"So, Kirei, what do you think?"
Tokiomi Tohsaka asked his star pupil, in the deep basement of his magical workshop.
Kirei looked around himself, at the jewels on the table, the ancient grimoires in the bookshelves, the intricately inscribed Summoning Circle on the floor. Indeed, it seemed a most stately setup. Appropriate to his Master's wealth and prestige.
Kirei wondered to himself. What sort of comparison might be made, between the Summoning Ritual of his Master, a man who had been training for this moment all his life, and who had learned from his ancestors the secrets of the Grail, and his own? Kirei had certainly done well enough in his own performance of the ritual - evidenced by his Servant, standing next to him - but was it indeed the same? He felt almost as if his own performance was a fake, a pale imitation of the true act of his Master.
Being not of magical lineage, his native Magic Circuits were a bit anomalous. Not terribly so; not outside the realm of possibility, but outliers nonetheless.
He wondered how his Master thought of him. Perhaps as a dog, come to lap up the secrets of Magecraft? Perhaps a son adopted?
No, he knew the truth. His Master thought of him only as a tool for the achievement of his own ends.
He had had plenty of opportunity to come to this conclusion, during their 3 years of training. Tokiomi would always display impeccable patience with Kirei's errors, few though they were. Kirei felt as if he were almost mocking him.
He thought of a particular incident.
XXX
Once, Tokiomi had been instructing Kirei on the method of precise Pranic focus. It was apparently necessary to imbue one's Servant with the highest possible stats, but it required a supreme amount of control of the ambient flow. The Tohsaka manor was built upon a primary ley line in Fuyuki City, so the magical energy flowing through the air - especially underneath the ground itself, hence the workshop's subterranean location - was more than sufficient to allow for a great deal of prana to be focused. Assuming the Magus' ability.
Of course, it also raised the possible risks, should the focus go wrongly.
Tokiomi held his hands out in front of him, facing a silhouette of a man painted on paper nailed to the opposite wall. The man's arms were outstretched, and upon his body was superimposed a network of nodes and connections. Kirei was already familiar with the nature of that network; it was something any member of the Assembly would be intimately aware of.
The Tree of Life.
The diagram, showing the paths through which the energy of life traveled from God Most High, down to the lowest realms of Hell. The nodes, places where the energy collected, and was transformed in its valency.
The silhouette was marked with a circle saying 'Kether' on its skull; Hebrew for the 'Crown.'
It was at this point that the energy arose from the navel of power of the supernal realm; from there, it flowed down to all the other nodes, eventually reaching 'Malkhuth' - 'Kingship' - at the feet.
And so the Creator bestowed his beneficence upon Man, the lowest of his creatures. Yet, though Man was the most fallen of Creation, being subject to the taint of Original Sin, he was also the object of Kingship. The Lord wished not rule over animals, plants, or lifeless rocks. He had made Man in His Image, that he may be one with him.
Kirei saw that the silhouette's ankles were pierced. As were the arms; the right one marked with 'Hesed,' 'Love'; and the left with 'Gebhurah,' 'Power.'
Truly, the Christ was but the embodiment in this mortal realm of the Tree of Life. And just as He rose and fell, it is the nature of the Tree to rise with divine Light, and after expressing the Light within it, fall once more into the deepest Darkness.
So too, his Master explained, was the nature of a Magus' Magic Circuits. One must fill them with magical energy, aim them toward a specific end, and express their nascent potential. If this were done correctly, the harmony of the rhythmic movements of the Tree of Life as it was expressed in the natural world would vibrate in tandem, and the effect of one's own magical output would be increased exponentially.
"Abzug, in die Wasserflusse, nehm ich Vogel!"
Tokiomi's controlled voice, loud and ringing, summoned two doves in the air before him. They danced around each other, their forms indistinct and fluid.
Kirei watched as they molded together at the climax of their dance, becoming a transcendent pillar that seemed to illustrate the brightest heavens at their summit.
