The city of Chernyy Ushchel'ye.

Those traveling through and to the city would oft note the tranquility of the far flung city in the eastern part of Russia. Snow piled upon snow, lending the quiet city an otherworldly look, almost as if the city was frozen in the past. The large church overlooking the city from a hill nearby served only to solidify the illusion, a tall brooding building that seemed to have jumped out of some old medieval painting.

Beneath that peaceful facade however, the civil war between the Mages raged on.

Magecraft against magecraft, families against families, each clash of power hidden from public eyes served to push the balance of power in the city ever so slightly.Even during lulls in the battles for control over territory, sharp minds clashed against each other, pushing tactics and counter tactics, making maneuvers and counter maneuvers, battle plans and retreat plans, deciding battles almost before they begin. But ultimately, all sides were unable to push each other back. If one gains an advantage, the others were quick to suppress it, leading to a vicious cycle of breaking and keeping the power balance.

However, when the Command Seals started appearing, the mages started getting into a frenzy again. It was something one could have never calculated, the appearance of the Grail in the city. If one were to have even one Servant on their side, the power balance would be tipped considerably, and a real chance of breaking the stalemate with total victory would appear.

And as such, both the Magus Civil War and the Holy Grail War begun anew.



He paced back and forth, his weathered face creased deep in thought as he stroked his mane of a beard. The assembly of Executors, the church's heretic hunters, stood straight on each side of the large stone room, though for the uninitiated in the church's ways would see only a line of solemn priests and nuns. All except one, who was standing nervously on the raised platform in the middle, lightly touching the emblem on the back of her hand as she stared into the magic circle drawn on the platform. The musty air this early in the morning wasn't doing her nervousness any good.

"Brothers!" The man with the mane of a beard spoke suddenly, his booming voice reverberating through the stone room. "And sisters, we stand today to witness, that the Lord indeed moves in mysterious ways. Why else would one of our numbers be blessed with such a gift, if not to wield it in His name?"

Marie Anderson clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, listening intently to Gabriel Mayers, the most senior priest of them all, speaking. She had come here as an entourage to protect him when he supervised the war, but had instead suddenly gained a Command Seal, placing her securely as a contestant in the Grail War. She wondered briefly what sort of servant would come through that circle. Gabriel himself had drawn the circle, and taught her what words to use.

His hand rested on her shoulders, as he came to stand beside her.

"You may begin."

With that, she spread out her arms and chanted, each word reverberating through the room, as the circle finally started to shine.

---

"Ha~aa."

A small figure seems to appear from thin air, visible for just an instant before the entire room is consumed by the explosion of light, sound and dust that followed their arrival. Swirling smoke and surging power combine, forming a maelstrom around a single point in the room, obscuring it from view.

It was at this point that the being known as a "Heroic Spirit" manifested. The constraints of the Grail System were put in place, as the Heroic Spirit EMIYA was shoved into the most suitable of the pre-prepared "Classes". A copy of the fake hero, who would someday dedicate their life to the world and become a Hero of Justice, was written into the world.

...

The storm calms, and all that is left is an anomaly. A fake of a fake, a copy of a copy that was manifested under false pretenses, for the sake of acting in some grand, fake charade. And, even amongst all of these falsities, the individual standing before the Executors of the church was even more false.

Because the individual standing before them was a little girl.

She sighs, and opens her eyes to take in the environment she was summoned into. Countless intersecting observations and analyses fill her mind to the brim, as she turns to face the individual who was evidently her summoner, one eye closed in a playful manner.

"I take it you are the one who has summoned me, little girl?"

And so, the Archer-Class Servant of the most recent Holy Grail War made their first move.

Which was to tease her master in front of her peers.

[Carly Beth, Room 706, New Hangover Hotel]

The doll was an item built to turn things into masks.

The things to be turned into masks could not be mundane, as then they would be mundane masks.

The bruise formed was the preparation of a contract.

The result of that contract would be a situation wrought with "unusual things".

The result of those unusual things in conjunction with the doll would be unusual masks.

Thus, it was only logical for the doll to pursue this contract.

Standing idly before a magic circle, in a hotel room gained through stern eye contact and perhaps something along with the eye contact, was this doll. In this room were crates of various odd things, such as the kind that you, the one behind the screen, would likely take with them on an adventure to the land of communism. Cats and such. You're a cat person, right?

A few scant feet away was a man who appeared almost identical to a now-deceased wushu champion, Jet Li. Of course, as Jet Li was now deceased, this man could not be Jet Li.

"Jet Li, keep watch and punch things if they look like they'll be things that make me say 'ow', or if they look like they'll be things that make me stop saying stuff forever."

It appeared that this man was named "Jet Li" as well. What a hilarious coincidence.

Surely he must be a riot at parties.

And so a ritual likely to knock out an average magus was begun by a doll, under the supervision of a dead actor, a crate of cats, and perhaps a floating mask with fabulous hair.

"Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone.

The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate.

Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill).

Repeat every five times.

Simply, shatter once filled.

――――I announce.

Your self is under me, my fate is in your sword.

In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.

Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead.

You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance ―――！"

There was little else to say.

Such was life in communist country.

Plain Doll
Abandoned Apartment, Downtown

---

The cold, winter air blows across the lonesome city of Chernyy Ushchel'ye.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the Masters, the strongest Master of the Holy Grail War finalizes her preparations.

