Chapter 1: A Childhood Forsaken
Many know of the heroic exploits of those trained for such feats. Heroes… Huntsmen, as the world of Remnant prefer to call them. Those who are unable to defend themselves… they look up to such faces for protection. And all things considered, they do quite the job at it. But no system is perfect. There will always be those who falter in the face of danger. And when courage and heroism is replaced with fear and cowardice, lives are lost in its wake. This is the story of a single child who fell victim to the cowardice of the huntsmen, and of the oblivion of which it brought not just to them, but their entire people. This is the story of a child who would grow up to despise these 'heroes'.
It all started just south of Vacuo, on the border of the desert which surrounds it. The date was June 25, 1987, Earthen time. 30 years before the Fall of Beacon.
A single village was under attack. A pack of exotic Grimm raided the village, slaying any man and woman in sight. The children were taken for the Grimm in the nest. They needn't sustenance from the youth. It was for nothing more but sport. A sick and twisted method to strengthen the newer Grimm.
"You have to run!" A mother said to her only son.
"I can't! I can't leave you and Dad!" The boy screamed.
"You must! The Grimm will let you live, but only for their entertainment! You must go to the Vacuo kingdom! Only then can you be safe!" The mother yelled through the raging fires.
"Dain Ral! You MUST leave! I know you can make it on your own!" The father shouted.
"But what about you?!" Dain shouted.
"If we live, we'll find you in Vacuo! We promise!" The father yelled, using his sword to behead a Beowolf. Dain then ran as fast as he could, but with his small form, and with so much luggage, he grew exhausted once he escaped the village. He then looked up to a man with armor, and a sword.
"Are there survivors?" The man asked Dain.
"Yes! My parents are in there somewhere!" Dain exclaimed.
"We'll get them here. Get out of here for now." The man said. Dain then picked himself up, and ran as far as he could. Though the news would say tomorrow that the panic was first started by bandits setting the village ablaze, then releasing the Grimm in, Dain knew full well that it was because a Huntsman left his post, and for nothing but to get home early. The selfish greed of a single man caused the deaths of tens of innocent lives.
And Dain would later swear to never let an incident like this ever happen again.
"I promise you, gods. I swear I'll bring them all down myself!" Dain shouted to the skies, for that night he had no company. One hour before, he had a whole family, happily living their lives.
[Ten years later]
"Remember people, we always have our huntsmen to protect you!" The headmaster of Haven academy said.
"Protection, my ass. The only thing saving us are the mountains. The Grimm would rip this place to shreds within a day." Dain snarled. His hair was red and short, with fire red eyes, wearing a short, black, scale woven coat with a fitted mahogany red shirt with the head of a dragon on it, and beige pants, tucked into brown leather boots.
"Don't forget the advanced technology. Without that, it would be an hour at least." A friend of Dain's said.
"Lionheart simply lives in his special little haven, safe from all harm, while people like us struggle daily." Another of Dain's friends said. Meanwhile another approached.
"Just got another assignment. Apparently, this guy promises a safe flight to the next kingdom to whoever will do the job." Dain's friend said.
"Excellent. We can finally get a layout of Vale kingdom. Team DRHN(Dragon), move out." Dain said. The three others, known as Ron Fare, who had platinum blonde hair, dark green eyes, with a dark yellow shirt with a sword on it, the blade with the look of a lightning bolt, and wore beige pants like Dain, Lucia Hyouga, who had neat, pure white hair down to her knees, with silver eyes, and a cyan shirt with a halo on it, and a cyan long skirt, and Nayru Lana, who had cobalt blue hair only running down to her neck, along with dark blue eyes, with a sky blue dress shirt with a Schnee logo on the breast pocket, and black pants with blue leather boots, all gathered their supplies and weapons, and headed to the south of Mistral. They all also wore similar coats to Dain, except for Lucia, who had a pure white long coat.
[Fifteen minutes later]
The four approached a cabin deep within the woods of Mistral. They entered, and there they saw a man being treated from a serious head wound.
"You must be the team. Please, come in." The man said. The team obliged.
"What's the mission? Nayru didn't exactly give the details." Ron asked.
"Because I wasn't given the details." Nayru said.
"I only ask you of one favor. Deep in these woods is a fearsome Grimm, far stronger than its kin before. It takes the form of a bear, but it does not look like any Ursa. I fought it off for a while, but for the price of this." The man said, showing the stump where his arm should've been.
"Tough customer, huh?" Hyouga said.
"And I wasn't alone, either. My whole team got obliterated by this calamity of a Grimm. If you can avenge them, I'll be more than happy to deliver you to the next kingdom." The man said.
"Anything to get to Vale. It'll be a nice warmup for the coming battles." Dain said.
