Earth rais'd up her head,
From the darkness dread & drear.
Her light fled:
Stony dread!
And her locks cover'd with grey despair.
Prison'd on watry shore
Starry Jealousy does keep my den
Cold and hoar
Weeping o'er
I hear the Father of the ancient men
Selfish father of men
Cruel, jealous, selfish fear
Can delight
Chain'd in night
The virgins of youth and morning bear.
Does spring hide its joy
When buds and blossoms grow?
Does the sower?
Sow by night?
Or the plowman in darkness plow?
Break this heavy chain,
That does freeze my bones around
Selfish! vain!
Eternal bane!
That free Love with bondage bound.
The only sound in the plane was that of turning pages. The aisles were empty and only one seat was filled. It made sense if you thought about it. After all, this was a private jet which belonged to the esteemed Silversmith family. No others were allowed to board it.
The man who occupied the only taken seat was eye catching at a glance, with his sharp sapphire eyes focused on his book and his short silver hair, broken up with short streaks of black on the side. He looked like he was a business man on his way to a meeting, wearing a white business suit with a navy blue shirt, black tie and brown business shoes. A black donkey jacket was laid on the seat next to him, but his attention was solely on the book within his hands.
It was a book he carried with him everywhere he went, without fail, and was his sole entertainment on this long, seemingly endless flight. Not that he minded, it was, after all, his favorite book of poetry.
Footsteps interrupted the peaceful silence that had fallen over the plane and the young man looked up as a flight attendant stopped beside his seat.
"Mr. Silversmith, we'll be landing soon," she stated. Her eyes darted curiously down to his book, but she didn't ask about it. She must be one of the newer employees then, though she was smart enough to know not to ask him so personal a question.
"Understood." He nodded, his voice steady and tempered. He didn't say much else, instead returning his book to his carry on and turning away from the flight attendant to instead look out the window.
The sun was setting over Tokyo, Japan, turning the city skyline into a work of art in its own right. It was a sight that most people would find beautiful, but he found himself yearning for the sun to set completely so the city would light up in all its splendor. He supposed he could sacrifice the beautiful night sky of the country for this, at least for a time.
His plane touched down at the airport shortly thereafter and it only took a short amount of time for him to disembark. Of course, there was a car service awaiting him, which would no doubt take him to the accommodations that had been set up for him. And just like in every other airport in the world, his name was emblazoned on the sign the driver held, the only English name in a sea of Japanese ones.
Edward Silversmith.
With the assurance that his family would not arrange for a driver who couldn't speak English, Edward approached the man.
"Mr. Silversmith?" the driver questioned.
"In the flesh," Edward smirked, tilting his head just slightly enough that he looked cocky to an outsider. The driver bowed respectfully and began to lead Edward to the car, taking his luggage off his hands easily.
Before long, Edward was staring out the window, observing the streets of Tokyo for the first time in his life. He had been surprised when news of the Sixth Holy Grail War had reached his family only to learn that it was not being held in London. Perhaps it made sense, given the fact that the Clock Tower wanted to avoid such damage to London, but who was he to decide that?
He was just a quiet observer for now, staring up at the sky of what would be his new home for the foreseeable future.
The real work started tomorrow. And Edward was going to meet the expectations set out before him.
He was going to win this war, the rest came afterwards.
The first thing she had to do was draw the ring of purification. Nothing else could happen if she didn't start there.
Just like her mother's, hers was a blood red, stark against the dark brown wood of the floorboards.
The apartment was deceptively normal from the outside. It was only once one stepped inside that they realized just how magical the place was. An apartment that was meant only to house maybe two people had been extended to house five siblings together.
Within this apartment stood a young woman, humming along to a jazz song happily to herself as she braided her platinum blonde into two braided pigtails. She had cherubic features, looking younger than she probably was, with bluish gray eyes which stared at nothing as the radio continued to play. She wore black shorts and a bright pink hoodie which was a few sizes too big for her rather short frame. Her hoodie fell off her shoulder just a little, revealing a white undershirt she wore underneath. She also had white socks on, having taken her shoes off once she entered the room.
She had an innocent air about her, standing in the kitchen and braiding one of her pigtails happily. She looked like an ordinary high schooler or perhaps a college student who'd just finished an exam.
"Magne."
At the sound of her voice, the girl turned around, meeting the bright green gaze of her older brother, who stared at her from under shaggy brown hair.
