[h1][color=00aeef]Ernest LaCreux[/color][/h1]

[h2]Church Interior/Exterior[/h2]


Ernest nodded. [color=00aeef]“Of course, I expected no more.” [/color]The magus slung his jacket over his shoulder and began walking toward the door of the Church, stopping just shy of the exit. [color=00aeef]“Again, thank you, Ruler.” [/color]With that, Ernest pushed through the doors. Telepathically, he ordered the Thrall, which was still waiting near the Church, to bring a few of the scarce supplies left in the limo. He had not prepared for something of this nature, but perhaps he could manage to scrape by. Following his orders to the Thrall, Ernest rolled up his sleeves and began work on setting up the Bounded Field. It was not a terribly complicated thing, but he had already used a fair amount of magical energy that day, and he was becoming more and more aware of that fact as the night drug on. He hoped the rest of the night would conclude without incident.

After quite some time, everything had been prepared. Ernest had set up a satisfactory Bounded Field just outside the Church, and with the help of the Thrall's supplies, the magus had managed to create another Summoning Circle. Unfortunately, the circle was not quite as perfect as before, but then the first one had been produced under very different circumstances. Ernest let out a deep breath, wiping his brow, looking at the circle, and then at the marks on the back of his hand. It didn't matter what Servant he summoned. He had to win this War. If he were to conquer the absolute, to overcome fate, to reverse the very reality of the flow of time... he would certainly need a miracle, and miracles were hard to come by.

Ernest raised his hand above the circle and began the same chant he had recited earlier. [color=00aeef]“Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill...”[/color] As the words fell from his lips, what felt like fire flared up within his chest once again. The marks on his hand, along with the circle, began to glow dimly. The light was fainter than before, likely due to the unorthodox nature of the Summoning. Even as the magus reached the chant's end, the light remained dim. He took a deep breath, clenching the fist that bore his Command Seals.

[color=00aeef]“I offer one of my Command Seals to give the spark of life! Heed my call!” [/color]

The marks on Ernest's hand awoke with a surge of light, and the magus felt a white-hot burning sensation as one of them faded from his hand. At the same time, the Summoning Circle roared to life, gleaming with a blinding red light and producing a surge of warm air in all directions. Ernest squinted his eyes, the hot wind lapping at his face. The hand that bore the Command Seals was still raised, the other hung at his side, tightly gripping his cane. It had to work.

[@Holy Grail] [@Moonlit Sonata]