Charles Patricius

[Bloodedge]

"That strangely doesn't surprise me at all. I feel it should, but it doesn't," said Ozymandias. Albertus Animusphere was one of the most eclectic individuals in the world of Gaia ─ perhaps in all of history there. Oddly, it was also no surprise that an actual person was in charge of the Nexus. Weirder things were all over this world anytime one turned a corner. One such oddity was the white-haired girl who'd been doing a great deal of the talking on her group's side. She seemed to have an understanding most others were without, now using it to assess the bond between pharaohs. "You have good sense. When sun and moon are together, there is no light more radiant," he declared.

Jeanne understood the connection she shared with Charlemagne, noting the twin-like bond addressed by the Nexus earlier. That quickly, Charlemagne was back to his standoffish behavior about the topic. Surely he had some sort of subject change in mind? He didn't, but the wonderful Queen Nitocris had words to keep the main subject at the forefront of conversation. Suddenly, his appreciation of the pharaohs was very different to the others'. "I do have an understanding. Well at least... I was batting eleven for twelve before, so I think I'm doing pretty well in that regard. So, what's the little stuff? There's got to be more than just summoning and mobilizing people who fit an honestly loose criteria, right?" he asked. Now it was Ozymandias's turn once more. "The King of Faith is asking us what's possible? It's right there in the name. When you become a grail-holder, you become one of the premier forces in this world. I'd wager that whatever you believe works, is what will work for yourself and others who have similar titles. Though... careful with that," he said while looking toward Sakura, dubbed Queen of Passion. That one could be very dangerous, but... it could easily be just as interesting as it was terrifying. Ozymandias wouldn't judge.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that anyone who knew of Albertus Animusphere, was never truly surprised by his connection to the Nexus. Sakura wondered what that meant her grandfather was like in the non-magical world. Perhaps it would be obvious at some point? Regardless, her interpretation of the words of Ozymandias said that the man was pleased by her intellect which she could take as a compliment. "Hai hai, it really is interesting, I've never seen a bond like yours before. It really is stunning..." the girl mentioned. What she said and what she meant in this case were a little different. While she'd never witnessed two that acted the way this pair did, she also meant the metaphysical bond which she saw as part of the strings in her vision. Those two had strings which approached each other and wound tightly, reinforcing and connecting each other in a shape she'd never seen such a bond take before. It was truly a marvel.

Moving on from this Charlemagne's discomfort was noticed by many present, though at least a couple didn't know why. Ozymandias and Nitocris had no reason to understand the lad's lack of comfort in these moments, but both weren't the type to pry for unoffered information. No... they'd likely hypothesize at some later time instead over snacks. "That ratio is far from terrible. Still even the person who crossed you could be titled as subject to assert your will in some instances. The Queen of Knights is the type to use that sort of force to exert herself," Nitocris mentioned which made Artoria scoff. "You wound me, Queen Nitocris... I have only mentioned doing something like that one time," she said with a roll of her eyes as she drank from her own grail. Still the answer to Charlemagne's question made Sakura pout a little. She looked to Angelica to state her grievances, "I've been saying that for a while," she mentioned. "It's okay, Saku... Chuck has a human brain," Angelica asserted to make the lass feel better. The wayward look in Sakura's direction was seemingly missed by her but not by some of the others, who gave a knowing bit of thought to it. Artoria in particular thought that Sakura holding a title related to something like passion after taking to her for a few moments could be very dangerous, but... as one who reacted violently to her own emotions she couldn't help but see a few drawbacks. "If your titles of people will work like mine, Chuck. Giving them out is a buff, and maybe even an existential upgrade depending... something to keep in mind. They could also be more or less effective depending on the base of the person. Assuming you have someone with you that you trust, it might be worth trying it out on them first..." Jeanne added knowing that the title of 'Saint' was far from normal.

[Bloodedge]

Charlemagne had learned much, but he had much more to do still. At the very least, current information could be used to get on the right track in the next two years. While he was thinking this over, Ozymandias heard a brief exchange between his wife and the knight-queen, thinking to interject. "Only mentioned doing it once ─ only had to do it once. We are discussing nitpicking with words, aren't we?" he teased. All who boasted a modicum of sense could tell Artoria Pendragon would certainly do such a thing again if she deemed it necessary, but that was a matter not worth much discussion. Another discussion between the girls Charlemagne brought with him was worth addressing as well. Chuck has a human brain, one said. "What's wrong with a human brain? The mind of a human may be the greatest boon to this world," he asserted, having an intimate knowledge of the change brought by the people of Gaia.