Tokiomi then clapped his hands together, and the pillar collapsed in on itself, as if matching his movements. Finally, it became a single point of power, through which was reflected the depths of Kirei's soul.
He saw the roiling chaos inside that point from where he stood, transfixed.
"Der Tag ist Nacht."
The point blinkered out of existence, and Kirei was returned to reality.
"So you see," Tokiomi said. "That is how it is done."
"Master, might I do the same?" Kirei had asked, tentatively.
"Of course you might," Tokiomi replied. "In fact, you must. I am fully aware of your inborn potential, and I would be remiss if any student of mine would fail to exert himself to the fullest in his magical studies. After all, you are to serve an important role in this coming War."
Kirei was silent. Which role did he mean?
"Now, stand as I did, Kirei."
Kirei imitated his Master's stance, holding his palms outward against the silhouette.
"Picture it in your mind. Form a complete, conceptual understanding of exactly what it is you are gathering the energy for. The magical energy is much like water; it will not gather without a sufficient force circumscribing its domain. This domain is the end to which you gather it. Know it well, and the flow will go of its own accord."
Kirei thought. What is it I want? I...
The vision of heaven shown in the pillar was beautiful, certainly. But why does it not entice me, so much as the end of the spectacle? While I can appreciate intellectually the beauty of the vision of heaven, I felt not the same visceral tug towards it as I did to that final, singular point.
A small hole in the cosmos, I looked within it and saw Chaos. I saw the stormy seas, and felt my innermost soul long for it.
I... I want to see that again.
I want to see its tumbling depths, expressed as they are through the visual parable of a ship on treacherous waters. But I know, truly, that that parable is no more than a convenient device for human eyes. No, beyond that imagery something more... essential, lurks. It is that which attracts my heart.
"Well, Kirei? Have you fixed it in your mind?"
"Yes, Master."
"Excellent. Now, recite the incantation to increase your focus. If all goes well, as I expect, I shall be witnessing a truly miraculous phenomenon."
Kirei calmed his nerves. His entire body was on razor's edge, due to the excitement of the concepts he was considering, deep in his subconscious. He began at his feet, tensing, then relaxing the tight muscles there. As he worked his way up, he began to recite the prayer.
"Our Father, who art in Heaven. Hallowed be thy Name. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."
From his navel below, he was entirely relaxed. His hands, the tools through which the visualization would become real, were next.
"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from Evil."
All that remained now were the muscles in his face, the ones through which his expression and perception of the World were mediated. Essential to the practice of Magecraft was one's perception, for that determined the potency and affinity of one's abilities. Too strongly bound to the World, and one's inborn mana reserves dried up; whereas the Magus too deeply tied to himself would be entirely unable to harness the ambient magical power, as Kirei was now attempting to do. Balance was key.
"For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory; forever and ever. Amen."
The right eye looked outward, the left eye inward, and the Third Eye looked above and below.
The focus inside Kirei coalesced to a concrete image of what he sought.
He sweated, and felt the energy welling up. It came from his spine, flowing through his ribs and collecting in his heart. It then traveled to his collarbone, where it split into two paths. Each path went through a different shoulder. The right path was light, the left was dark. He endeavoured to preserve balance in the two.
The energies came to his palms, and he willed them to be released.
A crackling of thunder was heard, and before him, Kirei saw a red and black ball of lightning flashing in a swirling vortex.
He smiled.
He slowly increased the energy output, and the ball grew.
When it was almost the size of his head, he felt it grow unstable. But he couldn't help but keep feeding it energy; it was so beautiful, and he desired it so.
"Der Junge ist tott."
Tokiomi's voice cut through Kirei's reverie, and he saw the phenomenon he had summoned quickly blink into nonexistence.
"Master, why?" Kirei asked, in shock.
