Author's Note: I recently uploaded this story to a different account, though this account now carries the name of the other account. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused anyone. The summary is also different, for reason.
Disclaimer: If you have somehow found your way to this story with no prior knowledge of RWBY, and without realizing that this site is titled FanFiction, then allow me to inform you that all publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Rooster Teeth. Now, if you found this disclaimer helpful in any way, I must suggest that you back out of this story, and head to the Rooster Teeth website or their YouTube channel to check out the original series.
Story rating may be subject to change.
Summary: Mankind's earliest memory was of darkness. Born into a world dominated by the Creatures of Grimm, man stood little chance at survival... until the discovery of a glowing material, known as silver. With Darkness's Bane in hand, mankind drove back the darkness and forged a place for itself in this harsh new reality. For centuries, the Four Kingdoms have stood tall against the ravenous forces of evil that live beyond their walls, but with each passing day the darkness grows closer once more, and mankind's light flickers dangerously. A malevolent entity pulls the world's strings from the shadows, and it seems man will need more than just silver to keep their dwindling flame of life ignited.
Chapter 1
"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?! This is unacceptable!"
"I'm sorry, miss, but there aren't any Huntsmen available right now," the auburn haired woman behind the oaken desk said in a rather forced attempt to soothe the young heiress's rising temper, "You will just have to wait until one becomes available."
"Who knows how long that will take? I don't have time for that!"
"I'm sorry miss, but there's nothing I can do," the tired-looking woman said, with a strained, apologetic smile on her face.
"I can't believe how utterly incompetent you are!" The young white haired girl turned on her heel and began marching angrily towards the door, "I'll just have to make my own way there!"
"Wait miss, that's not-!" Weiss allowed the door to slam behind her, cutting off the suddenly frantic woman's voice.
This day had been awful.
It had begun as expected. Shortly after the heiress had awoken in her cabin, the ship had pulled into Marin's port and the passengers - most of which who looked noticeably more uneasy to Weiss than when the journey had first begun in Atlas - began to disembark.
That was when her day began to take a turn.
Marin was meant to be a beautiful port city filled with traders from all over the world, travelers heading to Atlas or coming to Vale from Atlas, and an overabundance of locals all ready to welcome strangers to their city with warm smiles and bright eyes. Marin was a central hub for trade between Atlas and Vale, which combined with the generally friendly populace of the city, made it a thriving tourist attraction. As a result, Marin was a hub of diversity and activity, housing all manner of people from different walks of life, each with their own unique stories to tell.
But the sight that Weiss was met with once she disembarked told a much different story.
The buildings all looked new and well-cared-for, and the Valesian architecture was truly a thing of beauty, but the city streets were almost completely deserted. Where there should have been crowds of people, moving every which way to reach their destinations and the sounds of collective conversation that came together in a pleasant buzz of activity, there were instead barren, dusty streets and an eerie silence that made Marin seem more like an abandoned ghost town rather than the trading port it was meant to be.
As Weiss walked the quiet city streets, she had crossed paths with the occasional person, however there was no warm smile or polite effort to strike up conversation - not that Weiss would normally mind being left alone by strangers. Instead, they simply walked past her briskly, their gazes fixed firmly to the ground save for the occasional worried glance over their shoulder, as if they believed something was following them.
By the time the white-haired girl had reached Marin's town square - a large circular area in the very center of the city where the only fixed structure was a large ornate fountain right in the center of the square - she was feeling as uneasy as the townspeople looked. A quick glance around the area gave all the information she needed about the state of trade in the city. The market stalls that surrounded the fountain were completely barren, and there wasn't a trader in sight.
As she surveyed the desolate town square, her day had become significantly worse as she suddenly found herself knocked to the ground. She had instantly turned an icy glare at the culprit, but instead, she saw only a red blur darting into an alleyway. Weiss rose to her feet and had mentally fumed at the thought of the imbecile that had managed to bump into her in the middle of the empty town square, but as she brushed the dirt and dust from her white dress she had discovered that her lien pouch was missing.
Understandably enraged and out for both justice and the return of her money, she hurriedly followed the path of the red blur, turning into the dirty alleyway hidden between what seemed to be a bakery on one side and an apothecary on the other. Only, the platinum haired girl did not encounter the source of the red blur. Instead, there was a dead end in the form of a stone wall, and not a single person in sight.
She had then considered scouring the city for the culprit, however the thief doubtlessly knew Marin far better than she did, and beyond that Weiss simply didn't have the time to waste. The lien hadn't been strictly necessary - simply a way to avoid being too reliant on her family's seal, but there were more pressing matters that she had to attend to. Still, this logic had not managed to lessen the frustration she felt.
And so, the irate heiress had made her way to her objective - Marin's local Hunter Office - in order to find a Huntsman to escort her through the beautiful red expanse that was known as the Forever Fall.
But now, here she was: angry, basically penniless, and without escort.
"This is just a great," Weiss muttered angrily to herself.
She had told the receptionist at the Hunter's Office that she would make her own way to Vale, but the truth was she was reluctant to do so. Not with the Creatures of Grimm that doubtlessly populated the Forever Fall.
