Archer of Black

Chapter two: What time is it?

AOB

When the word bow comes up, the majority tends to thinks about the English longbow. This might have something to do with Robin Hood and his band of thieves. But make no mistake there are plenty of different bows of shapes and sizes.

There are longbows, composite bows, reflex bows, recurve bows and compound bows. These bows can also be divided into several categories. Self-bow, laminated bow and Holmegaard bow are few of these categories. It's easy to get lost in the different names and styles.

The reason Shirou had chosen the English longbow was quite simple.

The English longbow was normally made of yew, an uncommon wood in japan. The forests in England on the other hand were large and plenty with the tree, until the fifteenth century that is. They also had another reason for being used as bows. Archers, at least those capable of using Magecraft, wanted the blessings of the nature spirits. Yew had a strong connection to death and thus spirits. Both the Celtic and Christian religions used the yew as a way to connect with the dead. So when an archer wants the greatest weapon with him in battle, he would of course choose the greatest base material. Hence the yew was chosen.

What the archers didn't know was that their choice of using bows with connection to the dead automatically gave them a connection to a certain kind of people they did not normally want to contact; the Fae.

The Fae were a strange folk. They were said to be the spirits of the dead and had a phobia of cold iron. So a bow would be their perfect weapon. But people were afraid of the Fae, why wouldn't they be? They hid themselves from the world and were users of strange, but powerful magic. There were stories of Fae kidnapping women and men to keep in their world as pets. They would then let them go after a few days had gone by for them, but in the real world decades had passed and the captives would die upon returning to their homes.

Had Shirou been a normal person, he would have avoided making any sort contact with the Fae. The problem was that Shirou was not a normal person and as such he wanted to make contact with them.

The longbow he wanted to make was a self-bow. A self-bow is a bow made from a single piece of wood. Unlike composite bows, which are made from wood, horn, bone and sinew, a self-bow does not require specialized tools. A self-bow can be made with an axe and knife, while the composite bow needs several other factors. It is also better for countries where humidity is a problem as the animal glue used in composite bows would weaken in contact with water. The time it took to craft a bow was also a major difference. It took months for the composite bow to dry, while the self-bow could be dried in a week if circumstances were willing.

And while the English longbow was quite long, sometimes over a meter and a half, it could be customized to be shorter, at the expense of the released arrow's power. Shirou was quite young and therefore short, but he had no intention of making the bow shorter or weaker.

He would make the strongest bow, and with the blessings of the Fae, it would become one of his greatest treasures.

That was why he did not scream in panic or lose himself in fear when Wyrda told him he had entered the Fae-world.

Instead he started doing a small victory dance while laughing in excitement.

"Why are you happy? This place is dangerous! Haven't you heard the stories? If the Fae see you they will catch you and turn you into one of their pets!" Wyrda exclaimed, most likely trying to instill a sense of danger into the boy. Shirou for his part didn't seem to think what she said mattered that much.

"Yeah, but I wanted a Fae-bow from the beginning! All I have to do is get a Fae to bless the tree I make the bow from, ensure that I don't get captured, cut a branch from the tree and get out of here. This is even better than what I had been hoping for." Apparently the possibility of being enslaved by the fairies didn't register as a threat to the boy who had finally stopped his dance when Wyrda addressed him.

"Better than you… Listen! Fae are dangerous! They're not people you can reason with. Even the Seelie court isn't to be trifled with! You think you can just… just go up to them and ask them to bless your weapons? That's just stupid! You'll get yourself killed, or worse, enslaved!" She had by now lost her image of calm and was waving her hands around as if that would get her point across. It didn't.

Shirou was not convinced. "I know just asking them to make my bow a fairy weapon is stupid, but who said I was just going to ask them? I was going to ask them if there were any chores or tasks I could do in payment. That's one of the reasons I went in the summer, when the Seelie court is ruling. If I made a bow in the forest in the summer then the Seelie court would notice it and the odds of it gaining magical properties would increase. If I had waited until winter then the Unseelie would kill me before I could make a bow. I know they're dangerous, but this is my only chance. How many humans can claim to have visited the Fae world twice?" His previously childish outburst had disappeared and had been replaced with a thinking expression. "If I don't try my luck now, I would probably regret it forever. Besides, Fae usually took pity on children, didn't they? Unless they replaced it with a changeling that is…"

Wyrda stared at him like he was crazy. Most likely he didn't seem like such a nutcase the night before, so why was he trying to contact some of the most dangerous and unpredictable races in the world? Even if the Seelie court was the lesser of two evils, they were still known for abducting humans and enslaving them. The only reason the Seelie court was seen as the kinder of the two was because they wouldn't hurt you if you did treat them with respect and left them alone. The Unseelie court thought making humans their slaves was a gift.

"You can't expect them to help you just because you ask nicely and try to offer your services. It would just anger them and make them want to hurt you. In the first place, why do you require their blessing at all? Any yew tree in the Fae world would suffice if you want a bow with Fae origin. To ask a Fae for their help would endanger you for little reason," she told him, trying to make him see reason.

He turned to her and she could see the gears turning in his head. His eyes focused on nothing, showing he was deep in thought.

"So you're saying there wouldn't be any difference in making a bow out of any tree here and a bow made out of a blessed tree? No difference at all?" he asked her.

