It has always been my family's duty to keep the secrecy of their existence. When they hunted humans, we hunted them. History demands that Vlad was the first of their kind. Of course, I speak of creatures who stalk the night; creatures who prey on man. Creatures driven by a perverse bloodlust; creatures empowered by the dark arts. Vampires, we call them, though they are more appropriately called parasites. Wise men speculate that these monsters have appeared throughout historic sources. Wiser men know that their origins date back to before these sources were recorded; back to ancient times when history was nothing more than the tales woven by the tongues of the bards who spun them.
Vampires first appeared as lone wolves. They established themselves with the creation of small broods of others similar to themselves. As they aged, they became more powerful and with every new vampire, their terror spread. With the increase in number, vampires rivaled with each other for territory and what remained of their human cattle became consumed in war. To calm aggression between clans, the vampires formed The Circle of Sires, often referred to as The Council. Each council member sired its own clan that inherited variants of their predecessor's unique skills. This established an identification system for vampires and dictated which clan was to handle rogue traitors. That was when the first Hunters appeared.
Hunters specialized in particular kinds of vampires; each focusing on a particular clan. It was often a bloody and unrewarding job that resulted in the loss of comrades and family alike. They were often alone with nowhere to call home and were otherwise useless to society. As time went on, Vampires became more intelligent and enslaved other creatures to do their bidding… That was when the Schnee stepped in.
The Schnee were always talented Hunters, gifted with both intelligence and strength. It was the Schnee that discovered what we now call Lightforge – a Holy-like element concentrated into a physical form. Lightforge was harnessed to combat against the concentrated Unholy magicks that vampires had coined "Darkforge". Though not unlike the concentrated magicks they stemmed from, Forges were a byproduct of the elements. It was believed that only gods and true demons could tap into the purest sources of these powers.
The Schnees became highly acclaimed for both their prowess on the field and the development of weapons against the creatures of darkness, but the Schnee also had a trump card that helped them to excel above all others – an ability that put them on par with the vampires but made them nearly as dangerous. For that reason, they were kept away from all other humans. Unfortunately, it was an inherited trait that only presented itself in males and often skipped generations. To this day, there are no records on it but they say that those that inherited it lived solemn lives and died gloriously. After all, it was a Schnee's duty to protect humanity and nothing was more honorable than to die a hero's death – a Hunter's death.
At first, we hunted all of the nightmares – this included the werewolves. They tore humans limb from limb… terrorized the land… ravaged the livestock... Where Vampires were worrisome during the night, the wolves posed a unique problem – incredibly resilient humans during the hours of light that evolved into an uncontrollably, destructive force at night. Their only instinct was to kill, if not create more of their kind.
During the mid-1800s, the discovery that silver felled even the most fearsome of the beasts struck fear into the hearts of all were-creatures. Being the most aggressive of all, the wolves were the first to approach humanity for a ceasefire. With humans being preyed upon and the enslavement of were-beasts, the vampire menace had become too great a problem for both sides and so the first alliance between man and monster became a reality.
We gave the beasts a way to blend in and offered them acceptance; they were no longer to be hunted. We gave them time and a way to fully control their bloodlust. We treated them as equals and, forever indebted to us, they gave us their loyalty and strength. Other were-beasts soon came to us, desperate to for protection from hunters and vampires alike and they were offered the sanctuary they sought in exchange for their services, whether they be field agents, care-givers, or trainers for other were-beasts.
Within the ranks of our Hunters, it became common place to find human and were-families. Their hybrid children were soon dubbed "Faunus". Unfortunately, it was not so easy to hide them due to their more physical characteristics and so, the Schnee family kept them within their walls. The guild later evolved into a fully functioning fortress, offering militaristic training for its recruits and all the necessities for its Faunus families to grow, and in return, the Faunus grew into some of the more elite members of the guild.
Soon earning a reputation as the best trackers, Hunters did not have to worry about the possibility of Faunus ruining recon missions by changing or losing control like with their were-counterparts. Their introduction into the field was a turning point in the war against vampires and it wasn't long until vampire numbers dwindled and became largely forgotten by the people. However, while the Faunus were heralded for their immunity to a vampire's bite, it did not mean that they were resistant to poisoning of the mind.
In the early 1900s, vampires made their first modern day appearance through the aid of the more bitter members of the Faunus. With the promise of no longer being hidden, they defected to the Vampire cause and the Faunus debut branded them as a new form of monster. The Schnee family responded by sending its best Hunters – human, Faunus, and were-beast alike – to control the situation.
In the early 2000s, humanity began to accept the existence of the Faunus and Were-beasts. While known for their more violent natures, they were accepted into society so long as they bore a Schnee Crest. This symbol was proof of their alliance with humanity and a sign that they were capable enough to accompany humans without incident. Initially, racism toward the groups went on for an extended period of time, but when Ozpin made his existence and the Council's desire for the descendents of Mina Harker known, hatred had no place amongst the allies of humanity. It soon became a race for who would locate the children first.
My name is Weiss Schnee and you could call this is a recounting of how I met the two biggest pains in my ass…