Weiss was completely confident in her combat ability, but her precious Myrtenaster - the elegant rapier strapped to her left hip - lacked the silver coating that was traditionally applied to the weapons of Huntsmen once they graduated from one of the illustrious, Kingdom-funded Huntsmen Academies.
Silver was the only thing that could reliably kill a Grimm. Steel weapons bounced off a Grimm's bone-like protrusions and were otherwise unable to pierce the monster's thick, spongy skin. Even should an individual somehow manage to injure a Grimm with a steel weapon - it was not unheard of - it would do little good, as the monster's wound would simply close itself almost instantly. Weapons coated in silver sliced through the beasts as if they were nothing more than animated scarecrows, with the added bonus of negating the creature's healing ability.
The only other way to combat the living nightmares known as Grimm was Dust; however Dust was no more able to kill the Grimm than steel was. It was useful for keeping the creatures at bay, though. With a small application of Aura, the real-word manifestation of a person's soul, even someone lacking the most basic control could conjure up a fireball or lightning bolt to temporarily drive the Grimm away. The common man's method of self-defense.
Weiss herself was an aspiring Dust Mage, someone who specialized in controlling their Aura and used Dust to unleash devastation upon their enemies... but that would do her little good alone in a forest, surrounded on all sides by enemies. It was entirely possible that one of the ravenous monsters would ambush her from behind whilst she drove away an enemy from the front. To traverse the wilds of Remnant alone was to bring unnecessary danger upon oneself.
But without an available Huntsman, her only other option was to hire a Ranger. However Rangers, unlike Huntsmen, required lien to be hired, as they did not receive steady pay from the ruling body of the Kingdoms. She could use her family seal to hire one, but when the bill made it to her father, he would undoubtedly send someone to retrieve her.
"If you can't be trusted to properly uphold the Schnee family name on your own, then I will simply have to keep you under my watch to ensure that do!" he would say, as his cold gaze burrowed into her very soul.
Her father saw the Rangers as simple, uncultured mercenaries. Brutes that swung blades around carelessly because they had no other use in this world and were too unskilled to become Huntsmen and earn a proper wage.
If that filthy thief had not stolen her lien pouch then... she still probably would not have hired a Ranger. After all, Weiss did not exactly disagree with her father on the matter of Rangers.
In short, Weiss had no other option but to make her way through the Forever Fall by herself. She could not afford to wait around for a Huntsman, she had no idea how long that would take and she could very well miss the initiation for new students at Vale's Huntsman Academy, Beacon. The Academies did not accept late students, under any circumstance. Weiss would have to wait another year to begin the journey to her goal. Another year stuck, locked in the Schnee mansion, under her father's thumb once more. Somehow she doubted it would be easy to convince her father to allow her to make this journey a second time.
Weiss had been so lost in thought that she didn't realize that she had made it to Marin's main gate until a voice called out to her from somewhere up above.
"Ya sure ya wanna go out there, Girly?"
Light-blue eyes trailed up the large wall surrounding Marin, reaching the top to see a broad figure standing atop the structure. Her gaze met the dull green eyes of a man with rust colored hair, wearing a simple beige tunic, a pair of trousers whose color resembled that of a dry patch of dirt, and a chest plate that covered only his right side. From her position, Weiss could just barely make out what looked like the butt of a crossbow peering over his shoulder.
"Some pretty nasty beasts out there," the man continued, though he looked far more bored than concerned.
"Nasty beasts? You mean Grimm?" Weiss asked, condescension coloring her tone. She didn't appreciate being addressed as "Girly" by anyone, certainly not a fool that couldn't even call the 'nasty beasts' by their proper name.
The man seemed to catch her tone, as his eyes narrowed slightly, but his demeanor didn't otherwise change. "Grimm sure, but like nothin' ya've ever heard. Lotsa people gone missin' in the Forever Fall these past few months, some groups of travelers tha've gone into the forest just end up limpin' back into town, covered in blood, down a few friends, and too messed up to even remember their names, never mind explainin' what happened. But yer tryin' to go in alone?" The man paused to shake his head, "Tha's a for-sure way to get yerself killed."
"I'm sure I'll be fine," Weiss said firmly.
The man simply shrugged, "Whatever Girly, I warned ya so I ain't gonna feel guilty if ya die in there."
"Thank you for your concern," the heiress bit out sarcastically. Where was this welcoming attitude the locals of Marin were meant to have?
The man shrugged in response again, and disappeared out of sight. A few moments later, a loud cranking sound signaled the rising of village's gate, revealing the wide dirt road that disappeared into the grand, red sea of leaves that was known as the Forever Fall.
Weiss huffed, thoroughly tired of this disappointing city that had done little more for her than give her a migraine, and began her trek into the forest, unaware of the silver eyes watching her back from a distance.
As the sun began setting on the Forever Fall, painting the world in various hues of reds and oranges, Ruby leapt from branch to branch in pursuit of the white-clad girl who stood out like a sore thumb in the forest that was Fall personified.
