Chapter 01: Prologue of the Fake Hero
This is the story of a boy that dreamed.
As a child he was saved from certain death by a man who looked as if the world had finally given him all he desired. Utter peace and happiness evident on his face as tears trailed down his cheeks.
["Ah, I want to feel that way."]
Saving others would lead to such joy, that idea was cemented within him. No, it was what formed his very essence. So, he grew to worship at the altar of the concept of "one who saved." A hero.
He wished to be a hero. To experience that sense of satisfaction that he had seen in his youth. And who else to idolize but the Braves?
Within a world where mystical creatures roamed and magic worked to enforce the laws of the universe and its deities. The enemy of human kind was many. They were weaker than the Orcs. Their strongest magic paled in comparison to that of the Elves. Their populations were large, but the Goblins reproduced faster. Unlike Kobolds they could not live in the harshest of environments. In a world as unforgiving as this, humanity placed their hopes into a band of heroes to defend their weak foothold within the world.
They were called the Braves, the hopes and dreams of human kind.
But that is another story.
This tale is about a boy who was born unequal as nature intended. He was not of swift foot nor strong body. He was not born with superlative sword skills nor magic capability. He was an average person in all respects. He was a simple boy who just wanted to save the ones he wanted.
A legendary will that would place him among his rivals and heroes of his adoration.
The story of how he became a Brave, the "Heaven Feller."
And it begins with a misguided search.
"I…don't think we're going to be finding any Chrysalis Flowers in here…" a teenage boy said slowly.
In hindsight, this was a monumental error. Exploring a cave in a mountain range avoided by the townsfolk should have been warning enough that things were out of the ordinary here. In a bad way. As soon as they stepped into the opening in the side of the hill they were enveloped in an unnatural inky blackness. So thick and corporeal it was as if you could reach out and grab it in the palm of your hands. But they continued into the black abyss regardless, all for a flower.
And there in lie the second mistake. The darkness of the cave was unnatural, and for good reason: the king of unnatural existences resided within.
A rumbling shook the floor beneath his feet, not a chaotic shaking like an earthquake, but a consistent and lulling rumble. As if someone was moving upon a stiff bed, bothering all else who were on it with them. The shaking affected their surroundings, shifting stones all over the cave. The rainstorm of rocks echoed throughout the cavern as boulders fell from the ceiling, opening a large gap in the ceiling, accompanied by a singe beam of light that illuminated the cavern.
A hill was in front of them. A hill that began to move. It slithered and shifted like a cylindrical wave of endless length.
"O-onii-chan," the boy's companion grabbed his arm fearfully, her tiny body quivering. The boy responded by gripping her hand tightly, his other hand holding the sword at his belt in anticipation.
Rushing air came from the breath of a colossus, as two mighty appendages shifted, their very impact on the floor of the cave causing his heart to nearly jump out of his chest. A long neck swiveled and arched with eerie grace as it brought forth the head into the stream of light. Elongated yellow eyes appeared from behind horizontal eyelids, glowing brightly in the dark like beacons of light.
"Dragon…" the boy whispered, the cold dread of the realization freezing his tense body rigid with fear.
The head of the dragon moved closer, the superheated air from its nostrils causing his cloak to billow and flap. The boy's brain was able to process what he was seeing despite the paralysis by fear. Deep black scales of immeasurable shine began in small segments around the eyes before varying in shape and sizes as they tessellated across the skin of the dragon. Two large horns erupted from the back of its head, curving upwards and ending on sharp points. Along its spine bony protrusions stood out, only interrupted by the joints of two wings the size of sailboats that seemed to have a life of their own, closing and fidgeting in a manner that the boy had never seen with animals in the wild.
The dragon opened its maw to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth the size of people, but what surprised him most was what happened afterwards.
"HOOO-MAN" a guttural voice erupted from the depths of its throat, "HAS BEEN MUCH LONG SINCE YOUR KIND HAS STEPPED INTO MY DOMAIN."
The boy remembered the legends his mother told him of dragons. The Divine Beasts that were extensions of Mother Gaia herself, a force of nature intrinsically tied with the World. They did not purposely breed destruction out of a primal urge, in fact they were intelligent and capable of speech and reasoning.
Was this his chance? Could he perhaps solve this diplomatically? Explain the situation and leave intact with his and his little sister's lives?
"W-w-we were l-looking for something- " his feeble voice stuttered, but was cut off by angry gurgling.
"YOU HOOO-MANS COME MANY TIME. I NO TREASURE. NO GOLD. NO DIAMOND. NO MITHRIL. NONE SILVER, PLATINUM. WHY CONTINUE TO BOTHER GNIR?"
