Fate/Britain Lostbelt : Hero of Justice

"Purpose… wait, Morgan—when you say 'purpose,' can I understand it as an 'ideal'?"

While pondering Morgan's explanation of faerie lore, Shirou felt puzzled and raised his hand to ask during her pause.

"In most cases, a faerie's 'purpose' can be equated with what humans call an 'ideal,'"

Morgan replied, affirming Shirou's assumption.

"When faeries are born, they already know the 'purpose' they pursue. This 'purpose' allows them to immerse themselves, to feel joy and fulfillment. And once a faerie's 'purpose' is fulfilled, she falls into slumber—and a new faerie of the next generation, with the same 'purpose,' is born."

"Wait—what do you mean by slumber, and next generation?"

Too many specialized terms confused Shirou further, and he had to interrupt Morgan.

Morgan didn't object. Instead, she smiled and cast her magic anew, transforming the six-clan illustration into two identical faeries: both strikingly beautiful with golden hair, clad in regal skirts and holding staves, labeled "1" and "2."

"Let me use my own image as an example. Shirou, suppose I am Faerie One in the illustration. As Faerie One, my 'purpose' is to create a new magecraft spell."

"—In fulfilling that 'purpose,' I derive joy from the act of creation. My self is complete, time leaves no trace upon me… As long as I am in the state of pursuing the 'purpose,' Faerie One does not age—she remains shining forever."

"—But once I fulfill that 'purpose'—succeed in crafting the new magecraft—I feel content. At that moment, Faerie One loses any further reason to exist. She falls into slumber, never to awaken again."

"—Although Faerie One disappears, the 'purpose' of creating that magecraft does not vanish. Thus, after Faerie One slumbers, Faerie Two is born—this is the 'next generation' in faerie concept."

"—Faerie Two inherits the memories, the 'purpose,' and a nearly identical appearance from the previous generation. She continues researching and crafting magecraft spells until her own 'purpose' is fulfilled and she slumbers as well."

As Morgan explained this, she changed the image of Faerie Two—one wears a black ribbon, the other a blue one. Their dresses also differ from her current one: they appear noble and reliable.

Listening closely, Shirou finally grasped faerie "propagation." By human parental analogy, Faerie One is like a mother, and Faerie Two is her daughter—nearly identical, yet distinct individuals. Like successive models of the same device, he realized, this comparison suited better than human relations.

"Also," Morgan added, "Sometimes both parent and child faeries exist simultaneously—but that's extremely rare. In such cases, we refer to them as parent and child generations in faerie terms."

With Morgan's teaching, Shirou understood the structure of faerie society. His mind even drifted into an impractical thought: two identical Morgan-like faeries appearing beside him, letting him guess who was mother and who was daughter… His face blushing, heart pounding at the thought.

But then—

"Shirou, what are you thinking about?"

"Ow!"

Whack! Morgan's staff tapped him like a wooden rod, snapping Shirou out of his fantasy. He saw Morgan, looking angry but embarrassed—almost as if she knew his thoughts. How could that be? He instantly dismissed the idea, realizing his expression had given him away.

"Sigh, let's continue with faerie lore. We've covered parent and child generations—next, I'll explain the calamity brought to Britain—"

Morgan sighed, regained her composure, and prepared to continue. But soon she had to stop.

"That's all for tonight. I'll go on later," she said wearily, as the alarm ward outside the room was triggered. "Shirou, let's prepare to welcome Ainsel."

Though she had never met the Mirror Clan's chieftain Ainsel in person, Morgan surmised their identity from the foreign magecraft power.

"Already today?"

Shirou was shocked. According to the warriors earlier, Ainsel wouldn't reach the town until tomorrow. Was this too soon—and would she really come personally to meet two unknown travelers?

"Did you forget, Shirou?" Morgan smiled knowingly. "The Mirror Clan's most distinctive trait is foresight magic. Ainsel already knows we've arrived, so she's ridden back at full speed to meet us."

Faerie-horses are a type of faerie with equine forms. They can run extremely fast and willingly serve as draft animals, pulling carriages for high-ranking members of the six clans.

Even if you hadn't met Ainsel, this trip by nightfall made sense—she could harness a faerie-horse.

"As expected of a Paradise faerie—compared to our native British ones, you are so wise, noble, and beautiful. I am Ainsel, chieftain of the Mirror Clan. I apologize for not arriving sooner."

The door opened. A petite faerie in knight armor, wielding a lance, entered and knelt before Morgan. Her speech was respectful and confirmed Morgan's identity.

No idle chatter—Ainsel got straight to the point, welcoming Morgan to fulfill her mission.

"Please rise, Ainsel. Rather than ringing the Pilgrimage Bell, I'm more concerned about the crisis facing the Mirror Clan. A millennia-scale calamity has begun?"

Morgan didn't answer immediately. She shifted the topic and Ainsel paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes. A great catastrophe has befallen the Mirror Clan. I have called it the 'Crimson Calamity.'"

