#miracle of zero

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Miracle Material: Ogrenix [Armament]

Ogrenix [Armament] Wrought-Iron Greatsword

A blackened greatsword, patterned along the flat of the blade with a design akin to smoke. It is one of Shirou’s experimental alloy designs, fashioned in the image of the sword wielded by the Black Knights in a certain video game series. Other than its unique alloy and an enchantment to help maintain its durability and sharpness, it is an ordinary blade with no real special attributes, which makes it a perfect weapon to wield against less dangerous foes.

The origin of the sword is simple. As a consequence of studying under a certain Lord of the Clock Tower, Rin came to possess knowledge of video games through no will of her own. During the time he spent with her in that place, the suggestion was inevitably made that Shirou hone his skills with swordsmithing by forging blades designed after weapons from popular cultural icons.

In that manner, many of Emiya Shirou’s personal projects were born.

Truly, the influence of the King of Conquerors continues long after he disappeared.

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Miracle Material: Apeiron [Person]

Apeiron [Person] King of Light

The alternate persona of Emiya Shirou, the “Emiya who is a king.” It is the nascent Elemental which was transplanted inside his body, a kind of reverse Guardian Spirit. In terms of rank, it is undoubtedly below that of regular Elementals and Nature Spirits, owing in no small part to its young age and dependence upon a physical body to exist.

However, the advantage of Apeiron is its attachment to Emiya Shirou, allowing it to acquire knowledge of human values. As a result, he possesses a demeanor closer to that of a human being than an Elemental, and his nature as a separate but conjoined entity allows for synergy and a combining of powers that would not be possible under other circumstances.

It should go without saying: Apeiron possesses the sense of self that Emiya Shirou lacks, and so he is incompatible with the Unlimited Blade Works.

Undoubtedly, the intention was for a cleaner merging. However, because the ego of Emiya Shirou himself had to be preserved, the result was this split in personalities, though the line between them has blurred somewhat over time. Given a few more centuries, the separation of “Emiya Shirou” and “Apeiron” will eventually cease to exist.

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Miracle Material: Fairies [Term]

Fairies [Term]

The Fair Folk, the Fae. Cousins to the Elves. Spirit-like entities that have approached the realm of demons. Originally, nature’s sense of touch on the continent of Halkeginia, but as a result of the rapid and merciless destruction of other Nature Spirits in combination with the hatred and antagonism of the invading humans (Brimir’s people), they were transformed irreversibly. They have, instead, become something close to that of true demons, but have not quite stepped over that line.

In other words, a shred of their original nature remains and ties them to their “humanity.”

In a sense, it might be accurate to say they were driven insane when Gaia weakened and the connection between them was all but severed, and in their insanity, they have become monsters that prey on humans for their own amusement. But it might also be accurate to say that they haven’t really changed much, it’s just that they’re more likely to act on their destructive whims than they used to be.

In any case, these Fairies are one of the few species of Halkeginia to have maintained a large portion of their Mystery (which means they’ve only lost a part of their power instead of nearly all of it), and in fact, they’ve removed themselves so completely from human interaction that they’re regarded mostly as myth and folklore. On the other hand, if any Fairy happens to be spotted by a human, even a high level mage, either killing him or modifying his memories would be trivial, so it’s not hard to see why their existence has remained such a secret.

In Tarbes, the relationship between the townsfolk and the nearby colony of Fairies is particularly antagonistic: despite living somewhat peacefully and minding their own business, the people of Tarbes were still tormented by the Fae, up until they asked a priest to set up the protective fence around the village. By the time our intrepid Siesta was born, all that remained of Tarbes’ interactions with the Fae were the stories and the occasional missing livestock, and, of course, some children or caravans that disregarded the stories and foolishly entered the forest the Fae called home.

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Miracle Material: Gavilain [Noble Phantasm]

Gavilain [Noble Phantasm] Shining Sword of Salvation

The radiant sword of light possessed by Emiya Shirou. A holy sword forged from the human prayer “salvation,” crystallized within the Earth. It’s a Last Phantasm on the same level as Excalibur that sees excellent performance as both a sword and a Noble Phantasm. Originally held by the fairies, it passed into Shirou’s hands from the Lady of the Lake as a sign of their contract.

Like Excalibur, Gavilain converts the user’s Prana into light, and as it is swung, the light is released from the edge of the blade and annihilates everything in its path. In form, Gavilain resembles Excalibur, but in action, it more closely resembles Noble Phantasms like Excalibur Galatine and Caladbolg. Like a precision scalpel, Gavilain does not burn, but simply sears away everything it touches.

