AN:
Chapter Title: The Journey Begins
He awoke from the void hearing the shrill screaming of people drowned out by the echoing growls and deep rumbling of Hellish hounds whose breaths alone could scorch flesh. With no time to ask of whom was his master, amongst the falling rubble and dark shadows chasing his and three other falling forms the distinctive scarlet red eyes and bright silverish white hair caught his attention.
Without thought he had removed the children from harm's way pulling them to his chest and allowing himself to cushion their fall as he hit the ground in an enormous cavern that their fall had led them to.
Fixated on defending the oh so familiar features the beast of a man barely reacted as five black wolves with fiery eyes snapped their jaws upon each of his limbs and the final clawing at his chest as it gnawed at his neck blood seeping away from the wounds. The animals could not harm him further than what he considered to be nothing more than surface wounds.
His eyes caught a peculiar red tattoo on the back of the white haired boy's left wrist.
"Are you the one who would become my master and assign me trials?" The giant man asked, moving his arms flickering at impossible speed killing four of the wolves before he used both hands to tear the one that had gripped his throat.
The terrified expressions of the three left a silence in the air at his question as he watched them. He noted that the white haired boy could be no older than fifteen, the other boy with him had stark fire-like red hair and couldn't be older than twenty- lastly was a tiny girl, despite her size her eyes were filled with the determination to survive. All of their clothes were ripped and shredded likely by the beasts he had just dispatched, which led his interest further to the cold hard stone of the cavern they were in, where five purple glistening crystals had fallen to clattering with a glass or pottery like sound.
"W-who're you?" his presumed Master asked unsure what to do in his presence.
"I am an Archer class Servant, you may call me Alcides." The Heroic Spirit glanced at the worsening shape of the party before him noticing the blood soaking up the large cloaks over each of them.
The red haired teen stood gaining his composure and using his unwieldy sword as a crutch to hold himself up as the Servant noticed the teen's ankle was twisted all the way around. Coughing he spat a red glob with laboured breaths causing his companions to gasp as he almost dropped to only to catch himself as the Servant motioned to help as well.
"I don't really care who you are but since you're here could you help us to Rivira on the 18th floor? We ain't that far from it." he coughed a ragged breath again. "And it'd be easier than heading back up."
"Master?" asked the large man turning his ire to the boy with an interesting glint in his eye.
He nodded leaving Alcides to take each of them unto himself, the smaller two taking up spots on his large back hanging onto the straps of his outfit, as for the red haired teen he took up his front. Warning them to hold tightly he launched forward propelling them further into the cavern with shrieked yells coming from his passengers as his eyes fought to find the exit as they continued.
As though the task before him was nothing, Alcides asked "Your names?" shortly after taking off.
First to answer was his Master. "Bell."
Second was the Redhead "Welf."
Lastly was the more interesting of the three "Lily."
'Master.' The Servant said contacting Bell through their mental link causing the boy who had begun dozing off in his state of exhaustion as the adrenaline rescinded its hold on his mind.
'Y-yes?'
'The Grail informed me of very little about your situation or the world beyond the nature of a city named Orario, a tower named Babel and a Dungeon. I presume we are in said Dungeon now?'
'Yeah.'
'You're friends and you don't appear to be Magi, are you familiar with the Grail War?' The legendary hero posed the question after a brief silence coming to a realization that the boy may have been dragged into the war.
Archer didn't get a response as the white haired boy fell unconscious, the same with his other two passengers. Since they were asleep he sped up and managed to find a hall that led to an enormous room that looked as though it could house a monster the size of the Hydra he had once faced, remembering the beast made the Servant shudder slightly. If anything could come of his being summoned he knew this time things would be different, better, and he would never become that ever again.
A fake war with fake heroes. It was like some sort of joke play that hypokrites had put on for children cooked up by a philosopher.
He wondered what his teacher would have made of such a thing?
Passing through the enormous room he found himself looking out into a valley that had deep forests, large mountains and in particular was several campsites, a small city and an artificial skyline with a sun bearing bright light down upon the forests. The other elephant in the room so to speak was an enormous tree in the centre of the massive place.
