Hello hello! Welcome to... well, it's not really a fanfiction. Not yet, anyway. Mostly what this is is a loosely connected series of alternate servants being summoned in the Fourth Holy Grail War. At some point in the future I may get to writing an actual fanfiction based on these characters. Don't expect frequent updates, the Muse seems to avoid my neighborhood. Mostly I'm putting these up in the hope that they'll stop bouncing around in my head and maybe a review or two will inspire me more. That said, if you feel you can use these characters as-is, feel free. Just let me know so I can check it out.

"Yet you shall serve with your eyes clouded by chaos.

For you would be one caged in madness.

I shall wield your chains

From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power,

come forth from the ring of restraint, protector of the holy balance!"

Zouken chuckled to himself as Kariya finished his incantation. The fool could never hope to supply enough mana to support a berserker, let alone control it. Perhaps Kariya would have known if he'd had a more traditional magus training, but worms make terrible lecturers. His thoughts were interrupted by a flash of golden light from the summoning circle.

The figure in the middle appeared to be a golden phantom, slowly straightening and raising its arms above its head, palms downward. Eventually, the golden glow faded, leaving a man in plate mail, with a bucket- shaped helmet on his head, and a tabard over his chestplate with a large sun in the middle

"What ho! There never seems to be a shortage of lightless dungeons, is there?" The figure glanced around a moment before redirecting his gaze at Kariya, "I am Servant Berserker, have you summoned me for some jolly cooperation?" It seemed excited at the prospect.

Zouken stared open-mouthed at the figure. This "berserker" somehow managed to speak! Coherently, even!

Kariya had practised for this moment for quite some time. Assuming his brain was elsewhere, his mouth scrambled for lost time, "Yes, I have summoned you, Berserker."

"Magnificent! I am Solaire of Astora, may I have your name, master?"

Unfortunately, Kariya's brain managed to catch up at this point. His mouth was totally unprepared to keep him from saying something stupid, like, "You can talk?"

"Er… Yes? Is that a problem?" Solaire seemed taken aback.

Zouken laughed out loud. "Well then! It seems that you can't even summon a Berserker properly! They were specifically designed to be easy to summon, but you managed to fail at even the lowest bar. Truly, you were worth the effort."

Kariya glared at his Grandfather, "I can see his status, Grandfather. He has the Mad Enhancement, but it is sealed at the moment. Allow me to see what else… What are you doing?"

Solaire looked up from the pile of ash he had summoned. "I'm making sure I can operate at my full potential, master." That said, he pulled a frankly ridiculously long sword out of seemingly nowhere, inserted it into the floor (through stone! Without making a sound!), and held his hand out toward the hilt. He seemed to concentrate for a bit, and a small, ethereal flame sprung up from the ashes around the sword.

Kariya went weak in the knees for a moment, feeling the prana drain from his servant's actions. He stumbled, began to fall, and was caught by gauntleted, but gentle hands.

"Careful there, master. Come sit by the Bonfire, you'll feel much better."

Kariya felt himself get picked up by a single arm and carried like a child to be set down by the fire. As he grew closer to the smouldering wisps, he felt the Crest Worms inside his body become agitated, but the pain subsided as he was set down and heat seemed to soak into his bones. He felt better than he had in… years. Certainly since he started training.

"Much better, master. Nothing like a warm fire to bring comfort to the dead and dying, eh?" He felt something settle to the ground next to him. "Now then. Perhaps we can talk here without interruptions." Kariya looked up and noticed he could not see very far beyond the light of the bonfire: some sort of yellowish mist filled the air around them.

"Don't worry master, we have all the time in the world. Now then, while I am a big fan of working together with people, I much prefer knowing who I work with and their goals. Might I have your name?"

"Kariya. Kariya Matou. I'm sorry, but isn't Territory Creation part of the Caster class?"

Solaire chuckled and gazed into the bonfire. "Normally, yes, and I doubt I have stolen that ability from him. However, all undead have a home, and that home is the Bonfire."

