The Legion Marched on Chapter 1
Howdy folks! Most of you probably don't know me, mostly due to me writing Pokémon fics mainly. However, I created an OC for a pal of mine. Some of you may even follow his story, which is great! He deserves it! But, moving along swiftly, the point of this "Story" is to actually be a collection of tales about my OC, Romulus Lycanus, who is being used in my friend's story. His name's Hironinja, by the way. Go check him out!
More about this fic, though. Expect chapters to vary widely in length, and the update schedule to be irregular, as I have another story that I'm working on that's much longer. Besides that, sit back, relax, and enjoy!
(…)
Chapter One: The Very Beginning
Lying on the grass, Romulus enjoyed the full moon's light, basking in the serenity of the nighttime ambiance. Wearing black clothing that bore white highlights and having black messy hair made Romulus rather hard to see at night. Otherwise, it would be apparent that his features were rather well toned, due to his lifestyle of intense military training. However, like all of his kind, Romulus' night vision was much better than humans thanks to his faunus heritage. Wolf-like ears protruded from his head, adding enhanced hearing to his skill-set as well. However, in contrast to everything else, Romulus' eyes were a golden yellow, shining in the moonlight. Lastly, Romulus let his tail rest at his side as he lay on the ground, as sitting on it was actually rather painful after a while.
Heaving a sigh, Romulus turned his ears every which way to catch the sound of the wildlife that made the grounds of Beacon Academy their home. Crickets, owls, small rodents, and others made up only a small portion. However, it wasn't long until Romulus' ears picked up the distinct sound of footsteps coming his way. One quick sniff of the air revealed the identity of the newcomer, and Romulus rose to a sitting position to greet him.
"I figured I'd find you out here, Romulus," Hiro colton, Romulus' pack leader and friend, greeted as he stood over the faunus.
"Hello Alpha," Romulus replied, his gaze never wavering from the moon. When Hiro said nothing, Romulus finally looked at him. Wearing his usual red jacket, Hiro looked otherwise normal. His hair was brown, save for an odd red star that was near the front. His eyes were blue, and his features were moderately well built, which made sense enough. "Is something wrong?"
"Nah, nothing important," Hiro said with a dismissive wave, sitting down on the grass. "I was just thinking about a few things."
"Did you remember something new?" Romulus asked, addressing Hiro's rather strange memory predicament.
"Well… yes and no," Hiro replied, bobbing his side to side as he did so. At a curious look from Romulus, Hiro explained further. "I guess I should say I remembered something I've never done."
"How… Alpha, that doesn't make any sense," Romulus said, furrowing his brow in thought.
"Gimme a minute, Romulus," Hiro said, holding up a finger. Obeying, Romulus fell silent. "What I mean is, I forgot that I really don't know you all that well." Still silent, Romulus merely raised an eyebrow. Then, remembering that Hiro was blind in the dark like most humans, he made a questioning grunt. "Well… I mean we've been partners for quite a while now, fighting side by side and what-not… but I still don't know much about you."
"What's there to know?" Romulus asked flatly. "I was born outside the walls, can fight well, and I like beef."
"Well… that's all stuff that most people would learn in just a short time. I mean where from outside the walls are you from? How were you raised? That sort of stuff."
"Why do you want to know that?" Romulus asked curiously. "It's nothing important."
"Well… one main reason really. You know about my… memory problem…" Hiro began, making Romulus snort upon hearing the word "Problem". "And I've noticed a pattern."
"Oh?"
"You're never in any of the memories, Romulus." The faunus opened his mouth to say something, but then he remembered that the situation made sense, given Hiro's odd visions. Rather, Romulus laid back on the grass, staring at the moon again.
"I-it's fine if you don't wanna tell me," Hiro began, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "I know it's a little private and—"
"What do you wanna know first, Alpha?" Romulus cut in, getting straight to business as usual.
"Really? Oh. Um… Well… I guess whatever you're willing to share," Hiro replied, laying back as well to look at the moon. About a minute of silence passed as Romulus pondered what to say first. Finally, he settled for what was right in front of him.
"I'll start from the beginning, then."
"You mean when you were a child? Er… I mean a 'pup'?" Hiro asked, still not quite used to using the term. However, Romulus merely laughed.
