It was a warm summer night in Redrock. The streets were not empty, but the people on them were sparse. While it was not a small town, it was not an enormous city, either. It was a location that straddled the line between town and city, and therefore the nightlife was also a reflection of this. Some people were out on the streets, and yet many remained in their homes. This night was ideal for the beginning. There were many locations in which someone who desired to remain unseen could inhabit. The forest outside of Redrock. The burnt-out remains of the Rickert mansion in the North, left as a monument to the tragic deaths that had occurred there. The unseen catacombs beneath the city that were as old as the nation. For tonight was the beginning of something that the relatively peaceful town of Redrock had never before encountered. Tonight would be the beginning of a battle that had once thought to have been silenced, but was no longer.

Tonight was the beginning of the battle that would decide who claimed the omnipotent wish-granting machine known as the Holy Grail.

Redrock's old Church, an impressive building based upon the gothic style of architecture, housed a foreign representative of the Catholic Church this night. And for many nights after this, indeed. She sat quietly. Naturally, she was prepared to meet each and every team that would be informing her of their participation. She had been told, however, that this war would hold far more then seven participants.

The blue-haired Executor let out a small sigh.

She was without a meal, and it would be a long night.

[hr]

Drip... drip... drip...

She had to empty it all, naturally. She had been given precisely the required amount of blood for her task, drained from several animals and stored for this purpose explicitly. The catalyst she had been provided with, too, purportedly would summon an excellent example of the Lancer class. The young woman suspected this was because her superiors in the Association believed she lacked some of the traits a magus would normally desire in the course of a conflict of this nature, and yet she did not hold it against them. The confidence she had in herself was enough for her, she did not need the confidence of her bosses. Besides, they had seen fit to deploy her as their representative, had they not? That meant they had confidence in her, no matter how little they would admit it. Besides, a Lancer was an excellent class to summon. Long range, fast melee? Fio could not help but approve. And at the same time she was confident that any Servant she could summon would win her this war.

Indeed, the one summoned by this fragment was no stranger to war. Perhaps it would be a better pairing then she hoped. Which, to be fair, her hopes were very high indeed.

Fio Mal-Rai, Magus hunter for the Association, never took the cynical outlook on her own path. No, it was always the path that she knew would lead her to success. The very same mindset applied to this war for the Holy Grail. She would work and work and work until she found success, and she would not stop until she claimed victory. In her mind, there was no-one that could stand in her way if she applied herself and the capabilities of her Servant properly.

The hall of the home she was supplied with for the Holy Grail War was rather stately, albeit now marred with the presence of a circle of blood. Oh well, the carpet and flooring was a rather small sacrifice in the name of victory.

She stood at the circle. Fio outstretched one hand, and felt it. She felt the flow of prana in her body, igniting in her. Her magic circuits were a flurry of activity. Naturally, a ritual to call down a Heroic Spirit from the Throne of Heroes would cause quite a fervor in her frame, would it not?

"[i]Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg.[/i]"

She could feel it blazing inside of her. Fio's heart hammered with excitement. Truly, this was her entry into the War for the Holy Grail! Even as an official duty for the Association... there was no way to hide the excitement she felt.

"[i]The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate.
 Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill).
 Repeat every five times.
 Simply, shatter once filled.[/i]"

With every word, it approached.

"[i]Your self is under me, my fate(doom) is in your sword. 
 In accordance with the approach of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.
 Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead.[/i]"
 
Fio thrust her hand out, and the last words were cried out, as if to ensure they truly reached her Servant.

"[i]You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance ―――！[/i]"

[@Rin], [@PKMNB0Y], [@Raineh Daze], [@Bourgeoisie], [@Lost Cause], [@Lasrever], [@Hinsek], [@Pie Flavor]