Prologue

Rapid footsteps echoed through the quiet halls as a lone figure strode through the arched hallways of the Clock Tower, the world's premier institution for magecraft. The young woman carried with her several thick envelopes, all stamped and sealed with the official crest of the Mages Association. She glanced down nervously every few moments to ensure that they were all still within her grasp and found her grip tightening with each furtive look. She paused her quick march by of the tall windows that dotted the hallway in order to ease her breathing. She glanced out into the gray winter sky of London and was thankful that she did not have to journey to one of the campuses that spread out from the central hub. Normally these halls would be filled with eager students as they learned the art of magecraft, but that was still a few weeks away.

She brushed a few strands of long chestnut-brown hair out of her face and granted herself a few moments to replace the strands in her ponytail. She carefully set the large envelopes down on the windowsill and used the reflection from the window to properly style her hair, which, thankfully, was being cooperative today. Once she had done so, she took the opportunity to make sure the rest of herself was presentable. The white blouse, embroidered with the crest of the Mages Association on the left breast was neatly buttoned and tucked into a pair of dark pants. She brushed her legs to ensure no dust was visible and made sure that her collar was centered properly. She smiled inwardly to herself as she went over these purely superficial checks. If this was to meet any of the standard staff, she might not be so picky. But these letters were addressed directly to one of the Lords! One such as her would normally never be allowed to speak, much less meet with one of the twelve esteemed Lords of the Clock Tower. She never thought that she would get the honor of meeting with such a high-ranking member so soon into her employment. She had only been hired shortly after Christmas as one of the secretarial staff, with the intention of working with students or low-level administrators. She gingerly retrieved the envelopes, double-checked that they were all in good condition and with a deep breath continued on her journey.

Fifteen minutes and four flights of stairs later, she arrived at a mahogany door with a gold plate that read "LORD EL-MELLOI II". For a moment she panicked, thinking that perhaps he was not in today and that she had come all this way for nothing, when her ears picked up the sound of muffled music drifting from behind the door. She sighed to herself and chided her impetuousness. She did another quick once-over of the envelopes and herself before standing as tall as she could and rapped on the door. "Lord El-Melloi," she called softly, "I apologize for the intrusion, but I have a message for you." At first, there was no response. As the seconds ticked by she considered knocking again, but as she raised her hand to do so a low voice emanated from the room. "You may enter." Maintaining her composure, she slowly opened the door and entered the room.

While she had seen plenty of offices before, this one was most certainly unique. Not only was it on the large side, but for a moment she fully believed that she had stepped into the school's library. Bookshelves lined the walls, all full to bursting with tomes and manuscripts. More books were piled on end tables and a central coffee table. She walked towards a large wooden desk situated at the far end of the room, her eyes darting around the room trying to take everything in at once. The desk was covered in more books and papers and a record player was situated on the windowsill to the large window behind the desk, which offered a lovely view of the city. Sitting in a dark leather chair was the man she had come to see, Lord El-Melloi II.

He rose from his seat as she drew near, giving her a chance to examine his appearance, for this was her first time seeing him in person. He wore a dark black suit jacket with matching pants and button-up shirt, with the only color being a red and gold striped tie. Long black hair flowed down to below his shoulders and a pair of dark-rimmed glasses only enhanced the sharpness within those stormy gray eyes. A shiver went up her spine, it would seem the rumors about him being an exceptionally handsome man barely did him any justice. There was a reason people called him the Clock Tower's Most Eligible Bachelor, just never to his face. As she halted a few feet from the desk and prepared to speak, he forestalled her with a raised hand. "Don't forget the 'Second."

She stared at him blankly, "S-sir?"

"When you called my name, you forgot the 'Second' part. I ask that you remember from now on."

Her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment at the correction, "Of course, Lord El-Melloi II."

Nodding in a satisfied manner, he motioned to one of the empty chairs near the desk, "Now then. Would you care to take a seat? Ms…"

"Davis, sir," she replied, "Susan Davis, sir, I apologize for intruding so suddenly. I'd normally send a message ahead to avoid interfering with your busy schedule, but this came up so suddenly, and I was told there was no time and…" her voice trailed off as she became aware that she was rambling. She slowly sank into the cushioned chair and felt heat rising again in her cheeks, "Come on Susan, get a grip!" She forced herself to meet his hawk-like gaze again. A small smile tugged at the corner of El-Melloi II's mouth as he retook his own chair.

