Fate/Excision

[Flagmauth]

Fate/Excision

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The Book Of Masters

Caster of Red:

Assassin of Red:

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

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The Magus Association’s campus in London was pretty much the be-all, end-all of magical learning. If you were in any way a significant presence in the Moonlit World, chances were you spent a few years learning from the professors at the Clock Tower. And if you were very lucky, one of them was Lord El-Melloi II. A certifiable genius, who stood as an example that with enough work and ingenuity, a magus could overcome the limitations of a poor bloodline.

Also, just a bloody fantastic teacher.

Generally, he was also a pretty busy man. Which made it very strange when two of his former pupils received letters requesting they meet with him back in London. Takeshi Zarado, an Enforcer operating primarily in the Far East and Joseph Johnston, a scholar prodigy from America. Neither of them had heard from him since they left the Clock Tower, so to say this was something of a surprise was a bit of an understatement. What’s more, the letter also specified that it was urgent - and an assignment Takeshi had been given that would have prevented his traveling back to Britain mysteriously was dropped almost overnight. And he’d even included plane tickets, how thoughtful!

Following the instructions on the letter, the pair of them arrived almost simultaneously at a pub called The Black Prince, where Lord El-Melloi II (he insisted on the inclusion of the II every time his name was mentioned) would meet them. He was already seated in a booth, back in the corner - talking with a young woman neither of them recognized. Pale skin, silvery-white hair and bright red eyes. Not features you saw on just anyone. Regardless, whether the two just-arrived magi hung back to talk to one another or went right on in to meet him was up to their discretion for now.

[A Blind Guy]

Takeshi bows to the mage standing next to him. "You must be Johnston. it is a pleasure to meet you."

[BerrySayRoar]

Joseph was focus on the two sitting at the corner that he snapped back to takeshi's presence when he called out his name. By instinct, he extended his hand expecting to grab takeshi's hand, only to realize he was bowing. He quickly shoved his hands in his coat pocket, "Uh...yeah."

[A Blind Guy]

"come, we shouldn't keep them waiting." Takeshi says, heading towards the table and taking a seat.

[Flagmauth]

El-Melloi II nodded a greeting to them as they approached and sat down. “Zarado, Johnston, thank you for coming on short notice, I understand that travel by plane can be quite taxing.” He indicated the girl. “This is Sigyn Hildebrand. Sigyn, this is Takeshi Zarado and Joseph Johnston, two of my former students.”

[A Blind Guy]

"It is an honor to meet you all be it under... less than fortunate circumstances."

[Helsing]

"The honor is mine," Sigyn says, giving the slightest of nods to the two gentlemen, "I was worried we would find no one willing to help us."

[BerrySayRoar]

Joseph cleared his throat to get their attention,"I'm sorry, "Willing to help?" I don't mean to disrespect but it has been years since we last met. Why have you summoned us?"

[Flagmauth]

“Well, I’m afraid it isn’t a social call. As Sigyn says, we need your help.” The professor waved a hand idly, without looking, and the bartender promptly brought four glasses over, then filled them with drinks before returning to his place behind the counter.

“There is a powerful ritual in Fuyuki, Japan called the Holy Grail War. Every few decades or so, it selects seven magi to act as Masters, each of whom will summon a Servant - a Heroic Spirit of legendary renown - to fight on their behalf. Think of a Servant as a familiar, but vastly more powerful than any that most modern magi would be capable of summoning. Once all seven Servants are present, each of the Master-Servant pairs fights to the death for the right to use the manifested Holy Grail and grant themselves one wish, whatever they desire.”

El-Melloi II paused for a second to take a drink from the glass in front of him before continuing. “Now, as for how this relates to you two...we need to destroy it. Or, more accurately, you three do.”

[A Blind Guy]

Takeshi takes a long drink from his glass and sets it down on the table.

"excuse me?"

[BerrySayRoar]

Joseph honestly was intrigued more than concerned. His scholarly pursuit would always get the better of him at times that he mouthed the words "holy war" with pure interest.

[Flagmauth]

"Every Grail War will always have a Master slot reserved for each of the three houses that created the ritual - the Matous, the Tohsakas, and the Einzberns. Eighty years ago during the Third Grail War, the Einzberns got tired of losing and decided they were going to cheat the system. A Divine Spirit is not eligible to be summoned as a Servant, but the Einzberns decided to try it anyway and, in what I can only describe as a fit of incredibly poor judgment, they decided to summon Angra Mainyu, a being described in Zoroastrian texts as representing 'all the world's evils.' I have no idea how they thought that was going to go well for them."

