Chapter 2: Summoning, pt. 2
Tohsaka Manor, Fuyuki City, Japan: February 1, 2024
"Absolutely not!" Mayumi's mother said pointedly, a frown stretching across her face in disbelief. Why? Why did her daughter have to be so reckless? She must have inherited her father's idiocy! Otherwise, there was simply no way Mayumi could be dumb enough to think-
"Mom!" Mayumi interrupted her train of thought with a sigh. "Please! I can handle it!"
"That's what everyone who does this thinks, Mayumi. The truth is, no matter how prepared you think you are, there's no way you can truly be prepared for the Holy Grail War." Her mother scolded her before turning back to the desk in front of them. "Now, do it again."
Mayumi huffed in annoyance, crossing her arms over her blue sweater as she slouched in her seat. "You and dad both fought in the last one, and you did okay." She muttered under her breath, then sat forward, placing her elbow on the desk and resting her chin in her hand in irritation as she performed the spell again.
She held her free hand over the jewels on the desk and fired up her magic circuits, her left arm glowing with intricate designs as the magic crest showed itself. As the magecraft worked, the jewels began shaking on the desk, causing a rattling sound to reverberate throughout the room.
The jewels hovered slightly above the desk and began changing shape, slowly taking the form of a small bird that flapped its wings and chirped, as if it were a real bird.
"Good." Rin Tohsaka said, her hands resting on her hips as she observed the bird for a moment, then turned and sat on the edge of the desk, looking down at her daughter. "Shirou and I went through a lot in the last Grail War, Mayumi. Things that we just don't want you to have to go through."
"But there's always supposed to be a Tohsaka among the seven masters, mom." Mayumi argued stubbornly. "That's how it's always been done.
"Your name is Emiya, though." Rin countered with a teasing smile and a wink, chuckling to herself when Mayumi gave her a deadpan look that reminded her so much of herself at that age. "Anyway, you may be the next heir of the Tohsaka lineage, but you still have a lot to learn. A lot."
"I have more of a magic crest than you did when you fought in the last Holy Grail War!"
"Please, at most you have as much of a crest as I did. You may have already received the entirety of your father's crest, but you still only have about three quarters of my crest.
"I had the entire Tohsaka magic crest when I fought in the Holy Grail War," Rin pointed out sternly, though her gaze softened slightly as she sighed, "and I still almost died. Several times, in fact. And so did Shirou. And everyone else. Some people did die.
"It's not worth it, Mayumi." She added, putting a hand on Mayumi's shoulder. "Whatever wish you have in mind for the Grail, the cost is just too high."
"I know that, mom." Mayumi said firmly, standing up and standing in front of her mother with her hands at her waist, mirroring Rin's pose from just a minute ago. "That's why I don't want to make a wish on the Grail."
Rin looked at her daughter curiously for a long moment, trying in vain to decipher her meaning. If Mayumi didn't have a wish for the Grail, then why, exactly, did she even want to fight in the Holy Grail War? That was the entire point of it. Eventually, she gave up on trying to figure it out for herself and just asked, instead. Her daughter was an enigma. Just when Rin thought she had Mayumi figured out, she went and changed.
"Alright, I'll bite. If you don't want to make a wish on the Holy Grail, why do you want to participate in the Grail War?"
Einzbern Manor, Fuyuki City, Japan
Irmasviel von Einzbern swung her legs back and forth as she watched the maids scurry about, preparing for her mother's trip to Germany. Word had come in about the destruction of Einzbern Castle two days ago, and since then, the atmosphere here in the manor had become frantic.
Her mother, Ilyasviel von Einzbern, seemed to keep herself calm and composed, of course. But, then again, Irma supposed it was her job to do so now. The entirety of the Einzbern family, save the two of them and the maids, had been in the Castle, and had been killed in the towering inferno that had only just finally been put out.
The flames had devastated the entire forest surrounding the castle for the past three days since the incident occured. Finally, the fire departments of the surrounding areas had managed to quell the last of the flames that morning, and so Ilyasviel was now preparing to make the trip to Germany.
