Bradford

[yuckeroni]

 
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Let silver and steel be the essence.
Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.
Let black be the color I pay tribute to.
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.

Let it be declared 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 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.
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Yet you shall serve with your eyes clouded by chaos.
For you would be one caged in madness.
I shall wield your chains.
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[yuckeroni]

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Encased in a compact, glass canister, the skeletal remains of a butterfly’s wing lay daintily on the bottom’s surface. Careful as to not shatter the fragile bones, the ebony-clad woman glided listlessly across her study. Leaning against a vast wall was a cardboard box, and when she nudged it with her foot, it slumped to the ground revealing a crawl space. Grunting, she bent and eased her way through, her grip on the ancient relic tightening.


The crawl space led to a larger basement, one where she was no longer needed to crouch. Standing back up she walked toward a circle made up from the ichor of slaughtered animals. The circle was more of a pentagram, with intricate designs than just a ring around a star. Fastidiously the matron fixed the artifact upon an altar, just in front of her crude arrangement of gore.


Fishing into her jacket’s pocket, she retrieved a crumpled piece of paper, flattening it to view the German scrawl she had copied from one of her books. Reviewing it once more, then dropping it at her side, her vision focused on the reredos and sanguine fluid before her. She hovered her hands over the drawing, took a deep breath, and chanted. The dank air around her began to whip at her body rapidly, however she took no notice of it. Solely fixated on endowing enough mana for it’s physical body to form.


A red pattern burned onto her right hand. A flash of luminous light spread throughout the room, and in front of the colleen, was a large figure clad in obsidian armor. She took a moment to observe the servant she summoned, breathing in the muggy atmosphere. Several seconds of intense staring passed, and the woman straightened herself -strange, she didn’t know that she had hunched over,- and introduced herself. “My name is Cordula Dunst, and I am your master. Do you understand?”


It didn’t seem to speak, and she didn’t mind. It manifested a tall, borderline-thick physique, but those terms did not mean a thing to Cordula. In her mind, she knew, that she had summoned the trump card to winning the Holy Grail. Sneering, she inched closer, coming face to (almost) face with her servant. “Wilkommen, Weltenzerstörer.”

 

[Chisengen]

A long and weary sigh left her mouth as Serah realized what she was about to do.  She had spent the last few days wondering if the holy grail just had a sick sense of humor, or an unbelievably high love of irony. Probably both. "Why would the grail choose a magus who gave up their studies? Why wouldn't it pick someone else from her family? What chance did she even have to win with how weak her magic was?" All of these questions and much more had been running through her mind for days now. She figured she'd find the answers soon enough though. She knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and she wasn't going to just throw it away.

She quickly pushed her apartment door open and made sure to lock it behind her as she headed towards her bedroom. She didn't really have a good place to do something like this, but she figured her bedroom would suffice.  Once inside, she cleaned her room a little just to get a nice place to summon her servant. "Cleaning" In this case was just  pushing the plethora of empty fast food bags, clothes, and miscellaneous items she's acquired over the years into one corner. Once she finished, a slight smile came upon her face as she could finally see most her floor once again "Man... I really need to clean this someday".

Serah opened a small briefcase on top of her bed and examined it's contents. Inside was a bottle filled with a red liquid, an ancient looking spearhead wrapped in a gold fabric, and a crudely written letter explaining what she had to do. "Man... I sure glad to see Ryoko's handwriting hasn't improved" she thought to herself as she read the paper. "Step one: Draw this symbol on the ground using the liquid I gave you" She nodded to herself before carefully examining the symbol. It looked... odd to say the least, but it wouldn't be too hard to replicate. A few minutes later and she was staring at an odd pentagram sorta thing "Next, place the artifact down... and the rest should be easy".  Serah let out her second sigh of the day as she rolled her eyes. She had no idea what "the rest" should exactly be but she could make some assumptions. 

Serah placed the spearhead down next to the pentagram shaped object and began chanting. She didn't really know what to say, and made it up as she went but she soon felt mana flow through her and her hand glowed a bright red. Before she knew it a bright light encased her room, revealing a figure dressed in all black and red armor.

