Chapter One: Fantasy Brought to Life
The green plain seemed to stretch out forever. A vast sea of green went on uninterrupted save for the occasional farm or other small structures. Klaudia walked slowly through the pasture, relishing the soft caress of the grass against her bare legs, the soft whistling of the wind as it blew through, and the sight of the fields practically shimmering in a great wave. She sighed in contentment, and made to lean back and let herself fall onto the slightly damp grass, uncaring of how it would soil her clothes or dirty her face. She closed her eyes…
And opened them again with a slightly melancholy sigh. Klaudia Van Hersten stood within her immense bedroom once more, clothed in a rich purple gown that would leave most other girls her age green with envy. The greenery she'd envisioned was no more than a distant expanse on the horizon, one she had only seen from the barred windows high above or rolling by from within a car. She still longed for the day she could stand amidst those fields, unburdened by duty or the shadow of a crown she would one day bear.
"Stop it you fool", Klaudia rebuked herself harshly, you mustn't be selfish! You've a responsibility to the kingdom and the people. And besides, you've never wanted for food, comfort or shelter in your entire life. There are thousands, if not millions, who'd kill to be in your shoes, so you have very little to complain about," Klaudia reminded herself, trying not to think about how impersonal her room had always felt. She looked down at a symbol of her latest mission. Namely, the crimson tripartite sigil that adorned the back of her right hand.
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Klaudia strode down the hall to the ritual chamber, richly decorated with some of their country's finest artwork, recalling the day those strange red marks in the shape of a knight's armored gauntlet (dubbed "Command Seals" by her magecraft instructor) had appeared so suddenly on her hand. She had been frightened out of her wits (mostly because a tattoo she couldn't even remember getting might've invoked Father's wrath), but she was swiftly informed this turn of events was actually a blessing. She had been chosen, by the will of the Holy Grail, to summon the spirits of heroes long past and do battle representing the nation. And indeed, if the vessel was half as powerful as the legends described by her instructor were to be believed, she certainly believed it could be used to bring prosperity to the masses.
"So what is this aching sensation within my chest?" She wondered with some trepidation. She pushed it aside for the moment. Now was the time to focus on her duty.
Klaudia stopped at the entrance of the ritual chamber, taking in what all had been done in preparation for the war to come. The chamber primarily served as the center of the Van Hersten family's arcane studies, but much of the magical research materials had been shoved away to the corners of the room to make space for an impressive magecraft circle. This was where Klaudia was to perform her summons, calling forth a figure from mankind's greatest legends to carve her way to victory. The fact that the magecraft circle had been drawn in blood had left the poor teenager fairly queasy, but she had been assured multiple times that the animals used had not suffered a moment's pain when it was done.
At the far end of the chamber stood Professor Argent, her primary magecraft teacher, as well as her father, Duke Ludwin Van Hersten. Professor Argent was a tall but rakish man with hair that turned silver with age, but his eyes almost seemed to shine electric blue. Klaudia's father stood six feet tall with black-gray hair and stormy gray eyes. He turned to her, and smiled, but there was little warmth in it. This wasn't a "Good job, I'm proud of you, Klaudia!" smile, this was a "Ah, here comes my precious little heir to do her duty" smile.
"Ahh, good of you to join us, Klaudia. We've just finished setting up."
"I am focused and ready to begin my mission," Klaudia replied with a bow, "but where is Mother? Will she be joining us?"
Duke Ludwin scowled, though it wasn't aimed at her. "The Duchess has taken ill this evening, and won't be joining us. She should recover within a few days."
"I see…" Klaudia did her best not to sound disappointed. Her mother Laura was the only person Klaudia felt comfortable just being Klaudia with. Not "Lady Klaudia, daughter of the Duke," and sole heir to a family that went back three hundred years. Just another sixteen year old girl. Another distraction. Klaudia shook her head discreetly and strode forward until she stood right at the edge of the magecraft circle.
"The circle is ready and waiting for your incantation," Professor Argent declared, "as is the intended catalyst. I assume you've memorized the verses?"
"Of course Professor," she replied. The chant and ritual necessary to summon a Servant were unexpectedly straightforward. A standard circle to act as a gateway, an incantation recited by the Master to call them forth…and an ornately decorated scabbard placed amidst the circle, acting as catalyst to call forth the desired Heroic Spirit.
"Very good. A shame it was confirmed not to be the fabled relic Avalon," Duke Ludwin muttered in disappointment, "but the knight summoned is certain to have been a hero of great renown."
"Yes Father," Klaudia replied.
"You may begin whenever you are ready," Professor Argent instructed. Klaudia took a deep breath, releasing it out through her nostrils, and began reciting the 200 year old incantation.
"Fill, fill, fill, fill and fill. Repeat five times, and when each is filled, destroy it.
A base of silver and iron. A foundation of stone and the Archduke of Contracts. My Ancestor, my great Founder Schweinorg.
