Chapter 1: Descent

Years ago, the Great War both shattered and restored Remnant.

Many died during the battles between the Faunus and the humans. And in the aftermath, bonds formed between the humans and Faunus. But old wounds festered, sparking the violent actions of the once peaceful White Fang. Yet some Faunus have been isolated by conflict.

Ask any human or Faunus in civilized Remnant and they'll tell you about the legendary Halcyon Faunus. They say that they fought behind the scenes of the war. But they all supposedly vanished, supposedly driven to extinction in their attempt to stop the war. It wasn't long before the humans and Faunus in Remnant passed the Halcyon off as a mere legend. Despite popular belief, the Halcyons were in fact still real. They had deliberately isolated themselves from humans, abiding in the one refuge where no human could ever survive. Heck the Halcyons did more than survive, they thrived.

The decades passed with bare minimum contact with the outside world, only acting in absolute secrecy. They remained invisible to all. It seemed like the Halcyons would merely be ghosts throughout history. Regardless of what all say, the humans and Faunus (Halcyons included) had a common enemy, the creatures of Grimm. And no one had a stronger hatred for the Grimm than a Huntsman to be.

(Nimbus' workshop, Stratos)

The final touches were being placed on my great masterpiece. Two curved blade formations connected by a pair of perfectly fitting gauntlets. Each gauntlet would serve a different purpose. I flipped the final piece in my hands. This was the most delicate part of all. If I misplaced this piece, even a fraction off, the whole project would come crumbling down. I was not letting this slip past me. This rare crystal was what would give my new weapon the first dating example of a new power source.

One would look at this night-sky blue and star-speckled crystal and say that they had a galaxy in the palm of their hand. I had never spoken a word about that night out by the city's walls when this thing fell from the night sky. It was a Stardust Crystal. I've done solo studies of dust myself and determined countless uses on my own.

Of course the humans and Faunus had already figured this stuff out, like weaving dust into the clothes I wore. But this crystal was different. It didn't have a power nature at all and therefore could not be burned as other dust crystals could, I tried. But there was more to this little piece than meets the eye. This crystal was just what I in particular needed. I took out my tweezers and began to place the now split crystal into both gauntlets. The first went in without a hitch, and I quickly locked it into place. I then moved to place the last one into the chamber.

The door flew open and I yanked the piece back out in surprise. I juggled it in the air for a moment in an attempt to catch it. I then proceeded with the operation and placed the crystal in correctly. Finally, it was finished.

I turned around to face my friendly nemesis. He stood six foot two, a little taller than me, and he had sleek blonde hair with blue highlights on the side. It was surprisingly a good look for him. He wore a blue jacket and black jeans.

"Jay!" I snarled, "I was in the middle of a delicate operation here! You could have ruined over three months of work for me!"

"Of course I knew that. I've heard that you spend every minute you have in here. I just came to wish you luck out there."

I looked over my shoulder with a raised eyebrow, "If you insulted me just now, it slipped over my head."

"No. I'm actually serious this time. The Grimm are getting worse out there. I don't want to see my future rival get eaten alive. I can only hope that you become a proper Huntsman." I smirked quietly. Jay's shirt ruffled and he unfurled the wings on his back, blue on top with a little white and black on the bottom. His blue jay wings (hence his name) were fifteen feet in wingspan. He offered it to me in a traditional "shake" as humans would call it. I hesitated.

"Um, I need to get moving before anyone catches on. You know what I mean." We said our goodbyes for now and we both left. I locked my workshop behind me. I put on my gauntlets and the blades folded up, like that of a mantis.

I looked at myself in the mirror as I passed a shop. I was five foot eleven and a half, I had turned eighteen not but a week ago. I was relatively slim, like all Halcyons were, but don't ever misjudge; we're a lot stronger than we look. My hair was sunset gold-orange and I had a violet streak in the same place that Jay had his blue highlights. I wore blue jeans, a dark blue jacket/trench coat with star designs. My eyes were once hazel, but now my irises are dark blue, almost black, speckled by glimmering white stars…just like the Stardust crystal. I had modeled my jacket off of this design. But my eyes were colored like that because of the crystals.

