So... here we go. I had this idea now for quite a while, pretty much as a tribute to how childishly awesome the core idea of Fate is. The rights to Fate and the Nasuverse belong to Type Moon, I own nothing and just have my fun with the world. All characters are fictional except for those who aren't and all historical events are also fictional except for those which are fictionalized versions of things that really happened (that's my take on the dream-chapters).

I hope you have fun!

Prologue

The great cavern was scarcely lit by only a handful of torches. Within the darkness stood a tall man, his long silver hair and beard forming an imposing impression together with his stern features. He was watching the ceremony for quite a while by now, studying every chant and every movement critically. If there had been any mistake, he would have stopped it immediately. Despite their strict timetable, he saw no reason to deliver anything short of perfection. For he was Jubstacheit von Einzbern, the two hundred year old patriarch of the Einzbern clan. And here, deep down in the caverns below his family's castle, he was going to retrieve the magic his ancestors once lost. A magic so pure and mysterious that the magi weren't even able to give it a name, only referencing it as Third Magic.

They had tried to do it before. Five times to be exact. Each one was a failure. In a cruel mockery of fate the ritual to summon the wish granting device called Holy Grail never gave the chance for a miracle to only one person, but seven and in this way ensured discord and tragedy to take place. The last battle in Fuyuki, as unexpectedly soon as it came, was nothing Jubstacheit even cared to win. His pawn had somehow managed to summon one of the mightiest heroes in one of the weakest classes, so he had sent her away to Japan without an Einzbern overseer. If she had won, she would have died by becoming the Lesser Grail, never being able to make a wish for him in the first place. But Jubstacheit had never expected that the daughter of the wretched traitor Kiritsugu Emiya was able to survive long enough to do so. And after the Lesser Grail was destroyed again in the fifth war, his expectations were proved correct.

Fuyuki was a failure. So much was clear. Nobody would be able to use it correctly if the participants were too focused on killing each other to actually survive the conflict. As Jubstacheit began to see more clearly every day, the fault was inherent to the system of trusting seven magi to cooperate for a common goal, since that went against every aspect of what it meant to be a magus. It guaranteed a bloodbath. No... working together with the Tohsakas and Makiris was a mistake. A mistake out of necessity since at that time, no Magus in his right mind would have tried to do such a big experiment in the heart of Europe during an open war with the inquisitorial Church. But now in times of an uneasy truce, Jubstacheit and the Einzberns were not forced to evade the Church's eyes by fleeing to Japan. They were now able to use the strong laylines here in Germany without fearing immediate repercussions.

And they had to act quickly. There were forces within the Church and even some within the Mages Association who advocated for a ban on further Grail Wars and a dismantling of the Fuyuki Holy Grail. Jubstacheit had to prove them the usefulness of the ritual in the case of it being properly done. And the only way to ensure success was to trust in nobody else than his own clan and his own creations. There won't be any allies for this ritual, no more invitees from outside. Unfortunately, the Grail system refuses to grant command spells to purebred homunculi and is too unpredictable in its choice to allow a more direct approach by seizing the Masters beforehand and strip them of their rights of participation. But even then... there were other ways to guarantee victory. And the preparations for those were already in place. Everything that was left was the creation of the Greater Grail.

Of course they were not making one from scratch. The original one in Fuyuki needed ten years of preparation while this one only took two. The factor of experience made a lot of difference. Jubstacheit was in possession of Justeaze von Einzbern's notes and therefore able to avoid of a lot of troubles she had in her try and error approach of weaving the correct spells. But he was also able to use this cavern deep down under the Einzbern main castle which was already outfitted with the magic crests needed for the ceremony. It was an early experiment which was stopped before the finale phase in order to avoid the attention of stalking Church executors. Some kind of prototype Grail chamber. But its restoration and expansion went surprisingly smooth, so now all that was left to do was the creation process.

The Grail chamber was nothing more than a spacious cavern of black stone. In addition to the flickering torchlight there were also the luminous magic crests spending a minimum of light. They were carved directly into the rock, spiralling inwards in an endlessly complex pattern. No layer had the same shape and they all glowed in the same deep red of a command spell. These layers were thickest at the centre of the cavern where the foundation stone of the Greater Grail was placed. And above the foundation stone stood Jubstacheit's latest miracle. His best creation. A homunculus so advanced, it was only a small step below the great Justeaze. And just like Justeaze, this one's whole purpose was to get transformed into a link to Akasha herself. Watching her in her beauty of perfect functionality, flawlessly performing the last rites to sacrifice herself, filled Jubstacheit with a great amount of pride. At this moment, days after the beginning of the ritual, she had become nothing more than a catalyst, pulling mana from a radius of kilometres and pouring it into the foundation stone. As a result, the whole cavern was stirring with pure energy. The air itself was vibrating.

Finally... it is time.

