Carlotta Quinlan: The Summoning

After seeing all there was to see in Macedonia with Yui, Carlotta finally returned with her to Fuyuki. They had a wonderful time, and had managed to get a piece of Alexander's cloak! After a dinner with the family, she invited anyone who was interested to watch her summon her servant. The interested party trekked downstairs. Carlotta made sure to wear one of her best dresses (Armani, of course). She hummed happily as she layed the magic circle down in salt, leaving her catalyst in the center. She lit candles at key points of the circle, and lit incense at others. She connected the circle to a smaller one. She had drawn it around herself to give her good fortune and power. She turned to the children, "Now, don't be afraid! Auntie Carlotta is going to cut herself for this ritual, but I'll be just fine!"

"It's okay! Daddy does that all the time!" Chiaki piped up. Chiara giggled and nodded along with the statement.

"Fair enough! I should have known that," she laughed and turned towards the circle. She sliced through her palm with her athame, and held her hands out towards the circle. The lights in the mansion went out as she drew mana from around her. She began her chant.

Mother, I offer my blood to thee. The liquid essence of my body.
Father, for thee I have offerings of the elements, earth, air, fire and water.
I call to Akasha, all knowing, all seeing, deep in the blackness of the unknown.
May the Earth rise up and protect me, the water flow over me and heal me, the fire drive me, and the wind guide me down the wandering road of my destiny.
Let me be filled as the grail. Let the cup overfloweth!Filling! Spilling! Rushing! Flooding!
Every step I take shall deepen the river of my understanding. The cup shall disappear in the tide!I shall be the Oceanus waiting for my great king and we shall flood the world together! Come, King of Conquerers and bless me with your presence!

As she chanted her blood dripped from her palm, and onto the floor, flowing towards the larger circle. It followed the path of the salt as the candles burned brighter, the smoke billowed from the incense and danced in mysterious patterns, driven by unfelt wind. The blood gained volume, though if it had truly been as much as it was becoming, Carlotta would be well past dead, but she stood, powerful and joyous. When she finished her chant the Salt, blood, smoke, and fire all flared up in a great mix, almost like a pyroclastic cloud, and then vanished, revealing her servant.

Yui excitedly gathered the kids for the ritual, and even had her parents come to the mansion to witness the summoning. She had heard much of Carlotta's Formalcraft practices, but had never seen it in person.

She flinched a little when Carlotta cut herself. She had nothing against Formalcraft, but it was rather macabre, wasn't it? Tokiomi scowled too, but Yui elbowed him lightly in the side. She knew he was only reacting that way because of the craft's somewhat poor reputation among old mage families. Since Formalcraft didn't use Magic Circuits, many families saw it as the last resort for weak bloodlines.

Of course, Yui had reminded Tokiomi that this was not the case here; the Quinlans' Magic Circuits were more than adequate, and Carlotta's Formalcraft was purely a matter of preference and skill.

Berserker's mouth hung open as the ritual proceeded. She was amazed to see another Servant being summoned for the first time! She and Yui both unconsciously held their breath as the Servant emerged.

[[The dress she's wearing is probably this one. Minus that hat tho...]]

His voice boomed out like the beating of joyful drums, a beat of celebration.

"Aha hah hah! Who calls upon My Fabulousness?!"

He surveyed the room with a ruler's eye, and his gaze fell upon Carlotta. A sly grin pulled his lips apart. "I see! A finer Mistress I have never encountered. But then, I wouldn't remember if I had! Hah!" He stepped closer and took her cut hand, and kissed it regally. His gaze lingered on Carlotta, eyes twinkling, and then he unbent and gestured to the others.

"Well! Some introductions are in order, perhaps?"

Yui: ":O"

Phillipus's face flushed and his heart skipped a beat. Alexander the Great, larger than life!! And so... big....

Astolfo pumped his fists into the air with glee. "Hi Rider!! I'm Rider Astolfo! You're Rider Alexander! That means we're Rider Awesome!" He held up his small hands for a double high-five.

"Ohhhoho thank you~" Carlotta responded, bowing in return as he kissed her hand. She healed herself quickly and giggled at Rider's introduction, "Well, he's taken care of himself I suppose! As for the other introductions, we have Tokiomi Tohsaka, Yui and Lazarus Quinlan-Tohsaka and their two children Chiaki and Chiara, and we have Phillipus Von Hohenheim, also known as Paracelsus, the caster from the previous war. My name is Carlotta Quinlan, I'm Lazarus' sister." she gestured to each person as she named them.

Phillipus stepped forward. "You should be aware, however, that we aren't here as rivals. In fact, we have a most interesting perspective and proposition on the War, if you're amenable to hearing us out."

Alexander looks at Astolfo's hands raised for the double high five, and then raises both of his own up in the air. "Is this how your salute is done? It looks like the sign for surrender! Hah!" He drops his hands and claps Astolfo on the shoulder.