As I walked down the road with a new purpose, people began to glimpse at me. They knew that something was different about me. I kept going until I was out of the gates of the city and at the edge of the island. Rather it was a skyland. The Halcyons were essentially a breed of bird Faunus, and they had moved to the skyland chain known as Stratos. No humans or any other breed of Faunus could live in the conditions of a skyland over two miles above the earth. Either way, no one would ever find it due to the sea of clouds surrounding it at all times. It was small compared to the kingdoms of Remnant, but it was still a large land mass. I had been cooped up here for my whole life. I wanted to be out there so bad, but everyone knew that I had no way of using dust. That was until I found these crystals. They were my key to survival.

There was a group of hunters and huntress to be out on the edge of the skyland who were now looking at me.

"Seriously? You're going to die out there. Just leave the Grimm to us."

I said not a word as I looked behind me to see the city guards rushing to me.

"Nimbus Altos! Stay right where you are!" they all drew their weapons. I smiled as I unfurled my new wings. My feathers were silver in tine but my flight feathers were comprised of Stardust crystals. They gasped and the leader Icarus stepped forward.

"Are you mad?! Embedding dust into your body is a criminal offense!"

I growled in annoyance, "It's not embedding, Icarus. It's my semblance. I've simply become prepared for my role as a hunter. Ciao!" I mock saluted as I fell backwards into the abyss.

.

I tucked my wings and fell faster towards the earth. I caught myself, exiting my dive and flying ad lightning speed. I arced up the side of a cliff over an area known as the Emerald forest in Vale. It was a hot spot for Grimm.

So I began my prowl, focusing on the ground below me. The good thing about flying is that you can focus on anything away from your trajectory and feel assured that you won't crash into anything. However, when such a situation does arise, it will scare you. As I spotted a quick glimpse of a small Beowolf below, I heard a voice.

"Birdie! No!" I looked to my left to see something that should not be in my airspace: a human girl! She was flying (or maybe she was launched by something, I don't know) and we collided in midair, throwing off both of our trajectories.

We both dropped she was trying desperately to reach a red rifle she was holding, as though it were her only chance of surviving the fall. I hated to do this, but she had already seen me. I snapped open my wings again and pulled up just before we could hit the ground. And I stopped myself by back flipping off of a large oak.

That THUMP I made when my feet touched the ground seemed to echo. That was the first step I ever took on planet Earth. I folded um my wings inside of my jacket. I looked at the girl who was still koala-hugging me, holding on for dear life. She had short, dark red hair, and she wore a black and red dress with a combat skirt. Around her shoulders was a red cape and hood. She was so adorable, cute in a childish way.

Looking down at me she jumped off with excitement.

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" she squealed quietly, "You're a Halcyon!" I immediately clapped my hand over her mouth, shushing her.

"Not a word, Red. You saw nothing." There was a growl in the woods and three Bewolves roared at us. Red reached for her hip only to find that her rifle was gone.

"Get behind me!" I said. As soon as she did, I snapped out my wings and spread them to full length. It was a natural defense mechanism that many birds use. The extra wingspan would make me seem much larger than I really was.

The lead Beowolf backed up slightly as it hesitated. I've never seen a Grimm in person before then, and frankly I thought they'd be a little smaller than what I had in front of me. It barked to its wingmen and all three growled, slowly approaching.

I chuckled, "I come down here and I'm presented with a challenge right off the bat. I like it. Red, don't move an inch and don't get in my way. I haven't tested these things out in battle yet." The gauntlets strapped onto my wrists and the blades positioned on my wrists. For safety's sake, the blades were dull. But their cutting power wouldn't come from the sharpness of the blades. The folding blades were a foot and ten inches each and were of a dark blue design. A lighter blue starlit edge rounded the darker blue middle. But the blades were on the back side of my hands. On each side was an axis that the blades hung to right now the blades had locked them in duel wield sword formation. It was one of three possible melee formations, one of which had them positioned like normal swords.