"Do not mistake this for a game, boy. This beast killed more than just my team. And though I wasn't alone, the beast was far from isolated. A horde of Beowolves ambushed us mid battle. Be wary of them." The man said.
"So clear the area, kill the big scary bear, and come back to you. Okay, sounds easy enough." Dain said.
"But one more thing. I cannot just take your word for it. The evidence of its death must be a blade stuck in its back. You won't miss it, as it is a bright golden blade. And don't try to get away easy, as the blade is permanently stuck in it. Even if you catch it sleeping, pulling it out would be like moving a mountain. Only killing it will remove the blade. Bring it to me, and I will bring you to Vale." The man said.
"Right. We'll get this done as soon as we can." Hyouga said.
"Avenge me and my friends, and I promise your safe travel." The man said. The team then headed out, but not before being stopped one more time.
"My master wishes to give you this." The maid said, handing Dain a strange slate.
"What's this?" Dain asked.
"It is a prototype of a communicating device my master was working on. He calls it a Scroll. He linked it to the recently made CCT Towers, and should allow communication to any of this device within 2000 miles." The maid said.
"2000 MILES?! That's almost half of the entire Mistral continent! This little slate can do that?!" Dain exclaimed.
"Yes. My master was a technological genius, and even helped Atlas create the computing devices within the CCT Towers. He retired from that line of work to work on this device." The maid said. She then handed the other three their own Scrolls.
"How can one put so much technology in a slate the size of a hand? Man, technology is crazy these days." Hyouga said.
"Possibly the only good thing that came from the Huntsmen academies." Ron said.
"My master has such views as well. He believes that they are holding back the students' true capabilities." The maid said.
"Well, he isn't wrong." Nayru said, looking to Hyouga.
"Well, we should be going." Dain said.
"Of course. I wish you luck in your quest." The maid said, bowing to them. They then set off, in search for the beast which the man described. But the journey was much longer than they anticipated. They stayed on the path, but once they reached a fork in the path, they were stuck.
"We should test the limit of these devices. We split in two teams. Hyouga and I will go together, while Ron and Nayru stick together." Dain said.
"A-are you sure, Dain? Usually, Nayru and I would stay together." Hyouga said.
"Hyouga, you'll be fine. Dain has been fighting since he was young, so you should be fine by his side." Nayru said.
"I-It's not that. I haven't discovered my semblance yet, and usually Nayru helps me with that. I'm just… I…" Hyouga stuttered.
"I know Lionheart never helped you, but I'm not him. I would do anything to learn your semblance, Hyouga. You fight the same cause as us, so we should all support each other." Dain said.
"Yeah, don't feel bad about it. Hell, I didn't know my semblance until I met Dain." Ron said.
"And Atlas was a prison for me more than anything. Just keep an open mind, and I assure you we'll find out your semblance sooner or later." Nayru said.
"O...Okay." Hyouga said.
"If you find the target, do not engage it until all surrounding foes are annihilated and until we can regroup. When we engage the target, strike hard and strike deep. Use your abilities to your advantage, and never give it a chance to counterattack." Dain said. They all nodded, and they went their separate ways. They tested the Scrolls, and they worked even in the dense forest.
"You gotta give the man credit, he did a good job with these Scroll things." Dain chuckled.
"If these things were mass produced, people would be able to communicate from around the world. Just a day ago, that was a crazy dream." Hyouga said.
"You have optimism. I appreciate that. None of us were very happy to live here until we found you." Dain said, giving Hyouga a warming smile.
Hyouga blushed. "I-It's really nothing. To be honest, I was failing in Haven. My battle skills were dull, my grades were low- even my team despised me, because they thought me of nothing but deadweight. If I'm honest, I'm even surprised I made it through initiation."
"It's because no one would help you find your strength. It's because of all their negative emotions that they've had such problems with the Grimm. Am I wrong?" Dain said.
"No, you're not wrong. For every Grimm attack, if one person was even scratched, even the teachers blamed me. Lionheart never expelled me because he was too scared to make the wrong move." Hyouga felt a tear slip through her eye. "You guys are the only people to ever show me any kindness or compassion."
"And I'll make sure no one ever hurts you again. We all will." Dain said.
"I hope the people in Vale are just nicer than everyone in Mistral." Hyouga said, wiping the tear from her face.
"Well, it IS a place known for its criminal activity and black markets. No one expects the first person they meet here to be kind. At least in a genuine way." Dain said. "And besides, of all the Academies, Beacon is the least intimidating, as far as teachers and students go."
"I know." Hyouga nodded. "Wait…" Lucia kneeled down behind a bush. Dain went behind her.
"What's wrong?" Dain whispered.
"Grimm." Hyouga responded. Dain looked to where she pointed, and he saw two Beowolves, sniffing at a trail of blood.