Though it is of the same scale as Excalibur, however, Gavilain’s strength lies not in its attack power, but in its speed and ease of use. Requiring a small charge time and less than a third the amount of energy of its sister, its most deadly attribute is the fact that a modern magus is capable of utilizing its full power.

With such an incredible advantage, it’s easy to see why Francis Drake’s fleet was wiped out so effortlessly.  

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Miracle Material

The encyclopedia pages detailing terms from Miracle of Zero: Kingdom of the Forsaken. They'll cover a wide range of topics, all relevant to the story in some way, from Noble Phantasms to persons of interest to important terms used throughout the story.

No profile pages, yet, but those will come later. For now, it's just these short encyclopedia entries.

For patrons on Patreon, those pages which have not already been released into the wild will retain exclusivity for at least one week.

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MoZ Commentary: “For Someone’s Glory

First, let’s get the most important part out of the way: Karin got curbstomped.

Undoubtedly, a lot of those who read Gabriel Blessing’s The Hill of Swords will have thought that Karin is a certified badass — and she is, make no mistake about that, because she is one of the few mages of modern Halkeginia who will definitely become a Heroic Spirit after she dies — and that she should have at least put up a better fight. However, THoS vastly overestimated Karin’s ability and the strength of her magic. The magic of Karin the Tempest (or Hurricane, or Heavy Wind, whichever version strikes your fancy) is certainly of exquisite quality and strength, capable of tearing apart entire armies at once...

But it isn’t an Anti-Fortress level attack. Rho Aias is the most powerful defensive Noble Phantasm in Shirou’s arsenal, a barrier seven layers strong, and each layer is as sturdy and resilient as a fortress wall. Cuchulainn’s Gae Bolg, the thrown version, is so powerful that it makes it through six of the seven layers before being stopped, and Archer comments that he had never known as spear capable of piercing the Aias as far as Gae Bolg did.

Let me be a bit more clear on that: Gae Bolg|Soaring Spear that Strikes with Death, a spear that combines the homing function of Odin’s Gungnir and Brionac’s carpet bombing, managed to equal the feat of Hector of Troy’s unblockable spear and tore through the equivalent of six fortified fortress walls. Archer then stated that nothing he’d come against before had made it through more than the first layer.

I’m sorry, but a wind spell, even a high class one, designed for tearing and slicing is not going to equal, let alone surpass, that feat. In the first place, Gae Bolg, the thrown version, is a B+ Noble Phantasm, nearly equal in power to an A++ regular attack. Even if Karin’s spell is A+ magic, it’s still vastly inferior, conceptually and in terms of power, and it’s not designed for breaching fortresses besides.

Now, with that out of the way...

On the Lancelot scene, that one wound up being much longer than I anticipated, but the more I wrote it, the more I wanted to do it justice — a fight between titans. This was the first bit of combat where two fighters of that level — that of a Heroic Spirit — finally fought each other head to head. Perseus cheated, the fight with Not-Lancelot in Albion wasn’t a proper fight since both of them were focused on other things, and Drake was never going to be someone who fought with swords. This was the first showing of two swordsmen with superhuman ability crossing blades without much held back, and I wanted to convey that sense of overwhelming strength and speed, the way the 2015 UBW anime conveyed the Servant battles. 

Did I succeed?

Of course, your mileage may vary regarding how faithfully I captured the relative skill levels, but even though Lancelot is generally hyped as one of the best swordsmen to ever live, certainly the best in King Arthur’s era, I wanted to also make it clear that the Gandalfr runes, especially at EX rank, are a huge friggin’ deal. They’re basically the same as Lancelot’s Knight of Honor Noble Phantasm, only without that nifty side function of “turns whatever he grabs into a Noble Phantasm.” In some ways, they’re also superior, because they let him do things like recreate sublime sword skills, such as Tsubame Gaeshi. 

Let me also make it clear, however, that both of them were holding back. Lancelot’s natural skill versus Shirou’s Gandalfr enhanced skill came out mostly even, but neither of them was using all or their best Noble Phantasms. Lancelot might still lose, especially at range, but if he played it right, if he forced it to a battle between swordsmen, it’s a different fight altogether. 

