In the dead of night, three hours before the dawn of the first day of the Holy Grail War, a solitary man worked inside a quiet warehouse that lay on the edges of the strange city of Septum. 

Swathed in a jacket made of the blackest fabrics money could by and ornamented in the most luscious and deep reds imaginable, the swarthy specimen of a male cut an imposing figure in the darkness of the exceptionally early morning. His lit cigarette hung loosely from his mouth, the glowing ember deep inside the only light that burned and illuminated the massive work that lay before him. Deep silver liquid pooled into straight lines and perfect circles, forming abstract designs as well as a language long dead from this world, all swirling into a point at the very center of the vast array. It was a thing of awe, this gleaming, ominous amalgamation of metal and magic. 

Seemingly satisfied, the hulking man sat back on his haunches to examine his handiwork, taking a long drag on his cheap tobacco, exhaling a cloud of the poisonous smoke as he considered the implications of his next step.
---
Honestly, the man called Todd Marchen didn't care who won the war. All it meant to the freelance magus was which one of the old farts in the frozen wastelands of Northern Europe he was going to visit after this whole thing blew over. 
Then the money had come in. More money than he'd ever seen in his entire life. With a promise of more, if the freelancer could provide the mysterious sponsor with the grail. He didn't even know who he was working for, and frankly, he didn't care.
---
Careless eyes darted down to the circle as Todd recalled the words that had been written down on the scrap of paper that he'd been given along with the cash. 

[b]"Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill."
"Repeat five times."
"Simply, shatter once filled."
"----I announce:"
"Your self is under me, my fate is in your sword."
"In accordance with the approach of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling then answer."
"Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good in the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil in the world of the dead."
"You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, oh keeper of the balance----."[/b]

He finished lamely, glancing around to make sure nobody had seen as the entire circle exploded into a brilliant white flame, crackling and bursting with ridiculous amounts of energy.