2 First steps to the War
[London, England. 16:44h]
It was already afternoon, and the London Clock Tower was a mess. More precisely, the Mage's Association.
Many mages were impatient and nervous, trying to understand what was happening in that exact moment. What's the subject of such a commotion? The awakening of the Holy Grail's, that's it.
A man walks by the halls of the Clock Tower, hasty and frustrated, as if he wanted to get somewhere quickly.
He is tall and skinny, has long black hair and uses a black tuxedo with a red necktie. He arrives at a wooden door and, in a hurry, opens it and enters the room.
"Professor Rocco, What is happening in this place?!"
He asks, annoyed, while entering, to an old man with short white hair, big glasses and eyes. He wears a grayish formal suit.
"You want to know the reason for the commotion that's happening at the Association? Right, Lord El-Melloi?"
The old man asks.
El-Melloi nods, and sits down on one of the armchairs in the room.
"I'm sorry, professor Rocco. Now, can you please tell me what is going on?"
He asks, still a Nortel annoyed.
"I'm afraid to inform you, Lord El-Melloi, but I too don't know much about the occurred."
He says, staring at him.
"The only thing I was informed of was the premature awakening of the Holy Grail."
He says, even more seriously, leaving El-Melloi very surprised.
"T-the Holy Grail?! B-but how?!"
He asks, with a big surprised and scared expression.
"Yes… For some unknown reason it woke up… However… This isn't the only issue. The Holy Grail didn't choose any Masters."
El-Melloi's eyes widen up.
"B-but without any Masters… How does the Holy Grail pretend to start a War?"
He asks, trying to keep calm.
"I don't know, El-Melloi… I don't know…"
He responds, looking very pensive.
[Fuyuki, Japan. 11:25h]
Iris watched the city, sitting on the steps at the entrance to the temple.
The temple was not that big, but, in compensation, it was well-located. On it's front has a long staircase that goes all the way from the temple on the top of a hill, to a part of the city.
"The world has changed so much since my time… But it doesn't matter right now. I have do wait my Servants."
She says, while look to the city of Fuyuki.
"You wish to enjoy a bit of this World someday? Is that your wish, young girl?"
She asks to herself, and smiles a little.
"I think that's a beautiful wish! Although… we have to win this war first."
She says, still keeping the smile.
"I must impose a call for the Servants of my Faction to meet up at my temple. Yes, that's a good idea."
She says, going halfway through the staircase and looking to the sky.
"This is a message to all Servants of the Black Faction. Your Ruler is calling all of you. Follow the direction of my magical energy. That is all."
She stops looking at the sky and diverting her path, going back up the stairs, with a determined expression on her face.
"I should wait for the Servants of Black at the temple. They're gonna be here at any moment.
She says, with a serious expression.
[London, England. 10 minutes before]
It's still night, 2:15 in the morning.
The wind blows strong on the flowers close to some ruins, In the interior of London. The wind blows increasingly, getting stronger by the second. Some of the old torches, on the brittle stone walls of the place, lit up in flames, partially illuminating the area. In between various broken rocks, a different one stands out when, on its middle, a flaming rune surges up. The rock begins to catch fire, causing an extensive glow, increasing the strength of the wind, thus, lifting up a great curtain of smoke…
The smoke dissipates, showing something completely different: a person, a man, clad in a black iron armor, with a few red details; a closed helm, with two big and curly horns on the sides, covers all of his head.
The armored man gets up and observes his surroundings, still not leaving his position, only moving his head from one side to the other. A muffled sigh can be heard from inside the helm.
"I remember this place… I thinks."
He says, with a quietly voice.
"... But it was entire the last time i've seen it…"
He says, still looking around the place, with the helm muffling his voice.
The man leaves the summoning place and starts walking around the ruins. He stops in front of a flower bed and kneels in front of them.
"It's so weird… Coming back to life and seeing a familiar place totally destroyed…"
He takes out a flower from the bed and begins walking to the entrance of the ruins.
"How was this place was destroyed? That's a question of which I don't know the answer… yet."
He places the flower on the entrance.
"This is a warning to all Servants of the Black Faction…"
A voice echoes through the head of the armored being, who looks to the sky and sighs one more time.
"Understood, my Ruler."
He disappears in shiny blue particles.
[On the other side of London. At the same time]
A young lad watched the starry sky, on top of the roof of a building.
He has short brown hair, dark brown eyes and pale skin; He's 1,67m tall, wears a brown leather vest on top of a white shirt, also wears brown trousers, with a money belt in his waist, with a type of glass cápsule, filled with a blue liquid, stuck on the sides of the belt; and, on it's head, has some bronze protection glasses, as well as some sort of gauntlet on his right hand, also made of bronze.
"Your call was received and heard with clarity, Ruler."
He smiles and disappears in blue particles, like the man in black armor.
[Back with Iris, on the Temple in Fuyuki]
Iris was inside the temple, praying and waiting for the other Servants Black to arrive.
She yawns, still trying to remain serious, but, after closing her mouth, surprise herself after seeing some blue particles starting to appear a few meters in front of her.
Soon, the armored man appears and looks at her.
"I have arrived, Ruler."
He says approaching her and bowing down.
"I welcome you, my Saber. It's a pleasure to meet you."
She greets him, with a little smile on her face.
"The pleasure is my, mine Ruler. I swear obey and protect you. This is my duty as a knight."
The Saber completes, still bowing down in front of Iris.
"It's not necessary for you to be on guard all the time. For the moment this place is a neutral ground. You can rest for now, Saber."
She suggest, smiling at the Saber.
"Appreciated, mine Ruler.
He says, with a relieved tone in his voice.
"I didn't know if I could remove my armor in your presence."
He makes the armor disappear from his body, revealing his true appearance.
He's a young boy, 1,78m tall; has short black hair, and crimson red eyes; his skin is incredibly pale, not getting to the point of being albino; he is wearing a white shirt with pockets, and black cavalry pants, as well as black boots.
"Heh. I expected you to look like an old knight, but you're actually quite young and handsome, Saber."
Iris compliments him while smiling.
"Thanks… I guess."
He smiles to her, rather embarrassingly.
"Should I reveal to you my true name, Ruler?"
He asks.
"It's not necessary, Saber. As a Ruler it is my duty to know the name and abilities of my Servants."
She answer his question, seeing him sigh a little.
"So I'll only reveal my true name to the others when needed…"
He says, with a short smile on his face.
Soon, Iris looks in the contrary direction to the Servant.
"I think another one arrived…"
She says, as more blue particles appear. And soon enough, the lad in season clothing appears.
"Oh? So the Saber arrived early, but the others haven't yet."
He says to himself while looking around.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Archer."
Iris greets the Servant, while approaching him.
"My services are at your disposal, miss Ruler."
Archer says, greeting Iris.
"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Saber."
He continues, smiling to Saber.
"The pleasure is mine, Archer."
Saber replies, with the same short smile as before.
Iris goes to the front of both and says:
"Soon the others will arrive. We should wait for them… Some might have taken longer to receive my call, others might still be summoned."
She explains, looking at them.
"Well, it's right we should wait for our companions."
Saber says, nodding to Iris' sentence.
"Certainly. I am quite curious to meet them."
Archer speaks, looking at him with a smirk.
"So all we have to do is wait."
Iris completes, smiling to both Servants.
(...)