"Har! No... MUCH earlier than that, my friend. Let me explain…"
(…)
A long time ago, before any history was recorded, the world was in a state of perpetual twilight. Forests sang with the songs of animals, rivers ran clean and pure, and there was no way to tell night from day… for they were one in the same. The god of the Sun, and the goddess of the Moon watched over all creation, guiding them, but not interacting with them.
(…)
"Hey, I have a question!" Hiro cut in, making Romulus turn his head towards him. "If this is all before recorded history, then how does anyone know it happened? Also… how could—"
"Alpha…" Romulus interrupted flatly.
"Hm?"
"Stop asking questions…"
"Er… right… sorry."
(…)
Time passed and nature thrived. As time passed, it wasn't until dominant races began to emerge. These two became known as humans and faunus. However, due to possessing the strengths of both humans and animals, the faunus were the stronger of the two. Thankfully for the human, the faunus at the time were kind and gentle, guiding them rather than hurting them. Shaping the world as they build villages, planted farms, and raised families… it seemed that the peace would be everlasting.
As you can imagine… that all changed one day.
From nowhere… a darkness came. However, it came silently, attacking the world at the source: The Moon and Sun. Focusing on the Moon, for it was the smaller of the two, the darkness relentlessly attacked and fought, eventually killing the moon and drowning the world in darkness for half of it's time.
Enraged, the Sun became angry, becoming brighter and brighter… eventually so bright that it became painful to look at! The Sun did his best to light the world without his beloved moon, but it was for naught. Darkness rules half of the world at any given time, and the people suffered. Humans were helpless in the dark, and not even faunus could fight in absolute shadow. It was truly hopeless.
That was when the Grimm appeared. Having killed the Moon, the darkness spawned monsters in infinite hordes, razing villages that suffered in the darkness, only to leave their remains discovered the following day. The Sun despaired.
However, against all odds, a miracle happened that day. Hearing the Sun's cries, a new figure emerged from the sky in the darkness. Pale white and reflecting the light of its beloved, the Moon came back from death with an army of stars, bringing light to the endless darkness. Able to fight back, the faunus led the defense against the monsters. However… it wasn't enough.
Fighting with only half their number, the forces that opposed the darkness were fighting many losing battles. The humans, helpless until now, found an amazing discovery: Dust. Blessed with the power of the elements, the humans were finally able to overcome their inherent weakness and fight back, standing side-by-side with the faunus who were more than happy to utilize this newfound weapon as well. Eventually, the Grimm were fought back enough for the humans and faunus to rebuild their homes, erecting shrines to their newfound gods: The Sun and the Moon. Together, they represented Life, for creating it, War, for making it possible, Death, for the Sun being forced to watch it, and Reincarnation, for the Moon's rebirth.
It was under the guidance of the gods, that the world began to change, becoming what it is now.
(…)
"Wow…" Hiro murmured. "So… you worship the sun and the moon as gods?"
"Yes," Romulus replied, gesturing to the starry sky above. "But the Moon is a goddess, technically. As a faunus dies, their soul becomes a star in the sky, making it that much brighter and giving us a chance to fight the Grimm, even in darkness. However, some faunus are given the same chance the Moon had, should their deeds be deemed worthy."
"What do you mean?" Hiro asked, turning on his side and propping himself on his arm.
"Faunus who worship the Moon can be reincarnated, bearing the same name and prowess as their past self," Romulus explained, making Hiro's eyes go wide.
"I had no idea," Hiro whispered. "So… that whole thing about souls, then… Is that why you come out here every full moon?"
"It is," Romulus replied, pointing at the Moon. "When my sister died, she asked me to do two things. One of them was to remember her… and this is how I do it."
"I… I see…" Hiro nervously replied. "I imagine it must be comforting, then."
"It is…" Romulus replied, flashing one of his rare smiles. "I… like to feel like she's right beside me again."
"And I imagine she feels the same," Hiro said, smiling as well. Laying back, Hiro continued. "But I had no idea your people had such a rich story about how the world formed!"
"Oh, I'm just getting started, Alpha!" Romulus replied. "I'll tell you about our Father, next."
"Your father?"
"The one who made The Legion, our way of life, and the code we live by."
"Wow… what was his name?" Hiro asked.
"Romulus."
(…)
And that's it for part 1. I hope you all enjoyed and keep an eye out for updates! These don't take long at all to write, so updates shouldn't take too long. I say SHOULDN'T! They still might. I'm a busy guy, after all…
But until next time, cheers!