Meanwhile, Charlemagne himself was hearing from Jeanne. She explained her own title and its discovered functionality, and how those who fell under it could be empowered by the monarch in question. Her advice to test the method was valid; he could think of at least fifteen people he'd use as tests. Since the end of this two-year journey would certainly involve a great battle, Charlemagne thought enhancing his allies more than normal would be an invaluable asset. "Hmm. Something like a field spell, maybe... Yeah. I can see that working even better. I'll see what I can make work. I'd try it on you now, but uh... I think I'll go for someone else later," Charlemagne stated, knowing Jeanne's spirit did not take kindly to his of late. He could still feel that burning sensation as always, even if it didn't presently feel like literal fire. He definitely wasn't going to cause a direct interaction that would aggravate things further.

[Apollymi]

Ah, a bit of teasing was always on the market for people considered friends. In this case, Ozymandias and Nitocris could be considered the closest friends outside of family and direct underlings to someone like Artoria Pendragon. Both aimed little jabs at her, and given the fact that she was actually good natured she only chuckled and griped playfully. "I mean we are talking semantics here... but I would at least be sure to let you know if I had to do something like that~" she grinned knowing that she would indeed force herself onto others for the sake of preserving the greater good. Artoria was many things, but never was she a liar and she did admit to being tyrannical in her nature. As for Angelica and Sakura there was a bit of commentary about the human brain of Charlemagne. Artoria understood that as well, as one who referred to all things magical as 'magical world bullshit' she could fully see how the difference in perspective could be a bit more difficult to navigate. Ozymandias would be the one who pointed out the good of human brains for the sake of innovating.

"I never said there was anything wrong with them, I was asserting the difference. Dealing with humans is odd when you've never been one yourself. Saku is also young so, her interactions with random humans is rather limited," Angelica asserted. "Hm, I also like the way they think and interact. I have been observing them since my creation so I only find some things odd now," she clarified of herself while still staring at Ozymandias and Nitocris and the space between them. "I still don't really know how to describe that. Oh right, I don't think anyone else knows what I am talking about, look at it," she said to Angelica deciding to simply show her and by virtue of the nature of her powers everyone else the thing she was looking at. Mainly the strings which connected Ozymandias to Nitocris which bridged the gap between them in a series of equilateral triangles placed around and atop each other. They formed in their way a prefect triangle of connection between them. A simple clapping of her hands together caused a reverberation which would make those bonds visible to everyone within the space. "Whoa, do you see all bonds like this?" murmured Angelica. "Yes, though the shapes are usually a bit different, so are the colors, you can look around and see. I don't know what to call that structure... it's so stable but it like uses triangles to build triangles. It's really great, and they're rather perfectly constructed on an individual level so it's rather interesting to see," Sakura was rather abrupt in what she chose to do but the visible strings in the area seemed to be the sort of thing that Artoria looked at and nodded only to make sure she didn't accidentally see her own.

Still, as Charlemagne thought over his potential abilities. He spoke of a field spell which made Jeanne smirk just a bit. Moreover he claimed not to want to use her as a test subject just in case, but she'd given the advice she had for a similar reason, knowing that her mana still affected him more than a little whenever he triggered her as a target of aggression. "Hai hai, build your tool kit and all that... don't forget to side deck. My own ability works more like a large field spell though I can also use it to buff me," Jeanne added with a smile. "Besides, I wouldn't want to have any other weird magical interactions," she mentioned with a casual wave, reaching for her sister's cup and draining the rest of its contents.

[Bloodedge]

Regarding the mention of human brains, Angelica asserted that she saw nothing wrong with them... yet her words belied a semblance of closemindedness nonetheless. "The way you think of something is a route to either betterment, or ruin. Just make sure you don't keep those things too separate when thinking about them," he preached, having many things in an old life to reference similarly to the current chatter. "And careful how you pass information. Hmm... there was a game once that could explain what I'm getting at without referencing something none of you could understand..."

Before anything came of Ozymandias's recent words, Sakura had something to share. She'd been focusing on the Egyptians for some time now, and she thought to make visible the bond she could see between them. Upon having a look, Ozymandias recognized the shape and... laughed. Sakura didn't know what to call the formation between those two, but Ozymandias knew exactly what it was. "That's a truss, or as I once liked to call it... the strongest shape. When building things, you need triangles to bear weight against gravity in the most effective way. If you applied pressure to either side of that, it would be equally distributed across the board. Even if you applied pressure to a point, it would spread equally through the connected sides before bracing against the final side," he explained.

Charlemagne spent the time of this exchange thinking of his future use of abilities. He did have to produce some additional methods of use while incorporating these new powers into his existing skill set, but he also had to ensure continuity remained in what he already had. Two years was more than enough time for that, so long as he had the starting information. "I can make it work. If I spent two years building a deck, it'd be the best deck of all time! Actually, I might have done that once. I dunno... it was over a millennium ago. Thinking back to all that is still weird, but it's a lot easier to do lately."

