Of Masters and Servants
Disclaimer: I own the bone of my... wait I don't even own that!
Tags: AU, Character Deaths, Violence, Gore, Lemons, OCC, Mature Language, Several other Mature situations, Darkish, Strong Naruto, Smart Naruto.
Pairings: ?
AN1: The main concept of this story came about with the simple idea of ...yeah its cool to have seven mages fight in secret for the sake of attaining an all powerful device but what if the stakes were upped. What if they didn't need to fight in secret but rather had an entire country backing their every actions. Now then obviously I couldn't really do that with F/SN since 3 of the masters were from Japan so I was like why not slightly alter a universe to fit this criteria. Then a few rolls of cigs later this fic was born. 5 Nations (along with the smaller villages near their location) each with 7 champions of each classes representing their side battling one another for a chance to attain an all powerful wish granting device... Yep 35 servant and master pairings 1 moderator for the war. Oh yes it will not be a secret was where muggles aren't involved no this is a war that engulfed a whole Continent a war that is simply coined due to my inability to pick good names the War of the Elements or Elemental Wars or Gogyo Senso. This story will mostly be told from different perspectives much like F/Zero.
P.S. Taking servant suggestions just review or pm me.
-Of Masters and Servants-
Prologue/Flash forward: The Last Night
Play FFX OST- I want to tell you everything/listen to my story
The moon was shining dimly upon the cloudless night sky as a pain filled groan echoed on top of a barren snow tinted cliff overlooking a great snow-white forest where in a giant tree which went as high to the heavens stood.
There was a small camp on the flat surface a top the large vertical rock expanse.
It was a simple camp to say the least, as it only had three things to take note of, the first of which was a small fire which was flickering rather fiercely despite it's cold surrounding. The second, a rough-looking and tattered sleeping bag which was placed near the fire heating it up for the cold night. The last, was the half-naked man sitting in the camp who was busily replacing his blood soaked bandages uncaring of the cold weather which would have made any normal man doubt the injured man's sanity.
Another groan crept out of the man's mouth as he ripped off a rather large bandage placed a top his left side, covering a wound which pierced through his abdomen. The white snow a top the hill was tainted red with his blood much like the bandages, as blood seeped out of his now open wound. Acting quickly the man placed a fresh gauze over the piercing wound before securing it tightly with several tapes that he acquired from a small pouch that was tied around his waist.
He gritted his teeth, the burning pain from his side radiated around his body causing even more pain. Before he even knew it he lurched forward, his hands a top the light snow supporting his body as he started coughing harshly expelling crimson life upon the cold ground.
Not good.
Acting almost on instinct one hand that supported his body quickly made its way to his pouch, expertly moving around as he pulled out a small, orange colored, cylindrical container. With a flick of his thumb the container's cap fell into the snow.
He pulled his body back, steadying himself without the support of any of his hands. With a tilt of the container two white pills fell into his now free hand, two pills which then made its way to his mouth. Bitter Sweet Pills. There was no need for water, by now he was used to downing the white pills with ease.
The man took a deep breath followed by several shallow ones as he closed his eyes and clutched his own shoulders with his arms, trying his best to not only stop the harsh shaking of his muscles but to calm his body down. For a few minutes he paid no attention to his surroundings something which would have normally gotten him killed, but instead he focused on his body carefully taking note of every second that passed until he felt the effects of the two pills on his body. After a few minutes he could feel his body calm down, his muscles no longer shaking, his pain already gone.
He took another deep breath allowing the cool air to permeate within his body before opening his cold blue eyes. The same two blue eyes which were now gazing on the great forest underneath the his camp. Wiping a bead of sweat the fell from his forehead, the injured man continued to gaze upon his destination, the forest where it awaited. The forest where he awaited.
From a top the cold hill the injured warrior could see grayish thorn filled vines moving about the great tree in a rather protective manner, much like that of a child embracing their mother in their arms. That was going to be troublesome but it was nothing that he couldn't handle. For the sake of ignoring his body's frustrating degeneration he opted to use his trained eyes pierced through the darkness as he carefully analyzed each possible route in the forest. There were five main paths from what he could see, all leading towards a deeper path of the forest which his eyes could no longer see.
But one thing about the paths was for certain.
All the paths would lead to the tree.
All the paths would lead to his opponent.
All the paths would lead to the end.
He sighed, he should really feel what was the word... happier... yes happier that he was still here today. That he still has the chance to win this whole war and have his wish granted to him by the all-powerful wish granting device that already claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands. But somehow he couldn't feel any joy for what he has done and what he will do. He knew his actions were necessary for the fruition of his dreams but he couldn't help but feel a tinge of regret.
Could there have been another way?
