The Holy Grail (聖杯, Seihai^?) is the ultimate goal of the Holy Grail Wars held in Fuyuki City. It appears at the end of the war to grant the final Master and Servant pair a wish on the Great Grail, the true device that has the power to grant wishes. Because it is only an vessel to summon the Great Grail, it is known as the Lesser Grail.

Contents 1 Nature and power 2 Corruption 3 Usage 4 Container 5 References

Nature and powerEdit

What is handed down in the city of Fuyuki isn't the one that received the blood of the Christ, but the prototype of an even more ancient "omnipotent container"; this container is the 726th Grail that sticks to the legend of the name. It is a gate that leads to the Root, Akasha; a hole connected to the nuclear core, the Great Grail (大聖杯, daiseihai^?), a wish machine - the key to startup the Great Grail. It is not an omnipotent container, but a replica created to work like a "wish machine" that can bring forth one's own will.

CorruptionEdit

The essence of its content is a "colorless force", but after the third Grail War, it has been polluted by Angra Mainyu and became a malignant "swirling power", a curse, the third element. Hence, it is absolutely impossible to correct inconsistencies by precise calculations or interactions, and it will interpret any wish of the owner with nothing else than destruction, and grant it. Moreover, once it has been opened, it will keep flowing out infinitely and bring disaster.

The servant who is known as Angra Mainyu was summoned in the Third Grail War, he is a Heroic Spirit born into existence according to people’s wishes. As a result, Avenger was born into this world in order to grant everybody’s desire for an existence like “All the World’s Evil (Angra Mainyu)”.^[1]

Even though the Holy Grail would happen every 60 years, the 10 year gap between the Fourth and Fifth Holy Grail Wars was short because the Lesser Grail was destroyed before the Greater Grail could direct the accumulated mana to establish its pathway with unused mana trapped in the Grail and the function of the Greater Grail was already muddled when it was impregnated with Avenger in the Third War.^[2]

Additionally, since the corruption, the Grail has been able to summon evil-aligned Heroic Spirits; something that wasn't allowed before. Heroic Spirits are humans whose legends are passed down in the memory of humanity, regardless of their alignment; the Grail originally was allowed to summon only "good" Heroic Spirits, but ever since the corruption, spirits like Gilles de Rais, Medusa and Medea can be summoned despite being anti-heroes rather than heroes in the common understanding of the term.

The classes are, however, unaffected. The summoning of Avenger was a mistake done prior to the corruption, and the corruption itself had no known influence on the classes. It seems that it is only a coincidence that the two known Casters have an evil alignment.

This power also gives birth to Heaven's Fall, the Reverse Moon (天の逆月, Ten no Sakazuki^?), which is not the Grail of Heaven (天の杯, Ten no Sakazuki^?), but Angra Mainyu, the core Grail. While it is weak compared to the maelstrom of prana that is the Einzbern Grail, what it can do is grant wishes. In a way, it is a small but "true" Holy Grail. It is the foundation of the looping world in hollow ataraxia, where it appears as a black moon, hence the name.

UsageEdit

As a spiritual existence, the Kotomine Church manages the replica that will become its vessel, but the vessel of this fifth war is the heart of the homunculus Illyasviel von Einzbern. It is a catalyst that will help the descent of the real thing, and the ceremony to bring forth the cup that grants any wish, the Holy Grail War (or Heaven's Feel) requires seven Magi and Servants. The Holy Grail chooses it Master by selecting magi possessing magic circuits, be of sufficient stature to summon a Heroic Spirits. The Three Houses take priority as Master.^[3]

Servants that get killed return to being a "piece of energy" and disappear from the time axis, but the Grail (container) created by the Einzberns is here to temporarily stop that and store them. When the Holy Grail goes into hibernation, it puts its accumulated mana into storage. When 7 Servants are present, their spiritual cores will be released and the Heroic Spirits’ bodies will disappear from this world. The cores alone will then return to the Throne of Heroes.^[4] Once the vessel is filled with energy, the Great Grail can start the ritual that will open a "hole" to the Akasha.