She stopped herself from answering immediately. There would most likely be a difference. All forests in the Fae world were enchanted to a certain degree. Making a bow from any of them would result in a bow stronger than any of human make and more durable to boot. But if pureblooded fairy blessed the tree or the bow it would imbue the bow with a purpose or characteristic. It would vary depending on the Fae he asked, but a blessed tree was better than a normal one.

"Well, there would be a difference, but not one you should risk life and limb for. Why would you need something like that to begin with? You can craft a purpose into the bow on your own without the need of a fairy. You could just take the stave and go." Her voice had lost its demanding point and had taken on a more pleading tone. "Listen, if the bow means that much to you then I could bless it."

Shirou looked at her liked she had grown a second head. Sure, he had known she wasn't human and she might have been a fairy from the way she looked and the effect she had on him, but she did not act like he had expected form the Fae. The Fae were powerful spirits without any human sentiments at all. Wyrda looked and acted like a human for the most part. If he used wood from the Fae world then the blessing would have to be from a Fae. Otherwise the spells might clash or cancel eachother out.

"Can you do that? You don't look like a Fairy?" he asked. True, he had never met a fairy before, but he had studied the texts. Fairies can be of any form, but they can take on the form of human imaginations. She might be a fairy who manifested from his own mind, but he had never seen a woman who looked like her before.

She looked affronted at his question. "Of course I can! Giving my personal blessing to a spirit tree is something I've been able to do since I was less than a century," she proudly proclaimed. Her chin up and back straight, she looked every bit as noble as the noble families Kiritsugu had told him about. Even the pose she was currently in was something he had imagined they would use.

"But you told me yesterday that you couldn't use magic at all. What's up with that?" he asked her.

"Using magic and giving a blessing are two different things. One requires the use of prana in the form of Od while the other requires the use of Mana. We are in the world of Fae right now and the very air you breathe is made of Mana. Even if you do find a pureblooded fairy to bless the tree, it wouldn't make any difference from what you would get if I did it." She said confidently.

"But what is the difference between you and the Fae?" he asked her.

"Hmm… Nothing much really. Our origins may differ, but our essence is the same. I'm about as much Fae as any of the famous ones you've heard of."

"Huh… Okay then! What are you going to do about the bow then?" he asked eagerly. His enthusiasm about getting his own Fae bow was starting to resurface now. All those hours spent reading about bows and theirs different varieties, all those times he had to practice archery at the Kyudo club, they were all going to pay off now!

"First of all, a Fae weapon is not something you just make. I could enchant any branch you find, but without proper tools and materials it wouldn't be half as powerful as it could be," she said with a thinking pose.

"You need tools and materials to give your blessing?" he asked, perplexed. "I thought all you had to do was give a long speech about love and justice, do a few elaborate movements and that would be it. There wasn't anything about tools in the texts."

She gave him a look that said `Which one of us knows how to enchant things?´. "I doubt you'll find anything about Fae rituals in any human books. We don't use tools like knives or hammers. Iron and steel does not work well with our magic so we have developed magic tools of our own to aid us in our craft. Though most of them are for crafting of the weapon itself, not the enchantment so you don't need to worry about that. All you need to do is collect a branch of the leafless hazel tree a few miles away from here and to carve a wooden bowl from this ash tree. It should not be too much of a task for a magus of your talents," she said as she sat down on the old tree once more, an expectant smile on her face.

Her smile didn't last long however when Shirou didn't move from his spot. "What are you waiting for? You have your task, now go and complete it. We don't have all day!"

"What task?" he asked her. "You didn't even tell me where the tree is! How am I supposed to find one tree in a whole forest of them?" He gestured to the trees around them. "At least tell me which direction it is and what is looks like!"

She sighed, the kind of sigh you make when are suffering from a severe headache. "Fine, it appears your knowledge of the more noble arts in life is not as fulfilling as I had hoped. If you can't even do a simple location spell then I guess I will have to help you find it." She plucked a leaf from the ash tree and tied a string around it. She then walked towards Shirou and tied the other end of the string to his jacket.

Despite the fact that there was no wind the leaf floated in midair before moving in one direction away from him. It ignored him when he touched it as it was completely pointing away from him.

"The leaf is from an ash tree and it hates Hazel trees with a passion. The tree you seek is the mightiest tree in the forest and as such small leaves such as this one avoid it as if their lives depended on it. As long as you go in the opposite direction of the leaf then you will find it. Understand, Shirou? Go in the opposite direction of the leaf and bring me back a branch from the leafless hazel tree. Oh and while you're at it, go find the bow stave you've been looking for," she said with a smile. Once more her smile was that of a teacher encouraging a student.

Though he would never admit it, he was confused by the speed her expressions could shift. One minute she was happy, the next annoyed and the third she could be happy again. Was this the behavior of the Fae or was she simply just strange?

"Okay, I'll see you soon!" With that he was on the way, half running half walking in the opposite direction of the flying leaf.

Wyrda waved him off, her eyes focused on the boy slowly leaving her view. Only when he had entered the forest on the opposite side of clearing did the benevolent smile on her face disappear to leave way for a victorious grin.

"Tehe… Hahahahahah! Can you believe that kid? He thinks I'm going to help him out of the goodness of my heart! I always knew the humans are foolish, but this is a bit too much even for them!" The Woman Called Wyrda barked out between fits of laughter.

