Charles Patricius

[Bloodedge]

"Well there's enough of both to go around," Ozymandias replied without hesitation. He'd always prioritize such discussion over the business of others, even while entertaining said business. "And we both know I'm not the one with the cheek here," he added when some separation finally occurred between Nitocris and himself ─ even if only slightly. Of course, he would have allowed a bit more distance for the sake of public decency... but there was another clause from Nitocris about something slipping... into her. Ozymandias couldn't take another step the moment he heard those words. Actually, he nearly turned around and abandoned the others right then and there. 'Blimey. Almost reverted,' he thought.

The issue Charlemagne faced was one easily solved with a series of explanations, but there was another as mentioned by Nitocris. There hadn't been a proper Holy Grail War in ages. If there had been, Chaldea would have seen many new visitors in the last millennium or so. How were multiple new Rulers standing in front of them? Maybe the Nexus had finally gotten its act together and started producing grails anew. No; that was sadly not the case. The white-haired girl claimed to be the creator of her own grail, and Charlemagne... "There haven't been wars because Father An of Aincrad has been collecting Holy Grails while they're still in the form of children ─ they're children by the way. Apparently, Father An is actually the 'Father' god trying to make himself the singular God through worship and such. I..."

Charlemagne was prepared to continue his explanation, but a raised hand by Ozymandias made him pause. The male pharaoh seemed quite infuriated by this new information, and indeed, he was. So much was explained. "So it's another one. This one has been making problems for us too," he declared. With that, Ozymandias closed his eyes tightly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Before I get into anything else, what other annoying thing am I going to hear? With only the mention of involving children in this nonsense, I'm prepared to lead the charge into another new Age."

[Apollymi]

A nice little bit of banter was going back and forth between the Egyptians, but as was always the case... it would come to an end. Though smiles and happiness were being shared between them, news was coming to light that would put a bit of a damper on the moods of all present. There was the fact that Sakura made a grail which was surprising enough stun most present. "She said that so casually," Artoria murmured. Nitocris was also ready to attack that particular topic but... there was one more pressing immediately after.

Charlemagne claimed that the reason for the lack of Holy Grail War winners in the last few thousand years and it was quite frankly disgusting. Her face shifted from her happy smile and much like Ozymandias her pure anger at the mistreatment of children was high. Artoria herself knew about the fact that the Holy Grails were supposed to be children but she knew this because of the conversation she'd had with her sister. She also knew about the collecting of them, but the implications were high. "Oh, that is a very strong reaction. I've only seen one that strong from Kaa-sama," murmured Sakura. "Well, Holy Grails are vessels for strong divine souls. Children have infinite potential and as such they were created in the old way by the Nexus. They are... the Children of the Nexus, specifically. The Holy Grails would subsequently be won in contests by people who essentially win the right to be parents to truly divine children. In exchange get a wish granted and become the same quality of divine," Sakura explained in the general sense. "The Grails themselves are sentient though and when manifesting as children would act in a way to protect themselves. According to everything we found out when I was with Kazzun before... that father god was sending out people to gather them before they fully manifested in the world, and not in a normal way so they occasionally ended up with strong kids who weren't grails. Those children were indoctrinated into his cult to further the process as time went on..." Sakura expressed. "I think that should be the last of the distressing information as it involves children," she summarized. "Also, my grail isn't holy, and it isn't a child. It is instead all the residual negative energy and emotion which was tainting Kazzun's grail before he used it," she added to avoid any confusion later.

[Bloodedge]

"She does that," Charlemagne said to Artoria. Often did Sakura speak of ridiculous things as if they were an established norm. From what he'd seen since their meeting, though, he supposed it was all in a day's work for the young goddess. There was hardly a negative thing to say about such a situation, especially as it would be Sakura who gave the more in-depth explanation Ozymandias required.

Though he was clearly bothered, Ozymandias was not an unreasonable individual. He wasn't going to have an absolute fit while there was more information to be gleaned, so he listened closely to what Sakura detailed. In short, he considered it all important news that should have been widely known about Holy Grails from the beginning. One important detail was missing, though ─ one that would determine how Ozymandias viewed this entire situation. "Are these children designed to naturally become grails, or is that also forced?" he asked as calmly as possible, given the circumstance. "What we heard here last was that all of them become grails after a certain amount of time," Charlemagne added. Just then, the pharaoh heaved a deep sigh. He'd nearly taken issue with the system as a whole, but... that was fine. "Then I can look at it as the souls being given a chance at life while they grow. It doesn't fully sit right, but... the worst of it all is this kidnapping and cult behavior."

