Fate/Re:Trace

[Aladar]

Oh, it depends on how the inspiration and muses and lack of writer's block and stuff... but if I've to give an average estimation for an average chapter... a couple of hours, but it takes up a day in realty to fix up the bugs and smooth it over and stuff.

In short, I can write a chapter a day with sufficient time and inspiration.

BTW, I haven't seen one so far in Beast's Lair, but should I make a PM/VM notification list for when I update a chap? If there's anyone who thinks s/he'll keep on reading and wants to be notified, do tell.

[Spinach]

Hmm, I stop by multiple times a day so I'll spot an update when one happens. This is one of the threads I search for specifically when I come by.

[Aladar]

'Tis makes me happy, yo. xD

[Spinach]

'oh sweet Al just posted maybe it's an update?'

<3

[Sherrinford]

'oh sweet Al just posted maybe it's an update?'

<3

No, it isn't ;_;

[Fangstrike]

Waver as a badass? Awesome. I like how he schooled Shinosuke. Guessing Waver might be the one who travelled back through time.

I'm liking the story so far. The setting seems to be well crafted. I'm looking forward to seeing how the situation in Hartcroft unfolds and whether or not its' history or the various machinations of the Five Founding Families will have a significant effect on this HGW. Given that Aladar has put so much effort into creating the FFF, I"m going to assume yes, probably some of the other masters will come from their families.

The prologue definitely led me to believe we're not going to see an upbeat or heroic bunch, and it seems that way so far. The characters are just as interesting as the story, but I'm having trouble getting myself to liking them. Nia seems like a bipolar troll, and is annoying in an evil way, while Jed is annoying in a harmless way. I'd recommend to ease up a little on the trolling. There's just something really annoying about Nia's dialogue that makes her a little difficult to read. I also don't have a good handle on her personality yet, though I assume that's just the dissonance of seeing her deal with two different characters in very different manners. She seemed to be threatening/manhandling Ayaka, but she seems to have a teasing relationship with Glen, who she also might be using despite their history. I do question her sanity. It wouldn't surprise me if she has some kind of machination in the background; she's a little obvious about it.

I'm a little confused on Ayaka. In the Wise-up her parents are dead, but she's also living with parents now. I assume they're foster parents or something, but I'd like these sorts of factual things spelled out for me in the story. I'm not sure why her past was kind of glossed over but not Glen's. Maybe there's a reason, but there's been enough hints in the Wiseup that we can guess her past. And while her reaction to Nia's harsh antics is understandable, and her history is meant to garner our sympathy, there's something about Ayaka disolving into a gibbering mess that just didn't endear her to me as a character. If this was RL, my reaction would be different, but in a fictional setting we come to expect certain things about main characters and more from them than we would normal people. At the very least, they need something to charm us, and I think Ayaka is lacking in this a little. I think it's important to know her goal and her history soon so we can better understand her as a character.

Glen's another sympathetic character, but just knowing what he's going through isn't enough to make me feel like we've lived it. I don't need a whole flashback, though that's a popular method. Seeing everything inside his head lacks a certain strength, kind of like an info dump, that I think dialogue and actions could evoke more strongly. Well, we haven't seen much of Glen, so maybe I'm expecting too much too quick. The one main thing that stood out to me about Glen was how he dealt with Meissa. Sure, it's an arranged marriage, but he being a jerk about it. He's getting something out of this too - mainly protection and living necessities - probably more than she is, considering his circumstances. It'd help if I knew what kind of person with Meissa is. As it stands, with her absence, I might be judging Glen too harshly, and she could turn out to be a real bitch. Also, it'd help if we knew how this arranged marriaged came to be. Did Papa Scorpius seek out Glen or was it the other way around?

Shinosuke... Well, he's a psychopath. I'm not sure if he serves a purpose further than that, except to highlight how awesome Waver has become, but I hope he dies a horrible death, along with his human battery, who doesn't like a much better human being, given what he had intended to with Kayneth's system.

The Burial Agents... Not sure how to feel about them, except I hope they're not all Ciel-level, though I guess they'd have to be to take on a Master and Servant.

Saber's an awesome character too. I like the way he talks to Ayaka, reminds me kind of Archer. Plus, his fight scene was awesome. I was kind of disappointed with the idea of an Assassin holding its ground against Saber, kind of hypocitical given that I feel differently about the canon Servants, but then Saber went berserker on her ass and bitch-slapped her halfway across the park. The only thing I'd point out with the fight is that Ayaka didn't seem to feel the drain as much as Saber did.

[Spinach]

Nia seems like a bipolar troll, and is annoying in an evil way,

She hasn't been active enough that I agree about that, and the story is a little too young to judge her too harshly. She could have good reason for everything she's done and will do in the future.

while Jed is annoying in a harmless way.

This.. I kind of agree with.

Most of the stuff you said about Ayaka I entirely agree with. I trust Al to develop her, though, and let us get to know her a little better. We're only like four chapters in after all.

On Glen:

Well, we haven't seen much of Glen, so maybe I'm expecting too much too quick.

That about sums up my thoughts.

Shinosuke... Well, he's a psychopath. I'm not sure if he serves a purpose further than that, except to highlight how awesome Waver has become, but I hope he dies a horrible death, along with his human battery, who doesn't like a much better human being, given what he had intended to with Kayneth's system.

y u do dis? Strangely enough, Shinosuke has so far made himself the most interesting character to me, mainly because Al has written him to have an air of confidence that I like in a character.

Saber's an awesome character too. I like the way he talks to Ayaka, reminds me kind of Archer. Plus, his fight scene was awesome. I was kind of disappointed with the idea of an Assassin holding its ground against Saber, kind of hypocitical given that I feel differently about the canon Servants, but then Saber went berserker on her ass and bitch-slapped her halfway across the park. The only thing I'd point out with the fight is that Ayaka didn't seem to feel the drain as much as Saber did.

Assassin was doing something similar to what Archer did in UBW against Lancer, using Eye of the Mind(True) to overcome a difference in sheer power and speed and managing to not get decimated by a superior opponent.

[Fangstrike]

She hasn't been active enough that I agree about that, and the story is a little too young to judge her too harshly. She could have good reason for everything she's done and will do in the future.

Whenever I attempt to do criticism, stuff comes out harsher than I intend. It's possible Nia's a good puppeteer, as opposed to an evil one like Kotomine. Regardless, she isn't shaping up to be a likeable character, at least to me.

y u do dis? Strangely enough, Shinosuke has so far made himself the most interesting character to me, mainly because Al has written him to have an air of confidence that I like in a character.

It's possible there are depths to Shinosuke that we haven't seen yet, and that there's a reason behind his violence. So far, he's been portrayed as a hedonistic killer seeking a strong opponent. Confidence is good, but since he's going down the darkside, and I don't see any redeeming qualities yet, I can't bring myself to like him as anything but a target for our less evil characters.

Assassin was doing something similar to what Archer did in UBW against Lancer, using Eye of the Mind(True) to overcome a difference in sheer power and speed and managing to not get decimated by a superior opponent.

Yeah, I guessed it was that or something else, another skill or an NP. Depends on how much Aladar wants to keep to the Assassin's only having some variant of Zabaniya.

[Spinach]

Whenever I attempt to do criticism, stuff comes out harsher than I intend.

I don't think you sounded harsh. Lol contradiction.

It's possible there are depths to Shinosuke that we haven't seen yet, and that there's a reason behind his violence. So far, he's been portrayed as a hedonistic killer seeking a strong opponent. Confidence is good, but since he's going down the darkside, and I don't see any redeeming qualities yet, I can't bring myself to like him as anything but a target for our less evil characters.

This is just a matter of taste. I can see he's clearly not a nice guy, but to me that doesn't particularly matter. I've liked everything Shinosuke has done, and while the magus he Kayneth'd totally kind of deserved what happened to him it was indeed very cruel of Shinosuke, I don't find myself disliking him for it. Even had he done it to a completely innocent random bystander, I think I would still like him. Then again, I loved Uryuu from F/Z a lot, too. I have a thing for confident characters who spend their time doing what they enjoy, and don't care for others perceptions of their actions.

Yeah, I guessed it was that or something else, another skill or an NP. Depends on how much Aladar wants to keep to the Assassin's only having some variant of Zabaniya.

In the Wiseup thread she has Eye of the Mind(True) B, so yeah. The flame Zabaniya variant is also super cool, it almost reminds me of something I had planned for a Lancer Servant involving mist.

[Fangstrike]

This is just a matter of taste. I can see he's clearly not a nice guy, but to me that doesn't particularly matter. I've liked everything Shinosuke has done, and while the magus he Kayneth'd totally kind of deserved what happened to him it was indeed very cruel of Shinosuke, I don't find myself disliking him for it. Even had he done it to a completely innocent random bystander, I think I would still like him. Then again, I loved Uryuu from F/Z a lot, too. I have a thing for confident characters who spend their time doing what they enjoy, and don't care for others perceptions of their actions.