The dog next to her looked her over and as if to bark at the laughing woman it opened it mouth. But instead of the bark of a dog, what was heard from the canine creature was the voice of a man.

"Are you sure about this, my Lady? Your sisters won't sit quietly and watch you break free. They go together again once they find out what has happened." The voice of the large black dog was rough and haggard. As if the owner had a disease of the throat and fought for every word.

The woman scoffed at his words, her previous façade forgotten entirely. Not even a trace of the elegance and nobility was left and the expression she wore now was one of utter contempt and disgust, an ugly form if it had ever been seen by anyone around. "As if! They are too occupied by their own domains to notice anything. They fell from grace a long time ago and never had the courage to regain their former place. Verdandi might notice what I'm planning, but she won't be able to stop it until after it is done. Skuld is too busy observing the possibilities to care and even if she did care about the future it wouldn't matter if one boy disappeared. Did you look at him? He's a failure as a magician! I'm almost embarrassed to require his help!"

The dog continued to stare at the Fae, though the facial expression never changed. "Nevertheless my Lady, I think it would be for the best if you did not do this. The ramifications of your actions could echo beyond the world of Fae and into the human world. If that does come to pass then both Verdandi and Skuld would band together to set things right," her canine companion warned.

The Woman Called Wyrda scoffed at the black dog's advice before her eyes narrowed. "For centuries we've been trapped in this place and now that we have a chance to escape you tell me to let it go? Whose side are you on exactly? Don't tell me Verdandi finally won you over with her promises of power? You and I both know she isn't one to keep her promises!"

The large dog did not respond to the woman's accusations, but lowered its head onto its paws to rest. The Woman Called Wyrda frowned at its lack of response and a "Tch!" escaped her mouth. Though she did sit down on the root of the tree after a while, her glare directed towards her canine companion never receded.

AOB

"Bye! See ya later!" Shirou yelled as he walked away with his bowstave over his shoulder. The hazel tree he had searched for had been easy to find with the enchanted leaf Wyrda had given him. It had been enormous even for the Fae standard. The fact that not even a single leaf was left on its branches did give invoke a feeling of dread, as if its very existence was malevolent. The grass around it had been dry and dead and the other trees were at closest twenty meters away. Whatever that tree was, it was not something Shirou wanted to be near for long. He chopped of a branch off and was on his way back to Wyrda, though he made sure to keep his hands away from the sap dripping from the damaged parts of it. The hazel tree had somehow poisoned the ground around it and he didn't want to take any chances about what the poisonous part about it was.

While he carried the hazel branch he had cut off he passed a yew tree on the way. Like all trees in the Fae world it was a humongous specimen so cutting off a large branch as thick as his thigh was didn't make much difference. It di become a bit of a problem when the yew branch and the hazel branch proved to be too heavy for the child's imperfect reinforcement, but with a bit if effort he was able to half lift, half drag the two large wooden logs. Although he did leave two large tracks wherever he went due to the logs dragging into the ground.

When he finally got back to the campsite he had to use his projections to carve a wooden bowl from the ash tree Wyrda had been sitting on. Let it just be said that Shirou would never ever say being a carpenter was an easy. His hands were covered with bandages before he had come halfway and he was sure he would have lost a finger or two if Kiritsugu hadn't taken the time to teach him that minor healing spell. Also note to self; never swing an axe one-handed if you're not sure the axe is not going to bounce away to strike your fingers.

After many spells and curses later he had a very ugly and rough wooden bowl in his savaged hands. Wyrda gave the bowl a look as if she was feeling physically ill from being in close contact with the carved container, but she took it nevertheless. She used a knife Shirou had traced for her to fill the bowl with sap from the hazel branch and crushed the leaves from the ash tree into the sap while chanting words he presumed were from the language of the Fae. The entire ritual lasted less than three minutes and contrary to what he had expected there were no lights or sparks involved. Just a woman filling a bowl with tree sap and saying a short speech in a language he did not understand. Quite disappointing, he thought. After the ritual was over Wyrda told him never to tell anyone about what had happened. He had agreed of course since no one would believe him anyway. After that he had left.

About two hours after he left through the tree he had entered the Fae world in the first place, he had arrived home. He left the yew branch in the workshop of their home and went to look for Kiritsugu. He found him taking a nap by the porch. Deciding to let his old man get his rest he went to get the textbooks about making a longbow.

Wyrda had said the trees in the Fae world are made from Mana and would adapt to the environment and the needs around it. Since Shirou had cut it down in order to make a bow and she had blessed it for that purpose, it should be ready to be carved into a bow immediately he cut it down. Tracing a knife made to carve wood he set out to make his new bow.

AOB

Kiritsugu woke up from his nap about five o'clock, still tired and bruised. The curse form Angra Mainyu was making him more tired by the day and it hurt to move his body even an inch. It even made small injuries larger than they should be. The day before he had dropped book on his toe and although it might have hurt normally, it wouldn't have turned his entire foot into a swollen blue bruise. It shouldn't have, but it did. Everywhere on his body he had developed large scars and wounds from insignificant injuries ranging from snubbed toes to splinters from poorly treated wood. He was almost unable to leave the house due to the danger he would be putting himself in. He had been able to spar with Shirou due to the child's inexperience and lack of skill, but it didn't seem like he would be able to keep that up for very long. Shirou was improving each day and his reflexes and speed were only outmatched by his enthusiasm to learn. Sparring with the boy might prove fatal for him from now on. It might be better to let Taiga take over his training.

