The Einzbern preparations for the Fourth Holy Grail War had been going just as planned. They had obtained this catalyst many years ago, a true divine relic that could only summon one of the most powerful Heroic Spirits from the history of mankind. Combined with the intended Master, the pinnacle of their craft, there was no way that they could fail this time. In addition, she would be supported by her family, her maids… finally, it was their path to victory. They had taken extensive time to plan their course of action after the delay of the Fourth War due to the farce that had become the Fifth. To think, someone had tried to steal the Greater Grail itself… and met his end at the hands of the Tohsaka Family’s representative, body blown apart and burned to cinders. They had even lost one of the founding families with the death of Matou Zouken…

But now, the grail would be ready, would it not?

Except…

It soon became clear that they were not the only ones who had been waiting for this day.

To those who were present, the Ainsworth raid on the Einzbern mansion in Fuyuki’s forest had been a shocking, chaotic event. Dozens of empowered dolls led by the most powerful among the Ainsworth family’s magi descended on the mansion and begun their assault. In spite of the mayhem, it became clear their target was indeed Illyasviel von Einzbern herself. The ensuing conflict lead to the deaths of many of the Ainsworth dolls, but also the crippling of Emiya Kiritsugu and the loss of many resources due to the devastating attack.

In the end, the Ainsworths had failed to obtain Illyasviel. However…

They had claimed the ritual. Through careful manipulation, they had installed their own Masters, members of their family or others tied to them, in every available spot in the Holy Grail War.

There was no way to obtain entry into the war, now, with all seven spots filled.

Or so the Ainsworth Family thought…

Soon they learned that the Einzbern, and the Tohsaka, were far more resourceful then they had anticipated, and the damage the grail had sustained all those years ago had allowed for even further manipulation of the ritual known as the Holy Grail War.

Two teams of Seven Servants and their Masters.

The Great Holy Grail War.

---

Avalon.

The Holy Scabbard of King Arthur. The Everdistant Utopia that the King was said to wait in after his death, biding his time until the world needed him once again.

The ideal catalyst for a Saber-class Servant. The Ainsworth family had also clearly been intent on capturing it for their own use, but they had been unable to locate it.

For good reason. The Einzbern family had placed it somewhere it would be truly impossible to obtain by anyone else.

Illyasviel von Einzbern had been able to conduct the summoning in a safe location, under careful supervision. Until she obtained her Servant, it was deemed unsafe for her to be left alone at any point. The Ainsworths were awaiting any chance they had to try and obtain the girl, after all. And so their backup location, the Emiya residence, specifically in a shack behind the home itself. It was an unlikely place for such a legendary figure to be called fourth, but it had proven to be an ideal location to peroform a more stealthy ritual while the Einzbern mansion itself was still being prepared.

And indeed, as expected, Illyasviel had conducted the ritual perfectly. Nothing had gone awry, and there had been no mistakes in the process. It was indeed just what everyone had hoped for.

And yet…

“Servant Saber, successfully summoned into this world.”

The figure that had been summoned was not the man they had expected. Instead, a slender, beautiful blonde girl in an armored dress stood before Illyasviel. In one hand, she gripped a weapon cloaked in swirling air, hiding even its shape and length from sight.

“I ask of you, are you my Master?”

Indeed, Saber herself had been somewhat confused by her Master, just as the onlookers had been surprised by her gender. She had never expected to be called to fight in the Holy Grail War by what appeared to be a child no older then ten years of age.

It was not long before she was informed of the truth of the situation, and the nature of the conflict she had been called to.

It was an even greater battle then she had anticipated.

---

The anticipation that had been built up was almost thick in the air. And yet, Tohsaka Tokiomi seemed as cool as ever, collected and confident as he oversaw his daughter’s arrangements for the war as one of the two heads of the current faction. Preparations had been conducted both at their own home and now here in the Einzbern mansion. It had been somewhat chaotic, arranging for the impending meeting between the Masters of the Tohsaka-Einzbern faction of the Great Holy Grail War. The decision to utilize his daughter as the representative for his family, rather then himself, had been a conclusion fueled by her position as his successor as the head of the family.

This was an opportunity to showcase her position and her capabilities, as well as a crucial battle for their family, and indeed the remaining founding families of the Holy Grail War. The fact that the Matou no longer existed as a family of magi was regrettable, but that had been before his time as the head of the Tohsaka.

By this point, his wife had been safely sent out of town, and out of harm’s way. Only himself and his daughter remained in the Tohsaka residence.

Rin had performed an admirable job, taking to her position as one of the organizers for their faction quite well. Now it was simply time to provide her with the final piece required for a Master’s participation in the battle for the Holy Grail.

The gem that would serve as the core of her summoning ritual. The instrument that would allow her to bring fourth a hero of legend, even if it was not a proper catalyst. The time it had spend storing up mana for all those years…

Soon, the other Masters would arrive. Tokiomi knew the Einzbern had already called fourth their Servant, but he was admittedly uncertain about the others. Regardless, it was time.

“Since everything is ready, Rin… I believe it is time to give you this.”

He held up an elaborate, decorated box. Within was a summoning catalyst he had obtained some time ago.

Everything had been prepared.

Even if Rin waited until the others arrived to summon her Servant, there could be no denying that she would summon an excellent and reliable Heroic Spirit.

