The Holy Grail War.A battle originally held between seven mages to obtain the Holy Grail, an omnipotent wish-granting device. To this end they summoned manifestations of historical and mythological figures to fight in their stead: Servants.
At first, Holy Grail Wars were only held in Fuyuki City, but after a certain incident allowed mages to replicate the system on a smaller scale, so-called Subcategory Holy Grail Wars started to occur across the globe.Those wars could only sustain up to five Servants and were generally considered inferior to the real Holy Grail War. Most high-ranking mages looked down on them. However, for many others it provided an invaluable opportunity.Who cared about the fws of this system when it provided a chance to obtain your heart’s desire?
This is not just a story about fighting for your deepest wish.It is a story about finding it.
“Let silver and steel be the essence.Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.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.”A boy who aspired to become a hero. As he stood among countless old graves, he held his family close at heart.
“Let it be decred now;your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword.Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail.Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth.”An experienced mage with a dark past.To her, this was just a regur job, nothing more and nothing less.
“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.”An old man who valued his home above all else.He was looking forward to sharing a freshly cooked meal with a famous hero.
“Yet you shall serve with your eyes clouded by chaos~For you would be one caged in madness~I shall wield your chains~”A prodigy chasing a dream far too grand for a single human life.She danced across her room, almost singing the incantation, sure of her success.
“From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power,come forth from the ring of restraint, protector of the holy bance!”An unstable existence searching for a true purpose.They joined this ritual on a whim, as if gambling with their life on the line.
Those five were the Masters chosen by the Grail.This is their story.
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October 9th, Clock Tower, London
“IS THIS MAN OUT OF HIS MIND?”Inside the cramped office of Rocco Belfeban, dean of the Department of Summoning, Lord El-Melloi II - also known as Waver Velvet - broke the idyllic morning atmosphere with an agitated shout.He sank into the sofa, head in his hands, and almost knocked over some books that were carefully stacked next to him. The entire room was stuffed with old texts, Mystic Codes and relics, so even just getting to his seat was more like an obstacle course. Waver was already aware that a new Subcategory Holy Grail War was about to be held - an all-too-common occurrence since the infamous Yggdmillennia leak – but nothing could prepare him for the audacity of the mage responsible for it.I kind of understand why Belfeban and that woman asked for me now but…this is going to be a headache.
On the small desk in front of him sat a small ptop with the screen showing a public website that felt more like someone’s school project than something made in 2024.The tacky-looking header read “INVITATION TO FIGHT FOR THE HOLY GRAIL”.Below it, the author procimed as follows:“Proud mages of Europe, no matter if you hail from a long lineage or are an aspiring amateur, we all share the same goal. Whether you desire power, fame or simply wish to enter the realm of True Magic out of your own curiosity – you want to reach the Root.Now, thanks to our fellow mage Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia, you all should know what I am about to propose here.”Waver rolled his eyes at hearing that name. It had been twenty years since that whole fiasco, but dealing with the aftermath of Darnic’s great pn did cost many people at the Clock Tower a lot of sleep. This ritual should never have been allowed to become common knowledge among mages.Those false Grails cannot even reach the Root, not that those idiots would know. You can’t just expect to imitate the Greater Grail.I guess we can at least be gd that most of those wars fail to even manifest a Grail... He continued to read.“I am Wulfram Veremund Manegold, the mage who presides over the city of Greifshain.I have procured a suitable vessel, so all we need is magical energy…and this is where you will come into py. Once five mages are chosen, we will have enough magical power to activate the Grail.You may ask yourself how we are going to decide who gets to fulfill their wish.I propose that we shall fight for it, just like in a proper Holy Grail War! A spectacle that would make even old Zelretch proud! Should you be chosen, I wish you the best of luck. After all, you will have to contend against yours truly!”
Waver rubbed his temples.“So. This Manegold guy…decided to host a Grail War. That itself is already a deeply foolish endeavor, but…he uploaded his announcement to the internet. For the whole world to see.”“Yes. Terrible, isn’t it? This newfangled stuff is nothing but trouble.”At least most normal people won’t think much of this. But so much for keeping Magecraft secret.“And we are sure this isn’t just some prank?”“We contacted him and he did indeed confirm his pns. Even offered to send us images of the vessel! And before you ask, we did urge him to reconsider, but no. Said something about how this is his only chance.”A deep sigh was the only thing Waver could muster as a response. Why do mages always have to be like this? If they knew what an actual Grail War was like, they would quickly turn tail…well a few of them, at least. I really wish they had more common sense.As Waver was starting to get lost in thought, Rocco snapped him back to the situation at hand. “Say…didn’t you want to introduce me to our candidate? We have to get her a fitting catalyst after all, for the off chance that she ends up as a Master herself…though even if not, with her track record I am sure she will get the job done and retrieve the Grail. If it even materializes.”“Right…you heard him, you can come in!”