"They must be tracking him. Guess they really want to finish the job." Dain whispered.
"Plan?" Hyouga asked.
"You take the one to the left. I got the right. You think you can handle that?" Dain asked.
"Of course." Hyouga nodded.
"On my go." Dain said. He waited for the right moment, and gripped his blade, a two and a half foot long single edged blade with a red tint, but with a black edge, and a hand guard. Hyouga had two foldable katanas that can combine into a longbow. They had a pure white tint, the hilt being sky blue. She notched an arrow and aimed at the head. "Three… two…. Now!" Dain rushed the right Beowolf as Hyouga fired her arrow at the other one's head, the arrow going straight through the left eyeball and piercing the right one as well. It was instantly blinded, allowing Hyouga to rush it and slice it in two. Meanwhile Dain sliced the Beowolf's arm off with one swing as he rushed it through with the second slash. "Impressive aim, Hyouga."
"Ryle and Hu seems to be more accurate with the upgrades you guys gave it." Hyouga said. Ryle and Hu, as she mentioned, was the names of her swords. They folded into the hilt and she buckled them to her belt. "How is your sword fairing?"
"Jigoku is doing well. Though it seems sharper than usual." Dain said, sheathing Jigoku.
"Well, we should hurry along." Hyouga said.
"Yeah. The sooner we get to Vale, the better." Dain said. They proceeded down the path, the only sounds resonating being those of their footsteps, and the rustling of the leaves under their feet. Then they heard more, those of gunshots.
"Sounds like Ron and Nayru are having some company." Hyouga said.
"Hopefully they don't catch us in their crossfire." Dain said.
"That's not what I'm worried about." Hyouga said.
"You know as well as I do that they can take a few strikes before they go down." Dain said.
"It's not that either. It's just… I hope that this will all end soon. I mean, what'll be benefiting us to take down the academies?" Hyouga asked.
"If the world sees how easily the Huntsmen go down, they'll see the true frauds they are, and they'll want more structured forces to protect them. That's why I like Atlas so much, they actually have a structured military, disciplined, and they know their places. Though, from Nayru's point of view, and how they treated her, she only sees them as self-respecting, over privileged S-O-Bs. And she may be right. After all, no system is perfect." Dain said.
"You say it like you know it fully." Hyouga said.
"I do. I know the selfishness of huntsmen first hand. My village was destroyed because of one man's greed. Can you imagine how it feels? To have all you love wiped out in less than half an hour?" Dain growled.
"Dain, I… I'm sorry. I never knew-" Hyouga said.
"Don't be sorry. It's not like you could change it now. The past can never be changed." Dain said. "But it's alright, because once we learn of Vale, our plan can proceed. We ju-" He stopped himself in his tracks, along with hers.
"What is it?" Hyouga asked.
"Shh. Behind that bush." Dain whispered. They rushed to the nearest bush, and peeked through it, to see a beast beyond their imaginations. It was in the form of an Ursa, but three times the size. Its white claws were stained with crimson, along with its fangs, which stench of rotting flesh, at least a week's worth of decay. And littered around it were hundreds of bones picked clean of any meat or fluid.
"I feel like I'm gonna vomit." Hyouga gagged, holding back bile.
"Don't make a sound." Dain said. "I'll have to contact the others. Moment of truth." He took out the Scroll, and dialed Ron. "Please, come on, come on." Dain gritted his teeth.
"Dain! Is that you?" Ron asked.
"Shh! We're right next to the target!" Dain whispered.
"Sorry. Where are you?" Ron asked.
"I'm sending you co-ordinates." Dain said.
"I see… gotcha. We'll be there in a matter of seconds." Ron said.
"Don't hog all the fun to yourselves." Nayru said.
"You can count on a few kills today." Dain smirked, hanging up.
"Should we secure a bit of area here?" Hyouga asked.
"Might as well. Make it easier for them." Dain nodded. But as much as they looked around, they saw no sign of Grimm activity, aside from the target. "This is odd. He said the whole area would be infested with Grimm."
"Maybe we got off lucky this time." Hyouga suggested.
"Maybe… okay, once we group up with Ron and Nayru, we'll strike the beast while it sleeps." Dain said. Hyouga nodded, and it didn't take long for them to spot Ron and Nayru. They regrouped relatively quick.
"Okay, how many are left?" Ron asked.
"Just the target, as far as we could see." Dain said.
Nayru raised an eyebrow. "How did you two take out every Grimm around here?"
"Well, there were none." Dain shrugged.
"This seems a bit fishy. No Grimm at all?" Nayru asked.
"Yeah, aside from the ones we faced getting here." Dain said.
"Hey, I see the golden blade thing." Ron said.
"Don't go. We need to-" Nayru said, but Ron was already right in front of the beast. "Dammit! That fool always acts before he thinks!"
