Raven looked down at her daughter. She could see so much of Tai in her. Too much. She had his eyes, his hair, and his weakness. She knew that if Yang stayed with her father she would have ended up just like him; weak, slow, foolish, dead. That would not do. This child deserved better. She would see to that.

She laid down two items before Yang. A sword like the one she carried, and a ball, the kind an ordinary child might play with. She looked down at her daughter.

"Choose the sword, and you will join me. Choose the ball, and you join your father in death. I know you can't understand my words, but you must choose."

Yang looked up at her mother, her finger in her mouth. She wasn't even a year old.

Raven's eyes narrowed. "Come, child, choose life or death."

XxX

Raven dragged Yang by the arm. She ignored her daughter's cries of pain. This was for her own good, even if she didn't quite realize it yet.

She walked until the two of them stood at the edge of a cliff. Jagged rocks jutted from the cliff face, obscuring the path to the lake below.

"It is time for your first lesson, Yang," Raven said.

Yang looked up at her, fear evident in her eyes. "What lesson?"

"Survive."

With those words, Raven flung her daughter over the edge. Yang screamed as she fell face first into the rocks. She could see the rock speeding towards her. But, something happened. Instead of shutting her eyes, she thrust her arm and pushed herself out of the way. She put up her arm and prevented a rock from breaking her neck. She rolled to avoid hitting her head. She kept falling and landed in the lake, battered, bloody, and alive.

Yang looked up at Raven, the faintest hint of a smile drawn across her face. Yang smiled back. She was six years old.

XxX

It was time for Yang's first raid. The other members of the tribe had been looking forward to this for weeks. Yang had been personally trained by their leader, and was one of the only members to survive Raven's teaching. They all wanted to see what their master's daughter was capable of.

They found a small village on the outskirts of Anima. It had an average sized population, filled with all manner of people with all manner of things. Once night fell, the raid began. Raven went first, throwing a red Dust crystal into someone's home. The building burst into flame and the people inside ran out. Raven cut them down, except for one. She stabbed him in the leg and stood over him. The man resigned himself to death, but instead Raven motioned toward Yang.

"It is time for your final lesson," she said.

Yang knew immediately. She stood over the downed man. Her sword was raised over her head. The man's fear was written all over his face. Yang hesitated. Her hands shook. Despite her hellish training, part of her was still afraid.

"Please," the man begged, "just let me go. I have a daughter. She's around your age."

Raven scowled and drew her sword. She pressed the blade against Yang's neck. "Do not hesitate."

Yang swung her sword into the man's neck. Blood spurted from the wound as the man futilely tried to stop the bleeding. Yang watched the man's life run out. It was the first time she had ever taken a life. At that moment all weakness had been purged from her. She no longer hesitated. She no longer felt fear. She was a true warrior. She was eight years old.

Raven smiled and sheathed her sword. She gently placed a hand on her daughter's head. It was the first motherly thing she had done in her life.

"Well done, Yang."

"Thank you, mother."

XxX

Yang sat in the ruins of the home she had destroyed. She took a deep breath, savoring the scent of ash and blood that surrounded her. It was partly to bask in the glow of her latest conquest, and mostly to recover. She hadn't expected the villagers to put up such a fight. Least of all did she expect that she would find someone who matched her strength.

The dead girl was around her age. Her hammer was enough to pulverize the ground beneath it. Yang recalled her blue eyes that burned with hate. It was like looking into a mirror.

Yang winced as her broken ribs scraped against her flesh. This was the first time she had been injured in battle since she completed her training. Yang was in awe. She didn't know the dead girl's name, but she would never forget her. She felt a small pang of regret. If this girl was allowed to grow and cultivate her power, there was no telling how strong she could become. In this moment, Yang wished she were weak enough to defeat her enemies without killing them.

She was sixteen.

XxX

Over the years the legend of the Branwen clan had spread all across Remnant. Their strength was only matched by their ruthlessness. Not even the huntsmen could stand up to them. Of the clan, two of the highest ranking members had their own legends: The Flesh-Eating Raven, and the Yellow Emperor.