A woman in her thirties casually entered the room without a word and sat down on the sofa across Waver, crossing her legs. Her ash brown hair looked a bit messy from behind, but her bangs were cut neatly in a diagonal line. Despite being indoors, she refused to take off her bck round sungsses, partially obscuring her dark blue eyes. Looking at her eyebags, she did not seem to get much sleep.Taken aback by her nonchant entry, Rocco looked at her and then quickly turned to Waver.“Are you sure this is the right person?”“Absolutely, that’s her. Lauretta Fletcher, recommended personally by Miss Adashino herself.”Much like Hishiri Adashino, Lauretta was a member of the Department of Policies. This part of the Clock Tower often dealt with mages who went against the rules of their society. A perfect fit for dismantling a Grail War before things got out of hand. Should she end up as a Master, her Servant would be nothing but a means to an end.
Waver extended a hand in greeting. Lauretta looked at it for a second, then looked back up to Waver and started to talk in a disinterested voice.“There is no need for pleasantries. Miss Adashino has briefed me on the situation already. I will fly to Germany tonight.” “That…is good”, Waver said while slowly lowering his hand.Oh dear.“Anyway…Miss Fletcher. I am gd that you’ve been informed on the general gist of things and luckily you have dealt with a Grail War before, right?”“Yes.”“That spares me a lot of expnations, wonderful. So, what’s your take on this situation?”“Nothing special.”Rocco jumped from his chair. “What do you mean ‘nothing special’? What about the concealment of Magecraft? This is preposterous! Can you at least pretend to care?”As Waver mentally prepared himself for one of Rocco’s rants on how the mage society was declining and how technology was partially to bme, Lauretta shot him down with a single gnce.“I do care. Threats like these need to be disposed of quickly.”Well…at least she makes up for her ck of manners by not messing around.Waver made a mental note to not get on Lauretta’s bad side, meanwhile Rocco got up from his desk. He had gotten a great idea for a catalyst in case the Grail did choose her…but also quickly wanted to get out of this woman’s icy sights.
As the three mages prepared to leave the office, Waver paused for a moment.“Right. I don’t think a mage of your caliber will be concerned about this, but there have been a fair few mage murders in the west of Germany. So, watch your back, wouldn’t want to lose you to Lohengrin” he chuckled. This name was given by the Mage’s Association to a hypothetical mage killer. Any investigations into them led to dead ends, since they never left any evidence at the crime scenes and if there were any witnesses, they always failed to properly recall the appearance of the culprit. Long hair, a coat, the sound of armor. Those were the only things they could remember. Over the years, many unsolved mage deaths have been attributed to this Lohengrin, but to most people at the Clock Tower they were just an urban legend.
Despite that, Waver noticed how Lauretta’s stoic expression darkened for a moment upon hearing that name.“I see. I will keep an eye out for them.”
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Greifshain, Germany
A red-haired young man in high spirits was walking through the bustling city center.Man, I still can’t believe I got chosen! Lucky me!He stretched his arm into the sky, looking at a red mark on his right hand, shaped like a shooting star. What would simply appear like a tattoo to a regur person was clearly recognizable as Command Spells to any half-decent mage.The boy himself, Vincent Brandrath, was one of them.He even was more than half-decent…at least if you asked him.His family always stood in the shadow of the other European mages, not just because of their Magic Crest stagnating for generations. They failed to bring forth any powerful heirs and their own Magecraft was nothing to write home about.So when the Grail picked Vincent as one of the Masters in this war, he knew from the start what his wish would be: Restoring the Brandraths to their former glory.And with the catalyst at his family’s home, victory would be secure.
Passing by a clothing store, Vincent paused to look at his own reflection in the mirror with a big smile. Don’t I look super cool? I’m gonna be the star of this war! His brown jacket was nothing special, but he was very fond of his t-shirt that he picked up at a store for fishing supplies. Vincent did not even enjoy fishing since it was way too boring in his eyes, but the print on this shirt - a bass gobbling up a small cat-like creature and text reading “Catch of the Day” – spoke to him for some reason.When he turned around to leave, a gust of wind blew his hair right into his face, obscuring his entire vision. He always covered his left eye with his bangs since it looked cool and mysterious to him, but in exchange things like this often happened on windy days.After solving this ordeal, Vincent was back on track again. This was not just some regur shopping trip, he had an important goal in mind before he would summon his Servant.