Opening his eyes he was met with the sight of the door to the shed being wide open and the sound of someone working inside. Rising slowly, he winced when he felt his muscles and bruises protest against the strain, but he pressed on. None of his bounded fields had activated so it couldn't be an intruder even if they had found him. Was Shirou back already? He checked his watch. He left just six hours ago and it would have taken him several hours to get to the part of the forest he needed to be. Could he actually have made it back in order to start his bow already?

Walking through the door to the shed he saw a lot of wooden shavings. A LOT of wooden shavings. The entire floor was covered by millimeter thin wooden slices that could be mistaken for paper if it wasn't the colour of wood and not the usual white. As he neared the center of the room the shavings rose in height until his feet were covered by the wooden strips and he saw the cause of it.

Shirou was sitting by the desk in the room and was tying the bowstring to the ends of his new longbow. It was a large thing, perhaps a little too large for the small child and it gave off a feeling of prana. It was matte black in colour, most likely because kiritsugu had taught him covering runes with black colour disguises the purpose of the spell. Interestingly enough, he had added what looked like a hand guard to the bow, perhaps in order to better aim or to protect his hand from potential magic attacks.

Shirou had still not noticed him; he was too focused on the task at hand. Tying the bowstring using the knot he had learnt from the book, he finished the last stage of the procedure. He cut off the unneeded thread and wrapped the last part around the wood to keep it from flying around. He picked up the bow from the table and tried stringing it back, only to fail as the strength required to use it was far above his natural ability. He tried once more using reinforcement and grinned when the string followed his hand back and didn't snap from the stress. He let go of the string and the sound of the thin wire slicing through the air reverberated within the workshop.

"Pretty good for something made in just under a few hours," Kiritsugu said from his place by the pillar.

Shirou jumped from the sound of his voice and almost dropped his newly made weapon. Thankfully he was able to grasp the wooden construct before it made contact with the ground.

"Dad! Wh… Err, when did you get here?" he asked his adopted father. Letting his heartbeat slow down he tried to take a calming breath.

"I just woke up and heard you working in here. I didn't think you'd be done so soon though. You've only been gone for a few hours and the bow is already done?" Kiritsugu asked with disbelief in his voice.

"Yeah, well I've been practicing how to make a bow for a while now and I found a really good tree from the start so all I had to do was bring it home and start carving away. I'm a little surprised at how easy it went. It was never this simple during practice, especially the runes," he answered mostly truthfully. He had been practicing and he did found a good tree. He was very surprised at how the entire went, but it was to be expected from a blessed Fae tree. It almost seemed to guide him when he was carving the runes into it and he never made a single mistake when cutting into it. He had made plenty of mistakes when learning how to use runes and he was still unable to really master the art of ancient runes.

"I think you underestimate your progress in that field. Runes are not very popular amongst noble families, partially due to the vulgar nature of the people who invented the system, but mostly due to the difficulty in mastering it. Your lack of talent in commanding mainstream Magecraft can be overcome by your talent in runes; otherwise we wouldn't be teaching you how to use it," Kiritsugu told him with and encouraging tone.

"Yeah, if you say so." He looked down at the bow in his hands. It was a monstrous thing and he didn't think he'd be able to use it without reinforcement for a long while. The wood itself was strengthened form the Fae enchantment on it and the fact that it was from the Fae world, but he had increased the effect with the runes used. Ehwaz for strengthening and several more to increase sturdiness and resistance as well as for useful effects on the arrows. It wouldn't be worn down from rain or fire, not if he had anything to say about it.

"Why don't we try to fire a couple of arrows for target practice? We still need to know if it is more powerful than a compound bow. You remember our deal right?" Kiritsugu said while gesturing for the door.

Shirou nodded, he remembered. If it proved weaker than the bow his father had enhanced with runes he would have to use the compound bow instead of his longbow he just finished. Of course he was certain his newly crafted bow would prove victorious, but it didn't remove the small sliver of doubt in his mind that maybe he would lose.

Steeling himself for the inevitable, he walked out of the shed.

The Emiya estate was a large house surrounded by large plots of land. While not at the level of a manor, it did have a lot of free space for the owner to utilize. Currently at the end of the backyard next to the wall was a large bale of hay with a painted target on it. It was nowhere near the limit of range for Shirou's bow or the compound bow so the winner would be declared by how far the arrows would sink into the hay.

Kiritsugu picked up the compound first and although he wasn't a professional archer, he was still able to aim and fire. The arrows he used were bodkin point arrows, made to penetrate the metal armour of medieval knights.

His father notched the arrow and pulled the string back in order to aim. After a second or so he let the arrow fly.

It flew through the air for a little less than a second before it burrowed into the target and sank about halfway into it. Quite far considering they had reinforced it to ensure it didn't just go through it instead. After retrieving the arrow and measuring the depth of the shot they concluded that the arrow could penetrate halfway if fired form a compound bow.