[Apollymi]

Ozymandias had more to say, and Nitocris was still listening to his words. She understood the nature of this particular lecture and thought it would be good for the younger ones to hear, even if they didn't fully understand the problems yet. From what she could see of the pair, they were both good at hearing and interpreting information, she wouldn't have made assumptions about the nature of the open or closed nature of their world view, but understood why getting out ahead of such things was important. "Alright," Angelica said after listening to him. Given the rather powerful nature of the pair before her and their general demeanors and descriptions to her before this point, she'd take their advice without too much fuss. "Hm? What kind of game?" Sakura asked, she'd observed quite a few games of human children, having been small herself not so long ago. She noted that the games of children often seemed to lead to the determination of their hierarchy and was curious about what one could learn from such a thing.

Before that though... there was the matter of the shape of the bond between Ozymandias and Nitocris. A truss, was the word used to describe it. The strongest shape according to Ozymandias. A snicker and a gentle whisper would cross his ear as Nitocris slipped a hand around his waist. "The second strongest, but do go on~" she whispered with mischief in her eyes. Ozymandias's words and whatever Nitocris had said made Sakura smile quite wide, "Sugoi!~" she chimed seemingly amused by all that she was witnessing. She could almost see the push on all sides and how it worked together. It truly was strong. She'd seen quite a few interesting shapes recently, and this was one of few she would not have known how to describe.

At the same time, Charlemagne spoke of deck building and how strangely his memories were working now, both Jeanne and Artoria could only nod. "I got faith in you, Chuck!" Jeanne encouraged. "As for your memories, it would seem that having contact with those from your own time, while they are actively remembering theirs makes it much easier to recall memories past the barrier of your current face. Being around my siblings makes me more like my original self. I have even noticed such a thing for..." she seemed to think the better of uttering Gilgamesh's name and instead made a gesture which made Jeanne laugh as she understood. "Ah, don't want to risk a summon huh? Feeling chicken, Eri-nee?~" Jeanne teased. All would be well, and it was nothing to be upset about, as remembering one's previous self made it easier to make decisions that one owuld make normally. At least that was how Artoria saw it.

[Bloodedge]

Angelica took his words directly, while Sakura questioned the game he mentioned. These two did indeed have good heads on their shoulders. Strangely though, he had to think about the game's name. Ozymandias's entire purpose was to fend off racism as he once understood it, yet... the most common name of that game was racist in its origin. Luckily, there were many other names for it. "The game of... Rumors, or Gossip. Here's how it goes: I'll secretly tell someone something. That person will then tell the next, and so on and so forth. By the end of the line, the last person will tell the group. Sounds simple, right?" he questioned, knowing from early childhood how such a game always ended. If nothing else, it could always be a laugh.

Speaking of whispers, Nitocris had a few words to share discretely with the male pharaoh. If he had something to say to the others right away, he hesitated to do so. Why were they still here? "Keep talking like that, and we won't make it out of here," he replied. With that somewhat secret conversation happening between pharaohs, Ozymandias thought it was the perfect time to start their little game. He'd start, as always, with Nitocris herself as a cupped hand blocked the view of his mouth from others' view. "As the mighty pharaoh, I will soon command the waters to flood the ravine and nourish the land," he whispered, both to start the game and to give a cheeky message to his queen. In doing so, Ozymandias also took a moment to lash out against her ear with his tongue.

Artoria had her own belief regarding Charlemagne's current memory situation. One could even call it an understanding, as it seemed tried and true based on the way she spoke... but Charlemagne himself had a different experience. Not yet part of the game being started nearby, he continued addressing the topic between knights. "I believe you, but I wouldn't know about that. I had another load of weird stuff happening, so now I've got these like... memory decks floating around in my head. Wisdom Goddess country changes you, man. Like a lot," he claimed.

[Apollymi]

A game of Rumors or Gossip was explained. According to Ozymandias a phrase would be spoken in secret and passed from one person to the next. And at the end of the chain the message would be spoken aloud to the group. "Sou ka, it does seem simply... but I've already learned that some things aren't always as they seem..." Sakura murmured. At the very least a game like this had a few options in how it worked out. A chuckle came to Jeanne. "Eh? I haven't played that in ages. Actually there is a drinking version of it where you sing song lyrics and the one who messes up drinks~" Jeanne shared of course she was down for a new game. And given her excitement Artoria knew she would be participating, "I am no chicken but you are still a party girl," mentioned Artoria with a causal roll of her eyes.

