Chapter I

On the outskirts of Luoyang, China, mages gather to contest the most coveted prize in the magical realm: the Holy Grail. Mages summon Servants, powerful familiars of legendary and historical origins, to battle and fight for their chance at grasping the wish-granting artifact. Once every ten years, the Holy Grail surfaces again and seeks a new champion.

Viktor I

"You'll win the war again, Grandfather. Summon Saber like you did ten years ago and you'll win the Holy Grail for the Conrad family with ease! You two were invincible during the last war, " cheered one of Viktor Conrad's many grandchildren.

"You must feel like you're invincible." Viktor snarled and shook his head. Ghosts from his past found the perfect times to plague his thoughts.

"I'm too old now to care about winning or losing," Viktor snorted back. Viktor had won the Holy Grail ten years ago with his Saber, Yamato Takeru. However, during the previous war's summoning, the artifact he used to summon Saber was destroyed and its magical energy faded away in the process. The chances of summoning Yamato Takeru again were slim, but the family still held numerous artifacts for a strong hero.

Viktor might have been older by this point, but he was far from frail. He had participated in the two previous Holy Grail Wars first as a supporting family member, and when it was time for him to take the mantle from his aunt, he decidedly won. Viktor was tall, but his age did show on his hands and face, as he sported numerous wrinkles and calluses. He had thin white hair that further pronounced his age and his forearms bore scars from the previous wars; gashes could be seen across his hands from the constant use of offensive spells.

Viktor glanced at around the Conrad summoning chambers and squinted at the family's eyes that peered at him. All of his minors had wealth, power, and prosperity beyond any imaginable means thanks to his previous Holy Grail victory. They, of course, had high expectations of him again. Brothers, sisters, cousins, children, grandchildren, everyone wanted more of what Viktor had already achieved. As he began the summoning, he wondered if this was all worth doing again. "If there's a chance," he mumbled, "I need to try."

Erica I

"It's time, Erica," Caitlin said softly. "Do you have the artifact?" Erica rummaged around her back jean pocket as she fished for a loose piece of floral fabric. "I still can't believe that is what you plan to use to summon a Servant."

"It's what we have. Look around at this basement full of junk. Even finding this was incredible," Erica jotted back.

"All of the knight classes are probably taken by houses that are still noble."

"Our house is just as old and noble as the Conrads or Bachs."

"Twenty years ago, maybe. Our brother is dead. Our mother is dead. Our father is dead. It's just us now. If we fail here then the Weiss name is truly gone." As Erica ignored her fraternal twin sister's concerns, she presented the fabric: a handkerchief, woven with silk from sacred worms and dully dyed with deep reds. She held the handkerchief in the palm of her own hand and pulsed magical energy into it from her arm. A similarly shaded red magical circle engorged her feet; it burned the air around the sisters and glimmered off of the dust that floated in the cold basement.

"Heed my word," Erica began.

"My will creates your body.

Your sword creates my destiny.

If you obey the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me.

I hereby swear that I shall be all the good in the world.

I shall defeat all evil in the world.

Seventh Heaven clad in the great words of power, come forth from the Binding Circle, now…

Guardian of the Scales!"

The glimmer of red light pierced through the air as it created its own winds that blew past the girls' brown hair and burst outward. A dense fog of red smoke plumed up from their Birmingham home basement floor as Erica heard new footsteps climb toward her.

"I will answer your call," a man said. As the fog thinned out, the sisters could see the Servant in his entirety: he donned a white military general's uniform, decorated with tassels and medals that honored his deeds. His darker skin contrasted against the uniform magnificently, which showcased his outward machismo. "Tell me, fair ladies, which of you is my Master?"

"I am. Erica Weiss," she piped up as she swallowed in nervousness.

"And you?" the Servant asked as he looked towards Caitlin.

"Her twin sister. Caitlin." The two were shocked at how he carried himself, even as he stood still. His broad chest pulsed outward with every breath he took. "Let's...get some things straight: what is your name, Servant? And what class are you?" Caitlin asked, curious to what this man could do in battle. She assumed with the military outfit, perhaps Erica had summoned a Rider, which would have been satisfactory. The Servant smirked and raised his hands to meet the air around his shoulders.

"I come to you as the heroic embodiment of the Moor of Venice, Saber class." The two's mouths dropped to the floor. Not only did Erica summon a knight class, but she summoned the Saber.

"We...we have the strongest Servant!" Erica belted out.

"I would argue that much as well," Saber replied as he flexed his arms and back muscles intimidatingly.

Mai I

The Servant stood firmly and stared down at the young woman collapsed on the floor from the summoning. Blue sparks rose from the floor and dissipated as they slowly travelled upward. The Servant had silky black hair tied in a bun on the back of her head and wore a decorative, stencil-traced garment that flowed down past her shins under scaled plate armor that resided over her chest, shoulders, and arms.

"I...I did it! I mean, I followed the instructions and said the right stuff, but wow, I didn't expect you to look so...so...," the teenage girl said out loud.