I took deep breath then powered up my aura. Sure enough, the edge of the blades glowed lightly with a yellow light and a faint buzzing sound could be heard.

I sighed with relief. "It works!" I think it's about time I told you just what these crystals do. Like I said before, they don't have a source of power of their own. In fact what they are meant to do, according to my studies, is turn another element into dust power without an element nature. And that element was none other than my own aura, a practically limitless supply of ammunition and sustainable energy (unlike those cheap dust crystals that burn out in time).My semblance with a similar link to the crystal had turned my own flight feathers and irises to the same exact material. This allowed me to supercharge my flight and sight alike.

I dug my blades into the ground in front of me and put myself in a runner's stance. "Let's go!" I howled as I pumped my wings and launched myself forward with my claws. I landed on the chest of a Beowolf and cross sliced at its neck. Blood splattered and the Grimm fell I leapt back to avoid a swipe from the largest of the group.

I slammed my gauntlets together and the right blade switched to the axis of the left gauntlet. The blades switched to the sides of my hands, one by my thumb and one by my pinky, and they formed a bow without a string. I pulled back as an arrow appeared, made of the same energy type.

"Heads up!" I fired the shot into the back of the alpha male's neck. It collapsed with a roar of pain. The smallest of the group, no more than a pup looked to me as I aimed my bow at it, then it quickly yelped, running away into the bushes with its tail between its legs. Either it would warn the rest of the pack to run or it would call for help. Either one was fine with me. I looked up in the tree above me to see Red's rifle on some of the tree branches, so I used my claws to climb up and drop it down to her.

"Thanks!" she said as I slid down the tree, "I'm Ruby. Sorry about running into you like that! Are you in the Beacon entrance exam?"

I shook my head, "My name's Nimbus. Shouldn't you get going? I mean…your exam and all."

She gasped, "I forgot! Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang! Bye!" In the blink of an eye, she had dashed off to the north, leaving a trail of rose petals behind her. It was a speed semblance no doubt.

But it made me wonder; what was Beacon?

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(At the Launch site)

Glynda Goodwitch looked at her tablet in surprise. Very little could surprise her.

"Professor Ozpin. Did you see that?"

The grey haired man took a sip of his coffee and looked, "What seems to be the trouble?"

"It appears that we have an out of protocol interference with one of our students, Ruby Rose. Look." She rewound the video and watched as Ruby collided with an airborne Faunus.

Ozpin pushed up his glasses, "So the legends of the Halcyon were true then. Follow them and we'll see what happens." The video resumed to show the Faunus wiping out two Beowolves in a matter of seconds, saving the young huntress.

"Should I put this in the report?" Glynda asked typing.

"No. Let Ruby go on her way. I'd like to have a word with this boy. Have a mobile unit track her movements and grade his actions as you would one of our students. I'll give further instructions. He might become an important asset to us."

"Ozpin, we took a huge step in adding Miss Rose to our student body. Are you sure that adding this boy will be a good idea?"

Ozpin nodded in response, "It isn't often that you come across someone of his breed."

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(Back in the forest)

SHING!

I began bushwhacking my way through the forest. I had stopped for a moment as I held a cut piece of the Beowolf's mask in my hand. Although it is true that Grimm dissolve when killed, parts that you cut away before you kill them don't. So whenever you see a Grimm trophy hung on a wall, it might not be a fake. I had measured it and carved out into a mask that covered my eyes.

I had planned to do this for years since my father died. With this in mind I placed the mask over my eyes. I ran on for a little while until I knew I was safe and out of her sight. After a little while I came to a clearing. A screech filled the air and I saw a shadow flying high above the forest. It was a giant Nevermore!

