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avicebron servant , caster , golem master | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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crown of the kingdom, light of wisdom guide these suffering people to a constructed paradise BACKGROUNDWikipedia | Type-Moon Wiki | FGO Wiki In a nutshell, Solomon ibn Gabirol was an 11th century Spaniard-Jewish poet and philosopher. His name was later corrupted in Latin translations into Avicebron, which is how he's usually referred to. Though just a scholar, he became a Heroic Spirit largely due to his creation of Kabbalah, a major school of magic. Avicebron specifically focuses on golemancy, the creation and control of golems, seemingly derived from the legend that, during his lifetime, he created a humanoid golem to perform household duties for him. Records say that Avicebron was a fairly antisocial and introverted man, partly due to poor health, resulting in a lifetime of mostly-solitude, which probably gave birth to the legend about his golem. As a Heroic Spirit, Avicebron was previously summoned to participate as the Caster of Black in the Great Holy Grail War that took place in Romania, the events of which are shown in Fate/Apocrypha. These events are largely irrelevant to his Fate/Grand Order incarnation as he has no memories of them ... except just one: his murder of a child. During the Great Holy Grail War, he originally fought alongside his Master, Roche Frain Yggdmillenia, a child with a similar distaste for humans and love for golems, who looked up to him as a mentor. However, as the war progressed, Avicebron found himself on the losing side, and when offered a chance to defect to the Red Faction, he accepted and took on a new Master. No longer bound to Roche, Avicebron sacrificed Roche's life to create Adam -- an enormous golem meant to emulate 'the original Man,' his life's goal that he failed to achieve during his lifetime. Adam was then commanded to attack the remaining Black Faction. Avicebron himself was easily killed afterward, followed, with some difficulty, by Adam. In Fate/Grand Order, Avicebron is summoned to (essentially) assist in keeping the history of humanity from being overwritten by an alternate history (a Lostbelt) -- specifically, a history wherein the world is struck by a meteorite, resulting in a centuries-long ice age that has only been survived by a portion of the Russian population that was merged with magical beasts. Avicebron is summoned by F/GO's protagonist Fujimura Ritsuka to assist in destroying this Lostbelt, thus preserving the original history of humanity. The story implies that, as he is summoned without any prior connection to Ritsuka, he is a Servant that the world itself selected as one needed to save the history of humanity. The incarnation of Avicebron in this Lostbelt has no specific memories of the Great Holy Grail War that took place in Romania, and knows neither Roche's name nor face. However, the fact that he previously murdered a child was written into his Saint Graph -- the defining record of who he is, his very identity. Avicebron is plagued by the guilt of that knowledge, even as he does everything he can to assist in saving humanity. HISTORYFew records of Solomon ibn Gabirol's life remain, but what little is known is roughly as such: Gabirol was born in Málaga, in the Iberian Peninsula, around 1022. His father had formerly been a powerful man in Córdoba, but had been forced to flee to Málaga several years earlier (around 1013) due to political strife; Córdoba had been ruled by the Umayyad dynasty for several centuries, but control over the region had always been in flux, and a long period of political decline had begun. Gabirol's family was but one of many fleeing from Córdoba. His parents both passed away when he was young, leaving him an orphan with no siblings or close relatives, surviving for a time off the charity of the Jewish community. Soon afterward, he moved to Saragossa, where he received his higher education alongside other Córdoban refuges under the guidance of influential courtier Yekutiel ibn Ḥasan. Yekutiel acted as both his protector and his friend, and Gabirol wrote numerous poems of loving praise about his patron. In his early teenage years, Gabirol immersed himself in studies of the Talmud, Hebrew and Arabic, and astronomy, geometry and philosophy. By the age of 16 he had already become famous for the religious hymns he wrote in Hebrew. However, around the same time, he began suffering from an illness (possibly lupus vulgaris) that would plague him for the rest of his life; he considered himself short and ugly, and often wrote about the constant pain caused by his illness. It was around this time that he also began to make many numerous enemies through his writing. The more orthodox members of the Jewish community found his ideals borderline heretical, some calling him a Greek due to his secular leanings. Already considered a social misfit for his surly disposition and pessimistic attitude, Gabirol earned further ire by writing boastful poetry about his own talents and vicious satire about his critics. Unfortunately, in 1039, when Gabirol was 17, Yekutiel was executed by those who murdered the king and took over the throne; Gabirol wrote a long and sorrowful elegy following this loss. Without Yekutiel's protection, he was more vulnerable to the criticism and ire of his Jewish contemporaries, but he continued to write. Roughly