And here's the real chapter, the long one that I promised lol. Here we meet the first Master and her Servant! We've...also got a cameo in here too, can you spot it?
Chapter I
A few months later
"Reports are showing that the earthquake and molten substance flowing from Fuyuki have no sign of stopping," the newscaster said, "What was once a beautiful city is now a Hellscape contaminated by flame. We were only able to get pictures from afar and not close as the government has restricted access to the site. There is no telling how many lives have been lost in this tragedy,"
Victoria, Tori, Hart watched the news with slight interest as she washed the dishes. That's all they had been talking about the past few months. The Fuyuki Disaster. Her heart ached for everyone there, but it was far too far for her to make a difference. After all, France was a whole continent away from Japan.
"Tori?" a weak voice asked, "everything ok?"
"Oui, Mama, everything's fine," Tori called back, "Just finishing up the dishes,"
"…Could you come here when you're done?"
The young woman gave a sad smile as she wiped the suds off her hands and walked farther into the recesses of the house, towards a room at the far end. She peeked around the doorframe and smiled as she saw a middle-aged woman lying in a bed.
"I'm sorry, Tori," her mother apologized, her face flaming red, "I…"
She bowed her head and Tori shook her head, putting her arm under her mother's back and lifting her up. Tori kept her face neutral, ignoring the foul reek that suddenly came over her.
"Fae!" Tori called, "Can you help me!"
The door across the hall opened and a young woman with reddish hair bolted out, her blue eyes worried as she came around the other side of Tori and her mother and helped get her mother out of the bed.
"Can you start the shower?" Tori asked.
Her little sister nodded, darting towards the bathroom and getting everything ready.
"I'm sorry…" her mother whispered.
"Don't worry about it, Mama," Tori told her, "You've taken care of us when we were sick…let us do the same,"
She gave her mother to Fae, who proceeded to prepare their mother for her shower. Tori, meanwhile, went to the room and started cleaning the mess and soiled was careful to avoid the various machines and wires that were strewn around the room. The 19 year old gave a sad smile, it was just a side-effect in keeping her mother alive.
Her mother had been diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer that had spread throughout her body. They'd given her weeks to live at first, but she'd somehow lived years…now, however, she was starting to lose ground and regress.
Tori placed the soiled sheets in the hamper and started remaking the bed. She had just finished making the bed…when something scarlet on her hand caught her eye. She frowned, had she cut herself somehow? She hadn't felt any pain.
She held up her hand, looking it over as the silver ring on her finger glinted, her frown deepening as she examined the marking upon her hand. A delicate swirling pattern, like a flame, flanked by what looked like two wings.
"Tori?" came her mother's weak voice from the door.
Tori turned around to face her mother, holding her marked hand. Her mother's gaze lasered in on the marked hand…and her pale face lost whatever color was in it.
"Mama?" Tori asked, coming closer, "What's wrong?"
Her mother grabbed her hand, holding it and examining the mark with wide, fearful blue eyes.
"Ce n'est pas possible," her mother babbled, "Un Maître? Non ... non, vous ne pouvez pas être ... vous n'êtes qu'un enfant ... non ... s'il vous plaît, bon Jésus, non ... Je ne veux pas survivre à l'un de mes enfants..."
"Mama!" Tori protested, "What is wrong? A Master? What are you talking about? Does this have something to do with your family? That War you said was going on in Fuyuki?"
Her mother looked away, shaking greatly.
"Oui," she whispered, holding her daughter's hand in a death grip and beginning to beg, "Victoria Jeanne Hart, promise me, promise me you will not do anything? That you will stay here? Please!"
"Mama…you're scaring me, please," Tori pleaded, "What is going on?"
"Our family, the Rommée clan are powerful mages within the Clocktower," her mother muttered, "I did not want to tell you because I wanted you to live a normal life, ma chérie,"
She shook as she traced the 'wing' mark.
"You were chosen as a Master in the Holy Grail War…"
"What is that?" Tori asked.
Her mother shook her head.