"Don't worry, I already got the golden-" Ron said, tugging on the sword, but it refused to budge. "-sword. Uh, did someone ultra glue this thing?" That was all it took to awake the beast, and throw Ron straight into a tree. "Ouch. Alright, a bear fight you want? THEN IT'S A BEAR FIGHT YOU'LL GET!" Ron shouted, bringing out his weapon, gauntlets with claws for fingers, the right one a silver tint with a sapphire in the palm. The left was night black with a ruby imbedded into the palm. "It's supper time, and I got a special plate of Dread and Fusion! Enjoy your last supper, big guy!" Ron then rushed the beast, the claws digging into the beast's chest. But the beast didn't even let out a groan of pain. Instead, it huffed at Ron's attempt to attack. "Uh, you wouldn't want that bagged, would you?" The beast refused his offer and slammed him through three trees, sending him back first into a stone cliff.
"RON!" Hyouga exclaimed.
"Heh…" Ron coughed. "Just keep hitting me, demon. 'Cause you won't like what happens next." Ron then curled his hand to a fist, and hit the beast with such force it created a crater in the ground where it stood, and it sent the beast flying. Unfortunately, if the blade wasn't stuck before, it sure was now, as it dug all the way into its back. The beast roared with the stinging pain, a bellowing roar that shook the earth.
"We need to act. That thing'll attract every Grimm within a country mile, and we don't want to be here when backup shows up." Nayru said.
"Right. Fight head on!" Dain said, using Jigoku to slice a tree down on the beast, which brought it down for a short while, allowing the team to form up. "Alright. Nayru, Ron, Northern Blaze!" Nayru and Ron nodded, and commenced their team attack. Nayru used her weapon, a wrist blade extending up to two feet, which can withdraw to an elemental blaster, which is just what she'll use to fire a fire bolt at Fusion, and an ice bolt at Dread, which are both of his gauntlets. With one ablaze and one covered in ice, he smashed them together, to set both gauntlets ablaze in an ice white fire. He then sent one blast of that icy fire at the beast, freezing it in a casing of dry ice, while Ron uppercut the beast with Fusion to send it flying into the sky.
"With the dry ice combo and with Ron's semblance in full action, you really chose a good time to use that attack." Hyouga said.
"Sometimes the battlefield sets itself up for victory, and I know how to put this to a quick close. Nayru! Time for Goddess Gale!" Dain said. Nayru aimed her crosshairs at the beast in the sky, who was starting to come down now. Hyouga aimed Ryle and Hu at the beast, led the shot, and fired her arrow, which Nayru fired at to power it with electric dust, which pierced the beast and fried it entirely, and with a golden blade in its body, the conductivity was far greater. With that, the beast slammed to the ground, dissolving within a matter of seconds. And from the dust, they picked up the sword, which was covered in black tar-like goo.
"Eww. Grimm puss." Nayru said. "Don't touch it, unless you want to have a slow, agonizing death."
"Yeah, I'll pass on that. Hey, Dain, wanna hold on to this?" Ron asked.
"Don't joke around. You know what this means now." Dain said.
"We get four first class tickets to Vale. Our dreams are about to become reality." Nayru said.
"Hey, is anyone else getting a warm, fuzzy feeling? I-It's not just me, right? Am I shaking?" Ron said in pure excitement.
[A few minutes(and Grimm battles) later]
The team finally arrived at the man's cabin once again, where the man now had a new arm of metal. "I trust you finished the job."
"Here it is, as we promised." Dain said, handing the man the golden blade, now cleaned.
"I am glad that that abomination is dead. Well, a promise is a promise. You kept up your end, it's only fair if I keep up my end. Here, take these." The man said, giving the team four airship tickets. "Tell them that Vash sent you."
"Wait, YOU are Vash?!" Dain exclaimed.
"Yeah, Vash! ...Who's Vash?" Ron said.
"Only the most leading man in all technological advances! Without him, half of the Amity Colosseum would still be in development." Dain said.
"Now now, you give me too much credit. If not me, then my entire team. We were team VECC, a team that relied on advancements in technology." Vash said.
"Huh. Well, that explains how you got a new arm so fast." Ron said.
"Now, you should go. The next flight is in about… half an hour." Vash said.
"Crap, it's twenty-five minutes just to get back to Mistral! Team DRHN, move out!" Dain exclaimed, and they ran as fast as they could to Mistral.
"Run fast, brave knights. The future of Vale may just change yours as well." Vash muttered.
A/N
This has been a while coming. I'm glad I could dish this out this fast. But I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, and I know, watch out for the butterfly effect. And keep in mind that this story is being made before Volume 5, so if there are any plot irregularities, that's why. But if you liked it, you know what to do to stay updated.