Yeah, I didn't have much problem with how he Kayneth'd that archeologist, given what he intended to do. In fact, I found it poetic. In the end, he's just doesn't seem to have any redeeming qualities and that's the determining factor to me. I'm very picky about that. Well, I might like him if he turns out to have some kind of dark or tortured past, though that might be depressing. The other reason I don't really care for him is that Shinosuke just doesn't stand out to me compared to Glen and Ayaka. Then again, if Shinosuke does something complete badass, I might chuck my morality to the side. Mystic Eyeing Berserker was interesting. It certainly brought up a number of questions like what kind of Mystic Eye does Shinosuke have and why would it work on a Servant? Is Berserker just susceptible to it, due to his mental status or lack of magic resistance?

[Aladar]

Woah, a big review!

First of all, don't worry about being harsh. I myself am against sugarcoating reviews because it prevents the writer from seeing any mistakes or details that came out wrong. Just keep 'em coming and be as open and sincere as possible. If I accepted only positive reviews, my writing wouldn't have improved since I started writing around 2-3 years ago.

Now, a reply to some of the things you pointed out:

The characters are meant to be in the grey spectrum. There's no clear cut good/evil distinction like in F/SN.

Glen comes off as a jerk because he is a jerk. The 10 years spent in Hartcroft around normal people have mellowed him down noticeably but deep down he still believes in the twisted 'morals' of the Grimaldi. He may not go around experimenting on people and turning them into a horror show but there are still many lingering traces of a 'fundamentally better than you' mentality. If anything, Glen is meant to be the Villain Protagonist or just an Anti-hero who is skirting the edge of evil quite closely. Plus, don't forget what getting eaten from the inside out each and every second for each and every day since you are 8 can do to your mentality. There's also the the tidbit that thanks to his grandfather Albus who keeps possessing his descendants, the Grimaldi's family tree loops several times over back onto themselves in addition to being composed solely of Grimaldis marrying each other for around 1000 years. The Hapsburg syndrome is turned up to eleven in their case. And thats without even taking into account the various vampiric and demonic blood that runs strong into the family- its a small miracle Glen hasn't Inverted yet under all the pressure. And since his alignment is somewhere between Chaotic Selfish and Neutral Evil, well... even his good acts will seem morally questionable sometimes. Also, it was his older brother that arranged the marriage and Papa Scintillare was more than willing to agree.

Nia, as the proverbial embodiment of the Cheshire Cat, is meant to come off as somewhat loose in the head but she does have goals of her own. And the reason for seemingly being bipolar is precisely the one you noticed- she has more or less 'raised' Glen since he stepped foot in Hartcroft and he is one of the few people who have a 'special' spot in that bastardly heart of hers. As Glen mentions, she really does see all her manipulations as a game but there is a reason for her being so... off. And since she is a Manipulative Bitch, everyone is fair game to her, only Glen might get a bit of leeway.

Jed, as the proverbial embodiment of the Mad Hatter, is also meant to be raving crazy. But consider for a bit what can traveling around dozens upon dozens of parallel words can do to the mind of someone if he starts doing it since a little kid.

Shinosuke is, well... you gotta wait and see.

Ayaka's true nature is that of a horribly broken girl. The fire from the 4th War that took the lives of her parents broke her completely since she chose to abandon them instead of trying to help them. And now she thinks she is a monster because put more value in her life instead of the lives of the two closest to her back then.

The Buriers are a tough bunch. Dare I say, some of them even go above Ciel-level.

About the Saber VS Assassin fight- Assassin only managed to barely hold him off for so long by being faster than him (higher Agility), having Eye of the Mind (dictating the flow of the battle) and Eternal Arms Mastery (being immediately experienced with any weapon and style and thus understanding his style as well) and spamming her NP constantly. And even then he would've overwhelmed her if she hadn't tricked him into exposing his weak points by rushing to protect Ayaka. Also, he is now completely drained of prana because he used up the considerable resources he has. Due to his origin, Saber is, more or less, chock full of mage circuits.

Any other questions? I welcome them!

[Aladar]

Chapter 5:

Invitation for a Duel

The morning sun rose above the ruined forest just like always, as if there wasn’t a fated war of life and death currently waged in this unfortunate part of the world.

Between shattered trees and onto deep scorched trenches, the gentle beams of Sol made their way, almost like everything was right in the world. They were barely able to chase off the morning chill of the autumn. Caught up in its losing battle against the cold northern wind, the Sun paid no attention to the harsh wounds inflicted on the very Earth itself. Even the animals were gradually returning, many of them only to find their homes either utterly destroyed or outright absent. Centuries, perhaps thousands of years of growth had been erased in one single night, in one single second…

And yet the Sun was rising up as if nothing had happened and the northern wind was howling as strong as always, uncaring about the damage done to one minuscule part of his autumn realm. As if meant to show off the unimportance of the individual, the world just went on like always. All the godly kings were locked up in their heavens and deemed that, as long as the kingdoms of this Earth were strong as a whole, everything was right in the world.

It was behavior like this, putting the ‘whole’ above the ‘individual’, which made the blood boil in his veins. He was no king to judge how others should rule- after all, it was the one title he was fated never to possess. But even that rapid change in his ideals was easy to justify… once already, he had seen the death of such an ideal. Because, after all, as he came to realize perhaps all too late, no king who had become the literal embodiment of his country’s needs could keep on ruling.

The ideal king who sacrificed his whole life for his kingdom, who had become a king not only in title but in identity itself, had been discarded by the very people he had striven so much to protect.

But as Saber watched the gray skies looming above him from his position on the tattered ground, his thoughts were actually far away from that bloodstained battlefield where he had found his death. No, it was something else that weighed heavily on the black knight’s mind and even the overwhelming emptiness inside him couldn’t distract him from it.

A field of flames existing only in a girl’s stolen dream. Fire and brimstone that melted flesh and bones. Blood-chilling shrieks that threatened to overwhelm the tiny figure running for her life amidst the reign of Hell. And above her, a black tainted star, an empty hole that blotted out the sun itself and refused to go away until the merciful clouds hid it from view.

Accompanied by the signature creak of his armor, now feeling ten times as heavy as usual, the black knight turned his head around to search for his Master. His emotionless wandering eyes found her slumped against a nearby tree that had somehow managed to survive his earlier rampage. Her skin was pale and she seemed to be shuddering a bit- all clear signs that falling asleep out in the open hadn’t been her best of ideas. Her irregular breaths were clearly visible in the cold morning air. Her eyes remained hidden behind the collective veil of her short hair and glasses but, judging by the slight frown on her barely parted lips, she hadn’t forgotten about the proverbial nightmare that had transpired the previous night. Ayaka had fallen asleep while hugging her knees, as if trying to make herself look even smaller in a vain attempt to be overlooked by any potential enemies.

According to Saber, it was a small miracle she was still sleeping after he barely managed to get himself back on his wobbling legs. The clanking of his armor had probably informed any half-decent Servant in a several mile radius of their location. Which was, by Saber’s own admission, an amateurish mistake he couldn’t possibly even try to correct in his current condition. And so, one shaky step after another, the black knight approached his Master. At first, he intended to either shake her awake or outright hoist her up on her feet-

But then Saber saw her pale and almost lifeless lips, still trying to word the screams of the girl trapped in the fiery nightmare. Letting out a disgruntled sigh, the black knight nudged the bespectacled teenager with his armored foot. Ayaka awoke almost immediately. She was clearly on edge, despite her still-sleeping brain not knowing precisely why. The black-haired teen looked like a trapped rabbit as her eyes frantically darted left and right in search of some nonexistent enemy. And when she caught sight of the black knight looming above her, Ayaka barely restrained a small frightened yelp and scuttled even further away, her back pressing against the tree trunk.

“Fell free to deem me wrong, Master,” said Saber with a signature lack of interest apparent in his voice. “But I doubt you can act your role better if you hide behind a tree very time you see me.”

For around half a minute, the frightened girl just stared at her Servant, as if she half expected him to grow demon horns and tear her in tiny pieces right then and there. What went behind those black eyes of her, Saber couldn’t tell. But even to him it was pretty obvious his actions during the fight had left quite the impression on his young Master. And exactly that kind of impression was most likely to make things harder for him, considering he was stuck with the girl for the duration of the War. While deep down Saber couldn’t actually force himself to claim his twisted features weren’t an accurate representations of his wretched inner self, his afterlife visage was certainly proving to be an arduous chore.

“I… I tried to move you to my house,” finally said Ayaka. Her words were barely audible even in the silent forest. “But you were too heavy and… and I was tired and s-scared so I just sat down to wait for you to wake up and I must have fallen asleep and-” the bespectacled girl cut herself off and just finished with a small “Sorry.”

Now that she mentioned it, Saber noticed the bruises and scratches, many of them still oozing blood, which littered the girl’s small palms. Now that his appearance proved detrimental even to his Master’s health, Saber felt fully obliged to curse Fate several times more for forcing him to be stuck in it until this War ended and he was summoned back.

“I guess I should be thankful you didn’t leave me behind for the scavengers,” said the black knight and crossed his arms. “But next time you want to help, Master, I suggest you lend me at least some amount of prana. Death by over-exhaustion is not exactly the most honorable way for a knight to go.”