Charlemagne nodded, agreeing that Father An's actions were far worse than the grail system could have been. Besides all that, Ozymandias realized Sakura must have been speaking of reincarnation in some form. "So these children don't die? They pass through the mighty ones who win the grail, and gain new life?" he questioned finally. "And what's this about a non-holy grail? It doesn't sound like a positive alternative."

[Apollymi]

Apparently the lass known as Sakura was simply prone to exemplary behavior which she passed off as normal. Artoria could appreciate that, but she now had a great understanding of Charlemagne's plight as an individual. Two wives with great potential was likely hard to manage. Beyond that they both seemed to be quite open with their understanding of themselves. She could assume that they were at least happy which meant she wouldn't be prying at all into their lifestyle choices. Moving on Charlemagne was at least able to clear up some of the shattering news delivered by Sakura. "That..." Sakura confirmed. "The kidnapping of children just to hunt Holy Grails before the wars start is indeed more problematic..." Sakura had a firm opinion about that given the mental and physical anxiety which could have been created by others.

Artoria heard out what was being said and nodded her understanding. "Emi is apparently giving birth to such a child fairly soon, though it had to happen for some reason or another. It was apparently always meant for the children to be born through the winners," Artoria confirmed. "Death isn't really a concept that applies to Children of the Nexus, not until after they are properly born, it is a gift after all," Sakura asserted. "The grail I created houses the negative emotions and residual animosity which is left behind at the end of a holy grail war. The one I made into something had its own personality and overwhelming power, it would have taken quite a long time for me to assimilate. It could have been used as a gateway for more powerful darkness to seep into the world, now... such darkness will immediately be trapped instead of allowed to run rampant. The Mother in the Darkness approved of the idea... so she is installing it as a secondary act... " Sakura explained. "In truth it is possible to cleanse such darkness, but that would mean flooding the underworld with a great wave of overtly evil entities. And would likely lead to them being reincarnated and becoming problematic as they aged. The Mother in the Darkness did not want to add more to the plate of the Goddess of Death. Beyond that the right kind of people could easily house such things. My own grail's negative emotions do not effect me, but I am not prone to emotional dissonance to start with," Sakura explained.

[Bloodedge]

"Oh? I didn't expect the Dragon Knight to manage. I suppose it was her doing, given her current state," Ozymandias observed, naturally assuming the parentage of the alleged grail child. Now having confirmation of how the grails worked, he had no real issues with the system. He did have issues with the father god ─ more issues than he could count. The moment he commented on the birth of Jeanne's child however, Charlemagne was rubbing his head and looking away. "Regardless, it sounds like I have much to do when I return to Egypt. That 'god' and his problems have spread to our home as well."

"It may not be a problem for too much longer. We're on a two-year quest that involves dealing with him directly in the end. I may or may not un-exist by the end of it, but he's going down regardless; he has to. The point of this call was to get as much guidance as possible to get the best results," Charlemagne explained, leading to the pharaoh to a realization. "Did he... try to assimilate you?" he asked, to which Charlemagne nodded. "So, the Father of the Gods is a Borg. Wonderful. I understand why you called us."

With that said, Ozymandias decided to exemplify the first ability Charlemagne needed to know about. Without utilizing the gateway present within the Nexus, the pharaoh would perform a summoning. "Queen of Saints!" he called out. In that moment, Ozymandias's aura spread into the sky before descending in front of him. That sparkling, golden glow would be pulling Jeanne d'Arc from wherever she happened to be, so long as she was a Ruler who would answer his call.

[Apollymi]

A small smirk appeared on the face of Artoria. She knew the parentage of future niece or nephew. Ah... but that mattered very little in the grand scheme of things. If Charlemagne wasn't ready to clear up the misunderstanding she wouldn't be the one to out him. One knight to another he deserved that much respect at least. As for what he needed to do when he returned to Egypt, Nitocris could only agree. "Do not be too hard on Moses... he can not fully understand the gravity of the situation," Nitocris reminded the man. Their childhood friend had indeed been the one most likely to be influenced by the father god and that one's actions were callous and unwieldy.

"Two years is not so long in this life, still..." Nitocris looked at this group of young people and worried just a bit. Every life had its trials... still they seemed to be on their way directly to rather complicated future. She also hadn't missed the sheepishness of Charlemagne, she knew guilt when she saw it. The potential assimilation of Charlemagne only compounded the issues, "Assimilation? Bloody hell, you really can't catch a break when the old gods of this world go bad," Nitocris murmured. Still she understood the necessity of this calling now and could without grudge sit aside her libido to make sure they would know what happened.