Ah, but the game would start with... Ozymandias speaking a phrase to Nitocris. He covered her ear and shared a message which sent chills up her spine. Maybe it wasn't just the message which did this but also the sensation of his tongue against her ear. Nitocris had an old habit appear and bit the corner of her lip only to sigh. "We definitely aren't going to make it~" she whispered back but then she easily moved along. Angelica was closest so she would receive the message next, "As the mighty pharaoh, I will soon command the waters to flood the ravine and nourish the land," it was repeated verbatim in a whisper as she covered her mouth as well. There was a certain amount of attention that needed to be paid to details for the message to get where it was going. And when Angelica turned to Sakura and quietly whispered as well while trying to recall the details. "As mighty pharaoh, I will command the water to flood ravens and nourish the land," she said to Sakura whose brow raised. Well, she was good at recalling words she turned to the group and looked between the three remaining people. "Eh, Eri-nee is last, it's always funniest this way!~" claimed Jeanne as Sakura approached Charlemagne.

Of course, Charlemagne had recently spoken and it would be at least a gentle pause given while he received his message. "Oh? Well, I do plan to get a taste of home so maybe I will find out," Artoria mentioned. Soon after Sakura was against Charlemagne and whispering into his ear with her covered hand. "As mighty pharaoh, I will command the water to flood ravens and nourish the land," she passed along the message eager to hear how it turned out at the end. She returned to Angelica soon after and observed the facial expressions of all present. This was going too be interesting.

[Bloodedge]

"A good lesson to retain," was all Ozymandias said to the white-haired goddess. There was more to be said, though, and Jeanne was his next clause's target. Well... he supposed Artoria counted as well, in a technical sense. The mention of a drinking game reminded him of multiple experiences he'd learned of only after the return of his wife from said outings. "I know nothing of these drinking games. Such games tend to be played at night, in the absence of the sun," he said with a bit of snark. Many times had those women, especially Jeanne, borrowed his wife for some random night of drinking games and merriment. Luckily for them, the state in which Nitocris returned was one he very much benefited from for hours thereafter.

Speaking of returns, Charlemagne soon found Sakura making her way to his side again. The game had quickly made its way toward the knights, and he was to be the first of the final three. "... Huh?!" he questioned once Sakura fell silent. Of course he had no idea what Ozymandias began the game with, but... it couldn't have been whatever Sakura whispered into his ear; that didn't even make sense. In fact, he surely misheard it as well. Things wouldn't get any better as he realized Artoria was to be the final receiver, which left him getting into close proximity with Jeanne. Tentatively did he approach the Dragon Witch. It took a bit of steeling to get close enough for whispering, but with a hefty gulp of courage, he managed after several seconds. "Uh... Our mighty pharaoh's ill. Command the water ─ flood the ravens and nutritious land?" he whispered.

[Apollymi]

If nothing else, a bit of positive reinforcement would go a long way for Sakura. Their game of Gossip had gotten underway, even so the Pharaoh Ozymandias still had something ab it snarky to say to Jeanne. She did know that she occasionally borrowed his wife for nights out drinking, but that was a matter of preserving the sanctity of girl's night out. Hm, but there had already been a slight shift in Jeanne's attitude. "Eh? Don't be like that... look when we get back, I'll arrange a co-ed party for us to hang out. And we'll teach ya' all the great games. Though girls' night out is still its own sacred beast!~" Jeanne offered with a wide grin. Of course, she also figured the sanctity of girls night out might be compromised already, given the nature of their current group outing.

Ah but then there was the message. The one passed between Sakura and Charlemagne would have quite a bit lost in translation. Beyond that part, there was the gentle easing towards Jeanne as Charlemagne approached her with all the caution of a tamer approaching a wild beast. "Easy Chuck, it's not like I bite or anything..." she said with a slick smirk on her face. Granted she didn't blame the lad for being a bit gun shy with her... she was simply trying to ease the tension a little. Ah but the message was eventually passed along, and when it was... the confusion of Charlemagne initially became frantic laughter. "Bwahahahaha!~ Fuck all that can't be right!" she finally managed but there was a bit of her former light happiness in her eyes. Even if the words she used were a bit rougher around the edges. Artoria could only steel her own resolve. Hoping, beyond all reason that whatever sentence was about to be uttered in her ear wasn't one which she would have a hard time processing. Ah, but even Jeanne, hadn't heard the last message right. She passed this sentence along and Artoria's eyes widened. She turned her eyes to her younger sister narrowing them, she was already annoyed. Still she steeled herself and said the words aloud which had been relayed to her. "Our mighty pharaoh's killed. Commend the water ─ fold the raisins, ambitious sand!" Jeanne didn't know what was funnier. Her sister's proper voice saying such a ridiculous sentence or the fact that she'd done it with complete apathy in her face after taking that breath. Regardless, the laughter she felt in her soul had her holding her ribs, face reddened and trying to breathe.