Among the camps which were nestled close by amongst a cleared area of forest where tens of people were walking around and conversing. So he headed for the camp hoping the people would be willing to help his master and his friends. As he pushed into the forest he watched the flag flapping in the wind as it stood out high above the camp with what he assumed to be a jester depicted on it.
Finding the path that went directly into the camp he was stopped by a dark skinned girl with medium length black hair and hazel eyes wearing even less than he, she had a single piece of cloth wrapped around her bosom, a pareo around her waist and was barefoot with a weapon in hand. She eyed him suspiciously for only a moment before saying aloud-
"Wait the Argonauts party?" noticing the state of them the girl's face flashed with concern. "Hey I need help over here!" she shouted out to the rows of tents behind her.
When the Amazonian turned back she found the three injured people alone and the enormous man that had carried them there nowhere to be seen. Archer had dematerialized to save his master the strain of maintaining him while recovering, as well as that old memories had been dredged up by what the girl had said.
He spent the meantime watching over his master between scouting around making sure things were clear.
[Experience of a lifetime]
When Bell's eyes first opened they were filled with the view of a canvas ceiling before an enormous figure popped into existence with a sparkle of magical particles. The man was easily as tall as the Minotaur he had slain, with a wild mane of long black hair that looked like it was almost alive as it moved on its own. His chest was bare and the lack of clothing reminded Bell of the amazonesses.
"You're feeling better then?" the man said with a raised brow as Bell sat up looking around the tent.
"I am..." the boy said as his voice trailed off he found his companions in the tent with them also recovering, all patched up with bandages.
"If you're ready now, Master, I would like to discuss the Grail War with you." The stern eyes of the man were distracting to the boy.
"I'm sorry but who are you? Why do you keep calling me Master? And why did you save us?" Bell questioned his mind racing to have those answers before he gave his own.
"As I said before I am Alcides an Archer class Servant, I call you Master because you and I have a contract that was formed the moment you summoned me even without a summoning circle nor chant. Proof of our connection is the command seals on your left hand and the mental link we shared prior when I was first summoned."
There was a pause of silence between them as the Heroic Spirit let the information settle before he continued.
"As for your final question, is it not the duty of a Hero to save those in need? Only a Master who understands that could summon myself." The man in front of Bell could see his slight confusion despite nodding in understanding. "I am a Servant picked from the Throne of Heroes to be summoned as your familiar in a war between mages for an omnipotent wish granting device referred to as a Holy Grail- which is why I am here to fight for you in this war for my own wish and yours."
"Any wish?" Bell asked, focusing in on said part of the explanation as he wondered if it was like a Genie in the stories his Grandfather used to read him.
"Anything from granting immortality to something more mundane or significantly more malevolent." Archer felt a sense of intrigue as his Master's eyes sparkled with wonder.
"What does the Holy Grail look like?" His Master asked, tilting his head with curiosity.
"It's a golden goblet that radiates OD." Responded the two and a half foot tall man.
"Wait..." The boy's brow furrowed as he remembered something he had put in Lily's pack moving over to where it was in the room torn as it was. "Like this?" he pulled at a large golden goblet that glowed with energy making the Servant tense up in the presence of the cup.
"Where did you acquire that?" Archer asked.
"I've been carrying it around as a good luck charm since we got it after I killed an Infant Dragon with my Argonaut skill." Bell sat back down across from the Servant placing the cup between them. "So Wizards fight over this?"
"Not Wizards, Magi, but that may not be the case if you've just found the Grail in your travels." Bell noticed how his 'Servant' seemed unsure of how to answer him and had lingered in thought before answering.
The white haired boy was about to ask more when a face popped in through the tent flap revealing the long blonde haired Ais Wallenstien he was enamoured with, her stoic expression seemed unfazed by the notion of him being up and about. She noticed the cup on the floor in front of the boy and wondered what it was but instead asked something else.
"Are you well enough to stand?" she asked, tilting her head in a way that Bell adored feeling the heat rising on his face as he became flustered in his state of undress, being only in some bandages around his head, chest, legs and underwear in front of the Sword Princess.