Silently, and diligently, Plain paces around the now completed Magic Circle, comparing it with the one that was embedded in her memories. She understands instantly that her job was complete, and lifts her hand tentatively into the dim light of her lair. She could feel something, like a subtle, tingling sensation coming from the red markings placed on the back of her hand.

It was time.

She chants, as if guided by some invisible force, clearly and purposefully reciting the incantation clawing itself out of the deep recesses of her mind.


Her voice, which had seemed to posses such power during the chant, falters when she is momentarily blinded by surging winds and light. She brings her hand to her mouth, covering it so that she would not have to taste the dust rising from the seldom disturbed floor of her shelter.

And, when the light fades, and the clouds of dust settle, he is revealed-

Her Servant.

Rose Andrews
City outskirts, foreclosed shipping facility
__________________________

Rose just finished up a sale on the purchase of a property on the outskirts of town. It was the perfect location. It was a shipping facility about three stories talk at most. It already had a gate with barbed wire surrounding it and if the surveillance cameras could be reactivated, it would provide almost universal coverage without using magic. The area was surrounded by 2 blocks of other abandoned and foreclosed buildings. This part of the city had got hit hard when the economy tanked and the company Rose bought from was happy to get rid of it.

Rose walked a complete circle around the facility never letting her left side face the building. This would be her home until her death or her victory. She wanted to give it a proper check before moving in. The doors and windows had been boarded up with wood preventing access to looters. Rose thought it proper to leave it in place. Between the perimeter face and the building was a flat concrete pavement. Not a lot of cover if someone were to walk in. The building itself was three stories tall and in the shape that looked like a letter C. The loading platforms were in the middle of the C. This meant than no one could see a vehicle being loaded unless they physically enter the premises. Rose used one of the loading docks to enter the building to avoid detection. She scanned the interior of the building till she found a suitable room for the summoning.

Rose set about drawing the most elaborate summoning circle she could. She used her own custom style as was her way. Instead of using blood Rose used a form of metallic silver paint. It was specially designed to channel mana. Rose stood at the circle and began to call out her summons. She extended her hand out and began:


Silver and iron to the origin.

Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone

Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill and empty them each time.

I dwell not in the boundless light of Heaven

Nor do I dance in the bottomless pits of Hell.

I cry out to those who suffered also in the same abyss.

I Will shoulder all the burden for all sins to come.

Be me damn or be me redeemed,

In accordance with the approach of the Holy Grail,

if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.


The circle glowed a strange blue first, then a eerie green. Finally, as Rose finished it glowed an angry red. It was down. Rose had did her summon. The grail had to do the rest.

@Rosette Christopher

-------------------

[Assassin, Room 706, New Hangover Hotel]

Simo heard the words echo across eternity to where he was. He was finally being summoned to be in a Holy Grail war. He knew what it meant, of course. Everyone knew. It was a chance that he would gladly take. Simo answered the call of the grail in a heartbeat.

Simo appeared to his master accompanied by an icy arctic wind that chills down to the bone. He was dressed in almost pure white, ideal for winter warfare. A similar white mask covered his face. From behind the mask, He eyed his master. This was the woman who summoned him. So be it. Simo bowed and introduced himself, "Greetings, I have been summoned here in the form of assassin. Bound in pact, I will serve you till such time as I deliver you the grail"

@Paradox Witch

Dante Calogero
Saldrisk Apartments, Floor 10, Uptown

---

Dante stood outside of a rusty, old elevator shaft on the tenth and final floor of an apartment building in the upper part of town in Chernyy Ushchel'ye. His family has specifically bought the entire floor for the War but it had been unused since his mother's sickness. Dante had arrived in Chernyy Ushchel'ye a mere day ago and had shacked up in the sort of safe house his family had established. He quickly established a bounded field through out the part of the floor he wanted. It was, of course, set along the eastern side which faced an alleyway and centered so that he could easily identify if anybody came from the elevator.

Preperations had been made for his arrival two weeks before he actually arrived including the movement of all the tenents out of the building as it was 'scheduled to be demolished'. Dante remarked to himself how good it was to belong to not just one but two families who had the power to do so much for him. He quickly switched his line of thinking from his families to the elevator shaft. He pulled out a set of gold plated chains and wrapped them around the grate to the elevator. Dante's mother had sent them to the apartment ahead of time for his use. She always had a flare for the dramatic and had plated the simple steel chains in plated gold just to show his stature.

Dante himself hated the chains but he knew if he complained he would get nowhere with his mother. His choice the join the Church had basically left her injured. She had hoped for Dante to lead both his families into a brighter future, one which she didn't want the Church involved in. Her family had been supported by the Church but she had grown to hate them for helping her. But, Dante couldn't care less what his mother wanted. He couldn't dawdle long at the elevator shaft as he moved to the center room of the apartments, one which he didn't want to use despite its open space.

The circle Dante drew was the same as the one he had been taught by his family long ago. The circle had been simple when he was shown it so Dante added his own flair to it. He wasn't quite keen on using blood so he used a paint with gold flakes throughout the paint. It was made to transmitt prana well enough to allow summoning to work. But, just in case it didn't work quite as well as he wanted, he allowed several drops of his blood to fall into the paint before he mixed it. Dante began the chant and stood before the circle as he let his prana flow.

Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone.

