Fate/infinity compendium [IC / / Accepting ]

Lunar Origins · September 15, 2015

Fate/infinity compendium

Our heroes gather on this fateful night to summon their servants; all seven are located in the upscale Crystalwater city. Two of these masters, Alexandra Blackmore and Bailey Braunbeck, are conducting their own summoning rituals around midnight. Currently, our heroine Bailey is performing quite the lackluster job...

FEBRUARY 11TH - 11:27 P.M.

SOMEWHERE IN CRYSTALWATER CITY . . .

>

The blue haired girl hated the older woman she stayed with; while she was kind to take her in before the Holy Grail War started, the weeks surrounding the beginning of the event were absolutely dreadful. 'Do this, do that'. The woman had ordered Bailey around like a slave!

Alexandra was surprised to even find that Bailey had acquired her own command seals; Bailey thought nothing of it, simply thinking that it was a privilege that she deserved. Of course, that was her attitude towards most things.

"Honestly, the nerve of her," said Bailey as she prepared a circle from her own blood on the floor in the musty basement that was provided to her. The directions were clearly laid out to Bailey earlier that day; conduct a summoning ritual using the given object - which, in this case happened to be a seal with a chrysanthemum on it - and then report back to Alexandra. The catalyst was ornate and quite beautiful, but heavily worn with time; Bailey actively wondered where Alexandra had acquired such an object and how, but didn't question it. The Blackmoores had their own way of acquiring things, and Bailey dared not question that.

Why did she get this thing, anyways? It was far more beautiful looking than that dinky old hoe that Alexandra was so excited over. Didn't this ornateness translate to a more powerful servant? Nicer things summon other nicer things, she assumed.

She finally finished her circle - it was, by all means, quite sloppy - and placed the seal inside of it. Now what was that incantation again?

Ah, she remembered. Placing her hands out in front of her and focusing her magical circuits to the strongest that she could ever hope to make them, Bailey chanted with a shaky confidence:

"Let silver and steel be the essence.

Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.

Let myself be the master that I pray tribute to, for I have no great past of my own.

Let a wall rise against the falling wind.

Let the four cardinal gates close.

Let the three-pronged path unto the kingdom's crown rotate.

Let the Grail be filled; again, again, again, again, again.

Let it be filled fivefold for every turn, simply breaking asunder with every filling.

To you, my servant, I tell;

My body is your vessel, my bone are your arrows.

If you heed the calling of the Grail, then you shall answer me.

My oath is to find greatness, wherever it may be.

Heed my call, o' beautiful..."

With the last line of the chant, she nervously trailed off, unable to remember the line. A feeling of panic had washed over her. "funk, funk, funk!" she thought. But, apparently what she had said was enough; the room was filled with a blinding green light that drove Bailey back towards the wall. She covered her eyes for the duration of the summoning, only uncovering them when it had completely finished. She was still very nervous.

"W-wow," said Bailey, staring at the young woman that was standing before her after the smoke had cleared. She couldn't believe her eyes. She'd actually summoned something!

"Alexandra!! Alexandra!! I did it!"

Asriel Dreemurr · September 15, 2015

Alexandra was fuming. Not externally mind you, on the outside she had that same expression of flat calm that she always did, and which Bailey seemed to find infuriating. It was something that she had learned to maintain, as the... now former heir to the leadership of the Blackmoore family. You always had to be very careful to conceal your true thoughts and feelings, such was the intricacy of the politics in the Mage's Association. So she kept her expression impossibly calm, her hair in its proper place, and a malefic little smile on her face as she had instructed the younger, and considerably less talented, mage in the way of preparing for the war to come.

Inside, however, was a different story. She had at first been cooly accepting of Bailey, a weaker master to see to the end of things so that her own victory would be assured. Things had changed as they had associated with one another. She was an arrogant, entitled child who thought that she simply deserved to be given anything she wanted! She even took the command seals upon her hand as a matter of course rather than the result of hard work! While Alexandra toiled away with all her wits and powers, Bailey was lazing about. She had to frequently remind her of what she needed to do, and it was eating away at the Necromancer's patience.

"Your tea, mistress." The words brought Alexandra out of her lapse in concentration, and she stood up properly to take the cup offered to her by the crimson-haired maid that had brought it for her.

"Thank you, Mary. You are dismissed." The Demon Host bowed to her, and Alexandra smiled as she left. Mary, along with Giles, was one of the two most powerful weapons in her arsenal. She suspected they might be able to challenge servants, at least long enough to buy time for her own to finish them off. Speaking of servants, she had something to do. Slipping into her ritual robes, she came to stand before the summoning circle she had created. It was a special concoction of hers, primarily composed of human blood and mercury, that she had used to form the pattern. The highly magically reactive substance meant that less of her mana would be required for the summoning to take effect, and of course the patterns were impeccably precise. She would have allowed for nothing else. In the very center of the circle was the artifact she had chosen, a worn and beaten blade of a stone hoe dated to approximately 14,000 years ago. It had been a difficult thing to acquire, but the museum she had claimed it from ultimately proved to be appreciative of the compensation she gave them. "Well, let's get started then." She smiled, stepping carefully over to stand before the circle to begin chanting. The pattern upon the floor in her own, much better maintained, workshop came aglow with a deep shade of red as she began.

"Let silver and steel be the essence.

Let stone and the archduke be the foundation.

Let my father's father and my mother's father be the masters I pay tribute to,

for they are the ones who acknowledged me.

Let rise a wall against the falling wind.

Let the four cardinal gates close.

Let the three-pronged path unto the kingdom's crown rotate.

Let the grail be filled, again, again, again, again, again.

Let it be filled sixfold, simply breaking asunder with every filling.

To you, my servant, I tell:

My body is your vessel, my bone is your knife.

If you heed the call of the grail, then you shall answer me.

My oath is to the station I am due, as head of my house.

Heed my call, o' baneful taker of lives!"

As the chant finished, Alexandra could not help but smirk. She had sabotaged Bailey from the start, teaching her an imperfect form of the chant. Of course each chant had alterations depending upon the servant being summoned, and upon those the prospective master respected, but proclaiming an intention to fill the grail five times instead of six was a move she intended to make certain that the girl trusted her, and that her servant had no reason to suspect. How fitting it was that her own knife in the dark made his appearance in the midst of that baleful light. She did not shrink from it, and as her eyes readjusted to the gloom of her workshop she beheld the one before her. A man of tanned skin, garbed in ancient clothing that it seemed was changing even as she looked upon him.

"Well, I must admit you are not what I expected, Assassin." Of course before she could receive an answer, an unfortunately familiar voice called out to her.

"Alexandra!! Alexandra!! I did it!" Well, at least she wasn't completely worthless...

Maeriberii Haan · September 16, 2015

"Why would the Hultgrens take a trash like you as an associate. Perhaps they are not that much of a great family after all, huh."

A remote cave in the outskirts of Crystalwater. A young woman held a bloodied knife on her right hand, and stared dismissively at the body of a man before her, his head having been separated from his body. Not far from the man's body, a piece of paper seemingly ripped from an antiquated book that the man would have used in a summoning ritual. Shaking her head, the young woman then dragged the man's body out of the summoning area, and hid it behind some bushes. She probably had to dispose it more properly later, but the woman had something more pressing to do right now.

Mainly, completing the summoning ritual on her own.

Tianzi had stalked the man for the last two weeks, all for the sake of being able to actually join in this so-called Holy Grail War. The man was allegedly a famous magus, but he's dead now so for all intents and purposes he could be a nameless random bystander and no one would care. Then again, he was too careless for a supposedly good magus that had been preparing for the ritual for years. Lacking any boundary fields to protect himself during the ritual for one, that was what ended up being his undoing here. But once again, dead people are irrelevant to the plot.

Tianzi turned around her left hand to see the inscription she grafted there earlier. While she had been trying her best to memorize the summoning chant that she managed to get from one of her very few associates, she still wrote the chant there just to be safe. She assumed that the servant that the man would have summoned was one of the Caster-class, and thus, it had the biggest chance of summoning the kind of servant she actually wanted. She wiped the blood that tarnished the summoning circle, and after fixing any damages done to it, she took several steps backward and started chanting.

"Let silver and steel be the essence.

Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.

Let myself be the master I pay tribute to

Let rise a wall against the wind that falls

Let the four cardinal gates close.

Let the three-pronged path of the crown towards the kingdom circulate.

Let the grail be filled, again, again, again, again.

Let it be filled fivefold, simply breaking asunder with every filling.

To you, my servant, I tell:

My body is your vessel, my bone is your reserves.

If you heed the call of the grail, then you shall answer me.

My oath is to attain the virtues of Heaven - to reign over the evils of Hell.

So heed my call, o' the bearer of magic!"

As the last words of the chant was uttered, the workshop-cave was bathed in light coming from the summoning circle, and what followed was the materialization of...a knight in pitch-black armor. Tianzi looked at the knight in disbelief. How did she summon anything other than a Caster? Did she botch the summoning chant? In the midst of the confusion, the woman decided to recompose herself to not make a bad first impression towards her servant, and then she proceeded to point her right arm towards the knight - a magic circle was forming in front of it.

But then, nothing happened. Of course, what she summoned would not be able to be controlled using her magecraft. Though, with her already summoning the knight, there was nothing left for her to do aside from joining the war itself proper. She had no actual stakes in it, but to let the opportunity pass by forfeiting would be a complete shame. And she had summoned her own servant anyway. And thus, Tianzi withdrew her right arm back, and looked expectantly at the black knight in front of her, waiting for it to respond to her so she could actually know why she summoned a knight instead of a Caster.

"Alexandra!! Alexandra!! I did it!"

What was it?

The white-haired girl opened her eyes. What she saw before her was a magical workshop of some sort, and before her, a blue-haired girl was looking really happy for an unexplained reasoning. Where was she exactly, and what was she doing there? The white-haired girl at first was confused, before recalling a proper reasoning for how she ended up there.

Thinking about that, the white-haired girl showed a sign of contempt on her face.

Looking at the blue-haired girl once more, Archer decided to just cast off her own feelings about it for now. As the completion of the ritual was necessary, then she, as the one being summoned, should finish her contract with her summoner. If this was really a summoning ritual, then it would explain why she was feeling odd as soon as she materialized into the place. The magus that summoned her didn't seem to be that experienced. The white-haired girl barely was even able to remember anything when she was summoned, and the flow of mana within her felt erratic. For one reason or another, Archer then surmised that her own summoning ritual was botched and imperfect, for one reason or another.

But even then, for the sake of the maintenance of her current physical form, she had to finish the summoning ritual and form a contract with the blue-haired girl.

"Let me ask you, young one. Are you my master?"

a bad post · September 16, 2015

February 11th - 11:35 PM

| Hultgren Estate, Crystalwater City |

In the still of the night only two still stirred in the dark Hultgren mansion. These two, what appeared to be two young women, sat quietly sipping warm tea. The shorter of the two, a white haired youth dressed in pink nightgown and robe, was the young Master of Hultgren household, Morgan L. Hultgren and was actually male in contrast to his pretty appearance, and feminine clothing. The other, his Servant, a towering, heavily muscled woman was in quite a contrast to the short, fragile Master who she served.

"Ahh~! Do you feel it Saber?" The white haired boy set his tea down on the white porcelain saucer before him. "All this energy in the air. It appears the Grail War will be starting soon. I wonder what types of Servants the others will summon? ...Ah, well we'll crush them all anyways right, Saber~?" The young Master did not require a response, he already knew the answer, so instead the young man rose from his seat walking barefoot towards the record player in the corner of the room. Fitting the needle into place on the record the Hultgren boy smiled as the haunting tune drifted into the night.

BGM: Closed Eyes ~ Critical Horrors

Morgan slowly backed away from the record player moving in what vaguely appeared to be dancing motions. He swayed back and forth allowing the unsettling notes to fill his body.

"Hmm... won't you come dance with me Saber? It's so terrible sad and lonely to dance alone~" The tiny Master said, half joking since he knew Saber was not one for frivolous activities. Whether or not the Servant took him up on his offer Morgan continued to dance with his invisible partner. "You know, by the end of tonight all of the seven should have summoned their Servants," Morgan's smile spread further at this, "That means the battle for the Holy Grail will soon begin, Saber... on I already said that didn't I? I suppose I'm just so excited~."

Breaking from his whimsical dance Morgan skipped rather childishly to the railing of the balcony, looking at Saber over his shoulder, the Hultgren Master's face again returned to seriousness. "We can't just dive in blind this, though. You are powerful Saber, however we must formulate a strategy in which to combat the other Masters and Servants. I have a few ideas of my own, but as someone who has waged actual war, I do believe your input would be most valuable here."

Lunar Origins · September 16, 2015

FEBRUARY 12TH - 12:00 A.M.

SOMEWHERE IN CRYSTALWATER CITY . . .

>

Bailey looked back towards her servant; whoa! She was so small! Well, at least smaller than Bailey was. And that hair, too! It was silver - something incredibly hard to pull off, which she most definitely did. The most interesting feature, however, was her eyes; with every few seconds they seemed to fluctuate from red, to green, to blue, and back to red in a seemingly endlessly entrancing cycle. It was a beautiful, mesmerizing display.

The girl spoke up; "Let me ask you, young one. Are you my master?"

Bailey was taken aback. "Y-young one? Have you looked in a mirror recently?" The blue haired girl pouted for a moment, crossing her arms, until regaining her composure for a moment to answer the seemingly younger servant. She held out her command seals, emblazoned on her left hand. They formed a wide, bowlike structure, with a central rune in the middle. "These are the command seals that designated me as the master of Archer, which I'd do well to assume is your identity." Bailey cocked her head, closed her eyes, and smiled. "You know, you're a lot more beautiful than I thought you'd be, actually, what with your pretty little kimono and cute haircut."

Bailey trotted on over to this small girl and extended her hand. A real life servant! A godlike incarnation of one of the most important figures in all of history was standing before her! And who summoned her? None other than the great Bailey Braunbeck, the strongest magus to walk the earth! She couldn't help the enormous grin on her face.

"Well, since you're here, we may as well seal the deal with a handshake. If we're to work together, it's best if we get on as friendly terms as possible, right?"

FEBRUARY 11TH - 11:37 P.M.

HULTGREN ESTATE, CRYSTALWATER CITY. . .

>

"Ahh~! Do you feel it Saber? All this energy in the air. It appears the Grail War will be starting soon. I wonder what types of Servants the others will summon? ...Ah, well we'll crush them all anyways right, Saber~?"

Saber smiled at the young mistress - er, master. She was still fairly confused on the subject; while gender barriers were something trivial in her past, she had never heard of a man dressing as a woman. It was odd, but she supposed it was flattering. There was nothing wrong with femininity, she supposed, though she wasn't a fan of it herself. Nevertheless, this young man just made such a convincing woman.

Saber spoke with a soft voice, one not fitting of her appearance. "Yes, mistre-" she spoke, catching herself on the error. "Master. Our enemies shall fall like lambs to the slaughter; that, I promise you." Her voice was one of supreme confidence. There would be no doubt in anyone's mind that this woman was sure of her victory.

