Disclaimer: Fate Apocrypha and Fate Stay Night belongs to Type-Moon
'Apocryphal' - Something false or fake; of doubtful authorship or authenticity, although widely thought to be true. Originating from the word 'Apocrypha', a group of 14 books, not considered canonical, included in the Old Testament, but usually omitted from Protestant editions of the Bible.
'Heroes' – The Greatest of Man; a person with distinguishable traits; defender or protector.
Five Months Ago, Clock Tower, London.
"Hmmmmmm," Rocco Belfaban scanned the report over a dozen times, unsure what to make of it. He was in a dim room that seemed to be twisting all sense of direction one would look. The room was unbelievably wide, yet the way it was made him uncomfortably claustrophobic. There was a single candle lit in the middle of the room that was the only source of light for everyone else present inside.
"So….only one returned," Belfaban said indifferently. He was an old man, short but straight-backed, the creases on his skin made his face gleamed like he was a statue carved of wood. Rocco Belfaban was the current head of the Department of Summoning and it was known that that he held his title for over fifty years, though no one is actually certain about that fact, this made it almost impossible for anyone to tell his age if he never told it.
Another nodded at Belfaban's hoarse murmur.
"I was able to witness the battle for myself through a familiar... it was a fearsome sight. That 'thing' should not be allowed to exist no matter what," a younger man said. He was a handsome individual with red hair. It was hard not to believe that he was a member of the elite even among the common folk, especially from a single glance at his strong, high-minded gaze and refined features. His words carried a strong sense of duty that showed what type of person he was.
The handsome man was Bram Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, his name carried weight as one of the lords aligned to the El-Melloi faction. Currently he was the successor to the Department of Evocation and a first-class instructor in the Clock Tower.
Belfaban nodded in agreement and then shifted his gaze to the last person in the room who continued to remain silent since he read the report. The man had loose long hair. He furrowed his brow in displeasure.
"What do you think, Lord El-Melloi?" Bram said. The man didn't respond, instead he went on to light his cigar in his hand with the single candle's flame in the middle of the room. The man called El-Melloi shook his head slowly from side to side.
"That's El-Melloi the Second," he corrected Bram.
"As much as I appreciate questionable respect coming from an elder such as yourself, keep the 'II'. That name is unbearably grating without it," he added while puffing the cigarette.
"My mistake," Bram apologized, bowing his head.
"How do you perceive the situation, Lord El-Melloi II?" Bram continued to ask.
"Well….it's clear that we'll have to change the way we approach this. After all, we just lost forty-nine of our best magi. One of them survived, but he's in no condition to do anything for now," Lord El-Melloi II spoke up. Looking back at the report, he still had a hard time believing that a single familiar was able to ruin their operation. Fifty of the finest and strongest mages of the Clock Tower wiped from the face of the world without even the familiar batting an eyelash. As a result, all of them were found dead with pikes embedded through them with only one was able to do something about it.
"Still….thanks to his efforts we now have another chance to plan a counter-attack. If we can assemble seven Masters of our own, victory may yet be ours," Lord El-Melloi continued.
"But who would go? You've read the report. We've lost fifty, FIFTY of our finest mages in the first wave of our operation, one of them barely survived. Word of this has spread throughout London, and no one is willing to go for the real thing when there are more pressing concerns to attend to in such a short span of a time like choosing for the successor of their crest or finishing their research before they end up dead. We barely have anyone else prepared for combat on such a grand scale and any half-wit magus we send will end up dead anyway, even the surrounding area of Trifas is under their control," Bram snickered in skepticism. It wasn't that he thought that getting back the Grail was unimportant, it was just that he thought losing too much will only smear the Clock Tower's, and as an extension his own name since he was the one planning the whole thing.
The room was silent at the truth that was presented to them. Lord El-Melloi II, gazed in silence, he flickered one of the pages in his file until one caught his attention. It was a profile of a student he was currently funding to study in the Clock Tower, one named Tohsaka Rin from Fuyuki City.
He snickered as his eyes scanned the profile, an idea was forming in his head.
"Gentlemen, I think I have a proposal for this endeavor of ours," Lord El-Melloi finally spoke. The other two looked towards him, curiously wondering what it might be.
"I believe the right course of action would be to call the original three founding families of the Holy Grail," Lord El-Melloi II finally revealed.
There was a moment of silence as the other two individuals took in what Lord El-Melloi said.
"What?!" Bram bellowed in outrage, breaking the silence.
"Putting aside the politics that we will surely get ourselves entangled with by involving them, didn't you heard me earlier that we can't send in half-wit mages, they'll be decimated in the first day, and that is IF they don't start shooting at each other for command!" Bram continued furiously. El-Melloi was unfazed with Bram's outburst, instead he continued puffing his cigarette.
"Calm down Bram," El-Melloi said.
