Billows of smoke and a haze of gray filled the space before Reinalt. To his right, he could faintly make out people of varying stages of sickness and death; some rotted through to almost skeletons, while others were scratching at their bodies and wailing in pain, succumbing to a deathly illness. To his left, he saw a house, filled with happy families and people of varying ages; the hot smell of burnt peppers wafting through the air. Then, ahead of him, he could see the lilthe body of his servant with her back turned. He called to her, he ran to her, he crawled to her, but his body could never reach her. Once he had given up, she turned around, and appeared directly in front of him. She knelt down to lift him up, pulling him up by the arm. She leaned in, and embraced him, and he awoke.

The dream was strange to say the least, except the final part, which in fact had more truth than he had known. Caster was atop him, naked, with her arms wrapped around his neck, snoring. Did she have a bad dream? He thought to himself, before prying the arms off of him and moving her to the side.

He got up slowly to not wake her, but the creaking of the boards of the house caused too much of a disturbance. With a small yawn and bundled covers over her body, she rose from the bed. "Good..." She said with dreary eyes, "You are awake."

He moved to the basin and filled a glass with water, and moved back to sit at the table in the room. "So… are you going to explain to me what you are?"

Caster let out a sigh before flopping back on the bed, looking like a defiant child. "Do I have to? Can't you just believe that I am just a… person from history or something that is here to help? A sorcerer who can move and bend shadows to her whim? A powerful witch filled with eldritch power that can morph and move through dark areas? Or…" She wanted to continue, but Reinalt halted the conversation. "Tell me Caster… exactly what are you?"

She sat up, still draped in the blankets of her bed, her white hair falling to the visible pieces of her skin that the blanket did not reach, and stood soon after. As the blankets dropped to the floor, a black garb materialized. Layered to almost look like feathers, the garb was knee length, and looked quite airy. The color seemed to move as she did, with the darkest part of her always facing Reinalt, and the rest moving back to glossy black to deep grays. It was a strange, entrancing design. She gripped her right arm with her left at the elbow, and looked him in the eyes. "This is what I am. I am a creature of disease and sickness." She halted, looking to see if he understood, and then continued. "The people of the lands I inhabited called me Gaxi Sonnim, and I would give and take as I saw fit. Merchants struck with the flu after wronging someone, fishermen stealing others catch came down with pneumonia and the occasional civilization whipping event such as a wracking and deathly disease to those that did wrong to us." Her hand shot to her mouth, trying to cover it as quickly as possible.

Reinalt's eyes grew to saucers. "Us? What do you mean us?"

Soon the space dimmed to darkness. All around, Reinalt could see nothing except himself and Caster standing in front of him. "There is more than just myself… within this form, so to speak. I am the main force of Gaxi Sonnim, but there are far more that are under my power that I have taken in to aid me."

Soon, faces could be seen in the distance of the darkness, coming to where Caster and he were sitting. They all looked similar to Caster, but were still different; lighter or darker skin tones, slight variations to hair styles or length and color, height, weight, eye color, they all varied, but they were all the same in ways. Reinalt could feel it. Each one of them, if he were to name them, Gaxi Sonnim would be their names. It was a collective that lived far longer than anything he could imagine, and had lasted far longer than what time had. The feeling of their presence was immense.

Caster moved forward, placing a hand atop his that was on his knee. It had been shaking. Fear. Reinalt hadn't felt it in so long he forgot what it could be called. The touch of her hand calmed him quickly, and the look in her eyes was gentle. "We only harm those we do not like or those that deserve to be punished. You shouldn't be scared of me… us… Yunda. We are your servants. And as far as we've seen, you've done nothing to warrant any punishment. You have a good heart, and one that will make his people and eventual family happy."

The darkness faded, as did the other bodies inside it; some waving, smiling, or simply turning to walk away. What was left was Caster, now naked, standing in front of Reinalt. She turned quickly and dropped to the floor to grab the blankets, flicking them over herself and hiding inside them. "I bet you hate me now. I was hoping I didn't have to tell you all that."

He stood swiftly, and walked over to her, lifting her up and placing her on the bed. "I don't hate you. I should be thanking you." He said with a smile that Caster could see out of the small hole in her blankets. "Now that I know all that, we can get to know each other a little better. I didn't know your magic could do all that too. Is that why you put the bread by that house next door before we left?"