She took solace in this brief respite before war. She had been summoned a few days prior; her master certainly was one to plan, despite his childish attitude. Of course, the other children of this family weren't similar, in that they were bratty and just not as clever as her own master. Whatever they were lacking in cleverness, however, they more than made up in physical strength. On more than one occasion since Saber's summoning, she had punished them into submission. This wasn't on her master's orders, but simply out of respect for him; the other children needed to realize that he was her rightful master, no matter what their threats or actions may do.

No matter.

Her young master had gotten up and started playing a strange device - one that seemed to make music - and began swaying about. He did look truly gorgeous in his nightwear, she thought. The young man looked her way. "Hmm... won't you come dance with me Saber? It's so terrible sad and lonely to dance alone~"

Saber looked at the young man with a curious expression on her face before nodding. Leisure wasn't something you came across often as a servant, so she took every chance she could for rest. After all, a woman of worldly desires such as herself needed a rest every once in a while!

She got up and made her way to her master, taking him hand in hand. She closed her eyes and hummed to the tune as the two danced together; this was relaxing, in a way. A nice break from the many battles she was made to fight. She quite liked this new master, even if he was young and girlish. He had a good head on him.

"I do tend to forget about the things in life that aren't battle," she said jovially, spinning around with her master. "It's quite a beautiful night out there; it's a shame the rest of them will be wrought with blood."

She giggled at the thought.

Morgan looked at her - my, what beautiful eyes... - and spoke. "You know, by the end of tonight all of the seven should have summoned their Servants," he said, with that distinct smile of his appearing. "That means the battle for the Holy Grail will soon begin, Saber... on I already said that didn't I? I suppose I'm just so excited~."

"Aye," said Saber, who smiled with him. "I doubt they'll measure up to what we have in store for them."

With those words, Morgan seemed to pull away from her, making his way towards the balcony. Saber stood away from him, alone for a moment. The boy turned his head back at her; the tone had noticeably changed from lackadaisical to serious. Changing the mood like this was something the boy was quite good at.

"We can't just dive in blind this, though. You are powerful Saber, however we must formulate a strategy in which to combat the other Masters and Servants. I have a few ideas of my own, but as someone who has waged actual war, I do believe your input would be most valuable here."

"Aye," she said again, making her way next to Morgan. She looked out; the moon was truly incredible over the mountains in the distance. "I believe the best course of action would be to wait; perhaps go about our daily lives for the next few days until some idiot blows their cover. Then, we strike hard and true!" She laughed. "One opponent down, and five more after that."

FEBRUARY 12TH - 12:00 A.M.

SOMEWHERE IN CRYSTALWATER CITY . . .

>

A void of no light, flames, and then...

Assassin seemed to simply appear out of nowhere; unlike other servants, his summoning ritual was anything but flashy. He was garbed in simple robes, with an adze in his belt and a look of discontent on his face.

That is, until he realized just what had happened; then, the most devious of smiles had caught his expression and transformed it into something much, much more wicked.

He looked at his master before him; a petit woman, dressed in the most lavish of dresses. The area around her seemed well kept and, if anything, more ornamental than not. This magus was of high class, and, assuming from that, high caliber. Indeed was her mana strong; he could feel raw power coursing through his own magical circuits. To be honest, it was a tad more than he could handle, but, well, more is always better he thought, especially in magecraft.

Before he could ask if she was his master - an answer by all means he already knew - the woman had already spoken.

"Well, I must admit you are not what I expected, Assassin." Assassin smirked - he took pride in being different - but an interruption occurred. A squealing voice not unlike nails on a chalkboard.

"Alexandra!! Alexandra!! I did it!"

Assassin winced. Ugh, a child... but, no matter. He must complete the contract.

"Mistress, I am honored to defy your expectations," he said, with a small bow. "Am I to assume you are my master? I can feel a power coursing through my veins that is unrivaled by any magus; I don't suppose that is from the rat down below?"

Love of Ghibli · September 16, 2015

Down in the dusty attic of only God knows where there was a young creature who dared to step into the realm of fate. Chosen to play a game that would decide the course of history. It was sad to say the least. With a summoning circle inscribed in the center this brave young soul chose to speak the what would probably the most dangerous words of their life.

"Let silver and steel be the essence.

Let stone and the archduke be the foundation.

Let my father's father and my mother's father be the masters I pay tribute to,

for they are the ones who acknowledged me.

Let rise a wall against the falling wind.

Let the four cardinal gates close.

Let the three-pronged path unto the kingdom's crown rotate.

Let the grail be filled, again, again, again, again, again.

Let it be filled sixfold, simply breaking asunder with every filling.

To you, my servant, I tell:

My body is your vessel, my bone is your knife.

If you heed the call of the grail, then you shall answer me.

Yet you server your eyes bound in chaos.

Bound in a cage of madness, I am he who commands your chains.

COME! Bringer of Chaos! BERSERKER!

From this circle the floor collapsed into a pit of darkness and from that pit slowly arose a feudal lord dressed in the regalia of his time. As he the darkness began to literally seep out of this basement the feudal lord looked up and turned his head left and right. His eyes crackled with red lightning as a sign of his Berserker Enhancement kicking in. Berserker took a deep breath and let a sigh of relief. It is good to be back. He looked around and noticed his master simply standing there. Well I came to this with no expectations so I cannot say I am disappointed. He looked around a realized that he may be just a tad over dressed for this "modern" civilization. Hmmm quickly swirling himself in darkness Berserker emerged taking a different form. This looked more...normal. Slightly unkept, but it would be enough to disguise himself in the wars to come. He simply walked upwards to the stairs and jumped to the roof of little suburban complex. He took in a deep breath of fresh air. So this is the "modern" world. It looks...timid.

Asriel Dreemurr · September 18, 2015

"Mistress, I am honored to defy your expectations. Am I to assume you are my master? I can feel a power coursing through my veins that is unrivaled by any magus; I don't suppose it is from that rat down below?" Now that caught Alexandra a bit by surprise, a faint blush coloring her cheeks before she regained control of herself. Flattery was not something she experienced often, and getting it from a man who was...admittedly fairly attractive. She took a moment to gather herself, and offered the man her hand as she had to the mages her parents had attempted to marry her off to in the past.

"Indeed, Assassin, I am your master." She smiled again, her robe thankfully concealing it, as it finally occurred to her that the man had insulted Bailey. "Don't say that in front of her, though. Foolish as she is, and as much of a burden as she will be in the coming weeks, she is of great importance to our ultimate victory. Do try to tolerate her and her servant." She slid the glove off of the hand she had offered her servant, displaying the command seals upon them. It looked like an arrangement of three stylized daggers into a rough triangle, the crimson pattern standing out against her nearly snow-white skin. "Now then, take my hand that by my command seals you shall be bound to me in this war."

Alexandra had already begun planning. Assassin's aptitude for stealth would be useful in the coming fight, and Bailey's foolish nature could serve well to draw out their foes to face them. The sooner that she could know precisely where the other servants were, and begin determining their abilities, the better a chance she would have of defeating them. Already a number of servants were accounted for. She had learned, through careful use of a network of ghostly familiars, that some members of the great families were intent on participating. Two of the Hultgrens were known to have been showing command seals, and she had picked up that the younger of the two had summoned his servant some days ago. The other would likely be summoning his tonight as well. Two masters from less renowned families had shown command seals as well, but the seventh had so far managed to escape her notice. She would have to redouble her efforts in observing the city so as to avoid being caught off guard in the coming days.

It was warm and dark.

For so long, as long as he could remember, he had rested in the warm, comforting embrace of dark. Since the day he had died, this is what he had known. And then, like the unwelcome voice of a mother waking her child in the morning, a light broke through the darkness. It was small at first, enough that he could ignore it for a time, but it grew and grew until the sheer brightness forced him to open his eyes and see what was disturbing him.

He looked upon a scene that, after a moment's consideration, he had been expecting. A diagram on the ground upon which he stood, obviously part of a summoning ritual, and a woman standing before him. She was pretty enough, her short blonde hair hanging about her head in loose curls, but he only wondered how she could have summoned him. That is, until he noticed the item within the circle at his feet. He smiled beneath the visor of his helm, and reached down to pick up that obviously aged but well cared for piece of vellum.

"I had wondered where this had gone..." he muttered, seating himself and picking up the page upon the ground. He set it on his leg, and while he removed the tome upon his belt with his left hand, he waved his right through the air. A threaded needle appeared, and was grasped with surprising dexterity by his armored fingers. The tome was opened, turned to a place where it seemed a page had been torn out, and he promptly set about sewing the piece of vellum back where it had gone. As the stitches were made, the long-faded lettering on the page darkened and began to glow ever so slightly until when he had finished his work it glowed as brightly as the rest of the lettering within and upon the book.

"Does my appearance confuse you, mistress?" He questioned, turning his armored head towards the woman who it seemed had attempted to bind him. The deep timbre of his voice resounded well within the cavern, and behind his visor he was smiling. "All is good then. You have indeed summoned Caster to you, so do not be afraid. It is good that I am capable of confusing and confounding even you, for imagine how our foes will respond." He had since stood up to get a proper look at the woman, appraising both her body and the sense all magi had for mana. He could tell hers was fairly strong, but he suspected that his own reserves may well exceed them.

Maeriberii Haan · September 18, 2015

"Y-young one? Have you looked in a mirror recently?"

"..."

Archer visibly reacted when her summoner mentioned that she should've seen a mirror before calling her younger than her. Didn't take her long to realize her current condition. She was shorter than her summoner, for one, which shouldn't be the case as of normal since her summoner was not actually tall in the first place from a quick comparison to her surrounding. Which would only mean one thing: she was summoned as a younger version of herself.

That definitely didn't sit very well with her and just further showed how botched her summoning ritual was, but at this point Archer didn't see complaining about that to be something fruitful enough for her to do. That would just be a waste of words, regretting over spilt milk. The botched summoning at the very least still messed with her own memories, for one. As of now, Archer seemed to be able to recall some very fragmented pieces of her own life and identity, but that was it. As small pieces without context, they were meaningless.

Archer turned her gaze towards her summoner once more. Blue hair...wasn't it something uncommon? It probably was a result of magecraft more than anything. Otherwise, she still fit the first impression that she got from her when she had just been summoned. An inexperienced magus-in-training, with a bigger ego compared to her current skill. Archer thought about that conclusion more. Should she be thrilled or disappointed on getting such a master creating a contract with her? She still couldn't really decide. Though it's not like she had any other choice right now. This was what the gods wished after all.

"Well, since you're here, we may as well seal the deal with a handshake. If we're to work together, it's best if we get on as friendly terms as possible, right?"

"...I'd rather not." A blunt refusal. As a magi, the bluehead need to start learning the importance of formality. Maybe. It was important however. Kinda. But it did matter a lot since. Perhaps. Indecisiveness is not something an empress should possess. It shouldn't be. But there she was.

Sorting her mind up, finally Archer responded to her summoner's offer for a handshake. Doing something so informal was weird. Maybe it was a break she wished, but it was still weirding her out. Not that she showed any of that on her expression, however. Trace of magecraft. Another magus was here. Probably the one her summoner called as Alexandra earlier. And then a faint trace of something else. What was it? Another Servant? It was unclear, but it's coming from not far away from her.

"Master, I believe that I need to inquire on how much you have prepared for this war.

You have made a mistake during your attempt to summon me, and with that accident in mind as my only way to measure your capability as a magus, I am now simply trying to see whether you would lead us on a march to a cliff or not."

"All is good then. You have indeed summoned Caster to you, so do not be afraid. It is good that I am capable of confusing and confounding even you, for imagine how our foes will respond."

With the initial surprise had passed her, Tianzi now simply smiled as the knight introduced himself as a Caster. An enigmatic servant whose identity was hidden behind his darkened knight helmet, he seemed to be a perfect match to Tianzi's own plans on how she would approach this so-called Holy Grail War.

"So...first of all, I believe I have to right to ask you about your identity, Caster.

...Which I would not do. There's no point to ask it."

A nameless magus born from an unremarkable family of an unremarkable generation. Making a name for herself due to her innate specific magecraft talent and prodigious ability in the field itself, Tianzi ended up deciding that she would be better off returning to a nameless, unremarkable magus whose name would be lost in the records of history. Names weren't important. They're not important in the end.

"However...rather than that, let me ask you another question instead before we can move into my workshop proper.

So, nameless black knight of bygone era, I'll simply ask you a simple thing. I'm curious, what kind of honor do you believe in?

What kind of value do you fight for? And...what kind of code do you stand for as a knight?"

Merci · September 18, 2015

Within the Holy Grail War, there were three Great Families responsible for its creation, famous all throughout the magical community.

There were the Hultgren, hailing from America, the newest yet also richest of the three, were incredibly talented at summoning and formed the conjoint system of Master and Servant, complete with a way to fuel the Lesser Grail, as well as providing an adept land unlike any other that would compliment it - without them, there would be no way to fuel the energy quota necessary for the Holy Grail War. Their representative appeared to be called Morgan L. Hultgren, selected as the Master despite being the youngest child, which could b explained by the reports stating that he possessed a record-breaking ridiculously high number of Magic Circuits.

There were the Blackmoore, a Celtic family hailing from Wales, were the ones who made it possible to bring forth the long-since-deceased Heroic Spirits with their Necromancy, making it such that the real things could be brought forth to the modern era with all their powers and memories intact, bound to serve their Masters. Without them, there would be no way to bring forth the necessary combatants for the Holy Grail War. Their representative seemed to be a a certain Alexandra Blackmoore, the eldest daughter, who was no doubt immensely capable in the dark arts.

And then there were the Argus, a family with Ancient Greek origins, supposedly descended from the great man who built the Argo - whilst they could neither amass huge amounts of mana nor bring back the dead, they were specialized in magical artifacts. Therefore, what they could do was create the structure of the very Holy Grail itself, a supreme device superior to any other in the world that could handle near-infinite power and accomplish the impossible without breaking apart - without them, there would be no Holy Grail War at all. Their representative was Jaselyn Argus, their one and only prodigal child who specialized in magical mechanics and instantaneous construction, a true symbol of what the Argus were capable of.

Or at least, that was who their representative should've been.

~ Theme of Juno/String & Piano Arrangement ~

The Argus Manor was empty, as it had been for the past weeks. The many artifacts stored within it, be they magical, mechanical, or both had been left all their own, and the air had seemed to gotten a little stale, although the interior seemed to remain curiously clean and managed despite the lack of life.

No... That wasn't quite correct.

A young girl with a blank, robotic expression, dressed in a maid outfit set the broom in her hands against the basement corner, having finally accepted the fact that she was doing something pointless. Her hands twitched as she did so, anticipating to be hit at any given moment, which would be accompanied by a high-pitched, pompous voice yelling in her ear "Why did you put down the broom, you stupid girl? This room isn't completely clean yet! Get back to work!", and she'd long since found out that responding with logic, such as pointing out that it would end up ruined again anyway after the ritual, only resulted in her being punished. It was not acceptable for her to make individual decisions after all. A servant must do their duty no matter what.