during this time period, Gabirol wrote both "Choice of Pearls" and "The Improvement of Moral Qualities," treatises focusing on Neoplatonic philosophy and ethics. He also wrote a huge range of poetry, both secular and religious, including the prose-poem "Keter Malkhut" ("Crown of the Kingdom"). Eventually, the hostility of the Saragossan community grew to be too much to bear, and Gabirol left the city in 1045, possibly banished, when he was roughly 23. Before Yekutiel's death, Gabirol had first clashed with, then made amends with Samuel ha-Nagid ibn Nagrillah, grand vizier to the kings of Granada, himself a talented poet, strategist and Talmudist. Upon leaving Saragossa, Gabirol traveled to Granada and served as Samuel's court poet and encomiast (public flatterer). He wrote a number of resounding poems for both Samuel, and later his son, Yusuf. However, the relationship eventually soured and Gabirol left Granada, and instead wandered the Iberian penninsula. Details of his life during this time are vague at best, leaving only his writings. Sometime during his wandering years, Gabirol wrote Fons Vitae, perhaps his most famous philosophical work, later serving as great inspiration to Kabbalists. Written as a dialogue between teacher and student, it discusses the relationship between God, the 'world' (matter and form) and the will. His wanderings eventually brought him to Valencia, where he was killed in approximately 1058, at around the age of 36. Some legends state that he was trampled to death by an Arab horseman, but the more popular legend states that he was murdered by a Muslim poet jealous of his talents. The poet then buried his body under a fig tree, with some iterations of the legend suggesting his limbs were removed in the process. The tree later bore incredibly sweet fruit; people dug up the tree's roots to figure out the reason for the fruit's sweetness, leading to the discovery of the body, and execution of the criminal. Sources: JewishEncyclopedia, Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Encyclopedia Britannica, with some tweaks to fit Fate-verse. PERSONALITYOn a very basic level, Avicebron is not a particularly pleasant person. As a human, he led a difficult life -- orphaned as a child, he later lost his sole benefactor to a political assassination at the age of 17 and spent a great deal of his life wandering, friendless, facing plenty of hardship, before being murdered at a relatively young age. It's probably unsurprising, then, that he's always been something of a misanthrope and pessimist. He knows to expect the worst from most people, and is well-versed in humanity's potential for treachery. He particularly abhors persecution, and holds great contempt for those who would harm or kill innocent people out of prejudice. His transition from human to Heroic Spirit has done little to alleviate his distaste for humanity -- if anything, his resulting knowledge of history has just taught him more of humanity's capacity for cruelty, and Avicebron is not at all shy about his general dislike of people. In life, his already introverted nature was exacerbated by a debilitating skin disease that plagued him since his teenage years, and Avicebron spent much of his life in solitude -- as a result, he's rather poor at socializing. It would be hard to call him shy, but Avicebron finds human interaction troublesome and exhausting, and feels most comfortable when alone. Though eloquent, he tends to come across as somewhat blunt and unemotional at best; at worst, he can be incredibly aloof and somewhat prickly. Subjects he's particularly interested in (golems, research, and other scholarly matters) can sometimes merit a more enthusiastic response, but even then, it would be hard to call him 'friendly.' ... that said, he's also not a bad person. Sort of. For one thing, Avicebron is as hard on himself as he is on people as a whole, and is well aware of his deficiencies: his lack of physical strength, his meager life achievements in comparison to many other heroes and, of course, his own difficult personality. Though it might have served him well enough in life, he knows that his antisocial nature could potentially be a detriment to his Master, so as a Servant he makes a conscious effort to rectify that part of himself. He still finds socializing rather tiresome, of course. But he's usually responsive enough, doing his best to be patient and informative and accommodating; with his calm personality and obliging nature, he tends to come across as somewhat mentor-ly to those he's gotten used to. He's capable of eventually warming up to people, showing touches of genuine consideration, as well as glimpses of a droll sense of humor, but it just takes some time. In the meantime, he's still pretty cooperative with most people -- especially if there's work to be done. Because as much as he hates people, Avicebron seems to have a deep belief in the potential of humanity, and takes his duty of aiding in saving humanity's history very, very seriously. To that end, he's an incredibly reliable ally -- he's intelligent and resourceful, able to bend his golemancy to suit almost any task, and quick to offer his services whenever applicable. Though a moderately adequate combatant, Avicebron is best suited to the role of an overseer, manipulating his many golems to follow his Master's wishes; if it's for the sake of saving humanity, he is honored that his golems can be of use. Even before his reincarnation as a