"I will NOT calm down. This operation is directly under my jurisdiction! MY name will be the one on the line if Yggdmillennia somehow overthrew the Clock Tower by gaining the Third Magic!" Bram continued. Belfaban remained silent in thought throughout the debacle between El-Melloi and Bram. He was contemplating on whether to go with El-Melloi's proposal or not, something at the back of his mind suddenly came up. A long forgotten request made by the Einzberns some twenty years ago involving the search and excavation of a powerful magical artifact in Cornwall.
"We are already in a pinch since there are so few summoning catalyst left for us to use to summon a real hero to fight for the Holy Grail War, coupled that with half-wit mages, I will guarantee you that we will not survive the first week of this operation!" Bram said towards Lord El-Melloi, continuing with his rage at the plan that he thought was outlandish.
"Bram, I think I will have to agree with El-Melloi II with this decision," Rocco Belfaban finally spoke up, silencing the young man.
"Y-you…..what?!" Bram said, not believing Belfaban's statement. He then remained silent to hear what Belfaban had to say.
"There were three families involved in the workings of the original Holy Grail War in Fuyuki. The Einzberns, the Tohsakas and the Makiris, now known as the Matous. I've personally dealt with the Einzberns a couple of times," Belfaban began.
"For the past twenty years the Einzberns have been searching the world for their lost artifact that were stolen by the Nazis since the third Fuyuki Holy Grail War. They've been on a wild goose chase ever since, going from one Holy Grail War to another only to find out that each one was a fake, only succeeding to bring the remnants of what was used for the ritual but never the real artifact," Belfaban said.
"So what?! That doesn't make them any better than our own magi," Bram said, not wanting to give in.
"They've entered in twelve wars, TWELVE Bram. Twelve False Holy Grail Wars. In the five wars that were able to actually summon a proper servant, it was rumored that they summoned the strongest of the servants, the Saber class servant, and they won all of them regardless!" Belfaban exclaimed, huffing at the last sentence.
"WHAT?!"
Belfaban's words finally sank in, Bram was left speechless. Even Lord El-Melloi was almost stunned. He had once entered in one of these False Holy Grail Wars, though it was rumored that it was nothing compared to the original since no one actually knew how to enact the real Heaven's Feel other than the Einzberns and that was before they lost their Grail to the Nazis, only blueprints on how to create such a ritual existed with many not even being able to summon proper servants. Even though what he entered was only a slice of the real deal, the servants that were summoned were still powerful and dangerous and the magus that competed in them were as crazy as anyone wanting to win a wish-granting device though eventually it never came to that.
The experience had left Lord El-Melloi a changed man, literally, and that was from a single war. For a single family, one that was kind of isolated from the Clock Tower to continue to venture over and over again in a span of twenty years in an endeavor to bring back their lost treasure only to find out that it was a fake, El-Melloi didn't want to think what type of person could actually go through such a thing without breaking, and that's not including the resources needed.
Rethinking this backward, if the Einzberns got wind that Clock Tower was amassing a team to reclaim the 'real' Holy Grail, the one that was actually theirs, which they might with their apparent obsession, and yet they weren't invited to participate, they might choose to switch sides and fight alongside Yggdmillennia.
"B-but, how? How were they able to survive each one and still continue?" Bram asked, still a little skeptic.
"I heard the Magus Killer is now with the Einzberns, and is part of the family now," Belfaban said.
"You mean THE Magus Killer?! The real one? Not just some random freelancer that took the name so he could brag about it?!" Bram asked skeptically.
"Nope, this is the real deal, its Emiya, The Magus Killer, and in each war they entered, they've been sending him," Belfaban confirmed.
"Oh my god," Bram held his brow, contemplating the situation, taking in everything that he was told. By now he too would have figured out that if they didn't invite the Einzberns then they will surely side with Yggdmillennia, and that meant what-could-be a confirmed Saber class servant on their side with the added bonus of having a trained Magus Killer.
"Ok, ok, ok. I see your point El-Melloi," Bram finally said defeated.
"But what about the others? What about the Tohsakas and the Matous? Can their abilities be attested for? The Magus Killer is only one man, we're talking about a whole team here," Bram continued ranting.
"I can personally attest for the skill of the current Tohsaka heir, she is one of my students here in the Clock Tower and is an Average One," Lord El-Melloi declared.
"An Average One?!" Bram said not believing what El-Melloi said.
"Aye, and the Tohsakas will get wind of this whether we like it or not since we eventually need a master from the Church to show our legitimacy, that will solve the problem of the chain of command," El-Melloi continued.
"The Church. BAH! I almost forgot," Bram said in disappointment. If they wanted to show that they had the backing of the magical community, then it was pertinent that the Church was involved, since they wouldn't want the Church to become a neutral mediator and then give the Grail to Yggdmillennia if they won, that meant that they would have to allow a spot for a member of the Holy Church.
"Then there are the Matous, so the rest we could finally choose from our own members," Bram said in annoyance. It was apparent that he didn't like the idea one bit, but couldn't find an alternative to the upcoming problems if they chose otherwise.