However, neither the hit nor the voice came forth. Of course not. The couple who'd once lived there had abandoned it on a plane flight all the way to Greece, having taken only their most prized possessions with them, fearing for their lives. Of course, it was impossible to predict when the Holy Grail War would begin, and they whom lacked any personal prowess in combat feared an attack by a Servant at any given moment. Her masters - should she be calling them her parents now? - were no longer around to give her any orders, and she hadn't seen them for quite some time now, yet she still expected them to reappear whenever she did something 'wrong'. Getting used to freedom wasn't easy.

She took a shaky breath, before moving onto the magical circle engraved in the center of the room's floor, formed by thick oil she'd taken from storage. Normally, these kinds of rituals called for blood, but oil was more than enough of an appropriate replacement, being a unique substance that formed from ancient life millions and millions of years ago. The essence of life at its finest, after having endured the pressure of the world's crust, collecting incredible amount of mystery along the way. This was the Argus way of doing things, and she had to stick to it.

Placing herself in the very middle, she stared off into space for a bit as if unsure of exactly what she was supposed to be doing. Then, wordlessly, she took out a match, set it alit, then dropped it onto the oil. The effect was instant. The flames spread throughout the lines she'd made, ultimately forming a circle of fire blazing all around her, trapping her within, the air heating up immensely. Within seconds, she was already feeling a little dizzy.

Remaining firm nevertheless, the girl began to chant in a low voice, invoking a summoning ritual that should've been meant for somebody else.

"Let silver and steel be the essence.

Let stone and the archduke be the foundation."

Just as she started, a thought came to her mind. What was she doing there? Her hair was darker than ought to be expected of an Argus, and she certainly didn't possess the same qualities that the heir of the Argus Family, Jaselyn, had, her Magical Circuits being much more inferior in quality. She was only a servant, meant to serve, support, and protect the true heir, yet absolutely not fight in her place! A bastard taking her position in the Holy Grail War would be blasphemy!

"Let my full-blooded sister, the true heir, be the master I pay tribute to,

for I stand here in her place."

Ah, but Jaselyn Argus was dead. Killed by carelessly taking one too many risks regarding transmutation,, which ended up literally exploding in her face. It was her death that forced the Great Family of the Argo to turn to their servant bastard Glauce Smith in desperation, removing her shackles and officially adopting her as Glauce Euphemus Argus. They may not have had much faith in her ability to win, but they still wanted to fight no matter what, leaving her with access to all the things a mere servant wouldn't normally have access to.

"Let rise a wall against the falling wind.

Let the four cardinal gates close.

Let the three-pronged path unto the kingdom's crown rotate."

The idea was basically this. 'You may not be the true heir, but you are still Argus by blood. As unacceptable as your existence is... You'll do.'

It had been so bizarre getting used to being able to do whatever she liked, freely roaming the manor and the rest of Crystalwater City, even being acknowledged by her father as his child, but she understood that it was all under a single condition - participate in Jaselyn's place, summon a Servant and win the Holy Grail War. When the Command Seals had formed themselves on her hand, this fact was only strengthened. She'd been raised to be the loyal maid who never spoke, whose sole duty was towards the honour of Argus, a capable yet disposable servant who was to throw her own life away for the true heir.

And yet here she was. Alive, free, and preparing for war.

"Let the grail be filled,"

The flames continued to burn oh so intensely, filling up the air with smoke and threatening to consume her into ashes should she so dare s to take a single step away from her position. Conducting the ritual like this was extremely dangerous, but it surely had to guarantee that she would bring forth a strong Servant even if she made any potential mistakes in the chant.

"again,"

It was hot.

"again,"

It was hot.

"again,"

It was hot.

"again,"

It was hot.

"again."

It was burning far too hot for her.

"Let it be filled sixfold, simply breaking asunder with every filling."

The chant going on and on in a mechanical, systematic fashion, Glauce began to find it difficult to breathe within the ring of fire, getting dizzier whilst her voice weakened. The oxygen in the air was draining rapidly with each passing second, replaced by carbon dioxide and smoke. She had to shut her eyes tight since it was impossible to see anything, and the sweat was getting unbearable. At this rate, she may very well forget about fighting in the war, since she could die here and now. How on earth did her predecessor do it?

"To you, my servant, I declare with all my heart:

My body is your machine, my bone is your power.

If you heed the call of the grail, then you must answer me."

Just as Glauce was starting to lose consciousness, darkness attempting to consume her senses, she took out an enhanced stone from her pocket, and held it as tightly as she could so that the edge would press into her skin. Not to invoke any charm or anything, since there was a chance that those would, but merely so that the pain would keep her awake.

"My oath is to the station I am due, as head of my house,

and to the unknown fate that await us all..."

She felt like choking, but there was only a few more lines left. She could do this. She had to do this.

"Please,"

It was said that there were various factors determining how a Heroic Spirit was summoned. Relics related to do with their past, surrounding items associated with them, the strength of the summoning ritual - but the foremost factor would have to be the magus themselves. Desire for a certain kind of hero, and compatibility regarding their personalities.

"heed my call,"

If that were true, then she hoped that she could bring forth someone who could understand her. Someone who could help give her a direction in life, who knew what it was like to be an eternal servant, to serve someone who no longer lived in this world---!

"O' fisherman of souls!"

As soon as the words came out of Glauce's mouth, all the fires were suddenly vaporized by a wave of bright light, flooding throughout the whole basement as if justice had descended upon her location to erase all suffering and destruction, to reassure those who were lost that there was a reason to persevere. She was overcome with a sense of power, of enlightenment, and fleeting though it may have been, she couldn't help but feel that it was something oh so beautiful.

By the time the light faded away, she was on her knees, like a puppet with its strings cut - no, rather, like she'd been released from her strings for good. And when her eyesight began to return, her eyes focused onto a figure before her.

That is, a holy man with white hair, emitting an immensely powerful aura, yet still somehow remaining kind and compassionate...

a bad post · September 19, 2015

As a man of God Lancer did not fear death, and had long since grown accustomed to the darkness, and yet when he felt the light he could not have been happier. It appeared God still had yet use for the dead hero in His righteous purpose.

Lancer did not open his eyes at first breathing deeply, the scent of something recently burned filled his lungs. For a moment his heart skipped a beat.

Had he been called back to this world only to relive the day of his death once more.

The woman in the room with him would likely be quite surprised when the long red spear materialized into her recently summoned Servant's hand, and the resulting battle stance the Servant took. Yet when Lancer's now open eyes raced around the room he saw only smoke.

"Oh... I see," the Servant muttered to himself still seemingly ignorant to the woman who had summoned him Lancer's eyes fell upon his own image reflected back to him. "What an odd device..." Almost in a trance like state the Servant approached the mirror. "What an odd form of sorcery... Ah! It appears the Lord has chosen to resurrect me in my prime, splendid!" Spinning his spear around his body Lancer imitating what appeared to combat moves against some sort of invisible opponent, however it appeared he had finally noticed that he was not alone in the room when he stopped mid-movement turning to look at the blonde woman who, at this point, was no doubt giving him a rather puzzled look.

"P-Pray tell, fine maiden," Lancer sputtered out towards the pretty woman, "how long exactly have you been standing there?" Oh what are you doing you dolt, you are a Warrior of God, do not just stand there like some enamored school boy!

Without even giving Glauce a chance to respond he took a knee bowing his head low before the blonde.

"I apologize for the grievous insult I have done you milady," Lancer said shameful, "It appears that I was over taken by the joy of being resurrected, I will not allow myself to indulge in such folly again." Raising his head slightly he noticed the odd red marks on her skin, and suddenly felt very stupid. "Ah... I take it by those marks on your hand that it was you who summoned me to this world, and not the... Lord." Somehow he felt saddened by this fact, and yet... "No matter, I will serve you just as loyally as I would serve Him. I believe your name for me would be Lancer, would you do me the privilege of bestowing your name upon me, Mistress?"

"Aye," she said again, making her way next to Morgan. She looked out; the moon was truly incredible over the mountains in the distance. "I believe the best course of action would be to wait; perhaps go about our daily lives for the next few days until some idiot blows their cover. Then, we strike hard and true!" She laughed. "One opponent down, and five more after that."

"Yes, the straightforward and simple plan, is often that which is most effective." Morgan turned from the railing of the balcony. "What a shame, the tea has probably gone cold by now, no matter. We have planning to do." Gently pushing the two glass doors that lead to the balcony open, the feminine young man returned to inside of the manor.

Inside candles began igniting spontaneously upon sensing Morgan's entrance into the room slowly illuminating what had effectively becoming the Hultgren War Room for the duration of the Holy Grail War. The young Master approached the map of Crystal War City. Waving his hand in a circular motion several purple threads began to form, his unique magecraft ability, Magical Weaving.

"I believe we should begin by identifying what information we know for sure," pointing his finger one of the threads wrapped around what appeared to be two chess pieces, one a depiction of man, the other what appeared to be a generic spellcaster. Slowly the thread lowered them down onto the table. "My brother has already left the mansion to summon his own Servant. Assuming he has not botched the ritual like the incompetent fool he is, he should have summoned a Caster, a powerful ally to have. However he has neglected to contact us, despite the fact that he should have summoned his Servant by now. I believe there are two reasons this could have happened. First he has been unsuccessful in summoning Servant, and is therefore useless and shall be eliminated, or he has become arrogant and decided to betray us. We will visit him in the morning to determine the truth of the situation, and if he has betrayed us we shall remove him from the equation, force him to relinquish his command seals, and I shall take Caster for myself."

Again another of the threads moved around one of the human chess pieces, this one was placed on the location of the Blackmoore Manor. "The Blackmoore Master is likely Alexandra Blackmoore, their only daughter. We know little of information of the full extent of her abilities, nor do I know the class of her Servant, however I have glean enough information that she is a powerful magus, and likely one our biggest threats. She is no fool, and we must deal with her swiftly, but with caution. One thing we do know for sure is that is highly proficient in that family's disgusting Necromancy art."

The next piece to be placed on the map was at the Argus Manor. "The Master of Argus is Jaselyn Argus, their sole heir. She has extensive knowledge of magical mechanics and instantaneous construction. In the recent months however, there has been little news of her, though I believe this can be attributed to the secrecy of the Holy Grail War. Again, I am annoyingly unaware of identity of her Servant."

Sighing Morgan backed away from the table his magical threads disappearing. "Past this we know nothing of the identities of the other Masters and Servants other than that they are from far less prestigious families than myself. This fact is quite troubling. However we do have one very distinct advantage. My parents where quite atypical in their methods. Unlike most other mage families who only produce one heir, my parents sired many, and thus the identity of our Master is likely unknown. Thankfully my weak appearance has given us an advantage in this instance, as among my siblings I look very unsuspected. Ah, well the hour grows late, come Saber it will do us little good to be sleep deprived once the War begins in full."

With that both Master and Servant swept from the room. Walking down the dark hallways it did not take long for the pair to arrive at the door to Morgan's quarters.

"Saber, I can hardly force you to sleep, but please do try to get some rest. There is a strong magical barrier around the manor that will alert us of any unwelcome intruders. Rest easy good Servant, none will enter this household without our knowing of it."

Lunar Origins · September 19, 2015

Something about her servant seemed... completely off. Her movements were completely erratic, which matched her shifting eye color. Even though she objected to shaking Bailey's hand - which was by all means a gesture of friendliness - she did it anyways. A little confusing, to say the least, but that may have been a part of Archer's personality. Nevertheless, when Archer doubted Bailey's abilities as a magus, she recoiled quite visibly - how dare she question her all-powerful master?

Bailey's head hung a little. She was right, wasn't she? Bailey definitely did funk up that summoning, which resulted in an imperfect servant. Now that she thought about it, that was probably why her movements and eye color, along with actions, were far too erratic. There was absolutely no telling what screwing up the ritual had done to Archer. She sighed. It wasn't really useful to fret over it now, was it? She'd already performed the ritual, and resummoning another servant after your first wasn't something that had been attempted yet. And, aside from that, wouldn't that be rude to both her own master - Alexandra - and Archer as well? It's would be quite disdainful to cast her aside as worthless without getting to know her.

All the more reason to feel guilty over failing both of them, she supposed.

"Master, I believe that I need to inquire on how much you have prepared for this war. You have made a mistake during your attempt to summon me, and with that accident in mind as my only way to measure your capability as a magus, I am now simply trying to see whether you would lead us on a march to a cliff or not."

Bailey closed her eyes and nodded. "That's smart," she said with a light chuckle. "If I were a servant I wouldn't appreciate having a weak and foolish master, either. I assure, you, Archer, that I've - or, rather, we - have a plan." She jammed her thumb up into the air, pointing at the stairway behind her. "Up those stairs and down the hall is my own teacher, Alexandra. She's more the brains behind this operation." Bailey looked down and traced her feet in the dust. Did Alexandra ever clean down here? "I... am not quite the magus she is. I'm not blind, though, so don't think I'll lead you off a cliff, okay?"

Her words were seasons with uncertainty. Confronted with her servant, all that bravado that she had in the past weeks just disappeared into thin air. She was also quite expended; what little mana she naturally possessed straight up evaporated with that simple botched summoning ritual. She said something else under her breath, but it wasn't quite loud enough for Archer to catch it.

She turned around. "I wouldn't be able to give you all the details of our game plan. Alexandra would be able to do that. I hope you're not disappointed in working with a team, Archer." With that, Bailey walked towards the stairwell and gestured for Archer to follow her. "We're going to go meet Alexandra and then get some much needed rest. It's the middle of the night, and I'm pretty friggin' tired from summoning you. Took all afternoon to prepare. Hope you don't hold my passing out against me."

She ascended the flight of stairs; the general quality of the place seemed to increase twenty-fold and she soon found herself in a hallway. The walls were adorned with shelves, filled with books upon books of spells and incantations. Alexandra was quite the studious one, and had offered Bailey the chance to rummage through any of these books that she saw fit. Bailey, being herself, didn't bother and instead lazed about, wasting precious time. Thinking about it now, she regretted spending the bare minimum time exercising her magical circuits.

This lack of training now caused her physical pain. Pulling herself up the stairs was a task; she was much more exhausted than she initially thought. Her muscles seemed to cramp with every move; her bones seemed to trail behind the rest of her body. And... now, she was light headed...

Assassin - who was now dressed in far more modern garb - caught the blue-haired girl as she collapsed. "You know, it'd be a real shame if you went and died on us now," he said with a slight snicker. She was quite a bit larger than his own master, but still insanely light and easy to hold. She was soft; her features looked fairly delicate and well treated, though her sweat had ruined the makeup on her face. What a sad sight the girl was. Exhausted from such a simple ritual! She was a rat indeed.

And her servant was quite the sad sight as well. With a single look the young man could tell that this... servant, if you could even call it that, was nowhere near complete in her summoning. It was like she wasn't even one servant, but a few, vying for a single body, each resisting and undulating in that tiny mind of hers. A shame that he, the strongest of all summoned servants, had to be paired with such a disgrace.

