A Tale of Two Ages
Chapter Two – Summoning
Two days ago…
It is quiet. Few people wander the streets at this ungodly hour. The streets are quiet save for the occasional cab driving quickly past.
Rin shivers, her breath turning visible. She turns an amethyst gem over in her hands. It measures five inches and possesses a jagged edge that makes one wonder whether it is a fragment, a part of something else. It is a catalyst sent to her by another branch of her family. However, the Servant connected with the catalyst is unknown. She has summoned a Servant without the use of a catalyst before, so she is unsure whether using this catalyst is worth the risk.
"I don't see anyone, Tohsaka." Shirou says, with his back turned to her. They are in a secluded area by London's old industrial district, where a ley line runs through. Old power stations and factories line the banks of the River Thames. "Still, I don't understand why we have to do the summoning outside. Can't we do it inside one of these old buildings?"
"We could. However, some of these buildings are centuries old. If we summon a Servant inside, the building might collapse from the amount of mana released." Rin kneels down and starts drawing a magic circle, six feet in diameter. Summoning a Servant in such a place wouldn't necessarily make it stronger, but it would increase its compatibility with its Master.
"I just can't believe that we're doing this again." Shirou says after a moment of silence. "Summoning Servants, fighting other Masters…"
"It's one of the reasons why Masters kill other Masters. Aside from being far easier to kill than a Servant, Masters who survive a Holy Grail War can be called again: not only for the current war, but also for future ones."
"That is true. But isn't the Grail supposed to choose Masters who want it?"
Rin sighs. "Yes. I don't understand it myself, but I wouldn't put it past the Grail to be doing this out of spite. If it can even do things like that..."
Lord El-Melloi II, her lecturer and a previous Master from the fourth Grail War, went to Fuyuki with Rin with the aim of dismantling the Grail. The two of them brought it to London with the hopes of convincing the Association that the Grail is far too dangerous to reestablish.
However, the Grail went haywire and Command Spells started appearing in its chosen Masters' bodies. Two of those chosen Masters were Rin Tohsaka and Shirou Emiya.
Whether they liked it or not, they were part of the Sixth Grail War.
"It is done." Rin stands and wipes the mercury off her fingers.
"Good luck, Tohsaka." Shirou turns back to her with a smile. They had agreed to summon Rin's Servant first and Shirou's tomorrow. The other Masters might have summoned theirs already, but most would not attack until the seventh Servant has been summoned.
Rin smiles back and nods. She places the catalyst by the magic circle and closes her eyes.
The time is perfect. The wavelength, ideal.
"Let silver and steel be the essence.
Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation. The ancestor is my great master, Schweinorg.
The alighted wind becomes a wall. Let the four cardinal gates close. Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching into the Kingdom circulate."
The magic circle starts glowing a vivid red. Rin starts feeling the discomfort that comes with summoning a Servant.
"Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill.
Repeat five times, destroy each vessel as it is filled.
She is being filled from her fingertips. The mana she is taking in is so concentrated that the original senses of her body are being repainted. Her body temperature rises. Her vision starts to become white. The Tohsaka crest starts on its own to help her. It feels much worse.
"I announce. Your self is under me, my fate is your sword.
In accordance with the approach of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.
Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead. I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead.
You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence. O keeper of the balance-!"
A crack like thunder and lightning roars. A ferocious gale ruffles their hair and clothes. Shirou falls onto his back with a yell. Rin blinks her eyes vigorously to restore her vision, eager to meet her Servant.
A slender woman stands before them as the mist clears. She is dressed in light leather armor, steel pauldrons, greaves and armbands shining coldly into the night. A purple half cape sways slightly with the wind. The Servant inspects the two mages with her clear blue eyes. Long, luscious dark brown hair falls from her shoulders. A few strands fall and frame her face, accentuating her cheekbones and delicate jawline. Rin herself blinks at her Servant's beauty. She can only imagine Shirou's reaction.
Rin takes a moment to compose herself and quickly gets to her feet. "I am your Master, Rin Tohsaka." She says, looking into the eyes of her regal Servant.
The Servant focuses on Rin and smiles slightly. "I am Servant Archer, Master Rin." She nods. "I look forward to fighting by your side."
