Chapter 1: What Came Before
[Clocktower, London]
"Does anyone know the history of the Fuyuki Holy Grail?"
Silence filled the entire lecture hall. The silence was so thick and pervasive that he could literally hear a pen drop, another one of his idiot students having dropped one at that precise moment. Ignoring his mumbled apologies and fumbling, the teacher turned his gaze to the rest of the room. He saw many of his students' eyes flicker away from him, as though they were afraid to make eye contact. Sighing, the teacher turned to the blackboard behind him and begin to write.
"The Fuyuki Holy Grail War. An event that began and continues to be upkept by the three families of Magus in Fuyuki. Can anyone tell me the names of those three families?"
"The Tohsaka, Einzbern and Makiri families, sir." A blonde haired girl boldly stated from the back of the class. She had the air of nobility surrounding her, aristocratic features with her blonde hair as well as the way that she sat completely gave her away. Yet, the teacher was not impressed.
"At least one person here can read off what I just wrote on the blackboard. Seriously, do any of you intend to become magi?" The teacher said dryly. A silence once again filled the room as the students saw that the names of the three families had indeed been written on the blackboard and there was laughter from the blonde girl, completely nonchalant that she had been caught.
"As Edelfelt so skillfully pointed out," the teacher began, "the Holy Grail was created by those three families. It was originally created as a pathway to the Root by obtaining a single omnipotent wish from that Holy Grail. Since a large amount of energy was required to power this Holy Grail, it would require the spiritual energy and prana of the servants in order to function. Do all of you understand this much?"
It would appear that the word 'wish' had caught the attention of every single one of the students. All of them were now sitting up straight, giving the teacher their utmost attention, even the Edelfelt girl at the back of the class. A smirk appeared upon the teacher's face. It would seem that all of them had fallen, like many other magi, to the promise of that wish.
Taking a quick glance at his watch, the teacher cursed under his breath. The time for his lesson was practically up. "Well then, I guess I shall end the lesson here. Tomorrow, we shall delve more into the Grail system as well as the loopholes of the system as explored by the Einzberns. Class dismissed." The teacher announced.
Groans could be heard coming from the students. Many of them had just had their interest piqued only to have the teacher end the lesson instead of continuing. Picking up their items, they began to shuffle out of his classroom. The teacher too began to pack his items. It had been a long day for him as well.
"Urm, excuse me, sir?" The student that had dropped the pen earlier, Ashtana Nishiki asked.
"Hmmm?" The teacher grunted.
"Urm, you participated in the last Holy Grail War right, sir? Do you remember what had happened?"
"Hmmph. Of course I do. There are many things that I shall never forget about that war, no matter how much time has passed." The teacher said nostalgically as he tugged at the red and gold coat draped on his shoulders.
Indeed, that teacher had seen wonders during the Fourth Holy Grail War. There was the memory of that giant of a man, charismatic and brave, clad in his regal cloak and armour. The man who had rode into that war atop of a gleaming chariot, a man who had a world to call his own, one that contained an army fit for a king. A King of Conquerors. There were of course other memories from that time. There was that filthy Caster, that unknown Berserker, that foolish Lancer, the many Assassins and of course the golden Archer.
Yet, none of those mentioned could compare to his greatest memory of that servant, not even Archer's strongest Noble Phantasm, Ea. It had been that sword that had lit up that night, that sword that had brought the end of Caster and that sword that still held a place in his memory. The culmination of all of man's hopes and dreams, the strongest of the holy swords, the Sword of Promised Victory. That golden beacon of hopes and dreams could still be seen in his mind's eye, the little orbs of light that had filled the area surrounding the blade. All who walked the Earth knew its name, the blade of King Arthur, Excalibur.
"Sir? Was there a victor of that Holy Grail War?"
"Officially, there was none. However, the two masters that made it the furthest were Saber's and Archer's masters. Both of them died before they could have wished upon the Holy Grail, causing there to be no victor…"
The teacher's eyes narrowed upon making eye contact with Nishiki. The boy had an all too familiar look etched in his eyes. It reminded him of his youth, the rash and hungry eyes of a young Waver Velvet. Come to think of it, the Church had recently announced that the Fifth Heaven's Feel would begin soon due to the excess energy in the grail from the the lack of a wish. Could this boy be intending to partake in it?
Sighing, the teacher shook his head. Picking up his suitcase, he began to make his way out of the room. Before leaving, he spoke, "Boy, if you truly intend to partake in this Holy Grail War, I hope you will gain something valuable about it."
Unbeknownst to the teacher or Nishiki, a certain blonde Edelfelt had remained in the classroom and had overheard the entire conversation between the two. Glancing out the window, Luvia muttered, "So that's why Mother wishes for me to go to Japan..."
[?, Fuyuki]
A man was running through the streets, a book clutched tightly to his chest as though it was a valuable treasure. Eyes darting about fervently, the man turned and rushed into an alleyway. His magic circuits at his legs began to light up as he pumped prana into them. Leaping with all his might, the man had made the jump up to the roof of a three storey building on one side of the alleyway.