Now it was Shirou's turn. He traced a bodkin point arrow he had seen Kiritsugu hold and notched it. Unlike the compound bow, the traditional English longbow didn't have an arrow rest where the arrow would be held and go through. His however did have one in the form of a hand guard where he had made a slight curved edge in the side of the guard where the arrow would be. It was an unnecessary addition, but he thought it was useful at the time.

He notched the arrow and laid it to rest on the hand guard before he drew the string back. He had to reinforce his entire upper body to draw the bow back completely due to the stiffness of the bow, but he figured he could always train more until he could use it without Magecraft. He couldn't keep it drawn for long however because as soon as he reached maximum strength the string escaped his grip and the arrow broke through the air and into the bale of hay.

There was no competition. The arrow didn't sink into the hay halfway; it didn't sink into it at all. The moment the arrow touched the reinforced hay half of the bale exploded into a shower of grass and straws. It was more akin to a missile than an arrow. Both he and Kiritsugu stared at the clear act of destruction, wide-jawed. It took him several moments before he could gather the composure to collect the arrow, only to find it protruding business-end out of a tree a few meters away from the target. The arrow didn't break from immense strain of being fired from the Fae bow; he had reinforced it prior to firing it. It did however show several cracks along the shaft and the arrowpoint had chipped until looked like a serrated arrowpoint rather than a bodkin one.

He looked back to his father and waited for his judgment, despite the fact that he knew the answer. Kiritsugu had recovered his normal expression, but he was still staring a little warily at the bow in Shirou's hands. After a moment or two he sighed and started walking away from the yard, only to stop and turn to Shirou after a few steps.

"You still have to learn how to fire it properly," was all he said before he went back into the house.

It might have been because he was tired and wanted to sleep that he rushed into the house…

Or it might have been because he didn't want to see Shirou's victory dance with his bow in the air and grin on his face.

AOB

The days passed slowly after that. His days were spent either studying for school, cooking or doing chores, tinkering with his Mystic Codes, undergoing physical training, learning Magecraft or getting the basics of tactics and strategy drilled into his eight year old skull. Not the life a child should have, but most children did not survive a sea of flame that should have left them scarred and crippled for life or dead. So he didn't really find any problem with it, except he didn't really have time to try out some of those new dishes he had learnt from the TV.

Roasting an entire pig over an open fire was just one of those things he never had the time to try.

Still there was one major change in his life. Kiritsugu died just after he turned eleven.

He had died in his sleep. There was no way he could have known his old man was dying. Just before he had gone to sleep they had sat on the porch and talked about Kiritsugu's dream of being a hero. Turns out he still had hopes of being one, it was just he didn't think he'd ever actually make it. Just the amount of people he killed would make it look like he was on the other side of that dream. Rather than a defender of Justice, Kiritsugu was more often than not considered to be a man of pure evil, a murderer without a conscience. While it was nowhere near true, one could not deny the actions he had taken even if it was to save many more.

To save one person means not being able to save another.

Perhaps that was why he was able to go peacefully in the end. With the promise that Shirou would become the hero he had never been able to be, he was given some reassurance that not everything he had done had involved murder of innocents.

It had been hard trying to adapt to a life alone. He was so used to Kiritsugu that a life without the childish man who couldn't cook for the life of him that he almost fell into a lesser coma. Alas that had been three years ago and he had finally started to get back into a normal rhythm. Taiga would come over for breakfast and dinner in the guise of coming over to check on him while Raiga would take him to Sumo matches. He'd go to school, practice his archery, go home, go through his physical training and finally spar with Taiga. Kiritsugu had left him plenty of written journals on how to create and break through bounded fields as well as other tidbits of information Kiritsugu had gained during his life as the most efficient assassin ever to walk the earth. In the beginning he would only go through the motions, but after a while a habit had emerged. The beginning was the toughest, but with each passing day he would be able to move on a little more. In the end he had to accpet that death was a part of life, for good or bad.

He was walking home from his archery meeting (his senpai had asked him to show them his English longbow he had crafted and given them a lesson on how to create a bow) when he felt the stabbing pain in his chest. Unlike anything he had ever felt before, with the exception of the time he was being scorched alive in the Fuyuki fire, it was as if had fastened several fishing hooks around his heart and was tugging at the strings. He collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath, but his lungs wouldn't comply.

Crawling forward he hoped to find anyone who could help him, but it was late at night so the street was empty and dark. Quickly applying a healing spell on his chest area, fearing it to be something akin to poison, he found it to have no effect. Suddenly the pain blossomed up again as a red light shone in front of him and pulled him in.

The moment he was absorbed into the light he blacked out, the pain becoming too much for him as he entered the blissfull abyss.

AOB

When he woke up he was in a forest. His ribs ached and the chance some of them were broken were quite high. The stones beneath him had done nothing to break his fall if the pain in his back was any indication. He tried to sit up, but his legs and lower back was protesting in response to his efforts so even though they might not be broken, they were definitely bruised. He finally achieved a sitting position and despite his pounding headache he forced himself to survey the situation as Kiritsugu had taught him.

His body was injured. His lower ribs were broken while his upper ribs were cracked. His legs and hips were cracked as well, but not at the same level of his ribs. Most of his body was covered in bruises and he might be suffering from internal bleeding if the pain in his gut was any indication. The headache and nausea were likely signs of dehydration, which meant he had been unconscious for at least a day. He had at least fourteen open wounds of which three looked to be infected judging by the smell and sight of the bloody tears in his skin. Furthermore his magic circuits were spent. He barely had enough for a few spells and even that was pushing it.