"Kirei," Tokiomi said, "Magecraft is a noble pursuit. Indeed, there is none nobler, and no aim higher than the Swirl of the Root. It is this to which I, and all other Magi, aspire. To this goal we devote our lives, those of our children, and so on; all in the hopes that one of our line might achieve this enlightenment."
Kirei was silent.
"And Kirei," Tokiomi said, "I consider you as much my student as I do Rin. Therefore, I applaud your efforts to create a strong manifestation of power. However, rather than following the essence of the form I demonstrated, why did you direct your attention to its final moments of decay? Is this perhaps due to your background?"
"What do you mean, Master?"
"Never mind, think nothing of it. In the future, I will request that you pay closer attention to the central aspects of any rituals I show you. That will be all for today, Kirei."
Tokiomi walked to the steps leading up out of the workshop.
XXX
Ever since then, Kirei had had the nagging feeling that Tokiomi had a certain detachment from him; that he was unable - or unwilling - to see Kirei as a human being, rather than a tool.
Certainly, if these feelings were indeed accurately reflecting reality, they would be all the more true with regard to Tokiomi's vie of his Servant.
To Kirei, Servants were beings to be respected. They had all achieved a measure of immortality by doing great deeds. They were almost incarnations of the zeitgeists of the eras from which they came, the crystallized forms of the hopes and ideals of their origins. Kirei wanted to learn the things they could teach him, for he felt that perhaps by doing so he might learn some divine truth, deep within himself, that lay eternally outside his grasp.
Perhaps Tokiomi's desire for the Root was similar, in a sense; but his Master's manner occasionally infuriated him. A mere ideal was not worth sacrificing one's life for, nor making others suffer. Such was evil, especially in the absence of any concrete gain.
He wondered why his Father had decided to strike this deal with Tokiomi in the first place. Wasn't he aware of the man's utter lack of devotion to God? It seemed as if Tokiomi must have some... hidden good attributes, of which his Father knew and Kirei did not. Still, they must be fairly deeply hidden.
"Kirei?" Tokiomi said.
Kirei noticed his Master was still looking at him. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw his Servant Assassin was looking at him as well, with a trace of anxiety.
"Yes, Master," Kirei said. "It is most well-equipped; I look forward to the Summoning."
"Indeed, Kirei," Tokiomi said. "I hope not to disappoint you; the relic I have procured is sure to evoke the most powerful of all Servants."
Tokiomi gestured to a black leather case on the altar before him. Kirei saw that its insides were a rich, red velvet, with a rectangular pocket in the center, in which a light-brown, scaly object rested.
"Behold," Tokiomi said. "The skin shed by the first Snake at the dawning of our world. It stole the fruit of immortality, but could not escape the entropic curse in all things, by which they must needs return to the Root from whence they came. Or at least, make concessions to its pull."
"From dust to dust, as they say."
"Quite so, Kirei, quite so. Then, shall we begin?"
Kirei took the beaker of mercury from the table beside him, and handed it to Tokiomi, who accepted it gracefully.
Tokiomi cleared his throat.
He held the beaker over the circle, and tipped it slightly. It was nearly full to the brim, so even this shallow tilt was enough to bring forth several drops of the viscous, silver liquid.
As the first drops fell, Tokiomi intoned.
"Fill, fill, fill, fill. As each is filled, so it is destroyed."
The traces of the circle on the ground glowed with a red light, and Tokiomi adopted a subdued smile.
"Let silver and steel be the essence. Upon it rests the cornerstone, and the Archduke of Contracts. And for the Ancestor, the great Master, Schweinorg."
Kirei wondered if the physical link of the Crest between the Magus and the Ancestor was of great import in the Summoning Ritual. He imagined it must be.
"Become the wall to repel the gale. The four gates close tightly. Burst forth from the Crown, and follow the winding road that leads to the Kingdom."
Smoke began to billow, obscuring the Summoning Circle from view.
