Prologue
"Let me tell you of these five great kingdoms,the Republic of Atlas,with a military heritage which stretches back through the ages. To the east Mistral a land of culture,markets and fairs. To the west the three siblings Vacuo abode of the merchant lords , the Empire of Vale home to the monarchs of flame who ruled with wisdom, foresight and great strength, and Ankh home of politics,the centre for the advancement of technology and constantly beset by Grimm...
The Sun's vibrancy slowly subsided and night took the street. Jasper loved this time of day, the quiet wind-swept streets were a retreat from the sweat and noise of the day. Someone had lighted the lamps earlier,preserving an eternal Dusk. He stopped to look at the contraptions with his dull red eyes.
I will never get used to those.
He smiled at the thought and continued on his way passing by where the street met the road that passed through the village,a guard on the wooden palisade stepped down and turned.
" My shifts ends soon were you gonna be?"
"The Inn" Jasper replied knowing the coming reply.
"Jeez you'd think he'd run out of stories by now" Jasper's friend sighed "have a good one"
"you too" Jasper replied
He kept walking,the guard returning attentively to his post.
Always prepared
Jasper turned the corner confident in the safety of the village for another night. His destination lay before him,a light drizzle started to come down, the rain impacting against the cobblestone told Jasper to hurry on his way. The inn in question was a single storey building,more of a long hall in it's design the thick stone walls and reinforced roof gave it a feeling of permanence that the neighbouring wooden houses lacked. A warm yellow light flooded from the door onto the glistening street cobbles. The sound of conversation wafting down the street.
Jasper stepped into the doorway this was his favourite place,where one could find a drink,some friendly air and perhaps most importantly an old story. The warmth of the inn sweeps over him and quiet chatter fills the air.
Most Jaspers age would describe this place as dull at best,preferring music which thumped through the night and a strong drink to carry them to the morning, irrelevant of however uncomfortable that morning could prove to be.
He made his way to the counter,eyes wondering through the crowded tables. People content after a long days work to sat and talked with old friends. The keep eyed over the wind and rainswept young man in his patchwork red cloak and loose fitting workman's clothes which had long been worn from their once vibrant green,catching Jasper's eye.
"The usual?" he inquired.
"Yeah" Jasper replies, absently placing the required amount of lin on the table.
The keep scoops up the money and disappears to the Beer pump. A cursory glance at the Bar table revealed a soft grained texture warped and marked by long use,condensation...
and probably more than a few spilt drinks
Thought Jasper with a wry smile cracking over his face at memories of a certain coming of age party. He was awoken from his rumination by a cold sensation in his right hand ,the barkeep had left the drink with him and scurried off to deal with another worn traveller. The pint of amber liquid looked as enticing as ever,a light froth resting on the liquid. Jasper took a sip grateful for the warmth the drink imparted as the bitter taste ran through him.
This'll last the night he noted in satisfaction.
With drink in hand he shuffled through the crowd to the sound of pleasantries,apologies and probably more that a few muttered expletives. He reached his seat, kept open by long practice, and placed his drink the large circular table. This different from the others,a noticeable lack of scratches or stains adorned it's face. Settling into his seat,he smiled at the four others huddled around this side of the table.
A solitary sixth member sat across the table on a high backed chair. Lent on a fireplace was an old great-sword sheathed in tattered leather,a worn handle grip indicated long service to its master. The fire roaring behind him illuminated the table, a heavily read book in his hands,a drink much like Jasper's at his side and a candle standing tall beside him casting light on his reading material but leaving his face in shadow. He wore and old cloak of faded royal purple,and a simple attire although the reinforced hauberk was clearly visible,his appearance placed him as old in truth he was closer to ancient,yet his strength still radiated across the room.
He slid a book mark into place, the words being too precious to bend the page and put down his book,a slight smile across his face as he surveyed the five audience members huddled in silence across from him,his weathered green eyes moved to Jasper.
"Jasper,my lad you delayed the telling" his strong accent emphasising slight chagrin and a twinkle of amusement in his eye.
"long day" Jasper repliedwith an exaggerated sigh,nodding to the storyteller
"aye,and here's to many more" the old man finished,raising his drink to complete the toast.
The group joined in,a girl not paying enough attention to the drink in her hand gulped down a swig only to find herself coughing on inhaled liquid,she looked round, her small cat like ears flicking in embarrassment,but instead of laughter all the faunus received were chuckles and smiles from the less hurried participants in the toast.
The storyteller leaned forwards,allowing light to illuminate his worn features.
"Today I will tell the story of how the world you know today was forged,how it came to be that the likes of myself guard ,small villages..." he gestured around himself. "... so very far from the protection of the kingdoms,and how the very names you use were chosen.
Jasper leant back and sipped his drink as the man continued the grand introduction,an image of another story floating to the surface of his thoughts. This man young again half his face painted blue his thick accent carrying over the field of war as he charged toward his enemy the echoes of his cries of freedom,putting fear into his foes.
"There have been many great kingdoms to grace the soil of remnant but only five have stood the test of time Vale,Vacuo,Mistral,Atlas...Ankh"
And so the old warrior,storyteller...hunter,James Harper launched into a tale of ideologies and beliefs of monarchies and revolution a story more than eighty years past and of the single greatest war of man and faunus to ever rage across the world of remnant.
"Let me tell you of these five great kingdoms..."
Author's Note
First ever creative thing ever, I wished I owned RWBY but...yeah please review I would love help with prose and structure ect ect also next time introducing actual RWBY characters mystery... intrigue...excitement(hopefully)...explosions(that's a lie) the second half of this intro and then after, the actual heroes (JNPR). Also this took a long time and I am new to this so sorry in advance about slow uploads ( I also kinda wanna see what people think).
A blatant book reference and also a gaming one find them and ill pretend to like you.
Anyway have a good one
See you round