Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Fate/Apocrypha or any other Fate series

Also this writing works belong to the writer who posted on the Hameln website in Japan. I'm just a translator who is doing the hard work in translating Japanese to English wanting to share this wonderful story.

The Archer of Black: Chapter One

That night, Fiore Forvedge Yggdmillennia was more nervous than any time of her life.

The hand, which was pushing the wheelchair for her crippled leg since birth, had more strength in them than usual.

Of course those were all reasonable actions.

What she was about to go through was a war that would decide the fates of her, and the future of her family – A Holy Grail War.

A battle royal between 7 masters and 7 servants. A battle originally held in Fuyuki every 60 years. However, with the interference of the Mage's Association, the rules had been slightly changed this time.

The mages and servants assembled for this war were 14; twice the number than usual.

A war between Yggdmillennia and the Mage's Association, each summoning 7 servants, trying to annihilate each other.

Heroes of all ages and cultures, each unparalleled in their own rights, fighting each other to kill in a battle which has never been seen in history. That was what a Holy Grail War was.

Literally Fiore and Yggdmillennia were betting their whole future on this war.

To lose was to die.

Looking back was not an option.

With the secession of Yggdmillennia from the Mage's Association, the only way of survival left for them was their victory in this war.

Fiore looked at the Command Seal etched on her hand, Od pulsing through it and shaping three holy marks. These holy marks were the ace up her sleeve. A lifeline. Three absolute orders that one cannot disobey giving means for a magus to control the Heroic Spirit one would summon for this war. A proof of her status as a Master of this war.

As the successor of Darnic and one of the few magus within Yggdmillennia with talent, it was almost guaranteed that she would have to partake in this war when she heard from Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia, the elder of Yggdmillennia about this war.

This was why she had taken severe precaution to summon the strongest Servant for her survival and Yggdmillennia. On her lap was a bundle, holding a catalyst to summon the world's strongest Archer.

An ancient arrow with blackened blood on the tip.

There were only two Heroic Spirits that could be summoned by this catalyst.

One was the most famous Greek Hero in history. The Bastard Son of Zeus: Hercules, who had shot the arrow. The other was The Teacher of Heroes: Chiron, who had been shot by the arrow. Both were incredible archers, immortalized in legends and myths and worshiped throughout history. As it was certain she would be summoning an Archer Class Servant, if summoned, they would be one of the best choices one could think of.

It wasn't as if the thought of summoning such beings who had reached the height of what mankind could reach was not terrifying.

She knew what being in the presence of a Heroic Spirt was like, meeting two of the Servants of the Black Faction: Lancer of Black and Caster of Black. Meeting them, it was a feeling she had never felt before. The pressure given off just by being in the same place with them was not something that could be felt from a human being, It was only something that could be felt from someone who had passed the boundaries of what defined 'human'.

These were Heroic Spirts. Pseudo-Divine Beings that had reached the peak of what humans could do. Warriors that could clash with armies and monsters and still emerge out victorious. Beings immortalized in myths that were still being passed on to us.

The summoning circle had been already drawn with a mixture of gold and silver alloy in the Ceremonial Hall.

Four summoners were there including Fiore.

There were 5 unsummoned Servants left in the Faction of Black, so they were trying to summon 4 of them today. One was off to summon his Servant in an Island Far East, making them a head short to face the Mage's Association in battle. With even a small difference in number being able to change the tide of the battle, it was essential to have every available Servant here.

Fiore prepared to summon her Servant. She was only aiming for a specific class: Archer.

As the murmurs ceased Darnic rose from his seat. On the throne sat Lancer of Black, looking at the ceremony.

"Everyone", he began, looking at the 4 magi gathered around for the summoning, "place the catalyst on the alter."

The magi all nodded at his order.

One by one, the catalysts were carefully placed for the ritual.

