Day 0, Jessica's Summoning

On the cold eve of another winter day, a blonde Magus prepares herself for the coming battle. She walks through the large, four-story mansion with a heavy heart. Her hand falls on the railing as she ventured from the second floor to the first with a brown box tucked under her arm. It housed an ancient, almost rotted looking wood carving. It was to be the Catalyst for the summoning ritual.

Is it going to be enough?

She thought to herself while eying the clock.

12:00 PM

That was right.

Jessica took in a deep breath to calm her nerves. Her body was light, her stomach contorted. She was a Mage, someone who dedicated her life to the art of Magecraft and the preservation of gathered knowledge — why was she so nervous? Ah, yes, because this wasn't the path she chose. It was the path set out for her before she was even born. Her father pushed her, her mother did the same. That was how the Harway family operated. No, that was wrong too. That's how all Mage families operated.

She put those thoughts behind her while walking across the fluffed red carpet to an old looking door. The knob turned while the door looked like it was going to fall off the hinges if Jessica pulled it apart any further. She walked down the steps into the frigid dark below.

Creak. Creak.

Each step caused the floorboards to angle up.

Creak. Creak.

On the final step, Jessica illuminated the room by touching a red circle at her feet. The crimson light illuminated the room with a dim light. The box was set nicely in the center of the circle. With that single labor finished, Jessica priqued her finger with a thin blade. Her blood had fell upon the circle... and the chant had begun.

" Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation."

The contract circle expands outward.

"Let black be the color I pay tribute to. Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall. Let the four cardinal gates close."

The vile crime against nature begins to spin and spin. Faster, stronger.

"Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate."

Divine lightning rips across the ground, circling the room with the color of oath, of scarlet.

"Let it be declared now; your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword!"

The ground shook and caved.

" Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail. Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth!"

The circle shrunk down. The light had become a beacon of the Holy Grail.

" An oath shall be sworn here. I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven;"

The eve was there. The summoning was almost done.

"I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell!! COME TO ME, MY SERVANT!"

edited 16th Nov '14 11:48:15 PM by RagnatheSaviour

Day 0, Caster of Red

A drop of water, a gentle deluge, a coursing flow.

This is what her consciousness hears for the first time in a long while. She had been dormant... split into many pieces. This consciousness had been shut off... had not thought as this one entity for a long time. She was going somewhere... welcome knowledge flooded her mind. Gave her direction and grounding. Even though only a small part of her could go there, it was still one that was a reduction of this one consciousness. For the first time in so long could she act... could she have a place. This was welcome. This was joyous. She relished in her job after all... and the world could always use more of it.

Thus she flowed... she followed the summons, down onto the body... onto the calling. Slowly she settled... and upon a mansion she let her essence shape the container. As light flooded the room, heat and the sound of shifting sands. Magic... to feel prana flowing all around her again.

She floated... her figure finally materialized, a dazzling motherly woman in the clothes of the old desert. Of the civilization by the river of life. She opened her wise, warm eyes and saw a child before her. A little pale by her standards... a bit shaky in conviction it seemed. But strong... and at heart, she felt them to be good.

She, Isis, smiled brightly. Perhaps she would do.

"Servant Caster, following your summons. May you aspire for greatness and have the wisdom to guide us into victory... and the world into Maat" says the woman, awash in magic and righteousness.

edited 17th Nov '14 12:09:49 AM by daltar

Jessica Harway, Harway Manor — Basement

The spectacular show before her ended. The power of the Grail manifested the Servant Caster in front of her like it was supposed to. Though she felt something was off from the woman in front of her. This was her Servant? Yes, it could be no one else. What was off about her? Jessica couldn't put her finger on it. Instead of continuing to wrench her brain harder than needed, she nodded. "I am Jessica Harway, the one who ... summoned you," she mumbled while scratching the back of her head.

Something came over her. A sense of Deja Vu, perhaps? "Aren't we going to fight to see if I'm worthy as a Master?" for some reason the words came out of her mouth. They felt right, but at the same time they were likely wrong. A Servant against a Magi is like putting a Tiger 1 tank against a man with a handgun. It simply wasn't a fight that could be won. "Forget what I said," the teenage Magus sighed while putting her hand out for Caster to shake. "I hope we work well together, Caster!"

edited 17th Nov '14 12:12:47 AM by RagnatheSaviour

"Fight...?" asks Caster, tilting her head to one side in confusion for a moment as her privileged mind goes through the information bestowed by the Grail. Nope, ziltch, nada. Nothing about fighting their Master as there should not be such a thing. It made absolutely no sense. She was here to help her, not to fight with her.