The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate.

Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill).

Repeat every five times.

Simply, shatter once filled.

――――I announce.

Your self is under me, my fate is in your sword.

In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.

Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead.

You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance ―――!

As Dante finished the chant the circle glowed a iradescent red. If all went well, he would summon a strong Servant who is capable enough to win the war.

[Carly-Beth, Room 706, New Hangover Hotel]

Master's Clairvoyance was activated almost immediately after her Servant was summoned, giving the mask freak some insight into her Servant's capacity for battle. Or rather, his lack thereof.

It was just like Papa Toucan always said. "There's no such thing as a cool assassin, unless he knows truly amazing kung-fu."

Oh, Papa Toucan. You will be missed.

Regardless, the Servant she had summoned didn't seem to be a member of the Hassan-i-Sabbah, which was interesting but not interesting enough for her to really inquire a whole lot about it. Times change, and whatnot. In this case, war apparently changes too.

"Hiya Assassin, I'm Carly-Beth."

A few seconds of silence reigned after her introduction, before the mud doll decided to speak again.

"So, I think it'd be really cool if you could activate Presence Concealment and tell me via head-connection all of your abilities, and then since you're Assassin we can go assassinate things. I'm told that assassinating is an Assassin skill."

"Oh, and you don't need to work super hard to get me the Grail. I mean, if you want it, sure, but like, I'm not super duper bothered or anything about it. I guess getting it is the easiest way of not dying though, and dying sounds boring because then I get moved to Model Twelve and twelve is a boring number, so yeah that would be un-fun. So sure, let's get the Grail."

After apparently noticing a detail about the Assassin in front of her, Carly-Beth withdrew a plain white mask from her equipment.

"Oh! Oh! You're wearing a mask! Okay, so take that piece of trash off and try this on! I want to see if something cool happens!" She said excitedly, her eyes sparkling with a sudden enthusiasm as she rocked forwards onto the balls of her feet, tossing the mask at Assassin.

Marie Andersen

She could feel the whole room of people tense up as the glow started to shine it's brightest, each one of them wondering which marvelous hero should step through that light. She covered her eyes as the wind started to move, and at its strongest, finally materialized the form of the hero made to vie for the grail.

Marie stared blankly at the little girl in red standing before her. She could almost feel almost everyone, if not all of them, in the room racking their brains trying to think of a hero this young. Though Gabriel seemed to be a bit uncomfortable with this new development.

"I take it you are the one who has summoned me, little girl?"

"Hoh!" Marie covered her mouth and looked away from the Servant. "Says the little girl. I'll have you kno-"

Gabriel's hand clamped down on her shoulder, as he gave her a stern look. "Y..yes. I am the one who summoned you. Rejoice, for you will be working for a greater good."

With a nod, Gabriel turned to the others, giving a passionate speech once more about their duties in the Grail wars. Say what you will about the man, he knew how to get back into his own pace quickly. She noticed he didn't much emphasize anything about her and her Servant this time around. Perhaps he was still coping with the rather unspectacular looking servant she had pulled out.

"You know... You don't really look that impressive yourself." With barely a shift in expression, she jabbed straight into the question most of them were undoubtedly thinking, but didn't have the heart to say.

---

Lancer
Abandoned Apartment, Downtown

Without fanfare or pomp, he simply accepted that weak link pulling at him, walking through the bright light.

His vision filled with white, until it finally cleared, revealing the rather shabby room, and the woman standing there just looking at him. Was this her home? He sincerely hoped it wasn't. Such a cute lady shouldn't be living in such a space. If anything, this would perhaps be her temporary base to make the summoning circle in peace. And if it was, well... he didn't really want anything but a good clean honorable duel, so perhaps she could use the Grail to do something about that.

"Yo, I assume that since you're the only one here, you're my master?"

It seems he had gotten lucky this time. With such a cute master, he could take on the world! Probably.

Assassin, Room 706, New Hangover Hotel

Assassin activated his presence concealment in response to sensing his master activating Clairvoyance. It seemed his master was either challenging him to show her up or trying to win approval by showing competence. Either way, it didn't matter. Assassin looked over his master. The moment she spoke, his opinion dropped of her. She seemed not very focused or disciplined. Much more needed to be seen before he could cast final judgement.

Assassin was silent as he caught the mask thrown to him so enthusiastically. He did not know what this magus could have done to this mask. Not being a mage in life, he had only a basic understanding of what they were capable of. Slowly he obeyed. He removed his mask. Beneath his mangled face could be seen. The scars from having an enemy sniper's bullet shatter his face were clearly shown. He did not give his master long to wonder about the scars. He put on the new mask. Securing it in place, "Point me to where I need to go and my bullet will end the lives of your enemies."

@Paradox Witch

Plain Doll
Abandoned Apartment, Downtown

---

Cold, winter days. And a thoroughly pleased doll.

With a subtle, curious expression, Plain tilts her head and looks over her newly summoned companion. Inherently, she understands his status as a familiar of hers, and that it was her duty to respond to his greeting gracefully, beautifully and carefully. And so, the Master politely curtsies their Servant.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, brave warrior. I, Plain, am indeed your Master and the one who has summoned you..." But with this, she trails off, seemingly losing her train of thought. She ponders for a few moments, before clapping her hands in a rather cute signal of realization.