"I have answered the call. Are you my Master?"

"Oh, yes! Umm, my name is, Ay-, ahem," she started as she rose to her feet and added more of a serious tone to her voice instead of bewilderment, "Mai Ayumi. I am your Master. That sounds awful, I mean, doesn't it? Can we stick with just Mai? But yes, my command seals! See?" Mai showed the Servant the back of her hand and revealed the symbolic crests of high magic. The three segments were symmetrical with curved knots; it resembled a lily flower.

With a pause, the Servant examined her Master. She soaked in the aura that emanated from Mai and assessed how strong her Master was. Mai sported shoulder length black hair, kept out of her face with a couple of crossed hair clips, along with glossy brown eyes. Mai reached over to a desk and picked up a deteriorated book. "Now, if my father's old notes are right, you're supposed to be a class."

"I am a Lancer class Servant. Polearms like my naginata are my specialty but I excel with knives as well," Lancer said, while she still examined Mai's presence and basked in her magical energy. "Master - Mai, if you don't mind me asking, is there anyone else here? And where are we?"

"Oh! We're in a hotel in Seoul right now, but I'm from Japan. There's no one else here; just me and some running away from other responsibilities. Why do you ask?" Lancer's expression hadn't wavered, but decided to answer truthfully.

"Master, to be honest, I'm receiving a very large amount of magical energy, and you're relatively young to be participating in a Holy Grail War." Mai frowned slightly as she knew what Lancer meant.

"That's okay. The Mages' Association said the same thing." Mai's eyes lessened as she rolled up one of her arm sleeves, as well as a pant leg to show her new Servant her extensive magical circuits. "I come from a very old line of mages, but the truth is I barely know anything specific about magecraft. I hardly even know the time and place to use some of the spells I have, but when I study them and try my best it usually works out. Twenty years ago, just before I was born, my father died in the Holy Grail War. Although my mother knew plenty about magecraft herself, a lot of his spells are still foreign to me. I was definitely too young to enter the war when I was nine, but now I want to prove to the Association that I can do it! I want to make my father proud and the generations before him." Lancer smiled as she began to understand that her Master was truly a lighthearted young woman who wanted to make her mark on the world. "Having said all of that, now that you know how inexperienced I am, will you still fight with me?"

Lancer grinned, excited to see the young determination behind Mai's eyes and resolve in her blood, satisfied in the lack of evil behind her words, and replied, "I'm with you, Mai."

Viktor II

Viktor sat behind a large desk and contemplated his first move once all of the Servants were summoned. Once they all arrived outside of Luoyang, the battle would commence. Certainly Viktor's experience over the other Masters would give him a viable edge in the fray.

"Caster?" he called out. Immediately, Caster materialized from his spiritual form. Caster donned a long white cloak that concealed more comfortable apparel beneath. His long blonde hair was tied in a tail and flowed freely down to his upper back. He had no armor and bore no resemblance to a Golden Age Caster.

"Yes?"

"Have you strengthened the magical field around the hideout? The last thing we want is Assassin creeping in or Rider busting down the front door."

"Of course, Master. All preparations are complete. The field has been reinforced, and additional safety measures have been set up as well. Even if a Servant had a high ranking dispelling Noble Phantasm, I'm confident it would dematerialize by the time it broke the barrier, putting us at an advantage anyway. Might I ask, per your notes, of course, when you might have us making our debut?" Caster replied.

"Ideally, maybe on the second or third night. I'd hope for at least one of the knights to fall. Preferably Saber or Lancer. I'm not worried about Archer, your spells would counter him easily in a full battle. The strengthened barrier will most likely keep us safe from Rider and Assassin. As always, Berserker is a wild card, hopefully he can knock himself out too depending on the spirit. There are too many variables this early, too many heroes I don't know that are still in the game." Viktor sighed and remembered his head first charge in the last war. When he had Saber, the strategy was much different.

"I can't say I agree, Master. I was a man of action in life, you see. If I did not test the waters, I would have failed before I even started," Caster added.

One of Viktor's son's knocked on his chamber door and excitedly entered. "Father, I have confirmation from the Mages society. Lancer and Saber have finally been summoned. The war has begun," he said with a big smile on his face.

Viktor contemplated a little longer before he chanted his own spell.

"Overarching Eye." Viktor remembered who taught him this spell and winced. He knew the value of safe distance, but didn't know if this was the honorable way to go into the first night. Perhaps that old friend might have disagreed, or even his old Saber. Viktor covered his right eye with his palm, as his eye was no longer in the room.

"Master? I assure you the barrier will hold. My notes assure me, thus I assure you," Caster questioned his use of the spell.

"Not for here; I'm sending it a handful of kilometers north to the designated area. If Alan Bach is doing anything, he'll try to draw me out onto the battlefield tonight before Lancer or Saber even arrive no matter what servant he has. Fool doesn't know what's best for him."