"I call to thee! Thy body, formed of my will; thy sword, enforcing my fate! An thou bend to my will, and my justice, heed the Grail's call, and answer me!"
A crackling. Kirei could not see clearly what was happening within the cloud of smoke above the Circle, but he thought he saw vague outlines of lightning flashing within. Just like on that day.
"I shall become all that is good in the world, and destroy all that is evil. Seven Heavens, clad in the Three Holy Souls, cast aside your shackles and come forth; o Guardian of the Scales!"
The outlines of lightning danced around each other, melding into one single sphere of red light. Kirei was entranced by its motion, spinning on its axis. It grew, until it covered the entire diameter of the Circle. Then there was a sound of a thunderclap, the sphere disappeared, and the room shook.
Tokiomi's smile remained on his face, as the glass bottles rattled on the tables around him.
Soon, the smoke began to dissipate. A human form was visible within the Circle, and as it became clearer, Tokiomi's smile spread from ear to ear.
"We have won, Kirei! The Grail is as good as ours."
Ours? Or yours? Kirei thought.
The smoke finally cleared, and Kirei could see clearly what lay within.
A golden glow covered his shoulders; indeed, his entire body seemed to be a solid gold colour. Only after Kirei's eyes adjusted to the brilliance did he see the contours of golden armour, and the Servant's head emerging from it.
Pale skin and red, red eyes. Atop that, blond hair.
Next to him, his own Servant tensed. She said nothing to him, but he could tell that she felt wary of the gold Servant.
"Master," Kirei said. "Who is this Servant?"
"This is the King of Heroes," Tokiomi said. "Gilgamesh of Uruk. The first of all heroic spirits, he surpasses them all in strength. With him on our side, none can stand against us."
Gilgamesh's stony face gazed upon them both with disdain.
"Which of you summoned me?" He addressed this question to both Kirei and Tokiomi, while directing his gaze at a point in the air in between them. Kirei's Servant, Ciel, seemed to have escaped his notice entirely.
"It was I, o Mighty King," Tokiomi said, with a bow. "Your humble slave shall be most honoured if you would bestow upon him your grace, and fight on his behalf in the coming battles."
"Tch."
Tokiomi, still bowed, raised his eyes to see Gilgamesh scoffing at him.
"Do you mean to imply," Gilgamesh said, "That I am no more than a common soldier, sent by you to fight as cannon fodder?"
"Certainly not," Tokiomi said. "I merely meant that the glory of the King at the front lines of battle is sure to reduce the hearts of the enemy to shattered pottery before you."
"Is that so, Master?"
"But of course, King."
"Hmph," Gilgamesh said. "I hope for your sake that it is. I shall not tolerate the empty drivel of mongrels in my presence, and if that is what you prove to be, you will have earned a thousand deaths at my hand."
Tokiomi stood upright from his bow.
"I am Tokiomi Tohsaka. I shall beg of you, King of Heroes, to dematerialize for now; the toll taken on my mana reserves by keeping your godly form substantiated is, regrettably, far too great for a worm as myself to bear."
"Very well," Gilgamesh said. He began to fade into a mass of golden particles in the air, sparkling and refracting the ambient light like prisms. A kaleidoscopic panorama was formed, and Kirei was entranced by its beauty.
The Servant's voice echoed, though his form was gone. "I trust you will prepare a more suitable stage for my next appearance, Tokiomi."
Tokiomi's stiff stance relaxed. "Well, Kirei, have you any thoughts on my Servant?"
Kirei thought for a moment.
"He seems incredibly powerful."
"Indeed," Tokiomi said. "His Noble Phantasm contains within it the power to reverse the direction of revolution of the Vortex at the center of this World. Beyond that, he has innumerable weapons of lesser power. Truly, there is none who can stand against the absolute power of the King."
Tokiomi exhaled a heavy sigh.
"I'll ask you to go home for the evening, Kirei. I'm quite fatigued from the summoning, and I shall have to excuse myself to rest."