He gestured towards the record player, "Tell me Ms. Davis, do you recognize the piece being played here?" She was briefly thrown off by the seeming randomness of the question but felt it was rude to bring that up to a Lord. She listened to the music for a minute or so, "Y-yes I believe I do. It's Mozart's Twelfth Symphony in G major." She allowed a bit of pride to creep into her response. The tall man across from her barely raised an eyebrow,

"Very good Ms. Davis, you are correct. I am glad that at least one of the employees seems to appreciate the classics. You are new around here, yes? Considering that most of the general staff will not be returning until the tenth, and that you could not place an appointment, must mean that you have a very good reason for being here at this time. Am I correct in this?" He slowly leaned forward and folded his hands together on the desk as he talked. She had to fight the urge to lean back,

"I had no idea he would be like this. He's rather intimidating, but not in an aggressive way. It feels like he's reading me like one of his books." Uncertain as to whether or not she liked that sensation, she rose from her seat and gently placed the envelopes on the desk in front of him and spoke as calmly and evenly as she could. "Yes sir, I believe I do." She retook her seat and began to explain the situation, "You are correct by saying that I would not normally be here, but I had come in early to get a feel for the school and the systems that I would be working with. I ran into a group from our International Monitoring Committee, and they mentioned that they had found some…anomalies. Rather, one of the Eastern branches did."

El-Melloi had since reached for the first thick envelope and was in the process of opening it, "Which branch was it specifically?" he asked in a tone that seemed to belie some curiosity. "I believe it was the Korean branch, sir," she replied. At this, he arched an eyebrow and murmured, "Really, Korea? Hmmm…" She lapsed into silence as he scanned the first letter, quickly moving through the three pages it contained in less than a minute.

He reached for the second, larger envelope and spoke once more. "So why were you elected to bring these to me, and not them? Surely they all have functioning legs and a basic sense of direction?" She was stunned by his bluntness but nevertheless replied,

"Well, once I told them what my position was, they deemed it more fitting that I would deliver it as this would, how did they put it…'better acquaint me with the machinations of the upper levels of administration.' Admittedly, they obviously had ulterior motives but they seemed so adamant that I decided to help out." He nodded slowly, either at her or the charts that he was now laying on the desk, she could not tell. He responded dryly,

"So, they tried to trick one of our new secretaries into delivering this to me. There are two possibilities; one, they are afraid of me, or the more likely, they do not fully trust their findings and do not want to appear wrong in conversation. Either way, a cowardly action." He glanced at her and his voice seemed to convey sincerity, "I thank you on their behalf for your part in this." While she glowed inwardly at being praised, one thing did not sit right with her. "Umm…Lord El-Melloi II? I don't remember announcing my position to you. How did you know I'm on the secretarial staff?"

A small smile spread over his face once again, "That's an easy one Ms. Davis, you are wearing the appropriate uniform." She felt her face heat up as the stupidity of her question dawned on her, "Oh, right…" By now, she was waiting to be dismissed, as she had completed her job and received a thorough examination from the Lord. As far as she concerned herself, things had gone better than she expected. Distantly, she wondered if this Lord was looking for a personal secretary. She very nearly smiled at the thought.

A full five minutes passed with the only noise being the end of the symphony and the rustling of papers as Lord El-Melloi II read through the letters with startling speed. She allowed her eyes to roam around the office and mused to herself, "So this is why he needs so many books. At the rate at which he reads, he could probably finish one of these novels in a day." She was startled out of her reverie by El-Melloi's sharp voice, "Ms. Davis, I have a job for you."

She was immediately at attention, "Whatever you need sir, if it is within my abilities I will do what you ask." His eyes bored into hers, but this time she did not look away. "That is the correct response Ms. Davis," he spoke with a more direct intensity than she had heard during their conversation. "I need you to contact the headmaster of the Korean Magus Academy as well as our branch out there. Inform them that we have a probable Code Seven, Priority Golden. Have them assemble dossiers on every suitable mage within their sphere of influence. Do the same for our satellites in America, Russia and Japan. Will you remember this or do you need me to write it down for you?" She shook her head, "No need sir, I have a very good memory for this, it comes in handy for this kind of work. If I may be so bold, sir. What exactly am I telling them to do?" A few moments passed, her heart seemed to stop beating, "Did I go too far?" But then, a knowing smirk spread over his face and he leaned far across the desk, as though he were going to whisper to her. "Tell me, Ms. Davis. What do you know about the Holy Grail War?"