It was a quiet morning in the forest, the sun just breaking through the cloudy sky to hit the crimson leaves that makeup the canopy above. The birds in the forest were chirping a infinitely changing melody, and the wind was lazily moving through the forest occasionally rustling the leaves enough for them to drop their morning dew. As the wind blew along it stirred the ragged white cloak of a woman walking along a long-forgotten path that wound ever deeper into the foliage. She progressed slowly through the woods as she was attempting to shield something in her arms from stray briars and low hanging branches, the dew had already soaked through the woman's cloak and drew out an occasional shiver from her. A distant howl echoed through the woods, making the woman's head snap up and scan her surroundings, her sudden movement had caused the hood on her head to fall back slightly revealing her face. The woman had hair that was such a dark red most would call it black, pale skin, and eyes of silver. Her gaze continued to pan back and forth for a moment before looking sharply to her left as another howl sounded. This howl was much closer and was soon joined by another, then another, and soon what the woman guessed to be a full pack of the beasts were howling in response to the first, and they were all around her. She began to push forward faster, no longer caring about the scratches from the briars or sting of whipping branches as she clutched her cargo tighter to her person. The bird's happy melody had died at this point and the wind began to pick up, warmer, and carrying the scent of the nearby sea through the forest. The woman glanced up at the sky and attempted to pick up the pace after seeing the sun hide behind ever darkening clouds once more. The beast's howls had ended and were replaced by the pack now baying and barking and by the sound of it drawing ever closer. The woman spotted a clearing ahead and broke into a run along the narrow path. As she broke through the foliage and into the clearing the noise of the pack closing in on her stopped abruptly, to be replaced with what she first mistook for thunder from the approaching storm, then with a horrified expression turned to see a small cave on the edge of the clearing. Two glowing red eyes peered out of the darkness at her, as the beast exited the cave her terror grew exponentially. A towering beast resembling a wolf stood before her, instead of the black fur and white plates of the beasts she had seen all her life, this one was pure alabaster white with blood red designs. The designs resembled some sort of ancient runes that were bleeding a red glowing light that seemed to pulse in sync with her rapidly increasing heart beat. The beast glared at her and let loose another thunderous growl, and then for the first time since she'd seen it, it moved. It leapt at her with such speed she was sure running would be useless. She spun as fast as she could so the beast would hit her back, not the burden she held. Instead of excruciating pain she felt a hot puff of air blast her neck, ever so slowly she turned back around to see that the beast had stopped just a foot away from her, but it wasn't looking at her. It was staring at what she had in her arms, a child. The beast leaned forward to sniff the child, but the woman stumbled backward, this broke the trance that the beast had been in as it remembered the woman, annoyed with the woman it lashed out at her opening a four deep gashes on her hip. The woman crumpled in agony, nearly dropping the child she held. As she lay there cold, wet, bleeding, the woman realized that she would die here, so she did the only thing that that she could in that moment, she begged. Her mind was already beginning to fog due to blood loss and exhaustion, but she did not beg for her own life, but rather the life of the child she held. She begged every god and deity that she knew to save her child, but no answer came, she began to break into desperate cries hoping something would save them. When still nothing happened, she turned to the one other being in the clearing, the white beast. The white beast watched the woman, it was an old being, so it knew what she was doing, but it also knew that his strike shouldn't have harmed her kind, at least not on the first one. She didn't have any protection it realized, hers was already gone, it finally took in her appearance and then listened to her speak, it had come to a decision. It approached the woman and took the child from her before turning and retreating into its cave. The woman he left behind gave out a ragged gasp before slumping back and waiting for the darkness to come.
Headmaster Ozpin was a man known for many things, some true, others not, but one thing that all agreed upon was that he had a legendary poker face. In all the years Glynda Goodwitch had known the man he had never once looked awestricken nor terrified, he always kept his demeanor calm and unshakeable. So, when she walked into his office to see his face pale and worried, she began to check things off in her head making sure she was ready for the apocalypse.
"What's happened?"
"Summer Rose was found dead on the edge of Forever Fall this morning," he let loose a tired sigh "we believe that she did not die there- "
"She's dead?! Summer Rose was one of the most powerful huntress we had! And what do you mean she was moved?! Someone killed Summer? Oh my Ouim…" Glynda trailed off, silent tears streaking her face as the sorrow of a lost friend hit her.
Ozpin sat still, letting his own grief wash over him for a moment, then he continued in a subdued voice, "Not someone, something. We found large beowolf tracks leading to and frim her corpse, she also had a claw slash on her hip.." His voice trailed off as he let her absorb this information.
"No beowolf would have been able to kill her, and why didn't it consumer her, why did it move her?!"
In response Ozpin held up two needles. "These little things were found along the path of the beowolf, they are also the reason that I called the search for the wolf off. They're grim bone Glynda, they're also what I believe to be part of the wolf's coat. There's only two records of a beowolf having a coat made of bone," as Ozpin talked he pulled out a leather-bound book with pages so old they were yellow and stiff, "if its what I think it is then we are far too close for my comfort, there it is." Ozpin slid the now open book towards Glynda, pointing at a what appeared to be a replica of a cave drawing. In the drawing was a large group of stick men, some were battling black beasts around the edges nut most were in the center trying to fight a white version of the same beasts. The white one in the middle was especially savage looking, it was a bit bigger than its brethren and had larger teeth and claws, but the strange part was the red swirl drawn on his coat. "The original painting of this predates the discovery of dust. The other record was here somewhere." Ozpin flipped through a couple more pages before pointing at a passage this time. "This account was written by a young hunter nearly four centuries ago, he was staying at an outlying village in what is now called the Shadow Peaks, during this time humanity was being pushed hard by grim and eventually led to the founding of the kingdoms. Read it." It wasn't a request, Glynda leaned forward and began to read the passage.
'The night of the attack had been a quiet one, nothing prepared us for the grimm. I had just started my watch in the tower when we heard the howls. The grimm were coming, I rang that bell as hard as I could, then I picked up my crossbow and waited. After a minute of the howls, they suddenly cut out, I grew hopeful thinking that it was just a roving pack to close to the village. But then I heard a scream behind me and turned to see them already in the village. I fired my crossbow and started to reload when I saw it, a large beowolf of the purest white crouched atop the cliff that backed the village. Strange glowing red lines seemed to flow across his coat. I picked up my crossbow and notched a red dust bolt and I fired at the monster. The bolt exploded on contact, as I started my reload again I turned to the village only to see dead villagers littering the ground and grimm hunched over the corpses. Than an ear-splitting howl pierced through the night air, I swung my gaze to the source to see the white wolf still there without a scratch on him. Stunned I watched as the other grimm in the area got up and raced off into the forest, I then turned my attention back to the white grim and saw it coming down the length of the village street towards the tower. When it reached the base of the tower it looked up at me and what it did still gives me the night terrors today, it spoke. I didn't know the dialect