"I cannot tell you," her mother whispered, "Please, Tori…just…ignore the summons, stay here. No wish is worth your life,"
Tori frowned…but she did not push. At least…for now.
She did, however...think that she should at least find out what was going on.
Aristide Rommé knocked casually on his professor's door. He was called fairly frequently to her side; he had, after all, been one of her primary caretakers over the last two years, as her illness had gotten worse. He was worried, of course, but there did not seem to be any urgency to this particular visit; he wondered, with a fluttering heart, if this was to be one of their more… conjugal asides. He kept any semblance of excitement or concern off of his face, though, as her voice drifted through the door:
"Come in, Aristide."
He opened the door, slipped through, and closed it behind him, as she had often asked him to do.
"How are you, Professor?" he asked, though he hardly needed to; the dark bags under her eyes, the pale pallor to her skin, and the way she sat hunched in her chair told him that today had not been a good day. She had these, from time to time; they were becoming more frequent. He ground his teeth, but kept his expression neutral as she spoke.
"I'll live," she managed. There was still strength in her voice, strength that came no doubt from raw, incorruptible willpower. "Tell me, are you familiar with the name Victoria Hart?"
"Victo-" he began to repeat. "Oh! Tori, yeah. Yes, she's a relative, on my mother's side. A cousin. Why do you ask, though, I haven't seen her in… uh, it has to be twelve years."
"Well," she continued. "She is here. At the Clock Tower. She just used your name to get in… and then she vanished. We assume she is still somewhere here on campus, but we don't know where she is or what she is up to. This is… alarming, to say the least. I assumed you would want to spearhead the search."
Aristide wrinkled his nose, and stared at her oddly. "Why… why would she do this? I was brought to understand that she doesn't care anything for magic. I always thought it was a waste. Why would she be here now?"
"Aristide," she answered slowly. "What have we been preparing for?"
"Well, the Holy Grail War," he replied easily. "But-" he stopped as it dawned on him. "No. No way. You don't think-"
In spite of her crippling condition, Professor Illinaya Deliskrosis stood quickly, nearly knocking her chair down behind her. "It is not unheard of for people in mage families to find out about the Grail War and attempt to take part in it without training or understanding," she said harshly. "This was true of Caster's Master in the Fourth Grail War, and of Saber's Master in the Fifth. For your cousin's safety, as well as that of our wishes, we must find her." Her body seemed to fail her, and she slumped back into the chair behind her. Her chest heaved; a hacking cough erupted from her throat, splattering her desk with blood.
"Illinaya!" he barked, dashing towards her, but she stopped him with a raised hand. He froze, with one arm outstretched.
"Find her," Illinaya rasped, crimson dripping from her hands and chin. "I know you understand."
Aristide nodded, and sprinted out of the door.
Tori wandered around the campus. She felt almost bad for using Aristide's name...but she knew that they wouldn't have allowed her in any other way.
After about an hour of wandering around, and a few wrong turns that nearly got her in trouble, she finally found the library. The young woman's blue eyes sparkled in joy as she looked at the warm-tinted columns and tile...and the thousands upon thousands of books that spiraled all the way to the ceiling.
"Now...where to begin?" she thought as she hefted her backpack and strolled farther into the room.
It had taken nearly an hour before Tori found the books she was looking for. She hugged the dusty, leather-bound volumes to her chest as she searched for a place to sit and research. Finally, she found it...a small desk where she could set the books down and finally get to see what on God's good Earth she was supposed to do.
She sat the books on the desk and pulled out the chair, quietly sitting down and cracking open the first volume.
"The Holy Grail War," she read. "Established originally by three great families; the Tohsakas, the Makiris, and the Einzberns, the initial impetus for deploying the Holy Grail was to reach the Root of all magic and attain the Third True Magic, known as Heaven's Feel."
She gave a sigh as she glanced at her watch.
"As much as I'd love to read about the history...I don't have time…" she muttered, "I'm pretty sure they've told Aristide or someone that I'm here. I need to know what in the world I'm supposed to do...not the War's history."
Flipping a few pages in yielded more useful results, in a chapter entitled "The Holy Grail War: Theoretical Structure".
