So, you may be wondering why I was gone for so long.
Well, Microsoft said " Your Trial has ended".
And I said, "But I bought word 2016".
So Microsoft responded, "no, you bought a year TRIAL for word 2016".
So that's that.
Note that there will be a little explanation in this story needed, like why some people go by multiple names and why certain things are named and pronounced differently. I will try to answer these questions in future chapters and stories.
Also, this particular story takes place 103 years before the first episode of RWBY
Now On with the show.
Sergeant Montgomery Ironwood walked through the city of Mantle, checking for any last-minute supplies for the patrol. He personally thought the idea that Vale would ever go to war the great kingdom of Mantle was preposterous. Mantle was one of the richest and most powerful kingdoms in the world. Yet according to the lieutenant tension was building between the kingdoms over a petty clash of ideology.
His thoughts were interrupted by the cry of young girl in the apartment above. He did not even bother looking up. The idea of father abusing his daughter in such a way seem wrong, but Montgomery was a lowly grunt, and everyone else in the kingdom though such an action was fine against family. It seemed sick, WAS sick, yet what could he do.
He accidently touched a Faunus who had reached for the same fish as Montgomery. The Faunus couldn't have been more than fourteen. His face grew solemn, pleading to avoid the punishment that was set for a slave to touch a freeman. Montgomery placed a finger on his lips.
"We will pretend that didn't happen" Montgomery said, "now get your fish and get lost, whip back".
The slave nodded and quickly scurried off.
The slave should have been punished, yet something stayed Montgomery's hand from killing the young animal. Perhaps it was that his son's birthday was coming, and little Richard Ironwood would be close to the animal's age. It didn't matter, what was done, was done.
Montgomery checked out with enough food for the squad and returned to the government wagon.
Simon Arc was waiting for him, his blond buzzed hair gives him a bald appearance. Simon was the first to speak, " Took your time, I see".
"Shut up, private," Ironwood said.
"Actually, I'm a corporal now" Arc said smugly, "Is your memory that bad"?
"No, you're a private because you're an ass", Ironwood said starring him down.
The silence hung in the air.
Arc finally spoke again, "You get the stuff"?
"You know I did", Montgomery said as he pulled Simon in for a hug. The two shared a laugh before climbing in the back of the cart.
As the cart passed a marble statue of an old king, Montgomery saw a man standing on a wooden box with a crowd gathered around him. The man was a "preacher" or something like that. He cried out some foolish ideology of a king of all kings or some "savior". It was little more than nonsense, and Montgomery knew guards would dispose of him before long. No one would challenge the authority of the crown.
Things became far more normal when the cart exited the city walls. The smell of fields with grains growing, the sound of slaves working, the sight of whippings taking place. Things were starting to return to the way things once were.
When the preachers showed up, they drew crowds of Faunus slaves, giving them the strange idea of equality. The Mantle government knew how to respond, and soon preachers were imprisoned or shot on sight. Now, less preachers appear, and the kingdom prospers.
The wagon had finally left the rural lands and entered the wasteland parts of the kingdom.
It would still be months before a great wind would free the ocean, allowing passage to Vytal. This meant that a port was needed to cross the ocean. That port was Port Haughburh. It was approximately 32 kilometers, meaning an hour ride.
As Montgomery Ironwood and his platoon rode, the noticed several other carts moving along the roads.
Montgomery nudged Simon, "This seems a little excessive don't you think"?
Simon shrugged, "I'm just a grunt. Though if I had to guess, probably just a flaunt, nothing more".
Montgomery wasn't so sure.
When the cart arrived, the soldiers went to work, loading the ship will perishables, then with swords and armor. Montgomery saw a few strange spears, with a hollow shaft and a metal switch, get loaded on to the ship.
Three other teams arrived, and did the same.
A patrol of 40 men, seems more like a small army to me, thought Montgomery. It could be flaunt or it could be a taunt. Whatever was going on, Montgomery had to question whether or not he had seriously pissed someone off to get this kind of shift.