Beyond this there was a call and golden light. The Queen of Saints was to be brought forth. Of course, that one would answer the call of the Pharaohs, the same way she'd answer the call of her siblings or Gilgamesh, though her current status made her very different from the time when she was declared such. She appeared from the dungeon she'd been in, clad in a little black dress and unarmored as it wasn't currently her time to fight. Even so... she seemed to have something to say as long light blonde locks trailed down her back. "Oi oi, I didn't know this was going to become a regular thing... that's hardly a fitting title for me if you haven't noticed~" she claimed to both the Pharaohs, "Still, great to see ya'," she managed only to have a sudden shiver which made her weapon manifest in her hand as she turned around quickly her eyes darted around the new city scape and landed upon Charlemagne. "Oh... sorry, Chuck," she managed the weapon disappearing in the immediate seconds after she realized she wasn't being sated once more. "Saku, Jelly... Eri-nee, what's going on here?" she asked seemingly relaxed enough. "Wait, before that since I'm here... come on..." she held up her hand expecting a drink from the Nexus to be supplied for her as she moved to sit with her sister.

[Bloodedge]

Ozymandias agreed with Nitocris's assertion. He'd been quite patient with the man called Moses during a long ordeal in Egypt, but nothing had been done that could not be salvaged via conversation. So long as things were still the same, something could be done... but for now, there were other matters of greater importance to address. Two years was indeed a short amount of time in this world, though it could be an infinity when looking toward such a dangerous future as what lay before this group. All these two could do presently, was provide the requested guidance. The quickest and most effective way to do so was by calling Jeanne without utilizing the Nexus.

And so, Jeanne appeared by Ozymandias's will alone. Charlemagne immediately seemed quite worse for wear, his reasons for some obvious physical discomfort unknown to Ozymandias. The pharaoh only bothered acknowledging a rather queer thing said by Jeanne. She claimed the title 'Queen of Saints' was no longer fitting, but simple logic discredited her statement. "If it didn't fit, I couldn't have called you. That is the lesson for..." Ozymandias paused as Jeanne went on high alert, calming down after a quick look around before apologizing to Charlemagne. Something was obviously missed; perhaps it had to do with that slight writhing from the new King of Faith. "Yeah... don't worry about it," he said, the disappearance of Jeanne's weapon causing that burning sensation to subside a bit. Jeanne went on to order a filled chalice from the Nexus, yet nothing occurred. "I've been having to do it manually," Charlemagne explained briefly.

Ozymandias took the time to make another call. "King of Heroes!" he exclaimed. Unlike a few moments prior, nothing happened. Of course, this was just as he expected. "There are a few requirements. One must be accepting of their position beneath the Ruler, and they must be free to receive the call. Beyond those limitations, if you are King, your fiefdom must answer. Lording over a concept works a bit differently. But, there is a reason I called Jeanne specifically. Surely someone among you knows why."

[Apollymi]

It seemed there was an agreement reached. Nitocris knew that her husband also shared the keen soft spot for their friend. She also knew that it wasn't Moses's fault that he didn't fully realize how bad the influence of the old gods could be. He'd not had to deal with the aftermath but there was time yet to make him fully understand the situations at hand. It would all be fine, what was more at hand. Ozymandias thought an exercise in thought was necessary for part of his explanation.

He called forth Jeanne d'Arc who after calming herself from a small surge of bloodlust apologized to Charlemagne and asked for a drink from the Nexus. Ah, but it wouldn't be filling her a cup of any sort. A bit of a pout came to Jeanne's face as she looked up into the sky. Charelmagne claimed he'd been filling his cup manually but that wasn't Jeanne's issue. She didn't have a cup to fill in the first place so this was an annoyance to her beyond all else. "Really? I even gave you a hug... it's rude to get a girl's hopes up like this," she said to the Nexus. She didn't know what had happened but she was pouting now and it made a certain itch develop within Artoria Pendragon. "Come Emi, you are worse than mother, but I will share with you... just do not tell Rie," she said a pleased smile would break out over Jeanne's face as she aimed to sit on the arm of Artoria's chair. "Yay! Also don't act like you weren't just waiting for it to be less serious. You're all too keen to drink with me all day now, yourself!~" she claimed as Artoria manifested her own grail and filled it for her younger sister. "Gave it a hug? Did something odd happen here?" Nitocris questioned, one like Jeanne d'Arc didn't speak lightly.