"Before the contest proper begins, the Grail will select seven mages. While the selection process is still largely theoretical, some patterns have emerged. The Grail is very likely to select participants from the area closest to its vessel, but it will prioritize those that have a greater will to possess it over anyone nearby. Therefore, the pool of mages that it can select from is limited only by the number of mages that exist in the world that are capable of participating and have a wish to be granted. The odds of being selected are still unclear.
The War is structured thusly: each mage, regardless of title or generation, is granted the title of Master. Each Master is granted a single Servant, provided that the Master has done the necessary preparation to summon one, the details of which are covered in Chapter Four. Servants are divided into seven classes; one of each of these classes is present in each War: Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, and Berserker. Each of these classes has benefits and skills unique to it, and each interacts differently with other classes. Class, however, does not does not necessarily determine the outcome of Servant interaction; this is more likely determined by the identities of said Servants, the nature of their legends, and the power that the Master and Servant together can manifest."
"So basically I get a random Servant out of a hat…" Tori muttered, "Ok...so what do I need to do? Chapter 4 right?"
Chapter 4 was quite a ways through the book. Having read through it some, Tori found that it was vastly different than most of the books that she had read until this point; for one, it seemed to be entirely handwritten and there was nothing so convenient as a table of contents. For another, the whole thing had been encrypted into some sort of rune system, though Tori had come prepared for that; her mother had taught her how to read the runes a long, long time ago.
Chapter 4 was deceptively simple. While it adamant about how each detail involved must be followed to the letter, it did not seem to contain a vast number of instructions. It detailed the incantation that would be delivered for each class, if attempting to summon a specific one. It specified that a relic would be needed, to connect the Master to his Servant. And it showed in detail how the magic circle was to be made, the proper time to enact the summoning, and what to expect up until an actual interaction with a Servant. Beyond that, the book's guess was likely as good as Tori's.
It was at this point that a low, nearby voice yanked her attention away.
"You may believe that you aren't in entirely over your head," the voice asserted calmly, but firmly. "But I believe that anyone that is also believes the same way."
Tori jumped, her heart leaping in her chest as she subconsciously hid her crimson marked hand from view. She couldn't have been caught now...not when she was so close!
"I'm sorry?" she asked, "I didn't think that in this country it was considered polite to interrupt a student when she was studying. But apparently things are different here than in France."
The man that had spoken was a striking one, indeed. A sculpted, angular face, a narrow set of piercing grey eyes, framed by a long mane of black, perfectly straight locks. His garb was rather ornate as well, even for those that had been wandering around the building. It was clear that he was someone fairly important.
"A student, you say," he repeated. His mouth barely moved, yet somehow his eyes glittered with internal mirth. "Very well, I shall call your bluff. What department are you with?"
Tori's mouth opened and closed as she frantically searched for a good excuse. She could find none. The young woman bowed her head, hoping her long blonde hair would hide her embarrassment.
"Would you believe me if I said I was just a transfer?" she asked hopefully, still not looking up.
Getting nothing but a slightly raised eyebrow, she gave a defeated sigh.
"I thought not…"
The man stood. He held himself with a poise and elegance she had only ever seen on TV, or in medieval paintings. Had she been told that he was some sort of nobility, she would have believed it.
"You are no student, here," he said, his voice assured. "But I know why you are here. I have read that very same book many times. Suffice it to say that I have been baptized in fire, as well." Whether it was a conscious action or not, he rubbed the top of his left hand, and he glanced down at the blood-red marks in the very same place on her own hand. "You're rather young to find yourself in the Holy Grail War, aren't you?"
"Does my age make a difference?" Tori asked, finally looking up, "The Grail chose me and I'm going to have to go through with it,"
She locked gazes with him and she tapped the book.
"Alright, you say you've read this book so many times, what do you suggest?"
"I suggest," he repeated, looking her square in the eye. "Shutting the book. Putting everything back where you found it. Running home, to be with your…" he eyed the ring on her finger. "Family," he finished. "To leave all of this behind you. The Holy Grail War is no trifling matter. You may believe that you have no choice, or that your pride is at stake, or that there is someone you must protect and the Holy Grail is the only way to do that. But there is always another way. When you commit yourself to the war, you…" he trailed off. His gaze remained on the silver ring; cared for, but worn, as though for generations.
