Hello everyone, well anyone who took an interest in this story and decided to read the bold text at the top, its me Champion of Fate, popular beta reader to the great BlackLight181. Anyways this is my first post to fanfiction and will hopefully be the first in many stories to come. This story is a one-shot prologue to some other stories that i will try to write. well without further adieu please enjoy the story.
Beta Reader: BlackLight181
Not much is know about the Arcs, secrets are well kept among the family. the most constant thing about the arcs is their ability to produce great warriors. Powerful individuals who could single-handedly turn the tide of war in their favor. Brave and loyal as well as strong make Arcs seem like they would be highly sought out and recruited to any of the kingdoms, after all if any kingdom had access to a family that constantly produced great warriors then that kingdom is set. However Arcs are independent, to them family comes first in all situations and will remain family even if their choices take them down separate paths. There have been great arguments between kingdoms over letting the Arc family roam without answering to any of the other kingdoms, however no one wants to risk a war and the massive casualties that would be the results of any of the kingdoms to war against the arc clan As mentioned earlier family comes first and clashes between two arcs is not only a rare occurrence but also recorded in history as the most destructive clashes between two individuals.
That being said, just because you hear the words warrior and see they hold the traits of brave and loyal don't go assuming all the Arcs are heroes. For an Arc that has reached their ninth birthday. Nine is important to the Arcs, at nine you are half way to being a full adult in the eyes of the family and half way from your childhood. It is on this day the most important decision is made; How are you going to spend the rest of your life. To most this seems ridiculous asking a nine year old to decide how they want to spend the rest of their lives, they could hardly know what they want to do in a weeks time, how can they possibly be asked to decide their career. The Arcs know it is a bit harsh but its the latest that a person can choose the life of a warrior, if for one reason or another an Arc decides they would rather be a normal citizen, it doesn't happen that often but its not a rare thing either, then they can continue their childhoods and go to a normal school and they will have the full support of the family. At this point one of those special days is fast approaching. Jaune Arc the third youngest to Nicholas and Violetta Arc is nearing his ninth birthday and the day he will choose his destiny. The Arc clan is gathering together from all corners of Remnant, well those that can be excused from action for a few days though they still sent cards wishing him well and apologizing for not being able to make it, and it was a gathering of the some of the greatest hunters known to the world.
~Jaune's Birthday~
Jaune was super excited and slightly terrified, today was his big day and he was totally ready, well he was sorta ready…..alright he had no idea what he was going to do. He grew up his whole life listening and reading about his ancestors. His young mind doing its best to put an image to the tales he heard. Of course he had always dreamed about this moment about how we would stand on the stage all confident that he knew what he wanted to do and that they would all cheer for him. Now he was having second thoughts, he nervously ran his hand through his hair and smoothed out his shirt. He took a few deep breaths to calm down and started to walk down the stairs and out to the party. It was a little overwhelming out there if he was being totally honest. Family members who had not seen each other were embracing and a few gave him pats on the pack but felt like hammer blows. The adults didn't know their own strength and Jaune didn't hold it against them although it was pretty irritating.
Jaune felt a hand grip his shoulder, as he turned to look at who it was he saw his father with a large grin on his face staring back down at him. "Hey there Jaune thought we would have to stop the party and send a search party to try and find you." Nicholas said to his son as they stood facing one another. Jaune would have laughed but he thought is father might not have been kidding about the search party. Nicholas seeing his sons confused look rubbed his hand in his sons messy hair and said "easy there Jaune I was only kidding about the search party." Jaune scowled at his father pushing his hand out of his hair and attempted to straighten it back out.
"I know dad, it ….well I'm just a bit worried about the whole thing, and the more I start thinking about it the more I think all that could possibly go wrong and….." Jaune started his breathing starting to get erratic when his father cut him off. With a bonk on the head. As Jaune stopped talking to rub the now sore spot on his head his father started to talk.
"Jaune listen to me, you are going to be just fine. It's alright to be a bit nervous considering the circumstances and how big of a day it is." his father leaned in "and you know what, your old man here was just as nervous if not more so then you." Jaune could only gape at the revelation, his father, the mighty hunter had been scared of his ninth birthday. Nicholas nodded and continued his story,
"my sister had to drag me out of my room and have someone else lock it up so that I wouldn't go back in and avoid the party." Jaune laughed at the idea of his father as a child being dragged out of his room by an older sister as he flailed uselessly around.
"Thanks dad, that makes me feel a lot better." Jaune said as he pulled his dad into a hug. Nicholas returned the hug.