Should he have tried to take a less violent and pragmatic route to this path?
Should he should have made more allies and prevented more deaths from all sides?
Should he have investigated the wish granting device even further?
Should he have stuck to the shadows much like the Lancer of Fire and her master, who tried to root out the chess masters and the puppeteers who played everyone along?
Then again he already made his decisions, all the other paths were already closed off. It was funny actually that his life was much like the forest with multiple paths that awaited below him. After choosing one path that will lead him to the tree all the others would be rendered null, useless paths which he can no longer take.
Though he was certain that no matter which path he took on this nineteen year-long life he has, no matter which allies or enemies he made, he would most likely be sitting here on this cliff alone every other time.
He felt that this place, a top the cliff overlooking the endless white forest was where all the path's converged. He would be sitting here looking down on the forest contemplating on the five paths presented to him, reflecting on his past actions, and then eventually standing up and moving on towards the uncertain future where his last battle awaited.
Another sigh escape his lips.
The medication's unhealthy effects were settling in, he felt woozy as a wave of vertigo hit him. It wasn't unbearably painful, he was much used to its pain but it was still irritating nonetheless.
Shaking his head the man moved his gaze away from the forest. This time his blue eyes were met with the intense yellow-orange red color of the burning cinder that was sacrificed for his campfire. Within the flames that burned despite the snow he found his eyes reminiscing on the path that he took.
Within the flames he saw images from the distant past.
The giant fox apologizing to him before it shined brightly and vanishing into the nothingness, leaving him behind an empty cage, and an unparalleled amount of untapped power.
A woman he considered as his mother smiling happily as she trained him in the arts of combat, as she thought him ninjutsu, as she engraved unto him her deepest wish, and most of all smiling as her head rolled off her body.
Men, women, and children, laughing madly as they slaughtered one another, parents were killing their children and devouring their flesh, children were laughing and moaning in orgasmic bliss as their flesh were torn to bits.
An entire village where thousands lived that became a battlefield between masters; the village along with its inhabitants were sunk into the ocean by a being that came from the depths; many would consider their fates worse than death.
A scene of a hundred blood soaked mutilated bodies scattered on the ground accompanied by an equal number of bodies hanging in the air impaled from the ground with extreme prejudice by dark spears of the monstrous count.
Another village, one of renowned strength and might, a place he could reluctantly call home in ruins after it was destroyed by a single attack from the most powerful servant of the war. From that crater of what was once a great village only a dozen or so survived.
A castle in the sky where the strongest of the strong gathered like gods looking down on mortals, as they planned and schemed for their victory. From there they assaulted the nations, and set a blaze the world.
An alliance between four factions to take down the strongest faction.
Another war within the war which took the lives of hundreds of thousands.
An insane woman who wanted to make another wish to saté her unending selfishness.
An equally insane man hailed as a god who stood by her side.
A young man with sun-kissed blond hair wearing white clothes now pitch red with blood, he was standing a top a hill surrounded by no than a thousand bodies, all of their lives and existence he personally destroyed and ended.
The flames flickered for a moment as a passing breeze made it burn brighter and more intense.
He could still remember it... the memories being reignited by the flames still fresh in his mind.
The fateful lives who he met during this whole affair...
The lives who stood out above the others...
The caster who told tales of greater beings who brought about madness and insanity.
An artist who wished to perfect his art through the means of immortality.
The whimsical lancer who sat on a yellow cloud, wanting nothing more than a good fight.
A bullheaded and bodacious princess who wished the best for her kingdom.
The tragic assassin who hid, cried, and killed in the mist of her own creation.
A swordsman who fought for tooth and nail, wishing to be the greatest.
The ever vigilant saint who slew a dragon to save a fair maiden.
A boy who wished for change or rather to return things to what they once were.
The tearful berserker who killed her beloved before taking her own life.
A sacrifice who wished for freedom from her fate.
The goddess of war bathed in white, who was unparalleled with the blade.
A grizzly old washed up veteran who wished to change the past.
The atoning lancer, her body filled with cuts, a punishment for she who killed the savior of the lands.
A kinslayer with red eyes who hunted down those who lurked in the shadows.
The invincible knight of light who shined valiantly under the morning sun.
A legacy of the hatred of man whose darkness was comparable to his servant's light.
The crimson bathed hero who never gave up on her ideals as she stood proudly a top a hill of blades.
A fool whose hands are tainted with blood of both the guilty and the innocent yet continues to fight on for the sake of an equally foolish dream.
