A/N
Hello Readers, so this is my first upload and I have been working on this for a while now. Its is an original story set in the world of RWBY that will not interact with they series as it is set 2 years before the RWBY series; though i may occasionally mention a character from the series, it will never be anything major. I intend for this to be a long series so please leave a review or a message to tell me what you think. I already have a few chapters written out and I am still able to change things so if there is anything you don't think works or improvement you think I could make then please don't hesitate to tell me as all criticism to appreciated as long as its constructive. now the first 2 chapters are a little short but after that i promise they get longer. I intend to release this every Monday if you are interested enough to stick around (I am likely to forget occasionally so I cant give an exact time).
Also, much thanks to blacsparrow for reading the chapters I have written, he/she has been a big help with some of the finer things so please check him/her out.
Chapter 1 - A New Home
Raalm Neeth
Raalm had dreamt of this moment for as long as he could remember and finally it had happened; he had arrived at Beacon Academy, one of the best schools in the world, and he had managed to get accepted. When he first got his acceptance letter he refused to believe it was real; thinking it was another prank by one of the other kids from his village but nope, it was real, he had been accepted to his dream school. Finally, Raalm could leave his small village and start a life in the city he had admired since he first journeyed there as a young boy, clutching his father's arm the whole time so as to not get lost; but those times were long gone now and this was going to be far from easy as Beacon was no ordinary school, it was a combat school. A School dedicated to the training of huntsman and huntresses, the finest warriors in the world who's sworn duty it was to protect this world from anything that meant it and its people harm; and now it was his turn to take a place in the halls of Beacon, to shine above the rest and prove to everyone back home that this was where he belonged.
Raalm had grown up in a small village on the outskirts of Vale called Lenter, home to no more than fifty people. He spent most of his time either training or helping around the farms but whenever he had a spare minute, he would find himself a nice secluded area and study one of the many books his father had bought back for him on his trips to Vale, he would learn as much as he could about the history of the four kingdoms, the great war, huntsmen and huntresses, and any other subjects that he found interesting. Huntsmen and huntresses were not an uncommon sight in Lenter, as being outside the defences of the kingdom meant that the village was often attacked and in need of help, so by the age of nine Raalm had already read and seen enough to know what he wanted to do with his life. He worked tirelessly to improve his fighting ability, teaching himself mostly but often getting some assistance from the huntsmen that came to defend the village and when he turned seventeen he applied for Beacon Academy. After rigorous exams and combat demonstrations, he finally got the letter of acceptance and three weeks later he said goodbye to his family and set off for Vale with his trusty weapon, Wildfire, two suitcases full of clothes and his chestnut horse, Cassie.
Hopping down from his horse, Raalm looked up at his new school with awe. Great white stone arches rose from the ground in a circle, towering over him and highlighting the magnificent courtyard. On either side of the arches was shallow moats of water and red trees, that Raalm had only seen in before in pictures, separated the bodies of water creating a magnificent display of symmetry through the entire area. One solitary path ran down the middle of at all, wide enough for five people to walk side by side, with lights lining either side; at the end of the path stood a statue of a huntsman and huntress standing on a raised rock and below the rock lay a Beowolf, seemingly defeated and attempting to crawl away as the rock came crashing down on him. In the distance the Cross Continental Transmit System, a gift from the kingdom of Atlas after the great war that allowed for communication between the four kingdoms, could be seen towering over the entrance to the school, a constant reminder of the peace that they now shared. The entrance itself was a made of marvellous white stone, two glass windows that rose to the very top of the building itself with a giant pair of oak doors separating them. Green trees surrounded Beacon Academy itself and behind him roared a frighteningly large waterfall, though it was currently blocked off by an airship that was filled with students, most of them returning with their school uniforms already on but some of them looked new.
Raalm must have stood there for ten minutes staring at his new home until finally, pulling on the reigns of his horse, he started walking towards the school before realising he had no idea where the stables were. Looking around he decided that instead of spending an hour looking around for them he would simply have to ask someone for directions; fortunately, he was surrounded by students, most talking among themselves and walking to the school but some still seemed to be waiting for other friends. Steeling up his courage, Raalm approached two of the girls wearing the Beacon uniform.
"Umm… Excuse me, I don't suppose you know where the stables are," Raalm asked one of the girls, putting on his best smile.
"Why did you bring a horse to school?" Her friend interjected before she could reply.
"Her names Cassie, and she's how I got here, I didn't really have the money for the airships," Raalm replied, a little bitterness to his voice.
"Don't mind her, she's just a little bored of waiting for her boyfriend" said the first girl, giving her friend a little push who in turn rolls her eyes. "If you go to the end of the path and turn left at the statue, there's another path that will lead you right to the stables."
"Thank you very much," Raalm responded with a little nod of his head, while walking away.
As he walks down towards the stables, a shifting in the trees to his left catches his attention causing him to stop and watch as a girl jumps out of a tree and lands with an impressive roll in front of his horse, causing Cassie to recoil slightly in freight.
"Hey, watch my horse," Raalm half shouted, while calming Cassie down.
"I'm sorry," she quickly replied. "I just love horses, do you mind if I pet her," she added with a smile.
"Umm… Yea sure, just be gentle, you gave her quite a spook," Raalm sighed, having successfully calmed Cassie down.
While the girl stood there quietly for a couple of minutes letting Cassie see her, Raalm took the chance to look at her properly. Her light brown hair was cut, falling just down to her shoulders and her eyes were a shade of green that would make leaves themselves jealous. She wore a brown t-shirt with a short pair of green jean shorts and leggings with a green, brown and black camouflage pattern on them. On her feet was a strange pair of green shoes that didn't look comfortable but he guessed they were probably better for climbing. A pair of daggers, one seemingly larger than the other, clung to her hips and across her back was a short bow that looked a little different from the ones that had been used in the village, especially the thick bowstring; but as many huntsmen and huntresses carried weapons that could transform into another weapon, this wasn't really too strange. Next to her bow was her quiver, a bit larger than most and with a metal rod attached to opposite ends on either side but other than the arrows not seeming to be long enough, nothing really seemed special about it. Everything about her appearance showed that she had spent a lot of time hunting and if she had managed to get into Beacon then she was probably very skilled at it too; truthfully, Raalm doubted he would have even spotted her in the trees had she not jumped out. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing, approaching very cautiously from the front and keeping her eyes on the Cassie's ears, she held out her hand and waited for the horse to sniff it. After a couple of seconds Cassie nudged the girls hand with her nose, giving her permission to pet away, the girl smiled and began scratching the top of Cassie's nose, working her way around to the horse's side.
"What's her name?" she asked politely, not stopping her petting for a second.
"Cassie," said Raalm. Moving around to pet Cassie's nose. "And I'm Raalm"
"I'm Opal," she responded, smiling away. "I haven't seen a horse in ages" she continued.
"Well you seem to know how to handle them," Raalm replied.
"Yeah, I used to have one myself," she said, the smile faded slightly showing that it probably wasn't a topic she wanted to talk about.
"Well, I better be getting her to the stables, we don't really have much time left until the assembly," Raalm said while picking up Cassie's reigns. "You're free to visit her whenever you like," he added before walking away.
"Thanks, will do," she replied while smiling.
The rest of the walk to the stables was rather uneventful and after checking Cassie in, he retraced in steps to the schools main building. Standing before the grand doors of his dream school, he took a deep breath before he stepped through and finally entered the school he had trained eight years to get to get into.
