A/N Well, this took me a while to write. I always try to go above and beyond when it comes to writing my stories. I will warn you though; this is my first time writing a fan fiction, so I hope I do it some justice. I absolutely love RWBY's world, and I simply couldn't resist adding to it. My story does not contain any of the characters you know and love, but I thought something original would be a breath of fresh air. Plus, creating and writing these characters are so much fun. As we get further into the story, I wonder if any of you will be able tell who they are based off of. Don't worry; I'll give you plenty of clues.

As many of you already know, Monty Oum passed away in February. I only wish that he could see how much his creation has inspired his fans. You all are incredible and I'm glad to be a part of your community. This story is a tribute to Monty, Rooster Teeth, and all the FNDM.

But don't let my heartfelt attempt to add to the world of Remnant discourage you. I will gladly take any criticism, advice and love that a review from you could offer. As for my Author's Notes, I will keep them down to a minimum. I hope you enjoy!

I stumbled as I ran, failing to outpace the dark creatures that pursued me. Their snarls filled the night as they gained on me. I cried out in fear, unable to accept my soon to be fate.

The darkness finally managed to fool me as I tripped over a gnarled tree root. My leg refused budge as I struggled to free it. Tears streamed down my face as I cried out for help. No answer but the rustling of nearby bushes, followed by low growls.

My blood chilled at the sight of their bright red eyes. Bloodlust, anger, and pure hatred radiated from their sickening glow.

Dark claws slowly reached out for me. I closed my eyes, waiting for the end…

…and awoke with a gasping start. Sweat dripped off my face as I sat up in my hammock. I wiped it away with my free hand and breathed a sigh of relief. Just a nightmare, again.

Shifting around, I checked my surroundings. It was late at night, Remnant's broken moon lightly illuminated the dark foliage below, just barely peaking through the massive tree branches above me. All clear, not going to be a Grimm's meal tonight.

My hammock was hanging high up in one of the massive trees of Giant's Forest, near the branches roughly thirty feet up. It's an excellent spot; high enough to be unnoticeable to any Grimm prowling on the ground, and low enough in the branches to discourage any flying Nevermores from swooping in to carry me off. Well, none of the kind large enough to try, at least.

Lying back into my hammock, I gazed up through the thick branches; stars barely appeared through the slightly cloudy night sky. I thought about this job I took from the local village.

I've been a full fledged Huntsman for around five years or so. In that time since graduating, I've put quite a few missions under my belt. Not all of them went as smooth as I would have liked, but they were all simple enough. Go here, kill this many Grimm, go back, simple. This mission was no different. I was tasked by one of the village leaders to help clear out a small pack of Beowolves. They've recently started harassing the local hunter-gatherers during their foraging sessions. No deaths yet, but some people have been hurt. I happened to be passing through and thought I could ease the village's troubles, for a small fee of Lien of course.

I shifted around into a more comfortable position, and closed my eyes to try and get some more sleep. I've been drifting from place to place for a few weeks now, so maybe I'll stay with this village for a while after finishing my hunt. After all that traveling some rest would do me some good.

Letting the sound of insects chirping soothe me, I drifted into peaceful sleep.

Several voices filled the air below me, causing me to wake. I looked below and spotted four hunter gatherers strolling into the clearing. One was armed with a simple hunting rifle, while the others carried various knapsacks, some of which seemed full of materials they have already gathered.

"This the final stop? I gotta tell ya, my feet are killin' me today."

"Quit your aching. This is the last spot for today, so save your moaning for your wife."

"Both of you be quiet. The faster we get done, the faster we can return to the village. Now I'm gonna stand guard over here, you know, far away from all of you. Call out if you spot anything."

They all nodded in agreement and moved off to various bushes as the one with the rifle stood guard at the base of a tree. He scanned the foliage for any threats with an eagle eye.

When I accepted the bounty from the village, the first thing I asked was where and when the hunter gatherer group was set to go. The village leader answered politely all the information I needed. Afterwards, I instructed him not to inform the group about me. He inquired why, and I brushed him off, stating to just do as I asked. It's important that the group is unaware of me.

Remember son, when hunting Beowolves, especially the lower tiered variants, they give into their instincts much easier than more advanced Grimm. They flock towards negative emotions like moths to a flame. My father's words rang in my head. With that information, I learned how to bait Beowolves easy; other people. The hunter gatherers simply reeked of nervousness and fear, despite what their casual conversation indicated. They were not aware they were acting as my bait. If they were aware of me, the plan would not work. As bad as that sounds, it's not something I take lightly. These are people and it's my job as a Huntsman to protect them, bounty or no. If anything happens to them, it will be my responsibility.

