[center][h2]Renaud de Guiscard[/h2][/center]
[hr]

A shrine? A cemetery? He should have seen this coming. They'd meticulously planned every detail of this grail war, of course Caster would want to base herself in a nexus of magical energy. And her tone - Grandfather had always told him he needed to establish himself as the familiar's master, especially with a caster-class servant. A heroic spirit such as this might exploit any perceived weakness for their own advantage, perhaps even magically dominate their master if they deemed them too weak. A life of preparation and confidence came crashing down on him as, for a brief moment, it seemed to him as if he was doing everything wrong, and-

"If you believe it would be advantageous to do so, by all means," he replied dismissively as he got up to his feet, showing no hint of unease. "There is such a shrine in Sako, though it is beyond my current resources to commandeer it. Consider securing the site to be your first task as my servant, then." He checked the time lazily, as if unfazed by the feudal japanese sorceress that just materialized from thing before him. "I do not care how you achieve this, so long as the secrecy of magecraft is maintained." 

"In the meantime, I am drained from my preparation and this ritual." Which he certainly was, he felt ready to collapse at any moment, his fatigue not helped by the steady drain of mana to maintain his servant. "I am going to sleep. I expect when I awake a servant of your caliber will be able to have secured a site for a workshop and make a report." 

Without another word, he turned out of fog-filled room and into his own quarters, slumping against the door as he shut it. 

Show no fear. Show no uncertainty. Hesitation is death.

[i]For now, I rest[/i], he thought. [i]Then we find the other masters, and win the war.[/i] As he drifted to sleep leaning against the door, unable to put off his exhaustion any longer, his mother's words echoed in his mind.

"...And above all, you must win back our honor by destroying that Huang bitch."

[hr]
[center][h2]G E N G H I S[/h2][img]https://i.imgur.com/3FuTvpI.png[/img][/center]

The Khan of Khans watched the chinese witch work her strange magecraft, keeping a fascinated eye in spite of his bored expression. Truth be told, he did not think much of her when he was first summoned to this world. This was in part due to her evident wealth - he distrusted those who had never known privation or squalor - and partly because of her ethnicity. The Han and their southern kin were, in his experience, weak and cowardly, a people of serfs fit only to be ridden over, threatening only behind their damnable walls. 

But it had not taken long for him to see that this woman was something fierce, worthy of being called his master. Even this strange ritual - mocking death in such a way, risking all for power? She, who had the appearance of a deer, but the heart of a wolf, was equal to any of his Noyans in life.

He was leaning against a wall, juggling his scimitar in the air and catching the blade with his hand, when she asked her question. "How would I win this war? Curious thought," he answered in a bored tone. "The answer seems obvious. Terror will not help us here, as our enemies will fight to the death. Destroy one, and the rest will turn on us as a threat."

"But as dangerous as a pack of wolves is, a lone wolf is easy prey. Division is our ally." Dropping his feigned boredom, he gave her a wolfish grin. "So we feign weakness. They will aim for the tallest trees first: we encourage this from the shadows. We seed discord, we provoke, we foster conflict and hatred amongst these warriors. When they are too distrustful of one another to form a united front, then we strike." 

He spoke with complete certainty. He was not saying what [i]might be[/i], but what [i]would be[/i]. He was the favoured son of Blue Heaven, after all.