Ayaka just blinked in confusion and a shocked expression appeared on her face.

“But I thought there is a link between Master and Servant that transfers all the prana needed!”

“And do tell how precisely are you expecting it to transfer anything else than hot air if you have closed off all your circuits?”

“But I thought-“ the bespectacled girl was cut off by her Servant before she could even begin.

“Close your eyes.”

As reluctant as Ayaka seemed to close her eyes around him, she eventually obliged.

“You feel prana like electricity running through your body, correct? But any time you aren’t actively using it, you just seal off the whole grid and prevent any movement of prana inside and outside the circuits.”

Ayaka furrowed her brows, like a student trying to comprehend the teacher’s lesson while still in class.

“Now imagine that there is an on and off switch to this grid. It’s on when you cast a spell and it’s off when you want to preserve energy, but using that switch, you can use a chosen amount of circuits and not strain yourself by turning everything on and off every time you need to use prana. Try to turn some circuits on.”

A tiny crevice appeared on Ayaka’s forehead as she bit her lower lip and struggled to control her inner energy grid. After some time Saber finally felt it- the gradual flow of foreign prana entering his body through their bond. It was still somewhat shaky and certainly nothing overwhelming, but for a day or so he deemed he would get back to his average fighting potential.

A tired smile appeared on Ayaka’s pale face when she finally decided her Servant’s lack of reprimands meant she was doing it correctly. The bespectacled girl let out a weary sigh and let herself slump down to the base of the tree. After a minute or so, Saber’s emotionless voice once again cut apart the silence.

“Master, did you by any chance make this forest our base of operations while I was busy lying half-death from exhaustion?”

Ayaka was up on her feet in record time, frantically muttering apologies and looking around to find the right way out of the forest amidst all the natural wreckage. In the end she ended up going straight ahead, hoping that the small island forest’s end was near enough. Like the previous night, the mismatched duo walked in silence. Ayaka was ‘leading’, with Saber half a step behind her and ready to fight off any potential danger. It was daytime but there could be plenty of cheating opponents in the War and, besides, the location was remote enough for the usual rules to be ignored. And Saber wasn’t about to let a repeat of his first fight in the War.

A victory was a victory and the situation had been in his enemy’s favor, but being forced to resort to using a Noble Phantasm against a mere Assassin was shameful for the supposedly strongest class in the War.

“Hey, Saber,” suddenly said Ayaka and stopped, dragging her Servant out of his musings and back into reality. “I… well…”

The bespectacled girl took a deep breath and, finally forsaking all kinds of mumbling, muttering and babbling, blurted out:

“I thought you didn’t like me but you risked your life for me and nearly died. Why?”

“Some Master you are,” said Saber, his even voice showing his lack of concern for Ayaka’s emotions. “A knight is obliged to protect his king with his life if need be. And as your Servant, I am your sword and shield for the duration of this War- your enemies and goals are mine as well. Besides, I can’t survive without you supplying me with prana.”

“So, metaphorically speaking, I am your current king- or rather, queen?” asked the girl and tapped her lips as she tried to wrap her mind around the concept. “I hadn’t thought about it in such way. I always pictured it as a mere familiar-master bond.”

“Heroic Spirits are far above mere familiars, humans or mages,” hastily said Saber, his cold voice finally showing some clear signs of irritation. “And, I assure you, your role is that of the king. No offense meant, Master, but I find it difficult to compare your abilities to those of the queen piece.”

But this time, instead of slumping her shoulders or averting her eyes, Ayaka just kept on going forward, posture unchanged. The mismatched duo resumed their silent walk, but somehow the black knight’s overwhelming presence didn’t seem to affect the bespectacled girl so much anymore.

***

Despite Ayaka’s promise to visit the overseer first thing in the morning, the amateur Master and her Servant ended up staying at her house until noon. The bespectacled girl was a mess both physically and emotionally after the events that had transpired mere hours before, so Saber had insisted she had some sleep because a half-conscious Master would only hinder him in any potential battles.

When Ayaka awoke, once again in her familiar bed in her familiar room, for one fleeting moment the thought that maybe everything had been just a dream invaded her mind. And then the pain from the bruises littering her back returned along with the unfamiliar feeling of the ‘electricity’ running through her body being gradually sapped out. The black-haired teenager tried to pinpoint her Servant’s location through their new-forged bond but all she felt was merely his oppressive yet familiar aura emanating from somewhere inside or near the house. She chalked it up to a still forming bond instead of some kind of failure of hers and prepared to head down and try to finally pry out Saber’s identity out of him.

Finding the black knight had taken more time than Ayaka liked to admit. After checking every room in her house, the garden shed and even peeking over in her neighbours’ yards, she eventually found him down in the basement, inspecting the hidden magical diagrams she had used as an anchor for the bounded fields around her home. Saber’s only comment on their quality had been a curt nod.

Ayaka decided to try and please her Servant a bit before trying to pry out any information so she used whatever products she could find in the fridge to make him something to eat. His comment upon being presented the slightly burnt dish of unknown origin was:

“…I think it will be just fine if you merely keep supplying me with prana.”

After the initial blunder, things didn’t go much smoother either. When Ayaka finally asked who he was, Saber just pointed out anyone could pry out the information from the mind of an amateur magus like her and even only the image of his face would be enough for some contemporary Servant of his to recognize him. The bespectacled girl just let out a heavy sigh and nodded diligently at her Servant’s cold explanation. Truth to be told, their Master-Servant bond felt either nonexistent or just flipped upside-down. In the end Ayaka had spent nearly an hour prowling through her father’s clothes to find some hoodie which Saber could wear to hide his face when going out in the city… only for the black knight to just point out he could turn invisible on a whim.

When noon finally neared, the mismatched duo decided they had finally rested enough. A strange feeling, like the expectation which children usually experienced on the night before Christmas, weighed on Ayaka’s mind. It didn’t help that it was combined with the usual gloomy feeling that took over a student’s mind before an important exam. The bespectacled girl both dreaded and desired what was to come but, in the end, she just admitted it was way too late to give up now. And so, with an invisible Saber following her through the rooftops, she headed towards St. Patroclus’s Cathedral as instructed. The trip certainly took quite some time- her home in Hillsdale was quite far away from the gothic cathedral located at the very end of the Crestford district. But eventually she reached her destination- and to her surprise, she found herself getting calmer when she sensed Saber’s still somewhat ominous presence next to her.

“This is technically neutral territory but it wouldn’t hurt to be careful,” suddenly said the black knight. His still invisible gauntlet gripped the teen’s shoulder to make her stop. “There is another Servant here, near the main entrance. You will probably feel the presence as well when you walk past but just ignore it. I will stay near to interfere if need be.”

“Can’t you go inside with me?” asked the girl as she squinted and tried in vain to locate the invisible enemy Servant.

“Normally it isn’t allowed. They are probably keeping the Grail in there so any Servant going near it until all the others are defeated could have… unfortunate consequences.”

Ayaka nodded slightly to indicate she understood and when she felt Saber letting go, she kept on going forward and tried to look as confident as possible. Usually the cathedral was a major tourist attraction as one of the biggest in the world, but for about a month or so there were signs posted around it that proclaimed it was currently under renovation. It was easy to guess that whoever was in charge just wanted to keep out unrelated people from the War but even though no one should technically be allowed to go in, there were many tourists from various nationalities hanging around and taking pictures of the majestic building.

It was considered an important symbol of gothic architecture from whatever century it had been made. To Ayaka it was more like an ominous castle of some eerie dark lord, given how the numerous gargoyles, dragons, demons and angels with raised swords perching atop its spiky walls made her blood chill even in the clear daylight. Its steel double doors, decorated with golden embeddings depicting some gloomy artist’s depictions of scenes from the Bible were like a monster’s maw just waiting for its prey to willingly walk inside it. Still, the bespectacled girl didn’t slow down or show any discomfort. Inwardly, she was trembling but the outside world could never guess it only by watching her.

Ayaka refused to flinch even when she finally sensed the other Servant. While her Saber’s aura was, while ominous, that of a natural disaster, of a raging dragon born to be a natural killer… this one was truly that of a cold-blooded reptile. It was alien, calculated animosity as cold as ice. The kind of ice cold enough to burn you when you touched it.

“Figures I must wait for some two-bit amateur to arrive before I can finally receive at least some information!”

The irritated female voice was easily heard even from the distant end of the cathedral, the acoustics of the place able to turn whispers into a normal voice and a normal voice into shouts. And whoever was speaking certainly wasn’t whispering.

“Come now, child, there is no need to raise such a commotion in the house of God,” responded a far more subdued elderly voice. “And, besides, isn’t learning more about any potential opponent an advantage to you as a Master?”

“Well, I guess sparing some time wouldn’t hurt if I really must…” muttered the female with annoyance and then finally noticed the newcomer, whose steps had finally been heard over the commotion. “Took you long enough to come, some people don’t have all day to spare, y’know.”