He shook his head, eyes gazing away from the flickering flame which became to painful to see. His left hand moved swiftly, once more reaching towards his pockets as he pulled out a small silver case where a small whirlpool was engraved on its centre. He opened the case revealing three white sticks, three cigarette sticks. He took one out and placed it on his mouth while simultaneously closing the case and putting it back in his pocket. He then turned towards the small flame, this time it did not show him the nightmarish images of the past but rather it crackled and burned like any ordinary fire, allowing him to lean towards it and light up the stick in between his slightly cracked lips.
He took a few puffs, breathing the smoke in and out of his lungs several times, by then the entirety of the pain he experience early was long gone. Though his body felt light his mind was still strained and heavy. For some reason he felt the need to tell his tale. To tell his story to no one in particular. It might have been his medication rearing one of its ugly side effects making him delusional or it might have been a sudden whim or a feeling of rare nostalgia.
Though one thing was for certain, he needed to get this out of his system.
He needed to tell this tale, so that he may honour the sacrifices that he has made.
Sadly, he was no storyteller. He did not know how to start with the story within his mind. A story told from multiple perspectives, multiple lives, multiple dreams, multiple ideals. Yes this was not a story of one person but rather a story of all the lives that got lost within the chaotic maelström that tore through the lands.
After taking a few more drags from his cigarette the man's eye landed on his bandaged left arm, a wave of nostalgia and memories assailed him once more causing him to smile sadly.
He knew how to start this story.
He turned towards the fire in the middle of his make shift camp. "This... is the story of a war... a story of our greed... a story of our stupidity... " He started feeling it was proper to start by listing what the story would entail.
"This story is not for the faint of heart... it is not one of happiness but rather that of sadness, death, horror, and tragedy..." He warned hoping to drive away the listeners who could not stomach such occurrences.
"But... despite that I feel the need to at least tell you my story..." He quickly shook his head as he corrected himself. "No our story..." He said rather solemnly as he clutched his left arm, slightly moving the bandage to show the symbol a several spiky tribal like wings forming what looked like a bow a top his wrist. "This may be the last opportunity we have..." He took another drag from his quickly diminishing cancer stick. "After all tonight is the last night October the tenth... the night when I was born and the night where everything will come to rest... every loose end shall be tied up... every mistake shall be corrected... ever sacrifice shall be honored."
The flames of the campfire burned brighter melting the nearby snow. A strong gust of wind blew over the are turning it into a bigger pyre. A bigger flame which reflected another image, the picture of a magnificently large tree as well as the mysterious and mythical fruit that the tree bore. "For tonight is the night in which our stories will be told... For tonight is the night before my wish shall finally be granted... "
A man stood at the bottom of the tree, his back against the flames, his body mostly hidden by the shadows of the great vine filled trunk. It was he who awaited at the end. The only thing that stood in the way of his wish.
The last life he must take, or the life that will finally take his.
For a moment the image flickered once more, the great tree behind the man looked as if it was burning in an intense inferno slowly reducing the great tree and it's fruit into ashes and cinders.
This was for all the sacrifices...
This would be the perfect opportunity to end it all...
To stop this damned cycle...
"...One way or another." He said as he took one last drag on his cigarette before throwing it in the flames. He watched as the butt of the white stick was devoured by the flames, a small smile slowly making its way to his face. "The story begins about a thousand years ago... well not really sure if it was a thousand years but yeah you get the point... it was really really really long ago..."
And thus the man began telling his tale.
A tale of the past, present, and future.
A tale of war and false peace.
A tale of heroes and villains.
A tale of hopes and dreams.
A tale of life and death.
A tale of beginning and ends.
But most of all...
A tale of masters and servants.
-Of Masters and Servants: Prologue END-
EN1: For the fans of my other works just a small announcement haven't abandoned any of my works just wait for the update and don't send me a messages saying update or I will kill you, seriously that shit freaked me out. I'll be back to writing most of the time during this x-mas period as my semester is finally over and I'm allowed to have 3 weeks to write out my fics.
But to the impatient once out there here's a small progress note for all yah out there.
Infernal Dragon Chapter 4: 27673 words
A Spark of Hope Chapter 2: 10651 words
A Pledge to my King Chapter 4: 11307 words
Ashes to Ashes Chapter 4: 8612 words
Naruto in Japan Chapter 4: 6719 words
A Persona 3 xover: 15123 words (2 Chapters)
A Three shot Naruto Elfen lied xover: 9310 (2 Chapters)
A HSDK Naruto xover: 5871 words (1 Chapter)
A SAO xover: 18310 words (3 chapters)
My other fics are stuck somewhere between 2k-5k words with the exception of Into the Great Ocean which is stuck at 7000ish words.
Next chapter of this fic: 8022 words
Expect more updates around December-January Believe it! Now that I've said that off to study for finals again, wish me luck lol. Aslo try to guess who are the servants xD
Preview:
*STATIC* *STATIC* *STATIC* *STATIC*
She was a tool.
