Rin was frustrated. The Holy Grail War was coming, and she had no artefact with which to summon her Servant. In order to do her duty as head of the Tohsaka family and win the tournament, opening a door to the Root, she must first summon her Servant. Preferably a Sabre class Servant, one who's legend is known throughout the world, most specifically Japan. Like Heracles, or King Arthur and his Knights.
She didn't necessarily require a catalyst to perform the summoning, but it would help her chances. Without something to call forth a specific Heroic Spirit, the Grail would simply choose one whose personality was most compatible with her- and Rin couldn't picture a great and gallant knight fitting of the Sabre Class having her cunning and insidious personality. No, that would fit the likes of Shirou Emiya better. Yes, she could imagine him in shining armour, storming a castle to save a damsel in distress without regard for his safety, sweeping her of her feet…
Rin shook her head before the impromptu daydream could go any further. She was a Magus. She would not indulge in a fairy-tale like daydream of marrying her knight in shining armour. Even if he was cute.
Shaking her head once again with a blush, Rin returned to her current problems. It would be ideal to summon her Servant that night, when her power was at its peak. But without a catalyst, she would have to use the jewelled necklace her father left her, and even that won't solve the problem completely. A Servant's strength was still affected by the catalyst used to summon them. King Arthur would be far stronger when summoned using the lost Avalon than a piece of the round table, for example.
But it didn't look like she had much choice. It wasn't like she had an ancient sword lying around (she checked) or the shards of some important piece of furniture (she asked Kirei). And it's not like one of the tapestries her grandmother had used for decoration belonged to the heroes they depicted…
"Father, what story is this?"
Her mind paused. Slowly, she turned to look at the nearby wall. There, staring right back at her, was an ancient tapestry covered in glass. She had asked her father about it once, and he told her the story fondly- it had been his favourite as a child, apparently.
"Ah, this, Rin, is a tapestry depicting the story of one of King Arthur's knights- Sir Shirmiya."
The first panel was almost pitch black. Accents made the darkness look like licking flames, and white and gold depicted the hair and eyes of a child, staring out of the dark inferno.
"Sir Shirmiya's past before joining King Arthur is shrouded in mystery- he came from a land far to the east of Britain, and his earliest memories are of a horrible, malicious flame. The fire took everything from him, including his memories. He could barely even remember his own name."
The next few panels were more colourful. One showed a man with brown skin and white hair, clad in red, aim a black bow at an equally black dragon, which appeared to be attacking a village. The panel following it showed the dragon's flames burning the bow as it flew towards the bowman, arrows sticking out of its monstrous body. The panel after it showed the dragon crash into the ocean.
"The first thing told about Sir Shirmiya's actions in King Arthur's lands was his killing of a dragon with his bow, which was destroyed in the battle. His arrows didn't kill the beast, but they were sufficient to make it crash into the nearby sea where it drowned."
The next panel showed the same figure, clearly Sir Shirmiya, fighting a group of armoured men, bearing the flag and colours of the Saxons. Around him, buildings were on fire and bodies littered the ground. He seemed to be wielding two swords of the same style as his foes, and many more littered the ground, broken.
"The villagers he saved from the dragon let him stay out of gratitude, but they were soon attacked by the Saxons. Sir Shirmiya tried to fight them off, picking up the blades of fallen Saxons when his own broke. In the end, however…"
The next panel showed him on his knees, dead bodies and blood around him. The village was still burning, but not a single person remained to put out the fires. In the distance, a small platoon of soldiers bearing the flag of King Arthur was seen approaching.
"The Saxons outnumbered him, and were able to slaughter the villagers while he was fighting the rest. In the end, he was the only one left. King Arthur and his men came too late to aid the village, but the King offered Shirmiya a place at Camelot."
The next panel showed Sir Shirmiya, clad in the clothes of a blacksmith, working at an anvil, surrounded by burning flames.
"In Arthur's Kingdom, Sir Shirmiya forged two cursed swords, imbued with the evils of the fire that gave birth to him. He then dove into the sea, using a mask Merlin gave him to see and breathe underwater in order to collect the scales of the dragon he slew."
The second-to-last panel showed just that, with the knight collecting the scales and placing them in a sack. Rin tried to ignore how the man was clearly wearing nothing but the simple mask. The final panel showed the man clad in black body armour, made from the scales he had collected, with a red coat over it. His head was uncovered, showing his tan skin, pale hair and striking golden eyes.
"The entire tapestry chronicles the rest of Sir Shirmiya's legend, from his official induction to the round table to his mysterious disappearance, but this is the only piece my mother could obtain."
Rin got a chair and used it to take down the tapestry. She carried it to her Workshop, were she had the summoning circle ready. With this catalyst, she will obtain the greatest Sabre possible. She was sure of it, after all…
"This tapestry was wrapped around his bow by King Arthur himself in preparation for the funeral."
What makes for a better catalyst than his burial shroud?
Knight of Futures Past
"I hereby propose
Place your will in my hands,
And my fate shall rest in your blade.
Abiding by the summons of the Holy Grail,
If you accept and acknowledge this will and reason, answer me.
I hereby swear.
I am all the good in the eternal world.
I am the disposer of evil in the eternal world.
You, clad in a Great Trinity of words,
Come forth from the circle of constraint.
Guardian of the Heaven's Feel!
Stat Sheet
Servant: Archer
Master: Rin Tohsaka
Identity: Sir Shirmiya (Shirou Emiya)
Title(s): The Cursed Phoenix
Stats:
Strength: B(-)
A renowned archer and accomplished swordsman, Sir Shirmiya possesses great physical strength. Naturally possessing a B- rank, he can achieve B rank strength via instantaneous application of Mage-craft.
Endurance: A
Having taken many punishing blows in life (*cough*Berserker*cough*), Sir Shirmiya possesses outstanding endurance, further compounded by his dragon-scale armour.
Agility: C
Sir Shirmiya, whilst not renowned for his speed, is still no slouch in that department.
Mana: B
As a magus in life (even if most were unaware) he possesses a decent store of mana.
Luck: C
As an Oblivious Chick Magnet and a fool prone to getting himself into embarrassing situations, Shirou possesses both wondrous and terrible luck. Technically possessing both E- and A+ rank luck, this is the compromise.
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance: B
He wears dragon-scale armour and is an Archer class Servant. Of course he possesses good Magic Resistance.
Independent Action: B
He's Shirou Emiya. He's notorious for this sort of thing.
Personal Skills:
Phoenix: EX
Having been forged in the fires of All The World's Evils, Shirmiya is immune to heat and flames, and is instead revitalised by them.
Mage-craft: C-
Capable of using orthodox mage-craft. He can use basic Reinforcement and Alteration, as well as his Projection (although that falls under his Noble Phantasm).
Clairvoyance: C+
Eye of the Mind (True): B
Noble Phantasms:
Skurin- Cursed Phoenix Sisters C
Cursed black blades, they had the essence of the great fire Shirmiya was reborn in, leading to their cursed nature. When broken, they will reforge in a burst of flame, allowing them to be used as Broken Phantasms repeatedly. The blade with red veins on it, Sakura-Blade of Anguish, consumes the Prana of anything it cuts. This Prana can then be used by her sister blade, Rin-Blade of Denial, to send forth her Gandr curse, which will slowly sap the power of her foe, denying them a fair fight.
Unlimited Blade Works: E~A++
His Reality Marble, which allows him to create copies of any weapon he sees.