Fate/Loved by Vengeance (Edmond Dantés X Fem!Master)

Learning to Summon

A/N: WARNING!! there is a brief mention of BLOOD!

The class was bustling with murmurs and occasional laughter over the anticipated Holy Grail War. Robin kept mostly to herself, aside from the occasional glance over at Bryn who sat next to her and did the OK-hand on top of her notebook. The friend's muffled grins joined in with everyone else's until the Master's Basics hammered his fist on his desk like a judge's gavel.

"Gather together, everyone. I know you are all eagerly awaiting to hear news on the war. In commemoration for the selection of Masters, my lecture today will be about the summoning ritual of a servant. If you read the syllabus, this topic was supposed to be saved for next week, but since I know there's a Fea in the class, I've had a change of plans."

Why change the curriculum over a single student? Let alone because of their last name? It didn't matter too much; she needed to learn this eventually, so it was a blessing in disguise. All of this unwanted attention was fired her way again, and the person on the other side of her managed to peek at the command seals on her left hand which was hidden in her sleeve.

"You really got command seals?!"

The guy sounded really excited. In a panic, she shook her head.

"I-It's henna! I was going to give some of the children in town a henna tattoo."

As if on cue, she whipped out a bottle of brown henna from her lilac ita bag. Her ita bag served as a purse; holding her phone charger, snacks, and other essentials she may need when out and about. Her makeup bag was also tucked in there, but she had run out of concealer the day before, so she couldn't use that to cover her seals. Anxiety washed through her as she remembered that she had little to no concern this morning as to whether anyone saw her command seals. What was she thinking at 7 in the morning?

The guy next to her seemed to buy it and nodded. The reason Robin had henna was because she actually was going to give henna tattoos to children in town who wanted to feel like cool Masters! Summoning a Servant should be her priority, but making others happy was always her go-to. She had time, right? No one had summoned their Servants yet, and no one would really know unless a congregation came out and said something on the media.

Class began with discussion on the blood used to create the summoning circle. Check! Honestly, she was beginning to feel like she had too much blood, seeing as the example in the book had an illustration of someone slitting their palm. Squatting over in the morning to collect menstrual blood in Mason jars was somehow better than having to cut yourself. Never again.

"On page twenty three, there is an illustration of the typical summoning circle. Notice the intricacy of the lines, especially with the writings. Thankfully, the shapes only consist of triangles and circles, so there's one thing you don't have to worry about."

What about squircles? Or rhombovals? The class erupted in laughter.

"No, there's no such thing as "squircles" or "rhombovals". Remember that your summoning location matters. Depending on what Servant you wish to summon, you may need to go to a particular place. For example, if a Servant was a sailor in their lifetime, go to a sea port or beach if either is accessible. Of course, you would need knowledge on the Servant you are trying to summon."

Robin forgot about that part. She was just going to go far away, but maybe there was a place that she could go to and be alone. Maybe being alone for a summoning wasn't the smartest choice, but it may increase her chances of summoning a high-ranking Servant. Not that she really wanted a high-ranking Servant or anything! She convinced herself that she would be wholly satisfied with whomever she managed to summon, even if its alignment was chaotic, evil, or chaotic-evil. Hmm... now that she thought about it, her endeavor to prove a point to her Heroes and Villains professor grew a tad stronger.

"To prevent errors in your summoning circle, Masters typically use chalk or a stick depending on their location and what they can get ahold of. The incantation for the ritual can be found on page twenty-five. Keep in mind what you say during this part. There are different phrases inserted into certain places depending on the particular class of Servant you are attempting to summon. No failed summoning attempts have been recorded, but if you mess up, your failure may go down in history."

A chill ran throughout the entire class. That would be too humiliating! What if she messed up and all of this blood was for nothing?! No... she wouldn't mess up. She'd study for this endlessly until she couldn't keep her eyes open! Was that a bit too rigorous? Bryn seemed a bit anxious as well, and Robin felt bad for not being able to think of something reassuring right away.

"As long as we bring our books, we'll be fine."

She whispered to her friend. The raven-haired girl nodded and gave a warm smile in appreciation. All the while, the professor continued.

"I'm sure you all know, but in case you don't: put your relic in the middle of the circle. The relic is pretty much a requirement,"

The professor took a moment to chuckle, as if everyone else would chime in. The students were unamused,

"Your relic is the connection to the Servant. If you already know who the relic belongs to, then your chances of summoning that Servant is guaranteed. It looks like class is over, so you're all dismissed. Best of luck to the selected Masters in the room, if there are any."

This was way more complex than she thought. Robin took out her glasses case and wiped the lenses clean before sliding her books into her backpack and scurrying out the door with Bryn following behind.

"Is something up?"

Her friend asked. She understood why she'd be concerned, but there wasn't much to be concerned about.

"I don't like being in classrooms for too long after class ends. The people for the other class start coming in; it's like trying to get out of the pool as fast as you can after the life guard blows the whistle."

Bryn understood and patted the brunette on the shoulder.

"I feel that."

Unlike their usual routine of camping out in the shorter one(totally not Rob)'s dorm, they went to their respective rooms. Cramming all of this information from Masters Basics was going to be stressful, but at least she could use the book during the ritual! Now to plan out how this was all gonna go down.