"Olivier! I didn't know you came out," Magne smiled brightly. She dropped her arms, leaving her hair to fall in two high twin tails to the middle of her back. She walked over to her brother and tilted her head to the side innocently. "Didya wanna go shopping with me? We should still have time before Brady, Rina and Asta need to eat. Ooooh, maybe we could go get presents for them! They've definitely earned it, especially-"
"Magne," Olivier cut her off. Instantly, Magne's mouth clipped shut. "It's almost time."
Magne breathed out, feeling her lungs deflate with the motion. For just a moment, the projection magecraft maintaining the two extra rooms of the apartment wavered before it stabilized again. The jazz music was curling through the air, dancing through Magne's ears and she wanted nothing more than to fall back into it, to trust that she would be caught.
But she couldn't do that. She made herself a promise when rumors of the Holy Grail War returning reached her ears. And she would hold herself to that promise.
"Okay," she stated simply. It was a simple thing, really. She had no other choice.
Olivier simply blinked at her, so Magne smiled brightly at him.
"I'm actually looking forward to seeing which Servant I get," she declared, placing her hands on her hips. "Perhaps I'll summon a paladin just like that! And tomorrow, I'll take them out to get Mapo tofu! Ooh, maybe we can go to Ginza too, there's a lot of good food there! Asta, Brady and Rina can come too, of course! Would you like to join us? Or will you be too holed up in your research again?"
Magne returned to the kitchen and shut off the radio, talking about her plans for tomorrow the whole way. Olivier didn't say anything in response, just followed after her as Magne's list evolved into a list of tourist spots that she wanted to take whatever Servant she summoned to tomorrow. He hummed in acknowledgement as they entered one of the two projected bedrooms, the one Olivier had chosen for himself.
Magne kept up a steady stream of conversation as she settled in beside Olivier while he sat down at his desk, opening a book who's title she couldn't see. But that was okay. As Olivier took notes and passed them over to Magne, she simply enjoyed this time spent with her brother.
After all, family was everything and starting tomorrow, she'd have a target painted on her back. So no matter what, Magne would not put her siblings in danger and she'd never forget just what she was fighting for.
If she was going to war, then she was fighting just for them, these four people she loved so much.
Next was the four purging circles. This was rather simple compared to other magic circles, but she moved slowly, carefully, making sure every line was absolutely perfect.
She could not, would not, mess this up.
The hotel suite was far too much for one person, but at least it wasn't quiet. The light gold gronlandshund was at her master's side, happily pressing into his side as he pet her. Her barks filled the otherwise quiet suites and her master was grateful for her.
Her master in question was a man with wild short blonde hair and puppy blue eyes. Despite the late hour, he was dressed quite fancily, wearing a fitted dark red pinstripe shirt under a black vest, a black tie, black pants and black combat boots. A black trench coat hung in the closet and black gloves rested beside the man. A silver watch glittered on his wrist.
"You're a good girl, Halle, aren't you?" the man smiled fondly as he continued petting the dog. Halle was all too happy to bark at him in return.
She was an anchor in the middle of a storm for him. In a world where nothing made sense anymore, she made complete sense. But he couldn't keep sitting on the floor like this, it definitely wasn't good for his battered body, so he forced himself to stand up. He walked over to the table in the room, picking up the beer bottle sitting on it and taking a long drink.
There was a note sitting on the table next to the beer, packed away in an envelope which had his name emblazoned on it.
Matthias Estridsen. Not that many people cared about him. He was just the local class clown of an heir, barely given a glance by the Mage's Association. He didn't really care what they thought, he'd just keep smiling and living his life as he wanted.
Which was how he had ended up in this situation.
Matthias sighed as he sat down at the table, taking another drink of his beer. It must be starting soon, surely? He could just barely sense the tingle of magic from the city, faint enough that if he wasn't looking for it, he wouldn't have ever noticed it.
Halle trotted over to his side, nudging his thigh with her cold nose. Matthias looked down at her and obligingly began to pet her once more.
"I know, girl, I know," he whispered as he scratched behind the dog's ear. "It'll be okay though, you'll see. Everyone will be back soon and they'll be so happy to see how you waited for them. Isn't that right, Halle?"
Halle barked, licking his wrist.