Servant, Avicebron seems to have placed great value in trying to guide people on the path towards righteousness, and always dreamed of a world wherein humanity (and especially his people) would be able to find peace. For a person so openly loathing of people, he's deeply devoted to the endgoal of saving humanity. Which, of course, all circles back into his old sin. For better or for worse, Avicebron remembers very few details of the incident wherein he killed a child, his previous Master. But what he does know is just enough: he betrayed his own Master in pursuit of his own dreams, which was ultimately for naught. It's hard to classify Avicebron's past murder of Roche as truly selfish. He knew what he was doing was despicable and acknowledged that Roche would be right to hate him for it, but he also viewed it as a price worth paying to bring peace to humanity -- in his mind, the completion of Adam was far more important than any single life, including his own. It's implied that, in life, he condemned himself for having previously failed to intervene in acts of violence, and perhaps he felt that even the heinous act of sacrificing his own Master in service of salvation would be better than to do nothing yet again. Such was his devotion to the concept of 'saving humanity.' Regardless, the current Avicebron is deeply ashamed of this crime, and the guilt has left a significant mark on him. The creation of Adam and the subsequent Paradise it would bring was his life's goal, after all, and to him, the fact that Adam was ultimately felled means he must have been fundamentally wrong. As a result, Avicebron seems to have vowed to better himself, consciously trying to curb his callous nature; he's quite critical of himself in general, aware enough of his deficiencies to deflect any praise of his character. While he does genuinely want to save humanity, he also sees the task as atonement for his past sins, and thus devotes himself wholeheartedly to it. This time, at least, he would like to carry out the dream he failed both in life and in his previous incarnation. And if the salvation of humankind might ultimately demand a personal sacrifice for him ... well, it would only be fair, wouldn't it. ABILITIESSERVANT | For starters, Avicebron is a Servant -- the record of a historical or legendary figure, summoned as a powerful spirit under the command of a mage, their Master. This means, despite his diminutive stature, Avicebron is significantly stronger and faster than normal humans, and can only be harmed by fellow Servants (or other supernatural means). He doesn't need to eat or sleep to survive (though he can for the sake of it, or in order to recover some energy), and can also assume an invisible, ghostly formed called a Spiritual Body in order to conserve energy, float through walls and/or go undetected. In canon, a Servant cannot exist for long without a Master providing them with mana (energy). In-game, I'll be handwaving that Avicebron can sustain himself off 'emotional energy' produced by interacting with others, but can't access some of his more overpowered abilities as they would use up too much mana. CASTER | Servants are generally divided into different classes. Of those, Avicebron falls into the Caster class, one of the seven standard classes. Casters are characterized by their weak combat abilities, and thus their reliance on magic or subterfuge in order to fight. Compared to other Servants, Avicebron is physically weak (strength rank E, endurance rank E, agility rank D), but makes up for it by being somewhat lucky (luck rank B) and having access to a big reserve of energy (mana rank A). As with all Casters, Avicebron's specialty lies in creating magical items (Item Construction rank B+) and in creating locations that enable him to better create those magical items (Territory Construction rank B). GOLEMANCY | All that said, when it comes to combat and utility, Avicebron is good at one thing and one thing only: creating golems. By infusing his magic into various materials, he's able to create golems for various purposes, ranging from combat to manual labor to espionage to simple household chores. The older and more magical the material (e.g. gemstones, ancient parchment, dirt from magical locations), the more powerful and longer-lasting the golem. With enough supplies, Avicebron can create golems that even rival low-level Servants in terms of strength. However, by using only mundane materials, he can rapidly produce simple, functional, one-use golems. Given the time, supplies and space, Avicebron will always lean towards establishing a workshop for himself, where he can more easily create golems, and use those golems to further expedite his creation process. The golems can take multiple forms; the standard seems to be a clunky humanoid shape, but others can look like spindly humans, semi-realistic animals or large insects depending on function. Generally, golems aren't terribly intelligent and will follow orders in a straightforward manner, obeying Avicebron by default, as well as anyone else he gives the authority to. Golems can also be given delayed instructions, activating at a certain time or upon seeing a specific person. Avicebron can also directly control a golem's actions, but is limited in how many he can manipulate in this manner. If he creates a surveillance-type golem, he is able to see through its eyes and project its 'vision' onto a wall using a menorah, not unlike a security camera broadcast; the