Fate/Heaven's Fall

Command Seals

I stand and watch as the priest draws a circle of invocation - a magic circle - on the piece of church floor that is right in front of the altar. To draw the circle, he partly uses his - and my - blood, as this is apparently the correct way to call on a Servant. I'm not a big fan of the sight of blood, and therefore try to stay calm while just sitting in one of the pews. I, on the other hand, keep a close eye on how he draws the circle, what it looks like, and try to remember all the small signs and patterns that complete the circle.

I squeeze my thumb weakly, which is where the priest has drawn some of my blood, and wait for the wound to close.

"Rin, you said your last name was Loveless, weren't you?" the priest says after a while, and I nod gently, forcing my gaze away from the circle of invocation and looking at the older gentleman instead. "It's true," I assure him, "Although I don't even know what my true surname is, Loveless is the name given to me by the family that cared for me for the first few years of my life."

"I understand," says the priest, squinting his eyes slightly, "So you've been around a lot of families in your lifetime?"

"Not exactly," I say in a low voice, once again directing my gaze to the circle on the floor, "I've only been with one family, but they didn't want to have anything to do with me, for some reason."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Rin," the priest sighs, closing his eyes, "No child deserves to grow up alone."

There is a sad timbre in his tone, and I can feel that he means every word he says - I can feel that I have so slowly begun to trust him, something that usually takes time for me. I don't answer him, but the memories of my last home suddenly reverberate in my head. I don't remember much when I only lived with them for a few years - I barely remember their faces, not even their names. They cared about me as if I were their own child, but suddenly I turned everything upside down and they began to loathe me, pushing me away as if I were a monstrosity; as if I wasn't human.

"The circle is ready, Rin," says the priest as he gets back up and brushes some dust off his priest's robe.

I feel my heart start pounding against the inside of my chest, and I have no idea why - maybe because everything is suddenly much more serious now? It feels like I'm about to sin.

"Okay," I say, standing up, then walking up to the priest. He hands me an old book that has opened up on a page. My eyes slowly slide down the side, which is worn, has a few cracks, and even a few spots of what could look like blood.

"I'm going to ask you to focus, even if it's hard when you've never used magic before," the priest slowly explains to me, "You need to focus on gathering that energy — that mana — inside you, and read the text, loud and clear. Can you do that?"

"Yes," I say, determined to complete this task. I have to believe in myself, believe that I am capable of doing something, even though everything that has been going on around me in the last day seems so far removed from reality.

"You can start when you're ready," says the priest, taking a few steps back, "You will feel strong energies around you, but you should not fear them, and under no circumstances should you stop the ritual."

"Understood," I say with a nod, then take a deep breath and close my eyes shut, trying to achieve some kind of inner peace so that I might be able to concentrate all the way through this invocation.

I open my eyes, stand right in front of the circle, and try to forget my surroundings as much as possible - I focus solely on the circle in front of me, and the book in my hand, and then I open my mouth, "Heed my words! My will creates thy body, and thy sword creates my destiny!"