Things go awry when a birthday wish made on a whim by a self-conscious Arturia miraculously comes true with some pretty big results...
Original on FanFiction.net. Imported by original author.
Once upon a time, I was king of Britain. I led my country out of a Dark Age and granted Britain an era of peace and prosperity; a time when chivalry and honor were the values we upheld.
An era that, however, lasted too briefly for me.
Despite my best efforts, my country, my kingdom, and my rule would fall to ruin. I worked tirelessly and fought great evils, all at great personal cost.
But in the end, it was not enough.
I've isolated myself from my subjects, my knights, and my friends... Sacrificed all sense of self and any chance of personal happiness all in pursuit of preserving the utopia I worked so hard to bring.
It proved to be my downfall.
So suddenly, I've endured deceit, contempt, betrayal, and death of those around me as it all fell apart.
And only I remained. Traumatized, heartbroken, and burdened with failure.
Failure towards all the people I have served... who have put their faith in me...
So in my dying breath, I reached out to the World... to have a fleeting chance, a hope beyond hope, to set things right for my kingdom and my people so may prosper once more. Even if I could not be a part of it.
And the World... answered.
I adopted a new name, a title, a class...
Saber.
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I would be a Heroic Spirit, summoned as a familiar; a Servant, for a mage to become my Master in a war for the Holy Grail, a device that would grant the deepest desire and wish for the Servant/Master pair left standing when the fighting stopped, and the dust settled.
Alas, I would not be the only hero of old seeking what the Grail offered, and I had to fight to my fullest to have a chance of having my selfless wish granted.
The first time... I failed. Unable to defeat my final opponent and forced to destroy the Grail against my will. I returned to the Throne of Heroes, broken, but not shattered...
As sure enough, I was granted another chance to set things right...
But not in the way I was counting on...
I was summoned by mistake... by a seemingly unremarkable individual; Shirou Emiya, who as it turned out was the adopted son of my previous master, the one who took my chance at the Grail away from me at the last second.
As I would later discover, it was for a great reason...
Not being an experienced mage, my master could not properly support me, but I was determined to fight for the Grail anyway despite this limitation. Shirou would soon prove to be an exceptional mage... or rather, exceptional enough. Together, we fought through every opponent thrown at us, endured torture, heartbreak, and a dark curse put on me, and soon the Grail was within our grasp.