A shudder went through Jubstacheit when the white figure on top of the black stone collapsed. Of course it was foolish to mistake his reaction to worry since the doll was just fulfilling its purpose. It was something the old man hasn't felt in decades. It was excitement. He watched how the human shell of the homunculus shattered and dispersed, setting free a deep red ball of glowing prana. It hovered above the foundation stone, emitting waves of energy which filled the cavern with an ominous atmosphere. Then seven white figures stepped out of the shadows into the flickering light of the torches. More homunculi. They surrounded the recently born Greater Grail and were engulfed in a shimmering blue light. Soon thereafter, they were also stripped of their mortal shells and seven beams of light shot into the red centre of the cavern. As a reaction, a blindingly bright beam flashed out of the Grail and swept away the darkness. Jubstacheit resisted the urge to close his eyes, so he could follow the direction of the beam closely. At first it hit the ground and lit up the foundation stone. The magic crests carved into the rock were screeching and shined so bright he feared they could overcharge and explode. But then the blue beam stopped and vanished, leaving the pulsating eye of the functioning Greater Grail in the shadows again.

It is done. The connection to Akasha and the Throne of Heroes.

As if to celebrate its triumph, a second beam of light lit up the cavern. This time, the stream was directed at the ceiling of it. Jubstacheit knew it established a connection to the layline system and with this managed to absorb the left-over energy from the last Grail War. In addition to the energy this prototype chamber generated over the last centuries, it would have been sufficient to immediately prompt the activation sequence of the Heaven's Feel ceremony without the usual decades of delay.

It is perfect.

Jubstacheit nodded proudly to himself when the light subsided and he was able to feel the Greater Grail brimming with power. It was done. He managed to succeed in a second miracle all by himself. Proving it to be possible without the help of the Tohsakas and Makiris. Now the only thing left to do was to ensure his victory. After the burning red core of the Grail cooled up and slowly turned to a shade of black, the old magus knew that all preparations were done. He didn't intend to waste more time and left the cavern in a rush. His hand was itching.

Only a few minutes later, Jubstacheit stood surrounded by servants and family members alike in the great hall of Einzbern castle.

"The ceremony was a success", he declared as if it was a matter of fact. "Is the catalyst prepared?"

One of his worthless descendants, a young man with dark hair and an excited grin on his face, stepped forward.

"It is, grandfather. And so is the magic circle. All what is left to do is to decide who shall be our champion."

Jubstacheit lifted an eyebrow. There was something in the voice of the young boy that irritated him. And in his eyes. There was this unmistakable hint of greed hidden under his false enthusiasm. Did he really expected to be chosen himself?

"If I had deemed any of you worthy of succeeding in what failed five times, I would have announced the name of this person soon enough. It should have been clear to all of you, that there is only one person I trust enough to bring victory to our house."

With these words, he strode out of the circle and made a point by going straight to the chapel without turning back. He was sure that there were more than a few startled faces staring at his back, but his announcement was clear enough and didn't need any further explanation. Arriving at the church, he locked the door and studied the altar. The magic circle made of silver was as perfect as it used to be, even with the additions which were made to ensure the summoning of the Servant Class he had in mind. The relic looked as it had seen better times, but it would suffice. For an ordinary eye it was nothing more than splintered and rotten wood. An extraordinarily keen eye would have seen the numerous parallel cuts in the wood which were the result of heavy usage even before the device lost its owner and got forgotten by history. But only the eye of a magus like the one of Jubstacheit was able to feel the touch of the powerful being that still echoed through the fabric of the tool. There was no doubt in it being the perfect catalyst for this certain someone.

Jubstacheit von Einzbern placed himself at the opposite end of the magical circle and raised his right hand. The red magic runes engraved on them shimmered with power. There was no mistake in that the new Grail had recognized his desire to finally end these wars with a victory the moment it was created since he was blessed with the command seals the very second after the ceremony was finished.

"Nehme auf, nehme auf, nehme auf, nehme auf, nehme auf. Wiederhole dies fünf Mal, aber wenn ein jedes aufgeladen ist, zerstöre es", he began the incantation.

Each word was accompanied by a burst of magical energy emitted by his hand. Each of those helped activating the magical circle until the silver construction glowed brightly.

"Erhöre meine Worte. Mein Wille erschafft deinen Körper und dein Zepter erschafft meine Bestimmung. Wenn du dem Ruf des Grals folgst und meinem Willen gehorchst, dann antworte mir!

„Hiermit schwöre ich, dass ich alles Gute in der Welt vertreten werde. Und dass ich alles Schlechte in der Welt besiegen werde. Ihr sieben Himmel, gehüllt in den drei mächtigen Worten der Macht: Kommt hervor in diesem Zirkel, der euch bindet!"

A blinding light filled the chapel and even before it subsided, Jubstacheit knew his Servant heeded his call. Victory was at hand. This time for sure.

And this was the first step in our little adventure. If you find any grave mistakes, please feel free to point them out. This is my first story that is not a translation but written directly in English. Which is kind of ironic since it is my first story actually taking place in Germany...

How did you like it? And are there any mad speculations who exactly the Servant summoned by Jubstacheit could be? I would like to hear them!