His eyes flicked back into her own. "You tie yourself to a stake, and hope to survive the flames," he said at last. "The odds do not favor you. However… I know that look." At that moment, she could have sworn that he chuckled, but his mouth never moved, and his eyes never wavered. "I have seen it before."
He turned suddenly; his cape added a magnificent flair to his exit. "I wish you luck in the wars to come… Holy Maiden," he added, just a hint of cheekiness in his voice as he disappeared amongst the shelves.
Tori blinked rapidly, rubbing her thumb across the engravings on her ring, feeling its warmth.
"What an odd man…" she thought as she watched him go.
She shook her head, taking one last, long look at the chapter before standing up and shutting the volume.
As much as she hated to leave...it wouldn't be a good idea to stay much longer than she had to.
Suddenly, a voice rang out.
"Tori?" came a call from the direction opposite from the way the man had left. "Tori." Aristide Rommé strode frantically across the room. "My word, it really is you." As he approached, he rubbed his hands together nervously. "I can't believe it, I haven't seen you in more than ten years. What are you doing here? Were you just talking to Lord El-Melloi? I didn't know you knew him," he added, his eyes darting between Tori's face and the shelves amongst which the odd man had vanished.
"...Lord?" Tori squeaked out, "I didn't realize...no, Aristide, I don't...I was just reading and he snuck up on me…"
She put her hands in her pockets before giving a smile.
"Sorry I used you to get in here...it's so beautiful here...I just wanted to see the inside,"
"This isn't the sort of place you just barge into, beautiful or not," he admonished, but his tone was light. "I'm surprised they even let you in here. How have you been?" he asked, taking her left hand and cupping it between his own fingers. "I can't believe… believe…"
His face had started to form a smile, but immediately any excitement or warmth on his face died. He looked as though the crimson marks on her hand had reached out and grabbed his throat. "You…"
He released her suddenly, turning away. He clasped his hands together and rubbed them again, before clenching them into fists. "No," he muttered under his breath. "This cannot be. How did… no, this cannot be." He turned back around, and noted the books on the desk before her. His face morphed between expressions of shock, disbelief, grief and anger. "Ça me fait chier, how did this happen?!" he hissed.
Tori blinked again, she didn't know exactly what caused the shift in her cousin's temper...and then her mother's words rang in her skull.
"My family doesn't exactly like me very well. If you run into one of them...do not be surprised if they treat you coldly,"
Tori's face turned pale as she held her hand, the silver ring catching the light, a stark contrast between the crimson marks.
"Aristide, I don't know," she said calmly, though her face showed how scared she was, "it just...it just appeared…"
His mouth described a downward arc from mere anger to red-faced fury. "Just appeared?" he rumbled. "You expect me to believe this? I knew there was something strange about your family," he added, his voice rising; he received several irritated looks from students studying around them. "You all think we are stupid, unworthy of your knowledge or praise!"
"What!?" Tori stammered, "No! Aristide, that's not it! I honestly don't know!"
She took a frightened step backwards, covering her marked hand with her non-marked one. She stumbled over a book and nearly tumbled into another student as she tried to get away from her cousin.
"No!" Aristide began to screech as she clambered to put distance between them. He strode angrily forward. "You have stolen it! Stolen her only chance! She will die because of you, because of your selfish thievery!"
"Bloody hell, mate," interrupted a voice from the next aisle over. The tone was not offended, or even particularly bothered; the red-headed boy that stood up and observed the two of them wore a confident smirk on his face, and - without moving - seemed to swagger as he spoke. "Puttin' on a bit of a show, innit? Bit lively for a library."
"Stay out of this, Jeremy," Aristide snarled in response. "This is a family matter."
"Well, seein' as you've got the attention of half the buildin', I'd say it's a bit more than a family matter, now." Jeremy leapt up onto his desk, and sailed over the partition that divided the aisles, placing himself between Aristide and his quarry. "Looks awful, pickin' on your youngers, innit?"