Focusing on his longbow, he was relieved to find it appear in his hand a second later. It was a sideeffect from the Fae enchantment. He could astralize the bow when he wanted to in a manner similar to what the heroic spirits could, according to Kiritsugu. Though not exactly the same, it did come in handy if he ever needed it.

He also had no idea where he was or who had abducted him. He was in a forest, but it did not look like any Japanese forest at all. The forest was incredibly thick and the trees tall, a far cry from the forests near Fuyuki. It was also very cold, far too cold for July in Japan. Which meant wherever he was, he had been moved quite a bit north. His school clothes were drenched from rain and he shivered when the wind blew. He had to get out of the forest before he froze to death. Finding out who had kidnapped him was second in priority to his survival.

Getting up, he groaned at the sudden pain flaring up in his body. Casting a healing spell on his body a second time that day he was glad when the burning agony was reduced to a smoldering ache. The dehydration and infection he couldn't do anything against at the moment, but the immediate cuts and bruises could be dealt with, something he was learning to appreciate at the moment. Taking a step however, the pain in his legs reminded him that even though he had used a spell to heal the majority of his injuries, broken and cracked bones took longer to heal. Tracing a quarterstaff, he used it to relieve his legs from the majority of his weight when moving.

He must have been walking for over an hour before he found one of the things he was looking for: a small creek flowing with clear water. He collapsed next to the flowing water and practically shoved his head into the creek, drinking the life important fluid as if he life depended on it… well, technically his life did depend on it so his lack of manners could be excused.

After having drunk all he could on a single breath he came back up gulping for air. He was about to dunk his head back down when he heard a voice behind him.

"You know, last time we met you were much more elegant when drinking," The Voice said. He spun around, swinging the staff into a defensive stance. He ignored the aching of his legs and ribs as they were forced to work while still healing.

The woman in front of him was familiar, very familiar. In fact, it didn't take more than a second before he recognized her crimson hair and emerald eyes. It was very hard to forget the very first Fae you meet in life, even more so if the Fae in question helped you make your own mystic code.

"You're… Wyrda?" he asked her. A multitude of scenarios come to mind as to why she was here.

"Amazing! The boy possesses enough brain functions to recognize a lady. Remarkable!" Wyrda said in a sarcastic tone. When she made no effort to continue Shirou decided to take things into his own hands.

"What's going on? What happened to me and why am I here?" He had still not dropped his stance, fearing there was a hidden enemy somewhere and that smile The Woman Called Wyrda was wearing did nothing to alleviate his worries.

"Aw, what's the matter? Is the little magus boy afraid of little old me? Oh my, to think I went all that effort to bring you here and you don't seem appreciate my act of kindness. Truly, you humans are fickle things," The Woman Called Wyrda said while she sat down on a rock a few meters away from him.

Shirou's eyes narrowed at her words. "What do you mean with that? Why would you bring me here?" He changed his stance, but instead of a defensive one he opted for an offensive stance instead.

"You know, you're not nearly as cute when you're frowning like that. You're what? Fourteen years old? You should smile more often. I remember when we met in the Forest of Frost and you couldn't stop smiling when you found out we were in the Fae world. What happened to that Shirou? Did he die and get replaced by Mr. Frown over here?" She didn't even acknowledge him as a threat it seemed, not even after he showed aggressive actions. Not that he could blame her. She was a fairy and could most likely sense his prana levels. Not even a second-rate magus would take him seriously in his state.

It didn't mean he had to admit it.

"He was pretty angry when he found out you kidnapped him and threw him in a forest who know how many miles from his home." He answered without batting an eye at her jokes.

The Woman Called Wyrda let out a small, almost unnoticeable, laugh while she brought out a nail file from root knows where and started using it to trim her nails. Her blatant arrogance ignited the flames of rage in Shirou and he was about to walk up to her and demand she bring him back when ITwalked out from behind the rock.

IT was a giant dog, black as night. It had the basic appearance of an Irish wolfhound, but nobody in their right state of mind would call it such. The first clue was the yellow eyes which seemed to glow in the eye sockets and the way it seemed to stare him down, daring him to move. The second clue was that it was bigger than any natural dog. It towered over even Wyrda when she was standing and it looked like it could go toe to toe with a bull. The third and final clue was when it spoke.

"My Lady, may I remind you of the reason we appeared before the poor boy? It wouldn't do either of you any favors by forgetting why we are here." Contrary to its appearance, the voice was polite and respectful. Though it sounded rough and wretched, the dog was apparently well-trained and taught. Compared to the yakuza he met while helping Raiga, it was strangely endearing.

It didn't change the fact that it looked ready to tear him to pieces.

The Woman Called Wyrda clapped her hands together. "Ah, that's right! I completely forgot about that, thanks for reminding me, Gellert!" She threw away the nail filer and it shattered into sparks in the air. "The reason I called you here is because I need you to take my place," she said without a care in the world.

Shirou felt dread settle into his gut, despite not understanding her words. "What?"