Seeing the extended hand Caster smiled gently and took it in her own, holding it with both of hers then "It is good to meet you, Jessica Harway. Heh, even if you say some funny things, I do expect a lot out of you... as I wish to help and nurture you"

"Help and nurture?" Jessica repeated the words that stuck the most of her mind. She was supposed to be a Servant that helped fight — it seemed like she summoned someone's Mother. Wait, couldn't that be a clue to her identity? "Caster," Jessica said while pulling her hand away from Caster's hand and placed it on her hpi instead. "Can I ask what your identity is? Or do you remember it?" Jessica heard some old rumors about the possibility of summoning a Servant that could hardly remember their name upon being called forth by the Grail.

"Yes, I do remember" Says Caster, closing her eyes slightly... taking a step back as she concentrates on the pieces of her identity... so much of her, so little that fits into the container. Thus the memory is a little fuzzy... but she does know who she is. On her hand a staff with an Ankh appears as she opens her eyes "I am the Throne... I am Isis"

Isis? A god? How was a Divine Spirit summoned by the Holy Grail? Wait, that shouldn't be her concern right now. She should be happy that she was able to summon such a powerful Spirit with such a dingy relic. "Oh, that's..." Jessica put a hand to her chin. A few more questions popped into her mind, yet she didn't voice them. "Alright," Jessica beat a hand of hers into her own open palm. "We're going to take the Grail, no matter what. I'm depending on you, Isis."

Isis did notice how questions seemed to pop into the mind of who would be her Master... yet they remained unasked. Her mannerisms and attitudes were a little peculiar but in a somewhat endearing way. Still, to hear that she would depend on her struck a pleasant note with her "It will be my pleasure to guide you to victory, Jessica"

Day -15: Wes' summoning

Five minutes to midnight. The time when his Od was at its peak. It was all ready and waiting for him now. Wes laid out his materials on the floor of his study. The room, a small library having once belonged to their father, was perfect for this now that Dorian has abandoned it. Speaking of which...

"Are you sure you don't need my help?" his brother asked. "We both know you're not strong enough to do this kind of magic on your own."

"Which is why I study formalcraft and why this is a formalcraft ritual," Wes said, finishing for him. "Really, it's okay. There's no need for you to be here, Dorian. This circle draws power from the Holy Grail. Even I can do this ritual by myself. In theory...," he mumbled under his breath. 

He cleared his mind and focused on the work laid out before him. 20kg of mercury. 1kg of saltpeter. Fifty sprinkles of crushed fulgurite and an anointment of Irish coast water. The last ingredient and a few others were additives of his own to boost the likelihood of him summoning the proper Heroic Spirit, buth otherwise, this ritual was by the books classic. Nothing could go wrong. In theory.

Wes fished (heh) the relic from his pocket, a large fossil about the size of his open palm. A scale of the sea beast, Coinchenn, whose bones were fashioned into the spear of mortal pain, Gae Bulg. It was said the weapon had seen a number of different owners, but its most famous was Ireland's child of light, Cu Chulainn. That was who he'd aim for. 

"Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Let each be turned over five times, simply breaking asunder the fulfilled time."

As he began the incantation, Wes could feel the power coursing through him like a wire, forming a circuit. The crackling of a well of energy large enough to summon a being that transcended time and space... the feeling was like nothing he could describe. It was more powerful than any pain, more pleasurable than any touch. 

Not that I would know anything about the last one, he thought in a moment of inexplicable embarrassment.

"Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation. Let my great master Schweinorg be the ancestor."

The longer he gazed into that stream of power, the more he felt like he'd go mad. The cost of creating a suitable vessel from nothing, let alone summoning such a powerful spirit to it... if there was a way to convert prana into usable electricity, this ritual could power Faecastle for years. Yet somehow, given the events to come, Wes felt like this may have been the better use of that power.

"Raise a wall, against the wind that shall fall. Close the four cardinal gates. Come out from the crown. Rotate the three-branched road reaching the Kingdom."

Lightning coming to him from across time and space danced, fizzled and sparked inside the circle. As it grew more and more frenetic, it felt like they were brewing a lightning storm in their own home. If it became any more powerful it might rip their parent's house apart. He couldn't be sure, but he might have felt fear. Fear, and overwhelming exhiliration. He wanted to see it through to the end, even if he died.

"– I shall declare here. Your body shall serve under me. My fate shall be with your sword. Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail. If you will submit to this will and this reason…… then answer!"

Actual wind began knocking books off of shelves, flipping through pages, and throwing open windows to let in the cold polar air. The globe on the desk spun furiously as dust collected into a whirlwind tornado within the circle, currents of electricity conducting across each particle of office detritus. The great work was almost complete.

