Within the clocktower, there sat a man. A single man who sat alone in his room. His long hair fell down across his body as he stooped over, his hands cupping his face. He gave a tired sigh as he stayed there in his mind. Thinking over everything that was happening.
He was none other than Lord El-Melloi II, a teacher here in the Clocktower Academy. An important member of the El-Melloi family. An aspiring mage that had actually brought forth new types of magic to the scene. He had to thank Rider for that. His knowledge of magic had saved him on a few adventures. Unlike other magi, he was kind enough to share some of his secrets. Not all of them, of course. He didn't trust them not to abuse them, but a few to some honored students wouldn't hurt. Usually just the basics.
Another thing that set him apart from most magi was that he was a former master in a Holy Grail War. Something that usually only happened once every sixty years. Yet it was happening fifty years sooner than expected. It made him want to sigh. He didn't know what to think of it, whether it was a sigh of relief or anguish.
The previous war had been a disaster. Of course, back then he was but a rookie by the name of Waver Velvet. He couldn't do much in the way of changing that, yet that always plagued his mind. Could he have done something to stop it? To save Archer and get the grail? He couldn't be sure, and he honestly doubted he could. He was too weak.
He would make sure it wouldn't be a repeat of last time. No. He would succeed and get his wish. He would see her again. Hold her again and tell her that everything would be alright. That he could keep her safe. To do that, he needed to be stronger. Thankfully, Joseph kept in contact with him to make sure he didn't go off the deep end. He appreciated his old friend. He was kind of sad he wouldn't join him on this venture, but it was to be expected. Not everyone would want to join a Holy Grail War twice, especially if they now had a family to take care of.
He knew he'd have to summon his servant soon. In fact, he was planning on doing it today. It would be a while before the Holy Grail War started, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. So he just needed to wait till the other masters came.
The door opened up at that moment. In popped a silver haired girl in a hoodie, "Umm, master? Are you ready for us at the moment?"
El-Melloi gave her a slight nod of the head, "You can come in, Gray."
If El-Melloi was going to be honest, Gray was someone he was glad to have met. She was integral to his survival on a number of adventures and kept him sane. She was his anker, even if he didn't really say it. He came to really appreciate her after saving her all those years ago.
He just couldn't look her in the eyes. At least not for long. It just… brought back too many bad memories.
The door was pushed open and Gray walked in. Behind her was a bombastic blonde woman. Her hair was made in a type of spiral type of hair style and she wore a gorgeous blue dress. A lesser man would of course notice her extremely curvy proportions.
"I have arrived," the woman smiled as she struck a pose, "Be in awe as I, Luvia Edefelt, grace you with my presence."
"I feel graced beyond measure," El-Melloi's voice was kept even. It wouldn't do for him to go mouthing off to such an esteemed family. Even if they were full of themselves, they at least had some sense of right and wrong. Unlike a lot of magus families. On top of that, she was a model student. Attentive, eager to learn, and was respectful of her elders. During school hours, she was quite enjoyable. It was just between classes and such that he saw a bit more to her that could irk him. Then again, a lot of things irked him these days.
"As you should be," Luvia chuckled and then waved a hand, "But let's cut to the chase, Lord. As you are my elder and a master of the previous war, I think you should lead on. I am not stupid enough to charge blindly ahead without a little aid in this matter."
El-Melloi nodded and gestured to the three sigils before him, "Everything's been prepared. All we need to do is start the incantation."
In another country, in the heart of Fuyuki, Japan, two girls were awaiting their own summoning. Rin Tohsaka, future head of the Tohsaka lineage, stood in front of the door. For the last ten years, she had been training for this moment. She had to endure grueling surgeries to give her even better circuits and a stronger body. While she was already an exceptional mage, Kirei had insisted on it.
He had gone as far as to make sure she had as little pain killers as possible. He had made it quite clear that pain was something a mage needed to experience. Why, he even sat there with her to watch her go through with it. He always seemed satisfied at the end, so she must have done well.
Holding her hand, was none other than her childhood friend Kotone. In fact, she was her only friend. No one else would bother her with anything nor she would for them. Kotone was different. She was special. She was the only non-magi who knew of the magical world since she had explored it with her. Now she was going to embark on this adventure too.
"Rin," Kotone shivered, "I'm scared."
Rin gripped her hand tighter, "Don't you worry, I'll keep you safe. Just like I did all those years ago. I won't let you be taken away from me."
Kotone smiled, even if it was shaky. "Thank you." She held a hand to her necklace. It was something made for her to keep up with the servant costs since she wasn't a true magus. Then they opened the door.
Inside was her mother and Kirei Kotomine waiting for them. He was in a wheelchair as he never could recover from all of his injuries. Nor would he take prosthetics. Not that she could blame him. As many magus did, Rin didn't care to keep up with technology. Magic was obviously superior.
"Ah, it's good to see you're here." Kirei smiled at them and beckoned them forth, "Come. We have to summon your servants."
Aoi smiled at her daughter, "Good luck."
"Now I know you may think it is a bit early to summon your servant," Kirei explained as he got the girls into place, "But I think it's for the best. You'll have more time to get to know your servants and explore their capabilities."
Rin nodded, "Understood. Now Kotone, follow my lead."
Let silver and steel be the essence.
Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation
Let (colour of the catalyst) the colour I pay tribute to / Let my great Master (your ancestor's surname) be the ancestor*
Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall
Let the four cardinal gates close.
Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate.
I hereby declare.
Your body shall serve under me.
My fate shall be your sword.
Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail
If you will submit to this will and this reason…Then answer!
An oath shall be sworn here!
I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven.
I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell!
From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three greet words of power,
Come forth from the ring of restraints,
Protector of the Holy Balance!
Before their eyes, three servants stood before them. El-Melloi felt the familiar thrill of success as he watched the three servants stand up straight and proud. He was in another war. This was the moment when that truly hit him. He could feel his servant pull at his energy, but thankfully he had enough saved up to keep up with the servant.
Before Luvia stood a handsome but cocky looking young man. He had silver hair which was immaculately combed down, with piercing red eyes. He wore a dark blue uniform and given the style, it was one of World War 2 Germany.
Before Gray stood a young lad, seemingly of Gray's age. He had spikey blonde hair and blue eyes. His clothes were mostly blue with some armor like black segments here or there, including black boots. He had a blue cape and his midriff was exposed.
Lastly, there was his servant. She was a young, beautiful woman. Her face was alight with joy as her long brown hair fell down her back and sides of her face to frame it just wonderfully. She worse something of a mix of a school girl's outfit and a kimono. It was white in color with her skirt being brown. She had a gold and black headpiece with two 'antenna' sticking out the sides.
"Ohohohoho," Luvia's servant laughed, "It seems that you have summoned the awesome Avenger! Please keep up because I'm about to blitzkrieg our enemies into the dirt."
"I am servant Gunner," Gray's servant bowed his head, "I hope I can be of assistance in this war."
"And I," El-Melloi's servant twirled before striking an epic pose, "Am servant Rider! I will blast away my Admirals enemies with my Burning Love!"
"It is an honor to have-" El-Melloi made to start.
"Admiral~' Rider screamed in joy as she rushed forward and slammed into him. She rubbed her cheek against his, making kissing noises as she did so.
"Gah!" El-Melloi squirmed underneath her. He was not used to having girls be this affectionate towards him. Even Archer hadn't done this before, "Help me!"
"You're on your own," Luvia chuckled, as Gray fussed over her master's predicament.
Two servants stood before Rin and Kotone.
In front of Rin stood her own servant. She honestly fit the bill of female cowgirl fetale. Her clothes were a mixture of blacks, whites and browns. She wore fingerless gloves with black painted nails. She tilted her black cowboy hat to stare up at her, her red eyes piercing into her being. She had long white hair and a neat red tie in the front. A tattoo of some sort was on her left arm while a guard of some sort was on her right.
"Servant Archer," she had a bit of a country twang to her voice, "Seems you're going to be my master in this here rodeo."
Kotone's servant was so much different. While Rin's was a young woman, Kotone's was an old, grizzled man. His silvery gray hair from age was cut clean and short like a standard soldier. His gear seemed to be a mixture of medieval armor and standard modern soldier gear. He had a large overcoat. A cigar was in the corner of his mouth. He moved it away.
"Servant Defender," his gruff voice spoke to her, "And I'll make this quick. Don't push me, psyker. I'm not a big fan of your kind."
Rin narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean, 'your kind'."
"Easy now," Kirei moved his wheelchair between them. "You are master and servants. You need to learn to get along or else you won't win this war."
Rin huffed and crossed her arms, "Oh fine."
"Now the war won't start until all of the servants have been summoned," Kirei continued on. "Until that happens, I want you to lay low. Do not let the other masters know you have your servant already. We don't want to show our hand before we're ready. Do you understand?"
Rin nodded, "I understand."
"Such an attentive daughter I have," Aoi hugged her, smiling as she did so. Kotone would never admit to her friend how creepy her mother's smile was. It seemed so… dead. "And such a wonderful servant she has. I'm sure we're going to do wonders in this war."
Rin smiled up at her, "They won't know what hit them."
He sat alone in the park, looking out and around at the people walking by. Every now and again, people would give him a second glance. How could they not? He was extremely handsome and quite forein looking. They wouldn't admit it either, but his regal stature was something anyone could gravitate towards. Yet there was something hidden in his blazing red eyes. Something quite sinister.
The man simply kept staring as he smiled, "A lot has changed since my era. Not all of it for the better."
The grail had told him all he needed to know about this era. Every little tidbit. Which is why he wanted to check it out for himself. For days he wondered, using the grail to replenish and the gifted body to experience what this life had to offer. None of it impressed him. None of it moved him. It made him sick to see how weak and pathetic humanity was these days.
In that time, he had also taken upon himself to help the 'war' out to see how it would continue. He wanted it to be exciting. Anything to alleviate this sense of agitation he so felt towards everything around him. It's why he made it so it would be easier to summon or keep servants active around here. He couldn't just have them disappear after all.
"I hope you entertain me, servants." He stood up to leave, "Or else I shall have to do the proper thing and burn this all to ash and begin anew." He brushed aside his golden hair and straightened his golden attire. Servant Ruler had a lot on his plate after all.
And thus the servants are starting to be summoned. I'm going to do my best to get some slice of life in between summonings and before the war actually starts. I want to give some time to the servants and masters and the Emiya household as a whole. So expect a bit of a slice of life feel for a while as the servants all make their appearances and the masters come up with ways to live with them. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I can't wait to see you next time. As well, don't forget to comment. They are always appreciated and I might start answering some as the story goes on.