As for the others, they had all conducted their summonings in this mansion. But that didn't necessarily mean they had ever interacted with one another before now. In others, they would perhaps be acquaintances. Whatever the case, they were now allies against the Ainsworth in this Great Holy Grail War.

This was where Tokiomi's involvement ended. It was time for his daughter to take center stage as the heir to the Tohsaka bloodline.

By the time they arrived, it was possible Rin would have already summoned Servant(or Servants, the system put in place by the Einzbern allowed for more then one to safely be contracted to one Master) to her side. Regardless, it would be time to begin immediately preparations.

The Ainsworth had to be defeated. Their attempt to hijack the ritual for their own purposes, to flood each slot with their own Masters, could not be allowed to stand.

For just what purpose were they so determined to obtain the grail through such means, anyway...?

---

Seven Servants.

They had been called to claim the Holy Grail.

Yes, of course.

The Seven Servants of the Ainsworth family, each a powerful foe for whatever the other alliance brought to bare.

A smirk crossed her face. At last, she would obtain her goal.

At last.

@Raineh Daze@Crusader Lord@Anza@PKMNB0Y@KoL@1Charak2@Rin

This was an uncommon situation, in fact, it was nothing like Archer expected when she answered the call of the Holy Grail. A Holy Grail War fought by two sides, with one of them vying for total domination over the other.

That wasn't what she expected. Would this be enough to grant the single wish she had for the Grail? Archer wondered as she overlooked the scenery from her perch atop one of the Einzbern Mansion's towers.

"Even if it is not, I still have something worth protecting here," she thought as she turned her eyes from an apple she had in her hand to the room of a certain certain child whose hair shared the same color as a certain goddess worshiped by the leonine Huntress.

"Still, why would anyone trust a child in the middle of a conflict such as this one?" Archer wondered as she took a bite of her treat. From the very moment she was summoned, she never hid her distaste with this situation, and would keep on doing so until she got the answer she wanted.

In the small room that had been reserved for his exclusive usage, Caules sat quietly in front of his desk, staring intently at the empty letter in front of him. The plan he had in mind, of course, was to tell his sister Fiore about all of the madness that he had gotten himself wrapped up in... For better or for worse, of course.

"Ah... But where do I start?" he asked himself, leaning back in the chair and staring up at the ceiling. The most problematic part about this was, in fact, how he had gotten involved in the first place. There hadn't even been any warning about the matter; one minute, he had been listening to a lecture in Lord El-Melloi II's classroom, and the next, both he and his classmate Rin had Command Seals on the back of their hands. To say that their professor promptly freaked out and put the class on temporary hold as he dealt with that fact would be a bit of an understatement, but one thing had led to another and brought him to where he was now—a room in a Western-style mansion owned by one of the most decorated magus bloodlines on Earth.

For him, who was by no means a standout magus in the first place, he felt like a little fish in a big pond, this was particularly jarring.

"...You know what? I think I'd be able to explain this better in person," he said, deciding it better to put the idea of writing to the side for the moment and choosing, instead, to get up and leave his room. "I think I mentioned that I'd like a computer installed here, but who knows if I can connect to the internet from this mansion. Actually, I don't even think the Einzberns would let me..."

With that, the young man left his room in pursuit of a drink of water and some fresh air, if anything. He was still on edge about the whole process—doubly so, given how far the odds were stacked against them—but there was merit to be had based on who had been summoned already. It was little solace, if any, but that was still better than nothing.


With a model of their surroundings laid out in front of himself, Rider simply stared at the current position of both sides of the war relative to what stood between them. The nature of their conflict was different from the 'war' he had come to know during his lifetime, and so by nature his tactics would have to change in turn. Time and time again, he shifted around, walking from one place to another as he attempted to discern locations of attack, places to ambush his opponents, and whatever else he could make use of in combat.

"Hmph. We are on the offensive in this scenario, which would make our own job exceedingly more difficult than I would prefer," he said, stroking his beard with one hand as he took a step backwards. "If at all possible, I would prefer that they attempt to strike at us..."

It only made things more worrisome that the Masters present for their faction were a group of children, who themselves seemed almost laughably unfit for the fields of war. He knew better than to judge things at first glance, of course, but to send them instead of soldiers...

Well, in the end, that was simply the hand that fate had dealt him. They were, as a collective, under his protection, which changed nothing about his plans in the end. He would protect them as he saw fit, come what may from the opposition, and so long as he drew breath he would not allow harm to befall them.

The pride of the Einzbern--the greatest work ever constructed by their hands, ignoring the entire fluke that had lead to the grail system in the first place--double checked her security before the other Masters came in. Such a thing should always be unnecessary given her small frame and magical ability, even without the strongest Servant... but as recent events had shown, her father was all to right to be paranoid. It might not be anywhere near the Magus Killer's armament but anybody that underestimated her alchemy was in for a nasty shock...

Though these Masters could probably be trusted to not be traitors. Probably. The Tohsaka and Edelfelt were reliable allies for the Holy Grail War and unlikely to throw themselves out of contention immediately. The other one... he didn't seem particularly threatening.

Illya waited by the entrance, with Saber just behind as a bodyguard--and wasn't it good that they had found a suit of the appropriate size? A Servant that couldn't discorporate was something quite strange altogether and finding clothes on short notice...

The lady of the manor had to greet her guests, even if they had already been staying for some time.