People
Servants
Heroes selected from the Moon Cell’s database and temporarily revived within SE.RA.PH. Primarily classified under historical (historia) and mythological systems (mythologia), they are further divided into 7 classes.
Since they are called through an intermediary summoner, one might think that they are simply a high-class cyber-familiar. In reality however, Servants are materializations of the soul as a living being, made possible by a partial realization of the Third Magic.
Saber (Playable)
Sword-wielding knight. The heroic spirit of a swordswoman in a red dress. Has something of a fixation on aesthetics and the fine arts, and loves all that is beautiful. A self-styled music-loving, flower-admiring swordswoman. “Bishounen are lovely! Bishoujo are even better!”
Refers to herself in the first person as 余, and her Master as 奏者. Also uses a lot of other archaic Japanese in general. Archer describes her as a “tyrant.”
Archer (Playable)
In spite of supposedly being of the bowman class, he’s a rather novel Servant that prefers a pair of short swords as his primary weapons. A realist and a cynic, he can be a bit of a nag but he always means well for his Master.
From his comments, it appears he has past experience with the Holy Grail War.
Caster (Playable)
A magus (shaman) Servant with fox-like ears and a tail. Her personality is one that shows earnest submission towards her Master’s orders, but is malicious towards all other people. Called Oriental (‘Berber’)* Fox-Ears by Saber.
*”Bar-bar” was originally a derogatory Greek term for all non-Greek speakers. Having no actual meaning in Greek (“bar-bar” is a gibberish sound; “blah blah”), it became the linguistic root of the later “barbarian,” those deemed savage by supposedly civilized folk, So it’s hard to say if Saber was being spiteful, or just ethnocentric. Probably both.
Rider
Cavalry class. A well-endowed sailor, and the Servant of Matou Shinji. She fights using cunning and twin antique pistols. Appreciates rum and treasure.
Doesn’t think much of her Master, but doesn’t hate him either.
Gawain
Leo B. Harvey’s Servant, class Saber. His Master is completely open about Gawain’s identity. The very same Sir Gawain who served King Arthur with fierce loyalty at Camelot, where he was considered among the greatest knights of the era. Said to possess a Noble Phantasm comparable to King Arthur’s Excalibur, and was the peer of Sir Lancelot in combat prowess.
Gawain was slain by Lancelot at the Battle of Camlann.
Character design resembles “Saver”, the original male concept for Fate/stay night’s Saber.
Archer (Enemy)
Dan Blackmore’s Servant. Will go to any means to achieve victory, be it poison, ambushes, or treachery. Also rebellious. More often than not, this puts him at odds with Blackmore’s sense of honor.
Lancer
Spear-wielding knight. The spearman Servant partnered with Tohsaka Rin. Still a bro.
Berserker
Huge and strong. Appears to be Chinese.
Masters
The magi participating in the Holy Grail War. There are 128 in total, each granted a Servant and three Command Seals.
Protagonist
A second-year student at Tsukumihara Academy, chosen to participate in the Holy Grail War as a spirit hacker. Can be male or female. Like all potential Masters, has lost all recollection of the time before he/she was admitted to SE.RA.PH, but for some reason has still yet to regain those memories even after the preliminary rounds.
Chooses to form a contract with one of three Servant classes – Saber, Archer, or Caster.
Tohsaka Rin
A rare individual, gifted with both superior hacking skills and an affinity for all five elements. She normally operates in the Middle East, but is participating in the Holy Grail War on behalf of the Resistance. Lancer is her partner in the Holy Grail War.
Not actually descended from the Tohsaka main family, her lineage stems from an illegitimate child Tohsaka Tokiomi had while traveling abroad.
At Tsukumihara Academy she plays the part of an impeccable honors student, star athlete, and is very popular with the male students. On the other hand, her other face is that of a rogue who finds amusement in cruelly toying with her opponents. Initially thinks that everyone in a school uniform is an NPC, to Lancer’s amusement.
Matou Shinji
A Master participating in the Holy Grail War, accompanied by a Rider.
Second-year student at Tsukumihara. His good looks make him popular among the girls, but not with the boys, thanks to his twisted personality. Better known as ‘Wakame’ (Seaweed) to the guys, but don’t say it to his face. Has been friends with the protagonist for several years. Views Leo B. Harway, who attained popularity in a single leap as soon as he transferred schools, as his enemy.
Although chronologically he is only 8 years old, he’s already made a name as a skilled hacker and Asian video game champion. Apparently friends with the protagonist, but they immediately end up being opponents in the Grail War.
Lani VII
An alchemist dispatched from the Atlas Institute. Part of a new generation of Atlas magi with artificially implanted magic circuits, her hacking abilities are at the maximum. Created for the sole purpose of obtaining the Holy Grail, she knows nothing that could lead her to disobey her alchemist masters. (Therefore she has no sense of shame, and wears no underwear.)
Instructed by her Masters to find and observe a living human being, which she interprets as a command to understand how to live like a human being.