He walked up the stairs leading from the basement workshop to the main Tohsaka mansion, opened and closed the door.
XXX
Now alone with him in the rectory of Kotomine Church, Ciel turned to her Master.
"Master, I do not trust that Servant. He has a strong aura... it makes me uncomfortable."
"What do you mean, Ciel?" Kirei asked her.
She cast her eyes downward. "Simply, there is a presence within him not entirely dissimilar to that I observed in the case of the Princess of the True Ancestors. You are familiar with her story?"
"Of the basics, certainly," Kirei said. "A being created by the True Ancestors, those who were the original progenitors of the vampiric race, in order to root out any corrupted individuals within their midst."
"Exactly," Ciel said. "She possessed a strong sense of power - it was almost on the level of a Divine creature. Being tied so closely to a powerful Origin as that of vampirism, she was like an abstract concept given form. Like a force of nature, impossible to defeat or subdue without a counter force of at least equal strength."
"Well, that is significant. But," Kirei asked her, "Why is that a problem for us? We are allied to Tohsaka, and Gilgamesh is Tohsaka's Servant. Thus, we have nothing to fear, and indeed should give thanks to God for providing us with such a powerful ally."
"It is my experience that such power, when concentrated in a single individual, is too chaotic to be bound by such assurances as the Master-Servant pact, or personal loyalties. I witnessed the Princess attack the person she loved above any other with blind fury, her consciousness reduced to that of an animal seeking blood. In Gilgamesh's case, his power is leagues beyond hers; if I had to compare them, I would say that he is like the full force of the Holy See, whereas she was like a priestly student training in seminary. Moreover, he seems not to care about showing deference or even cordiality to his Master, who provides him with the magical power necessary for him to maintain his physical form. Thus, it is my assessment that this Servant will rebel in time, whether willing or otherwise."
Ciel lifted her eyes to meet Kirei's.
"I see, Kirei said. "However, I shall ask you not to speak of this to Tohsaka himself."
"May I ask why, Master?" Ciel's eyes penetrated his with their gaze. "If for no other reason, it would behoove us to help our ally to survive this conflict. And I'm certain you do not want a crazed, Master-less Servant running amok and destroying the balance of the Grail War. The Independent Action skill of the Archer Class would allow him two days on Earth after he has done away with Tohsaka."
"Tohsaka's doubtless considered this already," Kirei said, "And has either decided to reject the possibility for being too slim, or else has established precautions in the eventuality that it does occur. Or both."
Ciel stared at him for a moment, trying to break his solid facade of tranquillity with her gaze. Finding the attempt unsuccessful, she said, "I am here to fulfill your will, Master. But, do not blame me should matters go awry."
"Understood, Ciel. I accept fully the consequences of my decision. You may consider yourself absolved of all possible guilt."
She dematerialized without a word.
Kirei went to his own bedroom. It was decorated after the Spartan manner: Nothing but a bed with plain white sheets, a small wooden bedside table holding a bronze lamp with a single candle, and a leather-bound copy of the Holy Bible.
The bed was carefully made, its sheets tucked in tightly, with no room for error. The lamp was similarly pristine, polished weekly. He lit the candle, and sat to read before going to sleep.
He opened his Bible to the marked location.
In it, the prophet Daniel addresses the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar:
"Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold."
How appropriate this passage to Gilgamesh, Kirei thought. Both Babylonian kings, and certainly there is no better adjective to apply to Gilgamesh than 'golden.' And just as Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon was succeded by inferior kingdoms, so too was Gilgamesh's rule.
He flipped to an earlier section, which had been marked for further analysis.
"The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech..."
Erech, the Hebrew name of Uruk in Sumeria. The former seat of King Gilgamesh's power, now in ruins in modern Iraq. Situated on the banks of the river Euphrates, which arose from the Garden of Eden, it was truly given all manner of divine blessing.
