[BRONZE] Fate/Zero (Episode 18) "Distant Memories"

I hope these comments are in time for the next episode, but I think I might be too late. The next two paragraphs will deal specifically with how vampires work in the Typemoon universe and will also go into the background and history of how they came into being and none of this spoils anything in any future Fate anime series you may watch. The first thing to understand is that in this universe planets and other celestial bodies essentially have souls and that at the final stage of a celestial body's life cycle they can manifest in a physical form known either as an "Ultimate One" or a "Type". Earth is currently incapable of creating its own Type but does have its soul/collective will known as Gaia and over four thousand years ago Gaia made a call out to other celestial bodies seeking aid in creating beings that could serve to protect Gaia and nature from human corruption. The entity which responded to this call was the Ultimate One of the Moon also known as Type-Moon. Type-Moon was allowed to live on Earth in exchange for Gaia using his existence as the basis for creating a type of nature spirits known as True Ancestors, and these were the first vampires. True Ancestors do not need to suck blood to survive but because they were created from the Type-Moon as a base they inherited the same vampiric impulse that it possessed. This vampiric impulse eventually led to some True Ancestors trying to prevent themselves from succumbing to their vampiric impulses and becoming a threat to both humans and the planet by making a bargain with some humans where they would lose their free will and be used as emergency meals to alleviate the True Ancestor's blood lust in exchange for being granted powers and longevity similar to what the True Ancestors' possessed, leading to the creation of the first Dead Apostles. Dead Apostles possess a flawed form of immortality compared to the True Ancestors as they must suck the blood of others to survive because they weren't naturally born vampires and their bodies are constantly burning energy to maintain their existence and fuel their powers, so they take what they need to repair their bodies from human blood. Dead Apostles are typically created when either a True Ancestor or Dead Apostle sucks their blood, but it is possible to become one through Mage craft. There are 9 ranks of Dead Apostles that a person can potentially become: -Rank 1: Corpse/Zombie is a being that has had its blood sucked and is essentially an automaton that is controlled by its sire. These die once the sire dies. I believe these are what all the villagers who were bitten turned into after they died. -Rank 2 : Ghoul is a corpse that is capable to mimicking the form it had in life and its sire's magical energy keeps it from decaying and is able to be programmed by the sire and also dies when the sire dies or cuts off its magical energy. Only one in a hundred people have the aptitude (immunity to resist the blood of a vampire) to reach this rank. -Rank 3: Undead are the first rank that are actually considered vampires and are living corpses that don't retain their full mental faculties but can simulate a human lifestyle on its own and cannot survive if their sire dies. These serve as commanders of the lower ranked "Dead". -Rank 4: Nightkin are undead who are fledging vampires while maintaining their original personality and are the highest rank a human can become if their blood is consumed by a Rank 6 Dead Apostle and can survive if their sire dies. It is possible for vampires from this rank and above to eventually reach higher ranks given time. Only one in a thousand is capable of reaching this rank if their blood is consumed. -Rank 5: Nightmare are undead whose vampiric curse allows them to manifest special powers either derived from their sire or from one's own self and is considered a fully fledged vampire. -Rank 6: Dead Apostle (Inferior) is a completely self-sufficient vampire who can create children through bloodsucking incursions (i.e. ranks 4-6) and are essentially the first level of upper tier Dead Apostles. Only one in ten thousand people has the ability to reach this rank. -Rank 7: Dead Apostle (Superior) are Dead Apostles who were Rank 6 but were acknowledged by an Ancestor (not a True Ancestor) and bestowed with additional abilities and their very existence is a poison that taints the land by its very presence and are capable of potentially defeating their parent ancestor and inheriting their curse/power, but this can place a significant strain on their body if their physical form is not sufficient to wield that power. -Rank 8: Successor is a talented vampire chosen by an Ancestor as its successor to inherit the Idea Blood (aka a unique power or ability developed by the Ancestor over its existence) in the event of the Ancestor's destruction. These Dead Apostles are extremely powerful vampires and there are estimated to be slightly more than 50 total in existence. -Rank 9: Ancestors are the original Dead Apostles who eventually broke free from their servitude to the True Ancestors and achieved independence and each posses an Idea Blood which is a unique power/ability that has been developed over a significant period of time. Dead Apostles of Rank VI and higher use the lower ranks to obtain the blood necessary for them to survive and generally conceal themselves after creating enough servants of lower ranks to operate without the Dead Apostles direct supervision and the lower ranks keep some of the blood for their own sustenance. A final note about vampires is that it is not just a physical transformation but also transforms one's soul in the Typemoon Universe, so if someone who became a vampire tried transferring their soul to a physically human body, that body will undergo vampirification. Again, the Matous are not vampires/Dead Apostles, but to explain what's going on with Zouken would constitute major spoilers. I believe what happened with Shirley is that she became one of the lower ranked (probably a 4) Dead Apostle and couldn't control her vampiric instincts and began mindlessly turning the village into Zombies. Also, Kiritsugu's father appears to be trying to create a Dead Apostle between Rank IV-VI with control of its vampiric impulses, but this would not eliminate the need for the Dead Apostle to have a regular stream of human blood to consume to survive and if he succeeded in being able to create such a Dead Apostle countless other humans would still have to die to maintain his immortality. Mages marked for sealing are those Mages with either unique magical potential/abilities or have developed their magic to such heights that the Association fears it cannot be replicated and so the Association designates them for "Sealing" where they will essentially be incarcerated in such a way that their abilities/magecraft will be preserved and available for study (such as removing the mage's brain, eyes, nerves, and Magic Circuits and preserving them in jars that can be used to function as a replacement body/exoskeleton). This was the fate that Tokiomi feared Sakura could face if she didn't have the protection an heir to a Magecraft family possessed. While Kiritsugu's father did not make Shirley consume the potion/magecraft that turned her into a Dead Apostle, at some point he was planning to test it on humans knowing this was a possible or even probable outcome and as a Mage he likely was fully willing to sacrifice the entire village if it would lead to him furthering his magic research. His father was almost certainly never going to do this Kiritsugu as it would be his responsibility as the heir to continue his father's research if it was incomplete and Kiritsugu killed him because although he himself wasn't at risk, he knew there was a strong likelihood of this event repeating in the future. With respect to Saber not technically being dead, while I believe this was briefly discussed earlier in the show part of the issue might be that Fate Zero was originally intended to be viewed after playing through all three routes of Fate/Stay Night. Fate Zero has already spoiled several plot points that were significant reveals in Fate/Stay Night (such as Sakura being Rin's sister), and the show assumes some familiarity with the original game. Saber is not a Heroic Spirit like the other six servants in the Holy Grail war as she has not been summoned from the Throne of Heroes but has been summoned just before her death at the Battle of Camlann as a result of having made a pact with the Counter Force Alaya (a defensive mechanism born from the collective unconscious of mankind driven by the desire to survive which acts to ensure humanity's survival) where she would become a Guardian in exchange for obtaining the Holy Grail. It is for this reason that Saber cannot turn into spirit form like other Servants as she has not been summoned as a true Heroic Spirit.

Fenrir756