"Why do you have to go?" Irma asked, her voice light and airy. It sounded almost ethereal, as if she herself wasn't really there. "The Holy Grail War will be starting soon. You'll be needed here."
Irma turned to look at her mother. Looking at the two of them, it was hard to tell who was the mother, and who was the daughter. Both were homunculi, of course, though the circumstances surrounding Ilyasviel's birth had stunted her growth, leaving her perpetually with the body of a young teenager.
Irmasviel, on the other hand, had no such restrictions. Her body hadn't been modified as heavily as her mother's had been, and so she was able to age at a somewhat normal rate. Thus, she now appeared almost four years older than her own mother.
"I have to. That wasn't any ordinary fire that destroyed our Castle." Ilya said calmly as they both observed the maids continuing to quickly make the preparations. "No simple forest fire would have broken through the wards protecting the Castle. Especially not with our entire family present.
"No, someone attacked us. Someone powerful. The fact that it happened just before the beginning of the war can't be a coincidence. I have to go and find out who did it, so that we can prepare for the time when you will have to face him. You, however, will remain here. Tonight is the night when you will summon your Heroic Spirit, and your Holy Grail War will begin."
Irma sighed and pulled her knees up to hug them to her chest, nodding silently. "I know..." She said softly after a moment. "I just... I thought you'd be here with me when I do it."
Ilya put a hand on Irma's head and smiled down at her. "Don't worry. You'll be fine. You may not have all my modifications, but you do still have the same magic circuits I do. I was able to summon and maintain a Berserker during the last war with no difficulties. A Caster should prove easy for you."
"Remind me again why we're summoning Caster? Why not a Saber class, like-"
"Because," Ilya interrupted Irma with a huff, shaking a finger in disapproval. "Sabers are predictable. They rely heavily on their innate resistance to magic, and if you can take away their sword, they're basically useless. That's the problem with the three Knight classes. They can't usually fight very well without their weapon of choice."
"We couldn't secure a catalyst for a Saber, could we?" Irma deadpanned, and Ilya's shoulders sank in disappointment.
"Good catalysts are hard to find, you know... At this point, most of the catalysts for powerful Sabers are probably secured by other families, anyway." Ilya sighed, shaking her head. "At any rate, the class doesn't matter as much as the quality. Besides, with your magic circuits and skills as a magus, any Servant of yours will be a force to be reckoned with, regardless of class."
Irma sighed and sat back, relaxing as she turned once more to look at Ilya. "So... what exactly did we acquire for a catalyst?"
"It's not so much that we acquired it for a catalyst, as much as we happened to have a material that can be used as a catalyst." Ilya said vaguely as one of the maids came forward, procuring a small, ornate box, no bigger than a ring box.
"So... basically, we're resorting to just using things we have lying around?" Irma quipped, raising an eyebrow.
"It will suffice. Use this catalyst, summon your Servant, and become a master." Ilya commanded Irma just as her personal servant came up, announcing that they were ready to depart. Ilya nodded to acknowledge her, then looked back at Irma again. "With any luck, my investigation won't take long, and I'll be back soon to help you. Together, we'll win the war for sure."
Irma nodded. "Right. I doubt many of the other masters will have a Grail War veteran working with them." She said in agreement.
Ilya smiled confidently and squeezed Irmasviel's shoulder as she walked by, heading for the door, and leaving Irma alone in the manor.
Fuyuki Central Park, Fuyuki City, Japan
Kaylin adjusted her long, black coat, drawing it tighter around her frame to ward off the biting cold. Her breath caused white clouds to form in the air in front of her. It wasn't quite cold enough for snow, but definitely too cold for her own comfort.
She stood in the center of a large, wide open park. Really, it should have been packed with children and parents playing. It was actually really pretty, with plenty of space, and the trees spread out just enough not to obscure anyone's vision, but dense enough to give it a very natural feel.
If it weren't for the feeling of dread that permeated the air, and the sensation of constantly being watched, Kaylin herself would probably love it.