"A proposition, eh?" He gives Philipus a close look. "I'm always willing to parley. But! Come! Surely you must have refreshments!" He claps his hands, and then a look crosses his face as the information that slaves aren't really done in this day and age filters into his awareness.

"No, no! It's about companionship, like this!" Astolfo turned to Phillipus and finally got his double high-five. "It means we're allies and we can work together!" Phillipus chuckled.

"Something like that, yes." He looked up to address Alexander. "Is there a title you'd like to be addressed by?"

"Ah, I see!" He holds up his hands until either Astolfo or Phillipus raises theirs and completes the high-five gesture. "I could get used to this!"

Alexander regards Phillipus again. "In private company, 'Basileus' will do, until I know you all better. Out there..." He gestures to a wall, broadly. "Perhaps we should go with... Red Rider?" He runs a hand through his beard.

Carlotta hustled the party upstairs as they spoke and prepared some warm sake. Lazarus and Yui put the kids to bed, and finally they were gathered in the main sitting room, ready to discuss the plan for the war. "Goodness! What a whirlwind of a night. Go on, Phillipus." Carlotta urged him on with a gesture, knowing he could expertly sum up the situation.

Both Phillipus and Astolfo picked a hand, forming a rare and treasured triple-five.

Once everything was prepared (and Phillipus had also suggested a home-grown Quinlan family vineyard red) everyone was free to rest on chairs and couches.

"So then, Basileus, as you know, you have been summoned as a Heroic Spirit to compete in the Grail War. As Heroic Spirits, we are bound to Masters, and each have a wish that we hope to fulfill upon winning. What we are not privy to, however, is to what end the war is waged."

"In the beginning, three noble mage families worked together to reclaim forgotten forms of magic. When the Grail would choose only one and none could select the victor, it devolved into a War, the Grail a prize to be won by the most worthy."

"As Heroic Spirits, we are pawns. We are tools and soldiers, our combat and magical prowess a tool to be used. Our wishes will not be addressed, unless fulfilled in part by a generous Master. We sacrifice ourselves at the end to allow our Master a path to Akasha, the seat of true Knowledge. We will be summoned again and again with no memory of what happened to us last, as blank slates."

"Upon learning this, I felt that the battle was ultimately senseless. We Spirits hurl ourselves at each other for a false sense of glory at the whim of people we hardly know. Luckily, my colleague Lazarus agreed. Astolfo, Berserker, and I have all formed close bonds with our Masters, and find more benefit in working together than fighting. We seek to achieve the peace that the families originally intended - whether history will repeat itself is something for which we must monitor closely."

"Ten years ago in the last war, we managed to summon the Grail itself. It had been direly corrupted. It was a vessel of evil that hungered for Spirits, to usher in an ancient god of destruction, Angra-Mainyu. We destroyed it, and have been working since to figure out what the cause of its corruption could be."

"Now that the next War is already upon us, our minds have been pulled to the present from the future. We will be watching very, very closely, and if the Grail again presents itself as a force of darkness, we must not let the goals of its master come to pass."

"I understand that this is a lot to take in. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask myself, or Miss Yui, as she is a descendant of one of the first three noble families and is aware of more than I."

Alexander's mouth curls in disgust. "Ahriman, the Persians called it. And it is a foul force indeed."

He pauses to consider. "This Grail, it is a created object, yes? Or is it a Spirit that has been bent to man's wishes?" He looks at Carlotta. "Perhaps I should include woman's wishes, as well." A magnanimous eyebrow lift.

"Well I should hope so!" she exclaimed with a laugh. " The grail is indeed an object, but it is summoned by the deaths of the servants. My brother, however, has a lovely plan to gain immortality after viewing Akasha, and using that gift to make everyone's wishes come true. He will take all into consideration and, though it won't happen as quickly, he will make them all reality. This is the best chance to be able to realize your wish,sadly. Even if you touched the grail for yourself, it would only consume you." she patted her servant on the knee sympathetically.

Phillipus gave Alexander a pleased nod at recognizing the god's name. "I was hoping you'd recall that name, given the reach of your empire. You of all people would be the most aware of what's at stake, and any information you could give us is most appreciated."

Yui nodded in response to Rider's question. "The Three Families created it, though I don't know what they used for materials. Basically, it builds up mana from the leylines over 60 years, then uses that to summon the Servants. Usually, when Heroic Spirits die they'll return straight to Akasha, but the Grail holds on to them temporarily. Then when someone touches the Grail, it sends them all back at once to potentially open a gate to Akasha. The combined mana of the seven Servants is used to grant whatever wish the victor has."

"Of course, none of this matters if the Grail is still corrupted. In the Third War, the Einzberns tried to cheat by summoning Angra Mainyu. It didn't work, apparently, but it's probably still connected."

