Second War

The Second Discord Grail War was a Holy Grail War hosted on Fate/Discord. Seven players competed, each controlling one Master and Servant team. The standard set of Servant classes was used. The War lasted 14 turns before ending in victory for player Anymooseman.

Gameplay Features
For more detail, see Second War Rules.
 * Action system: turns were divided into Movement, Support, and Active phases, with each character being allowed one action in each phase.
 * Follow-up attacks: characters with high agility could earn bonus attacks against slower enemies.
 * Codified Command Spells: instead of their freeform nature in the First War, Command Spells in the Second War could only be chosen from predefined skills. Most of these were Common Skills, with each Master also having access to one unique Command Spell only they could use.
 * Map: a much smaller map was used than the previous War, with chokepoints making encounters between teams much more common.

Setting
The Second War began a new storyline continuity, separate from that of the First War. In this world, Holy Grail Wars are waged every ten years, with the Grail itself choosing a mana-rich land and a mage to serve as the Grail Conduit. The chosen land is covered in eternal night when the Greater Grail manifests as a swirling black sphere in the sky, drawing thunderclouds around it as far as the eye can see. When the souls of six Servants are absorbed through the Conduit, the Grail descends upon the victor.

The chosen location for the Second War was the city of Zephyranthes, an isolated island in the Pacific Ocean. The chosen Grail Conduit was Fumoto Kiyomi. Because the War’s original Overseer, normally in charge of handling damage control and resignations, was killed before the War properly began, the Zephyranthes War is considered one of the most chaotic Holy Grail Wars in this world’s history.

Synopsis
For more detail, see Second War Story.

Prologue
In the days before the War officially began, the Masters and their Servants found their way to the ritual grounds separately. Kiyomi, Eiko, and Peter, natives to the island, performed their summonings there; the other four Masters came to the island with their Servants already in tow. None of the participants gave much weight to the established procedures of the War; for example, other than Morgan Lucette, no one informed the Overseer of their arrival or reported which class of Servant they had summoned. Because of this, the island was left in a somewhat haphazard state. Father Nemo did order an evacuation of all civilians, but he was by and large unheeded -- a fact that would lead to great loss of life later in the War.

The night before the War began in earnest, Peter Thompson questioned Father Nemo about the War’s structure and rules, as well as what might be possible with the Grail’s blessing. After finding all the information he needed, Peter killed the Father and quietly disposed of his corpse. This act enraged Morgan, who took over the role of Overseer and swore divine punishment upon the “devil in human form” who had taken the Father’s life.

Night 1
Morgan set out with vengeance in mind, and started the War with a bang by commanding Rider to unleash their Noble Phantasm immediately. With the temporary assistance of Saber, they quickly cleared out a group of low-level monsters, but were not able to locate the main culprit; with his Lancer’s unique skill, Peter had fled to the other side of the island via the ocean. He did not escape trouble entirely, as he did interrupt Zenichiro’s meditation, but the killer parted ways with the monk after only a minor scuffle.

Morgan was not the only Master anxious to bring the War to a swift end. Honzaki Eiko, the Master of Archer, was something of a nervous wreck early on. Seeing this, her Servant suggested an offensive strategy as a way of reassuring the meek girl. Archer took to the sky, shrugging off the crackling sparks of the lightning clouds, and unleashed her Noble Phantasm as well. The long-distance attack struck with enough force to easily kill an ordinary Master in a single hit, but as fate would have it, the target Archer had selected at random was far more durable than the average human: Shiela Mason, veteran of the previous War and a specialist in stony defense.

Night 2
Thinking to seize the opportunity, Morgan challenged Shiela soon after. However, the young mage acted in haste, and left Rider behind; when confronted by not only Shiela, but also her Servant Assassin, Morgan quickly gave up on this plan and took cover. Their conflict had taken place on the island’s beach, which provided plenty opportunities for stealth -- Team Caster had spent their opening move converting the beach into a dungeon, marking it as their territory.

Night 3
With her initial altercation cut short, Shiela went on the defensive. Forging a tentative alliance with Team Caster, she accepted a health-recovery potion from them, then moved west in search of a calm place to recover. Shiela wasn’t the only Master in search of privacy, however, and the island’s west coast had also appealed to Zenichiro (seeking quiet to meditate) and Kiyomi (seeking alone time with Saber).

Combat broke out once again, this time between Saber and Assassin. Though they were the wounded team, Shiela and Assassin demonstrated some tricky and powerful skills. Unwilling to take the risk of seeing their ultimate moves, Kiyomi activated one of the powers granted to her by her role as the Conduit: a Bounded Field that could negate Noble Phantasms and Command Spells. Her safe play turned out to be a double-edged sword, however, when she accidentally negated another Noble Phantasm from Archer, seeking to finish what she started with Shiela.