Ruby had been watching the girl from the moment she disembarked from the Atlesian ship that brought her to Marin. At first, White had simply been a mark, but after Ruby pilfered the girl's lien pouch and got her first good luck at White's face, she had decided to follow the girl.
For reconnaissance purposes, of course.
She watched the girl step into the Hunter's Office, and had seen her angrily storm out of the building shortly after. She followed the girl to Marin's gate, watched her argue with that lazy jerk that guarded the gate during the day, and had watched her venture out into the Forever Fall alone, with nothing but an admittedly awesome-looking rapier, a belt of Dust vials, and an ornate white bag - for it could not be called a sack - strewn over her shoulder, no doubt carrying whatever meager survival gear she could fit in there.
Seeing the girl walk off into the forest, alone, sent a wave of guilt flowing through Ruby. It was clear that her visit to the Hunter's Office had been to hire an escort to Vale; however Ruby knew that there had not been a Huntsman in Marin for several months - not since those... things had begun appearing in the Forever Fall. Of course, when there was no Huntsmen to be found the next best option was to hire a Ranger. Most Rangers, however, did not take jobs that didn't pay, and Ruby had the girl's lien pouch safely stored in her own pack.
Not that it would have mattered. Ever since Ruby came bolting back into the city on that fateful night, her entire right side drenched in blood, the Rangers had been too concerned with Marin's safety to take any job that required them to leave the city. The Rangers were, for the most part, sworn to protect the citizens of Remnant when the Huntsmen could not. On the off chance that White was able to find a Ranger willing to escort her, the lien that Ruby had nicked off the girl would not have been nearly enough in these trying times. In all likelihood, the platinum haired girl would have gone in alone, whether Ruby had pick-pocketed her or not.
Still, this thought process had not made Ruby feel any less guilty. She did not like to steal, but she was neither a Huntress nor a Ranger - not in any official capacity - and she was young. Nobody, not even the desperate, terrified people in this city were willing to hire a little girl to fight the Grimm, or escort them to Vale to see why Marin hadn't seen a Huntsman in so long. Ruby could make weapons, but the city was lacking in supplies. Supplies from Atlas had become rare, as Marin no longer had a surplus of exotic wares and other resources to trade for them, not with the embargo the Grimm had essentially set on the city. Besides that, Ruby had no other skills to speak of, and considering the lack of goods as well as the lack of customers, there wasn't much demand for employees to take care of any manual labor.
So Ruby had taken to theft. After all, the first lesson Qrow had ever taught her was to do whatever it took to survive, and worry about the consequences after she knew she would live long enough for them to matter. Though, she didn't steal from the people of Marin, they had enough problems as is. Instead, she waited at the docks, watching the horizon for ships day after day. Occasionally a well-off Atlas noble or irate business man would arrive to see for themselves what was happening here, and that was when Ruby would strike. It had been weeks since one of those had last arrived, so Ruby had jumped at the chance when she had finally spotted White with an expensive looking lien pouch dangling from her hip.
The girl must have been truly desperate to get to Vale. Sure, she had that beautiful rapier strapped to her hip, and there were the multicolored vials of Dust strapped to the white belt she wore, but even from here, the red-cloaked girl could tell that the sword lacked any sort of silver coating, and her supply of Dust would not last for long, not if she was the only one there to keep the Grimm at bay. Even if the girl-in-white didn't know about those... things that had settled into the forest, most knew better than to go into the wilds on their own.
Ruby had intended to catch up with the girl, get her attention, and explain exactly what would be waiting for her once night fell. However, upon catching up to the girl - an easy feat thanks to her familiarity with the forest near Marin - Ruby had discovered that she felt more than just guilt. A terrible nervousness pooled in her stomach as she repeatedly contemplated exactly what she would say to the beautiful, princess-like girl whose money she had stolen.
Unfortunately, she came up blank each time.
So, as the sun dipped lower and lower in the sky - and with the guilt in Ruby increasing inversely - Ruby resigned herself to watching over the platinum haired girl. She knew that, when night finally fell, she would have to jump in and rescue her from the nightmares that would awaken. She was better at thinking under pressure, anyway.
The platinum haired girl decided to make camp just before the sun finished setting. 'Camp' was a small nook, hidden by the exposed tree roots of a particularly large tree, where White had set up a plush yet noticeably thin sleeping bag that she had pulled from her survival bag. It was an admittedly good place to make camp, the shuffling of a Beowolf or Ursa would doubtless awaken the girl well before anything was able to do any harm to her. However, the nook was no replacement for an actual night watch, and there were no Beowolves nor Ursai within the Forever Fall anymore. The monsters that had taken their place would not be so easily thwarted.
Ruby continued her vigil, watching the girl as she gnawed on a ration that looked far more appetizing than the dried meat most Rangers carried around. Ruby knew that in mere moments, the two of them would be in mortal peril, and she would have to make her move. Her grip on the hilt of the sword strapped to her hip tightened, and as the sun finally vanished beneath the unseen horizon, her patience was rewarded.
An unstoppable spike of fear shot through her body, and she saw the girl in white below freeze in terror as a soul-piercing screech rang out through the Forever Fall.
