Prologue - Lost Actors
Clouds billowed past the Ragna the Bloodedge as he walked over the ridge. He looked up, the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi reflected in his green and red irises. The Grim Reaper's gaze was at the same time ambitious and melancholic. Dismissing a thought, he adjusted the massive blade strapped to his back and continued walking.
Rin Tohsaka stared out the window of her classroom, the teacher's words were meaningless to her today. Her thoughts dwelt on success in a far more important form of education. Today she would continue the family tradition - follow in her father's footsteps as a master competing against six others. She had no personal wish for the Holy Grail to grant, but as an achievement of magecraft and strategy it was vital to her.
The outline of the massive city was all that Ragna could see as the sun set behind it. The Grim Reaper continued to walk until the last rays of light were gone.
"There's no way I'll make it there by morning, might as well get some sleep, then I can walk the rest of the way in daylight and attack at nightfall." He said to himself as he eyed the distance between him and the city. He made himself comfortable under the branches of a lone tree and dozed off.
Rin returned to her mansion and changed into her red and black magus outfit. The fateful summoning of her servant would begin tonight. There was no room for error, getting everything absolutely right was vital. She gathered her equipment and headed to the basement.
In a field of white roses, a pair of aristocrats were sipping tea at a table - a young girl and an adult man. A casual observer would assume they were related as both had pale blonde hair, red eyes, and a gothic clothing style. While both were vampires, they were in fact from different worlds.
"How appropriate, the observers of each world coming together." The man said and laughed evilly.
"Do you have any knowledge of what caused this?" The girl asked.
"No, but the effect is rather interesting, like actors wandering into the wrong theatre." The man replied.
"Ye first, O silver, O iron. O stone of the foundation. O Archduke of the Contract. Hear me in the name of our great teacher, the Archmagus Schweinorg."
Rin chanted as she began the ritual.
"Let the descending winds be a wall. Let the gates in all directions be shut, rising above the crown, and let the three-forked roads to the kingdom revolve."
"I have no way of predicting what effect this will have, perhaps your method can provide some results" The vampire girl explained.
The man's intimidating shark-like smile disappeared, replaced by one of genuine interest. "I envy you, being able to rehearse the end of the world instead of frantically searching for a solution before it comes"
Rin traced the magic circle with molten jewels. It was her intention to use this modification of the ritual to force the summoning of Saber - the most powerful servant.
"Shut. Shut. Shut. Shut. Shut.
Five perfections for each repetition.
And now, let the filled sigils be annihilated in my stead!"
The complex design on the floor began to glow blood red.
"Anfang"
Magical energy flooded the girl's body. She gasped. The feeling of simultaneous ecstasy and agony violated every nerve in her body. She kept her composure, determined to complete the ritual, she continued the incantation.
"Let thy body rest under my dominion, let my fate rest in thy blade.
If thou submittest to the call of the Holy Grail and if thou wilt obey this mind, this reason, then thou shalt respond."
"Perhaps this strange event will change the fate of both worlds" The girl said as she smiled optimistically.
The pools of blood that were the man's eyes showed something other than madness for once. "I certainly hope so." he replied and stood up. "I must be leaving now. Thank you for the tea, Lady Alucard."
"It was my pleasure, Count Eltnam."
The phenomenon known as Night of Wallachia disappeared with a wave of his cape, leaving Rachel Alucard alone in her garden.
The light coming from the summoning circle was almost as bright as day. The ritual was almost complete. Rin knew that her peak energy was now. She had accounted for the clocks in the house being wrong, that could've caused some major consequences.
"I make my oath here.
I am that person who is to become the virtue of all heavens.
I am that person who is covered with the evil of all hades.
Thou seven heavens, clad in a trinity of words,
Come past thy restraining rings, and be thou the hands that protect the balance!"
The light reached a brilliant crescendo... and then suddenly died.
"Nothing?"
She heard an explosion above her.
"How the hell did I get here?" Ragna thought to himself. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep, then there was a loud crash and he woke up in a smoke-filled room. Through the smoke, he could see the outline of a pigtailed girl.
"Rabbit! Why the hell did you summon me now?" he shouted. "Wait... you're not the rabbit."
The smoke cleared; master and servant, both clad in red, stared each other down.
"So you are my servant. Are you a saber class?" Rin asked.
"Goddamn it! I am not anyone's servant!" Ragna shouted. "What the hell is a saber class anyway?"
"You are a heroic spirit. Right?"
"I'm no hero, I'm the Library's most wanted man!"
"Library? I don't recall any branches of the Mages Association by that name."
Ragna's eyebrow arched with curiosity.
"No Library? And you haven't heard of me. This must be a different world or something."
Rin started pacing around the room.
"Damn it. The Grail must have malfunctioned again. Father warned me about this."
"Would you please explain what the hell is going on here?"
"The Holy Grail War. Seven masters summon seven heroic spirits known as servants. The last pair standing wins. Usually the servants come from ancient myths, but in the last war, and probably this one too, the source of the servants is unknown." Rin looked at her hand. "The connection seems to be complete, you should be able to feel it now."
Ragna reached out with his mind, sensing the magic around him. There was a direct line between him and the girl. What surprised him more was the ambient field, seithr of this concentration would usually be deadly, but this field was different; strong, but not at all invasive or overpowering.
"That seal on your hand, that's what connects us."
"We call it the command spell, with it the master can give the servant three absolute orders, miracles beyond the rules of the world are possible, but require careful wording."
Ragna's eyes flashed with rage, his body shifted to an aggressive stance.
"So you're controlling me?"
"Don't think of it like that, I wouldn't waste these on simple orders. Besides, servants usually respond to the summoning because of their own desire to obtain the Grail, so cooperation with their master is a natural result."
"Well I don't have any desire for this Grail, but working with you seems like my best bet to get out of here. Still, if we get into a fight I'm gonna do things my way."
Rin sniffed and looked at him condescendingly. "I guess that's to be expected, each servant should know how to make the most of their abilities."
"The nerve! thinking he's a better strategist than me!" she thought to herself.
Ragna could see that this girl took it as an insult. "Hey, I didn't mean it like that. I'm still relying on your knowledge of this world. All I'm saying is that I don't want you to tell me how to do every strike like I'm some kind of pet."
"I wouldn't dream of it, I'm assuming that any servant I summon will be competent enough to think for themselves, the Holy Grail War is for warriors, not attack dogs."
"And there I was thinking you have no respect for me whatsoever." Ragna snarked. "Anyway, do you have a name? There's no way I'm gonna call you master."
"My name is Rin Tohsaka, call me whatever you like."
Ragna contemplated the name, whispering it to himself to get a feel for it. "Then I'll call you Rin. My name is Ragna the Bloodedge, but most people call me the Grim Reaper."
"Servants are usually called by their class names instead of their real names to avoid enemies researching their abilities, but since there is no way to research you it will be even less revealing to call you Ragna." Rin giggled. "People who have just met calling each other by first names, how informal. Then again, supplying someone with mana is kind of an intimate thing."
Ragna's cheeks turned the colour of his jacket. "Whaaaaa-"
A moment later, Rin understood the double meaning of her words and became similarly flustered. "I didn't mean it like that!" She shouted as she rubbed the back of her head. "Anyway, I need to rest after the summoning. You can stay in the guest bedroom, do not disturb me."
With that, the master and servant turned away from each other and walked to their rooms. Rin undressed and collapsed on the luxurious bed, she was near exhaustion so sleep came easily.
She dreamt of a beautiful world with an azure sky.