Fiore felt as if her heart would burst out of her chest, with the way it was beating. She could feel her hands getting sweaty with the anticipation and nervousness as the ritual began in earnest. Lights emitted from the circle brightened up the room, flashing as every chant ended. Mana swirled in the air, causing winds that rippled through the air making her hair flow with the winds as the ritual went on. Magical energy flowed through her body, heating up the Magic Circuits in her legs.

Then with a flash of light, and everything became still.

At that moment, the four masters forgot even the pressure of Lancer as they were faced with the outcome of the magic performed.

Fiore had summoned an Archer class servant, just like she had aimed for. She sighed in relief at the thought of performing the ritual like she had hoped for. Indeed the being in front of her gave off the presence that was beyond human,

However that ended rather soon,

When Servant Rider who was Astolfo, the Twelfth Paladin of Charlemagne, asked the name of each Servant, her Servant with a slightly troubled but without losing his nerve had said,

"It seems like due to some unknown reason, my memory is all jumble and my identity is all hazy. I am sorry but I cannot state who I am."

She couldn't help but glare at her Servant who was now in her room. The obvious reason was that it was not the Servant she had wanted. It was neither Hercules nor Chiron. For some unknown reason, it seemed as if she had summoned a whole different one. A Servant that didn't even know his name. His statistics were borderline normal even when being a knight class which had better stats amongst the 7 classes.

The statistics of a Servant was determined by the ability of the master of the magus and fame. Even with the memory loss, being summoned by a talented magi and being famous would have given higher stats. That meant that the Archer she had summoned who had low stats, even though summoned by Fiore who was a talented magus, was not exactly a powerful Servant.

"Let me ask you one more time, Archer. What you said at the Ceremonial Hall, was it true?"

Her quiet but hard tone implied that lying would not be tolerated.

Without moving a muscle, Archer gave a brief nod.

She could only sigh in grief and frustration as she facepalmed at the answer.

"Why is this happening to me…"

It was a fight she could not and would not lose. And in order to do that she had done her utmost best for that. However the summoning had failed. And she was the only one. Even her brother who lacked talent in magecraft had been able to summon the Servant that he wanted.

To make matters worse, the Servant she had summoned claims to have memory loss, making it unable to determine who he was.

Right now she was feeling a mixture of emotions, mainly disappointment, anger, shame, relentlessness, despair, and a whole lot of other negative feelings.

As the successor and a talented magus, she should have gotten results that was worthy of her position, yet here she was.

The look that Gordes gave her after he had successfully summoned his Saber, made her so unpleasant that even she could not hide it.

She observed her Servant who was leaning on the wall with his arm crossed more closely.

He was tall with brilliant white hair. His body was muscular without an ounce of fat in them. It wasn't a body shape one could easily see at the Clock Tower where most of the people were researchers. His sharp keen steel grey eyes reminded her of a hawk analyzing and looking at a prey, as expected of an Archer. What as particular about his eyes was that it strangely reminded her of a sword, drawn to cut down the enemy in front of him.

He was wearing a black mesh suit, akin to body armor with dull silver linings that lined his muscle structure highlighting his muscles. His legs were covered in black trousers with straps on them. His shoes were the same black with metal plating on them. The only coloured outfit that he wore was a red coat covering his arm and an open skirt ending above his shins. Although it was an attire that could not be defined that was worn by a night, she could tell it was some kind of mystic code.

Well what was done is done.

Even if the Servant had low stats, with tactics and well placed orders from a master could be overcome. Also this war was fought in a team. It wasn't necessary for Archer to fight on his own.

As she was racking her brain to justify the outcome Archer opened his mouth.

"It seems you're not pleased with the summoning."

Fiore had to shut her mouth so not say of course.

"To be honest, you were not who I was hoping to summon."

It was futile to latch onto the past and not think about the future. No matter what kind of complaints she could say the fact that the Archer in front of him was her Servant. What was needed was to recognize the situation at hand and to plan ahead.

But that did not stop Fiore glaring daggers at her servant.

"To be honest, your statistics are a lot lower than what I had in mind. Also I am deeply discontent with the fact you are unable to tell who you are and where are you from."