Leonardo Bistario Harway
A plutocratic heir to the Western European plutocracy, and lord successor of the unimaginably wealthy Harway Foundation.
Bred to be the future world ruler, he was raised from birth as an elite. For that reason it’s unthinkable that Leo would be sent to the front lines. Possesses powerful magic circuits. Suddenly transferred into Tsukumihara Academy.
Sir Dan Blackmore
Master of Archer. A former sniper and decorated war hero in the Royal Army, he was knighted by the Queen of England and sent to retrieve the Holy Grail. Allied with the Harway Foundation?
Famous enough that Leo B. Harway recognized him upon their first meeting. Does not get along very well with his Servant.
Alice
Impossible to miss in her frilly white dress, it’s hard to imagine Alice could be anything more than an adorable little girl looking for someone to “play” with. But if that’s true, how did she survive this long… and how many Masters have died for it?
System-Side NPCs
Generally, includes anyone at Tsukumihara who isn’t participating in the Holy Grail War.
Fuji-nee Tiger Fujimura Taiga
Homeroom teacher of class 2-A at Tsukumihara Academy. Whatever you do, don’t call her Tiger.
Student council
Members of the student body government at Tsukumihara. Compared to the usual tan school uniform, they all wear black.
In reality, however, they are all NPC programs created system-side to assist and instruct new Masters.
Ryuudou Issei
The student council president at Tsukumihara. A friend of the protagonist. Has a fixation on school rules and regulations, to the point that he does surprise inspections on people entering the school gate.
Newspaper Club Editor-In-Chief
Flanked by her two faithful assistants, the Black Leop- er, Newspaper Club President seems to always have something for you to do.
Matou Sakura
Custodial AI. Other details unknown. Even younger than her older brother. Distributes limited healing supplies to the Masters once per round.
Compared to her traditional portrayal, Sakura’s hair is now long enough to touch the floor. Likes helping out a certain upperclassman at his house. Spends a lot of time working in the infirmary as the school nurse. Rumor has it that she always wears a long-sleeved blouse to cover up physical abuse from her brother…
At any rate, she makes an exquisite lunch box, though it’s still a work in progress. Reportedly, it’s so delicious that even the NPCs want it!
Father Kotomine
NPC. Other details unknown. It seems he plays a role in managing the Holy Grail War. Administers the local Chapel, which resides outside of SE.RA.PH’s jurisdiction as far as the War is concerned. For some reason, one can’t help but be suspicious of this priest’s ‘evil’ atmosphere even though he is non-sentient.
Archer seems to recognize him, though he remarks that the original template was far more terrifying to behold.
Uncategorized
Aozaki Aoko
Alters Servant souls as a service for the Masters. Responsible for increasing the strength of [the player's] Servant. Has ethics, but no common sense.
In gameplay, the player goes to Aoko to spend the Servant’s skill points earned from leveling.
Aozaki Touko
The older twin sister. See ‘Aozaki Aoko.’ “Ten times more skilled at Alteration” than her sister… and Aoko can’t deny it, but never seems to be busy. Has common sense, but no ethics.
Apparently these two can now be in the same room without trying to murder each other, though that’s the extent of their sisterly love.
Her body in SE.RA.PH is a throwback to the original Rakkyo design.
Kuzuki
A new teacher at Tsukimihara Academy. He makes it abundantly clear that students are not to enter the supply room.
Always surrounded by an aura of dread and menace. His true name is Julius Harway, and is Leo’s subordinate.
Spirit Hacker
See “Wizard”. Has a different meaning than the title that the Eltnam alchemists have adopted.
Magi that convert their souls into spirit particles to interface with spiritual cyberspace and alter the laws of the world.
Magus
Former practitioners of magecraft.
Since mana disappeared in the 2030s, there are very few traditional magi remaining, and the old order has all but collapsed.
Wizard
The new generation of magi. Includes Servants and spirit hackers. After mana disappeared from the world, new applications had to be developed for magi to continue their research.
They are similar to the old magi in that they are born with magic circuits, but these are magi who convert their souls into spirit particles to interface with spiritual cyberspace and affect the laws of reality.
A wizard’s appearance within SE.RA.PH is influenced by the wizard’s potential and skill as a magus. Strong magi will retain many of the idiosyncrasies and characteristics of their original bodies, while lesser magi assume more generic forms. The protagonist lies somewhere in between, with unique body features but nonetheless dutifully adhering to the school dress code.
Enemy
Malicious programs roaming the Arena, they serve as SE.RA.PH’s active defenses and cull the weak Masters.
Familiar
A cyber spirit of sufficient quality to manifest in the world, contractually bound to a magus. Servants are thought of as extremely high-level familiars, though they are closer to Divine Spirits in both power and spiritual nature.
Ghost
Amalgamations of floating spirit/data particles that are of sufficient density and complexity to resemble living organisms, though such specters lack true sentience.
The artificial environment within SE.RA.PH enables spontaneous modification (“evolution”) and execution of data over time… not unlike that of a natural ecosystem. Cyber ghosts are a byproduct of these conditions.
