[Gallagher]

The bruises appeared shortly after Jasper and Benedict had asked him. The Holy Grail War. A fight for an object that was said could grant any wish that was asked of it. A true prize, for any mage that was willing to risk their life in the pursuit of it.

"Will you join?"

Erik had no wish. He had everything he wanted, here in the Clock Tower. He could live, and he could study, and there was nothing else he could want.

"A lot of resources have been spent on you as it is, after all."

It looked a bit like a gecko. His hand raised to the overhead light, he blinked at the faint red marks. White spots danced on the edges of his vision, where the lamp shone from around his fingers. Erik had found his proper clothes and started to pack his supplies when he'd noticed it. A gecko. Or, maybe a rabbit.

Clouds looked different from above. It wasn't a long flight, but it was long enough for his eyes to get tired. Scraps of paper and a couple stained napkins littered his lap, each with intricate summoning circles drawn onto them. It would be important to get it right the first time. He had to practice. There was nothing to do for those two hours, nothing but practice and watching the clouds. He could probably make clouds of his own, if he practiced. Water wasn't his best element, but he'd been getting better with it. Maybe he could keep one in a jar.

He may not have spoken a word of French, but Erik, bags and all, managed to find a small place to eat in time for dinner. There was a house he'd been told he could set up in, but it was already far too late in the evening for that. The mana here was much different than home. Stagnating. There weren't mages here to make the earth breathe, to use its power and remind it, every now and then, to freshen the air.

There was enough money for a room in a nearby hotel. The house could wait for another day. Erik's bags went unpacked and his clothes unchanged when he fell into bed.

He had no wish. But he was to summon his servant that day. He sat in bed, his legs crossed under him, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he considered what the day held. There wouldn't be time for breakfast if he was going to get everything ready. He didn't like skipping breakfast.

The bed was pushed up as close against the wall as it would go, the small table and pair of chairs that had once sat at the window now shoved out of the hotel room completely. The entire floor was taken up by the circle he'd drawn, the same one he'd been drawing for three days. The catalyst, given to him by Benedict, was prepared in the center of it all. He was certain nothing could go wrong. Every step, every line, was as perfect as he could possibly make them.

Erik hoped it wouldn't be a rabbit.