Sadly, this park had quite a story behind it, apparently. According to a few rumors she'd heard at the airport, the park had been the starting point for a large wildfire that had consumed this city about thirty years prior. Many lives had been lost then, and now, all that spiritual energy converged here.
The atmosphere alone was the sole explanation for why the park was abandoned. And Kaylin could understand why. If she didn't have need of that spiritual energy right now, she wouldn't be here, either.
Still, it would suit her purposes for now.
Kaylin set a backpack down on the ground and pulled out a jar of a red oil. She opened the jar and began to slowly drizzle the contents onto the ground, forming a large circle, about five feet in diameter. Inside the circle, she drew several intricate magic symbols to complete the summoning circle, then set the jar aside before standing a couple feet away from the circle.
She reached up to her neck and removed a pendant given to her by her father, a gift from the family he worked for. The pendant was simple, and made of plain stone, not any precious metal or gemstone, though its historical value was nearly unmatched. It would serve well as a catalyst.
She pulled a match from her pocket and struck it against the stone pendant, then threw it onto the oil, igniting the summoning circle. The flames burned hot and quickly for a moment, scorching the design of the circle into the grass and dirt before dying out as quickly as it started, leaving only a smoldering blemish in the ground.
Kaylin then looked at her watch and counted down the remaining seconds before her alarm finally beeped at the stroke of midnight. Shutting the beeping off, Kaylin sighed, her breath again fogging up the air in front of her.
"It's time." She muttered under her breath to herself as she held the stone pendant in front of herself.
She closed her eyes and began the incantation, feeling her magic circuits surge as she accessed every bit of her power for the ritual. She would definitely need it.
"For the elements, silver and iron. For the foundation, stone, and the archduke of contracts. My tribute is to the element of fire. Construct a wall to guard against the wind that shall fall..."
Einzbern Manor
"Close the four primary gates, and rotate the three-forked road leading towards the Kingdom." Irma recited from memory as she stood before her own summoning circle, her magic circuits glowing red as they all activated at once. Her mana surged into the circle, causing it to resonate with the same red glow, and red lighting began to spark along the edges of the circle.
Her mother wasn't here to observe the summoning, likely halfway to Germany by now on a plane. Still, Irma knew she could do this. She would show her mother that she was right to put her faith in her, that they would accomplish their goal together.
Once Ilyasviel returned home, she would find Irma waiting for her with her Servant, ready to fight for the Holy Grail against the other six masters, and they would remind the entire world of mages that the Einzberns were not a family to be trifled with.
"Let it now be declared that your body will serve under me, and my fate will be with your sword. Answer the call of the Holy Grail." She continued confidently, staring down at the odd red gemstone in the center of her circle; the catalyst provided to her by her mother that morning.
Tohsaka Manor
Mayumi stood in the attic of the manor. Sufficient space for the ritual had been cleared away from the center of the floor, where a summoning circle had been painted on the floor in red. The antler of a deer was placed in the center of the circle to use as a catalyst. Mayumi herself had selected the catalyst to be used to summon her Servant. Rin Tohsaka and Shirou Emiya, her parents, both stood to the side, anxiously watching as their daughter made the final step necessary to take part in a bloody ritual that could very well cost her her life.
"If you would answer the call, then submit to my will, and my truth!" Mayumi called, papers flying around the room as the spell stirred up a whirlwind. Mayumi's gray skirt fluttered wildly, though she ignored it as she closed her eyes, focusing solely on the ritual. "I swear that I will attain all of the virtues of Heaven; I will have dominion over all of the evils of Hell..."
Unwittingly, the three masters across the city from each other spoke simultaneously as they each worked to summon their Heroic spirits, completing the incantation almost perfectly at the same time;
"From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, guardian of the scales!"
And at once, at three separate points in the city, the leylines exploded with energy, mana bursting outwards in a wave that knocked out the power for a majority of the city. Fuyuki City was bathed in darkness for several long minutes as people wondered what had happened. What could have caused a near city-wide blackout like this?