It was almost mesmerizing to listen to the dragon (Gnir?) speak. It was as if the air oscillated at distinct frequencies to produce an absolutely surreal sound of dialogue, no need to change pitch of sounds with lips or teeth.
"U-um" his sister suddenly spoke from behind the boy's back, "We, uh, were looking for, um, a C-chrysalis flower."
The head of the dragon stilled and tilted as its giant eyes passed inspection from the boy to the speaker. The girl cowered behind her brother even more at the action.
"YOU NO HOOO-MAN." It said with a strange intonation to its alien voice, almost as if perplexed by what it was looking at it. "SHAPE OF HOOO-MAN. SHELL OF HOOO-MAN. BUT INSIDES DIFFERENT."
The atmosphere changed in an instant, one that was felt by the boy and girl. The air grew oppressive and tense, as if gravity had suddenly doubled down its anchor upon the two. The girl began to breathe unsteadily and gripped her brother's tunic tighter. The boy was no better off, his fingers aching under the stress he was putting around the handle of his sword. Cold sweat ran down his spine as uncertainty began to cloud whatever visions of the future he had.
"GNIR KNOW ALL. GNIR SEE YOUR KIND FOR MANY, MANY MOONS. MANY, MANY, MANY MOONS. THE RIVERS WERE SHORT, AND FORESTS YOUNG. YOUR NESTS BUT TINY SEEDS BETWEEN VALLEYS. HOOO-MANS ARE DANGEROUS. HOOO-MAN LIVE TOO SHORT TO SEE THE END OF THINGS. TOO WEAK TO SATISFY DESIRES. HOOO-MANS DESTRUCT THE ORDER OF THINGS. HOOO-MANS CREATE THINGS GO AGAINST NATURE"
With each word the dragon seemed to grow even larger as it moved within the confines of the cave. More light burst through the cave as shafts of light seeped through the fractured roof where spine of the dragon impacted against the ceiling. The black abyss was shoved away by the presence of light, allowing the boy to finally see the splendor of the legendary breed of beasts known as Dragons.
And let this be known, Dragons were gigantic. The legends did not do them justice.
"GNIR NOT FOOLISH, NOT HATCHLING NO LONGER. GNIR SEE THAT HOOO-MAN BRING A SHELL OF FLESH AND BLOOD. UNNATURAL. GRAIL TO BE FILLED WITH GAIA'S SOUL, ENERGY OF THE ALL MOTHER. NOT PERMITTED"
Confusion at the strange syntax morphed into horror as the boy realized that the dragon knew. The dragon knew of the true nature of his sister. He knew.
"BOY, LEAVE. BUT THE MUD DOLL STAY HERE. SEARCH FOR TRUTH WILL ONLY LEAD TO HOOO-MAN DESTRUCTION. THE CHALICE OF DEVILS MUST BE CONSUMED. GNIR WILL EATETH HIMSELF"
The Order of Things.
Against Nature.
Flesh and Blood.
Unnatural.
Grail to be Filled.
Not Permitted.
Mud Doll.
Search For the Truth.
Human Destruction.
Chalice of Devils.
Gnir will eat it himself.
A whirlwind of thoughts pounded against the walls of his mind, a static haze wafting over his eyes as he momentarily forgot the impending doom before him, his senses no longer registering. A memory played through the fog of indecision, a memory of a time most recent, but felt like an eternity prior.
"Listen, my dear. You are my son. And she is our little girl and your younger sister." A woman with long silver hair and red eyes smiled upon the boy beatifically, a star that warmed his empty soul. "So, promise me, that you will protect her. And keep her safe." The angel that was his mother framed it as a question, but he interpreted it as an order. No, an oath. A duty he placed upon himself from this day forward.
"Don't worry Irisvi- Mom." He corrected himself before bringing his fist over his heart, "I promise you that I'll keep my little sister safe from all harm. That's what an older brother does."
No words came back as a response, but the smile upon her face was all the confirmation he needed.
"As an older-brother…" the boy whispered to himself as the past faded away to the present. He took a deep breath to rid himself of thought. The fear and indecision melted away, replaced by a sense of duty he nearly forgot in his fright.
"That's right, I'm an older brother…" he repeated to himself.
"Onii-chan?"
A plan formed in his mind, and quickly addressed the sister hidden in his shadow.
"Illya, do you remember the [Levitation] spell Dad taught us?"
"Y-yes."
"Get ready to cast it. And I'm sorry."