"It's quite simple. My sisters and I are called the Norns. We were the goddesses of Past, Present and Future. I was the Past, but my sisters didn't like me very much. After a quarrel they sealed me in the past and banished me to an ash tree and chained me there. I, a goddess, was reduced to a fairy. I spent years in the Forest of Frost until you came along and supplied me with the tools to escape. Remember the Hazel branch?" she asked him.

He tried to remember that day and could vaguely remember something about a hazel tree.

"Well, the leafless hazel tree was one of the most poisonous existences in the Fae world second only to iron. The sap I had collected from the branch enabled me to poison the ash tree and to remove my shackles." She held up a necklace of simple design and made of iron, if his eyes didn't betray him.

"Though the seal did prove to be rather annoying, I soon found a loophole. Someone of Fae blood must be imprisoned here for anyone to escape. Since you made it into the Fae world you must either be of Fae blood or be connected to the Fae through some artifact. The bowstave I enchanted for you increased that connection either way so you were the key to my escape. To ensure you were truly a good replacement for me, I used my own blood to create a bond between us. Remember the meat I gave you? That was a part of my flesh, to turn a small part of you into a fae." She clasped her dress and gave Shirou a shallow curtsy. "Thank you, Shirou for your selfless act of sacrifice. I will never forget your heroism."

With that, she looked at the ox-sized dog and gave it an impatient look. "Are you satisfied now, Gellert?"

The dog, called Gellert, sighed, or the canine variety of a sigh, and returned The Woman Called Wyrda's gaze. "I believe you were supposed to explain where he is now, My Lady."

The Woman Called Wyrda growled at the correction and looked back to Shirou. "It seems my servant thinks he can do a better job than I can. With that in mind, he can explain the rest of your situation in my stead. Goodbye, Little Shirou." with those final words, she disappeared.

The dogs gave off another canine sigh and decided to sit down on its hindquarters. Though it just made Shirou more uncomfortable since it seemed as if the giant wolf-like dog looked even larger in height. The intense, murderous stare it had seemed to disappear as well now that she was gone though. Perhaps it only saw him as a threat when his mistress was around.

"In the absence of My Lady, I will now explain your circumstances to you. My Lady brought you back approximately one-thousand five-hundred years in the past to the place of her sealing. As she would not have been able to escape her prison without another Fae or Fae-halfbreed, she chose you to be her stand-in. We are currently in the south-east parts of what will be called England and the year is 487." It spoke in a dull voice, though with a hint of empathy. He sounded a bit like a tourist guide who knew the tourists were getting scammed, but hadn't developed the hide thick enough to ignore it.

Shirou on the other hand was growing more and more furious by the second. His headache had returned with a vengeance and it took all his might not to lash out at the werewolf-like dog. He was quite sure he wouldn't survive the consequence of such an action.

"Why are you doing this?" he finally asked, despair heavy in his chest. The dog noticed his state and was quiet for a few moments.

"Sometimes, we don't know why we do things. All I know is that it doesn't matter if it's humans or spirits, no living thing can survive loneliness. If you spend your life in darkness and you finally see a slight sliver of light then you will do everything in you power to keep that light, even of you find yourself doing things you'd never would have thought you could before. My Lady is my light, in time I'm sure you'll find your own." As if realizing it had said too much, it suddenly stood and prepared to leave. It pointed with its paw along creek.

"If you follow the creek you'll find a small village close to the sea. Perhaps you'll be able to start a life there. A kingdom will always need its fishermen." As soon as it had said those words it took off, its powerful legs catapulting it through the air and into the thick forest. Even when it had disappeared, Shirou could hear the trees breaking as the behemoth thundered through the woods.

He sat down on the same rock The Woman Called Wyrda had sat on. His head was just a jumble of thoughts all trying to find it way on top. He was in England? He traveled back in time to the fifth century? Wyrda was a Goddess? All of it was too much for a third-rate magus who had just begun his second decade of living.

He must have sat there for at least an hour before he decided to do something about his fate. Sitting in a forest and sobbing wasn't going to change anything. Planning and action was the only solution. But before that he needed to eat and rest. He wasn't going to die before he had a chance to do anything. Standing up and using the staff as a walking stick again, he made his along the creek.

It took him almost two hours before he reached the village. By then the forest had dwindled down to reveal fields of grass and large rock formations. The wind blew even stronger here than in the forest and he wrapped his school jacket closer around his body to preserve heat. The wind was obviously from the sea as it was perhaps two-hundred meters away from the village with only a few trees between the sea and the humans.

Walking into the village he was shocked by the bareness of it. The houses were gray and made of wood, the fences were in desperate need of repair and the two only large buildings showed signs of fire damage. There were currently no one in the street and the only living thing visible was a donkey strapped to a wagon filled with wooden barrels. It was outside the second largest building and judging by the design and the sound coming from it, it was the tavern of the village.

Limping towards the tavern, he entered the house.

Loud arguments were the only thing he heard. From left to right, it was just a never-ending barrage of voices arguing about something he couldn't make out. The people of the tavern were not quite what he had expected though. His image of the medieval people was that they were dirty and didn't know how to dress and act, but from what he could see here it didn't quite seem to be true.

Everyone wore a full wardrobe. Pants, shirt or tunic, some sort of cloak that covered their upper body, boots and hat appeared to be the norm for men while the women seemed to favour a dress which covered their entire body though some left their lower arms revealed.