A wall against the alighting winds, close the gates of four directions. From the crown, come and follow the winding road leading unto the Kingdom."
A great swell of crimson light rose from the circle, bathing all those present in the fiery light. Klaudia's magic circuits began to prickle and burn, and the Command Seals on her hand throbbed, letting her know the ritual had begun in earnest.
"Heed my words! My will creates thy body, and my fate shall be with thy sword. Abiding by the summons of the Holy Grail, if thou dost accede to this will and reason, then answer me!
I hereby swear, that I shall be all that is good in the world, and I shall defeat all that is evil in the world!
Seventh Heaven, clad in the great trinity of language! Come forth from the binding circle, thou Guardian of the Scales!"
The red light turned a brilliant white, leaving everyone present to squeeze their eyes shut. As the intense glare faded away, Klaudia looked again at the circle before her, and could not help but gasp.
There knelt a knight, as if he had leapt straight from the pages of her favorite stories. He was clad in brilliant silver armor, with a blue-green undergarment beneath, bearing soft features that likely belied his incredible strength. His right arm was not of flesh at all, but seemed constructed from bronze. His platinum blond hair was held in a decent sized tail. He knelt directly before her with his eyes shut, and inquired the following words:
"I ask of you, are you my Master?"
His voice, soft and almost melodic, took Klaudia's breath away, and before she could reply, another voice was heard.
"U-um, excuse me?"
A loud crack was heard, as if something big had just been smashed. It took her roughly five seconds to realize it had been the stone that made up the chamber's floor crackling like old pottery, and two more seconds to notice the knight had leapt forward to place himself in front of her. His normal arm was held in front of her face in a protective gesture, while his metal arm was held just away from the sword that had materialized by his waist. His gaze, contained within green eyes was focused like a laser at the figure still cloaked in the fading smoke before them. He had not drawn the sword, but stood ready to unsheathe it inside of a second.
"May I ask what business you have here, my fellow Servant?" The knight inquired. His tone wasn't hostile, but strictly businesslike, professional.
The other speaker stepped forward, allowing Klaudia to take in her visage as well. She was gowned in a brilliant blue-white dress that seemed to shimmer in the light as if truly fashioned out of the ice it so closely resembled, accompanied by a long, flowing cape adorned with snowflakes. The woman had a beautiful, light face with blue eyes and platinum blonde hair ("Huh, small world," thought Klaudia absently) bound in a braided tail along her back.
"I could ask the same thing of you," she replied calmly. "I was summoned here to act as a Servant, and fight in the Holy Grail War."
"How interesting. So was I," the knight in silver replied, "yet you say you were summoned directly here?"
"You don't think…" the queenly woman began, but before she could continue…some force seemed to reverberate through the air, like a gong sounding in the back of her and the knight's minds. At the same time, Klaudia could not help but cry out, feeling a sense of pain erupting from…her hand?
"Wait," she thought even as tears stung the corners of her eyes, "I've felt this pain before…" She could hardly fathom it, but she turned to her left hand.
"Lady Klaudia, are you alright?" Professor Argent inquired in concern. The Duke had not come out from behind the pillar he'd taken shelter at since the flash of light. In answer to the Professor's inquiry and the concerned looks of the two Servants, Klaudia brought herself shakily to her feet, and slowly brought up both of her hands. The right still bore the gauntlet like sigil it had before, but the left now bore the symbol of a delicate snowflake.
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"Impossible…" the Professor muttered hoarsely.
"No," the knight refuted. "I have just received a message from the Holy Grail, and I assume you have received the same?" He directed the question to the other Servant, who nodded in agreement.
"Seven Masters shall summon seven Servants native to this world," the regally dressed woman declared "and in turn the Masters shall summon seven other Servants, each of whom hails from a different world. I am one of the latter, and I presume you are among the former?" She inquired of the knight.
"Indeed I am" he confirmed. "I am Saber, and I swear that my sword shall be yours." He knelt once more directly before Klaudia.
"And in this highly unusual Grail War," the woman, who to be honest did not look significantly older than Klaudia herself, declared "I am Caster X." She also knelt before her new Master. "My spells are at your command."
The young woman in question felt as though her head was spinning like a top. The summoning ritual had proceeded just as she had hoped, with the impossible boon of a second Servant to protect her, but from the sound of it they would be facing not six but TWELVE other Servants. She turned, as if begging for aid, but the Profession was too busy marveling at what had transpired and the Duke seemed halfway between shocked and accusatory, darting glares in her direction as if to say: "How dare you go and muddle everything up?"
She might have collapsed into a puddle of shame and uncertainty, we're it not for a steady hand laid atop her shoulder. She turned and saw Saber standing beside her, exuding an aura of reassurance and steadfast loyalty.
"Now then Master," he inquired calmly "how shall we begin?"
Grateful for his help, Klaudia Van Hersten stood tall and resolved herself. "Prepare for our departure," she declared with more strength than she'd felt in a long time. "We have much to do to ready ourselves for the Holy Grail War."