Having taken too much damage from the lightning storm to stay in the sky forever, Archer had chosen the vantage point of the radio tower as her new sniping position. Now that she was down on the same level as the other teams, however, she wasn’t able to avoid direct confrontation any longer. She had proven herself a threat from the word go, and was now considerably below her maximum capacity;the one to seize this chance would be Lancer, unleashing for the first time the barrage of ice missiles that would go on to become her bread-and-butter offensive option.

Night 4
Through the shared senses offered to her by the Master-Servant contract, Eiko knew her Archer was in danger. Unable to bear the thought of losing her newfound prince, Eiko used the first Command Spell of the War to call Archer safely back to her side. Their all-out offensive strategy would have to change; for the moment, at least, Shiela was proving too tough of a target to take down.

Still, as much as she was managing to discourage her opposition, Shiela was struggling to keep up with the never-ending harassment from all sides. She and her Assassin sought refuge in the new territory of their allies, Team Caster: the city hotel, twisted into a sinister maze. Unfortunately, that meant returning to the central part of Zephyranthes, where Team Rider was still on the prowl.

With the help of Caster’s powerful ice magic wounding all present without distinction, Assassin saw the chance to do what an Assassin does best: cut the enemy Master out of the equation. Using his special extra action to seal the deal, Assassin killed Morgan and left Rider barely clinging to life through Battle Continuation. In the chaos that ensued, Shiela was even able to seize Morgan’s Command Seals, putting her at a great advantage -- though perhaps also putting a new coat of paint on the target on her back.

Night 5
Rider’s survival hinged on their ability to survive extreme mana loss, usually lethal for spiritual beings like Servants. Still, the two girls needed a new Master to continue existing much longer. They chose Kiyomi, betting on the uniquely large mana reserves granted by her status as the Conduit. Tragically, before the newly-formed team could find a secluded location to perform the mana transfer, Rider’s time ran out, and they were no more.

For the remaining teams, a brief respite from combat came at last. Whether licking their wounds, plotting new evils, or simply spending time with their partners and strengthening their bonds, each team made relieved use of their rare breather.

Night 6
On the following night, the largest conflict yet erupted at the Penguin Prince Public Park. Assassin, traveling alone, was met by Teams Lancer, Saber, and Archer, as if the showdown had been planned in advance. The participants seemed to have established alliances at some point, with the the latter two teams facing off against those who had been cast as villains.

Not enjoying being left out, Caster wanted in on the action. Unwilling to leave the advantageous territory of the hotel, she opts to unleash a Noble Phantasm: a giant meteor of magical energy that steadily falls toward the island, its target yet unknown.

Night 7
As the fight at the Penguin Park raged on, Team Saber retreated, leaving Eiko and her Archer cornered by Assassin and Team Lancer. The homing attacks of the villains brought Eiko within an inch of her life, but through the constant support of her Servant, she had found new resolve. Archer activated her second Noble Phantasm, taking on her ultimate transformation, and was able to match both of her speedy opponents blow for blow thanks to a boost from one of Eiko’s Command Spells. As a very frustrated Assassin tried to focus-fire down Eiko, he had the tables turned on him, and was killed by her friendship-powered punch to the nose.

One more life was also lost that night: that of Aesachus, one of Caster’s Masters. Whether by coincidence or by intent, Caster’s hotel was visited both by the fleeing Team Saber and by Zenichiro, who finally revealed himself as the Master of Berserker. As a gigantic robot, Berserker is quite the imposing figure, and it’s clear why Zenichiro has kept him hidden until this point. The teams clash, and Saber, having already been wounded in the previous fight, is brought near death. As a last-ditch effort, he unleashes one of his Noble Phantasms, damaging all of his foes and killing Aesachus. Caster faded away as well, attempting to fool those present into thinking her dead.

Night 8
Overcome by the trauma of having lost her Servant a second time, Shiela became incapable of any thoughts other than twisted self-deprecation and regret at her failure. Raising her arm and her voice in a cry to the Greater Grail above, Shiela rejected the result of this War, and was consumed by a crimson-tinged black sphere as she resigned.

The battles at the Park and the Hotel had wound down, with most of the participants splitting off to safety. Eiko, barely clinging to life, was brought to the hospital by her Servant; and perhaps reevaluating the merits of long-range combat, Archer launched her sniping Noble Phantasm one final time toward the hotel, striking Berserker in the absence of her usual target Shiela.

Night 9
Shortly thereafter, the meteor called by Caster’s Noble Phantasm finally landed. The hospital was reduced to a craterous wasteland before anyone had time to react; Archer managed to cover Eiko from damage, but was killed in the process, breaking Eiko’s spirit completely. Some harsh words were exchanged between Kiyomi and Peter, both of whom were aiding in the rescue efforts at the hospital wasteland, but no one (except the ever-raging Berserker) seemed to have any will to fight after what they had witnessed that morning.