To open a way to the swirl of the Akasha, the Grail needs to sacrifice all seven Servants to start up the Great Grail, but six Servants are enough if the wish is within the limits of the world.

There are four gates in Fuyuki where the Grail can descend, and a miss will have it switch to the next gate. The first time was at the Ryuudou temple on Mount Enzou, the second time was the Tohsaka mansion, the third was the church on the hill, and the fourth was the field that is now burnt.

ContainerEdit

Up until the third Grail War, the vessel for the Grail, also called the Lesser Grail (小聖杯, shouseihai^?), was a literal "cup". However, during the events of the third War, it was damaged in battle and the ceremony was interrupted; for that reason, it had to be made as something that could manage itself and take care of itself.

During the Fourth War, Irisviel von Einzbern was a homunculus forged by the Einzbern family to be the physical embodiment of the Lesser Grail. Her deteriorating condition as her consciousness was supplanted by the Grail was mitigated by implanting Avalon into her body until the final days of the war. When she was murdered by Kotomine Kirei, the Grail took on her persona

.

During the fifth War, the Lesser Grail was made as the heart of Illyasviel von Einzbern, a special homunculus made with concentrated alchemy, with Irisviel as her mother and Kiritsugu Emiya as her father. The Grail hidden in Ilya was even more refined than the one in Irisviel, proof that Ilya was expected to be the Einzbern's trump card.

At the end of the Fourth War, Zouken Matou acquired the fragments of the destroyed Grail. He synthesized it with his Crest worms, which he put inside the body of Sakura Matou. Though she was incomplete, this turned her into a second Lesser Grail. ^[5]

ReferencesEdit

Source: the dictionary resource at Jonnobi .

1. ↑ Fate/complete material III - World material
   Q: I thought that the Lesser Grail collected “All the World’s Evil (Angra Mainyu)” when it was defeated during the Third Holy Grail War, but then how was the Greater Grail corrupted by “All the World’s Evil (Angra Mainyu)”? Is it because energy flows from the Lesser Grail to the Greater Grail when the two are linked?
   A: It’s because Avenger himself is “a Heroic Spirit born into existence according to people’s wishes”. Other Heroic Spirits are recognized as true heroes, but Avenger represents the belief that “heroes” are lies and fabrications. The enshrinement of humanity’s selfish desires turned Avenger into a Heroic Spirit, creating a direct connection to the wish-granting function of the Holy Grail. The Greater Grail, “activated 3 times without granting anyone’s wishes”, turned into its present state as there was still a chance to grant somebody’s wish. As a result, Avenger was born into this world in order to grant everybody’s desire for an existence like “All the World’s Evil (Angra Mainyu)”.
2. ↑ Fate/complete material III - World material
   Q: Even though it should only happen every 60 years, was the 10 year gap between the Fourth and Fifth Holy Grail Wars as short as it was because the Lesser Grail was destroyed before the Greater Grail could direct the accumulated mana to establish its pathway trapped some unused mana in the Grail?
   A: That’s true. In fact, you could say that the function of the Greater Grail was already muddled when it was impregnated with Avenger in the Third War.
3. ↑ Fate/complete material III - World material
   Q: By what criteria does the Holy Grail choose its Masters?
   A: They have to be magi possessing magic circuits, be of sufficient stature to summon a Heroic Spirit, and be heretics, of a sort. Of course, the Three Houses take priority.
4. ↑ Fate/complete material III - World material
   Q: When there are enough Servants in the Holy Grail, do they just remain there in the Grail (Greater or Lesser) without returning to the Throne of Heroes, as long as the pathway has not yet been opened (assuming the Grail isn’t damaged)?
   A: When the Holy Grail goes into hibernation, it puts its accumulated mana into storage. When 7 Servants are present, their spiritual cores will be released and the Heroic Spirits’ bodies will disappear from this world. The cores alone will then return to the Throne of Heroes.
5. ↑ Fate/complete material III : World material, p.9

Magecraft
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