Yang was now eighteen, and the leader of her own raiding party. She had had a series of successful raids over the past few months, but she still wanted more. It was like a hole inside of her. She needed to fill it with battle, and blood, and conquest..

One of her companions was less than enthusiastic. "Maybe we should cool it. The last thing we need is any huntsmen on our ass."

Yang sighed. "Don't be such a coward. We've killed everyone who ever stood against us. Nothing can stand in our way."

They walked through the forest on their way to their next target. Yang looked up and saw a black bird perched on a tree branch. It looked at her. Yang paused. This bird was staring at her, and for some reason, it looked angry. Yang didn't know what to make of it, but something was off about the situation.

The bird flapped its wings and flew away. Several minutes later, a gun shot rang out, and one of Yang's companions was suddenly bleeding from a hole in their chest.

Yang didn't flinch. Whatever was targeting them, it wasn't after her. She place a hand on her sword and waited. That bird she saw before flew in a circle over her head. Yang's eyes narrowed. There was something off about it, but she wasn't sure what.

Her suspicions were answered when the bird transformed into a person and dropped to the ground. It was an old man with black and grey hair. He had pale pink eyes that bored into Yang's. In an instant he raised his sword and cut down every bandit that surrounded him. Six of the tribe's strongest warriors, selected personally by Yang, and this man killed them like they were nothing.

Something about the man felt familiar. Yang's heart was pounding in her chest. She could feel the man's strength. He was just as powerful as Raven. Yang tried to draw her sword, but the blade was stuck in the sheath. In the brief seconds of confusion the man slashed at Yang's neck. Yang dropped to the ground as her attacker's massive blade passed overhead. The force of the blow sent a gust of wind through the forest. Yang's vision filled with red, and in the next instant her mother stood face to face with the man attacking her.

The man's scowled at Raven. "I should have settled things with you years ago."

Raven laughed. "You don't have what it takes to kill me. You're soft, just like Tai."

"Don't you dare say his name!" the man shouted.

Yang was in awe watching them fight. They were the perfect warriors. Their offense and defense was impeccable. Their strikes were too fast for the average fighter to percieve, and each one was meant to kill. They evaded by the thinnest possible margins. It was a beautiful dance. Yang didn't want to look away.

But there was something else. It wasn't something she felt, but something she smelled. It suddenly smelled like a flower garden. Suddenly her her vision was filled with white petals. A woman wearing a white cloak slowly walked up to her. Unbidden, Yang felt a small pang of fear. This woman was strong, but she wasn't like her mother. If Raven was like a mountain, this woman was a bottomless pit.

The woman pulled back her hood, revealing short red hair and bright silver eyes. She didn't look angry like Yang was expecting. That threw her for a loop. In most cases, people would attack her to take revenge for their dead friends or family. Those were easy, they were blinded by emotions, and that made them dull. Then there were the ones after the bounty on her head. The ones motivated by money were the ones with the most confidence in their skills. In the past, some had actually come close to killing her. Yang especially enjoyed those battles. But this wasn't what she was used to.

"Who are you?" Yang asked the woman.

"My name is Summer. I'm sorry it took me so long to find you, Yang. I should have never allowed this to happen."

Yang drew her sword. "I don't care who you are. If you're going to fight me, then I'll kill you."

Summer suddenly began to weep. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Yang ignored the woman's tears and attacked. She swung her sword downwards at Summer. Summer's own blade flashed from its sheath, faster than Yang could comprehend. Yang's right arm fell to the ground with a thud. There was no blood, in fact, there was no pain at all. It must have been the woman's Semblance. Summer attacked again, taking off Yang's left arm and her right leg.

Summer stood over Yang, tears still falling down her face. "Please forgive me."

She raised her sword and thrust it into Yang's chest. Yang's heart suddenly stop beating, having been split in two. Yang was completely helpless. She was dying, and there was nothing she could do.

She began to laugh. She had imagined this day would come. Eventually she would meet someone stronger than her, but she had no idea it would be this woman. A tear stained woman who apologized before taking her life. The thought was too ridiculous to even be possible.

Summer turned away from Yang and went to fight her former teammate.

Yang's life ended the way it began, with the sounds of battle filling her ears.