The mental image formed immediately, the silhouette of a hammer rising above an anvil faintly visible but hyper focused upon the hammer. The tool fell with force, impacting upon the anvil in a shower of sparks and a sound reverberating metal that moved through the deepest recesses within his mental landscape. The self-suggestion did its work as twenty-seven Magic Circuits hummed to life, flooding his body with prana.
[Reinforcement]. A magic to give him enhanced strength and speed for a certain time.
In one fluid motion he grabbed his sister by the scruff of her hood and twisted his body like a spring. His enhanced vision just barely catching the widened red eyes of his sister as they looked at him in bewilderment. He mouthed his apology once more and threw her. The superhuman force was evident as she quickly hurtled outside the mouth of the cave and over the edge of the cliff. Her cry for her brother and tears visible as she fell, the despair was written all over her features.
The boy turned around while drawing his sword and holding it with both hands in front of him, the edge gleaming with defiance as he settled into a basic stance.
The dragon looked upon the human with veiled curiosity. The boy was capable of magic, but it was so minuscule it might not as well have been there, almost eclipsed by the simple air around the cave in mana density. With closer inspection the boy was wearing green tunic and brown trousers. Upon his upper body was basic leather armor, with a leather pauldron adoring his left shoulder, a mottled brown clock tied around his shoulders. A mundane longsword was in his hands, a simple metal tool that looked oh so fragile against the behemoth in front of him.
"HOOO-MAN IS FOOLISH. LIVE COULD HAVE BEEN KEPT. HOOO-MANS ALWAYS LIKE THAT. NOT SEE WHAT AFFECT THE REST OF THE WORLD AROUND THEM BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE."
"I will not let you kill my sister." He answered resolutely.
"…HOOMAN, WHAT IS YOUR NAME"
The boy was caught off guard by the question.
"Shirou…Shirou Emiya."
"WARRIOR EMIYA…YOU ARE BRAVE. FOOO-LISH BUT BRAVE. KNOW THIS. I WILL RAZE VILLAGES AND CITIES FROM THIS EARTH IN SEARCH OF YOUR NESTLING. IF NOT ME, THEN THE REST OF MY BRETHREN. OTHER EMISSARIES OF THE MOTHER'S WILL NOT LET THE ABOMINATION FLY FREE."
"Then, all I have to do is kill you before you can tell others."
"HOOOOOHH?" Gnir snarled as he leaned back on his haunches bright flames puffing from the corners of his mouth and nostrils. "KILL ME?"
"CAN YOU EVEN SURVIVE?"
Gnir opened his maw and Shirou was suddenly staring into the sun. Unbearable winds buffeted the walls of the cave, hot enough to singe the hairs on his neck and hands. Shirou held his ground and his gut as he gazed into certain doom. A single gurgle was all he heard before a storm of hellfire shot out of the dragon's mouth and rushed towards him. A twisting turning serpent of flames began its horrible decent, ensuring a painful burning death.
Shirou let out a war cry as he met the torrent of fire with his blade.
And on that day, Shirou Emiya joined the Heroes of Humanity as one of their own. As a fellow Quasi Brave.
Authors Note:
Hello again dear Readers, its your favorite shit author, SouBU.
I'm currently balancing a ton of projects and IRL stuff including a new internship. But I had to get this idea out for scrutiny.
I had recently finished reading and watching "Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii desu ka? Sukutte Moratte Ii desu ka?" and was in dire need of therapy. The protagonist of the story, Willem, had surprising parallels with Shirou and my mind began churning. They were both men of little ability that wanted to become heroes. They were selfless and ultimately tragic heroes. So I thought, how about the characters of Fate/Stay Night in a high fantasy world with similar concepts like Shuutmatsu? Perhaps we can have a new look at how Shirou would develop as a character outside of the Grail Wars.
So this story came about. A new world where fantastical creatures and a fantastical world serve as a hostile environment for humanity to survive within. Our hero is Shirou Emiya, a boy who was born with no obvious special skills beyond his insatiable desire to be a hero who through sheer luck manages to accomplish a great deed and joins his idols as a fellow Quasi Brave. He is unsure whether he is deserving of his position, but strives to do his best to achieve his goal. Chapter 01 is a setup, and will be proceeded by a timeskip. I foreshadowed a few things, as well as hints to what is to come. Hopefully these become clearer as the story progresses.
On another note, I think Shirou's powers of Projection and UBW have run its course in this community. I find it to be boring, and would enjoy seeing some creative twists on what he is capable of. In this story there will be a form of said Projection and UBW, but they will not be the focus.
What do you think? What do you think of this prologue? How is my writing? Please read and review, feedback is appreciated.
The real story to come further down the line is almost out of planning and outlining. Please be excited for that.
Regards, SouBU