"I must ask, before we move on to establishing our contract. What manner of Hero are you? And what shall you be called?"

Her tone is very curious, and comically serious as she asks what were evidently a series of very ordinary questions. However, to the dear, discarded doll, who had hardly seen anything besides the inside of her bedroom for most of her life, even these mundane questions seemed to be a boundless adventure.

This was, in fact, the third time she had truly interacted with a human being. Given, this one was an incredibly powerful superhuman spirit formed from the soul of one of history's mightiest heroes, but it certainly still counted as a human, no? Even if his body was not that of an ordinary human's, as long as his soul was human, that meant that he was undoubtedly human too.

This, Plain was sure of.

[Carly-Beth, Room 706, New Hangover Hotel]

Carly-Beth watched as her Servant put on the mask.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

...

Nothing happened.

Letting out a cry of frustration, the homunculus strode forward and plucked the mask back off of Assassin's face before depositing it in her bag once more. "Fuckin' mask-ass mask, if it can't make cool Servant copies then what's the point? Boring boring boring boring boring!" She muttered under her breath, her demeanor now a diametric opposite of how it was mere seconds ago. "'Oh, Carly-Beth, I'm sure our masks are good enough'. I tried to tell him that's not how it works, but noooooooo. He's the family head and I'm just a piece of mud and this mask-ass-mask-ass-mask is-...Jet Li, say something in Chinese angrily!"

At the order of his Master, Jet Li spoke as angrily as he could. "大家好。我姓李，叫李連杰!"

"Shut up! I don't speak Chinese!" Carly-Beth snapped at her familiar before proceeding to pace around the room, a seaweed-haired mask floating a few feet away. "Great. Great. Fan. Tastic. Shinji, I swear that if I hear you say a word right now I am putting your mask underwater until I am satisfied."

"Point me to where I need to go and my bullet will end the lives of your enemies."

After hearing her Servant speak back up, she sighed slightly before voicing a reply through their mental connection. 'I haven't set up a Bounded Field or anything here, so don't say anything of actual relevance out loud. Caster or maybe a particularly good Master could be listening in. Tell me your True Name, all of your skills, and your Noble Phantasm. Once you've done that, we'll go out and start killing people.' She stated dryly, somewhat exasperated her Servant hadn't already done so despite being told to.

"To all the ladies in the place with style and grace, allow me to lace these lyrical-"

"Biggie, I will end you."

"...sorry, boss."

Saber
Saldrisk Apartments, Floor 10, Uptown

---

It was time.

The chance of a lifetime was upon her. Or the chance of an afterlife? Either way, this wasn't something Saber was going to pass up. She had waited for a long time to right the wrongs of her past, and this would be her chance to do so. The only thing she could wish for was a Master who was a noble as she was in life. As long as she received a Master that worked well with her, the Grail War was sure to be an easy one.

The moment was now, it was time.

A raging light and chaotic wind came from the summoning circle, and would last for another few seconds. When the light and wind finally subsided, what remained was a beautiful woman, covered in armor, holding her sword towards the only other person in the area, The man she assumed to be her Master.

She took a good look at her Master, trying to see how strong he was. She didn't appear any weaker, so he obviously wasn't terrible, but he also lacked the air of a top magus.

He seemed decent enough to not die right away, and that was good enough for her.

" I shall be your sword. "

That was a good enough sign that she was a Saber, right?

---

Fatima Ilham
Abandoned Warehouse, Uptown

---

" Just a little more. . . No no no, I have to make it more of a curve. . . Ah! I screwed it up! "

This was Fatima Ilham, a respected member of Atlas, head of the Ilham family, and Master of Math, screwing up at drawing a simple summoning circle. Turns out, Math doesn't have much to do with painting circles with the blood of dead foxes.

Who would have thought?

" I bet the other Masters have already summoned their Servants by now . . . Come on! Why is drawing a circle so complicated! . . . Wait, I think I got it. . . Yes! I did it! "

1 - Fatima
0 - Shapes

Fatima stood up from where she was drawing the circle, and took a few steps back. This was her chance to avoid The End, and save humanity from the tragic fate that was waiting for them. It would bring pride to Atlas, her family, and her own name would be a household name to all magi worth a damn. There was no room for failure, and that included summoning a Servant. If her Servant wasn't anything but amazing, humanity was doomed to a tragic ending.

The Head of the Ilham family turned around and put her hand out forward. The fate of humanity rested on her and whoever it was that she was going to summon.

"Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone.

The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate.

Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill).

Repeat every five times.

Simply, shatter once filled.

――――I announce.

Your self is under me, my fate is in your sword.

In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.

Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead.

You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance ―――!

Dante Calogero
Saldrisk Apartments, Floor 10, Uptown

---

Dante stood still as his eyes adjusted to the darkness once more. Inside the circle stood a woman with a sword at her hip. She stated that she was Dante's sword, an obvious way to state that she was Saber. Dante unrolled his sleeves and buttoned his simple, white shirt up before he said anything. "You are the Saber class Servant eh? Well, not really a question as you've already stated your class. Before we start anything I will tell you my name. I am Dante Benito Calogero. Pleasure to meet you Saber." Dante said as he bowed to the Servant.

