The blistering Vacuo sun scorches my neck. I swing my pickaxe, feeling every muscle in my body groan in protest. Never in my life have I worked so hard, for so long, for so little.
It is back-breaking work. But I can see why they do it. It takes an outsider to see the maze for what it is. The Faunus here are too weak to struggle, too tired to revolt. Day in, day out, they wear down their bodies as surely as the rock they mine. For if they truly rose up, how could a handful of guards – no matter how well-armed – stand against an army? But there is no army here, only slaves. Everything is done for the sake of increasing Schnee profit and maximizing the bottom line.
But even that is not enough. They pit the Faunus against each other, like rats fighting over scraps. Perhaps they fear a spark of dissidence igniting the flames of revolution. It is unnecessary. There is no sense of unity here. This little piece of hell is a Grimm-eat-Grimm world. It is a rigged game where the Faunus cannot win, and yet they do not see it.
The Faunus have nothing to lose. They start from the rock bottom, born slaves, taught to accept inferiority. It is all they know.
I am not like them. I was born in luxury, sheltered and loved. Eight children, all but one older than I. To clothe and feed that many mouths would put most families – let alone the Faunus – in abject poverty. But I never wanted for anything.
I had everything to lose.
And he took it all.
He took everything, brought my world crashing down. My parents harbored Faunus, sheltered them illegally. They were heroes whose deeds were measured not in slain Grimm, but saved souls. Now they are dead. They could not escape the long arm of Remnant's most powerful, most influential family. My sisters, no doubt sold like cattle to the highest bidder. More political favors owed to the Schnees. And of course, me, thrown into these mines to suffer, to labor and die crawling in the dirt like a worm.
He destroyed my family, and I will return the favor.
I am not powerless. I am not a slave. My name is Jaune Arc, and I am the spark that will ignite the flames of revolution.
Let the Coup d'Arc begin.