That was what she was told she was from the moment she was imprisoned in the confines of this cold steel cage.
She was a demon, a monster one which needed not a heart.
"Monster the *STATIC* has called for you."
She didn't reply.
"Monster I get your ass of the ground and get moving or else!"
She gulped, knowing full well what that or else entailed.
"Hai..." she replied weakly as she slowly stood up readying herself to be used for conflict yet again.
*STATIC**STATIC**STATIC**STATIC*
"That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die."
"Fascinating... is that another verse from those mad tales that you have written Caster?"
"Yes, my master."
"I see... though it pains me to ask this... what does those words mean? Did you purposely leave them cryptic and subject to the reader's whims and machinations? Or perhaps these are just words that formed in the midst of your self-induced madness that allowed you to write the works that you are famed for?"
"Madness is such a subjective word master. One person's madness is another person's sanity and I myself will tell you I was never mad or insane for even once in my whole life. Enlightened, Yes. Insane, Not.I kid you not... I am as sane as the next man and the man next to him..."
"Meaning you view the world as mad as yourself?"
"Wouldn't you agree that deep down inside everyone is a bit crazy in one way or another."
*STATIC**STATIC**STATIC**STATIC*
"You're ninjutsu is weak."
"You're taijutsu is weak."
"You're genjutsu is weak."
"You're bukijutsu is weak"
"You are weak."
"You're ideals are weak."
"You're dreams are both childish and foolish."
"You're servant is weak. You're existence is weak. You are useless! You are just a little boy who got the luck of the draw and was granted a command seal!"
*STATIC**STATIC**STATIC**STATIC*
"Saber."
"Hai Master?"
"Did you get all that?"
She nodded. "I shall deal with that mad warrior once more... with me by your side we shall be victorious Master."
"By my blade the Kagetora I will cut down all that stands against our path."
"Heh cheeky woman. You're really good at getting these old bones fired up. Saber let's march to victory!"
"Hai master!"
*STATIC**STATIC**STATIC**STATIC*
"Master several shinobi fast approaching..." said the servant holding a spear.
"Hmm... I see... do you think we should engage?"
"What I think is irrelevant, I have lost the right to do that long ago." She said, her tone perpetually cold and lacking any signs of emotion. "I stand by any of your orders. If you wish for me to engage them and die as you make your escape I shall do so without hesitation. If you wish to retreat then I shall cover your back. If you wish for me to die, I will do so without hesitation."
He shook his head leave it to him to summon as servant that's as damage as he was. "Let's retreat then... I do not see any merit in facing Konoha as of yet. For now we shall head to the docks of Nami no Kuni..."
"The land filled with waves?"
"Yes, we'll grab a boat which will bring us to Yugakure... Normally we could walk towards there but I'd rather avoid travelling on land at the moment."
"As you wish my master."
"Hn."
*STATIC**STATIC**STATIC**STATIC*
"Shi shi shi that was a good fight."
"Hmm they were pushovers I'm sure that if we go down right there now we could easily kick their asses from here to Kumo."
"So are we going to fight? I'd love a scrap tight now."
"Tsk as much as i want to go for a scrap Ojii-san specifically ordered to just observe him from a distance... something about trying to use manipulate him into taking out other master's before we kill him off or recruiting him. But seriously I don't know what Jiji sees in this guy... he just looks like a sickly pale wimpy man. I bet he isn't going to even last five minutes against me."
"Because you're really strong hime-chan~"
"Oh shut it you perverted monkey!"
*STATIC**STATIC**STATIC**STATIC*
"Have you... No did you already copy his blade?"
"Indeed, I have my master."
"Good" A warm and innocent smile made its way on the young man's face. It was a smile that radiate nothing but goodness and all those fuzzy wuzzy postive emotions but deep inside the servant of the bow couldn't help but feel a bit scared. It was as if her master was about to do something totally and utterly batshit ins-
Without batting an eyelash her master formed several huge balls of intense fire chakra and sent it flying at the sword which sadly melted with ease under the intense flames.
-ane.
Holy Root! Akasha! And all that is Saber!
"Nooooo!" The servant cried out as she fell on the ground in tears. "Why?" She sobbed as the smoldering remains of the blade cradling what little that remained of it in her arms whilst sobbing rather dramatically. "W-why the heck did you do that! The sword was a masterpiece! It was one of a kind! S-such a fine blade destroyed!"
"...It was just another tool for war. With it destroyed there's one less weapon out there that can be use to take lives in this bloody war."
"Couldn't you just have sealed it away?"
"..Ah I forgot about that."
She glared at him.
"No problem I'll find you another one next time."
"It's a one of a kind sword."
"My bad?"
"MASTER!"
Preview: END
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