly abrasive and analytical, but I decided against that. Everyone knows that side of Hans, but what about the one even he denies? He knows himself inside and out, and yet he still carries the first letter to his first love. Since I didn’t want this turning into some sort of romance, I simply designed a fragment based around the idea of acceptance.
Through everything he’s been through, he’s already accepted his life has been relatively garbage to him. Not one of his desires were met, so he’s embraced pessimism like a shield to keep his jaded self intact from now on. In addition, he also uses his observation and analytical skills to see who servants really are based on as little appearances, speech, and actions as possible. For someone with all these skills, surely he can identify he’s overlooking things with himself, but chooses not to care because it’s not worth the investment.
It’s the main reason I waited this long to focus a fragment on him. He needed many, many months of exposure in order to have the glimmer of a thought that there might possibly be something else. He’s spent all this time simply being content with his current situation, and not enjoying almost anything. There was the book burning in London which he likely enjoyed based on the scene (Canon occurrence), but it was more like a fleeting memory. He needed something tangible and pleasant, not to make him happy, but to simply accept the idea not everything is as it seems.
His final admittance to read about his first love would be the right ticket.
But to get there, he just needed a little push. With all the happy, pleasant scenery surrounding him, which he could simply ignore, he needed something more along his lines. Gabrielle getting practically devastated in a wrestling match was a unique way to go about it, as well give Hans a different specialty no one expected: Commentary Announcer. He’s got the voice and the observation skills to make it happen, which made it all the more eye opening when he watched the symbolism in Gabrielle’s fight. There was no way she was winning against Delaqua, yet she still wanted to keep up an appearance. It struck different cords with him.
And so he goes down the road of simple acceptance. Nothing happy and joy filled. He’ll still almost definitely be the jaded caster, but at least now he may be a little more open to certain ideas.
The fight scene was fun to write. I wanted to be sure that there was a wide variety of employees, even if most would remain undeveloped compared to the “Big Four” as I call them. They simply help showcase different perspectives and people. Gabrielle seemed like the best physical fighter in Chaldea thanks to Scathach’s training, but I wanted to show that was wrong when magecraft wasn’t involved. There was no one else who could seemingly match up with her, only because she was the only one seen really training.
So, I aimed to fix that way back in the epilogue of Their Guiding Lightby introducing animosity with a supervisor. Simple design to fit the purpose, with a basic personality but a stunning background in Mixed Martial Arts. Nothing too crazy, but just enough to be what Gabrielle needs at the moment.
Delayed Addition:
This Fragment’s title also introduces the idea of perspective. Here’s a link to the relevant post regarding the differing opinions readers have come to
Next Fragment we return to the saber class again. That’s all the hint really, since anything more likely gives it away.
Chapter Music that played if you couldn’t figure it out:
Fragment 35 Insight
Yes. While I did hope this would be a catalyst to re-summon the Guda Guda event, it came earlier than anticipated. I hardly mind, since Okita’s fragment was planned for this point anyway.
With all the mounting tension, which I’ve still been throwing in, it was only right to finally introduce the small Security Department’s quarters and their newfound purpose. They had no real organization besides the employees and robots that worked there. There’s not much peacekeeping to really do in Chaldea, save for what the servants must handle now. Scathach, as powerful as she is, also wasn’t my first pick as head peacekeeper, but she fit the role adequately.
My real first pick had always been Okita, but since the CDF only just formed now, she had nothing to do until then. It went off her line about not knowing what to do in Chaldea. She’s been sparring, meditating in the Sanctuary, spending time with friends, and making sure Nobunaga doesn’t get too crazy. It was about time she finally found her role, and what better one than as Captain of another police force like she was in real life.
The number of servants volunteered is a rough one. Plenty would have their reasons to assist, especially with how lax the outfit winds up being. There’s still far more servants not helping out, but that’s alright. Not everyone is trying to gut another servant, so there only needs to be a sizeable force at any given time. Flexibility is key, and Okita obviously has all of this in mind when doing her organizing and planning.
I addressed her shortcomings while establishing the CDF’s new organization, but I also wanted to spotlight a hidden facet of her friendship with Nobunaga. They’re rivals, but also best friends of sorts. I wanted to show that she had exclusive rights with Nobunaga that no one else had. She would know things first, and would get a flat scolding out of her almost immediately just on the archer’s quick observations. It’s their unique way of showing their bond.
Ever since researching Helena and reading of her little flying familiar months ago, I knew I found the ticket to getting the chibi Nobus into Chaldea. While it’s fun in the event to hunt them for blood trade (That reddit topic was funny), I thought it’d be much more fitting in a slice of life to simply include them in Chaldea. There had to be a way, and if Helena could summon man, essentially chibi, Colonel Olcotts, then the only thing stopping her from gifting Nobunaga with her own is a reason. What better than an attempt to curb her pranking?