"Yeah, that's my girl," Matthias smiled. He leaned down to kiss the top of her head. He'd have to head to the seaside soon if he was serious about participating in this war.
And he was serious. Matthias had never been more serious about anything in his life. There was only one path forward for him now and he'd follow it to the end of the earth.
He still had some time before he had to head out though, so he grinned down at Halle.
"Hey…you wanna play some games, girl? Huh? Let's see what games I brought with me!" Matthias grinned. He jumped to his feet and made his way to his suitcase, digging through it until he found his gaming system. "Victory!"
Halle wagged her tail and panted happily in agreement. Matthias grinned down at her, petting her as he made his way back to the floor. Halle plopped down on the ground beside him as he booted up the system.
"Just a few hours, eh…? Think that's enough time to get through a couple battles, girl?" he grinned.
Halle barked in agreement. Matthias grinned widely and turned his attention back to his game, getting lost in the world of harmless battles and carving out just a small piece of harmony for himself.
And finally, she drew the summoning ward. It was the most important part of the magic circle, the central part of the magic itself.
She moved slowly, intent on getting this perfect. She only had one shot, after all.
Shinjuku was the brightest night life in all of Tokyo and was definitely a good place to disappear if you were more likely to stand out in other parts of the city.
Nobody paid any mind to the woman as she walked through the streets, despite her shoulder length white hair and black bangs, which hid her left eye, hiding the navy blue color. She wore a black dress shirt with a popped up collar, which was decorated with two pairs of red eyes and black sclera, and rolled up sleeves, with a silver zipper found on the left side which resembled a pea coat and two dark red belts with silver buckles under her chest area. She also wore dark red split hem pants with two long red straps that acted as a belt, the end of which fell to her knees. Finally, she completed the look with black combat boots decorated with chain straps on the front and black fingerless combat gloves. She also had a single triple layered ruby dangle earring on her right ear.
The woman walked with a sense of confidence, telling everyone who saw her that she knew exactly where she was going and her aura practically screamed to stay away.
She stalked into an alley which was untouched by the light. Once she reached the end, she leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. Waiting.
"Beretta."
"About time you showed up, Edgar." Beretta rolled her eyes, meeting her second-in-command's gaze. "Our time is short, report."
"The Grail is activating, just as we were told. You should be selected quite easily, considering everything," Edgar reported, flipping efficiently through a stack of documents. "The rest of the Silver Hunters have been told to be on standby, should you require assistance with this mission."
"Doubtful. Besides, that's not how this works," Beretta scoffed, crossing her arms again. "Don't slack off on the job just cause I'm on a long term one."
"Of course," Edgar agreed easily, no trace of emotion in his voice. Beretta knew he was smiling, however. He always did when she scolded them for caring about her. "That is all the report I have for now, but I will keep you updated throughout the war."
"Good. Anything else?" Beretta questioned, shifting on her weight slightly.
"Yes. Kairi wishes you well," Edgar stated. He didn't meet her gaze as he spoke.
"Right," Beretta sighed. She took out a cigarette and slipped it between her lips, letting just a bit of fire spark to her fingertip to light it. "That all?" At Edgar's nod, she continued, "Right then. Time to get this job started."
Without another word, she turned and marched into the bright lights of Shinjuku. She may not care about what came next, but a job was a job.
And the Silver Gunslinger never failed a job.
There, it was done. She glanced at the clock, tracking the individual hands.
It was time.
The small, simple hotel room suited the man inhabiting it very well. He sipped his tea from his teacup, observing the city below. His short wavy hair was dirty blonde in color, combed to the left side and with sideburns, and his light blue eyes tracked the lights below. He wore a white button down shirt under a dark blue vest, dark blue dress pants and black dress shoes.
His cell phone sat on the table beside him. He'd just hung up a short time ago, talking to both his wife and his five year old sons back in London. Managing time zones was a tricky business, so he'd have to take care to remember he was nine hours ahead of London.
He closed his eyes, breathing in the Earl Grey tea before he set the cup down on the table. His mind shifted gears as he placed his thoughts of his family back home aside.
When he opened his eyes, Aaron Solonea Nikas was a magus with a goal in mind.
He pulled out his map of Tokyo, which had the ley lines outlined. He was determined to memorize the locations so he could plot out where his enemies were likely to be located. If he wanted to avoid being an easy target, he would have to avoid certain locations once he summoned a Servant.