As soon as she said it, she couldn't help but think she should have worded her answer more nicely.

Due to the frustration she was feeling, she had forgotten who she was talking to. The person in front of her was not some ordinary magus, but a Heroic Spirit. A being who could crush her easily as if a human could crush a bug. And what did she just do? She had said that said Heroic Spirit was useless, that he was a piece of shit compared to others. Forget about having a good relationship with her Servant. She was honestly afraid that she had insulted his pride which could lead to pretty unpleasant situations.

Servants were not just a familiar, but a familiar with egos.

If her relationship with Archer went downhill the situation which was bad could easily turn for the worse.

"Heh"

It seemed like Archer did not really care for the harsh words Fiore had just said. On the contrary, it seems as if he found it almost amusing judging by the smirk on his face.

"What's so funny?" Fiore asked once again glaring daggers at him. It was as if she would have liked to do anything just to wipe of that smirk plastered on him.

"I'm sorry. I just found it amusing that you would speak truly at my face. I thought magi were not usually that straightforward."

She couldn't help but flinch at those words as it hit the bullseye of what she had regretted. It seemed Archer had seen through what she had been relentless about.

"However, I find the change to be quite amusing. I find it quite likeable."

Fiore just stared at Archer with wide eyes. Although it seemed as if Archer was treating her as a child she couldn't help but smile at those nice words.

"Why thank you Archer," she said, giving a mock courtesy, "However, the fact does not change. You have the lowest stats amongst all the Servants that have been summoned here. Luckily since this is not a normal Holy Grail War we have allies. But-"

She clasped her hands tightly looking at Archer dead in the eye.

"As the successor of Yggdmillennia, I have duties to perform. I cannot just sit idly and watch the war unfold."

Archer looked back with an equally serious expression and did not say a word. Silence continued and it was Archer who broke it first.

"So you want to know how well I could fight in the war. Am I right master?"

"Yes. That is exactly what I could know."

What Fiore knew about her servant was extremely limited: The information that she could look into servants as a master of the war and that he could use a bow. With most Heroic Spirits able to know their capabilities due to the stories or myths surrounding them, this Archer was a whole mystery all together. Even if she wanted to plan tactics, she could not since she did not have enough information. Therefore she needed to know if Archer had skills that could outweigh his poor stats. It was crucial information that would impact her future in this coming war.

Archer once again leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed against his chest, and said as if speechless by her thought.

"If that is what you worry, it wouldn't be a problem."

"What?"

"I said, it would not be a problem."

The sound of boots echoed in the room as Archer walked towards Fiore slowly."

"I am a Servant. I do not run away from battle. I thought you had summoned me to take down your enemies?"

"Yes that is true but…"

"As you had said, I am at a disadvantage when compared with other Servants. However that is when you only compare the stats. Those could be made up for with tactics. Battles are not only fought within close range."

Fiore could not say anything against what Archer had just said. He was right. Just because he had low stats did not mean that he was a terrible archer.

If he was a close range fighter like Saber or Lancer, it would have been a critical problem but he was an Archer. Stats did not matter when one could kill an enemy from far away.

"So you're saying that a victory against other Servants would not be a problem."

"Of course," he said with that same smirk he had when he spoke to her earlier. Finally he stood in front of her. He easily towered over her due to the fact that she was sitting on a wheelchair and that she was not exactly tall. It made her look up naturally.

"After all, I am a Servant summoned by you. Of course I am the most powerful."

Was this the definition of haughtiness?

Fiore did not know where his confidence came from, but strangely did not doubt it.

He himself, after seeing Saber and Lancer, still stated that he was the most powerful. However it did not feel as if he was joking. He seemed to have confidence in his ability that could overcome the weakness of difference in stats.

She couldn't help but laugh at herself, who believed his words when she knew that was not possible.

"I hope those aren't just empty words Archer," she smiled.

It was the first smile Fiore had given to Archer.