Caster jumped a little, thinking her little deed had gone unnoticed. "Y…yes… Once someone eats that stuff, they'll start to lose mana, then once that's over, they'll start succumbing to a disease that was crafted just for this war… only those with magic can succumb to it."

His face turned to a grin. "That's smart… fiendish but smart. How's that shadow stuff work?" His demeanor was unchanging, and positive. Something Caster was not expecting.

"Well… I just use shadows around to… craft things or move through them. All shadows are connected, just as all light is connected. Sunlight and moonlight are very similar to each other, so the shadows that they cast are the same. I move through the light and shadows, and use them for my own doing. It's kind of like using mana, except I use the mana around me in its given form." She said as she moved her arms around, trying to make them give an explanation all their own as she talked.

Reinalt looked at his servant with a broad smile. He was proud of how much she had told him, and how much she trusted him to keep this information to himself. "That sounds really powerful and hard to wield. How do you do it?"

She finally met his eyes after so long of keeping her head down. "Lots of practice… too many years worth of practice honestly."

"Would you want to teach me some? I'm a fast learner."

They both smiled soon after, and laughed some. The decision was made that once they rested to leave in the night, she would teach him a simple spell to control the shadows to use as he saw fit.

The first attack missed its mark in the clearing outside of the graveyard. A large field used to stargazing, picnicking, and simple strolls now had turned into a battlefield. From the trees, Caster and Sophia looked on at the display. "Sophia, what the hell is this thing?" Assassin said, looking with all six of her eyes to the spectacle that was going on in front of them. "He's… so strong… just as strong as that creature Al'ana summoned. What the hell is he!?"

"Just calm down and watch Anna. We can learn quite a bit from this exchange." Sophia said as she balanced herself on a limb not far from Assassin. Assassin had not seen much magic come from Sophia, but she seemed quite physically adept to the type of activities Assassin was used to doing. Acrobatics, swift and silent movements, she felt as if she was paired up with her double more than just a powerful magician. Sophia slid her skirt upwards, revealing a band of knives at the ready around her thigh. "Sophia what the hell are you!?" Anna said as loudly as she could with a whisper. Sophia flashed a glare at her. "What did I say about watching and being quiet?"

Ahead of them, the fight continued. Archer was dodging attacks swiftly as the brute of a man continued to swing in what appeared to be a wild dance of combat. Rin and the other master were merely watching as the time passed. Rin couldn't bring herself to do anything, not to the child, nor to his servant. His size, while imposing, was betraying to his speed. He was only slightly slower than Archer in swinging speed and straightforward movement. Archer, having a smaller frame, and considerably more dexterity in his movement, dodged his swift attacks, but the movements were taking their toll.

Rin had only a few options. Attack the other servant, and possibly hit Archer in the process, or not hit at all, and reveal her attacks to the enemy; attack the master, and possibly wage their own battle against each other that could result in the servants fending for themselves, or getting tangled in; or standing and waiting. The last option was the safest for her, but also the one that would draw the fight out the longest. She looked over to the other master. He was as tall as Rin, and sickly thin, but had the signature blue eyes and golden yellow hair of house Champion. Rin could only think that he was either an outcast in his family, being a bastard son or born with the wrong ways in life, or he chose this path himself and didn't like fighting with swords and arrows. Perhaps he didn't like fighting at all.

Being but ten yards away from one another, Rin could see most of his figure perfectly. He wore robes of a custom design and make; that fashioned after many higher wizards who used things such as sympathetic magic or grand conjuration. Rin could see his mouth tensing and moving with mumbled words to himself, and his fingers moving. Traditional magic. Somatic and verbal. She thought to herself, before digging in her bag slowly to retrieve a deep onyx stone that shone brilliantly in the sun. She waited for the perfect moment, and then shot the stone towards him. As it careened through the air, it began to spark with energies, and then crumpled to dust as it finally reached its mark. Darkness fell around the boy, and silence seemed to envelop him.

