The door was quietly shut, his cold blue eyes surveying the small basement space. It had been emptied of the once alchemical storeroom it had been, only a large, intricate carving in it's place, carved a total of four times, and measured thrice. Perfection was a necessary here, a single mark out of place and the entire ritual could go hideously wrong, and he would not be able to recreate it in a timely manner.
In his free hand, Casval held a small, average wooden box. It held no true importance itself, only a basic demon had been attached to it to ensure no one besides him could look inside. Even inside, it was an average, boring object.
In all, it a dull, rusted iron fragment smaller than a fingernail. Centuries of residing in a dark crypt hadn't done any favors in terms of the artifact's condition. But, it's true value relied in where it was held.
A tomb for Trojan soldiers lost in the legendary war between Greece and Troy. Of many things, this iron could be from Achilles's chariot, Hector's helmet, Diomedes's armor, or perhaps it belonged to Helen herself as a piece of her robes. Whatever the hero, an object from that war alone is a fantastic guarantee for victory. Pulling off his gloves, he gazed at his Command Seal.
It was impossibly intricate, a dragon like visage made of jagged lines and intricate wording of a language long lost to the world of men, the dragon's horns being that of another dragon, about to consume it's own tail in the neverending chain of Ouroborus. He had gazed upon it for weeks beforehand, fearing that it would simply disappear in thin air, taking away his chance at victory like the demon had taken his ancestor's life. But, here it still lay, ingrained into his flesh, and he allowed himself a slight smile.
"The Four Prime Factors, the Five Prime Elements, the Six True Magics." He began, his circuits awakening with a jolt. The circle slowly started to glow, a sinister red lighting up the empty room, the stagnant air beginning to slowly circle.
"Rest, Awaken, Rest, Awaken.
From the factors that make the universe, Gravity gives way to Space, Space gives way to Time, Time gives way to Heat and from all Four in union all of the universe is created."
The air warped and danced, sparks flying out and bring carried by the storm he had begun to create. Several neared him, but they continued their hypnotic dance around him. He was a pillar, something that even magic wouldn't pass through.
"Rest, Awaken, Rest, Awaken.
From the Five Prime Elements, from Fire all life is born into the universe and to Fire it returns. From the Water we are given life and to the Water our lives are sent back. From the Earth our bodies are shaped and molded and to the Earth our bodies are given back. From Air we are given our first breaths and to the Air we give our last gasps. From the Ether our magic is gifted upon us, and to the Void our magic returns when we perish."
Bolts of high powered magic rocketed around him, scorching the circle even deeper into the stone of his basement. Be it a hundred, a thousand years, these burns would stand as a testament to a man who rose to godhood.
"Rest, Awaken, Rest, Awaken.
With all these ingredients and all these powers surely the path to enlightenment may be reached and thus we can reach the Gods and control the Six True Magics."
The light reached blinding, the winds became a howl. His hair was blown from it's neat place upon his head, whipping and dancing it's own dance atop the crown of his head.
"If you call to this reason, this desire, come forth! Guardian of the Scales!" He finished, his voice roaring above that of the wind's own cry. In the span of a heartbeat, everything stopped, the winds came to a halt, the light vanished, and for a second, all was peaceful.
As the Servant heeded the call, the circle imploded in magical energy, sending smoke flying through the air, yet Casval did not move. This was it, the Servant who would grant him the means to acquire what so desired.
From the smoke, a woman appeared. She was rather plain physically, her hair and eyes the color of mud, and despite the royal purple sash from her left shoulder to her right hip, she wore basic leather armor with nothing fancy to distinguish her from a common crowd. The bow in her hand was also simplistic, a basic wooden longbow with some polish.
"I am Archer, I have arrived at the summons of my Master," She lazily said, scratching the side of her head and yawning. "You should be him, right?"
"Yes, I am Casval Faust, your Master Archer." He said, bowing slightly out of respect. "If you can be inclined, may I have your true na-" "I'm tired, can I go take a nap Master?" Archer interrupted, yawning loudly.
Casval, in a lapse of control, felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance. A Command Seal wouldn't work well as it could on an Archer class, and not knowing her identity today wouldn't infringe on his strategy just yet. He had time, and he could afford some of that time to ensure loyalty.