"Don't. Get. In my way," Aristide rumbled threateningly.
"Or what?" Jeremy riposted nonchalantly. "You gonna start something, in 'ere? Go on, then, let's 'ave it."
Tori looked back and forth between her Savior and then her irate cousin. She wasn't sure if she should leave and leave the man to Aristide or if she should stay and risk having bodily harm done to Jeremy.
Her eyes flicked to Aristide and then to the sunlit doors. Leave...or stay? She wanted to see what happened...but she also valued her life highly. She shook her head. She'd stay...not out of wanting Aristide to get hurt if he chose to fight, but she knew that he would try and hunt her down as soon as she left the Library. Perhaps she would stand a better chance if Jeremy were watching over her...at least until she got out of the Clocktower boundaries.
As Aristide seethed with and and began leaning forward, Jeremy's hand slipped inconspicuously into his jacket pocket. When the French mage took his first step forward, Jeremy's hand snapped forward, flinging what appeared to be a roll of pennies, which snapped open, sending the bizarrely shiny copper-colored coins rolling, tumbling and scattering every which way. Three of them skittered to a halt at Tori's feet; most of them clustered around Aristide. Jeremy grinned.
"Tell you what, mate," he said flippantly. "Your choice: step forward, I'll wreck this place for you, yeah? Step back, everything's gonna be just fine." His last two words were delivered with impossible smugness. "Whadd'ya say?"
Aristide froze. He shook with anger. "You…" he hissed.
Tori stared at the bright 'pennies'. What were they that got Aristide worked up? Grenades of some sort? Half of her mind wanted to bend down and examine them...but the other half screeched that it was a stupid idea and to just leave them alone. She took half a step farther from the 'pennies', she didn't want to accidently brush one by mistake...particularly if Jeremy said that they'd destroy the place.
Aristide made a series of inarticulate noises of rage, before turning on a heel and stalking angrily away. Jeremy watched him leave, until he was out of sight. Suddenly, he began to laugh.
"Oh, man," Jeremy cackled gleefully. "Did you see his face?" He turned back, and regarded Tori with confident pompousness. "Took a bound, didn't he? You alright, miss?" He offered his hand, to help her stand.
Tori nodded, taking the hand.
"Thank you," she told him as she got to her feet, "I really appreciate the help. I really have to go, it's starting to get late and I need to catch the train back home,"
She dreaded what conversation she'd have to give her mother if her mother found out she had skipped out of her job and travelled to the Clocktower…
Jeremy snatched her hand as she tried to depart. "Aww, come now," he chuckled. "Take a breath, relax!"
He stuffed his hands in his pockets. His green jacket rustled as he seemed to comfort himself, leaning back against a nearby desk, still gripping her hand.
"What's the hurry?" Jeremy chortled happily, still gripping her hand. "Everything alright?"
"Just the fact that my mother will probably kill me if I'm late coming home," Tori replied, "I really should be going, she would be worried sick if I wasn't home,"
She tried to remove her hand from Jeremy's, thankfully his grip wasn't too hard.
"Thank you again for helping me. But I do need to go," she said once again before taking her hand out of his and starting to walk out of the library, hoping to not run into Aristide before she left the campus and to catch the train on time.
Tori quietly closed the front door behind her. The train had gotten delayed and made her late getting home. The young woman cautiously looked around the dusky home, not seeing her mother anywhere.
"Thank the Lord…" Tori thought gratefully as she took a step farther into the house...only to step on that one floorboard that always creaked.
She froze, heart pounding in her chest as she looked around. Seeing nothing, she let out the breath she was holding and started to move towards her room…
"Where. Have. You. Been?" came the yell from the living room, making Tori jump straight up as her mother stalked towards her, "It's nearly dark and no phone-call! You could have died! Victoria Jeanne Hart, what in the world have you been do-"
Her mother choked off, coughing hard and grabbing the counter for support. Tori rushed to her side and helped her to her chair, setting her down before running for a glass of water, which her mother gratefully took.