The speaker, who had treated Ayaka as one normally addressed an acquaintance hours late for a pre-scheduled meeting, was a girl seemingly her age. A lock from her bright blond, almost golden hair which went all the way down to her waist, was being rather irritatedly twirled around her slender fingers. Her icy blue gaze was rather unsettling as well- the look one usually gave to a subordinate who had done something wrong. But what struck Ayaka as strangest was the girl’s attire- how anyone dressed like that was allowed to enter a church was a mystery but since she was most likely another Master, some rules had been probably stretched in her favor.

The blonde’s lean legs were clad in fishnet stockings- one going all the way up beneath her black-and-yellow skirt and the other- only up to her knee. Despite the rather cold weather, the blue-eyed girl wore something like a black corset with yellow highlights… whose purpose was probably to make the blonde’s… assets stand out a bit more, given how lacking she seemed to be in the chest department for a girl her age. On her right arm was a fingerless glove going all the way up to her elbow and her left was covered almost whole by an intricate tattoo of something akin to vines and flowers interweaving with little stars. But what really caught Ayaka’s attention was the crimson marks that easily stood out amidst the normal tattoo. The spear-like sigil surrounded by spiky wings was certainly different than her sword-shaped Command Spells but were more than similar enough for Ayaka to draw a conclusion.

“It’s not wise to alienate a potential ally,” said the aged priest and smiled wryly.

The man, dressed in a traditional priest’s frock, looked lean but wiry, like an aged tree still capable of enduring many storms. His sardonic smile showed he had managed to keep all of his teeth and even his grey hair was still in its place. At first glance, one could call the old man somewhat suspicious- he had a thin goatee and his shallow cheeks were sunken, not to mention his skin was rather pale. But the cheerful spark in his steel-grey eyes which showed he was certainly not willing to give up on living any time soon and the somewhat casual way he held himself quickly dispelled such suspicions. The priest was leaning on a worn-out walking stick, the cane carrying an intricate gold-trimmed design that reminded Ayaka of the carvings on the front gate a bit.

“As if I’d need any allies to win,” spat out the blonde and bridled up. “This is a War, remember? Everyone’s an enemy.”

“True,” admitted the priest and shrugged nonchalantly. “But why shouldn’t one try to understand their enemies and turn them into allies, hm?” he suddenly asked and the blonde found herself with the tip of his cane pointing at her face in accusation. “If this is something as great as a Grail you are fighting for, why not share this seemingly unlimited power with the rest?”

“How should I know?” blurted out the blue-eyed girl and slapped away the cane. “You are the ones ordering that only the last one standing can have it, not any of us Masters.”

“I’m afraid it’s a tad more complicated than that, child,” said the priest and shook his head. “But, enough babbling is enough! Now for the serious matters. As you probably know since you are here, every Grail War is supervised by a member of the Church assigned as overseer. This time the unfortunate chosen one is this humble servant of God, known as Father Luciano, that you now see babbling before you like the old man he is,” said the priest and leaned a bit forward in a mock bow. “My job is explaining the boring stuff to you and cleaning up after your blunders. Which, given your age, you will surely make and provide me with probably several sleepless nights. The War itself is simple enough. Seven Master, seven Servants, last one gets the Grail and it grants him or her any wish. Fighting during the day is forbidden. And even while fighting at night I suggest you do it at remote locations where few people usually go. Any non-mage witness has to be, sadly, disposed of. But don’t think even for a minute there won’t be repercussions if your mistakes cost the lives of innocent people, understood? I’ve seen more than enough good folks die for good reasons and I don’t intend on seeing any more losing their lives because of some petty mage contest.”

Both girls nodded. Ayaka’s was that of a student getting reprimanded by her teacher and the blonde’s – a curt, disinterested one.

“Each of you has three Command Spells somewhere on your body. That’s three absolute orders you can give to your Servants which are impossible to resist, but keep in mind that after using the third one the Servant will no longer be bound to you. If you lose your Servant but still have a Command Spell, you can enter in another contract with some Servant who has lost his or her Master but is still around. That’s why both Masters and Servants are dangerous in this War. Technically, anything is allowed, but I would prefer if you refrain from more… grandiose or backstabbing tactics. If you want to give up or your Servant has been killed and you need refuge, you come here. The doors of the ‘Casa di Angeli Piangeti’ will always be open for you seven.”

As if to emphasize his point, the aged priest pointed at the seven statues looming above the altar. The marble sculptures of the seven archangels, tears streaming down their faces, were certainly majestic but to Ayaka, they were more fear-inducing than anything else. Those raised swords and other kinds of blades in their hands certainly looked dangerous enough and the statues were frighteningly life-like.

“Is that all?” asked the blonde and raised a delicate eyebrow in annoyance.

“Almost,” replied the aged priest and glanced intently at both girls. “Before you go and join that certain slaughter raging out there, I’ve one thing to ask the two of you. Why do you fight?”

Those four simple words echoed in the spacious cathedral. Ayaka suddenly found herself biting her lower lip at being forced to divulge her reasons but the blonde answered immediately, almost laughing at the ‘silly’ question asked by Father Luciano.

“To prove to the world I’m the strongest, of course. This War is just a means to show off my abilities. I don’t even care for this Grail of yours. A truly strong person can reach their dreams without the need of some miracle-machine.”

The words of her blue-eyed peer cut deeply into Ayaka’s soul. The nails digging into the flesh of her clenched fists almost drew out blood but despite the shame and her burning cheeks, despite admitting that she was weak enough to need a miracle to achieve her dreams when she already had magecraft, the bespectacled girl managed to answer with her head held high.

“I guess my reason is… to set right what once went wrong. Y’see, my parents, my real ones anyway, died in a fire some years ago and-and… I want to bring them back. And I’ll win this War to do so!”

“But you have parents now, too, right?” suddenly asked Luciano.

“Well, yes, I do.”

“And they probably raised you like their own, gave you a roof over your head and cared for you all those years? And you probably have no siblings?”

“That’s… right, yes,” admitted the girl sheepishly and wondered why the priest was asking all those strange questions.

“One a self-centered brat who wants to fight just to earn some bragging rights,” spat out the priest and glared at the blonde. “And the other an ungrateful child who wants to take away the whole life of two innocent people who have spent so much time giving her a real family,” he finished and shifted his glare to Ayaka.

“Bah! Do what you want,” said bitterly Luciano and turned around to leave into some back room, walking away with surprising sped for a cripple. “Just try not to kill each other immediately after you go out. I sincerely hope I didn’t take too much time to explain the rules because I would be surely crushed if you think of me as a ranting old coot.”

Dumbstruck, both girls could only stay rooted at their spots for a whole minute after Luciano had disappeared from view. The first one to recover was the blonde, who just shook her head in irritation and headed out. Ayaka followed soon after, lost deep in thought but still as eager as ever in her decision to correct her past mistakes.

“How did he even know I was coming?” mumbled the black-haired girl and tapped her lips in curiosity.

“Duh, there are dozens of bounded fields around the place,” said the blonde and turned around to face her fellow Master. “Seriously, are you really such an amateur? Didn’t you feel them at all when you entered?”

“Well, I-“

“It’s decided then!” cut her off the blonde and pointed at Ayaka as if she was accusing her of some gruesome crime. “Since this War is going to be the stage where I am meant to shine, the weaklings like you have to be dealt with first. You are going to be my first opponent so, remember this! Those who face me- Meissa Scintillare- face surefire defeat.”

The end of Meissa’s boast was followed by a slow sardonic clapping coming from somewhere nearby. Both girls looked around immediately, weary of any possible danger despite being out in a bright day and on neutral territory no less. The newcomer turned to be surprisingly familiar to Ayaka. He was leaning on a nearby tree and was rather easy to spot, considering how his black pants, white dress shirt and long blue scarf contrasted with the palette of fallen leaves surrounding him. Like the last time, his peculiar dark-blue hair was covering one of his eyes- and his visible one was currently looking rather intently straight in Meissa’s icy-blue eyes.

“Just try it,” grumbled the blonde and for a second there Ayaka thought she had seen lightning arc around her peer’s clenched fist.

The blue-haired newcomer clicked his tongue in annoyance but didn’t seem that surprised. He scratched the back of his head and flashed both girls a suave smile that was promptly dismissed by the two of them.

“Now, I’d like you to know that this seems to be kind of an off week for me, it doesn’t usually happen,” said the young man with a distinct English accent. “When I met you those bounded fields in the shop interfered with any magecraft performed inside and you blondie have strong magic resistance and-“

Both girls just stared at the blue-haired teen, one not knowing what to say and the other in annoyance.

“-Ahem, anyway, let’s cut it straight to business, shall we?” asked rhetorically the blue-haired teen and, after shoving his hands in his pockets, drew closer to the two girls. “I’m here to propose an alliance to both of you. Frankly, I was just passing by but then I saw you two pretties and said to myself ‘hey, Graham-‘, that’s my name by the way, pleased to meet you, ‘-why don’t you help out those two considering how much of an outstanding mage you are’?”