The ship set sail, two hours after Montgomery and his squad had arrived. The sun was setting, leaving in the sky a beautiful array of colors. Yet Montgomery was far too nervous to sleep. Why were they going to protect Vytal? Any other nation would be more concerned with its own borders, why go to patrol neutral ground?
Even worse thoughts nagged at his mind. What if this was it? What if this patrol was the spark of a world war? Montgomery banished that thought quickly. A world war was preposterous. Even if Vale went to war with Mantle, the war would be over quickly, and no one would think to get involved. The thought was comforting, but still, an actual war. War hadn't been declared in ages, it seemed like a fantasy, with elves and goblins.
What if this was where Montgomery was to die, patrolling Vytal far from his homeland?
That thought shook him. "I need some sleep," Montgomery said out loud, "some booze and some sleep". He headed below deck to his quarters.
He grabbed some whiskey from the mess deck and went to bed, expecting a peaceful sleep.
Instead Montgomery awoke to ice on his back, causing him to shoot up straight. He looked to his left, then his right. Snow and ice, as far as the eye could see. It was like a glacier, only the size of a continent. It was smooth, and the sunlight glimmered off of the snow around him. As Ironwood stretched he saw the destroyed moon in the sky shine brilliantly with the stars.
Wait, the moon?
Montgomery slowly turned around. Before him stood a being, glowing with golden brilliance. It had six wings each like those an eagle would have, but pure white in color. The highest of the two wings obscured its face except for its mouth.
Montgomery quickly fell to his knees.
"Why do you kneel to me", the being asked with a voice of power.
Montgomery shuddered.
"You kneel to a messenger, for I bring the word of the most high God" The being said.
"Wha-" Montgomery was cut off.
"These are the words of the King of Kings, ' You cast among your selves the children from their parents, you enslave the weak and drown the poor. You oh Remnant, engage in sexual amorality and lie with your sister and daughters, You bring death to those who bring life and snuff out the voice of truth with lies. You kill those who bring my love, and destroy that which brings compassion. You do all this and call yourselves: Just. For your sins against love, and life, I shall send a wave of armies to enslave you, and you shall work the fields and you shall kneel and you shall starve, just as your slaves have. You shall be partitioned into segments, and the beasts shall devour your bones. Your children shall be sold to foreigners and your wives defiled, just as you defile your neighbors' wives. But I shall be merciful, and you shall not be destroyed completely. All shall happen, and you will know that I am The Lord!" The being stated.
"W- wha- what am I supposed to do with this information"? Montgomery asked.
The being spoke once again, "These are the words of the Lord to you, 'I shall take your sight, and you shall see, and you shall proclaim my words to your king. You shall do this until the principality wakes, and you will know that I am Lord'".
Montgomery shouted, "WHAT DOES THIS MEAN"?
The being gestured down, and Montgomery looked. He gasped, for beneath the clear ice was a closed eyelid. It wouldn't have been terrifying, if not for the fact that Montgomery was the size of an eyelash.
He looked back at the being, "Please, give us time, we can change"!
The being simply began to glow, before disappearing.
Montgomery continued shouting into the darkness, until a hand shook him, "Hey are you alright, what's wrong"? The voiced belong to Simon.
Montgomery inquired, "Simon... light a lantern so I can see you".
Simon responded, "A lantern is already lit. Common man that's not how the silent treatment works".
Montgomery began to shake; he couldn't help it. The fear he had felt earlier was a pittance of what he felt now.
Simon spoke again, "Common man, you're scaring me".
Simon then looked at Montgomery's eyes, they were white, all around, not a pupil nor color to be seen. "DOCTOR"!
Let me leave this disclaimer that the views of this interpretation of God are not necessarily what I believe in.
Now please review and/or favorite this story if you enjoyed it.
This will hopefully be a nice summer project.