Once cut off from his master, the brute of a servant began to slow his movements. Archer took the chance and gained some distance, letting loose a barrage of arrows that hit their mark on nearly every shot. The servants arm and shoulder were skewered. With a swift movement, sword in his other hand, he slashed the air towards his servant, letting the darkness seem to blow away with the force of his swing. "None of that. We fight this as we should. While my servant did give me more speed to help me combat your swift Archer, I will fight this fight without it. Archer, are we agreed on this?" Said the huge man as he ripped the arrows out of his thick flesh, no blood to show for Archer's efforts. Archer wandered back to Rin, keeping his eye on him.

"I can take him without any aid," He said immediately in a quiet voice once close enough, "He may be large and powerful, but my attacks are quick and once I wear him down, that will be it."

Rin looked to him with puzzlement. He sounded so sure of himself, but if it wasn't for her, he wouldn't have kept up for much longer, or so she feared. "That may be, but who's to say they will keep to their word? They started this fight off with that spell. What's stopping him from doing it again?"

"Rin, he is a warrior. If he values honor, which it seems he does, he won't be asking for any spells. It will just be his combat prowess against mine."

"Sure it will. Just like his speed nearly matched yours."

Archer turned to look at her eyes. The piercing eyes that reminded him of his days before all this; Light's eyes staring back at him. He could see her in Rin, and almost hear her gentle voice.

"I trust you, but I don't like it," She said, crossing her arms.

"Just as stubborn." He said, looking down to the ground with a smile.

"Let's be done with this soon. Maybe we'll be able to topple him and have a win under our belts." She said, before wandering off to a side of the field, "Good luck Archer!" She called back as she joined the side of the boy in robes.

Assassin and Sophia were now at the base of the trees, watching behind a series of closely packed trees. Bushes and low branches hit their visage and outlines well. Sophia gathered dirt, leaves, and bits and pieces of the forest floor and split the little amount of random foliage in her and Anna's hand. After this, Sophia uttered a spell that sounded like the last breaths of a dying soul, and then dropped her spoils in her hand. Anna felt the world around her close of in a sense. Her voice, she felt, could only be heard by Sophia, and she felt that no eyes were watching her either. It was somehow calming. "Silence and camouflage? Interesting Sophia. Are we to spy on their entire fight?"

"Do you object? It will prove to us that this treaty between ours and theirs will be profitable." Sophia replied, with some ice in her voice.

"Sophia? What's going on? Is everything alright?" Anna was confused. Not but a few moments ago, Sophia had been calm, and acted much like when she first met Anna. Now however, she seemed more of an assassin than she was. Cold temperament, minimal talk, the knives and the silent magic. It was all making sense. "Well, while they prepare, why don't you tell me a little about yourself Sophia?" She said, a small smile creeping across her face.

Sophia looked back with the eyes of a killer. "We are here to help them in any way we can Assassin. You know this. You agreed to it as well. We watch. We wait. I will tell you all I can as we watch. Now, sit and stay still. The more you move, the more the spell wanes."

Assassin took the hint immediately and crouched next to Sophia, watching the brute of a man prepare himself for his fight with Archer.

Once the calm before their clash came, Sophia began.

"My family is a family of death," She said, as the larger servant charged towards Archer. The elf was too fast for them as he ducked out of the way of the swing, rushing upwards to stab his knife into the giant's sword arm. No blood came from him. "For centuries, my family has crafted, tested, and perfected every form of death imaginable. Torture, poison, 'accidents,'" she said with a strange inflection, "curses, assassinations, and even the less subtle of forms such as warfare. We are a perfect family of mages, warriors, and scholars. However, there are things we lack, and that is power. Despite all of our knowledge… we do not have a ready avenue of casting. The spell I used before, it is an old one passed down in our family. One that I have no idea how it works. It just comes naturally. We've studied and studied. We can 'read off' spells from scrolls and books, but they are unfamiliar to us. If we perform a ritual, we must have a written document on how to do it. For some reason, we cannot truly learn it." She shook her head in annoyance at her family's faults. "Ages have passed and we still have nothing to show for all of our studies. Our magic comes easily, and the spells easier than that, and some we hardly need materials for now, but we only have so much we can do, and we must always use the shadows as our ally. We are forever a house in night." The word sounded with a clash of swords amidst the battlefield. Archer had stuck another dagger into Saber, and was now firing a barrage of arrows at him, which he was slicing out of the air with relative ease. No blood had stained the green grass below still. "That is all I can really tell you about the family. Not much else is known about our family. My magic is mine, and I have tried my best to learn new spells… but I cannot keep the knowledge either. It's strange… and disheartening, but… our family is one of death, and I suppose that is our just rewards for such a past. The inability to progress."

