Visions of Conquest (Kogane Intro)

(The beginning of October..)

"I'm home..."

The well-furnished house was barren of any presence but her own. As usual, then. It would be nice to have someone to greet her, at least. Kogane sighed, dropping her school bag near the door with little intention of touching it again, homework or not. She raided the basket under the mail slot, thumbing through ads and envelopes as she made her way through the dining room to the kitchen, turning lights on as she went. Nothing important or worthy of her attention except for the last envelope. "Into the trash, then." She paused at the trash kitchen trash can, glancing up at the mostly empty noodle cups piled on top of it. Then she deposited the mail minus the important envelope onto the counter next to another pair of cups. In fact, opened instant noodle cups littered most of the kitchen. But they were cheap. Besides, cooking was another of her great failures.

"Now to see what the moron wants this time.." She grumbled to herself as she tore open the envelope. She read it in momentary silence, then utterly failed to contain her outbursts. "Another one?! That's the fifth job I've lost!" She growled to herself as she crumpled up the notice and threw it at the trash can. "Can't even be bothered to tell me in person.. They should consider themselves lucky to even have someone as great as Kogane-sama working for them." She kicks the trash can in anger, knocking it over and sending the precarious pile of noodle cups scattering across the floor. "I'll show them, when I take over this town..." Hollow threats, but they made her feel better. As the future ruler of the business industry, she had little business stocking shelves in a pawn shop, anyway. So what if he wanted things arranged differently? They looked much better the way she had lined them up.

When her head had cooled somewhat, Kogane turned to survey the mess she'd made. The kitchen was a general mess before her temper had worsened it, really. "I should probably clean this up... Too bad I don't feel like it now." She turned away from the mess once more. "And it's not like I have a job to go to now. I guess I'll just get some sleep." She went on up the stairs toward her bedroom on the second floor, diving under the covers of her bed without bothering to change out of her school uniform. She realized the actions for what they were, of course. Running from her failure. She methodically cleared these thoughts from her mind before they could torment her, falling asleep in short order.



It was nightfall by the time Kogane awoke to the angry noises her stomach was making. The house was almost eerily quiet, though it usually was at this time of night. She rose from the warmth of the blankets with as much grace as a zombie climbing out of it's grave, desperation leading her through the cold, fumbling darkness to the heater in the living room. She switched it on, then stepped through the dining room as she had earlier today to return to the scene of her crime in the kitchen. With the aid of a stool (due to her accursed lack of height), she claimed an unopened cup of instant noodles from the top cabinet. She shoved it into the microwave, then waited, shivering impatiently in the cold room. When it finally chimed to signify her late dinner was finished cooking, she snatched it out and stepped back into the dining room. She pulled out a chair to sit at the table, sat her cup of noodles down, broke apart a pair of chopsticks and ravenously consumed the meal.

Only after demolishing the noodles and sating her burning hunger did she notice a small envelope sitting on the dining room table not far from her current position. "Ara? Did I put one down in here earlier..?" The envelope was plain, unaddressed and had a wax seal holding it closed. She tore it open, a manner of checking mail that seems to be common for her.



Two whole lines. Kogane was ready to dismiss it as a joke, but... It left her sitting for several minutes, lost in thought. Her parents had told her of the Holy Grail War when they were teaching her the basics of magecraft. If it was true... This was a perfect opportunity for a lot of things. Namely, to prove to herself and her family that she is a competent mage. And the winner of the war gets their wish granted, so it's not an effort just for recognition, either. And not only that. This is a great war. A competition. The competition. It's not even a question of whether or not to compete. It sounded far too fun to pass up.

"Well then.. I guess I should summon a Servant..."

While every person's rituals are a little different, Kogane's were a bit more primitive than most. She paced slowly around the stone room in the basement of her home, lighting torches around the room with a candle-sized flame that was burning on her own fingertip. Her attire now consisted of a loose dark robe that would be perfect for her if it was two sizes smaller. As it was, she had to be careful not to trip over it as it dragged across the ground around her feet. It was important not to mess this up, after all. Once the room was sufficiently lit, she went to the large brazier in the center of the room and patiently prodded one of the pieces of dry wood with her burning finger until it caught aflame.

She waved her hand, snuffing out the small finger fire she had circled the room with. Then she took a deep breath and lifted the silver ritual dagger in her left hand to the palm of her right, deliberately slicing a careful line across the center of her hand. Casting her bloody hand out on either side of the burning brazier to make a pair of splatters a few feet beyond it, marking the location for the spirit to be summoned, she closed her eyes and knelt down, focusing on the fires around her and the blood in her hand, visualizing the effect she wanted in return for offering her essence. Then she lifted her bloody hand once more--

This had better work. This has to work. If it fails... What? It'll be one more failure for the pile. The massive, towering... Kogane gritted her teeth, walling out the disruptive thoughts. Screwing this up would be suicide, of course. Even at best case, a blundered ritual with all this fire around could just cause her offering, her blood, to explode. That's why she won't fail. That's why it'll work perfectly.

--and thrust it into the flames.

The effect was instantaneous. The fire roared and, for a moment, Kogane thought she'd gone blind. Her whole right arm had gone numb. White filled her vision.



She awoke with a pounding headache and the cold stone floor to her back. The torches all around were still lit and, though the brazier in the center had gone out, it was easy to see the red-maned man standing over her with an unsettling grin on his face. He lifted her silver dagger to his face, licking at the drying blood on the blade while staring at her. "Quite the summoning, little lady. In fact, it looks like it paralyzed you. What to do now..?" He playfully asked himself. He was a bit softspoken, but for some reason it only served to make him more unnerving.

"S.. Shut up." Kogane snapped. Sat up slowly, holding her pounding head. The blood had caked to her hand where it had been burnt, but the skin looked unmarred. It's to be expected, she supposed, given that fire is her element. Now if only it wasn't tingling like someone shoved it in a box of needles. And if only there wasn't a creepy man in an out-of-date western suit with a knife standing over her.

"Hm.." He fiddled with the knife, tracing the blade with his gloved fingertips. "I don't really think you're in a situation where you can give orders. I don't much care for women at all, you know. Especially those that talk back." Kogane sighed. She would get a rebellious servant. It really only made sense, given her own personality. He was probably meaning to sound threatening, but she was too tired to care right now. "I said shut up." She looked up at him, then looked back down at his attire. "And since you're dressed like my butler, go get me a glass of water."

"What?" The man looked astonished. Kogane stood slowly, looking at him as if he was an unwanted pet that wouldn't do what it was told. "I said you're my butler. Go get me some water. Now." She spoke slowly, making sure he heard. There was a spike of pain within her skull at her own words and she leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes until it passed. She opened them again to find the man looking down at his own hands in disbelief. Then he bowed to her, though the motion was stiff and insincere, and left the room without saying anything.

When he returned, he held out a tray with a glass of icewater on it toward her. She took it, gratefully downing most of it. "I can't believe that you would waste a command spell on an order like that.. We aren't going to win any wars li--" "Did I tell you that you could speak?" The man flinched, his jaws snapping closed. Kogane wearily lifted the glass to her forehead, hoping the ice would help the pain a bit. "Much better. Now, I think I know already, but which class are you?" ".. Assassin." Kogane stared at him for a moment, then nodded, a look of recognition on her face. "Well then, Assassin. I'm Kogane, your new master." She set the mostly empty glass back on his tray and started for the stairs leading out of the basement.

"I'm going to get some sleep, so clean up for me. When you're done down here, clean the kitchen too. It's a mess." She didn't wait for a response.