Meissa didn’t even bother answering his question. All she did was point at the newcomer like she had at Ayaka and declared he was going down second. Graham didn’t seem fazed in the least. He only scratched his chin and flashed yet another pearly-white smile.

“Why wait for you two to finish your little game? Let’s just settle for a threes-“

The lightning this time was more than real enough to prove its existence to Ayaka. Like dancing light, the blue electrical arcs engulfed Meissa’s fist for a second before they shot out when she slashed her hand in Graham’s direction. Like a whip, the blue lightning jolted forward, straight at the young man who didn’t even bother to step out of the way…

And then the skies seemed to shatter as, with a thunderous roar that gathered the attention of everyone present, the bounded fields around the cathedral were pierced one by one by one with some invisible object. Shattered, melted or torn apart like paper, they all gave in in the span of a mere second- and then Meissa’s lightning whip suddenly found itself embedded to the ground. With ominous crackling and sizzles, the blue electricity dissipated to reveal a small leaf-shaped blade connected to the blonde’s arm by a thin wire. And, piercing the blade right through the middle, was a seemingly ordinary arrow that melted into the air seconds later.

Meissa could only blink. The strange mix of hot and cold ominous auras that suddenly blanketed the area probably meant the girls’ respective Servants were now by their side and ready to battle. The blonde’s lips could only mumble a quiet ‘how’.

“My Servant can’t stand by and watch you lash out at me in such a crude way without interfering, y’know,” chided her Graham and shook his head as if trying to explain to a child why what they had done was wrong. “And no need to worry about fighting him. As I said, I want to form an alliance and this is neutral ground after all. Although he is outside said neutral ground and at the top of that tall… swirly building over there,” the blue-haired boy finished with a smirk and pointed confidently at the tower.

Right where he was pointing at, Hartcroft’s second tallest buildings, located half a city away from the cathedral, was standing tall and proud.

The Skyspire.

When Ayaka realized the frankly insane distance that Servant had shot the arrow from, her heart skipped a beat. The enormous distance, the line of sight, the interference by the strong wind currents raging around the many skyscrapers in Hartcroft, the several bounded fields around the cathedral and merely the fact that the arrow had nailed down a lightning-fast moving object roughly the size of her palm were just few of the indicators that this kind of a shot was… impossible. There just wasn’t any other word capable of describing it.

“Impressive, right, love?” cheerfully said Graham when he noticed Ayaka’s shocked expression. “That’s kinda Archer’s main shtick, getting his arrows through the smallest nooks and crannies when faced with impossible odds. Well, think about my proposition. It’s always open for the two of you. Farewell, for now!”

The blue-haired foreigner waved them a casual goodbye and, not even bothering to return the glare Meissa shot him as she retrieved her peculiar weapon, walked away in the direction of the cathedral. The blonde fumed a bit more before storming to somewhere far away, pausing only to order Ayaka to wait for her at the docks at midnight.

Somewhere on her right, Saber voiced his opinion almost amusedly.

“I guess it goes without saying we are going to be there, right, Master?”

Alas, after seeing what that blonde was capable of, the bespectacled girl was somewhat less than willing to grant her Servant his wish for battle.

[Sherrinford]

Good! I liked this chapter!

Ayaka and Saber, d'aaaawwww...

Father Luciano seems a good person.

tch. I hoped for a new Kotomine, but it's okay, I like his character.

Gonna guess... Servant Archer is Odysseus.


However, to be impartial I must make the same objection I made for Five_X: it doesn't make much sense for Luciano to meet two masters at the same time. Finding the identities of the other masters is part of the war, but in this way...

The doors of the ‘Casa di Angeli Piangeti’ will always be open for you seven.”

Did you mean "House of Crying Angels"?

[I3uster]

Oh god, an Archer actually using arrows? How did we deserve this honor?

[ItsaRandomUsername]

I'm getting some Risei vibes from Father Luciano, which is a bit of a good thing.

I shouldn't be so impressed by Archer, but I am. 'tis the way of a Heroic Spirit, I suppose, always making wee little modern humans feel insignificant.

[Aladar]

Glad you liked it people!

And yes, IMO, an Archer should be an Archer, using bows and arrows and stuff.

[Spinach]

Nonsense. Archers should fly around on golden spaceships, rewrite reality, and shoot swords instead of arrows.

Looking forward to the next chapter by the way. Shit's getting interesting, I like Graham somewhat, hope to see more of him and Shinosuke next update~

[Ace]

Meissa.... have we found a .... tsundere!? Graham is also quite interesting so far. He reminds me of Shinji with the blue hair and playboy attitude.

If those three do form an alliance ..., well all three knights together would be a formidable foe.

[Aladar]

Chapter 6:

The Princess and the Witch

“Are you prepared to kill?”

Saber’s disinterested voice and the very fact that he could ask her something like this so casually, made Ayaka drop the pen held in her trembling hand. Or maybe it was just the fact that her Servant had brought up something she didn’t want to think about at all. After all, it was a killer’s guilt that made her become a Master in the first place- and the bespectacled girl had sworn to herself that her victory wouldn’t be at the cost of more lives.

Whatever happened-

-She wasn’t going to trample on the dreams of others, deny them their goals for forever by taking their very lives and chances for success, just because she had a dream of her own.

Hiding her eyes under the fringe of her black hair, the teenage girl mumbled something incoherent and silently picked up her pen to resume scribbling various notes on whatever meager magical knowledge she had. Her opponent was certainly a tough one- and her only chances of coming out of that scuffle alive were either a miracle or not fighting at all. But still, under the artificial light of her desk lamp, the bespectacled girl read over and over every tidbit of magecraft info she had acquired over the years. Sadly, none seemed to mention a surefire way to defeat an experienced electro-mage.

“Why?” suddenly asked the black knight in his usual emotionless tone. The girl knew he was most likely scrutinizing her under his cold gaze from behind that ominous helmet of his but she didn’t dare look. She could only determine that he was currently casually leaning on the doorframe with hands crossed with her peripheral vision.

Frankly, she was surprised at his question. Ayaka had expected yet another dry quip or a witty jab at her complete lack of understanding of what it was to be a mage. But no, all her Servant apparently wanted to know was why his Master had taken such a decision. In a way, she preferred to be belittled by him than to be forced to put her feelings into words. All her life, the bespectacled girl had preferred to keep such things to herself- she felt somewhat safer that way, not giving the others the chance to pity her when they should actually despise her. And then Saber had come along and started asking such questions in a tone one would usually use to dictate a shopping list.

“Well, I…” the girl paused, unsure what to say to him. Ayaka knew Saber would never accept the answer of someone ‘weak’ and he could probably easily tell if she lied just to please him. So, in the end, the black-haired teen settled on answering more or less sincerely. “I think that those who are… really strong can defeat an enemy without killing him. It’s not just a weakness to let a deadly enemy go it’s just that… only the strong can afford to show mercy, right? By sparing your opponent you aren’t being any less strong, but quite the contrary- you are showing the enemy you are strong enough not to care if he comes after you again.”

“Interesting theory,” said Saber after around half a minute of silently staring at his Master and making her feel like being inspected under a microscope. “But as interesting as it is to hear your theories on psychological warfare and the right of the strong, Master, I doubt things will be any different. Whether you are willing to kill this Meissa or not, the end result will be the same. No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try… you stand virtually no chance against her.”

Ayaka realized all too late that she was actually staring at her Servant agape due to the sheer shock. After asking all those questions, after making her open up to him… he went and outright told her she was going to certainly lose. The bespectacled girl, her cheeks flushed both because of anger and embarrassment, opened her mouth again to retort to Saber’s comment but the black knight cut her off before she could even utter a single word.

“There is as much as sense in getting angry at the truth as there is in trying to fight her head on. You have to understand, in life you are going to meet both enemies weaker than you, enemies you are roughly evenly matched against and enemies that hold a difference in power over you that is insurmountable. Power is power, you can’t change that. No one can.”

At a loss of words once again, the girl turned her back to Saber and hugged her knees. ‘At least some support would have been nice,’ thought Ayaka.

“So,” continued the black knight, his cold gaze drilling a proverbial hole through his Master’s back. “You just have to found a way to turn your loss into a victory.”

“Saber, that’s just nonse-“

“Do you know how one defeats a superior swordsman, one your techniques and strength and speed can never match up against?”

Once again having been rather rudely cut off, the girl just shook her head.

“You let him hit you. You take the hit from his blade and, as you swing your sword with all your strength, you pray his sword would be stopped by some bone or would just hit a non-vital area. Because, when the difference in power is too great, that’s the only way. To allow yourself to get hurt to hit back.”

“So,” Ayaka began and turned around meekly, still too angry at her Servant for his usual uncaring behavior. “You are saying that I’ve to let her strike and then knock her out?”

“Impossible,” declared Saber. Ayaka’s spirits once again reached an all-time low. “The only types of magecraft you are familiar with are Formalcraft and Witchcraft and none of them are meant to be used offensively in a head-on battle anyway. You can slow her down, I guess, but nothing more.”

