Fate: Beyond the Gate

13

Voices echoed with sounds of exclamation and speculation, but it might as well have all been distant murmuring or whispers to a certain woman's ears. The noise was like radio static, the hum of the crowd, shifting into a muted crescendo that did little to ease the woman's nerves.
H

er name was Gray, a member of the Clock Tower and close associate of Waver Velvet. She was something of a student or apprentice to the man, really, and she'd been called here prior to well, this.
Members of the El-Melloi family had contacted her in secret on instructions from both Waver and Lady Reines, but in the end, she didn't end up coming alone. She obviously wasn't yet sure if this complicated anything, but she was never really the type to understand the politics of the Tower like Waver and Lady Reines could.

All that she could infer from the instructions that she'd received and her own observations, was that the Gate through the Reality Marble of the Sealing Designate, Shirou Emiya, was of utmost important to the El-Melloi.
The Reality Marble of the Sealing Designate himself, was being maintained by tapping into the Tower's magic reserves. The Clock Tower was built over the deceased body of a True Dragon you see, filling the area with an abundance of magic energy from the corpse, and minimizing the difficulty of perpetually sustaining a Realty Marble. The other issue regarding the space and laws regarding a Reality Marble's inclination to subjugate and overwrite them was levied by the Spiritual Evocation department.
When Reality Marbles deployed, they would encompass and enclose a space severed from the laws of actuality, thereby creating a separate world altogether within the confines of a set boundary. Generally, this boundary couldn't be easily breached, but considering that Reality Marbles were reflections of a user's inner world or soul, aspects of evocation could be used.
Of course, this wasn't on the level of summoning down a deity or divine spirit, but more towards the act of bringing or recalling a feeling, memory, or image to the conscious mind. Reality Marbles were inner worlds, and often connected with the thoughts and beliefs of the user's brain. By creating a spiritual evocation of the user's mind, and matching it with the laws of the deployed Realty Marble, a corridor to that world could theoretically be created and maintained with sufficient energy.

Gray would not claim to understand the full mechanics of it, but what mattered was that Realty Marbles bordering on True Magic, would no doubt attract the attention and interest of many magi. Therefore, no matter how covert she'd tried to be, there was always a group of magi around to notice her. Most wouldn't have honestly cared about what she did, but the fact that she was associated with the El-Melloi family whose Lord was on an expedition through a mysterious Gate, drew many eyes and ears. This was especially so after not hearing a word from Lord El-Melloi II, and only getting status reports that they were still alive and well.
Gray's movements were quite obtruded from the perspective of nearby magi.
The people of the Sophia-Ri family managing the evocation spell were the first to take interest and sent a retinue of their members alongside Gray.
-Sophia-Ri, a prominent member of the Clock Tower, and one of it's Lords.
The current head was Bram Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, First-Class professor of the Tower's Spiritual Evocation department, and the sibling of the deceased Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri.

Gray was aware that Lady Reines had some sort of dispute with the Sophia-Ri family and was on bad terms with them ever since, so she felt too awkward to even bother approaching the Sophia-Ri's. Her affiliation with the El-Melloi may even lead to confrontation which was horrible considering that the present El-Melloi members including herself lacked both Waver and Reines. Diplomatic skills alone without sufficient means to reinforce their words were too lacking and hollow to be anywhere near effective.
Most importantly, Gray had been raised rather sheltered in a sense. Her upbringing didn't prepare her at all for any sort of socializing, so she strongly preferred hiding behind Waver's back and hoping no one would directly address her. To even entertain the notion of her striking up a conversation with a stranger on her own was far too unrealistic a task given how shy yet aloof she could be, let alone the Sophia-Ri's.
Gray had no grounds to refuse the members of Sophia-Ri joining her through the Gate, along with other curious magi that decided to tag along.
Hence, the current development.
Gray pulled the hood of her cloak further over her face, never quite parading her features out in the open unless necessary. Too many negative connotations, mainly personal, were attached to her appearance, and was the reason she often dressed in heavy black and grey. She always wore a skirt, a hood with a cape, a jacket, or other things similar like now.
Gray had verdant green eyes, grey hair, and a slight Welsh accent in her voice, but it was only really noticeable when she grew flustered like now. She didn't dare open her mouth to speak, in fact, she'd rather no one be paying attention to her, so she'd drifted to the back of the group where she remained on the trek through the Gate.
Upon emerging on the other side, she was just as shocked as everyone else to see an entirely new world.
Verdant forest surrounded them for the most part, but the Gate exited on a hill, making the vast fields and open arable land over the horizon visible for all to see. Wind and warmth bore down from soft sunlight, and the crunching of twigs and rustling leaves revealed a plethora of vegetation and wildlife.
"I-Incredible," a magus muttered in a daze, the word mirroring the thoughts of many.