Following up from 「Book of Life and Death」, Ragnar’s next animated project, 「Fate’s Sky」.
And as soon as people saw the preview for this new work named 「Fate’s Sky」, they immediately sensed something was off.
“This… feels different from the previews Ragnar-sama has released so far, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. How to put it… This one feels like a specially crafted video just for this preview.”
In the past, Ragnar always released previews before airing his animations to build anticipation and interest among viewers—there was no better way to do that.
But while the previews for 「Knight Shin Chronicle」and 「Book of Life and Death」were simple compilations of snippets from the first episode…
This time, the preview for 「Fate’s Sky」had a distinctly different feel.
Because 「Fate’s Sky」wasn’t an animation made solely for the people within the Empire like 「Knight Shin Chronicle」…
It was an animation created for all nations across the continent and their citizens.
Even though Ragnar’s animations were spreading across the entire continent and gaining immense popularity…
His animations had only been around for about a year—a super fresh cultural phenomenon.
Thus, while most people in the Empire knew what an animation was, across the whole continent, there were still many who didn’t understand what “animation” even meant.
Therefore, instead of making another patchwork-style preview, Ragnar decided to create a proper, well-thought-out one for 「Fate’s Sky」.
As proven multiple times on Earth…
A well-made preview could go beyond simply generating excitement—it could directly influence the popularity of the work itself.
So, while 「Knight Shin Chronicle」and 「Book of Life and Death」aired on weekend evenings at 9 PM…
Ragnar began broadcasting the carefully crafted preview for 「Fate’s Sky」with everything he had.
Tock.
In a dark room…
Where only faint light seeped in, someone sat alone playing chess—or rather, not really playing but deeply lost in thought, quietly moving the pieces on the chessboard.
“…The Full Moon Ritual. Considered both noble and grotesque by mages.”
“Can such a thing truly be called just a ritual?”
“From knights to spearmen, archers, cavalry, and mages… It summons heroes from the past into the modern era to fight each other in war.”
“If victorious in this war, it is said that the mage will gain the right to wish for anything.”
Suddenly, the camera angle shifts, focusing on the chess pieces—an armed knight, an archer, a spearman…
Even a piece resembling a monster.
Clearly, these weren’t ordinary chess pieces but something more alien.
As the chess pieces are zoomed in on, the TV screen starts showing various characters:
A mysterious female mage casting spells in a cathedral-like setting.
An extremely young girl accompanied by a towering warrior guarding her.
A hooded woman holding a dagger running somewhere, her face hidden.
A man gazing silently at the moon amidst ruins.
A swordsman clad in sleek armor and a spear-wielding soldier.
And then…
“…I shall ask. Are you my master?”
Through some cruel twist of fate, a certain boy ends up forced into participating in the Full Moon Ritual alongside a knight who saves him.
Tock.
The person moving the chess pieces gently strokes the knight piece with affection.
“All previous rituals ended in failure due to unforeseen reasons…”
“But this time will be different.”
“I shall touch the end of the sky with my own hands this time.”
With those words, an unidentified figure slowly stretches out their hand toward the sky—and the preview ends.
「Fate’s Sky, Formal Broadcast Countdown D-30」
「Scheduled for formal broadcast on January 30th.」
Static.
Without revealing any direct information about the characters or the story, the trailer left everyone completely baffled.
But…
“Kyaa! THIS is anime! THIS is true anime!”
“Animations made by merchants? Hmm… Can such cheap moving pictures even deserve to be called anime?”
“Ragnar-sama…! For doubting you and purchasing such cheap anime, I have committed a grave sin…”
“Forgive me for ever wavering in my faith in you…”
And just like that, upon the release of the trailer for Ragnar’s new work, 「Fate’s Sky」, fans went absolutely wild.
Simultaneously, the ambitious animations released by merchant guilds failed miserably almost instantly.
*
The buzz surrounding Ragnar’s latest trailer for 「Fate’s Sky」didn’t stop within the Empire.
Of course, since the majority of Ragnar’s fans were imperial citizens, it caused the biggest stir there.
However, the second nation to react strongly to the 「Fate’s Sky」trailer was none other than the Silvia Federation.
The reason?
“Isn’t that young spearman in the 「Fate’s Sky」trailer our federation’s hero, Sir Chris?”
“That’s right. The trailer mentioned how heroes from all eras would be resurrected to battle in this anime.”
“So Ragnar-sama included one of our federation’s heroes in his animation?”
“Haha, clearly he knows his stuff! Indeed, Sir Chris is someone we can proudly present anywhere on the continent!”
Incidentally, the reason why the federation citizens quickly identified the spearman was quite simple.
Because the statue standing right in the middle of the federation capital looked exactly like him.
The handsome youth dressed in blue armor, wielding a cursed black spear—none other than Sir Chris, one of the federation’s greatest heroes.
Having their national hero appear in an animation watched worldwide gave the federation citizens plenty of patriotic pride.
If this world were modern-day Earth, YouTube would likely be flooded with videos titled “Why did Ragnar Terison choose our country’s hero?” or “Ragnar Terison’s secret love for Silvia Federation revealed…”
Unfortunately, since this fantasy world lacked YouTube, such things didn’t happen.
Instead, every single book or tale about Sir Chris sold out in the capital.
There were even people analyzing Sir Chris’s strength and predicting how he might perform in 「Fate’s Sky」.
“According to legends, Sir Chris wasn’t just skilled with a spear—he was also proficient in swords, bows, and even magic.”
“So that’s why he was assigned the role of a spearman in 「Fate’s Sky」.”
“Could this actually be Ragnar-sama acknowledging Sir Chris as the best spearman in the world?”
Thus, fueled by national pride, federation citizens dissected the three-minute PV thoroughly.
“By the way, who exactly is the longsword-wielding man fighting against Sir Chris?”
“Hmm, good question. Who could possibly stand toe-to-toe with Sir Chris?”
“Not a mage, surely, and definitely not an assassin given their straightforward combat style…”
“Obviously a swordsman, right? And if they’re dueling with Sir Chris, they must be a historically famous swordsman!”
“Makes sense.”
Then suddenly…
“What if that man is actually an archer?”
Someone challenged the assumption about the identity of the longsword wielder.
“Well, it’s clear an archer is part of the ritual, but no one in the trailer holds a bow. So by elimination, it’s possible the man fighting Sir Chris could be the archer.”
But others laughed.
“Hahaha, what nonsense! A swordsman-archer? Where in the world does that exist?”
“Unless he starts throwing his sword like arrows later, it’s highly unlikely.”
“How could that guy possibly be an archer?! Why don’t you suggest he’s secretly a mage while you’re at it?”
That earned the person endless ridicule.
“Ah, maybe my theory was too far-fetched…”
And so, the truth remained buried deep beneath layers of speculation.