viable range for this type of surveillance is pretty formidable. When the situation calls for it, he has some truly creative applications for his sole skillset -- creating a partial golem in a wall in order to eavesdrop through it, or creating golems out of snow to stage an ambush. As they say, when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. SKILLS | As with all other Fate characters, Avicebron has a number of specific skills. Translated from gameplay to RP terms, they'd be as following: he can condense some spells into very short incantations, instantly creating large golems that would usually require more preparation (High-Speed Incantation); he can directly manipulate multiple golems at once, up to one per finger, totaling ten at once by default, twenty when he has four arms (Numerology); and he can cast a spell upon himself that will bless his allies with health and protection upon his own defeat, inspired by the legend that says the fig tree he was buried under upon being murdered bore incredibly sweet fruit (Fig Tree of Tranquility). In F/GO, Avicebron also has the ability to summon Adam, the massive golem created in the image of the Original Man, but it requires a huge amount of mana and materials, so this won't come into play except under extraordinary circumstances. OTHER | All that powerlevel nonsense aside, Avicebron is a shrewd and cautious man, intelligent and strategic. He's quick to understand his circumstances and plan accordingly, making use of what resources he has; because he isn't the type to rely on face-to-face combat, he's well-accustomed to thinking carefully about what he does. It should be noted that he also isn't above feigning betrayal in order to procure necessary information. Also, he's an excellent writer and poet. EXTRAPOSSESSIONS: Avicebron's only notable possessions are a pair of prosthetic arms identical to his current arms; he inexplicably gains these arms upon leveling up. The number of golems he can control is affected by the number of hands he has, so double the hands means double the control, as well as just being useful in general. Presumably, he can just pop these extra arms on and off a socket in his back. He can summon them out of thin air and make them disappear at will, so he's not just carting them around most of the time. Regarding Avicebron's physical form: tl;dr: I assume all his limbs are prosthetic and his face is kind of awful. Long version: Sooooooo. We unfortunately never get to see anything of Avicebron under the ridiculous outfit he's wearing, so I have to make some assumptions about what's going on under all that bullshit. It's never been explicitly clarified, but it's implied that his limbs are artificial. His legs, at least, are almost certainly artificial, with visible metal hip sockets, ending in weird pointy knives where his feet should be. (How does he walk with these, it is a mystery.) Though it's harder to tell whether his arms are similarly artificial or not, the fact that he can later level up and sprout an additional pair of identical arms suggests that they, too, are prosthetics. These artificial limbs are probably inspired by the legend of his death -- supposedly, he was murdered by a fellow poet who was jealous of his skill and buried under a fig tree, with some iterations of the legend stating that his body was dismembered for easier burial. This probably won't be brought up very often, since he's not the type to show off anything like that, and since he can't easily be injured except by other Servants or supernatural forces. But it would probably be noticeable if physical contact ever happens (or if someone actually asks him, I guess). His hands have all the dexterity of regular human hands, but probably feel a little cold under his gauntlets and gloves; they connect to his body at the shoulder, with the connection partly hidden by the big metal loops. His legs have visible ball joints right at the pelvis, and are much more obviously artificial. All of his prosthetics have golemancy incorporated in them, so he can control them to a small extent even if they're taken off his body; he can pop them off and on at will. He also has a socket on his back where he can attach and detach his bonus arms. On a different note, Avicebron is implied to look pretty gnarly under his mask and clothes. The real-life Solomon ibn Gabirol was stated to have been sickly and frail, and suffered from a debilitating skin disease (possibly lupus vulgaris) that contributed to his antisocial nature. Avicebron's face is never shown in canon, except a brief glimpse of the area around his eye -- he has gold eyes and dark skin marked by scars. Dialogue in F/GO definitely suggests his skin hasn't magically cleared up upon Servant-ification, so ... yeah. He pretty much never takes his mask off; it helps that he has no need to eat or drink, and is generally a very private person. Even with close acquaintances, he'll probably be somewhat reluctant to ever let anyone look at his face or bare skin, but if it ever does come up by some miracle (or because of event shenanigans or something, dear god I want someone to snatch his mask off so he can be intensely uncomfortable), he'll probably look a little grotesque -- think Deadpool-lite. If any of this makes you uncomfortable, I totally understand! Please just drop me a note here and I'll make sure to avoid mentioning any of it, no offense taken at all. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