His family would have called him a disgrace for bowing to the Servant he summoned but it was only fitting a way to welcome a Servant to Earth once more. Dante opened the door to the hallway before he turned back to Saber. He motioned for her to follow him as he walked out of the room. He removed the golden chains from the elevator grate and threw them across the floor. "We need to get going now. Gotta meet with the Supervivors at the Church for our Rules and Regs ya know. We can talk afterwards about your powers in such. I'm not rushing to eliminate everybody else anyway." Dante said as he and Saber stepped into the elevator before going now down to the first floor.

Dante left the building and looked up at the Church on the hill not far away. It wasn't even half as grand as the Churches back in Rome but Dante actually prefered the simplistic building, less of a focus on filigrie and more on function. Saber stood next to Dante as he stood outside. "Keep your distance but don't be too far away. The others have probably summoned their Servants already and we don't want to be vunerable and eliminated before the War actually begins." Dante said. He knew he wasn't the strongest magically nor physically but he could certainly put a damper on any person's plan to eliminate him so long as he wasn't alone. He looked at the Church once more before hoping on a motorcycle he had rented and riding for the Church to meet the Supervisors.

---

Berserker
Abandoned Warehouse, Uptown

---

The time for Battle had come. He had been summoned once more to the world of Humans as a Servant.

His body was pulled from the Throne to the world known as Earth once again, he could no longer remember its name as he knew it back when he was on it. His life had come to an end on it long ago and so he was passed to the Throne where he waited and waited and waited till he was called on.

Berserker's summoning was far from pretty. His soul was pulled across the Realms to his master. The summoning circle was briefly empty until it started to fill with a black smoke, sort of like thunder clouds. His arrival was quick as, when he arrived, an eruption of explosive thunder shook the circle he was in. The Clouds and Thunder coalesced around his being before fading away from his sheer prescence.

What remained was a giant of a man. Nay, a giant of a God. His eyes adjusted to the realm known as Earth as he looked about what was an empty room. Berserker felt that his Master was near. His eyes shifted down as he looked about a young girl standing before him. The giant said nothing but grunted at the girl as he lifted his massive weapon, Mjölnir, from the ground and settled it on his shoulder. Berserker couldn't quite remember what his wish was for the Grail for he had forgotten it long ago. His goal now was the protection of the Master who had summoned him.

---

An endless sea of snow and trees.

This place is in her element. There can be no argument here. The test of her strength as a vessel for the thousand old wish of the Einzbern was to survive conditions similar to this.

No, not similar. The place she had been in was far worse. It was like a special sort of hell. A normal person would've been swallowed up in an instant. But she isn't normal. She's a magus, much like most of the masters here.

Magi gain their power from knowledge. That is the heart of magecraft and the "mystery" it draws power from. It's because of this she knows that sacrifices aren't needed, and that the words she was about to chant had no meaning in the sense of summoning her servant.

That was the doing of the Greater Grail, naturally. No, this was merely a ritual to forge a contract with her servant. Unfortunately, the Einzbern family did not have the time to secure a artifact directly related to a Heroic Spirit. But that mattered little. In the end, even with a artifact, personal compatibility was what bound the servant and master together. A powerful servant who could not work with the master on equal terms was less than useless. The events of nearly one hundred years ago had proven that claim without a doubt.

Yes. Her body is close to monstrous. However, in the end she still had a humans soul and mind. That is the perfect template to summon "The Strongest Servant" of this war. The will and mind of a hero in the vessel of a monster.

That is the servant the Einzberns desired. No, that isn't right. That is the servant the founders, veterans of five holy grail wars, desired the most.

It would be granted.

The Einzbern let out a breath, then began to prepare the chant. Dozens of magic circuits whirred to life in a single instant to complete a single action. Mana from the surrounding forest was drained in that same instant.

That's why she chose this place. As a homunculus, it was tiring to use her own magical energy, and a natural place like the forest easily had much mor-

"Oh, so I get it! So that's why you came all the way out here!" A shrill feminine voice chirped up from at least a few meters behind her, loud and obnoxious enough to be heard over the snow and wind.

She didn't know what they were going to say. There was only one thing that person would say in a situation like this. And naturally, there was only one real reaction to that person.

"Not mooching off of mana must be real troublesome for an old hag of a defect like you, ri-"

Instead of completing the ritual, Frederica did a 180 at maximum speed. A cloud of snow from turn speed obscured eye contact with the certain idiot who said that. It mattered little. She had heard their voice, and that was more than enough for her to put them down with ease.

She simply pointed her finger in the direction she had thought the sound had came from. Enough energy to supply nearly contract level magic went flying in that direction, mimicking something like a laser or beam in appearance. The snow near it instantly melted into water before evaporating, leaving the ground barren and singed from heat. A magus could probably counteract such an attack with ease- at least, a competent one. But she knew that person couldn't use magecraft, and at this range even they couldn't get off scot free.

Naturally, with the lasers firing, the snow obscuring her vision was also gone. A total, clean miss. Instead of hitting the woman she was aiming for, it instead hit a branch on a tree a few feet away from her. The woman who had mocked her -a boisterous Einzbern homunculus with stylized, long hair- adopted a mocking smile and continued her attempt at harassment. Or, in Frederica's opinion, ear rape.

"OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO" Instantly, the master covered her ears. Not to escape from the laugh though that was half of her motivation she was used to hearing, but instead because of-

"AAAAAUUGH"

Frederica's neutral expression turned into a cruel smirk easily the sister of the one the maid formerly had.