The two mages take a cab back to their apartment, Archer accompanying them in spirit form. Rin leans on Shirou's shoulder. "Another Archer." She chuckles softly, tired from the summoning. "I seem to have a knack for summoning them..."
"She seems like a good sort. Unlike the other one." Shirou remarks with a smile and leans back.
Rin scoffs and inspects the amethyst in her hands again. "I wonder who she is though."
They get off the cab once it reaches its destination. Rin feels Archer assessing the building and its surroundings.
"Is this going to be our base of operations, Master?"
"For now. But tomorrow we're going to move to Dollis Hill." Rin answers, turning to Archer, who is only visible to her. "It's a quiet, safe suburb that has relatively no nightlife. Which makes it perfect for our purposes."
Shirou opens the door and climbs up the stairs to their apartment room. Rin follows.
"Yes, Master. I saw. There is a well placed Boundary Field on this building. A spell that hampers spirits also exists, so an enemy Servant will have a hard time launching an assault here. However, it is not enough of a hindrance to prevent me from defending you."
Rin nods. She is impressed that her Servant was able to see the Boundary Field almost immediately. The better a Boundary Field is, the harder it is to detect by mages. Normal people wouldn't even be able to sense anything but the worst Boundary Field, so they are out of the question. The one casted around the apartment building was casted by one of the Association's lecturers, so naturally, it was very well done. Rin herself was unable to see it until Luvia pointed it out. As for the spell that hampers spirits, it was created due to a prank involving familiars created by some of the younger magi. Said prank nearly gave a poor old lady across the street a heart attack. Fortunately for the magi and the Association, the old lady was branded senile by her doctors, thus avoiding a lot of bloodshed. Somewhat unfortunate for the old lady, but at least she is still alive.
"I'm going to have to ask you to stay in spirit form until we reach Dollis Hill, Archer. I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to stretch your legs."
She senses a slight smile from her Servant. "Understood, Master."
Rin is once again reminded of how different this Archer is from the last war's.
The next day, they take a cab to Dollis Hill and move into their new home. It is a relatively large detached house with walls made of bricks and tiles. A courtyard and a paved backyard decorates the front and back of the house respectively.
The house is fully furnished, so Rin and Shirou brought only their necessities, clothes, various travel gear, and books. They take their luggage to the rooms upstairs. Shirou stubbornly refuses to let Archer bring the heavier luggage despite the fact that the Servant can carry objects many times heavier.
The cab driver looks at him with pity before driving off. Archer stops offering to help after two attempts, muttering something about how male pride is still prevalent in this day and age. Rin chuckles and shakes her head, knowing that some parts of Shirou will never change. She likes that about him.
The house has three bedrooms on the second floor, each with its own bathroom. Two of the bedrooms each contain two full sized beds while the other bedroom, the master bedroom, contains a King sized one. The way Rin sees it, she and Shirou can share the master bedroom, although she gets tingles in her stomach when she thinks of it. She just isn't sure that doing so would be the safest course of action.
"How do we split the bedrooms?" Shirou asks, placing the luggage by the stairs.
Archer materializes and looks at Rin, as if saying that it's up to her. Rin scratches the back of her neck. "Perhaps it might be best if we use the two bedrooms on the right wing. You know, the ones with two beds."
Shirou nods. "Alright then. The two of you can share a bedroom. I'll take the other one." He turns away from Rin and Archer and takes his luggage.
Rin blinks at his back. "What? Why?" She blurts out.
"Hm?" Shirou looks at her over his shoulder. "Archer's your Servant, Tohsaka. Besides, girls should sleep together."
Rin glares at him. "Well, what if your Servant's female?"
Shirou blinks for a moment, perhaps remembering Saber. Thinking that Shirou is remembering Saber makes her think about Saber too.
"I... don't know yet. Maybe I'll sleep on the floor." He smiles and shrugs.
Rin rubs the side of her head. The room has two beds, Emiya-kun. Two beds. She notices Archer observing their exchange with an uncertain look on her face. It is something between sympathy and amusement. She shakes her head and leads her Servant to their room.
