Pages and Servants

arrghus:

The power of the Page is to be served. It’s an ability that takes many forms, from the minor to the major, from the personal to the grandiose. It is Tavros getting Kanaya to keep Vriska off his back. It is Dirk giving Jake a sparring robot because he asked for it repeatedly. It is even more abstract things like Horuss deciding he suddenly can’t hear when Rufioh wants to break up, serving himself ignorance and Void in the face of the patently obvious.

For both our major Pages, however, the ultimate manifestation of this ability, however, takes a very specific form. As their power reaches its pitch, they call forth a great warrior, formed from the substance of their Aspect, to fight for their cause. For Jake, this takes the form of concentating his thoughts, imagination, and love, turning Brain Ghost Dirk from an informative if somewhat annoying hallucination into a god tier supersoldier completely devoted to Jake’s protection. For Tavros, it takes the form of cajoling and convincing a vast army of ghosts, creatures of pure spirit, into following his lead and fighting Lord English at risk of double death.

And I can’t help but draw a certain parallel between these events, and the Fate series with its Servant system. I mean, come on, they’re supersoldiers formed of magic, and they’re literally called Servants, there’s just a hint of a connection there. Hell, for added parallelism, Tavros calling forth his ghost army just so happens to happen in a desert, of all places.

Now, I’m not saying that this parallel is deliberate. I’d almost be surprised if it was. Deserts are a good place to show off armies, after all, what with all the flatness. But it’s still kind of a fun and interesting parallel.