"How does that-wait, you're undead?"

Solaire sighed and removed his helmet. Kariya gasped in revulsion, and immediately regretted it. Solaire had long blonde hair flowing down past his shoulders, but it was sparse and came from a head that looked like beef jerky. His eyes were black with small, yellow pinpricks, and his nose was gone. Worst of all, there seemed to be a small hole of pitch blackness in the side of Solaire's neck, with an occasional tiny tongue of what appeared to be the same flame as the bonfire curling out and up Solaire's neck.

"We'll get this out of the way quickly, then. Yes, I am undead, but while that has done my knightly looks no favours, I assure you it will prove to be our biggest advantage." He replaced his helmet. "I feel no shame, for this path was my choice. I merely wear this to spare others who would react as you have."

Kariya looked into the bonfire in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Solaire. It's not that bad, just... unexpected. You look nothing like the Dead Apostles." Kariya scoffed. "Besides, it's not like I reacted any better seeing myself in the mirror."

A hand clapped his shoulder. "Bear your scars with pride, Kariya. I interact with people frequently, so I can tell what drives them, and I feel that you have taken on this task for someone else's benefit. Although, I lack specific details. Who would you risk such suffering and death for? Family? A lover?"

Kariya glared sharply at his servant, then sighed. "Something in between, I guess. I take on this pain hoping to spare a young girl from suffering the same." He threw a hate-filled look at where Zouken was last seen standing. "Hopefully, my grandfather will honor his part of the agreement."

Although his face was hidden, Kariya could feel Solaire smile under his helmet. "I assume it has to do with retrieving the Grail, then? Fear not, Kariya."

The smiling feeling from Solaire took on a hint of steel.

"Death only slows me down."

Solaire's Stats:

BERSERKER: SOLAIRE OF ASTORA

Stats:

Strength: A

Agility: D

Endurance: B

Magic: C

Luck: D

Noble Phantasm: B

Class abilities:

Mad Enhancement E (sealed): This grants small increases to physical stats and takes away long term planning. This stat is sealed: servants are summoned at their strongest, and Solaire was stronger before he lost his mind.

Personal Abilities:

Jolly Cooperation!: Servant can convince others to team up easily, but cannot betray those he has teamed with unless Mad Enhancement is at rank B.

Mental pollution C: Solaire seeks his own sun, and to become grossly incandescent. This ability denotes a disconnect with reality, which is perhaps inevitable with a being from another world where reality folds on itself regularly.

Territory Creation C: Solaire is undead, and undead have a home: their bonfire. Solaire can create a bonfire to mark his "home" and revive there after a short time if killed. This ability can only be used in conjunction with Darksign.

Darksign EX: Solaire is undead, which means upon death he revives at his bonfire, if it exists. However, each time he does so, he hollows, gaining a rank in Mad Enhancement and unsealing the ability. When Mad Enhancement reaches A rank, this ability ceases to function

NOBLE PHANTASMS:

Sunlight Talisman C (anti personnel): This talisman allows Solaire to cast the miracles of the sun, including Wrath of the Gods, Heal, and Sunlight Spear. Note that this Noble Phantasm can be used even in a berserk rage. This talisman uses stores prana which is refilled at the bonfire.

Sunlight Maggot A: This "hat" provides light in a small area around Solaire, and also sets his Mad Enhancement and Mental Pollution to A rank while negating a significant part of the prana upkeep. This is also the only way to negate Jolly Cooperation.

Notes:

Solaire is freakishly strong, if slow. While Mad Enhancement will make him faster, stronger and tougher in exchange for his sanity, this does not inhibit his ability to cast spells, it makes his tactics erratic.

WISH: FOR THE FIRE TO BURN ETERNAL, SO THAT THE AGE OF DARK NEVER COMES, EVEN IF I MUST MUST BE THE FUEL

Tada! Hello Solaire, welcome to the most useless master in the war! How will Solaire being able to survive mostly on his own affect Kariya? How will a friendly Berserker change Servant interractions?