Bell hardly had a moment to notice that Alcides had disappeared into the ether leaving him alone to curse that his supposed Servant hadn't saved him from embarrassment.
"I-I- YES!" He stammered out with a yell quickly running to change into a black long sleeved shirt, pants and boots hiding the Grail away in Lily's beat up and damaged bag.
Once Bell was outside with Ais he felt the warmth of the artificial sun and began asking questions when he managed to break from his embarrassment. He was pulled along to go and see the captains of the Loki Familia which Ais helpfully informed Bell about when he asked what had happened to them and why they were on the 18th floor. During the short walk to the main tent that the Captains were in, Bell could feel the incorporeal presence of his Servant even if he still had many questions about him lingering at his side out of sight. He wanted nothing more than to hear more from and about the Hero he accidentally summoned but understood that the Loki Familia needed to hear about what had happened to his group since they weren't even awake when they arrived.
Unsure whether or not to reveal Archer during his recap he decided to try his best at lying when the Servant in question said not to reveal himself to the group since it could cause problems instead spinning a tale about how they had run themselves ragged trying to reach the 18th floor after falling through two floors while being chased. Narrowly missing the Goliath as it reawakened in its Boss room. A tall tale but one the Captains before him didn't press any further about instead choosing to praise his strength and will to continue onward to safety despite dire straits.
The small meeting finished with the Pallum offering Bell and his friends shelter until they were ready to leave, with a mention of the Sword Princess caring about Bell flustering him somewhat.
Once he was dismissed Bell left with Ais almost immediately bumping into two Amazonesses as they left the tent, too busy dying from embarrassment to understand what they were saying about him as one of them rubbed up against him.
"Mister Argonaut!" One of the girls said, confusing the white haired boy amongst what was happening.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" He asked getting a response that involved more skinship than he was normally comfortable with leading to more flustering.
When he thankfully got away from the two he asked the Blonde with him about where they were and what was with the sky.
After which he soon returned to the tent he had woken up in to see if his friends were in better shape, it was hard not to notice the giant of a man that materialized in the corner of the room as he stepped in. Bell was quickly distracted away from questions he wanted to ask by the groaning sounds of his friends waking.
"Welf! Lily!" He dropped to his knees next to the pair wracked with worry, ignoring his own injuries.
[Strength]
Later that night when Bell, Lily and Welf were seated around a fire with members of the Loki Familia they were immersed in recounting their previous venture wondering what would have become of them had they not been saved by the mysterious Archer. Bell asked his friends whether they remembered the man but neither of them could recollect his appearance, it was the same for the Amazoness Tiona who butt into the conversation overhearing them saying that she saw the man that dropped them off.
The white haired boy wanted to tell them about his Servant but the man had told him that it was better if he didn't until they were in the safety of his own Familia. So the boy continued acting his best to not let the others know that he knew more, if not that much more about the man.
It was something that wouldn't leave his mind and led to him contacting the Servant through their link more than a few times when he was 'dematerialized' as the man had put it. He wasn't sure why but Archer had opted to hide from his friends as well when they had woken. However Bell was glad that he had made the Hero promise to tell him stories about his life after he had been given some more explanation as to what a Heroic Spirit was.
Bell's conversation with his friends was cut short when he was sure he could make out familiar sounding distant yelling, he stopped looking toward the direction wondering what it was.
'Would you like me to investigate for you Master?' came through Archer's voice almost causing Bell to jump, but he replied with a yes before heading toward the yell as it got clearer.
In an instant the powerful Servant had located the sound's source coming across the entrance to the 18th floor where a short woman was rolling down the ramp like entrance/exit that led back up into the boss room. He wondered who she was as she came to a stop at the bottom complaining about a giant.
Archer stepped in to help the woman to her feet offering a hand as he materialized causing the woman to yell in fright.
"Goddess?!" Bell said, running up from behind his Servant.
The woman then launched herself upon Bell landing on top of him as he fell to the ground, she was almost in tears at their reunion squishing his face and pulling on it as he responded to her questions of it really being him. All the while Archer was standing off to the side waiting to learn more about who this 'Goddess' was, the legendary hero wondered what it took for someone to claim the title of God in this world seeing as it had titles such as 'Adventurer'. So he wondered if the woman was truly a walking goddess or something less grandiose. He assumed the gods were just the creator of these guild-like groups called Familia.