In Shirou's world, civilizations such as Mesopotamia, China, Greece, India, and the Maya all recorded flood legends of world-ending disasters.

This proves that, in the course of civilization's continuation, humanity inevitably faces natural catastrophes capable of wiping out entire races.

Britain is a beautiful land of love and peace, home to omnipotent faeries from fairy tales and fantastical beasts, yet even this idyllic realm is not immune to natural disasters accompanied by death and destruction.

A "Calamity" is the embodiment of such disasters. From the very birth of the British Isle, Calamities have loomed constantly.

Every hundred years, a Calamity occurs; every thousand years, a Great Calamity. Each event causes devastating casualties among the faeries. The question remains: what is the source of these Calamities—does it come from the Isle itself, or from some external force? Morgan did not address this point while explaining the concept of Calamity to Shirou.

"For the Mirror Clan, the greatest crisis at present is the upcoming Great Calamity. Ainsel, is there any reason you named it the 'Crimson Calamity'?"

Morgan asked the chieftain of the Mirror Clan.

Faced with this question from the Paradise faerie, Ainsel—who looked small compared to Morgan—hesitated and did not answer immediately. As a clan leader and the most powerful seer in the Mirror Clan, Ainsel was certainly more complex than she appeared.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot answer that right now," Ainsel said, returning from a half-kneel and shaking her head.

"You have already foreseen the true form of the Crimson Calamity, haven't you?" Unexpectedly, Morgan called her out directly.

"…I see. I had forgotten—how could I conceal the truth from someone with such pure faerie vision as yours?" Ainsel was taken aback, then understood and forced a smile. Since Morgan had seen through her thoughts, Ainsel decided to lay everything bare.

"I didn't tell you because I foresaw the future: when the embodiment of the Calamity appears, our clan suffers immense losses. In the end, the Great Calamity subsides on its own. Throughout, no Paradise faerie appears. So I believed you would leave before that."

Ainsel explained frankly, her mood lightening. She placed her heavy-looking lance in the corner of the room. As she did, she noticed Shirou's Holy Spear resting nearby and showed a look of surprise.

"The anchor of stars from the edge of existence, the sky's retribution upon faeries… If one wields that Holy Spear, the Calamity…—"

Seeing the Holy Spear, Ainsel instinctively began to chant a half-formed prophecy. As a seer, she often did this upon glimpsing the future when encountering certain omens.

"—Ainsel, that spear is the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad. It is a weapon capable of destroying an entire faerie city,"

Morgan explained calmly, intending to show off their strength. "It is wielded by my comrade—Emiya Shirou. In terms of combat power, I believe no faerie can oppose him."

She recognized the implication behind Ainsel's reaction: not only had no Paradise faerie appeared during the Great Calamity, but perhaps Ainsel also judged Morgan as too weak to stand against it. Morgan couldn't deny the reality, but she disliked being underestimated. So she emphasized Shirou's power.

"I understand your meaning. If you wish to know the true nature of this Great Calamity, then I will inform you of its truth."

Earlier context made clear that Ainsel was more than she looked. She sensed Morgan's resentment, so after setting aside her astonishment at the spear, she assured Morgan of her goodwill.

"Are you familiar with the original form of the Lake District?" Ainsel asked.

"Not really. There's no record of it in the Rain Clan's library," Morgan replied.

"This is a secret only the Mirror Clan knows," Ainsel said, and began telling the story. Morgan and Shirou exchanged glances, deciding to listen.

"At Britain's creation era, the Lake District was once part of the ocean. At that time, only a forest stood there. Britain lay to the south, and that forest belonged to the north—both areas hosted free faeries. Eventually, southern and northern faeries met and, driven by greed and disdain, war broke out. The southern faeries emerged victorious. The northern faeries were slaughtered entirely, their souls damaged so severely that no next generation could be born. Eventually, the northern faeries became the land we tread upon."

Ainsel revealed this dark history hidden beneath faeries' radiance: war, massacre, and corpses turned into land. Shirou felt a wave of nausea, recalling a fire that had destroyed his family and memories years ago—it had been absolute hell.

"…Shirou?" Morgan shook his arm to awaken him. Ainsel paused her story, sensing his distress.

"Sorry—I recalled something painful. Please go on," Shirou said, giving her a reassuring look. Though Morgan worried about his mental state, Ainsel continued.

"After the war, some southern faeries migrated from Britain to the Lake District; that group became the Mirror Clan. Since their birth, we have possessed future sight. So we know the sins of the Lake District. To atone for the sins of the southern faeries, the Mirror Clan resolved to protect the forest that nurtured the northern faeries.

"You may find it strange that this forest could rival the island of Britain and house such pure northern faeries."

Ainsel continued: "That is because this forest is formed from the corpse of Albion, the planet's last dragon."

"————After hearing this, I think you will understand the true nature of this great disaster, right?"

"Indeed. The Great Calamity is the product of Albion's corpse, combined with the millennia of grief from the slaughtered northern faeries."