The mages of the city, however, knew that it was time. The die had been cast, and it was once again time for swords to clash. It was time for a battle to be waged once more for the power of the Holy Grail.
Fuyuki Central Park
The lights in the park finally came back on as power was restored to the city, and Kaylin glanced around in confusion for a moment. Surely one summoning ritual wasn't powerful enough to accomplish such a large-scale blackout? No, it had to be something more. Kaylin herself wasn't nearly powerful enough to cause that, even for such a short duration.
No, it was certainly more. It couldn't have been a coincidence. She was willing to bet that at least one of the other masters had just succeeded as well in summoning their Servant. It was time, after all, and it wouldn't be much longer before the war officially began.
Her father's employers had already heard word that three of the seven Servants had been summoned prior to this point, within the past week. Their identities, of course, were not included in the rumors, but the summoning of a Heroic Spirit always left some kind of trace. It wasn't hard to believe that the Mage's Association had detected three prior summons. They definitely would have detected this incident here.
If her hypothesis was correct, and it usually was, then there was at least one other Servant summoned just now. She had felt far more energy in that surge of power just now than was normal for a single summon, especially one performed by such an average magus as herself.
That meant that, unless the others had been summoned, yet the Archibald family had simply not yet heard word of them, that there were only one or two Servants left to be summoned. The day was fast approaching.
'And now... I'm ready.' She thought to herself as she took in the sight of her Servant. He was dressed in a simple suit of silver armor, with leg guards covering his shins and knees over his black breeches, and his gray undershirt showing only around his biceps and throat beneath the chest plates pauldrons and gauntlets.
A longsword was sheathed in its scabbard at his left hip, and he kept his long, silky red hair tied back with a leather thong. He seemed somewhat plain for a knight, but Kaylin knew that he had to be an exceptional Servant. After all, the catalyst provided by the Archibald family through her father could not have summoned any lackluster Servant.
"I ask you now;" Saber began, his pale, silver eyes meeting Kaylin's dark gray. "Are you my master?"
Kaylin stood confidently before him, despite the weakness she now felt due to the ritual. As she spoke, she tried to put as much of that confidence into her voice as she could, in order to assert her dominance as the master. "Yes. My name is Kaylin Oceania Velvet, and I am your master."
Saber nodded and knelt at her feet as if she were a queen, and bowed his head in respect. "I am the Saber-class heroic spirit, Sir Tristan of Camelot, Knight of the Round Table. I will be your sword, and your shield. I am your tool, your weapon, your Servant."
Fuyuki Central Park, Fuyuki City, Japan; February 5, 2024
...4 days later...
Mayumi Emiya kneeled down on one knee as she examined the scorch marks in the grass and dirt. They were old, of course, barely even noticeable now, and it had taken her a while to find the exact spot in the park she was seeking. Still, once she found it, she knew she'd found what she was looking for.
There was no doubt about it. This was the third source of the blackout that happened four days ago. It had taken a couple days of careful investigation to figure out where the other two surges of energy she had sensed that day had come from, but now she knew for certain. One of them had come from the old Einzbern Manor.
'Because of course it did...' Mayumi thought to herself, shaking her head. The Einzberns were, until their castle in Germany was destroyed a little more than a week ago, one of the oldest mage families, and one of the three families, along with Mayumi's mother's family, who were responsible for creating the Holy Grail War system.
Of course they wouldn't allow a Grail War to take place without throwing a master of their own into the mix. Mayumi was hardly surprised by this turn of events. The only question was who of the Einzberns would be the master. Either way, that wasn't strictly pressing at this moment. Knowing that an Einzbern was one of the other six masters took a little bit of guesswork out of the equation. It was something, at least.
No, Mayumi was more concerned with the third source of the blackout. Judging by the summoning circle burned into the ground, this location was definitely used by one of the masters to summon their Servant.
Unfortunately, there was no way to tell who that master was. It wasn't the Matous. They had their own property on which they could have summoned a Servant. They wouldn't have needed to come here to do it. And there weren't any other prominent mage families here in Fuyuki. That meant it had to be an outsider.