He tossed Bailey's unconscious body to Archer's feet, which hit the ground with a loud thud. "She's your responsibility now, incomplete filth." With that, he turned his back to them and began casually strolling back to Alexandra's room. "Save your meeting with the mistress for tomorrow morning. Don't disgrace her with your presence until you're both sorted out."

He came into Alexandra's room, sitting down leisurely on a loveseat. This flamboyant architecture really wasn't his style - he was a man of far simpler tastes - but the life of luxury wasn't terrible. His master was easy on the eyes as well.

Speaking of which.

"Alexandra, we'll have to delay the meeting with the rats until tomorrow morning, my dear." He chuckled, producing a knife from his pocket. He flipped it through the air above his head. "Our little master overexerted herself and collapsed, so I ordered her servant to clean up the mess. I don't suppose you'd have objected to that."

"Yes, the straightforward and simple plan, is often that which is most effective... what a shame, the tea has probably gone cold by now. No matter. We have planning to do."

Saber nodded. Of course. More and more planning. She was glad that she wasn't the brains of this operation, but the brawns; she was a far better fighter than a thinker. Combat was instinct, embedded in her blood. Subversion was not. Saber silently looked towards her master and followed him inside; he was using some of his magecraft in the show-offy manner that he had done before. She was genuinely impressed each time she saw it; she wasn't a mage in her lifetime and had never been properly exposed to it.

Her eyes lit up with the wondrous light of Morgan's creations. They were distractingly beautifu-

She snapped herself out of that moment of childlike wonder and began to listen to her master.

"...to summon his own Servant. Assuming he has not botched the ritual like the incompetent fool he is, he should have summoned a Caster, a powerful ally to have. However he has neglected to contact us, despite the fact that he should have summoned his Servant by now. I believe there are two reasons this could have happened. First he has been unsuccessful in summoning Servant, and is therefore useless and shall be eliminated, or he has become arrogant and decided to betray us. We will visit him in the morning to determine the truth of the situation, and if he has betrayed us we shall remove him from the equation, force him to relinquish his command seals, and I shall take Caster for myself."

She winced at the mentioning of Caster. Oh, she knew his supposed identity already; Morgan had gone over that information with her the other day, and it made her blood boil. Forced by that person into submission and retreat during her own conquests when she was alive, she'd relish the opportunity to put that fool back into place later in the war. Hopefully sending him to hell would make her feel slightly better about that little loss.

"The Blackmoore Master is likely Alexandra Blackmoore, their only daughter. We know little of information of the full extent of her abilities, nor do I know the class of her Servant, however I have glean enough information that she is a powerful magus, and likely one our biggest threats. She is no fool, and we must deal with her swiftly, but with caution. One thing we do know for sure is that is highly proficient in that family's disgusting Necromancy art."

Saber nodded and giggled at the irony. Necromancy.

"Past this we know nothing of the identities of the other Masters and Servants other than that they are from far less prestigious families than myself. This fact is quite troubling. However we do have one very distinct advantage. My parents where quite atypical in their methods. Unlike most other mage families who only produce one heir, my parents sired many, and thus the identity of our Master is likely unknown. Thankfully my weak appearance has given us an advantage in this instance, as among my siblings I look very unsuspected. Ah, well the hour grows late, come Saber it will do us little good to be sleep deprived once the War begins in full."

Saber watched as her master unraveled the threads around the chessboard and quietly followed him to his quarters. Acting like a true gentleman, she held the door open for the boy. The pair slipped into his room - quite lavish, and if she really had to point it out, girlish. Saber slipped out of her armor; not quite like a regular person would, mind you. It dematerialized into thin air, replaced by a soft pair of pajamas that was rather flowy. Saber preferred wearing her armor at all times; she'd reluctantly transmogrify it into something else if they needed to go out, but the thought of being unprepared for battle didn't sit well with her. Loose pajamas were her second most worn outfit.

She slipped into her master's bed - something the two of them had shared over the past couple days - and faced the window.

"Saber, I can hardly force you to sleep, but please do try to get some rest. There is a strong magical barrier around the manor that will alert us of any unwelcome intruders. Rest easy good Servant, none will enter this household without our knowing of it."

She heard his words, but they didn't sit well with her. In her experience there was absolutely no telling whether or not you were truly safe; throwing the volatile thing known as magic into the mix and you've got a recipe for true uncertainty.

"Yes, my master."

She kept her eyes open, watching the clouds drift by through the windows.

A beautiful night indeed.

Asriel Dreemurr · September 19, 2015

Alexandra had asked Assassin to go and gather the other two for a meeting in the grand hall of the place.

While the manor she had turned into her fortress appeared ruined from the outside, it was far from it on the inside. While the exterior was dilapidated and overgrown, the interior was quite a fine display of the wealth of the Blackmoore family. While on the outside the roof seemed to be falling apart, the ceiling on the inside was smooth, firm, and void of leaking. While the front yard on the outside was dominated by a large shanty put together by an angry looking, knife-wielding homeless man whose grip on reality alternated between strained and completely absent, the inside was cleaned and decorated to the highest standards. The exception being the basement where Bailey had set up her workshop. However pathetic an example of such it was, that was the title for where a magus did their work.

The halls were carpeted with crimson, the walls decorated with smooth black granite, and in every space that a bookshelf containing tomes of magic lore was absent there were tapestries detailing the history of the Blackmoore line. One in particular, which occupied a place of prominence over the sweeping stairs that led from the foyer on the ground floor up to the first and the two beyond, detailed a story of the origins of their family. It depicted a scene of three women, dressed in black and accompanied by crows and ravens, facing a man kneeling over the bleeding corpse of another man. According to family legend, the first of their kind had brokered a deal with The Morrigan, the Celtic Goddesses of War Death and Sovereignty, to gain power over death and the dead. It was a favorite story of Alexandra's, and she had been sure to tell it to Bailey especially after learning that the two of them were distant cousins. While that fact had initially been worth some excitement, Bailey's near absolute worthlessness as a magus had rid her of it.

The eldest of the Blackmoore children let out a long sigh as she lay, naked, in the bath tub surrounded by sweetly scented bubbles. The Master Bedroom on the third floor off the ground had a bathroom connected to it, and she had left the door open so that Assassin could gather her when things were ready. She had found herself reminiscing on the building she resided in, as well as the pains she had gone to to make certain it did not outwardly appear to be the fortress she had turned the interior into. Though she had not shown it as much as Bailey, the summoning ritual was an exhausting one. Summoning as ancient a Heroic Spirit as this one had strained the reserves of her mana, and relaxing in the tub was a pleasant relief. She cracked an eye open as she heard the door open, and closed it again when she saw Assassin moving to rest on the loveseat facing the bathroom.

"Alexandra, we'll need to delay the meeting with the rats until tomorrow morning, my dear." My, he was being a bit forward with her wasn't he? Well, it could not be helped for now. Still, he was doing a good bit to grow on her nicely. "Our little master overexerted herself and collapsed, so I ordered her servant to clean up the mess. I don't suppose you'd have objected to that." Now that brought a smile to the Necromancer's face, one which she did not have to worry about hiding. Bailey suffering for her own mistakes always brought on a wonderful sense of schadenfreude in Alexandra.

"It cannot be helped," she stated plainly, remaining comfortably in her tub. "I knew that girl would have trouble, as little practice as she has put into actually being a magus. Maybe this will convince her to actually practice. How is her servant, by the way? As much of a mess as I suspected?" She had told Assassin that she expected Bailey to have botched the summoning ritual, but she wanted to know precisely how far it seemed to have gone.

"However...rather than that, let me ask you another question before we can move into my workshop proper. So, nameless black knight of a bygone era, I'll simply ask you a simple thing. I'm curious, what kind of honor do you believe in? What kind of values do you fight for? And...what kind of code do you stand for as a knight?" Putting the offhanded insult aside, the woman was already impressing Caster with her line of questioning. Show him the decency of not asking his name, only to ask another question that would reveal nearly as much? He chuckled as he heard it, and found himself dropping into that universal position of a knight's respect for their liege. He knelt before her, crossing his right arm over his chest and thus revealing the kite shield upon his back to her.

"Mistress, you prove yourself to be an interesting liege already. Let me answer your questions in reverse order. As a knight, I am bound in Loyalty to my kingdom and the crown, required to exercise Valor in combat, must always speak with Honesty, and must conduct myself at all times with Honor." He smiled, and rose from his kneeling position as he said as much to her. Chuckling, he raised a hand to stop her from asking anything further of him before she could. "However, I must advise against us wasting time here with the answers to your other questions. I take it that," he pointed a little ways behind the woman to the corpse of a young man on the ground. Seeing it, he realized it bore a resemblance to the barbarians that had raided the coast of his homeland, and he shuddered with disgust, "was the fool from whom you obtained the page? I thank you for freeing me from that, but presumably there are more Norsemen where that one came from. They are unlikely to wait for their fellow much longer, and so it is unwise to linger here any longer." He wondered if he had already said too much, but for now he decided that was an acceptable risk. If there were one who should obtain his identity, it would be the one who had summoned him. Not that he had any desire to make it easy on her, this little mind game they had started was far too stimulating for him to do so. Of course he also knew that the Code of Chivalry, which so many knights followed, included the virtues he had just stated in it. He had told her next to nothing, and he was eager to see what she did with it.

While his mistress set about getting them on their way to her workshop, his mind was racing. There would be six other servants, six other spirits of heroes and villains from eras far before this one. While Identifying them would make working out their potential powers and abilities easier, it was not necessary. What would be more helpful was obtaining personal effects of theirs, so that he could put one of his two great passions in magic to work. Of course it also would not hurt to see the others in action first. In any case it would require subtlety, which was something that his current attire would be no good for. He would need to set up a proper workshop, so that he could work the necessary enchantments to disguise himself and the appearance of his armor and armaments. Something more in line with the looks of the time. He had no worry about concealing his identity. His talent should prove sufficient to do what he needed. He could only hope that none he had served with or fought directly against were present in this fight, else his identity would already be compromised. That also meant that whoever the slain nord had worked with could well know about the page, and whom it was associated with. A problem indeed, and one which needed to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Maeriberii Haan · September 20, 2015

Uncertainty.

Maybe right now her Master had realized the current issue with Archer's own condition. Or maybe it's even worse than what she herself thought. The young woman's voice was filled with uncertainty as she tried to reassure Archer about how they would be fine. At the very least Archer acknowledged the fact that her Master might be actually realizing her own shortcoming instead of keeping on making herself sure that she'd be fine.

She mentioned something about a teacher. The Alexandra figure that she called out for earlier. She probably was a better magus than her master, and that would explain why Archer detected the faint presence of another thing earlier - she might also summoned her own Servant. Looking around at the pitiful excuse of a workshop that her Master used to summon her, Archer assumed that either Alexandra didn't really care about her master or that she's more using this as a sort of test for the young magus. Although further judgment would require a direct meeting with the lady herself, and thus Archer followed her master out of the basement.

Upstairs, it seemed as if she had entered another world - the contrast between the basement workshop and the corridor above was simply that big. However, while her mind would have made more commentary about the situation, something else happened. Her master passed out in front of her, and before she could get to her, a tanned man in a suit appeared.

Another servant.

"You know, it'd be a real shame if you went and died on us now,"

He looked at Archer with a dismissive look. Archer was not really that concerned about it however, as she had received similar look throughout her life anyway, and she was more focused on the man himself. Casting off the sudden piece of information that appeared on her mind, Archer continued her assessment on the other servant. It seemed that his mana reserves was pretty much miniscule compared to her own, though otherwise...

"She's your responsibility now, incomplete filth.

Save your meeting with the mistress for tomorrow morning. Don't disgrace her with your presence until you're both sorted out."

Incomplete filth?

That would explain a lot. The extent of the botched summoning had damaged her current existence here seemed to be worse than what she expected. She considered to inquire more about this, but she decided not to for now, and do a more important thing first - dragging her master to her room so she could rest.

The silver-haired girl sighed, and proceeded to do just that. The fact that she still had no idea where her master's room was yet didn't come across her mind yet until later on.

With great effort on her part, Archer finally managed to drag her master’s unconscious body to the right room, where she then placed her on her bed as she shifted her attention to her wardrobe instead. It was a far more daunting task than expected as she didn’t expect to be as physically unimpressive as she was. While it would be fitting and in-line with the fact that she’s summoned as a young girl, she still expected something better than this especially in context. No use to fret about it however.

Shifting through her master’s clothing, Archer looked for something that she could use during her daily life on the war. Her loose green kimono, as comfortable as it was to her, would be too eye-catching in this era, so she had to wear something else instead. She briefly considered wearing a T-shirt and shorts, and as much as the thought of her wearing something as cozy and casual as that felt nice for her, she decided in the end that she’d need something more dignified, so she settled with a set of black-on-white suit.

As she get herself changed, she took the time to look more into her own body on the mirror to see how much did her master’s botching her summoning ended up affecting her. The first, most striking thing she noticed was of course her shifting eye colors. Cycling between red, blue, and green, it’s definitely something really striking. It’s as if she’s not a single person or something. Getting over the sight of her own eyes, Archer decided to continue looking on the erratic, unstable body of the girl on the mirror, though not long after she decided to just stop and continued on getting dressed since the sight of her current condition was really just too pitiful to keep on being stared at by even herself.

Not that it would bother her in the least.

Once she’s done dressing up with the suit that made her look more boyish than necessary, Archer sat on a chair of the room as she watched her master sleep. Maybe she really did have to mentor her on things, but that would depend on whether she’d even want to be mentored in the first place. Her first impression on the young woman wasn’t the best that she hoped to get, though maybe time would help in that regard, and besides, she would need her to tell her more about how things went in the current era.

However, her thoughts later on was distracted by the sight of the odd shining objects placed around the room, and she spent the rest of her night staring at the lamps instead.

“That was…surprisingly more generic than what I thought I'd hear from you.”

As much as her words would’ve been interpreted as something rude or hostilely dismissive, Tianzi said those with an uncharacteristically cheerful tone and a smile on her face. She was quite amused with how her servant decided to tackle the situation. She didn’t quite get the big personality screening that she wished to achieve with the questions, but it did paint a certain amusing image regarding what kind of person her servant was, something more important than his identity for Tianzi.

"However, I must advise against us wasting time here with the answers to your other questions. I take it that was the fool from whom you obtained the page? I thank you for freeing me from that, but presumably there are more Norsemen where that one came from. They are unlikely to wait for their fellow much longer, and so it is unwise to linger here any longer."

“Norse, huh. Yeah, sure.

But you’re right. We can’t be here for longer.”

And Caster continued to amuse her with his keen insight, although there was something peculiar about his statement. The fact that he noticed the dead parrot on the bushes was impressive, but him referring to the guy as a Norsemen was odd. There shouldn’t be any way for him to know of something like that in this kind of condition in the first place, and he’s even wrong on that account. The Hultgrens were a full-American family that as far as Tianzi was aware, had little to no relation to the cold north. Perhaps this was a slip-up from her servant about his identity, but regardless of that, Tianzi decided that she shouldn’t inquire further and decided that getting out of the area as soon as possible was the next course of action she should take. Pulling a cellphone from her sleeves, the woman proceeded to make a call.