“Then how-“

“Do you have any knowledge about Ahriman?” shot off Saber, as if they had been discussing this topic since the beginning.

“About Ahriwho?” echoed the girl and raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

“About Zoroastrianism as a whole?”

“Uhm, no, can’t say that I do,” admitted Ayaka, wondering if her Servant had suddenly lost it.

“Have you practiced Persian magecraft before?”

“No, I’m sure I would’ve noticed if-“

“Then what about the bounded fields around the house?” asked Saber, continuing his investigation like it was a natural thing to do in such a situation.

“Oh, those diagrams!” exclaimed Ayaka and tapped her lips to help herself remember faster. “Well, Jed actually showed me how to draw them. That was before I had gotten that old grimoire and he had taught me how to transmute elements successfully before that so I thought they would work. But I haven’t actually had any chance to try them out yet,” admitted the girl rather reluctantly, making sure not to make eye-visor contact with her Servant.

“And who exactly is this ‘Jed’ person, if I might ask, Master?” inquired Saber in a way that clearly conveyed Ayaka had no right to refuse an answer.

“A… friend of mine. He is a mage, too… at least I think he is. Jed seems to know more about magecraft than me but he always claims he can ‘slide between dimensions’ or something-“

“So let me summarize things a bit,” said Saber as he raised his hand to cut her off. “Your ‘friend’, who claims to be a practitioner of the Second Magic, taught you how to assemble bounded fields built around a two-and-a-half millennia old Zoroaster curse?”

“I didn’t know it was actually that old,” admitted the girl and wondered what other kinds of ancient esoteric knowledge Jed kept stored inside that crazed mind of his. She made a mental note to ask him next time they talked. “Now that I think about it, those runes did look vaguely Middle Eastern-“

“Take off your top,” said Saber without even the slightest change in his usual disinterested voice.

“WHAT?!” Ayaka’s yelp, which had come out more like an outright shriek, echoed in the scarcely-lit room.

Saber’s tendency to jump from one topic to another and disregard her completely along the way had been annoying but this new subject certainly put all the rest of the black knight’s seemingly nonsensical statements to shame. Ayaka instinctively hugged her knees even closer, trying to cover herself up despite knowing full well she was clothed completely. Her tired mind unconsciously recalled Assassin’s quips on what blacks knight usually did to young women… but Saber just stood there, leaning on the doorframe and being seemingly as bored as always.

“Just do it,” ordered the black knight once again. “I can’t inscribe the circle through your sweater, unless you want your clothing to do the fighting for you.”

And with that he was gone, leaving behind one very confused teenage girl. Due to the understandable bewilderment, Saber found his Master the same way he had left her when he returned- fully clothed and trying to make herself look as small as possible. The black knight set down the first aid kit and one of the sharper kitchen knives at her desk and just loomed silently over his Master.

“It’s disinfected,” pointed out Saber as he somehow managed to deftly twirl a bit the kitchen knife between his fingers despite having his bulky black gauntlets on. The black knight either didn’t care or chose to ignore on purpose why precisely the teenage girl before him was reacting like that.

“But you are a knight, not a mage,” meekly countered Ayaka in a vain attempt to dissuade her Servant.

“I was raised by a very experienced mage,” countered Saber. “Although she was abysmal at the actual ‘raising’ part. Besides, this kind of magecraft doesn’t require the one making the circle to be the one actually using it. All you need is a ‘focus’ for the spell. The circle I’ll add to the original one will just allow a one-time connection to the bounded fields around the house. But if you can think of any other way, feel free to tell me. I’m all ears, Master.”

“Can’t you inscribe it on my hand or something?” almost pleaded the bespectacled girl.

“I don’t know if you have noticed lately, but I’m a knight. I wield swords. Using a kitchen knife to carve your back is my limit, anything smaller and it would be like telling me to sew up my armor with a needle and a thread.”

After half a minute of tense silence, at least for Ayaka, the black-haired girl let out a weary sigh and took off her sweater. Covering herself up with her hands, she turned around and tried to hide her blush. Saber remained as still as a gothic statue brought to life. Letting out another sigh, the girl took off her bra as well, trying as hard as she could not to show to the black knight more than he needed to see.

“Lie down.”

“W-what? But-“

Alas, despite her protests, the bespectacled girl found herself pushed onto her bed as Saber pinned her down. Her blush only got stronger but her Servant really did seem interested only in what was the most efficient way to apply the diagrams to her body. To his credit, the black knight really did try to be as gentle as possible- but pain was pain and every time the blade cut through her tender skin Ayaka had to suppress her yelps. In the end, she found herself biting her crumpled sheets in a vain attempt to vent off. As the time passed and the thin streaks of blood poured down her pale body, Saber just kept on talking- about how the spell was going to work in what kind of situation, what she needed to do to activate it, when it would be the best moment to do so…

The black knight just droned and droned in that same bored indifference he usually showed to her. After some time, Ayaka chastised herself for actually being somewhat disappointed he didn’t at least comment on her body. It was a strange kind of feeling, somewhat both anxiety at being stuck in such an embarrassing situation and annoyance her Servant didn’t even bother to treat her as a woman. But then again, he had quite some trouble treating her as an equal human being in the first place.

But, after all, Ayaka still had some vanity as a girl- while not as slender as that blonde mage for example, the bespectacled girl somewhat prided herself on being way more endowed than that flat-chested Master. For a moment the amateur mage asked herself whether her Servant preferred the same sex… but stereotypical as it may have sounded, she imagined he would had been a somewhat happier or at least a bit nicer person if that was the case. The thought of Saber being secretly a woman under that armor also crossed her mind… but the black knight’s voice was way too masculine to be that of a woman, no matter how butch she tried to sound.

It was more like… she had seen him bleed, she knew he was flesh and blood and yet- Saber acted much more like a machine than anything else. Just like a robot made out of flesh and blood, all he could show to the world of the living was cold indifference.

Then, trying to escape as far away from the pain as possible, her thoughts wandered in a different direction. Like what would her parents do if they saw her in that particular moment. Mr. Millsbury getting a heart attack was the most likely outcome but since the chances of her parents barging into her room after suddenly coming back from Miami a month earlier were slim to none, Ayaka didn’t bother worrying. All in all, it was far more likely Jed to jump in through the window than anything else. After the blond lunatic had entered the house through the chimney last Christmas, dressed as some weird mix between a leprechaun and the Easter Bunny, Ayaka was rendered unable to be surprised by anything he ever did anymore.

A sudden yell echoed into the room as the cold blade bit harshly the girl’s skin.

“Why did you do that?” Ayaka cried out in pain.

“You were unresponsive when I asked if you were listening. I thought you might have lost consciousness because of the blood loss so I applied more pressure to wake you up,” Saber lied without even the slightest change in his tone.

The black-haired girl could only let out yet another scream when she noticed she had instinctively gotten up to shout in Saber’s face and was now giving the black knight an eyeful of the gifts Mother Nature had bestowed on her.

“Just finish it,” muttered Ayaka ashamedly as she pressed her body against the mattress and glanced at the clock on her nightstand.

The time to her fateful first duel in this War was drawing awfully near.

***

As the main tourist disembarking point of the Montressor Harbor, Pier 51- otherwise known as ‘The Sparrow’- rarely got to see much work during the autumn and winter months. While during late spring and the whole summer it was easily one of the busied places in Hartcroft, rivaling both Little Vegas and the business district, during those two rather cold and tourist-repellant season it was more akin to a ghost town than anything else. Since the warehouses were empty and no ships were actually docking in the harbor, the guards- who were few and far between in the first place- had chosen to just be as lazy as possible and even sleep on the job.

It was in one of those empty warehouses that the mismatched duo of Master and Servant were waiting for their enemies. The night was fairly clear- the waning moon was in plain sight with the lack of the usual veil of clouds that had hid it those past few days. The distant rumble of the waves crashing against the shore was the only sound that accompanied their waiting. Both of them were too deep in thought to bother actually talking with each other. Ayaka was rather prone to unneeded fidgeting as the anxiety ate her up from the inside- and it certainly wasn’t helping that the carvings on her back ached painfully after even the slightest of moves.

Midnight eventually came and went. The bespectacled girl started wondering if by some heavenly miracle her opponent was unable to show up or if they had just went to the wrong spot. Alas, Meissa did show up- albeit twenty minutes later.

“So you really are dead-set on getting embarrassed, huh?” drawled out the blonde as she twirled a lock of her wavy hair around her slender finger. “I decided to be generous and give you a chance to give up since you are obviously new to this and all but apparently my generosity is wasted on you.”

Meissa’s face was now adorned by a rather knowing smirk and her posture and attitude were more akin to a cruel bigger sister bullying a younger sibling than that of a deadly mage about to fight another Master. The blonde was dressed as provocatively as always, seemingly not caring about the chilly night weather. Meissa easily reached the lower level of a pile of stacked boxes and plopped down at the top. Her icy gaze bore into Ayaka’s uncertain black eyes, as if waiting for her opponent to just turn tail and run. To her credit, the black-haired teen found the strength to glare back.

