"Long ago, there were legends of a miraculous cup – a cup that once belong to Jesus Himself. It is said that when a person drinks from this cup, he will have gained immortal life. This cup was called the 'Holy Grail.'
In the year 1790, 3 families of Magi in Fuyuki, Japan – Einzbern, Makiri and Tohsaka – sought a way to reach Akasha, or the Root. Akasha is considered Heaven by the Magi, the very world above all dimensions. The Einzbern, however, also had a second motive – they wished to retrieve a lost magic, called the 'Cup of Heaven.' To do so, they created a powerful magical object – the Great Grail. Despite lacking the ability to give immortality, it was still a very powerful and spiritual object, powerful enough to reach Akasha. The problem was that the Great Grail could only be used by one person. When they found this out, they fought over its power.
They organized a battle that determined who deserved the Grail, but because of the great amount of mana needed to manifest the Grail, they needed to call on 4 other Magi. 7 Magi, Masters, were to participate in the contest, each with a spiritual warrior of a different Class, called a Servant, that were reincarnations of Heroes. In 1800, They participated in the first Holy Grail War.
2 wars have passed, and no one has still been able to fully manifest the Grail. So, the Einzberns decided it was time to change their plans. Instead of summoning a Servant with a normal class, they summoned Angra Mainyu, the Zoroastrian god. Despite being a 'god,' he had no stats or abilities, going only by the Class Avenger. However, when the war ended, the Avenger was sucked into the Grail. As a result, the Holy Grail became tainted, started reincarnating Servants that were not heroes, and began to spread an influence of evil and death. Instead of achieving Akasha, the victor would be a granted one wish, and while this seemed like an acceptable alternative, Masters had to learn the hard way that the only way the Grail would achieve the wish is through destruction.
The Great Grail's influence has spread, influencing many countries to start Holy Grail Wars of their own. Why? No one knows."
"Oooo, spooky," said the teen in the white hoodie. Kim was in the school library, researching on the Holy Grail with her friend, Daniel, for their Literature and Writing class, when she found this big, old-looking, dusty book covered in light brown leather. It had no title at the front, but the spine said 'Holy Grail War.' Being the curious student she was, she grabbed the book and immediately fixed her eyes on its pages.
Daniel, the hoodie wearing rebel with black hair and brown eyes, was Kim's best friend. They have known each other since they were children. Despite being very close to Kim, he couldn't have been any more different. While Kim was busy jotting down information on her note cards and arranging them in a decent order, Dan either knocked books to the ground, wrote the complete opposite of what he read and recited it out loud, or made annoying side comment after side comment at Kim's research. She didn't mind, though; she was used to it.
Kim said, "You know, Dan, this would totally be up your alley."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean... look. It says here, 'each with a spiritual warrior of a different Class, called a Servant, that were reincarnations of Heroes.' Just like in an RPG game." Dan's eyes lit up. "And later on, it describes the classes. See, look."
Dan moves round the table to sit beside Kim. He begins to read. "There are 3 Knight Classes – the Saber, Archer, and Lancer – each a knight and proficient in their respective weapons, the sword, bow, and spear. The Rider Class is also a knight, but while being proficient in a particular weapon, he is also known for using mounted machines or beasts..."
Dan looked at Kim with a disgusted and confused look on his face. You see, when Dan was 10, he visited his tito, or uncle, in Baguio, a Northern Philippine city in the mountains. He was riding a horse up a mountain trail for the first time, when the horse went berserk. It reared, as if it saw something that frightened him, and shook Daniel of its back. And then, it kicked around and reared again, but this time, to step on Dan. Fortunately, his tito was there to save him from death, but was too late to save him from childhood trauma. Now, he's scared of riding any mount. And I mean ANY mount, from horses, to dolphins, to even kiddie rides that you find in the arcade.
"Come one Dan! Keep reading. Just ignore it," said Kim, with a smile on her face.
Dan shrugged. He looked back at the old book. His eyes widened as he continued, "The 5th Class is the Caster and utilizes the power of the Magus. He uses magic, the force Masters must be adept at. The 6th Class is the Berserker and is a class with one crucial requirement – madness. The Holy Grail requires that the Berserker to either have gone insane or have lost control of emotions. The 7th and last Class is the one with the most mystery, for it is the Assassin."
Just as Dan read that last sentence, his mouth began to form a wide grin. As he read on, his excitement grew. "Assassin is the only servant who is destined. He is to be a member of the sect called Hashashin and must be one of those named 'Hassan-i-Sabbah.'" At that point, Dan was filled with pure joy.
"What? Do I know you, or do I know you?" Kim smiled at him.
Dan tossed back the book and replied, "Reading's still boring." He was on his way out the library when he shouted out "I'll see you online!"
The librarian shot him a menacing look and said, "Ssshhh!" Dan acted like he always did when he was caught doing something wrong. He raised his hands up as if he was innocent. Kim and Dan shared a laugh and then the most unexpected thing happened. They heard someone whisper,
"Masters"
They both heard it, but they shrugged it off. Dan walked out the door. Kim went back to her books. As she turned the page, she noticed something strange at the back of her right hand. For a second, she thought she saw something glowing, but as quick as it appeared, it disappeared. 'This can't be coincidence,' she thought. She packed her things and raced out.