Too bad they just had to use up some of the ascension mats… at least it evened out, right?
Double Fragment week is over. Next week we go back to featuring another bronze servant! Tune in next time to figure out what exactly Kiyohime’s first plan of vengeance is, and what this servant has to do with it!
Fragment 34 Insight
Saving Heracles’ fragment for later, but Asterios was a good fit for what was coming up.
I took a few liberties with Chaldea’s most docile berserker next to Frankenstein. The main one is the extent of his ability to think and reason. While he’s not able to do anything serious like algebra or philosophy, I gave him enough reason to be able to think about his situation and others’. I toyed around with the idea of a very simplistic thought process, but the writing was actually starting to come out very droll, minimalist, and rather jarring. Would it have worked as a unique style for the berserker’s fragment? It could, but I feel Asterios is one of the ones who would benefit best through comic design and story boarding.
The large berserker’s room hasn’t been shown yet, and is rather spectacular. I waited until the renovation to show what I really thought they would like to live in. Since it was large and communal, the idea of making it a lodge or hearth style living community struck me as cool. The concept the three wound up friends on an unusual level was also an idea I wished to play with. Spartcaus definitely needs some friends who are more than willing to hold him back.
The labyrinth scene is what started the entire concept of Asterios’ fragments. I knew he was going to be a rather friendly and helpful berserker, but I needed the real reason why. There was one particular line in his biography, which sparked the Fragment title and concept, that I really liked and made this possible. The contrast of his forced conditions, and the liberty to twist it Type-Moon Style, made for a great starting point. As the feared Minotaur, I made the past more heart-wrenching to match with the typical Nasu feel train. It was brief and basic enough to adapt later in case they do fill out his past further.
His relation to the Gorgon Sisters I also wanted to make a little clearer. It’s obvious he’s close to Euryale, which I expanded on too, but I wanted it to be fairly clear he’s almost family of sorts. I also wanted to be sure his disposition around Chaldea was well received. Between employees and servants, he’s one of the more liked individuals. Especially in his own personal sanctuary.
It was the final ascension art and his biography that spawned this. While honey bees make for good pollinators, butterflies were the real ticket. That entire scene was inspired by a Butterfly Sanctuary near me that does roughly the same thing with their countless flyers. Going there to just sit and think is a real possibility, though Asterios would do it simply to enjoy the nature he loved. Snow is also nature to love but… well, compared to butterflies and flowers, I’m fairly certain which one would win every time for the berserker.
Plenty of teases still for what’s coming down the pipeline, but we’ll be taking a step closer much sooner this week. Double Fragment week means there will be another posting on March 23rd during the same hours.
As a special bonus for the posting, I will also reveal the next servant. The decision wasn’t influenced by the event, and in all honesty, was the original, small tribute in hopes of bringing the Guda Guda event back. That’s right, Okita is Fragment 35.
Fragment 33 Insight
Finally the Indian Heroes have arrived… or two of them at least. They make for quite the interesting combination if you’re aware of their past and their F/GO quirks.
Quick Note: Names and terminology might look the same. I will explain the three terms people are most likely not to understand here:
Brahmin: A caste of priests specialized in sacred learning, teaching, and rituals.
Sutaputra: A specific insult used to deny Karna the right to a challenge against Arjuna. It means Son of a mixed/charioteer class.
Kshatriya: A member of the second of four great Hindu castes, the military caste.
The rest should be fairly obvious with simple knowledge of the Mahabharata. Karna is fighting for the Kaurava Clan, while Arjuna is one of the five legitimized Pandava brothers (and side) that opposes them. Duryodhana is the king that recognizes Karna while the Pandavas jeer at his status. Most are also familiar with dharma. Knowledge of the Mahabharata will help greatly when references are made to their past, much like the past of others helps in their fragments. It’s not a requirement since I limit the exposure, but it does help and rewards those who know.
As stated before, Chaldea was losing a lot of its tension points, so new ones simply needed to be introduced. It helps keep things fresh. What better than another comedic set of quarrels by introducing Edison, and a true point of tension by bringing in both of the Mahabharata’s heroes.
Thanks to Etheral-23, my knowledge and understanding of the Mahabharata and Ramayana increased dramatically. When the Indian servants are involved, since they were kinda downplayed in Grand Order for the most part (Especially Rama), I wish to make up for their shortcomings in game. At least partially. They’re big heroes who deserve to shine.
So we start off with the easy one to follow first. Karna was relatively straight forward to write with my new understanding, and the amount of people he knew in Chaldea was large, without a doubt. He had been present for three large wars, which gives him more than enough interaction with a vast number of allies and enemies alike. He’s practically setup nice and comfy to be introduced into Chaldea without much issue.