He paused for another drink, a bit smaller this time. "At any rate, they lost again but the energy from Angra Mainyu flowed back into the Grail. After each Servant is killed, their prana returns to the Grail and will eventually be used to manifest it - this prevents the Grail from appearing prematurely, ensuring that you must defeat all of the competitors in order to win your prize. In this case, as should surprise nobody except possibly the Einzberns, pouring all the world's evils into the ritual has completely corrupted it. Any wish made upon the Grail will be executed in the most destructive way possible, and threatens to release Angra Mainyu's corruption in a tide of negative energy that stands a very good chance of wiping out all of humanity."

[A Blind Guy]

"Ok, so what I'm seeing is that we win the grail war, and then destroy the grail Wouldn't I have to kill Johnston for this to happen?

[Helsing]

Sigyn shakes her head, "The ritual demands that only Servants need to be defeated in order for the grail to manifest. That being said, a servant can only be maintained with prana being given to it by his or her master. Given that humans are far less durable than even the weakest of Heroic Spirits, they become the primary targets."

[A Blind Guy]

"Fair enough. Now, how do we get a hold of one of these servants?"

[Flagmauth]

"You do so with an extremely specialized summoning circle, the details of which I have written out for you, alongside an incantation. Additionally, you will want to make use of summoning catalysts - artifacts tied to the Heroic Spirit you intend to summon. For example, a scrap of cloth from the hero's cape. That is probably the most laborious process of it all, but fortunately I've taken the liberty of acquiring some for you already. Seven in all - well, six actually. Sigyn already has her own."

[A Blind Guy]

"What are these artifacts? "

[BerrySayRoar]

Joseph raise a brow at Takeshi as he then roll his eyes and shake his head as he laughed under his breath. He in hales slowly and crosses his arms, "And what happens if we fail to destroy it? The grail I mean"

[Flagmauth]

"Failing to destroy it means somebody will use it. The Grail is by necessity an extremely powerful magical construct - and all that power has been corrupted by Angra Mainyu. If it is used, the energy unleashed would be like a tidal wave of destruction. Ten years ago, during the Fourth War, the Grail's appearance at the end of the war ultimately resulted in a devastating firestorm that destroyed a very large portion of Fuyuki itself and killed hundreds. That wasn't even close to a fraction of its true power."

He turned his attention back to Takeshi. "A mask from Sengoku Japan, a gauntlet from an old battlefield in Britain, the head of a scepter from an Egyptian tomb, a buried skull from China, an old cloth from Palestine and a fragment of destroyed armor plate from India. Along with whatever it is that Sigyn has."

[A Blind Guy]

"Do we know of any other masters or servants before the summoning can commence? "

[Flagmauth]

"I haven't been able to find out if any of the other Servants have yet been summoned. As for the Masters, there are a couple we can expect. Each of the founding Houses made sure the ritual would always select a magus from their households. The Matous are, as far as I know, extinct. Likely you won't have to worry about them. The Tohsakas are almost gone as well - the last heir to their magecraft is an eighteen-year-old girl. Her bloodline means she'll certainly be powerful, but she would have to be almost entirely self-taught and likely inexperienced. As for the Einzberns...they will likely be one of the greater threats in the War. Their homunculi have exceedingly powerful Magic Circuits, perfect for powering a strong Servant, and they aren't above hiring mercenaries to fight the war for them. Ten years ago they hired the Magus Killer - fortunately it seems he didn't survive the experience."

[BerrySayRoar]

"Do you have thesesaid artifacts with you? If you don't mind I would like to examine them."

[A Blind Guy]

"My apologies for so many questions, but why do you have six or seven of them when we can only summon one servant with one artifact?"

[Flagmauth]

"For a typical Grail War that would be true. And technically it still is, but there are some special circumstances involved in this one. The Grail has a backup system built into it if all seven teams were to join forces. In that case, it would choose an additional seven Masters and have the two larger factions of seven fight one another for the Grail. That system has been activated for this War, probably because the last War was only ten years ago and ended without a proper victor. Either way, the three of you will be on a faction with four other magi."

In response to Johnston's question he nodded, sliding a pair of bulky suitcases one after the other from behind his seat. "Feel free to look them over. Though do try not to damage them - you'll need them later on after all."

[Helsing]

Sigyn reached into her coat and pulled out a small box. Upon opening it, the men at the table were treated to the sight of what looked to be a wooden dart, the tip green from rot and previous plant growth.

"They aren't that impressive, but an artifact is more important for the link to the hero that you want to summon. I trust Lord El Melloi ii's artifacts will be of the highest caliber."

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