The night was dark and overcast.  The heavy clouds that hung above blocked out almost all light that the moon and stars would’ve provided the small church.  Were it not for the light shining through the giant stained-glass windows, the area would’ve been given over completely to blackness.  Even the small woods that framed it were eerily silent.  No howl of beast, no chirp of insect, no call of nocturnal predator gave away that any life existed beyond, adding to the heavy disconcerting aura of the place.  Few people ever came to worship at the old church anymore.  Most agreed that the place was “creepy” and some even suggested that it was haunted.  More than once the church had even been the target of a dare by groups of freighted children looking to prove their bravery by taking a walk along its grounds at night.  What they all didn’t know however was that the church itself had done everything it could to propagate these less than flattering rumors.  The church was little more than a pretext to its true purpose, and these rumors helped to keep any who didn’t know different from discovering that purpose.  And that purpose was simply to, every 60 years, house the Overseer of the Holy Grail War and give them a place to monitor the progress of the war.  A purpose that was currently being half fulfilled.          
 
Father Yamato was taking a leisurely stroll through the church courtyard, quietly admiring the solitude of it all.  A tall man of middle age his short gray hair and goatee, along with the loose skin that hung his face like melting candle wax, might've suggested a man of many more years than he was in truth.  But then again, Father Yamato often felt older than he really was.  Even as a boy, he had wisdom beyond his years, suggesting that he had experienced an older man's suffering, although that was far from the truth.  He simply knew, even back then, the truth behind the ugliness of the world around him.  A truth that not even a life within the Church could completely blind him to it.  It was very late, but Father Yamato had trouble sleeping even in the best of times.  And ever since he had been given the task of Overseer for the coming Holy Grail War five years ago, sleep had abandoned him almost entirely.  It didn’t bother him however because he rather enjoyed the extra time to think and gather his thoughts, and he always did his best thing when he was alone.  It had been two years since his appointment as Overseer and his relocation to this church on the outskirts of Fuyuki City, and still the prospect of his new job weighed heavily on him.  Yamato Ida had never been an overly religious man.  He had only taken the cloth of a holy man because of his overbearing father.  Of course they were not true priests in the traditional sense most people thought of.  While they did practice mass, take the priestly vows, worship God, and do all the usual things expected of priests, in truth they were little more than mediators for the Mage’s Association; there to give advice when a mage needed it, and more importantly to clean up their messes so as it keep the existence of magic secret from the rest of the world.  Yamato’s father had been the head of The Executor’s branch of the church, which were little more than heretic hunters.  Still his excellent results gained him much respect, and gained his son even higher expectations.  He’d proven to be more than up to the task at exceeding those expectations, but did so not out of any passion.  In fact, if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t much like how The Church had such a comfortable working relationship with the Mage’s Association.  History would tell you how The Church was eager to burn anyone at the stake for even the smallest accusation that they practice witchcraft, only for them to now be working in concert with magic users?!  He found the whole situation more than a tad hypocritical.  That wasn’t to say he had any sympathy for the mage’s either for he personally felt magic was a profane distortion of the world around us.  Not only that it gave men powers they only had the slightest understanding of (despite their studies and claims to the contrary) and made them feel like Gods on Earth.  And Yamato Ida knew all too well what happened when men believed themselves to be Gods.  Yet in the end he was a member of the Ida Clan, and for generations they had served the church faithfully, and so would he whether he wanted to or not.  So then why was he, a man of so little interest in the affairs of the church or the mage’s, chosen to be Overseer of the Grail War.  True, his mentor had been Overseer before him, but that alone should not have been enough to qualify him.  So why then was he chosen?  It was this question and he contemplated more than any other.  He paused in his strolling and took a seat at an empty bench in the center of the church courtyard.  He stared longingly up at the starless sky, hoping that the clouds would part and shown unto him the answer he sought.  But nothing proved forthcoming.  He leaned back in his seat and rolled up the left sleeve of his shirt to examine the red tattoo-like markings that now covered nearly the entirety of his arm. 
 
Command Seals.
 