Later that night, Rin begins her preparations for casting a Boundary Field over their new home while Shirou draws a magic circle on the paved backyard. Archer is on the rooftop, alertly surveying their surroundings. While they were in their room, Rin had informed Archer of their circumstances. Since Shirou is another Master, he will summon another Servant, which Archer will work with.
"I hope you realize, Master, that this is a war. Only one team can get the Grail and let their wishes be granted," Archer says telepathically.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, we must summon Shirou's Servant." Rin is kneeling down, drawing a sigil for the Boundary Field. "I hope he summons Saber or Rider, a Servant that can distract the enemy while you provide support."
"If you need a distraction, Berserker would be the best Servant," Archer says sardonically, she knows that Shirou cannot give the kind of mana a Berserker would require. It would be as likely to work with them as against them.
Rin notes that Archer wouldn't be in a position to care if a Berserker would turn against them. She would most likely be too far away to be in any danger, and she can pepper the mindless Servant with arrows. If Berserker kills its own Master, then that would be less work for her.
Rin shakes her head. It seems that most Servants possess a ruthless pragmatic streak in varying levels. Even Saber, as honorable as she was, could still be pragmatic at times.
She continues applying the Boundary Field sigils. There is much to be done. Rin has to make sure that the Boundary Field is as inconspicuous as possible before she can activate it. After a while, Shirou calls her over.
"Is this good enough?" He asks, pointing to the magic circle that he has finished.
Rin inspects the circle, seeing if things are placed where they should be. She nods. "It will do." She mentally orders Archer to retrieve the live chickens Shirou had bought from the Market. Rin herself usually uses her jewels in place of blood, but she has none to spare. She will need all she has to make it to the end of this War.
Archer lands by the magic circle and hands Shirou the chickens. No words are spoken. Shirou looks at Rin. Rin nods in support.
Rin and Archer stand back, leaving Shirou alone in the circle.
"I wonder which Servant I'll get," Shirou had wondered when they formulated their plan. "I hope I don't end up comparing them to Saber."
Rin had laughed. "You won't be able to avoid that, Emiya-kun. You'll get thoughts like 'what would have happened if Saber were here instead?' whether you want to or not." She sighed. "We just have to work with our new Servants as best as we can."
The magic circle glows as Shirou speaks the words of summoning. The air becomes thick and humid with mana. Leaves fly away from the circle, swept away by the wind billowing through the backyard. As with Rin's summoning, a crack like thunder and lightning roars. They are momentarily blinded by the fierce light coming from the circle.
The light eventually fades to reveal… nothing.
"Wha-?" Shirou turns around and surveys the area. His Servant cannot be found.
Could he have summoned Assassin? Although that would make no sense.
Rin turns to Archer. "Can you sense anything, Archer?" Perhaps a Servant especially skilled in searching for the enemy might be able to find even one such as Assassin.
Archer closes her eyes. A silent moment passes. Archer shakes her head. "Nothing in the immediate vicinity, Master." She jumps to the rooftop and repeats the process. "I can sense faint energy signatures in the distance. However, I do not think any of them is Master Shirou's Servant."
Shirou and Rin look at each other.
What could this mean?
Author's Note: This chapter was supposed to be much much longer than this (around 5k+ words) but I decided instead to split it into two and three instead for better pacing. Here in this chapter, we have a little worldbuilding and some explanations regarding what happened in chapter one. It is a lot blander than chapter one, but this is also a consequence of the chapter splitting. It was supposed to end with a bang! (You'll get to see that bang in chapter three instead…)
Q&A:
CoriShadowfang: Is Rin purposely not explaining what the Grail actually is when she says that they'll 'cross the bridge when they get to it'? It seems strange for her to go along with what Archer's saying, otherwise, as at this point she would already know the Grail is corrupt.
Rin is both deliberately not explaining what the Grail is and really saying that they'll deal with it when they get there. Rin will not tell her newly acquired Servant that the Grail is corrupt. Not unless she wants to be killed or made fun of. And also because she wants to deal with it only when they get to that point.
Credits to betas: Cori Shadowfang, LoneTraveller, MarksmanKNG, caliburn0, and SearingMeteorite