Prologue

Author's Note: As stated above, this is the prologue of the story which revolves primarily around giving the setting and a bit of background information for this slightly altered world. This story takes place within the exact same universe as RWBY (i.e. Beacon, Grimm, etc.) but the plot is drastically different. The plot diverges away from canon immediately following the creation of the teams RWBY and JNPR after the fight in the Emerald Forest. Though some aspects of the canon may reside within my own, I assure you it is only to advance plot. There will be romance deeply entwined with the story focusing on WhiteRose and Bumblebee, with hints of Arkos and Noren. This story is rated M primarily for violence, profanity, and other explicit references. Please leave a review so that I may learn to improve upon my writing.

Thank you for reading, and, without further ado: please enjoy the show.

It was a short lived victory. While in the Emerald Forest, a rough battle against a Nevermore and a Death Stalker had left all of teams RWBY and JNPR with an exaggerated sense of pride. Not undeserved, however, as their brilliantly executed strategies had impressed Headmaster Ozpin enough to take a specific notice of them. They lived out the high of this praise as long as they could for the following day, until the reality hit them…that was only half of the Beacon 'initiation.' Of course, they had known the whole time, about it, but recent events had caused them all to forget about their team administrator. While Ruby and Jaune were the leaders of teams RWBY and JNPR, respectively, it was illegal to send unlicensed Hunters out on hunts without the supervision of a team admin. Though admins (who were predominately professors) went with their teams out on hunts, they rarely intervened unless absolutely necessary, as the point of these hunts was to train the Huntsmen-and-Huntresses-in-training.

The method for deciding which admin was assigned to what team rested solely on the admins themselves. Of course, they would not simply pick at random, they had to have some way to determine which team would best suit them, and how they could help that particular team. There was a fair amount of studying on the admin's part for choosing, but nothing was quite as important as 'The Hunt.' This gruesome name was given to an arena-styled-event, which was reserved every time a new batch of students arrived, in which the students would be given a simulated fight against A.I.s in a variety of combat situations. In fact, a staggeringly large portion of money was spent on keeping the arena state-of-the-art to make sure the computer could truly emulate a real combat scenario.

Teams RWBY and JNPR had finally calmed down enough to give thought to what was ahead of them. It was Monday, and the 'Hunt' was on Friday; they had until then to prepare themselves for what is to come…knowing full well that if they were not picked by an admin, they will be immediately dismissed from the academy and will have to reapply for entrance to the school. And Beacon Academy is notknown for reaccepting failures. Call it harsh, but there is a reason Beacon is the best. This is such a serious obstacle, that many students will spend this next week doing favors for many of the professors, begging on their knees, and even attempting to bribe them. You can hear the voices all over the school, asking what help their teachers-to-be might be in need of; and the professors would, in good faith, take advantage of this free labor. Even Headmaster Ozpin was not above asking for a refill of his favorite coffee, though Ozpin didn't take teams under his wing lightly.

Technically, you could have any licensed Huntsman or Huntress as an admin, but the professors took on the majority of the teams since they were only 'part-time' Hunters. If you were really good, you could get a full-fledged Hunter as your admin and you could gain a vast array of real-world experience. Teams RWBY and JNPR knew that begging and bribery were not going to do anything to help them; besides…they wanted an admin who would actually teach them, not just do the bare minimum for a simple paycheck. The two teams had their eyes set higher, perhaps Ozpin and Goodwitch could be their admins…or even a Knight. Unfortunately, it was only wishful thinking because only the best of the best could receive a Knight as their admin.

The Knight-Hunters are soldiers left over from a forgotten era. When humanity first learned to manipulate their environment with the powers of dust, they began to fight back against the evil Grimm that corrupted their world. Though technically anyone would use dust (with the aid of machinery), only those born with an aura could truly use it to its fullest extent. They pushed the Grimm outward, building cities as they progressed, which would eventually form the four kingdoms of Remnant. However, during The Second Era, the Grimm launched massive, seemingly organized attacks against the kingdoms, resulting in the largest death toll from a Grimm attack in recorded history, and not by a small amount…It became known as The Grimm War. During this era of constant warfare, the legendary group known as the Knight-Hunters were formed to take on the Grimm. A small army of only 150 masked soldiers, not loyal to any one kingdom, dawned their armor and raised their swords to take charge of the then-Hunters of Remnant and lead them to battle. One by one, victory after victory, the Knights earned their place in history, leading the Hunters all the way through to the glorious end.