Right between the historic buildings of the old town district stood the cathedral of Greifshain. It was certainly less impressive than other German cathedrals like in Cologne or Aachen, but even then, quite a sight to behold that attracted many tourists. In the coming days, it would also be an important pce for the mages flocking to this city, since the priest that would supervise this Grail War was stationed here, in agreement with the local bishop. Despite mages and members of the Church usually not getting along great to put it mildly, Vincent was actually well acquainted with the Overseer thanks to all the services he joined during his school days.It's been a while since I’ve st seen Father Albrecht…I wonder if he still remembers me. Then again, I’m sure it’s hard to forget me! Hehe.
After admiring the massive, gothic-style cathedral with its imposing spires, Vincent entered the building. He took a moment to take in the stained-gss windows on each side of the nave before heading straight for the altar…and stopped right in his track.“Huh…who are you?”Instead of the kind old man he remembered, Vincent locked eyes with an older woman in church garments. She had been watching him from the moment he set foot in this pce. The most striking thing about her appearance was a scar running across the left side of her face.The woman seemed to scrutinize Vincent and grinned after noticing the mark on his right hand.“Heh. You’re a mage, right? Here for the war? Keep your voice down and follow me.”She started to walk towards the entrance to the sacristy, but Vincent stood frozen in pce.Sure, it made sense to not deal with any mage business in front of all the visitors, but something about this felt suspicious to him. Did the old man die? No, it wasn’t even that long…right? She must have done something…“W-where’s Father Albrecht?”Hearing this, the woman stopped and turned around. “Don’t worry about him.”
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October 10th, airspace above Greifshain
The pilot of a small Dornier pne announced that they would be starting their descent soon and reminded the passengers to fasten their seatbelts. It was a clear night and there were no turbulences on the flight.Despite it being just a bit past 4AM and running on six hours of sleep, Lauretta was wide awake. Not that she would have been able to rest well with the humming of the propeller engines. She spent the entirety of her short flight pnning on how to complete her job optimally, scribbling down barely legible sentences into a small notebook. Lauretta always put emphasis on being well prepared, which was part of the reason she managed to end a Subcategory Holy Grail War prematurely in the past.Thinking back on that, she looked outside the window.She could see the entirety of Greifshain below her.
It was still dark outside, but the sprawling city lights gave her a good enough idea of the area while comparing the view with a map.By all means it was your average German town, complete with a few high-rise buildings in the city center, a scenic old town to the north of it and even two castles, one of which certainly had seen better days. A river ran through it as well, with a neighborhood of more affluent people being located on the western shore. This pce was of special interest to Lauretta, since Wulfram V. Manegold, the organizer of this Grail War, lived there. Put himself on a silver ptter…must be very confident or a total idiot.She had a few other spots marked on her map, including the Greifshain Cathedral and potential hideout locations that she would stake out, ranging from a smaller church in the west part of the town and the industrial district to the south-east. She would pass right through that one after her nding since the town’s airport was right to the east of it, so she decided to start her investigation there.
While taking more notes, Lauretta’s right hand suddenly ached. Come on. I didn’t even write that much.It was just a short sting, but she decided to take a look just to be safe. Her eyes widened in surprise.A deep red symbol shaped like an eye with an arrow tip running through it was engraved on the back of her hand. The Grail had decided that Lauretta Fletcher was going to be a Master.You’re kidding me.
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Greifshain, a small graveyard in the western part of town
In between the old tombstones, some of them covered in moss and barely legible, Vincent stumbled to the ground. I knew the summoning would be serious business, but couldn’t they at least warn you about the fsh? I should have brought sungsses! Man, I could have hit my -As his eyes adjusted to the darkness again, his thoughts came to a sudden halt and a wide smirk spread across his face.Holy shit! I did it! I did it!He would have loved to scream in triumph, but he did not want to wake any of the nearby residents. Not just because he was a very thoughtful person, no, it was mostly because Magecraft was supposed to be secret after all.This was why he decided to perform the summoning in this old graveyard, in the st hours before dawn.He had to make sure to succeed, the fate of his family was in his hands after all.And now, Vincent Brandrath was staring at the fruits of his bor.
In the center of the haphazard summoning circle that he drew on the ground with chicken blood - while profusely apologizing to the dead chicken - stood a knight.The golden glow from the ntern that Vincent brought with him only enhanced his phantasmal appearance. He clearly did not belong in this time.This knight wore a simple chainmail armor and his helmet was adorned with two rge horns.Whoa…so this is a Servant! This is so awesome! And that’s my buddy now!Reading about Heroic Spirits was one thing, but standing before the real deal instantly made Vincent understand the difference in power between humans and Servants.As the knight struck his greatsword into the ground in front of him with deep confidence, he addressed his summoner.“Greetings, young mage. Introductions are in order! I am a Servant of the Saber css.As for my True Name…I believe in these nds the people call me Artus.Now then…I ask of you.Are you my Master?”