Alexander takes Carlotta's hand and looks her in the eye, speaking low to make sure she attends, not out of any concern for privacy. "I appreciate your sympathy, my lady, but a commander knows the risks and accepts them, for himself as well as his men." He puts her hand back, more on her lap than his. He listens while Yui speaks, then addresses her and Phillipus.

"I must admit, I know not much of magic. It is a thing that I ignored as best I could, unless I had use of it. But religion, ideas that move men's feelings, one must pay attention to those if one wishes to conquer hearts as well as minds. Zoroaster and his teachings were one such. In that, Angra Mainyu is a force born of bad thinking, described as the antithesis to Ahura Mazda, or the spirit of creation and bounty. This grail, it grants wishes, yes? So it is a manifestation of the bountiful spirit. But since it is created by men, men must know how to manipulate it, which apparently these Einzberns have experimented with. So if it is still affected by the spirit of Angra Mainyu, someone is most likely behind it. I would start with questioning the Einzberns, and move based on information we find there." He looks around the room. "This will be an unconventional war, I think. Yes, there will be physical attacks, but to accomplish what you wish... it will be a war of knowledge, of intelligence. Paracelsus here seems to be a man who has studied much, but I wish to know what or who else you can provide to gain information. Spies would be most helpful."

Phillipus's heart throbbed again and smiled widely. "How like a master of battle to understand the heart of the matter!!"

"Yes, we have familiars of several kinds at our disposal, to act as our eyes and ears. As for myself and my veteran colleagues, we're going to be taking a more passive role as monitors. As much as we'd like to be more hands-on for our mission, being Servants we are a risk. Our visibility is a massive hinderance for contacting other Masters and spreading the truth, as well as collecting the War memories of other Servants." Astolfo considered Phillipus carefully, watching how his eyes locked on to Alexander and how animated he was with his speech. Rider Rose smirked and sidled discreetly over to Alexander, his voice a low whisper.

"I think he thinks you're super attractive!!" Astolfo flashed Alexander a grin and a thumbs-up. Phillipus stared blankly at the Manual chained to Astolfo's hip. Sometimes, his immunity to magic was both a blessing and a curse.

After Paracelsus explained the familiars, Yui added, "There's one other person. Kirei Kotomine, the mediator of this war. Though he's agreed to be a neutral party, he witnessed the Grail's corruption firsthand, and may be willing to help us. I don't necessarily trust the fake priest, but he might be able to give up some secrets."

Yui didn't hear what Astolfo whispered to Alexander after that, but based on Caster's petrified expression, she could guess well enough. Berserker giggled.

Alexander nods. "Well then! Seems you all have a good footing in the situation. What are the next steps?"

"Well! If we can agree, my plan is this!" Lazarus sat up straighter and took a sip of wine, "We have a couple goals. One is to ally with the other masters. This is our top priority. We will first try to recruit anyone we find, and if we cannot, then we will resort to battle. The second goal, is to distribute information to the masters and servants. As we have recorded our servants' time here, we also wish to record the others'. We also need to inform them of what actually goes on with the war, as most masters don't actually know." he chuckled and continued, "Our third goal, which is conditional, is to either capture or destroy the grail. Currently I am the one meant to capture it, but depending on who else we meet, that could change. However of course if it's corrupt, we must destroy it again, and hope that we can find a way to fix it next time."
"Considering all that, our first step should be to send out familiars and search the city for any masters that have arrived. We will do better to ally with them while there are few in the city so that battle does not become distracting. We can go over information that's been gathered by our familars tonight, and begin searching ourselves in the morning. Does that sound alright with everyone?"

At that point, Yui took out few papers. "Over the past few weeks I've had my father get a hold of some of his contacts, to see if any mages from very notable families or groups have come to Fuyuki lately. Only one hit."

She showed them the paper with the face of a redheaded woman on it, and a basic biography. "Bazett Fraga McRemitz, from the Mage's Association. She's apparently very powerful and dangerous. She flew here a few weeks ago, but the trail goes cold immediately. No one matching her name or description have been seen at any of the hotels in town."

Phillipus frowned. "It's strange for someone to disappear so completely, especially one so notable. Either something happened to her, or, despite the dossier and Tokiomi's skills, she's very good at hiding."

"Apparently she's somewhat of a bounty hunter of mages. Tokiomi's contacts only go so far, so I think she still could be hiding somewhere."

"I've also had my familiars around town for the last few days. A few days ago, I spotted two girls at the Shinto theater that appeared to be Masters. They were arguing about the leyline and got into a... fistfight. After that, though, it seems they struck a truce. We sent a letter to them, but haven't got a response yet. I'm monitoring them in the meanwhile."

"The Einzberns are likely already set up in the castle outside the city. I also want to keep watching the Matous. Zouken adopted a mage girl named Ayaka into the family, so they a potential Master for this War. His grandson Shinji also moved back into the house, though he's not much of a mage himself. Both of them are attending the high school currently."

"That's all we know at the moment. By Kirei's report, this is the seventh Servant summoned. Meaning the War is officially on."