“You, get the car here now. We’re done with our business here.”

“We’re here. Careful not to make any clanking noises with your armor.”

After thirty minutes, Tianzi and Caster finally reached the decrepit motel that the woman used as her base of operation. The reason it took a while was mainly due to them taking several circling of the city to shake off any attempt to trail them. While it might be a necessary move, maybe Caster wasn’t really that appreciative of it. Entering the place, she was greeted by the motel manager, a young man with bluish silver hair who was actually one of her homunculus.

“Seems like the operation’s a success. So would you like me to prepare your room or a bath so you can relax, mistress?”

“No need. The knight still needs to be accustomed to this place first.”

With that sentence she dismissed the young man and led Caster down a flight of stairs to the basement. While it looked like a normal basement, there were two doors greeting the two there. One of them had a fairly lascivious smell coming from behind it, and while Tianzi was tempted to lead Caster to that room instead, for her own safety she resisted the urge and led him through the other one, going down through yet another series of stairs until they could enter a spacious room down there.

It was...reminiscent of how a supervillain lair from old comic books would look like, but with less unnecessary contraptions and sinister things all over the room (aside from the tubes where she experimented with homunculi on one side of the room) and with a more arcane, tidy feel to it. Several doors were present on the room, and Tianzi had no interest in letting Caster know about where the doors would lead him to for now. Once the two were in the room proper, the woman turned around to face her servant.

“We’re here. This is my workshop. Probably quite a degree worse than something from your era, but that’s what I have.

I’ll arrange it with my servant regarding your proper accommodation later, but for now, let’s talk about something more pressing.

Something like, how would our approach to the coming war be. As a knight you should be familiar with this kind of thing.”

Her servant was probably still not quite trusting her yet, if at all. That’d be an issue, but for now she’d simply go along with the flow. She still need to learn Caster’s overall personality if she wished to mess around with him handle him better, so an open discussion like this would be a nice start for that.

Granted, she already had a plan on her mind.

Love of Ghibli · September 20, 2015

After spending some of interesting relaxation time chilling out on a rooftop Berserker realized that it would definitely be about time to actually go out and prepare for war. From the looks of his master was located in some rural housing complex not centrally located in the city. So not exceedingly rich, but not poor either. In fact one could argue that this location would make for a very decent stronghold for when this war really gets started. In fact, no telling which Heroic Spirits were summoned to be his opponents it would be best to treat this the same way as he did in his former life. Hmm so what do I need? First I'll need a place for the army to be held...then I'll need an army. All good armies should be armed and for that I will need funds. Funds will require supporters. Well that certainly does make this tiresome. Systematically he began to process these different options and he jumped from the top of the roof and he started to make his way down the street snickering. Maybe it would be good to actually do some sightseeing and surveying the land before he would get into full blown war preparations.

I wonder what food is like in this modern era. While leaving his master to come up with some other plan later Berserker thought it would be a good idea to tour the market.

Maeriberii Haan · September 23, 2015

[silvio]

"Sigh...he's quite a handful, isn't he?"

As his servant jumped from the roof and into the streets, Silvio sighed before he decided to start following him. So far, his servant was already of quite an oddity in itself. Back when he realized that Berserker was his only choice to summon, he felt upset since directing a mad servant would be too much work to do, and they're usually quite a terrible mana drain to keep up for long, if what he read was correct. But what he actually got now was a servant with his own thoughts and clearly intelligible compared to what he expected, but seemingly as wild and unreadable as Berserkers usually were. It's as if he's too absorbed with his own thoughts that he kept his sanity, or maybe it's just due to the Mad Enhancement not taking effect yet. Either way, the development of the situation was not something that the magus would've wished.

At the very least, it did give him a better chance on the war itself. Communication between him and his servant would actually be able to be done two-way now, which would be a tremendous help for the magus that barely prepared himself for the war. Probably the last participant of this war, the former Association teacher only had around 1 week to get himself up to speed. That was far from enough.

And he hadn't even have a plan yet. However, with his servant actually retaining his thought...

"Hey, wait up! We haven't even discussed anything about our plans yet!"

Love of Ghibli · September 23, 2015

Beserker turned around to heed the calls of his master. Discuss? What was there to discuss? Oh right, Berserker is not fully in charge of this situation as it stands. This was a new feeling, subordination. It was not a good feeling. Berserker scanned the man upside down and looked around the neighborhood. He scoffed and snickered as he replayed the words "our plans" in his head. The illusion that this man may have had some actual ideas was entertaining to say the least. Wait a minute, there may be actual rules of engagement to this Holy Grail War. Therefore his council may actually be needed. Berserker shrugged and decided that his "Master" deserved some kind of reply.

Alright, the plan is simple. This is war. Wars are one with armies. Based on the mana I syphoned from you to look like...this. I don't think you can muster an army purely with magic. Or can you? Either way my plans are still simple. First we must a acquire sizable territory. This neighborhood of yours will suffice. Second, we shall need an army. I do not imagine we will be needing a big one, but one can never be too careful. Finally, this army will need armaments. I would assume this modern world of yours has better weaponry and better means of distribution...it took him a second to realize his stomach was actually rumbling and he was hungry. Red lightning crackled in his irises as began to blink feverishly. Why don't we talk about this over food? I am anxious to see what splendors the modern world has in terms of new treats.

Lunar Origins · September 25, 2015

Something stirred.

The clear water in this infinite world flowed and stopped endlessly without much direction; tireless waves crashed into frozen whirlpools in the center of still lakes, only to repeat itself again, again, and again, in a cycle of noncreation. Everything in this world was like a clockwork; nothing ever changed, and nothing ever will.

Something stirred.

It had been thousands of years since he had felt anything. A cold feeling washed over his skin - an odd feeling, now - followed by a pulsing warmness that seemed to lift him up. Up, up, and up again...

Something stirred.

His name... what was it? What was this odd feeling?

And then, he knew.

Dawn of a New Day.

Bailey's nightmares had been plaguing her for the last few weeks, ever since she had attempted opening up her magical circuits. Each night that she had expended any amount of magical energy, they were there.

Tonight's was no different than the rest of them; she was looking at herself in the third person centered behind her head, which was clouded with a thick, black fog. She seemed to be moving through a hotel hall. Every room she checked - empty, except the one where she awoke in the dream.

This time it was far more vivid than any of the others, and she could feel everything in the dream.

The cold from the hotel's malfunctioning air conditioning unit.

The eerie silence of the empty rooms.

The floorboards creaking beneath her feet.

The thick, black smoke entering her lungs and choking her.

Eventually, as with all her other dreams, she eventually lost control over her body; she could only see it become enveloped by more of the fog. It spread from her head, down to her hands, to her waist, until eventually there was nothing left.

Then, in an instant, it all seemed to disappear, leaving her to look at a broken version of herself writhing on the ground.

Bailey jolted up from her bed drenched in cold sweat. Her hair was noticeably disheveled; it seemed she had been tossing and turning all throughout the night. To further evidence this, the covers that were once on her bed were strewn across the floor, along with the pillows. Her bed, besides her, was simply bare. Annoyed by this, she looked around her room, only to find her servant dawdling by the window. Bailey spoke up. "Did I happen to pass out?" She shook her head; of course she did. Her body couldn't handle the strain of expending so much mana to summon a servant, even one of Archer's level. She was disappointed, and it showed on her face. With that, she stood up from her bed, gathering the bedding that was on the floor and placing it in its rightful place. It wasn't quite as neat as she intended and groaned; her motor skills were suffering due to her lack of mana.

"In any case, I'm sorry for last night. I really pressed myself to summon you and did the best job I could. I know I'm... not nearly as strong as I think I am, so..." Bailey admitted her own incompetency as she slowly drifted about the room. It was quite obvious that she was still spent and dazed as she fumbled to put on her new clothing for the day.

She stopped for a moment, her gaze drifting over to her servant. "Why'd you have to pick the fancy suit? That's my favorite!"

The Night Before.

Assassin responded to his master, his voice devoid of any enthusiasm over the botched summoning of his cohort. "Something is definitely amiss with her, master, but I'm not really worried about it." He caught the knife he was throwing up in the air one last time and dematerialized it. "However, that girl is another thing. You can't just change the capacity of a person's magic circuits overnight, you know. I'm worried about her ability to maintain Archer over the long term unless drastic changes happen, and happen fast." He looked back towards Alexandra. "I suggest killing her while she's weak like this and taking her command seals, if you're fully intending on winning this war. I can do it now, if you want. Garnering the best advantage for my lady is of the highest priority to me."

He chuckled.

"I don't Archer would really have a problem with that. She doesn't seem like the type to appreciate the weak... The look on her face when the brat collapsed was priceless."

He was prepared for the upcoming war as good as he would ever be; with each Servant properly summoned, the Grail had beckoned for him to come forth and complete his duty as Ruler, the servant of the Holy Grail.

His name was Guan Yu. A man whose life was rife with war, his legendary prowess on the battlefield eventually elevated his spirit to that of a god. Upon the beckoning of the Holy Grail, he agreed to forge a contract with it; to simply serve and experience war in its purest form over the centuries. With no real desire on his mind, he was relegated to the position of Ruler, in order to act as a rule enforcer of the war itself. That was something that he had to do now. Each servant had been properly summoned and had introduced themselves to their respective masters. He allotted them time in order to get comfortable with their partners, but their period of safety was now over. Waving his hand, a large half-circle table composed of glass appeared to float above the waves of the Grail's inner world. Guan Yu seated himself on the flat side of the table, with seven other chairs appearing on his opposite.

The spirits of the seven masters of the war were summoned, their identities concealed by a white fog not unlike that seen in Bailey's dream.

Chapter 1 - The Gathering of Masters

With a sudden tugging sensation, Bailey's world began to slow down rapidly until everything froze in place. A strong urge to blink came over her, and blink she did; when her eyes opened again, she was bound to a chair in a world unlike anything she had ever seen before. A man, or perhaps a king if one were to assume from his garb, sat across from her, and on both sides of her sat a young woman and an older man. She couldn't see their faces; they were obscured by a thick fog. She attempted to call out and cry, but her mouth was unable to open. What the is happening? Her thoughts were clouded as well; she couldn't focus on anything but the kingly figure ahead.

That figure spoke up, slamming his fist on the table. "Greetings, masters!" His voice sounded harsh, but his tone was awfully kind. He opened his arms in a gesture of openness. "My name is Guan Yu, the Ruler class Servant of this Holy Grail War. I have summoned all of you here in order to instruct you on how to succeed."

His voice was spoken in a very matter-of-fact tone. It seemed he wasn't the best at reading directions that were given to him, but he did his best to suffice.

"The Holy Grail War is something I'm sure all of you are familiar with, as you have all summoned your own servants. Only one of you has failed to do so in a manner that was intended for this war..."

His gaze drifted towards Bailey for a second. She could feel herself shrinking in her seat, despite not being able to move. She felt tiny compared to this man.

"...but that's something for that master to deal with in due time."

"You are all in competition for the Holy Grail, a priceless relic that can grant any wish - whether it be for the destruction of the world, or its salvation. The only way to do this is through killing each other Master's servant; however, killing every Servant may not simply be the answer. If any of you still possess command seals and your servant has perished, you may attempt to summon another servant and bind them to your commands seals."

"In that case, it is smart for each Master to target not only the Servants, but the Masters themselves. Naturally, that means that, by the end of this war, there's a great chance that only one of you may survive. However..."

Guan Yu showed his arm, which was littered with command seals. Bailey's stomach felt like it was going to a backflip; that was a guarantee that she wouldn't survive this war.

"Should you choose to relinquish your rights as a Master within twenty fours hours of this meeting, you will be taken out of this war. In order to fulfill this contract, you must use every command seal in your possession to order your servant to kill itself. Doing this guarantees your exit from the war; I will use one of my infinite command seals to guarantee your safety from enemy servants."

Ruler began to stroke his beard. Bailey felt the grip from her throat release; she could finally talk.

"If any of you wish to exit from the war now, it would be in your best interest to speak, but-"

"I wish to resign!" Bailey's voice rang through the crisp air as she interrupted Ruler, whose face contorted into one of confusion.

The fog around Bailey's head cleared, revealing her identity to the rest of the masters. It was a face that many would be able to recognize; she was, after all, quite the famous child actress.

Ruler spoke up. "Very well. You have one day to order your servant to kill itself; If you fail to do this, you will not be taken out of the war and the rest will be notified."

He began stroking his beard again. "And, as I was saying. Offering to resign will reveal your identity to everyone; unless you wish to paint a target on your head, do not put forth that offer."

Bailey sank into her seat even more than she already was.

^"sheet..."

Asriel Dreemurr · September 25, 2015

Caster continued to be impressed and intrigued by his mistress. At every turn she revealed new things to him. Circling about the city in which they found themselves to throw off potential pursuers, not that there were any he could discover: he had summoned a number of winged imps to ensure they were not pursued. Furthermore he was impressed by her choice of the location of her workshop. Under a run-down inn. It was the last place anyone would think to look for a magus. Even staffing the place with her servants was a nice touch. Make sure that the inn actually ran to dissuade investigation. As for the doors leading away from the basement, those were another thing. He decided to withhold comment and judgement on the nature of that door which smelled like it contained a brothel, and instead simply followed his mistress down through the other one.

"Ah, now this is a proper workshop indeed!" He exclaimed, once he was certain that they were free of any risk of being heard. While his master stated the obvious, he busied himself with examining the place. It would be difficult for him to set up in here, simply because of the complications that would come from trying to prepare his own workshop in the presence of magically reactive substances. He didn't want to accidentally disrupt his mistress' operations after all. Still, he would need a place of his own. A Reality Marble would be an interesting possibility, but sustaining it for as long as he would need was out of the question for now. He looked about at the doors, wondering if there were a room past one of them where he could create a properly equipped place to work his magic. In any case, he registered that his mistress had stopped talking.

"Ah yes, the making of war," he began as he finally turned his attention back directly to the woman. "As it happens, I already have a plan for that. Quite simply, we wait. Let the other masters and servants do battle with one another, while we lie in wait observing them. When they have expended their energy in combat with one another, we should make our move against them. Not to kill them, but to test our abilities against them in a relatively safe way. We should also prioritize collecting items of a personal nature from them." He looked expectantly at the woman, waiting to see how she would respond to his plan.

"That will not be necessary, Assassin." Alexandra stated, keeping her eyes closed. "She is important to the success of the plan in the long term, as I have already said. Much as it would be advantageous to have the extra command seals, it is more so to have an easily defeated foe at the end when it is time for us to take the grail." Much as she was growing fond of Assassin, she was already beginning to realise the difficulties posed by his personality. It could take a fair amount of effort to keep him in line if he got too intent on killing someone. However, his point stood. The issue of Bailey's magical circuits would have to be solved. A general training regimen involving sustaining spells should work to strengthen them. That, however, was an issue for another day.