"I suppose so, there is a guest bedroom upstairs. Please, make yourself-" The Servant had already bolted through the door, leaving him alone in his basement. "Comfortable." He sighed.
…
"Archer has been summoned Matthew." Ruler suddenly commented, his Master mid swirl of a glass of a wine. "We just need to wait for the summons of the other six, and the War can officially begin." Matthew breathed, anxiety crawling up his spine. He had double checked every one of his contacts, ensuring that every detail involving repairmen, a citywide curfew, quadruple checking that appropriate personal had manned the CCTV cameras all across the city, ensuring nothing regarding magecraft would be recorded.
Yet, he still felt unprepared. What had he not done already, what had he missed? He gulped at his wine, eagerly swallowing it all down, before quickly filling it to the brim.
"Doesn't the Bible say not to do things in excess?"
"Given the circumstances, I believe I can be forgiven." Matthew muttered in response as he drank greedily from his glass.
"Hmph, it is a sad day when a priest becomes a drunk." Ruler snickered.
"I'm far from a drunk, and I'll bet the kings you served drank far more than this at just breakfast." Matthew replied, putting the cork back in the bottle.
"Oh certainly Matthew, you may as well be abstinent compared to the fools I served!" Ruler joked, laughing in an odd way. His laughter sounded hollow, fake. But, in the weeks he had him around, Matthew had quickly gotten used to the jester and his broken laughter.
Raising his almost empty glass up to eye level, he made an impromptu toast. "May this war end peacefully." He wished, before emptying his cup.
…
The morning after her summoning, Archer had done about everything besides being what he expected from a legendary hero. She was lazy, more interested in the comics one of his maid's sons had in his room, and after his senior maid had accidentally dropped a plate, she had screamed and ran into a closet, hiding inside for several minutes.
There was the thought to order the Servant to commit suicide, but her high rank of Independent Action and Magic Resistance made that an impossible option. He had hardly had a conversation with her besides the summoning, mostly due to her not being awake or not caring enough. But, something told him to be patient.
"So where's the war Master?" In the first time in the two days she had been summoned, she finally came to him on her own free will.
"In Germany, the Einzbern want this war close at hand." Casval responded as he checked and rechecked his belongings, ensuring all he needed would be taken in bulk, and each case had proper protections on them.
"Einzbern, Einzbern, hmmmmm." She tapped her lips. "Nope, not ringing any bells, who are they?"
"In short, they created the Grail War alongside two other families centuries ago when magecraft was heavily prosecuted by the Church, but due to all the Wars failing in creating an actual wish, they've decided that since they no longer need to fear prosecution, it is necessary recreate it in their homeland. I've heard rumors that one of the Masters is a homunculus from the Association, mostly to see if the war works properly."
Archer frowned. "So what, we're the test dummies so they can swoop in and get the Grail. Feels like we're being stiffed."
Casval smirked, very lightly as he rolled out his knife set, picking one up and pulling it close to his eyes, checking for any imperfections. "Of course, they assume that since of their power in the Clock Tower, we will just willingly give the Grail to them in fear of repercussion." He put down the knife he was inspecting, turning to his Servant.
"But tragically, I hate politics, and I have one of the greatest warriors of Troy."
"Ah, you do me too much justice Master. I'm just a coward with one hell of a shooting eye." She replied flippantly. Casval's face returned to his stone expression. "That shall suffice, after all I don't plan on risking my life when you can attack from range."
...
"Oh come on officer! I wasn't being that rowdy!" The young woman pouted, her blonde hair being whipped side to side as she shook her head in rebellion. "I know better now, just give me a warning and you can be on your way!" Erika begged.
"I should have stopped given you warnings three warnings ago Ms. Hearn. Given the amount of noise complaints so far, it's a miracle you haven't been fined yet for disturbing the peace." He commented as he reached for the pocket on the front of his shirt.
"Welp, time to use Ol' Reliable."
She raised her hand in front of his face, then let smoke out from her finger, quickly forming a kanji. "I'll get off with a warning, then you go on your way." She intoned, the cop's surprised expression quickly changing to a tired one.
"I'll, let you off with a warning…this time only!" He slurred, his eyes drooping and his hands going limp by his sides. "Have a, have a pleasant day ma'am." He drunkenly saluted, before dragging his feet away from the door of her house.
"And good riddance!" A loud, crackly voice yelled from deeper in the house, Erika whirling around. "Really Hi! He's a police officer!"