According to the legends, Gilgamesh had rebelled against the gods of heaven, and had formed the first kingdom of men. Under his rule, all lived in peace and harmony. Perhaps not in luxury, but they lived existences independent of the gods' tyrannical rule.
Although, what difference did it make in their daily lives? The common man had no need to worry about angering the gods; the king was the intermediary, and it was he who ordered the people on the gods' behalf. Conversely, it was he who was punished if the gods' demands were unmet. Like an immediate superior, the people only ever interacted with the king.
So when the divine yoke was thrown off, only the king benefited.
Yet, Gilgamesh was known as the King of Heroes? Why? Merely because he had built a wall around the city?
No, that was insufficient reason to be called a Hero, much less first among them.
Kirei pondered this for a moment.
Gilgamesh's myth was only indirectly related to his rule over the men of Uruk. Primarily, it was concerned with his journey to find the fruit of immortality, which he undertook in order to conquer his own fear of death.
An entirely selfish journey, for entirely selfish motives.
What sort of Hero was this? Was not a Hero one who protected the weak with his strength?
And yet, he had earned a place within the Throne of Heroes. Clearly, the Grail was not as exacting as Kirei was when it came to such moral judgments.
Or was it the opposite? Perhaps the Grail was entirely as strict with its moral judgments as Kirei was. Perhaps it chose Gilgamesh precisely for his purely selfish, yet entirely understandable motives.
Perhaps this is what allowed him to serve as the archetypal Hero. One whose legend embodies the struggle which undercuts every other in man. His mortality.
The never-ending struggle by mortal men to overcome that one final limit that can never be conquered. Though a man may conquer nations, other men, and even his own soul, he may never conquer Death itself.
Like the heel of Achilles, it is the one ineradicable flaw in an otherwise masterful organism.
This must be what the Grail treasures, Kirei concluded. Its 'morality' was not built on a traditional scale of good versus evil, but on a scale of archetypality versus mundanity. The better one can extrapolate from a single legend to all legends, and the lives of all men who came after, the higher its position in the Throne of Heroes.
Conversely, those Heroic Spirits whose legends were only relevant to their specific circumstances, and thus did not inspire the hearts of men to share their tales, ranked at the very bottom.
Perhaps their existence was necessary, to occasionally flush out the desire of men for superficial relevancy; but due to the lack of archetypal applicability, they were condemned to be bottom-feeders in the pool of Heroes.
This new form of morality intrigued Kirei. He desired to know how Gilgamesh perceived the world, how he judged his fellow men. By which system did men order their lives, at the very beginning of history? Myths and legends could only tell so much. He could not pass up the opportunity to inquire of the genuine article, an eyewitness to the infancy of humanity.
Yes, though his Master would perhaps not approve, Kirei knew he had to personally approach Gilgamesh and ask him.
And if Gilgamesh did end up rebelling against his new Master, Kirei wanted to be spared his wrath.
You're right, Ciel.
Nothing is more important than a good ally.
Hiya folks.
Hope you enjoyed this one; I feel like I approached it in a way not entirely dissimilar to the way I approached Chapter 6. Though I prefer Chapter 6 to this one... Hm.
I should probably write that kind of thing more. I like it.
I've been listening to a lot of Queen lately; here's a lyric from March of the Black Queen that I like applying to people like Kirei:
"Why do I follow you, and where do you go?"
Like he's addressing some part of him that leads him to evil. Tentatively. Seductively. But he deceives himself, by pretending ignorance of the final destination of his path.
Additionally, I'm quite happy to finally introduce Gil to this story. Historically, he's been my favourite Fate character. Even though I've recently come to the conclusion that he is literally worse than Shinji Matou, if you consider his actions as a King, and so forth. But many of us love him anyway. I know that for me, he represents the strong allure of evil. And though I deny it entry to my soul, I still have to respect its power. Or something.
He's cool.
Anyway, see y'all next time!