The Following Day

The future head of the Blackmoore Family was up before the others in the house, having dressed in her usual attire and made her way down to the grand hall. She sat at the head of the long wooden table, a number of grimoires on the subject of necromancy before her as she pondered the issue of the coming battles. Her mastery of the dead and the demonic would serve her well, it was true, but she needed to come up with a plan. Of course the first step was to identify the strongest pair of Servant and Master and eliminate them first, so long as it could be done with minimal effort. Though considering the power of her own Servant she was confident that it could be. Of course, the alternative means would be to arrange a situation in which the two strongest pairs, excluding herself and Assassin, fought each other. Once that battle had been decided, they could move in and eliminate the weakened victor. The only issue was what to do beyond that. Of course making plans too far in advance was not necessarily wise, as they would need to be able to adapt to the changing tides of battle. Hmm...puzzling.

The sudden change of scenery, being dragged from her seat in the grand hall of her base of operations to sit at a table with the other masters, was startling. Being in one location, only to be dragged to another without a moment's notice, was not pleasant in the least. However, she managed to avoid expressing her distaste for the situation and instead allowed her gaze to pass over those present. The others were concealed by some form of fog, which her gaze could not penetrate, save for one. A man dressed in the royal garments of the Chinese Three Kingdoms period. Interesting that this was who should be the Ruler of their contest. He slammed his fist on the table, presumably to gain their attention before speaking.

"Greetings, Masters! My name is Guan Yu, the Ruler class Servant of this Holy Grail War." Well that certainly explained the way he was dressed. "I have summoned you all to instruct you on how to succeed." His tone was detached, like that of a teacher who was already bored with his class. Alexandra knew she was going to dislike him. "The Holy Grail War is something I'm sure you are familiar with, as you have all summoned your own servants. Only one of you has failed to do so in a manner that was intended for this war..." well, now she knew which one of the concealed shapes at the table was Bailey at least, "...but that's something for the master to deal with in due time." Alexandra had to force herself not to laugh. She could hardly imagine Bailey managing to fix her mistake.

"You are all in competition for the Holy Grail, a priceless relic that can grant any wish - whether it be for the destruction of the world, or its salvation. The only way to do this is through killing..." Alexandra tuned him out for the rest of what he had to say. She had spent years in preparation for this conflict, learning everything there was to know about the terms of the battle. She had even educated bailey on the terms, at least to some degree. There was hardly any reason to have-

"I wish to resign!" Alexandra was shocked out of her revere by Bailey's voice, and it took every ounce of her control not to try and murder the girl then and there. Not only had the girl compromised her identity, but she had also compromised Alexandra's plan to claim victory in the war! The Blackmoore master seethed with rage at Bailey's actions, but she managed to calm herself with a thought. Yes, now the other masters would think that she was out of the running for the war. That was something that she could use! Yes, as long as Bailey actually remained in the war, she could use her to catch the other masters by surprise! Of course to do that she would have to see to it that the woman grew in power sufficiently to be a threat, but there was no difficulty to be found in that. Yes, yes... this was quite the boon indeed.

Merci · September 25, 2015

The memories from yesterday were still fresh in her mind, the events buzzing about in her mind, but time must go on. A day had already passed since then.

"Greetings, Masters! My name is Guan Yu, the Ruler class Servant of this Holy Grail War. The Holy Grail War is something I'm sure all of you are familiar with, as you have all summoned your own servants. Only one of you has failed to do so in a manner that was intended for this war...but that's something for that master to deal with in due time."

Along with six unknown others, she was sitting in a chair, her form disguised by mist. All seven Servants had been summoned as they should be, even if there was apparently one error, so naturally the Holy Grail War must commence. Ruler, the eighth Servant hailing from China, acted as the mediator, and while he didn't quite have the same shine Lancer had, his strength was very clearly vaster. It may well take two or more normal Servants to take down such a person if he overstepped his own boundaries, and that was assuming that something had already been done about the limitless number of Command Seals on his arm. The thought was not comforting.

"You are all in competition for the Holy Grail, a priceless relic that can grant any wish, whether it be for the destruction of the world, or its salvation. The only way to do this is through killing each other Master's servant; however, killing every Servant may not simply be the answer. If any of you still possess command seals and your servant has perished, you may attempt to summon another servant and bind them to your commands seals. In that case, it is smart for each Master to target not only the Servants, but the Masters themselves. Naturally, that means that, by the end of this war, there's a great chance that only one of you may survive."

Glauce's eyes scoured the area, attempting to see if she could see through the mist that enshrouded her opponents, but no such luck. She wondered if there was anyone amongst them who hadn't known this information beforehand, being innocents who stumbled into the war, or if they were all trained killers who'd prepared far much more than she had.

Especially the representatives of the other two Great Families, Alexandra Blackmoore and Morgan Hultgren. Chances were that those two were leagues above everyone else, but knowing what they were capable of made it possible to at least prepare for their specialities, whereas the remaining four on the other hand were wild cards. There was no information on them, and being left in the dark was a scary prospect.

"However... Should you choose to relinquish your rights as a Master within twenty fours hours of this meeting, you will be taken out of this war. In order to fulfill this contract, you must use every command seal in your possession to order your servant to kill itself. Doing this guarantees your exit from the war; I will use one of my infinite command seals to guarantee your safety from enemy servants."

What to do, what to do, what to do.

Meticulous though she may be, Glauce wasn't exactly used to independent planning, and failure meant that Lancer and her might die. Though this war wasn't particularly something she cared much about even as an Argus, after that experience yesterday, a part of her felt motivated to carry on, to see where this led. Therefore, what was the most effective strategy that she and her newfound partner could use to attain victory?

...

"If any of you wish to exit from the war now, it would be in your best interest to speak, but-"

"I wish to resign!"

Right then, Glauce's attention was caught as one of the other Masters yelled out something rather stupid, and seconds later the mist covering that person parted to reveal a girl about the same age as her, with short blue hair and an overall demeanour much unlike that of what one would expect from a magus. She couldn't recognize her, but then again, she'd never watched television or movies in her life, so... Was that girl, perhaps, an innocent who'd stumbled in without really knowing about the dangers of the Holy Grail War? Then it was only fair.

"Very well. You have one day to order your servant to kill itself; If you fail to do this, you will not be taken out of the war and the rest will be notified." Hold on. Kill their own Servant? A being of the same kind, and magnificence as Lancer? If it were the enemy, it was understandable, but how could anyone be expected to do such a terrible thing to a Heroic Spirit, especially one that had pledged loyalty to them? There was no other way? "And, as I was saying. Offering to resign will reveal your identity to everyone; unless you wish to paint a target on your head, do not put forth that offer."

The girl sank deeper into her seat, looking more depressed than ever, especially now that she was in full view of everyone in such a manner. She may end up dead before the next day comes, and if not, this humiliation would haunt her forever. If she went back on her decision at this point, she'd be at a bad disadvantage. Who was she anyway? What kind of magic was she capable of, and which Servant did she summon? These details were unclear, but from now on, anyone could recognize her and hunt her down.

It was pretty pitiful. She was only a stranger, but Glauce couldn't help but feel sad for her. Not that it meant anything since this should be expected from war, but it wasn't fair. The other teams would single her out, flocking to her in an attempt to take her out-

Then,

an idea occurred to her.

It wasn't exactly the brightest one, and she didn't need to act on it, but at the same time, she felt like a drastic action like this might be necessary to truly get things moving. Reflecting on what she had done, she'd only been following her orders so far, doing what others told her. 'Clean this', 'fix that', never allowed to act independently, getting used to how to handle this small environment. Even with her masters - parents - far away, her habits of maintaining the manor had not changed, and even the summoning of Lancer was something they'd decided, not her. Her final order had been to bring forth a Servant and attain victory, but the path to the end was much too uncertain.

Truly, there was no right way, no guaranteed method to go about it. To gather information and defeat the six other teams, it ought to be clear that she had to learn to make her own decisions. If it turned out wrongly, the consequence would be hers alone.

There was no requirement for her to go through with this, so if she did, it would be of her own volition.

Should I really...?

If she did, Lancer might end up getting a little hurt. But if he was anywhere near as strong as he seemed, he had to be able to handle it. She had to place her trust in him as a capable Servant.

Her mind thought back to the events from yesterday...

As the smoke cleared, the girl found herself unable to move. Her strings were cut, and now she, the marionette, had fallen to the ground without any way to stand back up. Well, if she thought about it logically. she was exhausted, and sweating like never before from the heat, and fully drained of mana, so it only made sense...

But that was not the reason she could not move.

Up until that moment, she had never truly understood what it meant to fight in the Holy Grail War. She understood the rules, she knew the history, she comprehended how it was meant to play out, but just like how reading about driving a car wasn't nearly the same as actually physically driving one, it was all mere words, hollow and empty. The thing is, no matter how much she read through old myths and history books, they couldn't have possibly prepared her for this one moment, when she had to let a special guest enter the manor of the Argus.

~ Spring's Melody ~

Her tired eyes could hardly comprehend the sight, for before her was a man unlike anything she'd ever seen, standing in this very room, with hair as white as snow, and a long spear in his hands as red as blood. Although he had the form of a human being, the sheer aura surrounding erased any doubts of him being anything but a Servant, a hero whom had achieved great feats in ancient times, a legend whose radiance had been untainted by the long, long, oh so long passage of time. That was the kind of entity she had brought forth into the modern world, to participate in the Holy Grail War, by her side and hers alone.

Yes, the reason she could not move was simple.

It was just that she had been mesmerized by the beauty of that man, nothing more.

At first, he didn't seem to notice his summoner, preferring to check out his own reflection on the large mirror placed within the room. Muttering to himself, he remarked upon the strangeness of the mirror, having probably never encountered such a thing in his own lifetime, before saying something about the Lord. Some sort of worshipper or something then? She didn't know too much about religion, but enough to be aware of the basics of Christianity and such.

Then, all of a sudden, he began to spin his spear around for no visible reason. Imitating combat moves against an invisible opponent in the mirror, and even though he wasn't putting any strength into his movements, it was clear that his technique was amazing. Was he training? No, despite the power that he was letting out, enough to put any modern expert at the art of the spear to shame, it was clear that he wasn't taking this very seriously. When she'd imagined what kind of hero she might've summoned in the past, what came to mind had been someone far sterner and composed, hellbent on victory, and yet the Heroic Spirit before her very eyes was acting like a child, just playing around. In a way, like her late sister used to when she was little.

The entire thing was bizarre. For someone who gave off such a fierce presence, why did he seem so carefree? What made him, who must have seen tragedy she couldn't possibly conceive of, smile and joke around like there was nothing wrong with the world?

Finally, he came to a stop, as if having noticed something. He turned in her direction, opened his mouth and, "P- Pray tell, fine maiden. How long exactly have you been standing there?"

Fine maiden? Who was he talking to? Momentarily moving her gaze away from him, she looked around - had she somehow summoned a second, female Servant without noticing? What a crazy idea. However, that didn't seem to be the case. Nonetheless, he went on, bowing his head low.

"I apologize for the grievous insult I have done you milady. It appears that I was over taken by the joy of being resurrected, I will not allow myself to indulge in such folly again." He continued, his voice containing traces of shame. Then, with his eyes moving slightly in her direction, his enthusiasm dropped, slightly, ever so slightly, but enough that it was noticeable. "Ah... I take it by those marks on your hand that it was you who summoned me to this world, and not the... Lord."

Marks on your hand...?

"No matter, I will serve you just as loyally as I would serve Him. I believe your name for me would be Lancer, would you do me the privilege of bestowing your name upon me, Mistress?"

A silence passed throughout the room as he waited for a response, still looking in her direction, and she too decided to wait for the mystery Mistress to answer him.

...of course, it was her whom had obtained the Command Seals, performed the ritual, and summoned him. But at the same time, the very thought that she was the one being addressed seemed absolutely ridiculous. After all, there was no way that she could possibly fit the description of Mistress. She was the bastard whose only duty was to remain silent and work, unnoticed by anyone else, and at the moment, her appearance was severely dishevelled from the flames, with bits of soot all over her skin and clothes. It wasn't her. It couldn't be her.

Yet as she remained on her knees, it began to dawn upon her that there wasn't anyone else in the manor except for the man in her direct line of sight, and therefore, that there was no one to answer his question.

"..."

She didn't move. Was it fine? Or was it arrogant of her to think that she could ever be referred to as 'Mistress', served by an individual as awe-inspiring as him?

"Glauce."

She had to take the chance.

"Glauce...Argus."

With extreme nervousness and caution, she got back onto her feet, looking back at the Servant.

Her Servant.

"It is nice to meet you, at long last... Lancer."

While everyone else was still paying attention to the newly-visible Bailey, as well as Ruler's words as he went on monologuing, their focus was abruptly interrupted as the fog from one of the others seemed to explode, being forcefully expelled by a power from within, letting out a fairly audible boom.

~ Stand And Fight ~

The way it had happened, there was no possible way that it could've been accidental - in other words, it had to be an intentional, planned attempt to reveal one's own identity. For the other Masters, in which secrecy was the key to win, doing such a thing was just about unthinkable. Was it brave, or was it utterly stupid and reckless?

With the fog around her dispersed, it showed very clearly the figure of another girl on the throne opposite Bailey's, sitting straight and composed like a proper lady. She wore a formal maid outfit, with pale skin, brown eyes, and blonde hair, her mannerisms almost reminiscent of that of a robot or golem, though the very fact that she had done something so, so anomalous showed that if she was, there had to be something wrong with her programming. Sitting completely still, the expression on her face was blank, showing no trace of anything remotely resembling hesitance or fear.

"Please pardon me for my intrusive manners, Ruler, but I did not know that we were allowed to do this until our dear friend attempted to resign. This will only take a short while."

She did a courteous nod towards the Overseer, and glanced at Bailey with a vague look, before moving her gaze throughout the other five Masters, challenging them.

"Now then. Hello, Masters. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the chosen Magus of the Great Family of Argus, descendants of the Original Argonaut, inventors of the concept of Mechanical Transmutation, and builders of the Holy Grail we all fight for."

The maid introduced herself in a monotone, sounding like she was reading from a script, though at the same time it felt like she wasn't taking any of them seriously. It was almost as if she possessed absolute confidence in herself, and by doing this, was mocking every other magus present for their cowardice.

"If I may be so bold as to express my own opinion, our friend here was quite right in deciding to resign. The fact is that no matter who your Servants are...they will fall to mine. Look at my face, and remember it, for I hereby invite each and every one of you to come to me. That is, if you dare."

Afterwards, Glauce stayed silent, gesturing for the meeting to continue whilst letting her challenge sink in. Now that she was out in the open, she would become a target for the rest, but for her, that was just about as perfectly acceptable as anything else.

She couldn't help but wonder how Lancer might react to the news though. Somehow, it was hard to imagine him ever getting mad, but if he did...

Maeriberii Haan · September 26, 2015

Did he just...look down on him?