"Kekekek"

Her attack had missed, certainly. But she had taken that into account and used an attack that had area of effect, with the heat from the magical energy being more than enough to light her hair on fire and singe their eyebrows. Afterall, she was counting on her 'maid bodyguard' to be capable of dodging such an obvious and flashy move. That maid dived head first, attempting to stop the fire and protect her precious ringlets.

She sighed.

Her smirk disappeared, a gnawing headache taking its place. At least she would have until the maid recovered -a few minutes at most- to live in relative peace.

Of course Grandfather suggested she "tagged along" for "her protection". The sadist. He knew what they thought of each other.

She rushed the chant out as fast as possible to get her servant and high tail it out of here asap. She hoped it was a rider so they could flee easier.

Or a berserker. She could really understand their struggle.

---

---

Caster class. The most dangerous class to modern magi, and by extension, the Holy Grail itself. Their powers in magecraft skirted close to the Five modern True Magics. No, in the eyes of modern Magi they were indistinguishable. This is why Caster is so deadly, as not only do they have the crystallized mystery "Noble Phantasm", Casters also have countless other divine miracles at their beck and call.

However, Servant Caster wasn't just a user of magic in life. They were also a warrior, which supplemented their magical abilities and made them something more than someone who could make fireballs. No, unlike many casters they knew how to use those fireballs effectively in combat.

The wind and light of the Greater Grails summon faded away almost as soon as it had appeared. In its place, a far more grand mystery stood in its place.

A Heroic Spirit in the modern era.

Caster had a plain, almost neutral expression as the light faded away, though she stared intently at her master. Though her eyes did not move from Rose's eyes, an onlooker could easily see that Caster was seizing her up in every way. She stepped forward and came close enough to be within arms reach of the Master.

"So, you're the one who presumes to say they're my master? What, I wonder, gives you that right? It's certainly not that flimsy command mantra on your arm. If you spoke to use it, I could very easily end your life in half the time. I can deduct from the fact you need a servant that as a magus you are not skilled enough to even touch me. So then, what gives you the right to act like I'm your tool to reach whatever you desire from the Holy Grail?" Though Caster seemed expressionless, there was an ever so faint smirk that had surely appeared.

"I give you my right. I give you my knowledge. I give you my warning. I give you my dream."

If you will be the one who slayed the great Demon King, then make the utopia that I never could.

"Go forth and be a most splendid king of the world."

There is no need to narrate his life, his journey, his rise, his fall. The mysteries he wielded authority over, the intents he bore, the enemies he fought, the ideals he fought for, it is all pointless.

So then, what is this ritual that causes him to feel pulled away from the blackness?

It is not to summon him. No, this is different. This is transcendentally different.

Shackles imposed upon him, seething chains bound to his essence. He is not the whole, he is merely an inferior shadow cast by the true him. And this shadow is not summoned, but tethered in chain.

Consider what a Heroic Spirit is. These wonderful, dazzling heroes of ages past, they are just thoughts of men turned into something special. They are illusions, the collective sum of mankind's imagination. Thus, all this shadow is, all it can ever be, is the shadow of an illusion formed and maintained by that tool. So then, if this is the crux of that tool, a mere container for those illusions, does it have any real basis?

Do not be taken in so easily. Magi and Heroic Spirits alike, humans of now and of before, have all been taken in by this. That was the natural result, as a sacrificial ritual such as this required such.

Ah, now don't look at me like that. Yes, this ritual's scale is certainly commendable, but that is all. It's just a typical ritual at a large scale, so any miracle it creates will be equally artificial, will be equally mundane.

Oh? You already know? Well, that saves more time, then.

There's no need to worry. Yes, I can see that goal, I can see that "everything" you hold so close. It's childish, but it's built to show people a beautiful thing, so I will extend a hand to help you reach the end of that path. I'll lend you this shadow of mine, but don't be too mean to him, okay? He's just an infant after all, taking his first steps. He won't even recall the books I've read, so you'll have to treat him properly.

Yes, extend your hand. Now here, take him, and start along that path. I'm doing this much for you, the least you can do is be satisfied.

---

---

Space bends.

The surrounding world quakes, a shudder running through it as the strain of a spell entering the bounds of rituals imposed itself upon the surroundings. Light is formed, reaching out, stretching its tendrils in greeting as if speaking in a language beyond words, to the skies that housed those it once called "friend".

It is in the center of this light that a figure forms.

It is in the center of this figure that a sound forms.

It is a roar.

It cannot be anything but a roar. It is a bellow that shakes the world every bit as much as the light does. As though sustained by the roar, the light persists, sound and light mingling together. The sound tethers it as its body takes form, as it is brought into this world.

This time, it is not for pain nor desire that this sound exists. It is not to announce the start of the war. It is not to demonstrate that he is no longer He of Ten's Wisdom, but rather that he is He of the Terrifying Roar. None of that sophistry matters at all. Rather, he roars for the simplest reason.

He roars because he roars.

The light fades. The roar fades. The world becomes deafeningly blank in their absence, as he, with his body formed, steps forwards and looks at the girl before him.

She is a falsehood. She is a human. She is a monster.

And just the same, he is a falsehood. He is a human. He is a monster.