Lastly, I thought about tagging on an appearance by Not-Lancelot at the end. It even made sense, from a story perspective, and if you know who Not-Lancelot actually is (let’s be real, here, is there anyone reading who doesn’t, at this point?) you should be able to figure it out pretty easily. Having said that, even though it made sense, it felt like I was trying to pack too much into the same timeframe, and that just didn’t work.

Not-Lancelot isn’t gone, though. He’ll be showing up again, pretty soon.

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Miracle of Zero Ch 18: For Someone’s Glory

Chapter 18 is now up, everyone. Enjoy.

Commentary will be available shortly.

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MoZ Commentary Ch17: “Each Choice, Each Step”

There are parts of this chapter I wasn’t incredibly happy with, and as the long delay probably says for me, parts that I really struggled to get written. Especially that scene in the tavern, with all those people swarming Louise, I felt like I didn’t know what Shirou should do or how he should react. Well, nothing to do about it, now.

Some of you may have noticed the absence of a crowning ceremony for Henrietta, and there’s a reason for that: Louise didn’t attend. You might think that’s strange, but it would actually be stranger for her to be there — officially, Louise is an agent of the Crown, but that doesn’t automatically mean she would be invited to the ceremony. Actually, it means she wouldn’t: those who were invited, and attended, would be various high ranking nobles and maybe their heirs, not third daughters like Louise or fourth sons like Guiche. Mazarin officiated and the myriad of chivalric orders and palace guards were in place to protect everyone. Other than that, it was not an event that just anyone, childhood friend of the Princess or not, could show up for.

Theoretically, Henrietta could have made Louise part of the ceremony, but it would have been a very powerful statement about Louise’s importance to her, and Henrietta has not yet made her the official heir to the throne. Since she’s already pushing an unpopular policy (equality under the law, for both nobles and commoners) among the peers, trying to be too ambitious in everything would backfire.

Those of you who paid attention may have noticed the wine I chose, too. It’s a really high quality bottle, the sort of thing that goes for $200+ in the real world. However, you won’t find a Chateau Leoville in the real world — you’ll find several. Because of a series of events, Chateau Leoville was divided among separate owners. The actual wine the bottle mentioned in the story is based on is Chateau Leoville-Las Cases, which I’m told is very good, and according to reviews, it’s generally one of the best wines in the world.

What I was looking for in that scene, however, wasn’t simply “one of the best wines in the world,” but “a moderately expensive” one. Eleonore and Louise are likely used to something much more expensive at home — the Halkeginia equivalent of a Lafite. In case it wasn’t completely portrayed, I wanted it to come across as “this is a really good wine, but it’s not the best, and this was the best the inn had in stock at the time.” It just goes to show that the de La Valliere family is on a whole other level when it comes to opulence.

Some of you might feel that Eleonore was bashed in this chapter, and I can understand why you might feel that way. Some of you will agree that this was actually mostly in line with how she acted in canon. The thing with Eleonore is, I wanted her to somewhat adversarial, yes, but I wanted her to be a three-dimensional character, with wants, needs, and a personality. I tried to balance those out, but I feel like she came off as being a little more of a bitch than I wanted.

Why? Because she didn’t get to be very nice, this chapter. She might not get the chance later on, either. The problem with Eleonore is that she’s a “successful Louise.” She’s very much similar to Louise in personality, but she never went through the same doubts and uncertainties, because she’s a talented mage who always achieved what she set her mind to, unlike Louise, who couldn’t do the simplest of magic before she got her hands on the Founder’s Prayer Book. From the beginning, her personality was going to be abrasive and haughty.

Unfortunately for Cattleya, she didn’t get much screentime, and unlike the canon Cattleya, who basically decided, “I’ll support Louise’s decisions, no matter what,” MoZ’s Cattleya is the doting older sister who wants very much for Louise to be safe and happy. If given the chance, she might have tried to smuggle Louise and Shirou out of the castle so they could go fight the war, but since Shirou and Louise are executing their plan to win approval...

For those who caught it, yes, the Duke’s name is the same as the real life Louise de La Valliere’s father. I needed a name for him, and it seemed appropriate. 

Also on the Duke, I actually imagined him as a blond Odysseus Eu Britannia in the Duke’s clothing, because holey sheets, that mustache and beard on the canon Duke. I mean, technically, it’s not strange, because Halkeginia is basically Victorian era, culturally speaking, but just...wow. Colonel Sanders on steroids. That’s why I didn’t draw any attention to his face or facial hair, because if you’re a stickler for canon, then you can picture him like that, but if you want my official unofficial word on the matter, MoZ’s Duke de La Valliere is blond Odysseus.