Once the coughing subsided, Tori's mother set the glass on the lampstand and grabbed her daughter's marked hand.
"Tori...where were you?" she asked, "Don't lie to me, please…"
"I got sidetracked," Tori told her, "And there was a delay on the road back here. My phone also died so I couldn't call you,"
Her mother fixed a chilling blue glare on her. She didn't believe Tori's lies one bit...but one thing about Tori was that if she didn't want to talk about something...she normally wouldn't. She sighed. It was pointless to get Tori to talk.
"Just...promise me you will let me know next time?" her mother asked, "And not leave the house without your phone charged all the way?"
Tori gave a smile as she held her mother's hand.
"I promise," she agreed.
Tori sat on her bed, looking at her marked hand and sighing. She wasn't sure of what to do. According to the book, she needed to Summon her Servant in order to participate in the war...but she had no idea what to summon them with!
She rubbed her ring subconsciously as she stood. Perhaps she could do it without a catalyst...maybe it just had to be a place the Servant had lived or been? But what Hero would have lived in this little area of Domrémy, France? Well...one hero that Tori had known...but she wouldn't be a Heroic Spirit, it wasn't possible. The young woman closed her blue eyes and stood. Whatever the case...it was time to bring the Servant to the world. Time to become a true Master.
Tori quietly snuck out of the house, this time avoiding the squeaky floorboard, and bolted into the forest to the area she deemed would be a good place to Summon. She'd scouted the area earlier, and of the places she looked, this one was the one that just felt...right. Like this was the place her Servant would breathe their first breath of this world.
She put down her backpack and pulled out a packet filled with a crimson liquid. Her throat tightened as she remembered what it was and what she had done to get it.
"I'm sorry, Mama...but when this is over, you won't need it. I'll make sure of it!" she stated firmly as she opened the packet and started to 'draw' upon the forest floor.
She stood back, looking at her handiwork and giving a shuddering breath of relief. That part was done...now for the more difficult part.
"Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Let each be turned over five times, simply breaking asunder the fulfilled time. Let silver and steel be the essence," Tori recited from memory, holding her marked hand as the circle turned from silver black in the moonlight to blued silver, "Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation. Raise a wall, against the wind that shall fall."
The wind picked up, making her hair whip around like a golden flame, but Tori continued on.
"Close the four cardinal gates. Come out from the crown. Rotate the three-branched road reaching the Kingdom." she continued, voice still slightly shaky, "I shall declare here. Your body shall serve under me,"
The silver blue glow burned white and Tori's expression grew even more determined as she raised her hand.
"My fate shall be with your sword. Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail!" she cried, "If you will submit to this will and this reason...then answer!"
The light turned blinding, forcing Tori to close her eyes, but she kept at it, her voice growing from a confident call to a warcry.
"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 great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint," she yelled, "Guardian of the Scales!"
The light burned brighter yet, searing heat over Tori's hand and down the birthmark on her back, the wind roared and the trees moaned…
And it stopped.
The brilliant silver light died and Tori slowly lowered her hands. Her breath caught as she spotted a female figure standing within the circle. Her long blonde hair rippled down her back in a thick braid as a silver headdress caught the moonlight. The woman's brilliant amethyst gaze sparkled as she looked at Tori. She readjusted her grip on a long spear bound with snowy cloth about three quarters of the way up.
"Servant Lancer, Jeanne d'Arc," the woman beamed as she extended her hand, "I'm really glad to meet you,"
Say hello to our first Master and Servant! Jeanne d'Arc is a Ruler class in Apocrypha and Grand Order but here in Salvage Conviction she is our Lancer. Next up we meet our second Master (well...his story, we've already met a few here!). And Tori did have a relic, much like Rin did when she summoned Archer. Her Ring is the catalyst, passed down from generation to generation...it was Jeanne's ring.
Tori is not very knowledgeable about magecraft yet...her mother kinda hid the fact that they were mages...and that Tori carried the Mystic Code
Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please let me know!
Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)
Máriessë ar mára tecië
Farewell and fair writing
Elhini Prime signing off.