As they parted Nicholas asked, "So are you ready to make your decision?" Jaune nodded. Nicholas stood up and led Jaune toward the stage.
Now was Jaune's moment. He could be a Paladin, an ultimate force of good, holy warriors who served the mighty Oum and carried out his will. They are hailed as heroes often saving towns from massive Grimm hoards or healing those that had previously lost hope. The nightmare to all those who were evil; the Paladins had always been what Jaune saw him self as. Although Jaune knew not all was great about being a Paladin, they had a strict code of conduct and to them upholding justice was above all else. They abide by their principles and not all of them were fair. For instance if a villain had surrendered then they became under the care of the Paladin and must be brought back to face the council, not the city council but a Paladin council that had long since retired from the field and now oversaw the training and teaching to the next generation. Which sounds fair until you realize that the criminal could do horrible things to the Paladin and then surrender so that the Paladin cannot retaliate since his new task is to get them back. Thankfully paladins had developed methods to deal with people who might only say they surrender and plan to run away later. A passive ability of the Paladins path is that people who swear to a paladin are held to their oaths as long as said oaths are just. This prevents people from going back on their oaths and Paladins from being able to abuse the oaths. So in short a Paladin is the hero Jaune had always dreamed of being but being held under all those laws and codes, well Jaune thought it would suck.
His other option beyond being a civilian was to become a Blood Knight. Blood Knights are fierce warriors who stride across the battlefield for the most part unopposed. They knew few equals other then more experienced Knights or high paladins. They had looser moral values then their Paladin cousins but one they shared in common was the honor of their word. Not quite an oath but just as binding, if you hear an Arc promise you something then you can be pretty damn positive that they were going to keep it. So the Knights offered more freedom then the Paladins but tended to be viewed as evil by the general populace, mind you the general populace is pretty poorly educated. They were also more secretive and we all know people tend to fear and mislabel things that they don't fully understand. This is because Knights were often soldiers in wars and earned their reputation through their discipline and kill count. Where the Paladins and their semblance makes them a threat to the creatures of Grimm. The Knights semblance was better against other people or hunters. So as a knight he would have freedom but also ran the risk of going down a darker path.
The decision seemed to come down to being the hero he always dreamed of while having to abide by all the laws and codes of honor so he could uphold peace and bring justice. Or he could be the warrior who took justice into their own hands and passed judgment on those he felt deserved nothing more then a violent end at the cost of walking down a darker path. This was about all Jaune knew of either groups, he would learn more about it when he choose which path he would follow until then he had the basics of each to help him base his decisions on.
Jaune took a deep breath to calm himself before he followed his father up the stage. He could see all the people in the crowd turn to face the stage and the lights turned up. Jaune was glad for the lights as he could only see the heads of some people and didn't have to see the look in their eyes. Two individuals were standing on the stage already waiting and calmly chatting. The figure on the left was thin but the had his muscles adapted to move fast and strike quickly and with deadly accuracy. Standing at six foot and three inches was none other then Cadeus Arc, the leader of the Blood Knights and the one that would welcome him into the fold if that was the path he choose to follow. The other individual was a massive individual who stood well over six foot five and was a wall of muscle. He was Torien Arc the highest paladin still in active duty and would mentor him to the ideals of the Paladins. Jaune's pace faltered as he felt the power and authority that came from both these people. It tore the breath from his body and left him feeling like a mere insect before a mighty storm. Nicholas cleared his throat, and just like that the spell was broken and Jaune took that moment to inhale deeply.
"This is my son Jaune Arc and today he shall choose his destiny." Nicholas stepped forward and addressed the crowd who met his announcement with a cheer. Nicholas pulled Jaune up and patted him on the back gently whispering into his ear, "No matter what you choose we will always be family and you will never have to hesitate in coming to talk with us even if its just to chat." Jaune felt reassured at the words of this father and the knowledge that his family would support him no matter what. In that moment Jaune saw it all so clearly. He knew exactly what he wanted to do.
Jaune stepped forward between the two individuals, he said in the loudest and most confident voice he could muster. "I know what I want to be, as my destiny. I choose to be a…..." as he turned to face his new instructor and his future.
THE END
Sorry for the cliffhanger but this is just the one-shot story that is meant to introduce my two other stories that I will be writing. This is my first time writing a fanfic, I have some experience betaing as I currently do it for BlackLight181. Highly recommend that you check him out as well. If you are still reading by this point then I thank you for staying with me till the end and leave a review telling me what I could have done better and what I can work on in the future. Thanks again and have a great time.