"– An oath shall be sworn here! I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven. I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell! – From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, Protector of the Balance!"

Day 0, Eve of the War

"Lancer!" Wes called as he wandered around the halls. He frowned. She always did this. "Lancer!"

In the two weeks since he and Dorian had first summoned their Servants, he hadn't had much of a chance to talk to Lancer, but he'd nevertheless learned some things about his erstwhile companion. First and foremost that she wasn't who he intended to summon. Not quite anyway, which was unfortunate because it meant working with her could be really difficult sometimes. 

"Lancer, come on out!" he asked politely. "I want to discuss our war strategy with you one more time! Lancer?"

Deafening silence pervaded the hallway as he waited for any kind of response from his Servant. Scratch that, most of the time.

"Lancer!" he yelled one last time before sighing and finally giving up. His Servant could have such an unpleasant personality sometimes. Feeling exasperated by the whole affair, he halfheartedly called, "O great and powerful Witch of the Shadows..."

Jessica Harway

Jessica took the liberty to step out of the basement, hopefully leading Isis up to the first floor of the Harway Manor. She remained silent since she had no clue what to say about winning the war. Perhaps she should start with what the Servant could actually do? "Caster," Jessica turned a head toward her while putting on a smile. "What can you do? I mean, I know you're a Goddess and you were summoned by the Holy Grail." Jessica had to speculate that the power of the grail had diminished her when some kind of Divine Spirit was shoved into the container of a 'Servant'. "You might be weakened," she added. "But I'm sure you can do all kinds of amazing things... so what would those things be?" there was a bit of bad nerves hidden behind the question.

"Sucking up won't get you very far with me," there Lancer was, RIGHT behind him. She wasn't there the entire time, no, she just literally appeared from thin air to scare the crap out of her vulnerable Master. "You want to discuss our war strategy?" she mused with a smile. "Then discuss it. What do you think would help us win the Holy Grail War?" the Servant was teasing with her words. Doesn't matter who the target it, the O great and powerful Witch of Shadows was going to fun around with this petite boy.

edited 18th Nov '14 11:27:28 AM by RagnatheSaviour

Wes

Wes nearly jumped out of his skin, his heart racing.

"Geez, Lancer! Are you trying to kill me?" Wes exclaimed, panting, before his voice went completely deadpan. "No, really. I mean it. I have a congenital heart defect; are you actually trying to kill me?"

The petite boy sighed. "Nevermind. What was I saying again... ah, right. The Grail War. Maps, maps, maps...."

The boy kept muttering as he gathered up the things he'd dropped, opening them up for Lancer to see.

"This is Faecastle," he said. He pointed to a small space on the map. "This is us here in green. And that over there in blue is the police station. I've also taken the liberty of marking out the department's patrol routes and how they intersect with the local ley lines. Those are marked in sharpie. The big red circles are rudimentary Bounded Fields. They don't do anything except hide what's inside and alert nearby magi of any intrusions. Normal people won't walk into them. We're gonna wanna lure our enemies into those before we engage them in combat. In addition, I've placed familiars here, here, here, here, and here."

Wes pointed to five groupings of familiars scattered across the map.

"They're nothing too fancy, just reanimated animal corpses I dug up from the local pet cemetery a few weeks ago. Mostly guard dogs, but I picked up some cats and some birds for surveillance and stealth too. Now, I've got five of them patrolling the Bounded Field around this house, and ten of them patrolling the station, which is currently unguarded. I've assigned three birds and one cat each to Dorian and I, and the rest I've commanded to take pictures from around town using the camcorder collars I outfitted them with. Y'know, the new goverment-mandated ones we stole from the police department. It's about time the incompetence in Ferguson was good for something," the boy muttered. "The cameras are programmed to take pictures at regular intervals and I've allowed the animals to roam as they please, meaning we should get a fairly widespread surveillance network up and running here in a few days."

He looked up from the map. "Still following me?"

edited 18th Nov '14 1:55:24 PM by KSPAM

Lancer of Black

"If that killed you, I wouldn't say you'd be worthy as a Master," Lancer said with a grin. After that she listened intently as her Master laid out the ground plan for the beginning of the war. Her eyes followed his fingers as they traced along the colored spots of the battlefield. It seemed that the boy had more to him than she had thought. However the only thing this realization pulled from her was just a smile.

