Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

The Lord of Heaven's Feel

Prologue

The Finnish countryside was beautiful in spring, even – if not especially – up north in Lapland. The low and rolling hills were covered with grass, the small thickets that dotted the landscape were similarly green with new growth, while the shores of the various lakes in the area were a riot of color from all the flowers blooming by the water. Birds sang as they flew and danced in the cool morning air, while high above small and puffy clouds drifted lazily across the bright blue sky.

It was a breathtaking and even fantastic vista, even after four years after 'moving' to Finland to live with her paternal grandmother's family. Before that, Kevat Edelfelt had lived in a city, full of modernity and consumerist mediocrity. But those four years had convinced Kevat never to settle for an urban lifestyle if she could help it.

Today, she'd even taken her pony, Zephyrus, and ridden to one of the lakes near Rovaniemi, about forty minutes away at a comfortable pace for her friend. Shortly after arriving, Kevat had set up an easel on top of a hill, along with a stool and a small table, before laying out her painting materials. Sitting down on the stool, she stared out across the landscape, trying to find the right impression to commit to paint and canvas.

Kevat didn't know how long she sat there, but eventually, inspiration came, that of the bright morning Sun setting the lake's waters glittering as though it was covered with diamonds. Water was poured and watercolors moistened, and Kevat began to paint. First, a wide stretch of blue for the lake, then green for its surroundings, and then more blue, for the skies above. Without waiting for the colors to dry, Kevat began to add more colors for the trees and plant life around, as well as Zephyrus wandering around below the hill.

Then she blinked, the young girl pausing as she heard the sound of another horse approaching. Kevat frowned at that, realizing she'd forgotten to set up bounded fields to keep from being disturbed, especially since it wasn't like she had any lessons for today. Getting up from her stool, Kevat turned and walked several steps to meet the newcomer, and wondering why her family hadn't just sent a familiar if something important had turned up.

She didn't wait long, though, and her mood improved as she recognized the approaching pony. It was Boreas, her twin sister's pony, and that meant there was no question either about who the small figure was riding the horse.

"Kevat!" Syksy Edelfelt said as she slowed to a halt before glancing at the easel and canvas (among other things) set up not far away. "Painting again?"

Kevat scowled. "I like painting!" she protested.

"Okay…sorry…" Syksy immediately apologized. "…I didn't mean it that way."

Kevat shook her head, her past irritation gone as quickly as it came. "It's alright." She said, stepping back as Syksy dismounted, and patting her pony gently, had Boreas wander off to join Zephyrus nearby. "What are you doing here? Did something happen?"

"Just…wanted to talk to you…" Syksy hesitantly began, and causing Kevat to tilt her head curiously.

"About what?" she asked, only to blink and narrow her eyes in realization. "Ah! I know! It's that…premonition thing, you've been worrying about since yesterday morning! Come on, Syksy. You know divination doesn't mean anything."

Syksy scoffed at that. "That's not true, and you know it." She said. "There's a difference between divination and fortune-telling, just like our tutors lectured us, with the former being a tradition that goes back thousands of years back to the Age of Gods. It's only because of stupid ordinary people who treat it as just fun and games that divination became as…watered-down, as it is today."

"Well…I suppose…" Kevat grumbled, before Syksy smiled teasingly.

"Besides," she began. "Aren't you engaged to an Animusphere? And isn't astrology a big part of their mysteries?"

"OKAY, THAT'S ENOUGH!" Kevat snapped. "Also, I remember you didn't see any omens in the fire last night, or did you forget?"

Syksy scowled. "Okay, the fire wasn't very helpful last night." She admitted. "But the tarot cards and my pendulum readings this morning were!"

"Really?" Kevat asked somewhat skeptically.

Syksy nodded. "I did several spreads." She said. "And you know that my tarot cards are the real deal, made from magically-active materials and not those cardboard knockoffs ordinary charlatans use…"

"Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay!" Kevat exploded, walking back to sit on her stool, Syksy following after her. "What did the cards say?"

Syksy hummed while standing nearby, taking a deep breath and a relaxing look at the surrounding landscape. "My first reading had the Star reversed, the World, and the Moon." She said. "I interpreted that as, well, me back when I got…well, you know…"

"…sold off like a calf sent to slaughter?" Kevat asked.

"Yes."

"…the World referring to your present," Kevat continued. "And how being with our real family allows you to be everything you could be. But the Moon…together with your premonition…there's danger to that in the future."

"Hmm…now you know why I was so worried." She said.

"And your other readings?" Kevat prompted.

"The next one began with the Star reversed, again." Syksy replied causing Kevat to wince.

"Oh, yeah, I think we need to pay attention to this." She said, and causing Syksy to smile triumphantly in her turn. "Go on."