Leaning against the door that read "Roof Access", the man attempted to slow down his panting. He had been running as though the literal devil had been on his heels, perhaps more so than figuratively. Flipping open the tattered book, the man cackled in glee as he took in the sight before him. With this, he could finally summon it.
"Yes, this will do. Now all I need is to gather those materials and return to my workshop…"
[Einzbern Castle]
On the edge of a forest stood a majestic western castle. At the entrance of the castle, a little white haired girl stood. She was clad in a purple winter coat and watched the dark clouds draw in ominously from the distance. A sudden gust of wind whipped at her hair as she watched lightning flash and dart across those clouds.
"Let's go, Berserker."
A deafening roar responded to her commands as lightning split the sky and thunder shook the earth.
[Tohsaka Manor, Fuyuki]
"Supposedly, the Edelfelt family is taking part in this Holy Grail War as well. Argh, looks like this will not be an easy war after all." Rin Tohsaka moaned as she slammed her fist against a table in her workshop. If they were intending to pull the same nonsense they did in the Third War, then she would have to be ready to greet them.
Glancing at the clock on her worktable, she saw that the current timing was 1.45 am. 15 more minutes before she attempted to pull a servant. Although she was unable to procure a catalyst due to a lack of funds, Rin was certain that her Tohsaka bloodline and her capability to wield all five great elements would be sufficient.
1.55 am. The time for the summoning draws closer. Once more, Rin combed over her perfect summoning circle and ensured that the gem was ready. The gem that contained sufficient magical energy to summon a servant was a beautiful shade of red that was carved into a heart shape, glimmering even in the dark.
2 am. The time had come. Raising her hand with command seals inked across them, she began to chant.
"Let silver and steel be the essence.
Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.
Let my power be that I pay tribute to. Let my great Master Schweinorg be the ancestor.
Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall.
Let the four cardinal gates close.
Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate.
Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill.
Shatter once filled. Repeat, repeat, repeat thrice more.
I hereby declare.
Your body shall serve under me.
My fate shall be your sword.
Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail.
If you will acquiesce to this will and this reason…Then answer!
An oath shall be sworn here-
I shall attain all the virtues of all of Heaven.
I shall have dominion over all the evils of all of Hell! From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power,
Come forth from the ring of restraints,
Protector of the Holy Balance-!"
Red lightning began to crackle around the surface of the magic circle as the energy gathered towards the centre. Then, the magical energy pulsed before surging back towards Rin, throwing her off her feet. There was the sound of like a gunshot going off and black acrid smoke began to fill the air. Coughing, Rin raised her hand and the wind rose to obey here, sweeping most of the smoke out through the only window in the workshop.
In the middle of the magic circle, a figure drew itself to its feet. Squinting her eyes to get a better look at her servant, Rin found that he was dressed in rather odd attire. A red cloth was wrapped around his left arm and he was clad in a tattered shirt and jeans. His hair was a mix of a fiery red and a snow white. Opening his gold eyes, Rin's servant surveyed his surroundings. Upon making eye contact with Rin, she could swear that his eyes had widened in surprise, just briefly.
Shaking his head, the servant smiled and said, "I have come in response to your summons. I ask of you, are you my master?"
[?, Fuyuki]
"-perative. Come in, operative."
"Audio is fine. What are my orders?"
"Have you obtained the catalyst from the Church?"
"Not yet. I still do not see the need for this specific thing, when I already have-"
"All will be clear soon enough, Seal Designation Enforcer. Report to the Overseer in Fuyuki Church as soon as you can. Time is of the essence."
"Acknowledged."
[?, Fuyuki]
"Argh…" The man's entire body felt like it was on fire. He should not have attempted to summon a servant as well as rob that damned worm on the same night. He could feel the magic circle suck up his prana as his servant began to manifest.
Clenching his teeth, the man dealt with the feeling of molten lava running through his veins. His servant had almost fully manifested, anytime now and the strain would be over. Sure enough, after a few seconds, the pain stopped and was replaced by a cool feeling of relief.
Watching the man, the servant cocked his head towards the side. Studying the man carefully, the servant shrugged his shoulders before lazily saying, "Looks like you're my master. Assassin class servant, and I sure as hell know what it means to have fire running in my veins."
[?,?]
"Oh, it seems like all the remaining servants have been summoned on this night. Hmm? What's this? Someone was foolish enough to summon something in this class? Even those Grail hungry Einzberns did not have the guts to summon one during the Third War… Looks like this will be a very interesting Grail War." Zouken Matou cackled as ascended the steps from his workshop.
Still, to think that some lunatic magus out there was even willing to summon a being of that class to enter the Holy Grail War. Truly, that magus had to be praised, if not for his guts then for his sheer stupidity. The Tohsaka heir was most likely the one that had summoned an Assassin class servant. He should fortify the barriers around the manor. He did not need the Tohsaka to find out about the servant of the Matou family for this Holy Grail War.
Let the Holy Grail War begin.
[A/N]
Hey. I know I have not been updating in a while (coughs). Anyway, for those who are wondering when the next update for A New World's Journey would be released, it is currently work in progress. Will hopefully get it up soon along with some other content so stay tuned!