“And here I thought you had gotten scared and hightailed it out of here,” drawled out Saber in his usual bored and indifferent tone. “How silly of me, my lady. Normally I would feel obliged to apologize but I’m afraid currently I just don’t… how was the saying again? Ah, yes. ‘I don’t give a damn’.”

Meissa clicked her tongue in annoyance but chose to just wave off Saber’s comment.

“The supposedly mighty Saber resorting to shallow verbal retorts? Hah, pathetic,” Meissa said dismissively. She opened her mouth to say something else but the turn of events that followed silenced her quickly.

The air in front of Saber grew think and heavy as some kind of impregnable black mist formed out of thin air. Suddenly, the mist had taken the form of another black knight- one currently in mid-motion of slashing horizontally with his spear at Saber. Ayaka’s Servant jumped back, possibly in the last possible second, as the tip of the spear actually managed to hit that tiny crack between his helmet and his breastplate and nearly sliced through his neck. To the bespectacled girl’s horror, there actually was a thin stream of blood along the edge of the newcomer’s spear.

“Tzk, too shallow,” muttered the other black knight in conclusion to his surprise attack.

While both he and Saber were apparently those warriors one would call ‘black knights’, there were quite a few noticeable differences between them. The spear-wielding Servant had no helmet and apparently didn’t bother to reveal his face. He was clearly middle-aged, at least in appearance, and yet his wild disheveled white hair, sunken eyes and pale slightly wrinkled skin clearly indicated he was old far beyond his natural years. And while Saber’s armor was threatening but rather clean, akin to a set of tournament gear, the other Servant’s black armor was covered in rusty, suspiciously crimson-colored blotches and spots. A tattered red rag of a cape was hung over one of his shoulders.

“Lancer?” asked Saber, clearly surprised. Ayaka’s Servant’s next words were far closer to his usual quips, tho. “And here I was, thinking they only admitted honorable fighters in the three knight classes.”

“Honor?” echoed Lancer in a hoarse, ominous voice. “Honor?! You, whose own holy blade was tainted by your actions, dare accuse me of being dishonorable?! Let me tell you something, kid, those like us don’t talk about honor. Honor is something those clankers in shining armor live by. Us two… we’ve thrown our honor to the dogs long, long ago.”

“I’d be rather thankful if you didn’t include me in that little one-man group of yours just because of lack of members,” retorted Saber as he gripped the black-and-crimson blade that appeared out of thin air right into his waiting hand. “I have standards, you know.”

“Lancer!” bellowed out Meissa, seemingly angry at her Servant for some reason. “I told you ‘no sneak attacks’! What’s the point in proving our superiority if we do it by stabbing them in the back?”

“And what’s the point in being superior if you are dead?” shot back Lancer. “Fallen knight or not, he’s a Saber. I can’t afford the carelessness of giving him a fighting chance. All’s fair in war, Meissa, so next time you want me to play by the rules of a duel, use a Command Spell.”

“What now, when your little scheme has failed so spectacularly?” asked Saber and readied his tainted blade.

“My, my, for someone who nearly got his throat sliced just moments ago you sure are confident, aren’t you?” retorted Lancer, the spear in his hand now nothing but a blur as he twirled it around in his hand fast enough to make it seem distorted.

Suddenly, in all the time it took Ayaka to blink once, the spear was thrown at her Servant with blinding speed. This time she really felt the prana siphoning out of her as Saber borrowed some of her energy to counter the attack. The red burst of prana was the only thing that moved his sword in front of the spear in time for the attack. Both blades clashing, they froze in mid-air in a vicious battle for superiority as the spear tried to keep going forward and skewer Saber and the black knight tried to push it away. Like a never-ending rain, sparks flew out from the point of impact and the air swirled around the crashing blades. In the end, backed up by a crimson burst of prana, Saber’s sword won the vicious clash and shattered Lancer’s spear in hundreds of tiny pieces that just melted into the air.

Seizing the opportunity, Saber dashed forward and covered the distance between him and Lancer in a single leap. His sword cut through the air with enough force to send a shockwave through it… but Lancer just ended up materializing a different spear and literally swatted away the tainted blade instead of blocking the vicious hit. Turning the tables around, Lancer flashed a knowing smirk and used his and Saber’s momentum to swipe at Ayaka’s Servant with the other end of his spear, force him to do a complete one-hundred and eighty and then send him flying back from where he had darted from.

Saber skidded to a stop several meters in front of Ayaka. Both Servants stared down each other, seemingly satisfied with the initial probing exchange of attacks.

“Hey, Meissa,” Lancer called out to his Master. “Don’t underestimate the opponent just because she is inexperienced, understood? Don’t hold back on that girl’s account.”

“Okay, okay,” hastily replied the blonde and bridled up. “I knew that already! Just try not to get beaten, ‘cause I’ll never forgive you that.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” replied the older knight and readied his weapon.

“And you try not to get killed,” said Saber loud enough for only Ayaka to hear as he stepped forward to resume his own battle.

When their eyes met, almost like they had appointed it as a signal beforehand, both black knights darted towards each other with inhuman speed. Lancer’s spear disappeared in a flurry of vicious jabs and Saber’s tainted sword became nothing but a blurred whirlwind of destruction to the untrained eye. Soon enough, both Servants bolted out of the warehouse, exchanging blows all the while, in search of a battlefield where they could employ their more destructive skills without worrying for their Masters.

And the Masters themselves remained rooted at their spots, each of them waiting for the other to make the first move. Their reasons for waiting, however, were as different as night and day. Ayaka was trying to restrain her shaking as sweat trickled down her spine and she clenched and unclenched her trembling hands again and again to handle the pressure. Meissa, on the other hand, was merely giving the black-haired girl the opportunity to do first move out of pity. It was painfully clear that the blonde was way more than certain in her superiority by the way she just idly dangled her legs and waited for her amateur ‘colleague’ to start their duel.

Ayaka had no hope for a last second miracle. She knew what kind of a mage she was facing and what the difference in their respective levels was. In a way, it was like trying to outshine a stage light with a candle. The bespectacled girl knew it, Meissa knew it and even Saber had flat-out admitted he was certain his Master would fail… and yet, despite the plan they had concocted, the black-haired girl didn’t want to give up just yet. Deep down, even though she knew she wasn’t the type upon whom Lady Luck smiled, Ayaka wanted to at least try and put up a fight. Because the girl who wanted her miracle so much… she wanted to be the one to earn it as well.

Just like Ayaka knew that only erasing her mistakes from all those years past wouldn’t be a payback enough for her betrayal to her parents, the bespectacled teen also knew well-enough that she wouldn’t be able to look them in the eyes if she earned back their lives through dishonest means. ‘Saber is going to be so mad at me,’ admitted the girl bitterly to herself.

And yet her hand seemed to have stopped trembling on its own. Raising it, she pointed at her expecting enemy and the name of the spell rolled out naturally off her tongue. The tiny black sphere, a concentrated form of malice and ill intent befitting of a witch like her, shot out from Ayaka’s finger. Almost as if she had decided to brave the curse head-on, Meissa remained at her spot until the last moment. But then, the darkness around her was illuminated by a lone blue flash of lightning that engulfed the blonde’s body. As if being there the whole time, Meissa appeared right in front of her startled opponent and slashed horizontally at Ayaka’s throat.

Just like her Servant earlier, the black-haired girl managed to narrowly escape a slit throat by jumping backwards. Alas, being nowhere near as athletic or experienced as Saber, Ayaka ended up falling back onto the hard floor. A thin stream of blood oozed from the shallow cut across her pale neck. Mirroring it, small crimson droplets were now dripping down from the tip of Meissa’s blade, still mounted below her wrist. Apparently, despite Lancer’s warnings, the blonde wasn’t even going to use her magecraft against Ayaka.

And despite being ashamed of apparently not being worthy enough to be fried with lightning by the blonde, the black-haired girl didn’t lose any resolve. On the contrary, she took it as an opportunity. Even if her only way to victory was defeating an opponent not even trying to fight seriously, Ayaka was going to accept such a win if it was earned with her own sweat and blood. Thankful that she had swapped her usual attire with a track suit for that night, the bespectacled girl rose shakily to her feet and tried to ignore the burning pain coming from the cuts on her back.

Meissa just smirked even more, apparently happy that her opponent was at least showing some spunk, and took a step forward…

Only to end up frozen in mid-motion, as if the very air around her had suddenly turned into stone. Realization settled in the blonde’s widened blue eyes when she noticed the faint glow of the ritual circle etched into the ground finally revealing itself upon activation. It had been another suggestion of Saber’s- to use whatever spells and curses Ayaka knew just to make her opponent think that the black-haired mage really was fighting desperately to win. Arriving earlier than the two Masters had agreed upon, or rather –earlier than Meissa had ordered her to be there- the amateur mage had used whatever time she to spread around the warehouse as many ritual circles as she could make.