She sighed as she stood up, brushing the dirt and grass off her knee and socks. 'Well that narrows it down...' She thought sarcastically, crossing her arms.
"Is something the matter, shogun?" Mayumi's Servant asked as he maintained his spirit form, invisibly watching over her from a distance.
Mayumi looked around quickly, slightly startled by his voice. She hadn't quite broken that habit yet, despite having been an official master for over half a week.
Once she realized who had spoken, she relaxed and spoke to Lancer directly through their mental link. "Not exactly. It's just frustrating, not having any clue who the other masters are, let alone their Servants."
Lancer's chuckle in her head caused her eyebrow to twitch in irritation. "What the heck is so funny?"
"Welcome to wartime, shogun. A warrior does not always know who his enemy is, only that he must defeat him." Lancer retorted in the typically philosophical tone that had been commonplace with him since his summoning. Mayumi was beginning to think the wrong Servant had answered her summon. The last she'd checked, she'd been attempting to summon a famous samurai, not some philosopher.
Still... She couldn't argue with his words.
"Yeah... I know. I just hate waiting around. I mean, it's been four days, and the seventh heroic spirit STILL hasn't been summoned. What's the last master doing, waiting for a mail-order Servant?"
Mayumi sighed and returned to her bike, sitting sideways on the seat for a moment as she thought. "Anyways, while we wait for the last Servant to be summoned, I can at least do a bit of digging and try to gain some information on who the other masters might be. Figuring that out might even help me figure out what kind of heroic spirit they might have summoned."
"How so?" Lancer asked curiously
"It's hard to say, really. If it's someone I've heard of, then maybe I can figure out what kinds of heroic spirits might be compatible with them. Or if they're from noteworthy mage families, maybe I can check and see if their families own any artifacts that could be used as a catalyst."
"Oh, really? Well, then, what about this "Einzbern" master you mentioned yesterday?"
Mayumi thought about it for a while before answering. "I'm not really sure. I mean, sure, I know who the Einzberns are, and my parents are friends with an Einzbern, but I haven't really had much contact with them myself. The only one I've even met is Ilyasviel von Einzbern, and that was only once, when I was a little girl. And besides that, almost all of the Einzberns were killed about a week ago when their castle was attacked."
Lancer hummed in acknowledgement, remembering his master and her parents talking about that the other day. "Right... I remember you saying something about that. You said that it would have taken a really powerful magus to even scratch the wards surrounding that castle, right?"
"Right." Mayumi agreed, wondering where Lancer was going with this.
"Well, what if it wasn't actually a magus who did it?"
Mayumi's eyes widened in realization then as she caught onto exactly what Lancer was suggesting. "Wait a second... you don't mean it was a Servant who attacked the Einzbern Castle?"
"It fits, doesn't it? Judging by the timeline, it had to have been the first Servant summoned for the war."
Mayumi pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. "That's not good." She said aloud, her words directed more to herself than Lancer now.
"Shogun, forgive me, but perhaps it would be best if you keep your thoughts in your head for now? I don't think you want to risk any of the other masters who might be in the area seeing you talking to yourself."
"You're right. Of course."
"Of course I'm right." Lancer's smug grin popped into Mayumi's memory, and she had the strong urge to punch him. Not that it would actually hurt him, of course, but it might make her feel a bit better. "Anyway, why do you say that's not good?"
"Because even a Servant would have had to be pretty powerful in order to completely break through the Einzbern defenses like that. Which means we know there is at least one extremely strong enemy we'll have to defeat if we want to win the Grail War."
"Even the mightiest of dragons have a soft belly, shogun."
Mayumi groaned and turned in the seat of her bike, standing upright and putting one foot on the pedals. "What does that even mean?"
"It means that even the strongest of enemies will have some kind of weakness to exploit. All we will have to do is find it."
"I hope you're right, Lancer..." She thought, then kicked off the ground and put her other foot on the pedals of the bike as she began to ride back down the trail to leave the park.
She barely got ten feet, however, when she found herself flying through the air, unable to breathe.