There just happened to be only one misfortune that followed him, or specifically, was summoned right after. It’s hardly one of the curses or dilemmas he received during his life, but having a quietly envious and loathing Arjuna appear is hardly an ideal, even if Karna does not wish for any continued conflict. It was an interesting thing to work with Type Moon’s spin considering how the real Karna reacted.
I introduced another small OC who plays a rather pivotal role for the Indian Heroes. She was mostly designed by Etheral-23 as a thank you for all the help and support he willingly gave, though whether she turns into a big OC gradually or not (like Tyler did) will remain a mystery. Like all OCs I add, they are only introduced because they fill a niche only they can provide at key moments. It won’t simply be just to make references to their tales nor as a simple fangirl of sorts.
Along with everything else teased in my collection, time will tell.
As a small, final note, while some things stay the same, I do try to shake things up so things don’t get too stale. Emiya’s EX cooking jokes still appear but either subtly or with different mentions. After so many fragments, Nobunaga is still pranking others for her amusement, but her armory has since increased in variety as evident by the paintball gun. Who knows what she might obtain next?
Half way through January, and there’s still some bits of Chaldea that haven’t been explored too well. In particular, the large berserkers seem to have been left in the mystery for how their shared room actually looks. The curiosity will be answered next Fragment as we follow one of Chaldea’s larger servants!
Fragment 32 Insight
Serenity is a rather popular and tragic character, so while this Fragment does introduce an OC, I had to strike the right balance.
While Rena is introduced and gets a rather nice spotlight, it’s definitely still about Serenity’s issue. In the village she could walk around freely since it’s open air, but Chaldea’s closed corridors and circulating air make things much trickier. Gudao, Gabrielle, and Mashu are the first people she can touch without worry, and she’s not keen on ruining that by placing someone else in danger. That’s the entire general setup shown in a previous Fragment, so it was simply a matter of “how to remedy that” so she could walk about.
The charm is an easy fix, but there’s a reason it wasn’t developed first. I decided the antidote was more important because, well, it is. If for some unknown reason the charm’s workings failed, someone could be killed without an antidote backup. Develop the foundation/safety measure first, then you can move onto the more promising ideas. The only issue with the antidote is that someone needs to follow Serenity around if she wants to wander outside her room, which makes it problematic for that person.
That’s where Rena fills the perfect niche. As a robot, it’s able to follow her everywhere without issue. It can be equipped with whatever it needs to properly suit her needs, like scanning and sanitizing anything she is worried she may have touched. The most important is the antidote delivery system, which is rather straightforward compared to some other features on the techmaturgical prototype. Armed with that, Rena is now the perfect assistant for Serenity, especially since she’s grown rather attached to the little metal ball.
Curious about the chapter’s title? I try to be meaningful and clever with the titles when I can, but this one was a tad extra special. “Song of Deliverance” comes across as a tad religious, but that wasn’t the design behind it. Clearly it refers to the liberation of Serenity’s fears of walking about Chaldea, but that’s not exactly it. Rena’s first actual conversation with Serenity involved using the music player to do rough inquiries, but that’s not quite it either. Rena’s translated name means “Joyous Song”, and now it makes a little more sense, doesn’t it?
My friend informed me Bumblebee in the Transformers movie used a similar method of communicating, so I had to re-watch parts of it since I actually forgot. They’re not exactly alike though. The transformer can switch radio stations and play the words necessary at will to actually form the sentence. Rena has to search through tracks from Jeanne’s only recording and play what’s available without changes. Clearly using the tablet to type was a better idea, though the lack of connection ports made for a rather interesting run-in with everyone’s favorite autocorrect system
Songs Rena played:
Here I Am – Bryan Adams
Colors of the Wind – Vanessa Williams
Son’t Stop Believing – Journey
Telephone Line – Electric Light Orchestra
Serenity being a good artist I actually made up on the spot, but I did it through logical connections. Someone who can’t touch something can only view or listen to it, so she would be very keen on those two senses. It’s the idea behind why she’s rather interested in hearing Jeanne sing in person, and the ability to draw well. It’s one thing to imagine something and another to sketch it, but since she’s an assassin with unnerving precision, I don’t believe that would have been a big leap.
To better balance out that it’s not a complete OC centric fragment, I made sure she interacted well with her fellow Hassans and two former antagonists. I fleshed out the friendship/kinship between the three assassins in preparation for later, since they’d obviously form a group of their own. Tristan was supposed to lack a clear presence last chapter so he be introduced here for Serenity, and apologize for his actions in Camelot. Paracelsus is also still apologetic, though it can be argued his actions against her were much more severe in Prototype.
That said, Chaldea is starting to become almost… too peaceful, no? Cu and Emiya still bicker and you have Gilgamesh brooding but keeping away from others. That’s being remedied next chapter, because nothing can ever be too smooth of sailing. Conflict is part of human nature, after all, and the new arrivals definitely have history with that. That’s your teaser for this week.
Fragments of Chaldea 
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