Likewise their language did not seem too different than normal English. Sure it did have a strange accent and some words he didn't know what they meant despite Kiritsugu having taught him advanced English. But he could understand most of what was being said if it weren't for the fact that everything was so damned loud.

As if they had heard his desire for silence, the entire room stopped yelling. No he could finally hear what they were talking about. A voice on the other side of the room spoke, the male owner of it was probably used to speaking to large crowds as his voice boomed over the heads of the other tavern goers.

"I know what I'm asking is a lot, but I'm not asking you for my sake. I'm asking for yours! In a few weeks the Saxons will land and they will put every village in Albion to the torch. This village will only be the first step on their march of war and if the brittanian people are to survive this invasion then we must stand and fight. Running away without a fight will only serve as our doom in the long run," the man spoke.

Unlike the rest of the villagers, this man was different. He didn't wear normal clothes like the rest of the town. Instead he wore leather armour and a thick fur cloak. His black beard reached his chest and it was peppered with gray. His hair had suffered the same fate in the struggle against time. At his hip was a sword, a bastard sword that had seen its fair share of battle.

A villager, most likely the mayor or someone of similar position, spoke up against him. "Do you even realize what it is you're asking for? We are a small fishing village; we barely have fifty people in total. To ask us to give you ten soldiers, all youths, is simply too much. We have seven children in the village right now, the rest died in the roman wars. We cannot hope to meet your demands," he spoke with desperation. Most likely there was a punishment for those who could not supply their lords with soldiers.

The soldier nodded before he continued; "I understand your plight, Baron Distray. That is why the Duke has given the lords and ladies of his land several options in the hopes that you would agree to his call-for-arms." He brought out a scroll from his armour and started reading from it. "For every knight supplied fully armed, seven soldiers will be wiped from the village's debt. For every Man-at-arms supplied fully armed, six soldiers will wiped from the village's debt. For every archer supplied fully trained, four soldiers will be wiped from your debt. As the duke understands the time needed to find the men for the debt to be paid, he has graciously given you a week to find the men needed." He stopped and looked to the Baron who had protested earlier.

The baron was pale in the face and stammered at first. "Sir Ludvig, as I said earlier, most of our men are old and sick. The only Man-at-arms we have is Robin of Blackbay and while he is eager to get back into battle, we don't have any other knight or archer who could help us fill our quota. We were hit by the Saxons too hard in the first wave and we have barely begun to recover from our losses. Surely you must understand, your son…"

"Hold your tongue, Distray!" The man roared. "My son has nothing to do with this and you would do well to avoid further mentioning him in my presence. I shall be back in a week to collect the men. For now I have to inform the rest of the villages near the coast." The man took long strides out of the hall and the floor creaked at every step. The crowd parted as the soldier passed through them; as if they were afraid he would cut them down with his sword if they didn't.

When he passed Shirou however, he faltered. He stopped and stared at Shirou as if he was some kind of strange new animal at the zoo and was trying to determine what kind of animal he was. When he finally couldn't figure it out he left through the open door and slammed the door behind him.

The entire tavern was quiet now. The man's announcement had put an end to the yelling and everyone seemed focused on how to survive the coming invasion. Shirou for the most part was too exhausted to think about it. He hadn't even for a long time it felt and he needed to get some sleep too.

He walked up to the medieval bar disk and started talking to the owner.

"Um, hello?" Now that he was here, he had no idea what to say. The owner looked down at him and frowned when he saw his face.

"Yeah?" he asked back.

"Well, could I get some food?" What kind of food did they eat? What kind of money did they use? How did the system around here work? Could he get arrested for vagrancy? All these thoughts suddenly erupted in his head as he froze.

The owner didn't seem to notice, but instead just looked at him. "You got the money to pay for it?"

Shirou's silence was apparently all the answer he needed.

The man sighed and ran his hand through his thinning hair. "Listen lad, Ah can't just give you the food without paying for it. If Ah did then I would lose me tavern. Sorry, but Ah can't help there." He said. "Though if you catch me one of them wee hares or birds, Ah wouldn't mind cooking it for you," the man said gently.

Shirou looked down, crestfallen but understood the principle behind it. He had been naïve to think he would get food for free, just like he had been naïve to think Wyrda had helped for free. He had to learn to read people better.

On the other hand, if he could catch an animal he could at least cook it here. The problem would be hunting it. He didn't have the prana to trace an arrow in his current condition. If he could rest for a while he could generate enough prana to trace a few weapons, but he couldn't perform a single spell right now. He turned back to the owner of the tavern and steeled himself for the answer.

"Do you think I could rest her for a few hours? I'm kind of tired and I really need to get some sleep," he asked the owner, this time putting all his hopes on this last chance.

"Sure, there's a bench in that corner with some blankets…" he said while pointing to the corner near the fireplace. "… and there's a pillow beneath the bench. Ah'll be closing shop after dusk so you have until then to get some shuteye, lad. Ah'll wake you up before Ah close." Then he turned to the wall and started cleaning mugs used for ale.

Shirou tanked the man and made it sluggishly to the wooden bench. It was made in the most primitive of way. Someone had chopped a log in two and added for legs to it, but right now it looked a heaven to weary Japanese lost in time.