"We could ask the Einzberns to 'pitch' in their own Homunculus and resources, theirs are the only ones that could match Yggdmillennia's in perfection, maybe even better since their whole family is focused on alchemy and the creation of the perfect Homunculus," Belfaban added. Bram turned pale at the idea of getting the Einzberns any more involved than what they were already are.
"B-but if we ask any more from them, they would want something in return, maybe even another spot for a master!" Bram said in fear.
"We don't have much of a choice in the matter, the Clock Tower has expanded enough resources from YOUR previous 'failed' operation. Face it Bram, we don't have enough resources, let alone are good at making an army of Homunculi like Yggdmillennia in such a short time, some of us barely know the true workings of the Holy Grail and how to actually move it from Trifas without killing everyone, and we may not be able to find enough magus before the war begins," Belfaban reasoned.
"And what is stopping the Einzberns from taking all of the seven spots as master if they felt that the deal we're making with them isn't up to their standards, they are more capable, knowledgeable and more experienced in the Holy Grail Wars than anyone else we could name, maybe even surpassing Yggdmillennia," Belfaban added. It was clear that they were in a tight spot, either die by one way or live through another.
"Arghhh, ok, you have me convinced," Bram finally complied.
"But!" he went on.
"Everything must be reported directly to me first and only on my say so that anything is allowed, if the Einzberns want to send two or three masters or whatever, I want to know who and what are their capabilities, if the Church suddenly requests for something outlandish I want to know WHY, if the Tohsakas or Matous doesn't show the capabilities that I was promised, I want them out of the war, do I make myself clear?!" Bram spoke, trying to get in control of the situation.
The other two men nodded in agreement, thou there was still a smirk on Lord El-Melloi's face, as if he can't believe someone like Bram, behind all that confidence and name, he was simply a man who feared the desecration of his name.
You won't achieve anything in life if you don't risk anything, El-Melloi thought. He puffed his cigarette.
"I'll head the search on the holy relics for the catalyst needed for the summoning. Time may not be on my side, but I'm certain I can find the right catalyst for us to summon servants that will be on par with the enemy's," Belfaban said. He was the head of the Department of Summoning, so it was only natural that he took this role.
'Ok, I'll leave you with that Belfaban," Bram approved.
In the twenty years between now and then, a lot of the catalyst that could have been used for summoning strong servants from the Age of Heroes were lost because of the many rising Fake Holy Grail Wars. Any catalyst by itself, was an old artifact from the age the Hero originated from, they would have withered and rot right away after a single use, making it hard to find any catalyst to summon any of the 'real' and 'famous' heroes of the world such as King Arthur or Heracles. But Bram was confident with Belfaban's ability to find the catalyst they needed, and it wasn't like Yggdmillennia had it easy either, if he had to compare between the two, Belfaban's experience far exceed that of Yggdmillennia's in finding the right catalyst.
"I'll contact the three families and search for additional masters alongside contacting the Holy Church," Lord El-Melloi offered himself.
"Ok then, I want a good deal with the three families, especially the Einzberns, make it sound like they need us more than we need them," Bram said. In reality, he didn't know which one was the case.
"So then I'll adjourn this meeting for now, any progress report it immediately at my office," he ordered.
The other men nodded and stood up from their places. Bram still stayed aback, he was still thinking about the plan to make sure they win this Great Holy Grail War. A master from each of the three families, and the Magus Killer as a consolation prize. That was when Bram finally remembered something that was bugging him the entire time during their discussion about the Magus Killer, only now did he finally remembered it.
His face turned pale at the realization. He ran outside from the room and quickly dashed to find Rocco Belfaban. He wasn't that far ahead and Bram was able to catch up before he disappeared.
"Belfaban! Rocco! WAIT!" he shouted in Belfaban's direction, puffing to take a breather as he finally reached him.
"What?! Something else you want to whine about?" Belfaban said jokingly.
*Huff*
*huff*
"You. Him. The…..the Magus Killer," Bram spoke, panting.
"Yeah, what about him?" Belfaban asked.
"He's DEAD! You tricked me! I remembered reading an article about a report on his death due to a curse or something. And that was FIVE YEARS AGO!" Bram exploded. Belfaban looked confused at Bram for his sudden uproar.
"Ohh, you've never heard of his son have you?" Belfaban said, lightly chuckling.
"Son?" Bram said in disbelief.
"The Magus Killer has a SON?!" Bram said, still not believing it.
"Yep, and quite talented too, maybe even surpassing the father, goes by the alias Faker, the Einzberns been training this one really good for the past ten years or so I've heard," Belfaban said nonchalantly. And with that Belfaban continued to head back to his original destination, leaving Bram perplexed where he stood.
"Faker?" Bram said dumbfounded.
Author's Notes:
This chapter was an adaptation from part 1 of the first chapter of the English translation of the light novel, Fate/Apocrypha made by Canonrap. I have posted the link to his website if anyone of you want to read the current update of the translation of Fate/Apocrypha. As of now, volume 1 has been fully translated by CanonRap, NanoDesu will be translating volume 2. Don't forget to thank them for all of their hard work.
Rejoice and Comment for your wish has finally been granted!