They were the physical manifestation of the bond between Master and Servant within the war.  A Master, upon being chosen for the Holy Grail War was given three Command Seals, with which they could compel absolute obedience from their Servant and force them to complete whatever task they desired without resistance.  However, if a Master lost their Servant before using all given Command Seals, or if they died before using them, any Seals that still remained were given to the Overseer for safekeeping until they could be returned to the Holy Grail.  That too was something that troubled him…The Holy Grail.  Father Yamato had read several books and tomes on the legend and myth behind the Holy Grail.  Most believed it to be the chalice Jesus Christ drank from during The Last Supper, in which he performed the first Eucharist ritual.  Yet to hear the mage’s tell it, the Grail was both far less and far more than that.  They talked about how the Grail had sentience; how the Grail selected the mages most worthy of possessing.  They called it “an omnipotent wish granting cup.”  And while it was true that popular culture often attributed some supernatural powers to the Grail, Father Yamato found the idea of the Grail those powers actually being true more than a bit unsettling.  It certainly didn’t sound like the Holy Grail he had envisioned or the one mentioned in holy text.  It had all been very confusing when his mentor first explained it to him, but now that he had ample time to unravel it all, the only conclusion he could come to was that he believe this ritual was evil.  Men and women mages fighting to the death, summoning dead spirits to their side to do their bidding, all in an attempt to have this “Grail” grant a single desire, and Lord knows what desire the victor might have.  Alas though, he was a man of The Church, and all of his complaints and requests for reassignment had been either denied or ignored outright.  So he would do his duty, and simple pray that everything would turn out alright.  Sighing heavily, Yamato put these thoughts away for later consideration and stood back up.  Thinking he should at least try to get a few hours of sleep before the sun rose, he headed back inside the church and made his way to the Overseer’s Chambers. 
 
“Father Yamato,” came a voice from the other side of the courtyard.  He turned to see it was one of the acolytes who had been sent to aid him as Overseer, a young man of pleasant features whose name Yamato had yet to learn.  He would’ve thought everyone else in the church to be fast asleep by now, but apparently he wasn’t the only one still awake at this ungodly hour.  Groaning inwardly, Yamato suspected that God himself must’ve been plotting to keep him away from his bed tonight.
 
“Yes?  What is my child,” he asked calmly.  As the boy approached, Yamato noticed he was out of breath, clearly having run from wherever it was he came from.  This particular acolyte was usually very quiet and composed, the very image of the holy man Yamato was not.  For him to appear this frantic, something important must’ve happened.  After taking a moment to catch his air, the acolyte stood at attention and gave his report.  
 
“Father Yamato, we’ve just received an urgent message from the Mage’s Association.  The first Master has just received their Command Seals!  Here.”  The acolyte handed over a folder that Yamato assumed to contain the report on the mage in question.  Yamato took the folder, and sure enough, it was a detailed report from the Mage’s Association on the first Master.  He gave it a quick precursory glance, then tucked the folder under one arm. 
 
“Does the Association know if the Servant has been summoned as well?”
 
“No sir.  As far as they know the Servant has not yet been summoned,” the acolyte answered promptly.  Yamato lifted his head to the dark sky, which appeared more ominous than before now that the first Master had been chosen.
 
“And so it begins,” he whispered quietly to himself.
 
“Sir?”  The acolyte looked puzzled at his words. 
 

“Never mind.  Return to your chambers and get some sleep.  Thank you for bringing me this so quickly.”  The acolyte gave a quick bow of respect before turning to leave the courtyard in a much more dignified manner than when he had first entered it.  Yamato grasped the folder in both hands now, examining the blank cover with grim contemplation. It was such a light and thin report, probably no more than four or five pages.  But the weight of its meaning was far beyond Yamato’s strength to hold.  The first Master had been selected by the Grail!  There was truly no going back now.  Placing the folder back under his arm, Yamato resumed his original trek back to his room for what now had become a much needed resting of his thoughts.  Once back in his chambers, he placed the folder on his desk for a deeper more detailed study tomorrow.  Then he changed into his nightclothes, climbed into bed, and shut his eyes.  As he did though, he had time and energy enough to consider what kind of person this newly selected Master would be and what kind of people were the others likely to be.  The answer was unknown to him.  And it was that unknown answer that would soon fill both his dreams and waking days with terror and death.