F/Z Chapter One, Rewrite Excerpt

Act 1
-285:42:56

Nobody had ever understood Waver Velvet's talent.

He hadn't been born into a famous family or been lucky enough to meet a good master.  But he had taught himself Magecraft, and had finally worked his way into the Clock Tower - the teaching arm of the Mage's Association, the organisation that administered Mages all over the world.

Proud of his talent, Waver had always believed the position to be a mark of incomparable honor.

'I'm the most capable student in the Clock Tower's history! Everyone has to respect me!'

Those were his thoughts. In reality, the Mage lineage of the Velvets only went back three generations.

The quantity of an individual's Magic Circuits and the concentration of a family's Magic Crest increased with the passing of time. Most Clock Tower students with a scholarship were scions of families with more than six generations of pure Mage blood.

It was impossible to attain the wonders of Magecraft in one generation. Parents passed on their life's research to their children, the children passed on their life's research to their children. It was the only way to truly refine their Magecraft, and it was precisely why the oldest Mage families were so superior. Compared to anyone from any sort of established lineage, Waver paled in comparison.

Furthermore, Magic Circuit count was determined at birth. Some ancestries deliberately contrived to increase the amount of Circuits in their offspring, making the gap between old and new lineages even wider. In the world of Mages, your advantages in life were determined before birth.  That was the most common view.

But Waver didn't see it that way.

Differences in ancestry could be overcome with increased experience. You could close the gap in Circuit quality with deep understanding and skilled use of Magecraft. That had always been his firm belief. He saw himself as a prime example, and strove to show off his abilities at every opportunity.
Reality was harsh. The inner workings of the Clock Tower were determined by those who boasted of their bloodline and those who did nothing but fawn over them.

The lecturers were no exception. They only expected results from those with great lineages. It was hard enough for a 'pauper' like Waver to get into the library. Learning Magecraft was out of the question.

'Why must a Mage's future be determined by his ancestry?'

'Does a theory's credibility have to be determined by the experience of the author's lineage?'

No-one cared about Waver's questions. The lecturers used flowery words to dupe him when presented with his research thesis, then acted like he had been convinced otherwise, laughing at him. Ignoring him.

It really was unbelievable. His anxiety drove him to action.

'An Inquiry of Magecraft's Path in the New Century.' Waver wrote the thesis as an exposé of the Association's corruption. The result of three years of planning and one year of writing, it viciously attacked conservative views, was written with painstaking effort, and presented a clear and intense line of thinking. It was flawless. If the Inquisitors had gotten their hands on it, it would have caused quite the scandal.

But the lecturer from the Department of Eulyphis tossed it out after skimming through it exactly once.

His name was Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, and he was the heir of the Archibald family with a pedigree stretching back nine generations. Popular as he was, everyone called him Lord El-Melloi. Engaged to the principal's daughter, a lecturer at that young an age – he was the best of the best. He was also everything that Waver despised in authority.

“Someone who gives in to his delusions isn't exactly suited for research, Waver,” he had sneered. There was no hint of pity in his condescending voice. His ice-cold gaze was something that Waver knew he would never forget.

He had never been so humiliated in all his nineteen years.

Kayneth had the talent to be a lecturer. There was no way he hadn't seen Waver's own potential. No, he was jealous because he understood. He was afraid of his hidden talent, jealous and scared of the threat to his own position. That was why he had responded so violently. To deliberately rip apart an exposition of gathered wisdom... was that how a scholar should behave?

Unforgivable. His world-changing talent had been arbitrarily written off by an authority – there really was no justice! But not one person sympathised with Waver's frustration. As he saw it, the Mage's Association was already corrupt to the core. But while biding those infinitely frustrating days, Waver heard a rumor.

The famed Lord El-Melloi, wanting to add an entry to his resumé for vanity's sake, had decided to join a magic tournament in the Far East.

That night, Waver began poring over the details of this 'Heaven's Feel.' The horrific details fascinated him. The wish-granting 'Holy Grail', allowing Heroic Spirits to be summoned and even commanded in the present age. The result, a battle to the death between their Masters.

Titles, authority – they all became meaningless. Skill was the only factor.

It was all slightly barbaric, but he had to admit that it seemed a simple yet fair method of judging superiority. As an unrecognised genius, it was an excellent opportunity, an ideal stage for him to exhibit himself. Lady Luck had finally smiled on his excited face.

It all began with the Financial Department's carelessness. Lecturer Kayneth's requested relic from Macedonia had been passed to Waver for delivery along with the normal parcels. It should have been opened only in Kayneth's presence.

Waver immediately recognised it. It was a catalyst, used to summon Servants in the Heaven's Feel. And so, he received a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

He didn't have a shred of love left for the corrupt Clock Tower. The glory of graduating as valedictorian was trash compared to the honor that Fuyuki's Holy Grail would bring. The moment Waver Velvet won the war would be the moment when those insignificant members of the Mage's Association would grovel at his feet.

Waver left England that day, heading for the island country in the Far East. Despite the fact that the Clock Tower immediately realised the thief's identity, they decided not to chase after him. Nobody knew that Waver was interested in the Heaven's Feel.


What Waver didn't know was the general assumption, that he hid Kayneth's relic out of spite. No-one really thought that he would knowingly risk his life to participate in some magic tournament. In that respect, the Clock Tower had underestimated him.

In the Oriental city of Fuyuki, the place that would decide his destiny, Waver hid under the blankets and desperately tried to hold back the mirth. No. That was impossible.

The dim sunlight shone through the cracks in the curtains. Right hand beating against the mattress, he exploded in a burst of muffled laughter.

With the relic in his hands, himself in Fuyuki, and sufficient quality as a Mage... how could the Grail turn a blind eye to someone like him? The three-parted Command Seal had already materialised on his right hand last night. He was a Master. He could summon a Servant.

Even the early-morning ruckus of the roosters in the courtyard went un-noticed.