Much of what is known about that time period is lost to the ages, however, we do know that 150 Knights went out to fight Grimm, and, after nearly 40 years of fighting, 47 came back. Today, however, about 400 Knights are scattered throughout Remnant…waiting, training, and helping where needed. The numbers of the Knights do not grow rapidly due to the fact that one does not become a knight, but rather one is born into the order…and because of this, Hunters have tried for centuries to obtain the secret to the Knights deadly fighting style and weaponry, but alas, they are never successful. It is hypothesized that they must have a very strict familial hierarchy set up to decide who will be next in line to obtain knighthood. Though people might gossip about them (in both good and bad terms), no one in any of the four kingdoms are above stating, very clearly, that they are happy leaving that stressful lifestyle to them.

There is much controversy over the Knights role in society, getting so heated at one point that the Hunters of Vacuo were once ordered (nearly 300 years ago) to arrest the Knights, living within their kingdom, and forcibly obtain their secrets for 'the greater good.' Of all 284 Knights at this time, 67 were in Vacuo including the then Knight-General, leader of the Knight-Hunters; they marched directly into the Capital, towards the King's manor, and were immediately faced with over 20,000 soldiers. The Knight-General, being the compassionate person that all Knight-Generals before and since then have been, begged the King to reconsider and pleaded with the soldiers. When the King laughingly mocked him, and the Knight-General knew there would not be a fair hearing, he mumble a few words (speculated to be an apology for his coming actions, or even a prayer for forgiveness) drew his sword and began walking toward the soldiers in the direction of the King. Even his Knights were awestruck as the King's distorted, laughing head was raised in the Knight-General's left hand. Not out of disgust, but out of amazement of the Knight-General's battle prowess to so easily kill one of the most powerful people in the world. The soldiers of Vacuo were dumb-founded as well; the Knight-General was just in front of them and suddenly their King was dead. They didn't have much time to ponder what had just taken place as their thoughts were interrupted by the sound of armor falling to the ground; a straight line of bodies littered the ground from where the Knight-General had drawn his sword up to where the King's lifeless corpse sat. Easily 2,000 soldiers had fallen in an instant, and the remaining dropped their weapons immediately. Most of Vacuo's citizens weren't too angry either, since the king was quite the tyrant; and the Knight-General managed to save face when it was discovered that the 2,000 soldiers that were felled by his sword were discovered to simply be unconscious. It is the only recorded moment in history of the Knight's 'interfering' in the political world.

Beacon was, in fact, not built for the purpose of training Hunters; the archaic school was originally the Vale headquarters for the Knight-Hunters (their headquarters in Vacuo, Mistral, and Atlas would also be converted) and was given to the Hunters as part of the Knight-Remnant Act. This act gave the Hunters of Remnant access to all of the Knight's dust mining secrets, weapons, and fighting styles, while giving the Knights full autonomy, the right to take control of the four Kingdom's militaries if another Grimm War began, and access to any and all information on topics relating to the Grimm, regardless of how sensitive the information may be. Of course the Knights came out on top in this deal as the Hunters were mistaken in believing that the dust, weapons, and fighting style is what gave the Knights their edge…they were gravely mistaken. Thus, the modern day Knight could occasionally be seen around Remnant training, fighting, or just generally assisting people wherever they could, Grimm-related or not. The Knights, above all else, are the greatest philanthropists in the world.

The current leader of the Knight-Hunters, Knight-General Lionel Donovan, resided within the walls of Beacon, essentially living there, as the Knight-Generals of old did, albeit on his own portion of land at the school. He could be seen reading on his porch, training in the gym, or even going on hunts. Like the rest of the Knights, his face could not be seen; a mask always being worn made many gossip, though he was sure to be used to it now…a Knight covering their face was tradition, for some strange reason. Many legendary stories float around about the Knight-General also, some being about his killing a herd of seven Goliaths in just a few minutes and others being about him pulling the strings of every political decision made in Remnant. 'Gossip, all of it,' is all the Knight-General would say when confronted about it. He is a man of few words, but powerful actions; he always had been, but he seemed colder for the past three years, however. Regardless of how his demeanor was perceived by others, he would continue to help the innocent.

Ruby shook the thoughts from her head as she prepared herself to change into her pajamas. She had always been infatuated with the Hunters, but the mysterious Knights were even more amazing to her since they reminded her of the stories she was told as a child. As team RWBY laid themselves down to sleep on Monday night, their hearts beat in resonance as they all feared the coming weekend…