Beowolves tend to move erratically in packs, typically in large general areas. This makes it difficult to track them with no other real patterns to go off of. My investigations in the forest the previous day seemed to indicate there were maybe half a dozen of them, if their tracks are anything to go by. If they're nearby, they will notice the hunter gatherers very soon.

Lifting myself out of my hammock from a branch above me, I flipped around it to the top. I stood upright and stretched my tired muscles, fixed my tousled brown hair and crouched back down to keep a closer eye on the group below.

Didn't need to be a Grimm to tell the hunter gatherers were skittish. Casual conversation filled the air, but any noise from the forest quieted them, sometimes snapping their heads up. The guard remained calm, but was fidgeting with his rifle a lot. This continued on for a short time, before movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention. It was fast and quiet, and there's only one thing out here that fast and silent when hunting. The hunter gatherers didn't notice, but they were being surrounded.

"Well, time to earn that vacation I want," I mumbled as I stood back up.

I activated my Aura; the protective energy flowed across my body. In response, my metallic backpack began to unfold. A cuirass formed around my chest as pauldrons, vambraces and gauntlets locked into place over my arms. A helmet formed around my head, finishing the transformation.

Black metal with a gold trim and visor, my armor Cion Corsaint is a sight to behold. Unlike most Huntsmen who create hand held weapons, my armor is my weapon. It is designed to enhance and focus my Semblance in many ways not possible without it.

My Semblance is the ability to create solid energy fields. Without Cion Corsaint, I can only produce flat surfaces facing away from my body in any direction. Useful to a point, but Cion Corsaint improves this ability tenfold. Various Dust crystals for focusing line ports throughout the armor, and allow me to form the fields into predetermined shapes, weapons and even limited range projectiles. All I have to do is select what I want from my helmets HUD and the crystals will readjust to suit my needs. The downside to this level of versatility is that only one mode of use can be active at a time, requiring me to switch modes if different situations present themselves. I can switch quickly, but mixing modes is impossible.

I leapt from the massive tree, thirty feet down towards the clearing. My landing sent dirt and dust into the air. When the air cleared, I spotted the now startled hunter gatherers.

"Do me a favor and stay grouped up near that tree. Don't want you to get hurt," I said with authority, pointing at the nearby trunk. The four stared blankly at my glowing yellow visor, not quite grasping the situation. The guard was aiming his rifle at me.

"And just who the dust are you?" He said, keeping his rifle level.

"Unless you want to fight all the Grimm that are around you, I'd do as I say right now!" I growled.

He lowered his rifle at the mention of Grimm. They moved rather quickly after that, finally complying with the scary armored figure from the sky.

Satisfied they understood, I stood up into a fighting stance and faced the now rustling foliage. Low growls could be heard from the bushes. I took that moment to activate my sword and shield mode. Yellow fields of pure energy formed into the appropriate shapes of a short sword in my right gauntlet, and a circular shield on my left vambrace.

The Beowolves finally began to show themselves, slowly approaching me from multiple directions, their bipedal forms low to the ground. They bared their teeth and snarled at me. Just as I predicted, only six appeared.

Their red eyes stayed locked on to me, waiting for me to make any move, any excuse to charge now. I launched myself at the nearest one, my sword exited out the back of its head. A second attempted to fly at me from behind, snarling loudly through the air. I sidestepped and shattered its snout with my shield, pivoted into a downward slash, and cut cleanly through its abdomen, separating its torso from its lower body.

Two down.

Two decided to leap straight at me. I readjusted, bashed the leftmost wolf with my shield to the ground, and broke its lower jaw. At the same time, I sliced off the arm, shoulder down, of the rightmost Beowolf. Its momentum sent it flying past me. I took that second to stab the left Beowolf through the heart. Agonized howls filled the air before it finally went limp.

I quickly looked around, and noticed the last two were flanking me from opposite sides. As they both sprinted towards me, I used an Aura assisted jump to leap straight up. Confused, they slammed into each other in a comical fashion. Falling, I aimed my sword and shield downward and used the force of my landing to finish them both off, one with a snapped neck from my shield, and the other with my sword sticking out its spine.