Archer's arrows were beginning to hit home more and more as he fired far away from the man. Now looking like a pin cushion, the giant man rushed him and slashed downward towards the ground, sending a shockwave of force towards Archer. Dodging as best he could, Archer was caught in the blast, and was hit multiple times by rocks and the sheer force of the attack. Soon after trying to stand, Saber was upon him, and thrust the sword to his neck. "I believe it is my win Archer," He said in a calm voice, as the arrows that were still stuck in his shoulders and lower neck reached above him, "Do you yield?"

Archer spit a bit of blood from his mouth as the blade cut a bit of his neck, drawing blood. "I thought you said we fight fair. How can you not be bleeding after all of my attacks?"

"Oh but they do," He said, pulling a dagger out of his arm, tossing it at him. At the tip, a velvety sheen encased the dagger. "My blood is thicker than most, and while you do make me bleed, your attacks aren't enough to make my blood flow from my body." He gave a laugh of triumph.

Archer reached for the dagger and thrust himself upward from the ground, lunging towards the servant's chest, and stabbed just below his sternum. The servant stumbled back from the force, but not from the blade. He retrieved it, and threw it back down at Archer. "It seems we are on a balance here. My attacks do damage you, but you have quite the reservoir of strength." He gave Archer a wide smile. "And while your attacks do not seem to damage me, you seem to have tactics that I cannot anticipate. I sense no evil in you however," He said as he looked over to his master, "So are you satisfied young master? We can continue if you wish, but he is a good one this one."

Archer's eyes moved over to where Rin and the master were sitting, and saw that Rin's face matched his. The young man stood up from his sitting position, and moved over to his servant. "Yeah… they aren't going to hurt anyone. Let's go find the bad guys then!" He said joyfully, before being pat on the head softly by his servant. "Alright then. We should get a move on then." He said, before fleshing slightly, forcing the remaining arrows and dagger out of his body. The holes seemed to close up quite readily.

"If our paths cross again Archer and her Master, we will be ready for a nice fight. Good luck in the war!" said the servant, before walking down the path they came. It was a sight to be sure. Archer was dumbfounded as much as Rin was, and the duo of Assassin and Sophia were equally amazed at what just transpired.

The hooded figure of Leysritt stood at the balcony of the king's estate, looking out at the fight that had just ended. "Saber… ever the warrior of honor. You never cease to amaze." She said, letting the light breeze whip her hood off of her head. She turned to look back into the room she had claimed for herself. The king had withered into a puppet for her using. He seemed nearly lifeless as he lay on the ground in his robes from the announcement earlier. He still held breath, but his figure was becoming more and more lithe and thin. His eyes held no spark of life, but only a shadowy resemblance of it. Truly, he was a shell without a soul.

"Oh King," She said, as he rose from his place and moved to the wide door to the balcony, "I have a task for you. You must come closer." She smiled. The being inside the shell of the man hated sunlight, and actively chose to avoid it, but, he could not disobey the master that brought him into this world.

He did not want another wound.

"I… I am here… mistress." With each step, the sun burnt his flesh. The shell of the man stopped most of the light, but still, it hurt far more than most things the shadowy being had witnessed. "What is it… you desire?"

"Go to Saber, and see to it that he is on an equal playing field to the others. If he proves too powerful, we cannot let the grail soak up the power of the servants as well as it should. You understand do you not?"

A deep bow came with a few grunts of pain. "Of course mistress, I will do so at once." He said before scurrying back to the shadows. "How do you wish for me to accomplish this madam?"

"Disease, poison, an unhealing wound. Be creative. Keep the guise of the king as well. Make sure the boy is present to truly liven up just how distraught this kingdom will be without their highest and grandest of kings." She let out a chuckle before turning back to the landscape in surprise. The time limit had almost hit its mark and closed up the city for the war, and a rumble in the earth came with increasing intensity as the time neared. Within the last seconds, Leysritt saw a black dot of matter shoot upwards in the shape of a human, and barely cut through the sliver of sky before the dome of magic shut the city in. with a crash around a far fountain that seemed to shoot forth a flurry of brackish and spoiled water, a gargantuan man could be seen, with a woman of tribal garments and blood stained hands riding atop his shoulder.