That was something that Silvio had expected seeing his servant's previous attitude, but it did tick him off no matter whether it's justified or not. Yet the thing that he found to be the most problematic was his servant's desire to make this an open war in itself. The Holy Grail War was meant to be a secret ritual, and Silvio had heard that if a Master-Servant pair would compromise the secrecy of the ritual, then the Ruler could just temporarily halt the war and paint a target practice on the offender so that the other pairs would eliminate them first. As charismatic as his servant was, his views were severely outdated, incompatible with the current world and he had little to no appreciation for the beauty of subtlety.

"First of all, while I don't see any reason for you to act subservient to me, I am here to rein you from doing anything too reckless. A base of operation and starting territory would still be necessary, but this certain war is not something where armies would decide things. You are not in a position to get the commoners here to join with your cause and start your advance to gain more territory, at least for now, and you are not in a position to arm your army if you do end up rallying them.

If you are still persistent in getting an army to fight for your cause here, then I shall suggest that you should actually gather some actual information first on this war and the current world. Last thing I'd like to see is your strategic maneuver failing us both due to your recklessness." After saying that, Silvio decided to leave Berserker on his own thoughts alone. He's a bit tired from summoning him, and he would still need to prepare a base of operation properly while coming up with plans on how to actually take account on Berserker's clearly different approach to this war than him.

Walking back into his workshop, the man hummed a tune along the way.

"As it happens, I already have a plan for that. Quite simply, we wait. Let the other masters and servants do battle with one another, while we lie in wait observing them. When they have expended their energy in combat with one another, we should make our move against them. Not to kill them, but to test our abilities against them in a relatively safe way. We should also prioritize collecting items of a personal nature from them."

"My my, playing it quite safe, aren't we." Tianzi replied to Caster's idea half-amusedly, but it wasn't as a way to dismiss his thought. Tianzi agreed with his thought that gathering information and playing it safely until the moment was right would be the best way to do this. Between her myriad homunculi and Caster's own familiars, they could safely act as observers from a safe place until they would be able to ensure their victories. However, the last two part of her servant's line of thought was something that Tianzi deemed to be nonsensical at best. No reason for them to not go for the kill at that point, and while collecting personal items would be a great boon in researching, prioritizing them above everything else was something that Tianzi deemed as a peculiarly skewed scale of priority. She didn't dismiss it completely of course. Caster should have a point with the two prompt, and even if he didn't, the two would be an insight to learn more on what kind of person he truly was.

"Anyway, perhaps tomorrow we should start planning on planting our eyes all across the city. As you said, safely observing things would be the best thing to do here. Don't go through the doors here, they're meant for something important.

With that said, goodnight."

"Greetings, Masters! My name is Guan Yu, the Ruler class Servant of this Holy Grail War."

A man with regal clothing and even more impressive beard. Tianzi was quite amused that the ritual chose him of all people to be the arbiter of the war. She could see the other masters were present too, but their faces and features were obscured by a thick fog to the point of there's not being any point to try deciphering their identities here.

"I have summoned you all to instruct you on how to succeed."

Perhaps it’s something for her to listen to. Not having enough actual preparation for the war itself after taking the place of the Hultgren magus, Tianzi figured out that maybe she should actually give some attention to his words. He mentioned about a master that hadn’t properly summoned their servant properly, and the woman was somewhat amused hearing about that, having almost being sure that she had fallen into the same slump yesterday. However, the address itself ended up being less than informational aside from bits and pieces that she had already known - that which disappointed Tianzi slightly.

"I wish to resign!"

But then, something more interesting happened. As Guan Yu talked about how to resign from the war, one of the masters present – a blue-haired brat with none of the characteristics she would expect from a magus, yet alone a Master, spoke up and announced her resignation. Looking at her in a glance, Tianzi was not surprised a bit. Someone like her would have zero chance in this war. The girl sank into her seat deeper and deeper after her bold declaration of resignation as Guan Yu continued to talk about the procedure of resignation. Maybe she’s regretting saying it out loud?

But it didn’t matter. If she left the war, there’s one less obstacle to worry about. If she stayed, she and Caster would be able to set up ways to eliminate her soon anyway as she had shown her identity before everyone else here.

Although, that did give her something to think about…

A challenge had been issued.

After the blue-haired girl announced her resignation (that she might or might not carry on with), another Master stood up and challenged everyone. The daughter of the Argus family, the heir to the family’s proud legacy. Silvio was well aware of the family and their issues from the time he was on the Association. Not enough to know about their daughter, but he was aware of Odysseus’s less than admirable conducts and the scandal around it. He’s not aware on how it resolved however, as most of what he did know was from the word of mouth – in other words, gossip.

But it shouldn’t matter now, should it?

As he listened closely to the words of the little girl, something stirred within his mind. While subtlety was his modus operandi, being hidden in the shadows was definitely not. No, that definitely was not something acceptable. It was against any sense of reason to give up his own identity, especially now. But this war should not be fought as a wild goose chase. That was what he believed in, and that was what he’s going to make sure of.

Yet he couldn’t bring himself to stand up and speak.

Sinking into his seat as he continued to keep his gaze on the daughter of the Argus, Silvio started to feel a bit pathetic. The girl could have enough courage to boldly declare her identity and issue a challenge, perhaps as a way to direct half of the focus away from the almost-resigned master. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to stand up too and speak up. He couldn’t even bring himself to uphold the thing that he believed to be the right thing to do – to cast light on the shadow-like nature of the war itself.

That made him feel somewhat pathetic.

“This is silly. I’m tired of hiding. Why would I hide myself anyway in a situation like this. In a grand occasion like this.

I am the Master of Caster. My name is…I don’t think that actually matters in this place as I’m not from one of the big families here. Though, I guess I shall introduce myself as Tianzi Hua Xiaohu, a magus from the east.

Subtlety is not my style at all, so here it is. I welcome the challenge of everyone else here. I expect you all to come to my doorsteps sooner or later.”

Another master stood up. A woman, dressed in a traditional clothing. Looking at her face, Silvio was obliged to think that he should’ve been aware of her identity, but he couldn’t exactly put his fingers on it. Nevertheless, the woman had also let her presence be known to the other masters.

That was it. At that point, Silvio made up his decision. Forcing himself to stand up despite his entire logic and common sense telling him otherwise, the man bowed to Ruler as to ask for his permission to have himself introduce his identity here, and after recognizing a subtle nod from him, the white-haired man started to speak up.

“Ugh…this mist is killing me…

Let’s drop all pretense of subtlety from this meeting, shall we? Creating some sort of fake difficulty and a vague safety net for the participants, why should it even exist in the first place? As ones that had volunteered themselves to enter this war, we should also all embrace the risk posed within it, not hiding behind a shadow and scheme other’s downfall. I’m all for subtlety but this kind of secrecy is irritating.

I am Silvio Sant-Angelo, former teacher from the Magus Association and the Master of Berserker. If you all wished to attack me first, so be it. But for the sake of honor and fair play, I implore the last of you three, who still chose to hide behind the shadow, to reveal yourself.”

Had he made fool of himself before the others? Perhaps, but if it’s for moving the others with something he actually believed in, then it was acceptable. He had compromised his advantage with that act, but there’s no reason for him to not do it now.

And Berserker would probably like the challenge anyway.

a bad post · September 26, 2015

Unlike most men Morgan's age who would find themselves flustered at the thought of sleeping with a woman in their same bed, especially one as attractive as Saber, Morgan was quite comfortable with the idea. Even when Saber had first proposed it Morgan had agreed readily. Strategically it offered the best advantage should the manor fall under attack, and oddly enough... something about having the large woman sleeping next to him. If he had to describe the feeling Morgan could only describe it as... safe.

"Yes, my master."

Those where the last words Morgan heard as he drifted off into sleep a small, yet serene smile on his face, confident that the woman beside him would keep him safe. Deep asleep Morgan hand moved unconsciously clenching Saber's nightwear with his small fist. Though while by now it felt quite routine, the first time Morgan had done this it had given Saber quite the start. As the young man snuggled himself closer to his Servant the soft sound of Morgan's even breathing likely eventually pulled Saber into the clutches of slumber as well...

"Greetings, masters! My name is Guan Yu, the Ruler class Servant of this Holy Grail War. I have summoned all of you here in order to instruct you on how to succeed." Morgan gazed at the booming Servant's face, smirking slightly. What an interesting piece to add to the board. However as for the information he had to provide on how to "succeed" Morgan was unsurprising to learn none of the information was very new to him. There was one thing however...

"So, one of the other Masters has improperly summoned their Servant, huh? Hm, I wonder has my brother already caused a problem for me?"

Morgan gazed around the half circle table at the gathered Masters curious as to which one of them could've botched their summoning.

"I wish to resign!"

Morgan looked slightly surprised at the woman who'd just spoke up. As the mist surrounding her face dissipated Morgan was again surprised. The fearful cry had come from none other than Bailey Braunbeck, quite a up-and-coming actress... and very obviously out of her depth.

"What insulting affront to the art of magecraft she is," Morgan thought to himself, "after that display it's not hard to figure out just who botched the summoning. Saber and I should eliminate her quick to claim her Command Seals, and I can re-summon what ever handicapped Servant had originally had the displeasure of being hers in the first place."

A loud boom from beside him however attracted his attention. It appeared the woman next to him was also eager to reveal her identity. This young woman seemed to have far more confidence than the last though, at least that was how it appeared.

"Please pardon me for my intrusive manners, Ruler, but I did not know that we were allowed to do this until our dear friend attempted to resign. This will only take a short while."

Morgan watched the young woman with a bored look on his face, how amusing this woman appeared to be trying to play at being a hero herself, yet what she did next certainly raised Morgan's eyebrows.

"Now then. Hello, Masters. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the chosen Magus of the Great Family of Argus, descendants of the Original Argonaut, inventors of the concept of Mechanical Transmutation, and builders of the Holy Grail we all fight for."

This woman was the Argus Master. How preposterous was that? Giving the young woman and up and down glance Morgan could tell quite obviously from the woman's attire she was certainly not Jaselyn Argus, the person who supposed to have been the Argus Master in this Holy Grail War, and Morgan knew with certainty the Argus' had only sired a single child, a common practice among magus families. So, just who was this girl?

"If I may be so bold as to express my own opinion, our friend here was quite right in deciding to resign. The fact is that no matter who your Servants are...they will fall to mine. Look at my face, and remember it, for I hereby invite each and every one of you to come to me. That is, if you dare."

For a moment there was silence among the Masters, each of them weighing their options, and then...

“This is silly. I’m tired of hiding. Why would I hide myself anyway in a situation like this. In a grand occasion like this.

I am the Master of Caster. My name is…I don’t think that actually matters in this place as I’m not from one of the big families here. Though, I guess I shall introduce myself as Tianzi Hua Xiaohu, a magus from the east.

Subtlety is not my style at all, so here it is. I welcome the challenge of everyone else here. I expect you all to come to my doorsteps sooner or later.”

The Master of... Caster. Now that was interesting. Morgan sighed internally realizing one of his biggest boons in the entire Grail War had been compromised, and his older brother was likely dead, and if he wasn't already, he soon would be. However before he could speak another Master, this one male, revealed himself.

“Ugh…this mist is killing me…

Let’s drop all pretense of subtlety from this meeting, shall we? Creating some sort of fake difficulty and a vague safety net for the participants, why should it even exist in the first place? As ones that had volunteered themselves to enter this war, we should also all embrace the risk posed within it, not hiding behind a shadow and scheme other’s downfall. I’m all for subtlety but this kind of secrecy is irritating.

I am Silvio Sant-Angelo, former teacher from the Magus Association and the Master of Berserker. If you all wished to attack me first, so be it. But for the sake of honor and fair play, I implore the last of you three, who still chose to hide behind the shadow, to reveal yourself.”

"Ms. Xiaohu, you are the Master of the Caster class Servant, yes? Heeheehee~ It appears we are already down one Great Family member, for someone such as Morgan Hultgren to go down so easily, I imagine you quite the magus Ms. Xiaohu. To take down a Great Family member all on your own, you'll be quite the threat that's for sure." Though the other Masters could not see it Morgan smiled behind the mist. Already he'd begun to sow seeds of deception among them, not only that, but he'd painted a target on Tianzi's forehead. The faster Caster was removed from the playing field the more at ease Morgan would feel.

However, Morgan was not here to simply play mind games with the Masters. There was a far more important issue at hand.

BGM - Persona Q OST: Unexpected Turn of Affairs

"Now, it is quite gallant of you all to reveal your identities, however I myself shall elect to keep mine a secret. I do believe we are overlooking something quite important." A pause. Morgan waited to give the others a chance to wonder what exactly Morgan was referring to. "Our white knight here has neglected to tell exactly who she is. Of course, she has identified herself as the Argus Master, it is quite obvious she is not, in fact, Jaselyn Argus, the sole daughter of Argus family. So, pray tell, stranger who are you?"

Asriel Dreemurr · September 26, 2015

Well, this certainly turned things upside down. Bailey's accidental revelation of her identity produced quite the string of events. First the Argus master made herself known and voiced a challenge to all those present. While Alexandra had intended to ignore it, this did answer some questions for her. So the seventh master had shown herself, and it was none other than Odysseus Argus' bastard! Oh that was such an amusing turn of events, seeing the mighty and arrogant line of Argus laid so very low as they had been. Still, at least this girl promised to be entertaining. The way she challenged them all in that oh so very honorable manner was enough that she almost considered sparing her. At the very least she would make a fine Lich Thrall.

However, things were soon made more complicated. Two other masters stepped forward, figuratively speaking of course, and revealed themselves. The one who claimed mastery of Caster was a puzzling one, as she was not one of the candidates that her familiar network had revealed to her. It was clear she had somehow interfered with another master's summoning and claimed their servant instead, and the fact that she had not been detected until now proved that she was a dangerous one. The other, Silvio, was precisely where and what she had expected him to be. Though perhaps his servant was not what she had anticipated, but that was something of its own to consider at another time. Now there were only two masters left whom she did not know the identity of for certain, and one of them decided to reveal themselves.

"Ms. Xiaohu, you are the Master of the Caster class Servant, yes? Heehee~ It appears we are already down one Great Family Member, for someone such as Morgan Hultgren to go down so easily, I imagine you quite the Magus Ms. Xiaohu. To take down a Great Family member all on your own, you'll be quite the threat to be sure." Well that was obviously Morgan speaking. She had spent far too long preparing for this war by listening and watching through the ears and eyes of her familiars to make that mistake. So, the boy was going to try and convince the others that he was someone he was not? Much as she admired the prospect, she would despise to simply let him play his mind games or to gain information without a cost. Of course, if she revealed that she knew then he would likely reveal her. Well, better to be seen standing in solidarity with Bailey than to just make a fool of herself for no reason.

"Pardon my interruption into this line of questioning," she began, turning to face the mass of mist that was Morgan Hultgren. Before she continued, she decided to do as much of the others had done: break down the barrier concealing her identity and reveal her petite form to those around them. It was mainly because she wanted Morgan to know just who it was that had ruined his plan, and so that he could see the wicked little smile that had formed upon her face. "Your attempts at misdirection do you no credit, Morgan. Do not attempt to claim that you are not the youngest child of the Hultgren family either, for I have been watching you. You summoned your servant, who is of the Saber class, quite a while ago when you should have been preparing fortifications and defenses around your home. Otherwise, I would not have been able to observe you at all hours of the day.~" A quiet giggle escaped her lips, and she turned to address the gathered masters.