A giddy expression came across her face as she saw her servant. She knew he wasn't going to be a punk, but she definitely wasn't expecting this!... Still, she knew she had to "show him who's boss" and quickly changed to a more stoic expression before asking him "So you're my servant huh? Guess you can call me master. We've got a lot ahead of us"

 

[Dante Verren]

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Marcus glanced down at the watch he held in his left hand and grinned. 10:42 pm. “Well guess I’d better get started”. The wind began to shift as Marcus inhaled deeply ad exhaled slowly. He turned to face his chosen area. A small clearing in the woods three miles away from Bradford. Marcus laid his bag down on the ground and opened it revealing what was inside. The grin that had planted itself on Marcus’s face grew even wider as the thought of the oncoming war.


First off he had to draw the summoning circle. Marcus grabbed the paper he had stolen from his family’s study a few years back. He quickly cleaned his glasses and readjusted them. The parchment was a bit worn but that should be fine. “You couldn’t make it easy for me could you scum bags. Oh well guess I will just have to pay you back once I win the grail.” His grin grew wider still at the thought of his family’s faces.


There was a set of instructions with the warning on it, but with a quick snap of his fingers and a silent word the sheet of paper was reduced to ash. He studied the piece of paper holding the summoning circle on it for a minute memorizing every small detail of the design. Once that was finished Marcus closed his eye and took another deep breath. When he opened his eyes a small inferno was burning in them.  Marcus snapped his fingers twice muttering the correct incantations. The ground suddenly burst into flame as tendrils of fire burned itself into the ground in precisely the correct position forming a perfect copy of what was on the paper.


The flames vanished leaving the smoldering design of the pentagram. Marcus reached into his bag grabbing five small vials. He opened these vials and was hit by the stench of blood. “Three vials of human blood and two vials of animal blood. Check.” Marcus went around the circle sprinkling the blood onto the pentagram. He then returned to his bag pulling out a large black box out of the bag. He carefully removed the lid and laid it gently on the ground. Inside the box sat part of a very old skull that has been perfectly preserved. Well besides the fact that part of an arrow was stuck in the skull. Marcus carefully set the skull down next to the pentagram and began his chant.


The wind howled and tore at Marcus as soon as the chant was done. The burned marks of the pentagram erupted into flame as his servant appeared. Marcus tilted his head upwards to look at the servant and an evil grin crossed his face. Marcus held out the back of his right hand for the servant to see. “I Marcus Vermilion am your knew master. From this moment on wards you shall swear yourself to me and I shall make a promise to you as well. Together we will accomplish our dreams and destroy anyone who will stand in our way.” The Servant nodded and Marcus smiled grabbing his bag and returning to town while his servant hid its self, letting the wind blow the remainder of the pentagram away.

 

[Aart]

/monthly_2016_08/sensei__by_mono_y-da716pn.thumb.png.582635a9de009145befa432a686250b1.png.6dc42b33a754f61f83d05bf91bc6e2b7.png/monthly_2016_08/ce355611b4b0de3f6e6af0e9d98db682.jpg.5a44cf21066f460fb36485b8675a8033.jpg.d95073da28c2a47c0edcbb39c9a862a3.jpgDeep breaths came out of the mouth from Hubert as he sat down and meditated. It was hard to concentrate. He was nervous for the summoning tonight. Something which is unusual for him. He thought of how late it must be. He felt the darkness against his eyelids. As he opened them he saw a huge square. Hubert didn't have a watch with him, nor an electronic device of some sort. He sat on a roof looking down on the crowds passing the pedestrian crossing. He looked up to the tower on the square and saw the time. It was 10:19 pm. 'Time to head back.' He mumbled to himself and stood up.


He left the square and went to a cave. It was just outside town and because Hubert didn't have any money he couldn't afford to live in the city. He's been using this cave since he came to the city. On his first day he sealed the cave with a sign that only he knows how to unseal. He stood in the large cave with the only light coming from a hole in the cave and some candles on the ground. 