At the same time, Sakura was absorbing the information offered by Ozymandias. One could call upon anyone within their fiefdom as long as they were willing to answer and lording over a concept was different but was likely mechanically similar. Why then was Jeanne the one called by him in this case, if someone present should know. Sakura was sure she had a pretty good idea, it was the same reason they'd ended up able to come to the Holy Sanctum. Artoria was also aware of the established potential connection between those two but it wouldn't be her to mention anything either as she was passed back her own cup, that gentle redness on her face subsiding as she drank. "It wasn't just 'cause you missed me?" claimed Jeanne with mock aghastness. "Is it cause their concepts are connected?" Angelica posited curiously.

[Bloodedge]

Jeanne spoke to the Nexus, but she would be receiving no response from the expected voice either. Nitocris questioned the specifics of hugging as mentioned by Jeanne. While he had a moment to speak, Charlemagne decided to explain. "Oh. Nexus is alive. It's Albertus Animusphere from Gaia. He was here physically a couple of days ago, but we haven't heard from him at all since then," he said. There was no explanation for that man's disappearance, but he figured that would come up eventually. Maybe in this seemingly infinite space, he was just in a different location? That'd make about as much sense as anything else Charlemagne learned recently.

The purpose of summoning Jeanne was being revealed momentarily. The woman herself, however, had a bit of snark to offer. "No chance I'd waste a summon for that," Ozymandias stated. As for the proper reason, Charlemagne had an inkling... though it was Angelica who provided an answer close to what Ozymandias sought. "They are more than just connected ─ they are exactly the same while also being separate enough to complete each other. When dealing with concepts, you are allowed some exploits. King of Kings and Queen of Queens ─ the difference between those titles when written is little more than a scratch on two matching characters, so they are the same. Now, these two have an even more exploitable thing going for them. Listen to this. Saint, Angel, Spirit, Pietist. Are we onboard so far? Faith, Belief, Religion, Piety. One match? Religion... Spirituality. Two matches. The law of words makes these titles the same, so they benefit even from each other's looser and otherwise nonexistent connections. You may thank the Sky herself for that sort of functionality!" he announced proudly with a laugh. "Isn't it great?"

Once again, Charlemagne couldn't believe what he was hearing. At the very least, he had a better idea what this new title was capable of... in part. It sounded like there was even more ridiculousness ahead, much to his chagrin as one who had to develop more and more over the next two years. "So either way... it's a title that rules over an idea and people who fit the bill? And it's just some sort of synonym game to figure out what works and what doesn't?"

[Apollymi]

Albertus Animusphere, was at least a familiar name for everyone in this room who originally came from the other world. "Oh? The old guy who's always moonwalking on tv? Well, I am kind of alright with that aren't I? That old guy always had a sort of boho-chic thing going on. Can't be a bad guy while being an old hipster," Nitocris mentioned seemingly having come to a few conclusions based solely on that man's fashion choices. "Oh? I also said he looked like a hipster grandad," Jeanne commented which only made Artoria chuckle as she passed her cup back to her younger sister. Sadly, Ozymandias hadn't called upon Jeanne just for a pleasant meeting he'd called her as part of his lesson.

It seemed that there was quite the connection between the pair. And beyond that given the way the world worked it would seem that certain words remained interchangeable to a great extent. According to Ozymandias the way that synonyms could be moved around and interchanged was a direct matter of composition which he gave credit to Nitocris for doing. He referred to her as the sky and this made Sakura smile as well. Given all the information a great number of things made more sense than they had previously. "Sugoi, that's really impressive... and absolutely great. Actually everything about you two is, I really like it they're the most interesting bonds I've seen in a while," Sakura mentioned pleased beyond reason. "I get it and all. I figured we'd end up a bit interchangeable when the Nexus said we'd count as twins, but I still got a bunch of dragon language floating around in my head... I now know how many words count as the same thing," Jeanne griped.

Charlemagne on the other hand seemed to be thinking about a great number of things related to his potential ability to exploit things and figuring out the nature of his powers. As for his current question it would be Nitocris to answer. Even though first she seemed to be playfully swatting at Ozymandias given his obvious praise of her in the morning. "In truth the synonym itself is only mildly important. Understanding how the words work and which ones apply directly to you will help you most. I am sure there is already an understanding of the sort of people you should call your own..." Nitocris offered.