The red fox, stiches separating the bits of slightly different colored fur, at least looked ashamed. "Fuu apologizes on Hi's behalf. He's overprotective after-No I'm not! Shut up Fuu!" The spindly voice cut back in, the multiple personalitied fox arguing with itself.
"It's fine, but could you two tell everyone else they all have to work on calming down? You guys and your arguments are getting way too loud!"
"Not my fault Fuu here doesn't know how to have fun!" "Fuu know plenty, but his unfortunate companion is far too crazy for his tastes." "ARE YOU CALLING ME CRAZY?!" The fox yipped at itself, before rolling on the floor and attacking its tail. "How you like this bitch!" "Fuu doesn't mind as you enjoy it." "DAMNIT!"
"GUYS! This is exactly what I was talking about! Everyone else just hears a dog freaking out! Do you understand how hard it is to make a half decent Bounded Field that doesn't send giant alarms to any magus worth their salt so people can't hear you?"
"Master, is that a trick question? Because Fuu and Hi know all of your spells, as we are your familiar." The fox replied as it followed Erika deeper into her Western style home. "Of course Fuu knows."
In her amazingly dignified response, Erika stuck out her tongue at the familiar. "Then Hi should learn to quiet down!"
"Oh trust me Master! I've been sharing the same skin as this dolt since you created us, and do you understand how annoying he is! NO! YOU DON'T! BECAUSE YOU DON'T HEAR HIS THOU-"A very light firebolt smacked the fox in the face, not enough to harm but enough to send him back a step.
"I'll crank the heat up to eleven if you don't learn your lesson Hi!" She threatened as she walked into her kitchen, grabbing a box from her cupboard, filled with sweet, rice flavored goodness, bringing it to the small breakfast bar, grabbing a skewer of dango and eating all four in a single bite, polishing off the stick.
"You eat way too much wagashi Erika, Fuu recommends restraint in order to preserve your health." Fuu recommended as he trotted and laid down at her feet.
"Hey, I may die in a week, so I say indulge!" She proudly yelled, flinging her hands up to the ceiling. "Let's have some fun!"
"Now you're talking Master! Let's do something stupid and not regret it!" "Fuu is now worried."
…
Several days, hypnotisms, a long, boring plane ride, and an equally long bus ride that bored her half to death and nearly made Hi scream, they finally arrived in the city of Roterfluss.
It was very, rural to say the least. The town was probably a sum total of a decent sized market district, then two small housing districts. Of course, the river the town was named for was pretty, and there was a handful of people fishing and, were those people washing their clothes in it? "Weird, backwater people." She muttered under her breath as the bus continued past the market, only a handful of people loitering around, and started on a dirt road leading into a nearby forest.
For several minutes, silence and occasionally a twig breaking was the only sound, the nearly empty bus being jostled by little bumps in the road here and there. Overall, a smooth ride.
As the bus jostled one more time, the woods seemed to part aside in respect. Respect for the massive graveyard in a clearing in the middle of the forest. She looked out of the window as the bus began to slow, seeing only small markers stretch, a the treeline creating a massive circle around the graves. Some were new, only several years old, while others had degraded all the way down to just a small stone, marking a long rotted corpse.
And in the center of this graveyard, stood a small church.
…
In a dingy, black basement, a small group of men and women stood around a magic circle. The scent of iron filled the air, the blood soaked circle of impossible to describe runes and symbols glowing unnaturally in the darkness.
As the chant continued, the blood began to burn and boil, churning from its restraints. All of the group began to panic, as they felt control of the ritual being ripped from them. Their plan to summon a Servant with all of their collective power was failing, because something else was summoning the Servant.
With a final push of energy, the circle imploded with the force of a magical hand grenade, the ground shattering and flying out in all directions, lacerating flesh and bone in their paths.
But, the ritual had not failed. Something now manifested in the crater, this something slowly congealing into a small mass, its very purpose unknown to it. It investigated itself, tracing its origin as far back as it could. It was old, as old as humans, stretching back to their earliest memories. It was their opponent, by its very nature.
But, its vessel would not last long. It had to find something to sustain itself. The vessel needed something to keep it full, before it leaked out entirely. But before it was able to find it's sustainment, it had its purpose to fulfill.
Spread fear, to all humans who fall to the dark.