He began making a summoning circle. As he did, he rambled ancient Chinese words. He remembered every line and stripes he needed to make from the books he read while studying The Holy Grail War. He took out his brush and wrote on every quarter of the circle Chinese signs. After that he made a big sign in the middle. He was a little worried which servant he'd get. He couldn't get hold of a Catalyst which made him a bit nervous. The ground started shaking and the circle started to light up. It was a bright, light blue color. The lighten up circle now was so bright, it was hard to see. It took about five minutes of shaking and then it stopped, but the bright circle got only brighter. Hubert thought he would have summoned his servant by now. Was it still to early, or did he fail?


He did the only thing he could do. He sat down, closed his eyes and started meditating. He cleared his mind from everything, everything but the Holy Grail War. Hubert assumed that Saber, Archer and Lancer couldn't be it. Most of the time you needed a Catalyst for that. 


After a half our of meditating the ground started shaking again. Hubert directly opened his eyes and saw an short figure, not more than 170 cm tall. Hubert stood up. He looked good at his servant. He didn't expect much, but this? He quickly forgot that mindset and made a small bow for his servant. 'My name is Hubert Sips. I have summoned you for The Holy Grail War. Do you recognize me as your master?' The servant made a big smile and said 'Yes sir, I do.' The servant reached out his hand to Hubert and Hubert shook it. He saw the command spells on his right hand.  

 

[Ian Temero]

 

/monthly_2016_08/Tribal-Bat-Tattoo-1.png.f06423c34b55d291d9d218a66bcefba5.png/monthly_2016_08/57bbcda54b310_cc7XFTS(2).png.2f6466729c78b7a9f23d78f1177a8682.pngFor the elements, silver and iron.For the foundation, stone and the Archduke of Contracts.
For the ancestor, my great master, Brunestud.
A wall to block the falling wind.
Close the gates of the four cardinal directions.
Come forth from the crown, and follow the forked road leading to the kingdom.


The words meant little to Fluer, even as she chanted them. To be clear, the words themselves held meaning. The incantation was full of symbolism and metaphors, evoking ancient oaths long forgotten, but to Fluer they were nothing more than words to be spoken in the creation of a spell.


She stood in the center of a little run down little shack. A cool breeze blew through the shattered windowpanes, shifting the cobwebs and the dust. The silver moonlight shining through holes in the roof set her white hair aglow and her crimson eyes burned in the night. At her feet a large magic circle glowed red and filled the room with an eerie light. Her own blood still dripping down her arm, Fluer lifted up her hand and let it drip into the circle.



Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill.

Repeat five times, but destroy when each is filled.
Set.

With each drop of blood the circle glowed brighter and filled with more and more power. Wind began to poor out of the circle and the very walls of the shack began to shake.



Heed my words.


My will creates your body and your sword creates my destiny.
If you heed the grail's call and obey my will and reason,
Then answer me.



I hereby swear,
That I will be all the good in the world;
That I shall defeat all evil in the world.
You seven heavens, clad in three great words of power,
Come forth from the circle of binding,
Guardian of the Scales!

An explosion of energy rocked the shack, forcing Fluer to shield her eyes from the sudden light. As the dust that was kicked up began to settle she began to make out the shape of a person. A satisfied grin flashed across her lips as she realized that she had done it. Even without a catalyst she had managed to summon a Heroic Spirit. Just as she was wondering which hero she had called, her vision suddenly began to swim and she started to fall. She was aware of a soft breeze blowing past her and then a gentle pair of arms caught her. "You alright, honey?" a silky, sweet voice asked.


Once her sight had returned, Fluer looked up to see a beautiful women, with golden hair and piercing blue eyes, smiling down at her. "Ben oui, I am just lightheaded, that is all." Fluer snapped, embarrassed that the first thing she did in front of her servant was faint. She pushed away from the woman and tried to take a step, but that just made the room spin and she found herself back in the servant's waiting arms. "Merde! That is the last time I use my own blood for a magic circle, je le jure."


Behind her, she could feel her servant shake as the woman chuckled. "Ya'know, most wouldn't have considered usin' their own blood ter begin with."


"Tais-toi."