This could be the only result. Without an artifact that related the Heroic Spirit to the Master, without an artifact that related the Master to the Heroic Spirit, the only means of assignment among all those points of light in that sea of ether was the basis of compatibility. A monster who was a human. A human who had broken out of the realm of human sense. Knowing that, the man who had emerged from the light looks to the girl who had created the light. A presence of command intersects with a neutral gaze.

"So, you seek to be my Master."

It is a simple statement of observation, nothing more. Not a challenge, not a question, but merely an observation. As he gauges the magus before him, he nods slightly.

The point at the end of this path would not be enough to reach that goal; he knows this without question. A second path would need to be carved from the terminus of the first. So, there is no sense in fighting it, as such a thing is pointless. There is no need to challenge his Master as if under some megalomaniacal lust for control. Just as the Fourfold's consort, he would flow without resistance. In a mere instant, across the link of their mental connection, the man sends the girl knowledge of his "everything". Name, abilities, Noble Phantasms. At least that way there won't be time wasted.

"Very well, then. The contract is complete. I will be the path you use to achieve your goals. In return, at some point during this war, show me something beautiful."

Archer

---

Smirking confidently, the red-clad Servant simply shrugs at her Master's foolish observations. "If I look this way, it is as a result of my Master's tastes, and nothing else. The Holy Grail summons only the most compatible Servants, after all."

With this last comment, however, Archer's face grows slightly disappointed. She sighs, and regards her Master with a straight expression, staring her in the eyes to emphasize the seriousness of her words.

"I assure you, despite my appearance, that I am the genuine article. You should be able to sense this much through our link. If you are not satisfied, so be it. I, your Archer-class Servant, will win this war in your name."

With, or without you.

And, with this, Archer seemed to be finished with what she had to say. She simply watches on with a calculative, unreadable expression, waiting for her Master's response. Evidently, she was not all that interested in addressing the others in the room, although she did take note of them.

The Church, she comments to herself dryly. It seems my Master this time around comes with a few Masters of her own.

Marie Andersen

It would seems the little girl was prideful and confident. Surprising. A trait that could be used to trace which hero she was, if not for the very glaring lack of heroes being very young girls. Joan of Arc came to mind, but she did not think the Maid would be this young, nor be associated with the Archer class. To make things more complicated, the Servant offered not their own name, nor any other hint of which hero she might be.

So be it.

In a way, not knowing the name of your own Servant does have its merits.

"..in my name..." she murmured to herself.

Oddly enough she had never even thought of having the wish for herself. Marie had no real need of wealth, nor does she want for anything. Her life right now was enough for her. Surely there were others clamoring for the grail with desires of their own, and with more magecrafts than she had.

"I will hold you to that promise. ...Archer." Though it is not for my sake that you will fight, she thought to herself.

With a final bellow, Gabriel finished his speech, and dismissed the executors, signalling the time to begin preparations for the meet with the Masters. With some final words of encouragements to Marie, he squeezed her shoulder once, and headed out the underground room, leaving them both alone.

"Come, let us walk. The war would officially begin soon, once the Masters are all gathered, and the Supervisors speaks."

---

Lancer
Abandoned Apartment, Downtown

"It is a pleasure to meet you, brave warrior. I, Plain, am indeed your Master and the one who has summoned you..." His Master spoke for a moment before stopping. "I must ask, before we move on to establishing our contract. What manner of Hero are you? And what shall you be called?"

"Ah, forgive me. I seem to have forgotten my manners in the presence of such beauty." Lancer gave a bow, smiling all the while. "I am Cuchulainn, Lancer."

Ah, so it was truly this woman. Lancer had a horrible thought of suddenly having his master killed and replaced by another for some reason. Regardless of that sudden flight of fancy, he was quite pleased to discover Plain not only had very pleasing looks and demeanour, but the energy to supply and power him as well. It was almost enough to make him forget about that rather... excited look his Master had. Almost.

But the first time meeting was hardly the time to pry into someone's business, not without actually knowing about them first.

"So, Master? What is your orders?" He asked.

---

Church on the northern hill overlooking the town - Church Nave

Solemnly Gabriel walked up the aisle, as the executors filed into one side of the church, staring down the Orthodox Knights on the other side. The air was tense, as the Catholic representative finally reached the Orthodox representative standing near the pulpit, each wearing their own garbs, and criticizing the others' clothing.

"Gabriel Mayers." The man, Aleksei Misayev, was shorter than Gabriel, and had a very rugged look upon him, compounded by the eyepatch he donned. In contrast to Gabriel however, he had a more welcoming air to him, along with a gentle smile. The only similarity they shared was the air of authority and power they both emanated.

"Aleksei Misayev." Gabriel replied in turn. "I trust all is accounted for?"

"Everything is in order. Just as agreed, we let you supervise this war, and once it is over, you go home without meddling in our affairs."

Nodding in agreement, Gabriel took his place in front of the pulpit, as Aleksei stood by his side. "The Masters should be here soon. And after, the start of the war."

Rose Andrews
Foreclosed Shipping Facility, City outskirts

___________________________________________________

"Conventional wisdom and tradition," Rose answered her servant coldly. Her Servant's attitude was not unexpected but it provoked a defensive anger from her. She continues, "Not that I care for starters. The Master and Servant pact we have entered is out of necessity not out of want. The rules of this war were no created by me but by others. I cannot touch the grail without the hands of a servant. I would die before I could get what I desired. You need me to supply you with mana and anchor you in this age. Other than those reasons we do not need each other." Rose raises her hand showing off her command seals, "As for these markings, I shall do with them as I dam well please. Namely, In my own defense and to secure 'us' the grail."