When the pair finally stood up the Goddess eyed the Servant as he waited for his master to inform him of who the woman was.
"Goddess I have a new member for our Familia!" Bell said with a cheer pointing to Archer making the Servant look somewhat confused for a brief moment before nodding in acceptance with his Masters decision.
"Do you really want to join my Familia?" A warm smile appeared across the woman's face as she asked getting a nod from the man. "Who might you be then?"
"I am Alcides, Master Bell's Servant."
"Master Bell?" the Goddess asked back in confusion as a group of people descended from the same path she had come from.
"Yes, he has summoned me." Alcides felt as though it was straight forward enough. "I didn't get your name?" he decided to ask back.
"Hestia of course! The best goddess!" Bell cheered her on from behind when she gave a thumbs up.
"Hestia?"
"Yes."
The Hero quickly dropped to one knee bowing his head "I apologize Lady Hestia for not welcoming you better."
"Oh! You don't need to do that, raise your head, if you want to join my Familia then you'll need to get used to seeing me." She offered the massive man a hand letting him stand. "Now we can do the ceremony later, but for now I think you should explain to me what you meant by Servant."
This took Bell, His Goddess and His Servant to a tent where a conversation began ignoring the others that had arrived after Hestia and keeping away from everyone else for the entire night.
[Goddesses Arrival]
"A Heroic Spirit summoned by a holy grail to fight for a Master in a war between six other wizards who also have a Servant of their own taken from a place outside of time called The Throne Of Heroes?" Hestia said with a somewhat dumbfounded expression as she repeated back to the Spirit in front of her to make sure she had the details correct.
"That is the gist of it, yes Lady Hestia." Said Heroic Spirit responded.
"Well you aren't lying I can tell that much…" her voice trailed off. "So lets give you your falna!" she cheered changing tones and moving on the topic at hand.
Hestia directed the man to turn onto his stomach so she could begin, she pricked herself with Bell's knife letting a drop of her blood fall onto his back. Then she placed a piece of parchment she had gotten Bell to collect on the man's large back, taking it off and removing herself from his back Hestia read the now imprinted words and numbers.
"Huh… that doesn't seem right..." she said looking at an otherwise normal update sheet except for several skills already existing and lots of spots that were unreadable.
Alcides of Thebes
Level 1
Strength: I0
Defense: I0
Dexterity: I0
Agility: I0
Magic: I0
Magic:
God Hand: -_-_-_-_
King's Order: -_-_-_-_
Reincarnation on Pandora: _
Skills:
Independent Action: Gives small boost to parameters when acting alone
Magic Resistance: Quarters effects of spells cast against person
"Woah you have Magic Alcides! And skills! I'm level two and I only just got my first skill recently." Bell said, reading off the piece of parchment.
"Mm… you Spirits really are powerful." the goddess commented. "I wonder why some of your magic is unreadable or why only the name is legible." she pondered.
"Wait Archer, if there are six other servant types, what are they?" Bell asked his Servant as the man sat up and looked over the sheet.
"There are the three knight classes Archer, Saber and Lancer, then there are the four cavalry classes Rider, Caster, Assassin and Berserker." Alcides explained. "Though those only dictate parameters and not necessarily how one fights, such as a Golden Archer I once encountered who shot weapons from portals at people."
"Does that mean you can qualify for more than one class?"
"I can be summoned under every other class except for Caster as I never pursued magic in my life."
"Cool!" His Master said with glee at the thought.
"So is Bell able to summon more of you out of curiosity?" Hestia asked, changing the direction of the conversation.
"Master Bell, should he have the capacity, could summon another Servant. Yes, I do not know the ritual required, perhaps he may unlock it in his next status update?" Alcides was unsure whether it would be possible for Bell to summon another Servant.
"Well Bell?" the Goddess asked her first child who seemed to bounce with energy at the thought.
AN: That concludes the first/taster chapter for an idea I had that I'm not really sure if I'll continue with.