I smiled at my handiwork. I relaxed and looked up the hunter gatherers. They were safe, and all the Beowolves bodies began to disintegrate. Turning my back to the bodies turned into a mistake, as the armless one I failed to finish off grabbed my leg. I fell face first onto the ground. The Beowolf viciously clawed at me, climbed on top of me and attempted to go for my neck with its jaws. A shot rang out, and the wolf sagged. After catching my breath, I pushed the corpse off me. I stood up and silently nodded in thanks towards the guard. The guard with the rifle shakily lowered his weapon, and nodded in return.

Quiet settled on the forest in the aftermath. The battle was settled in seconds. Once the bodies disappear, it will be like nothing ever happened.

The hunter gatherers stared in awe as I deactivated my Aura. In return Cion Corsaint folded back into its compact backpack form. I brushed off my pants and kneepads and proceeded to approach them, grinning.

"Nice shot. Name's Aurum Solursus. Huntsman," I smiled sheepishly, holding out my hand.

One with a knapsack shook my hand heartily.

"Thanks a million!" he said happily.

"Yeah, thanks. Those Beo's came outta nowhere! Quiet as death they are," spoke another.

"Speakin' of comin' out of nowhere, you gave us a start yourself," said the guard, gesturing towards my landing zone.

"Sorry about that. I just happened to be camping out above," I said as I pointed out my hammock above. "It was a heck of a climb, but a good spot's a good spot." A little white lie wouldn't hurt them. They didn't need to know.

"Whatcha doin' out here though, in the middle of Giant's Forest?" inquired one. One of the hunter gatherers slapped him on the back side of the head.

"You idiot, he's a Huntsman. They do stuff out in the wilds all the time, killin' Grimm and all that."

"Well sorry! Just a question…"

"Didn't they teach you anything in the kingdom you're from?"

After a brief conversation with the group, I decided to accompany them back to the village. I gathered my belongings from high up and followed. I had to endure a barrage of questions the entire walk: Where are you from? Atlas. How old are you? Twenty five. Really? Yes. Can I try on your armor? No. Why not? Just, no. How many Grimm have you killed? Not enough. On and on and on. I'm not exactly the most talkative type, so holding a conversation is not one of my strong suits. Reaching the village could not have taken longer.

Roughly thirty minutes of pure torture later, we reached something you don't see to often out in the middle of the forest, an elevator placed inside a tree trunk. The village was high up in the signature massive trees of Giant's Forest. They were the reason for the forest's namesake, growing to hundreds of feet tall with trunks so thick it would take fifty people hand in hand to wrap around it for a proper hug. The farther into the forest you go, the taller they got. If you looked at the forest from a distance, the thick leaves and sheer size of the trees would fool you into thinking they were small mountains.

The guard called the elevator. Not even seconds passed before it arrived. The elevator had windows so you could see the forest speed by as you ascended. The ride up was fast, but the elevator seemed to have some stabilizing tech to keep the passengers from being flattened to the ground during use. After roughly ten seconds in the cramped space, the elevator slowed to a stop, our final destination as a group. The doors opened up into a large well lit room with a greeting desk directly across from us.

"Thanks again, Aurum. We'll be telling our friends about you!"

"Yeah, can't wait to see the look on my wife's face when I tell her fought some Beowolves!"

"We didn't do anything, numbskull." Smack.

I laughed and waved goodbye as the group exited the building.

Finally left to my own devices, I approached the greeter at the desk and asked for directions to the village leaders, mentioning my bounty. She said she could send a map to my Scroll if I would allow it. I agreed and thanked her, scanned the map on my handheld device, and exited the building.

Jack Stalk Village is not a name that fits this literal city in the trees. Bright sunlight covered large platforms all connected by winding streets filled with varying degrees of traffic. Tall buildings up to fifteen stories high lined up in a similar pattern, some of them even built into the massive trunks that support the entire village. Several dozens of people were going about their business, laughing, talking or eating at some concession stand. Almost as much hustle and bustle as any of the four Kingdoms, this place was truly magnificent. Almost hard to believe that such a place can thrive outside the Kingdoms protection, but here it is defying all expectations.

It's almost common knowledge that any attempts to live a life outside the Kingdoms results in failure. Too often do you hear about a village becoming overrun with Grimm, and never heard from again. Same goes for any nomadic groups, who also have a habit of disappearing without a trace. Huntsmen have and always will be the most effective answer to combat the Grimm, but no matter how much we fight and die, it is ultimately a never ending battle against a force that knows no limits.

Taking a deep breath, I strode off to collect my well earned bounty with a beaming smile on my face. This is going to be a fun rest stop for while.