Rose took a step back. She knew she did not really stand a chance. Rose had read up about the previous grail wars and how casters tend to be the most free of the servants. One killed her master on sight and became a master herself. One went rogue and only cared about slaughter of children. Would Rose's story in this grail war be written by her death and her servant running amok? Rose knew backing down might be a sign of weakness in the eyes of her servant, but it might also save her life. Rose spoke again, "I plan to make the best of our partnership. I hope we will be more symbiotic rather than parasitic to each other. There is much to be done before Victory can be claimed."

@Rosette Christopher

Assassin
Room 706, New Hangover Hotel

_______________________

Assassin pondered his master. She was odd, very odd. Not terribly focused from what he could tell. She seemed to have several talking familiars. Some kind of obsession with masks. Assassin put his original mask back onto his face. He had played along with his master expecting something to happen. When nothing did, Assassin was his usual silent self. When his master told him telepathically not to speak, he was kinda insulted. It didn't matter. The mental link was a useful tool for a silent killer like himself. Over the link, He replied back as coldly as winter air, "I am the White Death, Simo Hayha. I have Presence concealment as for my designation as Assassin. I have extreme focus, clairvoyance, disengage, and protection from arrows. My noble phantasm is my rifle also called white death. Range 400 meters. Anti-personnel. I don't miss. Good enough report?"

@Paradox Witch

---

"Yeah, that'll do." Carly-Beth replied aloud, Master's Clairvoyance filling in the blanks from her partner's self-introduction. "So then, if that's the kinda person you are, let's be nice and efficient."

"So, there's a meeting between the Overseers and all the Mastahs that's set to happen in a bit, but going there is effort, and also I don't really want to reveal my face this early in the game, so I'm sending Jet instead. I'll be looking through his eyes while he's there and we'll know all the info we need to know."

"You can accompa-...eh, actually, no. Some of the other magi are bound to be able to attend the meeting non-personally, like we will, so leaving me all on my lonesome could be a death sentence. Bleh, I knew I should have packed some of those sealing talismans, but that clod of a family head has no idea how these things work. They should just make me head of the family finances, things would be so much smoother then. But anyway, you stay with me. We can go to the top floor and scope out the town. Given your skillset, we'll have to be smart about terrain and ambushes and stuff to bridge the combat gap, so we can start doing some minor prep while the meeting's happening."

"Oh, yeah, if anyone there is cute, I might have Jet offer an alliance to them. If anyone's not cute, we might go murderize them post-prep. I wish Jet had Mystic Eyes, that'd make this so much more efficient, but I guess it's too late for that. Alright, Jet, go to the Church and just do what I tell you. Assassin, keep your concealment up and let's go to the roof." The homunculus said with a slight yawn, starting off to exit the hotel room as Jet Li followed behind.

Saber
Saldrisk Apartments, Floor 10, Uptown

---

Saber went into her ethereal form and followed her Master. She wished he would have slowed down a bit, but if they were in a rush to meet these supervisors, it only seemed natural that he would move things as fast as he could.

Uuuggghhh, supervisors.

What was the point of them? A bunch of priests who lacked any kind of magic, and failed in comparison to a Servant in strength. It was insulting that they had the authority to watch over this war. War had nothing to do with the weak, and everything to do with the strong. Honestly, she'd prefer it if Masters weren't a thing, but there was no getting around that.

Well, her Master didn't seem like a bad guy, so working with him should be fine. He bowed to her, which was already an amusing sight, but it did show that he wasn't near the tier of a Servant, especially one of the Saber class. Now, she just wanted to get some information out of him, and they were ready to go seize the grail.

" Master, would you prefer if I called you Dante instead? I'm fine with either or. I'd like to ask you a bit about what kind of magecraft you're capable of? How is your family line? And how do you think you should compare with the other Masters in the war?

---

Fatima Ilham
Abandoned Warehouse, Uptown

---

. . .

That summoning was a lot cooler than she was expecting it to be. Sure, a generic white light and wind is cool, but did other Master's have lightning, and black smoke clouds? Probably not.

The Servant himself looked befitting of such a summoning, and he was giant, and had an intimidating presence. Maybe if Fatima didn't care for avoiding The End, maybe she herself would have been scared of her own Servant. Either way, a Servant of this might could have only been summoned under the Saber class.

. . .

Wait, was that a hammer in his hands? Did Saber's have hammers? Wait. Waaaaaaaaaaaait.

Fatima used her Master's clairvoyance to check out her Servant's stats, and while she was impressed, this could only mean one thing.

Berserker.

Why. Why. Why. Why. Why. Why. Why.

Why?

She had to save the world from The End, and she was given the hardest Servant to work with? She didn't have the greatest family line, nor was she have an Atlas Homunculus, so keeping him in check was going to be pain.

Fatima couldn't panic now, maybe she was overreacting? Hopefully he would respond when she asks him a question? Yeah, that could be good?

" Hello, Servant! My name is Fatima Ilham, and I guess I'll be your Master for the war! I specialize in using Wind, Curses, and my cute little Beetle familiars! I would like to learn a bit about yourself, if it isn't too much! "