Night 10
When Eiko emerged from the rubble of the hospital, her broken demeanor ignited the pent-up pain and anger within Kiyomi. She and Saber engaged Peter and Lancer in combat, but their efforts were short-lived. Using the power of a Command Spell, Peter had Lancer swarm Team Saber with ice-charged missiles, killing both Kiyomi and Saber.

When Peter approached Kiyomi’s corpse afterward, he goes beyond the usual Master routine of stealing unused Command Spells. Relying much more heavily on his medical training than any magical proficiency, Peter removed several organs from Kiyomi’s chest, abdomen, and head, storing them in a cooler box just in case some part of the Conduit’s body proved necessary for the completion of the Holy Grail ritual.

Night 11
Having established new territory, this time at the church, Caster and her Master end the charade of Caster’s earlier “death” by starting a new fight. Using teleportation magic, Caster calls Zenichiro to the Church. The monsters that have been appearing around the map, up to this point little more than an annoyance, have gathered en masse at the church, and Zenichiro chose to use a Command Spell to call his Servant into physical form to protect him. Berserker demonstrated his colossal resilience against the onslaught of attacks from seven sides, and managed to fight back rather effectively given the situation.

Night 12
Peter and Lancer soon joined the fight at the church, assembling the last of the players for what would be the War’s final battle. Intending to rely on the newcomers in taking down Berserker, Team Caster shifted to a defensive plan. Meeting all expectations, Lancer took the offensive immediately, empowered by a Command Spell from Peter. Berserker’s anger was unflinching, however, and he continued his assault on Caster while paying Lancer no mind. Driven back by the ongoing attack, Team Caster retreated temporarily via the Sky. With no clear indication of where they went but still thoroughly intent on finishing his meal, Berserker pushed further north. Caster was nowhere to be found on the island’s northern shore, but it was home to monsters aplenty, and Lancer soon came in pursuit as well.

Night 13
Set upon by dragonlings and players alike, Team Berserker continued to rage against all enemies. The distractions brought about by Caster’s monsters worked against the insane Servant, and his offense was spread out significantly more than Lancer’s; as such, even Berserker’s unreasonably high stamina began to fall behind. Realizing the disadvantage this position was putting him in, Zenichiro called for Berserker to retreat once again. They moved back to the church with Lancer in hot pursuit.

Night 14
Pythia and Caster returned to the church, once again assembling in one place the full roster of surviving Servants. Driven to the very edge, Berserker activated his most powerful ability, falling even deeper into mad-enhanced strength. The enhanced damage resistance this granted him was partially wasted, however, against the invocation of Pythia’s unique Command Spell. With that power, Caster dealt major damage to Teams Lancer and Berserker both, confirming the end of the unstated agreement that Berserker was the threat to be prioritized.

In his double-berserk rage, Berserker moved far faster than ever before, crushing Caster in his hands and uprooting a tree to smash everyone present. In protecting her Master from these attacks, Caster was killed. Still not finished, Zenichiro further empowered his Servant with the use of a Command Spell, granting Berserker the momentum to bite Lancer in half. The attack would surely have been lethal if not for Peter’s own unique Command Spell forcing Lancer to cling to the thinnest thread of life.

In anguish over the loss of her last remaining friend, Pythia turned Berserker’s mad magic against him, managing to take down the seemingly unstoppable Servant in one final act of defiance. With Lancer now the last surviving Servant, Peter’s victory in the War was all but confirmed, but he continued the fight regardless, ordering Lancer to give one last icy gift to the other surviving Masters. The blast killed Zenichiro, but Pythia managed to survive; not thinking her a threat any longer, Peter chose to leave the church and claim his prize.

Epilogue
To claim the Grail, Peter moved to what he thought would be a more private location: the rocky coast on the western side of the island. He was unaware, however, that Eiko’s broken-spirited wanderings had brought her there as well. By hiding in the water, she avoided Peter’s notice as he earnestly sifted through his cooler box to see if any of Kiyomi’s organs were reacting to the completion of the ritual. Eiko’s response was one of panic when she caught hold of a human heart thrown into the water, but Peter’s face smiled wider than it ever had when he found what he needed. Holding the pulsating organ, he called out to the Grail, and the black sphere hovering above the island responded by crashing down onto the coast and consuming both Peter and Eiko. Eiko passed out, but Peter maintained consciousness throughout the blessing and promptly put his new powers to work, leading into the story of the Sixth War.

Trivia

 * Father Nemo is never named in the written story. The name “Nemo” means “no one” in Latin.