"I suppose I should do you all the courtesy of introducing myself. I am Alexandra Elizabeth Blackmoore, eldest child of the Blackmoore family and heir to the power we wield." She turned her cold, stern gaze towards Glauce with a wicked smile crossing her lips. "While I appreciate your Bravado, Miss Argus- or would you prefer miss smith?- I must refute your claim that your servant is greater than ours. As Assassin's master, I am quite confident that I could have your little spearman slain before they even knew they were in danger." With that said, she turned her gaze towards the final master at the table whose identity had not been made plain to all. That smirk remained on her face as she stared and raised an eyebrow, as if challenging him to present himself to them before she revealed him herself. Oh, it was simply too grand a time being privy to what her opponents did not wish to know.

Merci · September 26, 2015

To Glauce's surprise, her actions seemed to have caused a chain reaction amongst the others, as both the Masters of Caster and Berserker followed suit, the former an unknown magus by the name of Tianzi Hua Xiaohu, and the latter a teacher from the Magus Association called Silvio Sant-Angelo, neither of whom seemed very eager to be hiding in the shadows in the first place. The information being gathered this way was practically invaluable in the upcoming war.

Afterwards, another spoke up, although this one stayed in the shadows, his voice distorted enough so that it couldn't be recognized through the fog. He went on to call forth attention to Xiaohu, singling her out as...the murderer of Morgan Hultgren? Was this person, perhaps, one of his siblings, an emergency replacement to represent Hultgren like herself? If that were so, then he wouldn't possess the ridiculous magical circuits that the boy had been infamous for, making him less of a threat. Whatever the case, if indeed the Master of Caster had taken on someone from the Great Family and emerged victorious, she couldn't be underestimated-

Just as she was setting her priorities straight, her thoughts came to an abrupt pause. It was then that the fog covering yet another Master vanished away, revealing a dark, uncaring woman, the very sight of whom chilled her slightly, as if she were staring at a herald of death. Anyone who saw that woman couldn't have possibly mistook her for anyone else, for this had to be the representative of Blackmoore, specialized in the dark arts more than any other. Alexandra Elizabeth Blackmoore.

As soon as Alexandra appeared in full view of everyone, she questioned the words of the Hultgren Magus, identifying him as truly being Morgan, the Master of Saber, as well as calling him out on his ill-preparation. She had observed him all hours of the day? For the others, revealing themselves had been a risky move that could easily backfire, but somehow, looking at the magus made it seem like she suffered no ill consequences whatsoever from this, as though she were an immovable force with nothing to lose.

That woman, was she truly a magus? Or had her proficiency at the dark arts grown so much that she had come to resemble a Dead Apostle, the concept of fatigue and rest having since become foreign to her?

"I do believe we are overlooking something quite important." The Hultgren Master spoke up. He paused for a moment, before moving his gaze over in her direction. "Our white knight here has neglected to tell who exactly she is. Of course, she has identified herself as the Argus Master, it is quite obvious she is not, in fact, Jaselyn Argus, the sole daughter of Argus Family. So, pray tell, stranger who are you?"

"Oh? Is it truly that outlandish to believe that I am Jaselyn Argus, Morgan?" If Alexandra was to be believed, that was who he was. While the possibility remained that Alexandra intended to confuse things further this way, as an enemy magus, it was clearly to everyone's advantage that her words were the truth.

Then, the exact same person who'd provided that information spoke up. "While I appreciate your Bravado, Miss Argus - or would you prefer Miss Smith? - I must refute your claim that your Servant is greater than ours. As Assassin's Master, I am quite confident that I could have your little spearman slain before they even knew they were in danger."

Without a doubt, this woman was the greatest threat in the war. Something about her was eerie and unsettling, and the fact that she had done this much already demonstrated that she had prepared plenty. What else was she capable of? It was impossible to tell at this early point, but there was only one way for her to move onwards.

"I see that you have done your homework, Madame Blackmoore." Glauce responded professionally, her monotone taking a lighter tone, with her outer expression unfaltering even under that penetrating gaze from the other end. "However, that you have taken what you saw in the Argus Manor for granted is proof of your own inadequacy. I have been well aware of familiars entering my domain, but since they were of such low standard, I allowed them entry. I had wondered what sort of novice magus would attempt such a thing against us, the Argus who specialize in magical construction, but now that I know that they belong to you... I admit I am a little disappointed. I expected much more. Speaking of which, tell me, was my bare body to your liking?"

Unsmiling, unmoving, Glauce was like a judging robot, selecting little details and bringing them forward to ruin the image of the Blackmoore, her voice calm yet unnaturally sharp.

"Oh, do not mistake me, as a fellow representative of the Three Great Families, I would give you the benefit of the doubt, but earlier, you mentioned a spearman, did you not? That is when you prove your inadequacy. I know that you must be very busy, attentively watching six people at once as they bathe and sleep, but did your ghosts honestly fall to our perception distortion filter? We Argus learn how to see through it at the age of two. Is a full-grown Blackmoore not even capable of that much these days? Now I see why my parents used to joke about your kind all the time - after all, you Blackmoores are so inferior to the Argus that it makes no difference whether you are alive or dead."

She locked eyes directly with her opponent, analyzing her, challenging her.

"'All bark and no bite', as the saying goes. That must be why you ended up summoning Assassin, because you know you're the weakest of us all." She concluded. "It would be better if you didn't waste our time and resigned like our dear friend, but I doubt your mental capacity is capable of even that much. With that said, please take care not to get in the way of the professional magi too much, okay?"

And with that, Glauce turned away from Alexandra in a manner to show that her business with her was finished.

As of right now, she knew who owned Caster, Berserker, Assassin, the three lesser classes. Coupled with her own, that left only Archer, Rider, and Saber. The Knight Classes. The frontliners. The Hultgren owned one, the blunette another, and the last one had to belong to the last one. All attention fell upon the final remaining Master, who'd up until that point remained silent. Would they reveal himself spontaneously like most of the others had, or stay hidden in the fog, their identity protected to grant them a small, if cowardly advantage in the upcoming Holy Grail War?

a bad post · September 26, 2015

"While I appreciate your Bravado, Miss Argus - or would you prefer Miss Smith? - I must refute your claim that your Servant is greater than ours. As Assassin's Master, I am quite confident that I could have your little spearman slain before they even knew they were in danger."

"I see that you have done your homework, Madame Blackmoore. However, that you have taken what you saw in the Argus Manor for granted is proof of your own inadequacy. I have been well aware of familiars entering my domain, but since they were of such low standard, I allowed them entry. I had wondered what sort of novice magus would attempt such a thing against us, the Argus who specialize in magical construction, but now that I know that they belong to you... I admit I am a little disappointed. I expected much more. Speaking of which, tell me, was my bare body to your liking?"

"Oh, my this war is starting to a little heated isn't it?" Morgan thought, shifting his gaze between the Argus woman and Alexandra. It seemed this Argus servant had some bite to her after all. Oh this would be an exciting Grail War indeed.

"Oh, do not mistake me, as a fellow representative of the Three Great Families, I would give you the benefit of the doubt, but earlier, you mentioned a spearman, did you not? That is when you prove your inadequacy. I know that you must be very busy, attentively watching six people at once as they bathe and sleep, but did your ghosts honestly fall to our perception distortion filter? We Argus learn how to see through it at the age of two. Is a full-grown Blackmoore not even capable of that much these days? Now I see why my parents used to joke about your kind all the time - after all, you Blackmoores are so inferior to the Argus that it makes no difference whether you are alive or dead."

Morgan smirked behind the mist. Alexandra would not respond kindly to that, that was for sure.

"'All bark and no bite', as the saying goes. That must be why you ended up summoning Assassin, because you know you're the weakest of us all. It would be better if you didn't waste our time and resigned like our dear friend, but I doubt your mental capacity is capable of even that much. With that said, please take care not to get in the way of the professional magi too much, okay?"

"AHAHAHAHA~" Morgan's hysteric laugh broke the silence that followed the two Master's exchange. "It seems my deception has been discovered. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that someone as lowborn as a Blackmoore, would be the one watching me while I undressed." The mist surrounding Morgan dissolved revealing the young man still dressed in his nightwear, leaning on the arm rest of his seat. "It is as Alexandra Blackmoore said, I am in fact Morgan Lucian Hultgren, the one and only. However not all I have said is untrue. You see, this Grail War had two Hultgrens participating, and as you might imagine one of those Hultgrens was the in possession of the Servant that is now being controlled by Tianzi." What Morgan neglected to mention though was that he was well aware of the identity of Tianzi's Servant, and he found it would be far more in his favor to keep that bit information to himself... for now.

"Ah, but Ms. Blackmoore I can't forget about you! How funny it is that you would be the one to reveal me, yet the Blackmoores are not known to be most honorable of families, and we all know you're no different, what with that little toy of yours... So, I must ask... what is your purpose in revealing yourself, it gives you no advantage... unless there is some other purpose in you revealing yourself. In fact, what was the purpose of this whole excersice... oh I remember," Morgan now turned his piercing gaze to Bailey, "it was to make a certain someone feel less alone about their utter idiocy, so that the poor little girl would feel not so alone in her blunder. Though, Alexandra, I don't believe you where ever one known for your kindness, so I wonder what is your purpose in assisting that girl?"

With that final little comment Morgan sat back into his seat resting his hands in his lap like the picture of innocence, quite content with himself.

Lunar Origins · September 26, 2015

Ruler looked on to the little squabble with interest; it seemed that the Masters wished to make this game a little more honest. Of course, whether or not these… women and children, for the most part, were out in the open or not was completely irrelevant in the grand scheme of themes. In fact, it left the advantage with the one final Master, who had so far not chosen to speak. It was a wise decision in the long run to not reveal your identity at the beginning of the war, but slinking around in the shadows was sure to draw fire eventually.

Ruler gestured to everyone to calm down; the environment had gotten a little too heated here, which was good – up to a point. While it facilitated grievous feelings between all of the parties involved, a quick war was not a fun one.

“I’m sure many of you have choice words to say to each other, but this meeting wasn’t meant to last forever.” Guan Yu stroked his beard softly as if it were the most precious thing in the world to him. “I would like to give our final master a chance to reveal himself as per the tradition here, then. It seems like the honorable thing to do.” Guan Yu’s gaze drifted slowly over to the one last figure drenched in fog.

The fog covered figure hesitated for a moment, and then spoke with a thick Scottish accent. “You know, I preferred the shadows, but what with the circumstances…”

The fog drifted away from the person’s body, revealing a tall, Caucasian man with black hair and a gaunt face. He wore a suit – it seemed he was one of the few that was already up and planning things for the day. His command seal was easily visible on his neck; it was that of a standard and a horse. “I’m sure many of you would know me by name, or perhaps recognize my face, which is why I wanted to slink around for a while and come in later. It seems my little ruse has been, for lack of a better term, compromised.”

“For the sake of introductions, my name is Thomas Garnier. Some of you may know me as the Blind Alchemist of Hampton; I wouldn’t want my reputation to deter you from participating in this war, but as the Master of Rider I ensure you that this Holy Grail that you are all so fond of is as good as mine.”

Thomas wore a smile on his face extending from ear to ear. What he said was true; he was the infamous Blind Alchemist of Hampton, a powerful mage who was expelled from the Mage’s association for his criminal experiments on humans. These crimes were countless; among the non-magus of the world, he was a well-known serial killer who would leave his victims – usually men of the same build and eye color as him - eyeless. In reality, he was trying to find a way to cure his own declining eyesight through alchemy, but his efforts were a failure. Among other things, he was also known as a grand master ice magus and a cunning deceiver, which contributed to his rise in rank amongst those in the mages association.

He turned to the other Masters in order to address them. His title wasn’t exactly true; he wasn’t blind, but his eyesight was absolutely horrible regardless. “I wasn’t aware the Holy Grail War that the legendary Great Families had concocted was a battle fought by children and…” His gaze fell upon Silvio. “…half-rate teachers.” A chuckle escaped from his lips. “It’s rather fitting that those of the three Great Families aren’t even that great themselves, isn’t it? You’ve got Morgan – such a beautiful young lady with the bravado and confidence to match… who also happens to be the runt of her litter. It’s a shame that your brother was killed by such an unimpressive magus,” he said, shooting a look towards Tianzi. “I’m sure he would’ve done your parents proud. And you, Alexandra! The Blackmoores have always been a fine lot, but it’s a damn shame that your brother Alexander wasn’t old enough to join us. We both know that he’s going to be the superior magus of the two of you, so I find your ambition quite… entertaining.”

And, finally, his eyes rested on Glauce.

“And you, the one who was never meant to be. Your entire life has been spent in the shadows of those who are greater than you; try as you might, you’re never going to measure up to the expectations of your parents. You’re going to fail them yet again; you’re going to fail your dead sister. Oh, wait, you wanted to fool us into thinking that you were Jaselyn? My lady, don’t be so naïve. You’re not half as beautiful, talented, or even confi-“

“Will you funking stop?”

Bailey’s voice rang out once more – this time, her head was being held in her hands. All of this confrontation had got to her and she was about to snap. “It’s so damn unsportsmanlike of you to just… go off and attack these people personally. Stop. I don’t care for your theatrics.” Thomas was taken aback, if only a little. Who was this woman, to stand up to him, the Blind Alchemist of Hampton? It was disgraceful! Shameful! But, most of all… impressive.

“I guess I need to introduce myself, then,” continued Bailey, lifting her head up. “I… guess I shouldn’t be so scared of you all, now that my ass has been covered.” She looked at Alexandra and flashed a smile. “My name is Bailey Braunbeck – or, well, I guess that’s not my real name. I’m Tabitha Blackmoore, daughter of Aradia Blackmoore and Callahan Braunbeck. I’m the master of this kickass servant known to you all as Archer, so you better prepare yourselves!” It seemed that her newfound confidence was getting the best of her. She felt good. Powerful, even, in the presence of everyone else.

“Yeah, I’m another Blackmoore. Perhaps not as powerful or as pure as Alexandra here, or Alexander, but don’t count me out of this war. I've one of the most powerful servants that can possibly be summoned," A visible smile could be seen on Ruler's face. "And I'm not such a shabby magus myself. So be prepared! The Blackmoores will reign victorious!" She wore a grin. This felt so good. Just like show business, she needed to fake it until she made it. Perhaps showing her own weakness at first wasn't so bad.

Ruler tapped his hand on the table once more to get everyone's attention. "I think that concludes the first meeting of the Masters," he said. "I don't think I'll be seeing any of you again for a very long time; I look forward to meeting the victor. You may all return to your bodies."

And, with that...

Bailey's spirit rushed back into her body at such a speed that she was thrown back. She nearly collapsed onto the floor in a dizzy panic, but caught herself.

She looked torwards Archer.

"D-did you get all of that?"

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