Claudia hadn't understood why he wanted to take such a risk, coming here. Aaron didn't blame her. To most, willingly going to a war involving magic and Heroic Spirits seemed insane when they had the choice to avoid it.
But Aaron had a legacy to protect and a point to make, to his family and to himself. And if he could protect his sons from such a fate, then he would gladly do so.
As he thought this, Aaron reached into his pocket and pulled out Svalinn. It was a mystical code he'd brought with him specifically. It could easily divert projectile magic away from him thanks to the carvings and enchantments placed on it, barring specific situations.
Aaron traced his thumb against the carvings. He couldn't say if he was praying or trying to reach Claudia telepathically, even if it wasn't possible. All he knew was that he was staring down at Svalinn, the amulet glowing gold under the dim light.
"I'll come back to you," Aaron whispered, his words directed to Claudia even if she couldn't hear them. "I shall do all I can to make that possible."
It was as good of a promise as he could make, a vow he engraved into his very being. Though in a place such as this, perhaps it didn't matter.
War, after all, is unpredictable, even for those who go in knowing what to expect.
"Начинать.
Для элементов серебра и железа,
Камень основания и эрцгерцог договоров,
И моему Великому Мастеру Швайноргу.
Закройте четыре врата.
Выходите из Короны и следуйте по развилке, ведущей в Королевство.
Наполнять,
Наполнять,
Наполнять,
Наполнять,
Наполнять.
Повторите пять раз, но когда каждый будет заполнен, уничтожьте его.
Набор.
Прислушайтесь к моим словам: моя воля создает ваше тело, а ваш меч создает мою судьбу.
Если ты прислушаешься к Зову Грааля и подчинишься моей воле и разуму, тогда ответь мне.
Настоящим я клянусь, что буду всем хорошим в мире.
Что я победю всё Зло в мире.
Седьмое Небо облачено в Великие Слова Силы.
Из клятвы Связующего Круга Хранителя Весов."
The dingy little home was not the kind a rich family would be found in. It was gray and settled in a part of Shinjuku that few families would want to live in, if they had a choice.
Clearly, the family who lived here was not that well off.
Sitting on the quite possibly rotting porch was a high school aged girl. She was thin and pale, with white hair that was pulled into twin tails that fell to her midback. Her eyes were wide and innocent behind the glasses which sat on her nose, standing out due to the left being blue and the right a hazelnut brown. She wore a yellow sundress with white lilies dotting it, her bare feet kicking just above the ground.
She stared at the sky as if it were the first time she had ever seen it, eyes wide and bright.
Perhaps she was seeing it for the first time, being new to the poverty she now lived in considering the nice state of her dress.
"Hanako," a woman called out.
The girl, Hanako, took a moment to turn around, as if she hadn't heard her name being called. The woman, her mother based off their physical similarities, had her hands on her hips.
"It's late. You need to come inside and prepare," the woman scolded.
"Yes, ma'am," Hanako agreed, nodding slightly. Her voice was blank and emotionless, perhaps because she was tired.
Without another word, she stood up and made her way inside, following her mother.
The door closed behind the two, cutting them off from the rest of the world.
The light from the magic circle blinded her, forcing her to close her eyes. She could feel her magic leaving her body faster than it ever had before.
It was a lot. It was so much more than she had ever expected it to be.
But it meant she was successful and that was what mattered.
She'd done it then. She'd become a Master for the Sixth Holy Grail War.
Hi y'all! I'm back sooner than expected. Partly this is because I didn't plan for this chapter until ZenoZen suggested it, so thank you for the idea! Also thanks to CandleFire45 and NSPunny for beta reading for me, as well as all the creators for their amazing characters! I hope I did the Masters justice in these little intros, just to give you all a bit more insight into them.
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: here are the Master/Servant pairings I (and Candle, thanks again bestie!) have decided on!
Tohsaka Anya/Berserker
Edward Silversmith/Archer
Charlemagne 'Magne' Carolingian XXVIII/Rider
Matthias Estridsen/Assassin
Beretta/Caster
Aaron Solonea Nikas/Lancer
Yamada Hanako/Saber
I hope you guys are excited for these little pair ups, feel free to let me know your thoughts (especially the Servant creators, since you're the only ones who know who your characters are). I'm not sure when I'll be back, but I hope you all enjoyed regardless.
Bye for now!