"Since you aren't an accomplished Magus, you make yourself an accomplished tactician," her eyes traced over the maps. "It's good that you're trying to make ground even with your affliction. Praiseworthy," she patted the boy on the head. "So from here, I'll take care of any enemy that should be unlucky enough to step into those Bounded Fields," Scathach would much prefer a more 'direct' approach of seeking out the enemy then dealing with them on the spot. However she shouldn't force a tactic that would force Wes to be in danger. Juggling a boy like him while out in the frey would be a disadvantage for her and the Black Team. It was just as she said to Wes. Best to cover weaknesses with strengths.

Day -1: Elias's Summoning

A deep breath. A quiet breeze from an open window. The gentle fluttering of curtains and the ticking of a clock. The flipping of pages in a book.

A tall blonde Magus stood in front of a red circle painstakingly inscribed onto the wooden beams. Strewn around it, hastily shoved aside, was a chair, bed, and TV Set (an antiquated thing, massive and outdated. Fitting, for a motel room of this quality.) In his hand he held a dusty tome, and on the table next to him was an array of small vials, next to a twinkling shard of bronze. The bronze was a piece of a once beautiful mirror, erected in a shrine to some goddess the Magus couldn't care about in the slightest. A gift from his family.

"Alright... according to this I just need to... pour some of this here, and this here.. a sprinkle of this.."

With a metal rod, he drew a small shape into the materials he poured into the center. "There. That should make up for some of my mana."

He flipped some more pages. "Just a few more minutes."

Day 0 - 12:00 AM

The young Magus placed the shard into the center of the circle, alongside an open vial containing his own blood. He cleared his throat, and placed his bandaged finger on a line of text. Elias Tavert began the ritual. The circle began to glow as if in anticipation.

"Let Silver and Steel be the Essence. Let Stone and the Archduke of Contracts be the foundation."

The glow grew stronger, and a breeze began to pick up. Elias smiled.

"Let Red be the color I pay tribute to, and great Hofmeister my ancestor."

Hopefully that would also help.

"Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall. Let the four cardinal gates close. Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate."

The wind picked up, and sparks coursed along the red-tinged circles. The circles began to pulse, as if engaging in communication with some unearthly concept.

"Let it be declared now; your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword. Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail."

The light itself bent, swirling around the circle like smoke from a fire. The light glinted off the mirror, which almost seemed to color the light in its own sparkling image. Everything was turning out well. Elias couldn't help but crave what would come next.

"Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth."

The light flared, as if in response.

"Let it be filled, and filled again. Let Sowilo guide you, Uruz give you flesh."

The two runes inscribed into the circle, which the circle seemed to revolve around, lit up in response to their names being spoken aloud. Their own light was added to the maelstrom, dying the red with white.

"Let the foundations shake and the world cave. Let the Grail bestow upon you new life. And upon us our own Desires."

The light of the circle seemed to be forcibly bent inwards, and stabilized. The light shot straight upwards and grew brighter, illuminating the room and casting light outside.

"Come to me, Servant! Let our lives be bound by the Sacred Contract!"

Elias shut the book, with an audible clap. That's all Hofmeister had written. Looked like the old man had wanted to participate in a Grail War of his own.

Day 0 - A Competent Time to be Awake

"This is most excellent, and so many of them! They print them with such quality and in such vast quantity too! The information given to me by the Grail has done this magnificence no justice at all!"

Amidst stacks of books and even taller stacks of paper, sat a man incredibly interested with his current work. As he perused the books, each one left his hand with a slight golden sheen that could be seen when it moved. His hands touched the tomes with great care, picking them up and setting them down with a reverence that belied great care and respect for printed work.

"The Leylines of this Manse are of high quality as well! Master, this place will make an excellent location for my workshop. Should I begin construction posthaste? We should be prepared for the inevitable."

Johannes Gutenberg, Servant of the Caster class, Team Black, stood up, taking care not to knock over any of the carefully constructed stacks. An entire wall of books now lay in front of empty shelves. The Library within the Downgate Mansion could not have found a better caretaker, and the Servant a better location for his workshop. Gutenberg truly seemed at home here.

An adorned text manifested out of the air in a swirl of golden prana, floating down and settling gently into Gutenberg's open hand. He opened it and, with a twirl of his free hand, the pages began to turn on their own. As he looked over the pages, he nonchalantly scratched his short beard. In an instant, his face bloomed with sudden realization. He promptly closed his book, and spoke to his master again: "Do you have this Internet Connection here? I wish to look over this web. Does it rival my own work?"

edited 18th Nov '14 6:00:53 PM by amporiusrex

Wes

Wes blushed at the sudden praise. "Y-Yeah..."