A Beowolf leapt out of the bushes catching me off guard. But I was saved by a flash of pink.

"KA-POW!" a girl hollered as the Grimm was sent flying through three trees before landing in its place of final rest. This girl had orange hair close to mine, sky blue eyes, and a white and pink combat dress on. She looked much more of a tomboy than Ruby. But she had a crazy energetic expression on her face, as thought she was having the time of her life. In her hands was a large silver hammer that changed into a grenade launcher.

"Aw, you're not Ren", she moaned disappointedly, "Have you seen a guy with black hair dressed in green around here?" I was kind of speechless by that display of brute strength. But I shook it off.

"Can't say I have. Sorry."

She jumped up into the trees making a sound which sounded like the call of a sloth. I could tell that she was also part of the Beacon entrance exam. A giant feather shot down from the sky, impaling the ground in front of me. I quickly ran for the cover of the woods as the Nevermore flew above me. It must have heard the hammer girl and followed the sound. Thankfully it left me alone after a minute.

About ten minutes later I heard gunshots, lots of them. I had come to a clearing and saw some ancient ruins. An epic battle was transpiring. Eight people in groups of four were battling the Nevermore and the biggest Deathstalker I've ever seen. Ruby and three other girls were battling atop a ruined tower with the bird, while the hammer girl was battling alongside another girl and two guys against the Deathstalker.

The boy with the shield analyzed the scorpion and called out orders to the others between strikes. The hammer girl was flung up into the air and slammed her hammer down on the stinger, nailing it into the Grimm's head. The bridge collapsed and the Deathstalker went down with it. The four hunters and huntresses were safe on solid ground.

I then watched as the other four lured the Nevermore into the cliff face. A girl in white froze the Grimm's tail in place as it tried to escape. She dashed back just in time to see a girl in black and another in yellow make a giant slingshot out of a large band and two pillars. It caught Ruby and the girl in white held her in place with a black glyph. They spoke for a moment and the glyph turned red, launching Ruby into the air. Her rifle changed into a massive scythe which propelled her forward further (coolest weapon I've ever seen besides Pluto by the way). She stuck to a line of white glyphs running up the side of the cliff and dragged the Nevermore by the neck.

All went well, until she stopped about ten feet up. The Nevermore's tail was still trapped in the ice below! The Grimm attempted to whip its head around to grab Ruby. She held strong, trying to keep it from moving, but she wouldn't last long. Thinking fast, I whipped out Pluto in bow form and charged up a shot.

"EVERYBODY DUCK!" I roared. All looked to me in surprise and dodged out of the way as an arrow zipped past them. The force of the arrow's flight tore up the ground as it passed. The arrow made its mark on the tip of the ice, breaking its grip on the Nevermore.

"Now Ruby!" I called. Ruby zipped up the cliff building momentum and the Nevermore's head came off as she slammed it against the cliff. All looked to Ruby in an overwhelming silence. It was over. The wind blew and rose petals rolled off of Ruby's cape. My respect for that young girl had skyrocketed.

She saw me in the distance and waved to me, "Thank you!" I heard faintly.

I looked to see that I had dark, starlit feathers blowing in the wind too, just like Ruby's petals. They were rolling from the long coat I wore of the same color. I'm pretty certain that this is a physical manifestation of one's aura. Everyone had something like it. But I saluted them all and dashed into the woods.

So this is the life of a Huntsman. I love it!

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(End of Chapter 1)

HEY EVERYBODY! Beowulf here, not BeoWOLF, mind you.

I've been stocking this story away for some editing. I've been having a hard time deciding whether or not I should make Nimbus a boy or a girl (in which case I would have named her Arora Altos) but don't tell him I said that.

I'm going to come clean and say that I am a HUGE RWBY fan. Good job out there Monty!

But heads up, this story will be told from the first person perspectives of two different OC's! The second will come in some time later.

For now watch the as the second wing of Remnant makes his impact!

Beowulf out!