"It seems Al'ana has returned and wishes to join in the war," Her smile stretched across her face, nearly reaching her ears. "Change of plans Shade," She turned to him, her eyes now wide as well in an emotion the shade had never seen before, and one he hoped he'd never be on the end of. "I need his form for the grail. He must be fed to it. Without him, this all will take entirely too long. Show her the power we wield, and give her a taste of darkness and what lies between the stars in legends. I want them twisted and writhing while we play with them like puppets in our hands. I trust you can do this. I have given you more than enough power to do this. Do not disappoint me Shade." She finished, going back into the bed chamber as the earthquake of the creatures movement carried on outside. She tumbled into her bed, and sat about the books on them, skimming for a spell, a ritual, something to make this grail be filled quicker than any she had readied in the past. She needed this power here and now. She had seen the power that this creature was, and she needed it to be hers.

Lancer felt something was amiss with the steady thunderous steps around her. Something was looking for the servants and masters, and she could only assume it was the creature they saw Al'ana summon. Her and Shin had split up to cover more ground, an idiotic plan, but one she was sure he could handle on his own. She stumbled down the alleys of the lower city while he was nearer the top. With a simple spell, she could make him alert to the danger, but she was sure she didn't need to thanks to the gargantuan might of whatever was causing such a ruckus. She scurried as best she could as the sounds rang out between the walls. Swift in her black armor, she made her way to the street, and dashed across. As she fell into the next alley, a cape caught her eye. A deep blue and white, the color of Shin's cape. What is he doing here? Did he come to find me? Her heart leapt in joy as she felt her heartstrings fluttered. He cared so much for her, and he was worried about her with all the commotion. She was flattered, but wanted their mission to be over. She would have rather stayed the day inside their base, waiting for nightfall, when more reconnaissance could be achieved. And more fun in the bedroom could be had while all the others were running around fighting.

She rounded the corner, spotting the cape go through a door. She rushed it, and barely caught it, but it was attached to nothing. "Sorry Lancer, I'm in here! Come join me!" he said from inside.

Lancer couldn't resist. Perhaps the passion had taken her over, or the thought that Shin wanted to see her made that much more unaware of her surrounds. As she went through the door, and hurried into the basement level where his voice came from, something seemed to drain from her. She could feel something inside her seem to create a void. Strength drained from her, but she pressed on. Winded now as she reached the bottom of the stairs, there, in the candlelight, she saw him lying. Four women lay around him, each one with blood rolling down their mouths as another ate at his neck, stripping flesh from bone.

Lancer dropped her spear, and sank to the ground, her strength failing her more. She couldn't bear to see this. She never wanted her friend, her master, her lover, to leave her, but for his life to end here, like this… it was an insane joke. She kept her eyes on them as tears began to roll down. A new source of energy began to make its way through her. Her master's mana was gone, but she was still able to fight. She stood with a shaking hand, and grabbed her spear, and readied herself. The creatures stopped eating, and fully took notice of her finally. The one who was eating last stood, and made its way closer, nearly ten feet in front of Lancer. It opened its mouth, revealing pointed, terrifying looking teeth. "He only wanted a little fun," it said in Shin's voice, "It seems he got more fun than what he was wanting!"

Lancer's spear drove through the strange voice taking woman, and cut her apart with such precision that not a cut was seen until the creature collapsed. She went to work just as quickly on the others, the pain and fury of her loss fueling her attacks more and more. Soon, the place was a bloodbath and a mess of goopy forms with some body parts remaining, and Lancer standing amongst the carnage, waiting for the anger to subside.

She thought long and hard about what she wanted to do. True, she was alone. Alone and afraid. Shin was all she had in this world, and he was the only one who taught her enough to survive. She was a fighter, but she did not know about the place she had ended up. Shin had shown her much, but now, she was ready to see the rest of it for the remainder of the war. She would stay as long as the war allowed her, and keep to her own ideals. She would fight, and if she could, she would win, and bring him back if she could. This time, she would make sure he never left her side.

Resolved instilled in her once more, she made her way back up the steps, and began to make her way to the house she had scoped out with Shin only nights before; The Fiore Estate, where Rin and Archer were soon to be.