And that was his Servant. She was beautiful. She was brilliant. She was powerful. And she knew how to press all of his buttons. Joy.

"Anywayyyy, there was something I wanted to ask you," he said, quick to change the subject. "You know the eighteen original runes, right? Is there any combination that could make a better Bounded Field than the one I've already set up around the house? It'd be nice to have an added layer of security, just in case."

"Hmm you are right that I am somewhat diminished... this vessel is a tight fit for what I am... and much more so for what I was. Yet, I am able to dwell my ego within it... my thoughts and personality from before. As well as a portion of my power" Says Isis, smiling as she extends one hand, letting enough prana to be visible to pool within it "And yet, power it is... To shape, to create, to order"

With those words the pooled magic moves outwards, given shape and direction by the thoughts of the Goddess, to become an entire flock of little songbirds to fly all around the room, chirping in harmonious song. Then she lets her staff float by itself in mid air, moving her arms in a circle as she conjures a vision behind her... of a desert and a plentiful river by it... with the flow hot wind tempered by the life giving waters flowing out towards Jessica "I am the Throne as I said... Goddess of Magic. Of Order and Maat. Upon my wisdom is the kingdom founded, does the pharaoh rule. I am she who gives a base and power" she says, smiling gently as the figure of a glorious, divine ruler materializes as a miniature upon her hands... her mana flowing into them and granting them divinity, wisdom and strength.

Then the image behind her shifts, flowing as a bird may flowing through the desert and on high into the sky as she lets the sun disk appear behind her... shining bright in life giving glory "I possess the power of great Rah in the Sun Disc, and it's life giving warmth can burn to cinders those who would lead humanity astray"

Then the vision shifts and changes behind her, becoming a torch illuminated tomb of rows upon rows of the sacred dead, letting a powerful scroll open itself up before her "As protector of the dead, I lay claim the their Book... and with its great secrets I can command them to serve in dead as they did in life... even resurrection is possible with the greatest of its secrets"

Then with a single clap does the illusion vanish... leaving behind but the scent of that foreign air and the heat of the desert in the room "When it comes to magic or any ordered system, I have few if any rivals, Master" says Isis letting an apple appear out if mid air for her to give a little bite to "Whatever you wish or need, I shall make for you so long as your cause is just"

Lancer of Black

"The structure of the current Bounded Field wouldn't compliment my Rune magic at all," she said it bluntly while kneeling down to the ground. Her hand fell flat upon the floor. Her eyes closed as she felt the 'magic' of the outside flow through her. "Though there is something I can do," her own shadow contorted. It stretched itself out to the four corners of the room. When it came to the door, it inched itself outside. Soon the 'black shroud' dissipated from the floor and walls. "If you want protection, that should do it," she stated while getting back up off of the floor. "Is that all you wanted to say?" her hand fell on her hip as she stared intently at her young Master.

Well there was a rushing shadow that rushed through the room, but he had a feeling he didn't have to worry about that. Instead he turned his attention to his hyperactive Caster Servant, "The web?" he stroked his beard. "Ah, dammit. Here," Dorian pulled out his phone. He flipped through it a few times before bringing up an internet browser. "Have at it, Caster," he handed it to Johannes in hopes that he'd actually know how to work the thing. If there was one thing he was really bad at, it was explaining how technology worked to his tech illiterate.

"And I don't care," he referred to the suggestion of making the library his workshop. "All these books just collect dust anyway, so like the phone, have at it."

The Throne responded to the summons of the runic mage. It came to life, blasting straight up into a pillar of red light. There stood a man clad in armor and sheathed sword at his side. A mane of brownish blonde hair. A scarred face and body that spoke of experience in battle. His eyes beheld the man that he would soon call his partner. "You're the one who summoned me...?" the man spoke with a tired accent. "Hah, I suppose there's no helping it then," he stretched out his hand to greet his Master. "Hope it'll be fun working with you!"

Jessica watched the shifting scenery in awe. If her Servant had the power to create and illustrate images from the mind, she must be as powerful as said. "You're pretty longwinded," Jessica said that without mean to. "I mean," she scratched the back of her head. "Thanks, I appreciate it," she treasured her fortune to summon such a powerful Servant. Truthfully she'd prefer a white-haired, red-clad Archer with a sour demeanor but this is the next best thing!

edited 18th Nov '14 7:16:49 PM by RagnatheSaviour

Caster of Black - Library

Gutenberg took the phone and turned it over in his hands. Soon enough, the information given to him by the Grail manifested, and he began using the phone as if he'd had it for years. He spent several minutes looking over various websites, until he found one that especially interested him. "Marvelous... this.. wikipedia. I simply must look into it more."

