[b]Shinobu[/b]
[i][Ryuudou Temple]
[8:00 AM][/i]

The shortest Master of the grail war was feeling a little chilly this morning, but it was nothing that she couldn't handle. Days of meditating alone in the middle of the forest beyond her family's estate had prepared her for this. So, as she approached the Buddhist temple with a feeling of trepidation, she wasn't shivering from cold.

[i]Was this really okay?[/i]

This place, Fuyuki City, was soon to become a warzone. No, it was possible that it already was one. She couldn't know when the other Masters had arrived, they might even already be set up, ready to strike against any late arrivals before they summoned their Servants. That was the kind of person a Magus was. So, as she carefully approached the best summoning location in the city, it was only natural that she was tensed for combat.

...

She had encountered the barrier on her way in, but she had at least enough experience to realize that it wasn't put in place by an enemy Master. Her first approach had been twenty minutes ago, when she circled the temple and carefully observed her surroundings, searching for signs of enemy activity. When she didn't find any, she approaches the back side of the temple grounds, finding a place where there was less of a chance of her being discovered. Once there, she surveys the land briefly and sets up next to the lake.

[i]"Alright, time to get started."[/i] She takes a small receipt out of her pocket, reading the hastily scribbled instructions and reminding herself of the general structure of the magic circle. Reaching into her convenience store bag, she pulls out a small plastic package containing two sticks of white chalk. She uses her teeth to tear a hole in the plastic, tearing the package in half from the point of the rip in order to free the chalk inside.

Drawing the circle was easier than she expected. Leaning over the small, flat space of dirt she had discovered, she draws the magical circle, frequently referencing the drawing on the receipt for accuracy. Once she finishes, she settles into a meditative position next to the circle, closing her eyes for an instant to move her awareness from the outside world, to the inside.

...A familiar sound reaches her inner world, and the sensation of magical energy coursing through her body comes to her. Driving in the fast lane. Time to hit the magical highway of the mind.

[i]Summoning- Start.[/i]

Her mouth moving was just a formality. She concentrates on the stream of mana in her mind. She would have to anchor the Servant to the world the instant it arrived. That was her responsibility as a Master. Everything else, she knew, would be done by the grail. It was a ritual so simple, a child could do it.

[i]Chant- Finish.[/i]

Her eyes remain closed. Instead, she watches the opening in the center of the circle with the eyes of her mind. All of her senses tear themselves from the ritual going on inside of her body, and instantly she becomes aware of her surroundings. The air was surging with power, and she could almost hear the light emanating from the magical circle in front of her. She could feel something, like an invisible mass forming in the air in front of her, an unknowable pressure that indicated the presence of something from beyond mundane perception.

Her Servant was here.