"The Star reversed was followed by the World, the Moon," she said, and causing Kevat to blanch at the realization her sister had really divined what could be a major threat to what had been their lives for years now lurking in the future. "Justice, the Sun, the Hermit, and the Lovers."

"…okay, I'm lost now," Kevat admitted. "How did you interpret that?"

"The first three cards are the same ones – drawn for the second time – from my earlier reading." Syksy said with a shrug. "My interpretation doesn't change. Justice…means justice, that's what I want. I get what I deserve, you get what you deserve, the family gets what it deserves, and our enemy gets what they deserve. Fair's fair, right?"

Kevat just smiled, and Syksy continued after a moment. "The Sun is for people around me," she said. "Happiness and contentment, just as it's always been since we returned to our family. I mean…it's not always easy, but still…I love it here. I love my – our family – and I don't want to lose them. And that's the next card: the Hermit. The enemy who'd ruin all that and everything else we have."

"The Hermit…?" Kevat murmured. "When referring to a person, it's usually a traitor or someone dirty and corrupt…that doesn't sound good at all…but the last card is how it ends, right? The Lovers…overcoming trials…but who overcomes which?"

"That was my question for the next reading." Syksy said with a nod. "This time I drew the Fool, the Hermit, the Lovers, the Star reversed, the Sun, the Chariot, the Magician, the High Priestess, the Emperor, and finally the World."

"The Fool…really?" Kevat skeptically asked.

"It's not as bad as it sounds." Syksy protested. "Well, it can be…but that's a surface…um, super, superficial (!) reading! Yes, that's right. Superficial…it could also mean, well, me, being…in the dark, about the future, which I am, and which is also why I'm asking."

"And the other cards?"

Syksy shrugged. "The Hermit is from the second reading, obviously the enemy in our future, and what – or who – is on my mind." She said. "The Lovers is what I want to happen, to defeat and…smash, this Hermit. The Star reversed is me – again – but from way back, the Sun is me now or recently, the Chariot is the near future, so…the card usually means war, trouble, revenge, in short, what my premonition is all about."

Then she paused, causing Kevat to raise an eyebrow. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"…the last four cards are weird." Syksy replied. "First, we have the Magician. It means…well, it has many meanings. Uniting Heaven and Earth as the most mystical, or having…the power or support of a god – or God, for Christians – and mastering your talents. But…that card is supposed to be…well, me. But I don't have any of that. Or did any of that, which means the same thing really."

"That is weird." Kevat concurred before blinking and narrowing her eyes. "But, you have some ideas about it?"

"Well…big sister Kirsi is also…me…or another me, right? Could she be what the Magician is talking about? I mean…she is a magician, right?"

"Truth hiding in plain sight?" Kevat dryly asked. "Sounds like divination to me."

Syksy stuck her tongue out at Kevat's show of skepticism about this school of mystery. "Okay," she continued. "If we…see, big sister Kirsi as the Magician, the next cards make sense. I think."

"Oh?"

"The next card is supposed to be about what's happening around the card before it." Syksy explained. "The High Priestess is all about…secrets, wisdom, knowledge…so basically all that secret stuff and research big sister Kirsi is up to all the time in England. Then there's the Emperor, which is supposed to be about what big sister Kirsi is like right now…so, powerful. In every way, really, just like how an Emperor is supposed to be even stronger and better than a king."

"…the Emperor card can also mean a source of help, right?" Kevat asked in realization. "And you said the last card was the World, right?"

"How it all ends…" Syksy said, eyes similarly wide in realization. "…the World, everything I am now, with our family."

"Well, I guess that answers that question." Kevat said with a shrug and a smile. "You want to beat this Hermit, you just need to ask big sister Kirsi to take care of it."

"That shouldn't be too hard." Syksy said before grinning evilly. "Still…whoever this Hermit is, to have to fight big sister Kirsi…ouch."

Kevat just laughed. "Maybe." She admitted. "But, this Hermit is going to ruin our lives according to the cards. So, it's not like they don't deserve it."

"The Justice card." Syksy said with a nod before tilting her head. "Although, that leaves one question unanswered."

"Who this Hermit is, and why he wants to ruin our lives?"

"Yes."

"…want to try again? With the cards?"

"…okay."

A/N

The children should be around nine or ten now, so it should come as no surprise they can ride horses. In fact, depending on the country you live in, you can start learning to ride as early as two years-old. Add to them being raised as proper aristocrats this time around, being able to ride horses unaided is only to be expected.

The readings of the cards, while skewed according to Syksy (and to a lesser extent, Kevat) and her subjective perspective, are accurate to traditional general interpretations of the cards mentioned. But if so, who is this Hermit, and why is he intent on ruining Kevat and Syksy's lives?