"Ah yes, the workshop. No sense in being distracted. I should be diligent in my work." Gutenberg closed the phone down and slipped it into the breast pocket of his doublet. He took in his hands his Noble Phantasm once again, the Mazarin Bible (the book that had manifested prior), and opened it anew. From it, a stream of pages poured out with a life of their own, attaching themselves to specific points in the room. As well, the paper stacks he had been sitting near began to glow with a golden light and floated up into the air. The pages attached, seamlessly, and began constructing and reverting back to their base form of wood. Streams of pure prana streamed out of the tome, shedding motes of ephemeral golden dust as they moved.

"This is going to take some time. I will advise you when it is done. Afterwards, I'll have to extend a bounded field with this Workshop as its epicenter, for safety reasons. Plus, that should allow me to utilize the ley-lines of this land more effectively."

For a moment, Gutenberg appeared to be in thought. After a few more seconds he shifted the Mazarin Bible into a more secure position in his hand and took out Dorian's phone again.

"The Most Influential Person of the Second Millenium.. I like the sound of that."

Elias Tavert - Rider of Red

Elias took the man's hand and gave him a firm handshake. "..Likewise. Well, might I ask, sir, what Class you fall under? I didn't summon you with a particular class in mind, in all honesty."

The Master gave his Servant a quick once over. He certainly looked strong enough. Whether he would be able to contest with other Servants in the upcoming battles was up to fate to decide. "I'd rather you just call me Elias, but there is no need for you to reveal your true name to me. That might ruin our chances at winning, right?"

Elias took up the book again, and flipped through the pages looking for what he was to do next. The real question was, what was that line he had to utter about a color... Red, was it? Why the color specifically?

edited 18th Nov '14 7:35:27 PM by amporiusrex

Wes

Wes looked on in muted amazement as the shadow stretched to fill the space around them. It acted almost like a living thing.

"Okay, that was cool. How did you do that?"

"Wha-... you mean we're done already? But there's so much I wanted to ask you," he said, sounding disappointed. "I mean, this is the first time we've really gotten a chance to talk inbetween all the work involved in prepping for the Grail War. Don't you want to say anything?"

Please say you want to say something, Wes thought to himself. As aggravating as his Servant's behavior could be, this was still one of his only chances to speak to a real Heroic Spirit in his lifetime! He had so much he still wanted to talk to her about!

Dorian Downgate, Library

Dorian wanted to ask something about the creation of the Bounded Field. He also remembered that he needed the phone to call Samuel. Instead he just took in a deep breath while walking toward the exit of the room. "Alright, Caster, do whatever you need, just make sure you don't make too much of a mess," the man warned while walking out into the hallway. Once there, he closed the door behind him.

Man, this was going to be tiring. Caster seemed like a great, very enthusiastic partner to have... but still, the idea of this Holy Grail War was still just settling in. He was just a man that had to take care of his younger sibling. That was it — at least that's what he thought a few weeks ago when things were still normal. Now he's caught up in a fight between Mages? Damn, just how unlucky can one guy get.

Can't be thinking negative thoughts like that. Keep smilin', for Wes' sake.

He steeled himself up with a deep breath then headed toward the house phone. It was old and dinky, but it did the job.

He dialed the numbers while holding the receiver up to his ear.

Alright, Birkham, please answer.

It kept ringing while Dorian waited for someone to answer.

"Rider," Adrastus side while giving me a clear answer. The embrace of the hands stopped as he pulled back. "Alright, Elias. And-" well he was about to reveal his true name before Elias himself stopped him from doing so. He laughed a bit while shaking his head. "If you don't want to hear it, I won't say it," he put up a dismissive hand. "Still, it is nice to meet you. I'm glad I've been once again given flesh to walk the world. Maybe I can make a difference this time..." he mumbled under his breath while taking a look around the room.

Does she want to say anything? "Alright, get ready for this!" she acted all hyped up like she was going to go on about an amazing, an epic tale! Just like Wes wanted to hear!

Instead she lowered her voice and crossed her arms. "Calm down. Don't want you to piss yourself. This room already smells enough as it is."

edited 18th Nov '14 10:26:24 PM by RagnatheSaviour

Caster of Black - Library

A small note floated in next to the base of the phone Dorian was using, and settled down there. On it, typed up neatly in ink, was a list of materials Gutenberg would need to complete his Workshop. A few pounds of steel, some liters of ink, oil, etc. All sorts of miscellany one would need for a printing press. It seemed that Gutenberg's caster-workshop was just a magical version of his old one. The materials weren't that expensive nowadays, and there were some substitutes listed as well. He could convert some of the things using his own magic.