Their initial purpose may have been misdirection, but now Ayaka was going to try and make use of them as much as she could. Despite the fact that even holding the knife given to her by Nia made her want to puke, the black-haired teen flicked the blade open and darted towards her opponent. Meissa all but laughed at the sight of her charging peer. Her smile and disdainful look clearly showed that the binding circle was nothing more than a minor inconvenience to her. Once again arcs of blue lightning shined brighter than even the moonlight as they covered the blonde’s body. With the sound of breaking glass, the seal around her feet was shattered in an instant. As if teleportating, the lightning-mage disappeared for a single instant, which to Ayaka seemed to last as long as eternity.

And then she felt the cold steel bite her side as Meissa once again slashed at her. But one hit turned into two and two turned into four and more as the barrage of strikes came from seemingly each and every direction. Covered in cuts and bleeding from at least a dozen different places, the black-haired girl fell to her knees, the knife falling off her wounded arms.

“Give up,” plainly stated Meissa. “Between someone like me and the likes of you, the difference is measured in light years. Just give up your Command Spells and walk out of here no more hurt than you already are.”

No words left Ayaka’s throat. She knew the blonde would never understand her reasons and, besides, the combined pain of all the cuts- both old and new- was starting to make her dizzy. Her yellow track suit was gradually getting redder by the minute. And still, she picked up her dropped weapon and rose up slowly. Her free hand clutched the one holding the knife, both to steady it and to make sure her Command Spells were still there. The black-haired teen’s quivering lips moved quickly, weaving together a spell heard only by the one casting it.

That amateur tactic was her only hope of standing even a ghost of a chance against Meissa. A lone candle had no chance to outshine a stage light. But if enough candles were lit, their collective light just might be the one thing leading her to victory.

With the knife held firmly in her hands, Ayaka once again charged at her much more experienced opponent head-on. Meissa was now beginning to look more annoyed than anything else and this time chose to just sidestep away and counterattack with yet another vicious slash. Expect this time, the blade she wielded passed only through thin air.

“An illusion?!”

The blonde blinked in surprise but it was too late for realization to settle in when she saw the glint of the reflected moonlight coming from the blade rapidly nearing her from the side. Caught off guard and unable to activate on time whatever spell she had used before to move so quickly, Meissa could only hold up her hand and defend herself from the knife with it. Her distorted expression showed not only pain but anger at being caught off guard by an amateur- hers was the face of someone dead-set on not playing nice anymore.

But before the blonde could even word a single spell, Ayaka had ran off in the distance after only a single slash, which had only gotten the blonde’s hand anyway. Running frantically between the meters-tall piles of boxes and crates, the bespectacled girl fought for every single breath of air as her burning lungs struggled to keep on working. The blood loss was finally starting to get to her and the world seen through Ayaka’s eyes became blurred and distorted. The bespectacled girl stopped seemingly at a random spot and fell down on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

“Found you!”

Not even a second later, the lance of lightning ploughed through the pile of crates at the end of the row and darted straight towards the gasping teen. Once again the whole warehouse was illuminated by the bright blue light but for all its beauty, the blue beam was as deadly as they came. For a second, all seemed lost- and then the lightning-enhanced blade changed direction for some unknown reason. The lightning lance veered off completely from its initial course and ended up bulleting through the roof.

Surrounding Ayaka, another magical circle now glowed faintly into the moonlit night. The distorted air, which formed a small dome around her, clearly showed that whatever magecraft construct it was, it was certainly defensive in nature.

“Another one?” asked rhetorically Meissa as she came into view, walking out of the wreckage her attack had left behind. With a loud buzz, the wire retracted the blade back to its original place below her wrist. “It must be surely tough for third-rate mages like you, having to rely on such pre-made amateurish traps merely to survive.”

An almost sincere smile appeared on the blonde’s face.

“Well, no matter. It’s a wonder it actually repelled it, tho. Want to see if it can take a second hit?”

Before even the last word had come out of her mouth, the lightning-blade flew once again. Once more it struck the shield head-on. But this time, instead of bouncing off, it kept on pushing forward and sent ripples of electricity running over the transparent dome. Ayaka could barely even think anymore. On top of her physical pain she could feel her prana being siphoned out more and more- Saber was either in dire straits or maintaining a Servant’s fighting prowess while fighting yourself was really that taxing. Still, she had to try. She had to push on because that was the path chosen by her and even if her body betrayed her, even if her mind gave up on her… she had to keep on.

Whatever happened.

It wasn’t merely a frightened, battered girl that stood up. It was a mage, fully aware of what was at stake. With an empty expression, the most determined look she could actually manage while being in so much pain, the bespectacled girl slowly licked Meissa’s blood off the blade. The words of the spell flowed out easily and Ayaka could only pray she had enough time to finish the curse. Just as the last whispered word left her lips, her shield broke into millions of tiny pieces which melted into the chilly night air. Meissa retracted the blade and flashed her a knowing grin.

“I guess the third time will be the charm, ri-”

The look of horror on the blonde’s face spoke volumes. With eyes widened in shock, the blonde tried to stop her arm from moving but her struggling was in vain as her body was forced to obey. Mirroring Ayaka’s actions, the arm bearing the blade turned on its owner and headed slowly towards her slender neck.

Witchcraft was inherently a type of magecraft that required specific conditions. The ability to cause greater harm with small efforts was one of the main points of this system of spells- making up for lack of natural talent by using something to ‘focus’ your magecraft on and enhance the effect of the curse. That kind of body-controlling magic required a physical part of the victim- like hair or blood- and something human-shaped, like a doll, to act as the ‘focus’. But since none of Ayaka’s skills included on-the-spot doll-making, she was forced to improvise.

Looking back, that was perhaps the only true talent she recognized as her own. The ability to understand the meaning behind a spell’s construction, to read the ‘cause’ of a curse and not only see its ‘effect’. Maybe that was why she had end up delving into precisely those two kinds of magecraft. Because, like a child playing with Lego blocks, whatever spell Ayaka came across, she could dismantle and reinvent it. And so, with nothing even remotely-doll like on hand, the bespectacled girl was forced to turn her own body into her ‘focusing point’. A living voodoo doll whose movements the opponent was forced to mimic.

That kind of magic was not without its drawbacks, though. First of all, the spell’s effect grew stronger the closer the caster was to the victim. Plus, there was a reason an inanimate object was needed in the first place. Moving her arm and making Meissa’s do the same was beyond excruciating. It felt like her muscles and tendons refused to move and instead they ended up being torn apart by her own bones, themselves ready to snap at any second, as she tried to forcedly move her arm. Both girls refused to look away. During that agonizingly long minute on that fateful night, nothing existed in their worlds but each other. Lightless black and icy blue pierced through each other, both mages finally understanding that the point of no return was finally being crossed.

And when her own blade finally touched her exposed neck, Meissa stopped holding back.

A single word, a single spell. The only one she actually bothered using every time she fought.

But this time, instead of being channeled through the wire and into the blade or being harnessed by her own body, the electricity flooded out of her system in a torrential surge. The raging arcs of lightning turned everything around her into splinters and Ayaka was sent flying backwards by the aftershock of a lightning whip which crashed into the ground and barely missed her. The curse was broken and, losing all control, the bespectacled girl was left only with the pain that increased tenfold upon her rather gruesome landing.

Ayaka, lost between reality and unconsciousness, could barely recognize the distorted image of Meissa looming above her. The blonde was telling her something but the black-haired girl couldn’t make out any of her words. Ayaka’s ears were ringing and even the gleaming blade pointed at her face meant little to her. She tried to laugh bitterly but her throat was too sore and too damn tired to make the effort. Finally admitting defeat, Ayaka barely managed to whisper those two words, the single spell that ensured her defeat would mean denying her opponent’s victory.

A two-and-a-half millennia old curse waved into a bounded field.

A circle inscribed onto her bruised, battered and bleeding back meant to allow a one-time connection to it and turn Ayaka herself into the ‘focusing point’ for that bounded field.

A link between her and her enemy- the link which could transfer directly each cut and every bruise, every bit of pain she had experienced up until now to the enemy caught up in the field.

And those two words.

“Verg Avesta.”

At first, nothing happened. Meissa just kept looming over the bespectacled girl without even flinching. And then, with a half opened mouth that was unable to even let out the blonde’s blood-chilling scream, the lightning mage fell down next to her enemy and lost consciousness as her mind turned off in an attempt to protect itself from the invading pain.

Ayaka just stared at the twinkling stars visible through the hole in the roof and wondered whether that was a false victory or just a shared defeat.

[Sherrinford]

Whoa. Shit.

Ayaka using Verg Avesta. Didn't see that one coming.

Now... who the hell is Jed? Because I don't think he's entirely bluffing... and how does Saber (and Jed) know about Zoroastrian magic?... and wait, Verg Avesta is a connection-catalyst between her and Saber...?

... aaaarrrgh! Too many questions! Too many questions!

Lancer fighting style makes me think about... Vlad?

“Take off your top,” said Saber without even the slightest change in his usual disinterested voice.

Saber’s tendency to jump from one topic to another and disregard her completely along the way had been annoying but this new subject certainly put all the rest of the black knight’s seemingly nonsensical statements to shame.

LOL, I like the style of this Saber.