Elias Travert - Rider of Red

"Look, Rider. If we win the Grail, I'm sure you'll get as many tries as you want with whatever you were doing."

The room was messy and low-quality, clearly a hasty decision on Elias's part. His clothing and the quality of the materials he had for the ritual implied that he could do better, and that this room was a last minute decision. A suitcase adorned the corner of the room, a spare suit hung in the closet, and a small personal handgun rested on the night table that lay askew by the bed.

edited 19th Nov '14 11:48:57 AM by amporiusrex

Wes

Lancer's comment gave Wes room to pause. "... So is that a no then?"

"Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill," Nergüi said in a sing-song voice as she dragged a brush full of bog sediment (wet dirt for the uncultured) in a circle across the canvas she'd laid out on the floor. "Repeat five times, then destroy it. Okay, sounds easy enough. Let's do this!"

Finishing her circle, the young twenty-something magus tossed away her brush and unzipped the one-piece jumper she'd been painting with to let in some air (and some stares). Time to make the magic happen!

Nergüi opened up her duffel bag and took out a small arrowhead with a bright, furnace-orange feather tied around it. She had no idea who this belonged to, but her mother and father had assured her it would serve her well. Yadda yadda make us proud, yadda yadda yadda our family's reputation hangs in the balance yadda yadda show them the power of blah blah blah. She didn't care. She was more interested in what kind of Servant she was gonna summon, and in answering an age old question. Were epic heroes really the sex gods they were made out to be in the legends, and could she get one to be her boyfriend? The Command Spells on her hand were saying "yes".

"Getting-Laidsville, here I come!" she said, perhaps a bit too excitedly.

Speaking aloud the incantation, Nergüi stood above the circle, eagerly awaiting to see what Servant she'd summoned. Please have dimples, six-pack abs and be hung like a skyscraper...

edited 19th Nov '14 10:51:01 PM by KSPAM

Lancer of Black, With Wes

"Use your brain, you'll get the answer you want," Lancer said while crossing her arms and leaving the room.

Rider of Red, With Elias

Rider didn't really want the Grail to do anything fantastic like that. In fact, he thought it impossible despite the 'power' of the Grail. The only thing he wanted to do here was claim victory — nothing more, nothing less. "That's not my wish, but alright," the man said with a little chuckle. "So where do we go from here?"

Elias Tavert - Rider of Red

Elias laughed in response. "It's alright! I just made an assumption is all. From here... well."

He paused for a moment, then flipped two more pages. "Okay so, looks like I'm on a team.. team Red. Interesting. Maybe the other members of Team Red will give me a summons of some sort. For now though, I'm so anxious for what'll happen next that I can't sleep... how about we hit the town?"

Elias closed the book, and set it down. "If I've got you around, I shouldn't worry too much about about getting attacked, right? Or would that just make it more likely to happen? Anyway, I need to see what this place is like so that my 'newness' doesn't become a handicap. Thankfully for me, I lucked out since it looks like you can fit in my spare suit over there, if you want to come with me. If not, then I can just dematerialize you.. or you can dematerialize yourself, I guess."

His rambling had the clear implication of a magus who was new to this kind of thing. Like many of Elias's decisions, this one was spur of the moment. He had bought the summoning materials in some assorted shops in town, and carefully painted the circle a few hours ago. At least he had the capability to make up for his lack of preparation.

edited 10th Feb '15 12:49:20 PM by amporiusrex

Isis

Isis puts on a little face of disappointment and a frown as her Master doesn't seem to fully appreciate what she's got here "Master, you definitely think in weird ways" says Caster, snapping her fingers to make all illusions fade away before grabbing her staff once again "Still after hearing my abilities don't you have a plan or questions for how we may put them in use? We'll be fighting 6 other Masters no?"

Samuel Birkham

At first when Samuel heard that a Holy Grail War had been started in Faecastle, he was filled with fear and desperation. He knew what a War entailed. He had done his research. Whole sections of a city devastated, it's people dead and drained of their life essence as a battery to fuel some sort of highly heroic and destructive death machine. So many innocent lives... a whole city rendered as the backdrop of a lethal battle.

Such fear and desperation led to resolution. This was his city and he would be dammed if he didn't do something to protect it.

And eventually, with the help of some friends they managed to get the mix of genius and crazy just right for this all to work.

"Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg."

"The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate."

Sue McCoy

Sue hated doing things hurriedly. Truly, most of her planning had been done on the airport and then on a plane and then on a bus. Really atrocious it all, she had been on edge all trip. She'd have to review all her plans once she had a night of rest, but for now she had to make do with what she had managed to scramble.

Due to her lack of importance she had missed out on the first summoning... but eventually, she managed to lock onto a very juicy rumor which after some, perhaps unethical interrogation, lead to certainty. There would be a second summoning. And she had to be fast if she was to be a part of it.

As the bus moved into Faecastle, into the infernal cold of the city, Sue wished with all her heart... and her prayers were answered. The Command Seals appeared on the back of her hand. She had to avoid crying out in victory at that. After that, with her little suitcase she had to walk in the cold over to a nice comfortable suburban neighborhood and eat some Mc Donalds as she located the ideal place to accomplish the next step of her plan.

Some hypnosis later, Mr and Mrs Stevenson announced to their neighbors how they would go on a impromptu second honeymoon in the Caribbean to rekindle their romance and escape the cold while their niece, Karen Stevenson minded the house for winter break.

It took all day for Sue to prepare the house... to make her wards and protections as subtle as she knew how, to capture the mana from the house in a barrier so that it wouldn't be evident from outside. To install some cameras she had brought outside. With a takeout pizza bought with the money the Stevensons had left their niece, Sue finished the preparation for her summoning... with a very specific class, if not Servant, in mind.

"Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill)."

"Repeat every five times."

"Simply, shatter once filled."

"――――I announce."

"Your self is under me, my fate is in your sword"

Sister Astrid

Sister Astrid's welcome into the Holy Grail War was much easier than that of other Masters. The Church decided they needed to have an Agent into the War. They picked her. She obeyed their commands and prepared herself for it.

The circle had been prepared for her, in a little Church in Faecastle. Instructions for the Summoning were left... by the time she arrived it was all a formality of preparing herself for it and then reading the words off the tome. For some reason, she who had not a wish had been elected by the Grail... and summoning spells placed upon her hand.

"In accordance with the approach of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer."

"Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead."

All Three

"You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance ―――！"

edited 20th Nov '14 9:16:37 PM by daltar

Day -13, Rider

The circle did its usual thing. To a magus like Samuel, it probably wouldn't be anything too out of the ordinary. What was out of the ordinary, however, was what happened when the ritual finished.

His Servant, a rather tall and well-built Mongolian woman clad in a skintight leather one-piece and furs, eyed him suspiciously, the war paint decorating her face crinkling as she frowned. She took a step forward, her braided ponytail swaying with her step, and with the blinding speed reserved only for Servants, she proceeded to full-Nelson Samuel's balls off (metaphorically speaking).

"Are you my Master?" she asked, holding his arm behind his back, careful not to break it.

A truck pulled up to the rented cabin in the woods around midnight, its driver silently pulling into the driveway. The headlights blared like sunbeams in the night. Leaving them on, the driver, a young red-headed male in his early twenties, climbed out of the driver's side door and opened the back-seat. Laid across the floor was an unconscious woman, someone he'd met at the bar. He hadn't planned on taking any more, but when the opportunity presented itself at that innocuous little bar on the outskirts of town, well hey. Who was he to look a gift horse in the mouth?

Smiling, Long Martino gently slapped the passed out woman's cheek, waking her up. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey there, sleepyhead. Did we have a good nap?"

The woman tried to respond, but with a growing sense of dread and realization found she'd been bound and gagged with duct tape. She'd been abducted by this man, this man she'd met at the bar. He'd seemed so nice at the time. Buying her drinks after her breakup, listening to what she had to say. At one point she'd considered maybe asking him to come back to her place to get back at her now ex-boyfriend. She'd just thought he was into her. Turns out his interests extended a lot farther beyond the usual bar crawlers.

She tried to scream but all she could manage was sweaty, muffled whining, no matter how much she yelled. Her captor smiled apologetically.

"Sorry about the rough treatment. You see, I can't really have you running away. Not after you've seen all this. Plus, there's something I need from you. Could you be a dear and come with me, please?"

He picked up the woman kicking and screaming, and brought her into the basement where he'd been keeping his tools. Surprisingly, it did not look like a sex torture dungeon. It looked like a perfectly ordinary, cozy basement complete with carpet and a wood-burning fireplace. And a lot of bodies. The woman's eyes widened.

"Remember how I said you weren't like the other girls? Well, this is them. Say hello to my exes: Gina, Carol, Mary, Lori, Anne, Patty, Bella, Blake, Sarah, Jesse, and Tiffany. I'll let you girls get acquainted.•

Placing her in the middle of a crusty circle of dried blood he'd drawn on the floor in his previous victim's blood, he began speaking some strange incantation.