In my world, Huntsmen are instead Dragon Knights. They still have Aura and Semblances, but they partner up with Dragons during the initiation.
Dragons are exctint. Half Dragons (whom have the ability to shapeshift into a Dragon) are now used as Dragons. I will use a language I've invented from scratch for Dragontongue. Ask and I'll translate.
Dragons don't have "Semblances", but they have powers based on their minerals (each Dragon has two minerals in their name). Dragons characters wil still have their Semblances, though. It will just be called Draconic Power. Nothing different.

In front of her, Beacon Academy stood in all its magnificence. Its central -and sadly only- tower, the Cross Continental Trade Tower, stood tall and proud, towering over all the other building, sporting a total height of more than two hundreds yards. The courtyard was immense, housing several gardens and even a tree-lined avenue that lead to a huge building that was likely to be the atrium, especially so since it proudly wore the insignia of Beacon, the Crossed Axes. The airport was large and it could house several Bullheads at the same time, although at the time only one of said airships was boarded at Beacon's docking port. The school itself was nothing short of awe-inspiring. Although the large buildings surely detracted from the overall appearance of the complex, their practicality was overshadowed by the beauty and the dimension of the courtyard, that contained several squares surrounded by pillars, a giant fountain where it was supposed to be forbidden to swim in -and it was common knowledge that that rule was promptly ignored by many students- and, to her great interest, the famous Avenue of Heroes.

The Avenue of Heroes began with a single statue of two Knights triumphing over a cowering Beowolf. One of the two Knights had his sword raised in a sign of victory, while the other seemed to be leaning on her axe, although more out of amusement than out of tiredness. Many statues followed, almost one for each man or woman in the history of Remnant who had done a great service to the kingdoms, and she remembered quite a few of them by memory. Fourth from the start on the left there was Wise Video, who as the name suggested was the inventor of the first video camera, although the poor man died during an experiment, where his own camera exploded and killed the genial inventor. Eleventh on the left there was Gray Colt, the one who had been able to grant to women the same rights as men, and she was also the inventress of the Colt gun, whose model had long been considered obsolete but that had had a huge impact on the battles with Grimm of her times. Thirty-fifth on the right there was Richard Fiercespirit, a Faunus who fought for the rights of Faunus all his life before being murdered in an ambush. The true perpetrators had never been found, although many suspected the Schnee family for it.

Pyrrha Nikos, graduated at top of her class back at Sanctum, four times winner of the Mistral tournament and celebrity known all over Mistral and even in the other kingdoms, had made it to Beacon. The initial tests had been easy for her, and she had no problem passing the screening, thanks to her great skill and combat prowess. The meeting with Headmaster Ozpin went smoothly, too, as the man only asked her a few questions about herself before nodding, welcoming her into Beacon and leaving. A month and nine days later, Pyrrha was on the airship that would have brought her to Beacon.

The school's name was, actually, Academy for Advanced Training of Knights and their Dragons of Beacon, but it was always shortcut into Beacon Academy or even just Beacon. Pyrrha remembered reading several stories about the creation of Beacon. It was said to be the most open minded of the schools, while Haven had the best strategists, Atlas had the best fighters and Shade had the stealthiest ones. All in all, every school had its student model, although many preferred rich people either Atlas or Beacon, disregarding Shade as a school of scoundrels -and they weren't completely wrong- and Haven as a school of daydreamers. The Schnee family was the worst of them all, and all the Schnee children had to attend Atlas Academy to become Knights, although that career was deeply disliked by the Schnees due its barbarity.

According to the legend, Beacon's builder had never intended it to become a school. The complex was built in a highly strategic position, and it was accessible almost only by airship, because of the surrounding forests one for each season: the Emerald Forest for Spring, the Snow Taiga for Winter, the Tropical Jungle for Summer and the Forever Fall Woods for Autumn. All of them were filled with the dreaded creatures of Grimm. The school had originally been built as a fortress and a castle, and for many years it stood proud and invincible over Vale, discouraging any attack. Only after Atlas, Shade and Haven were built, the four strongholds lost much of their meaning, since every kingdom had its personal castle, and were turned into schools to train Dragon Knights, mankind's main defence against the Grimm. The schools now provided both Dragons and training, although no one knew how the assignment of Dragons worked, since every school kept it a secret.

Stepping out of the large Bullhead, Pyrrha immediately noticed the lack of a guide, and so she guessed that the students had to reach the atrium on their own. Not that it was difficult: it was right in front of them. Only a blind could miss it, and even a blind would find it difficult because of the stream of students heading toward the large building. However, before she could enter the atrium, a cry of "Look, a Knight!" made her turn and watch in awe as a large pink-coloured Dragon landed in the courtyard, and its rider dismounted with practised ease.

The Knight wore a green vest with white trousers that seemed to offer great mobility. He was slightly shorter than Pyrrha herself, but he was still taller than the average. He had shoulder-length black hair with a single pink lock, and pale pink eyes. He nodded toward the students before turning and patting the Dragon on the shoulder, probably praising it for the good job. On the Knight's vest back there was the drawing of a large green lotus that was likely to be the Knight's symbol. The Dragon lowered its head to the ground so that the Knight could pet it and began to growl softly, in a clear imitation of a cat's purr. Its scales were bright pink, the membranes of the wings just slightly paler than the rest, with large aquamarine eyes that were looking at its Knight as if he was the entire world.

The Knight continued to pet his Dragon for a couple of minutes, but then the questions of the students became too much for him to bear any more and he mounted back on, nodding in farewell and setting off toward the gardens, where he could land again, far from prying eyes. As he disappeared from sight, Pyrrha resumed to breath, not even noticing she had stopped. 'A Dragon Knight!', she thought, ecstatic. 'I will have my own Dragon. It looked so powerful!'.

Once inside the atrium, she tried to pass unobserved in the large crowd, with little to no success thanks to her flaming red hair and her distinctive armour and weapons. Fortunately, she had to reply to just six questions of "Are you the Pyrrha Nikos?" before an elderly man walked on the stage before them. The man had uncared silvering hair and sharp brown eyes hidden by a pair of silvering glasses that made impossible to see his eyes. After glancing at the crowd, the man cleared his throat.

«Welcome to the Academy for Advanced Training of Knights and Dragons of Beacon. Or, as we professors say, welcome to Beacon». He chuckled ever so lightly. «You came here to become Dragon Knights. A few of you already have their Dragons, but as I can see the large majority doesn't».

«Tomorrow, during your initiation, you will be assigned your partners. Remember that Dragons will be loyal to you only if you will be loyal to them, but they are usually friendly, so don't worry if they are wary of you at first». His gaze swept over the students. «Those Dragons will help you become Knights, although there had been cases of Knights without Dragons before. Your partners will help you become stronger. Because this is what you're here for, right?».

«You came here to become Knights. Be it for glory, for power, for sense of justice or for personal choice, you're all here to become the next generation of the Defenders of Mankind». He paused for a second. «You seek the knowledge to become Knights, but this knowledge can only take you so far. It's up to you to make the first step or, like Dragons say, the first flight».

He stepped aside and walked away without as much as another glance to the students. A tall, blonde woman with a stern expression took his place at the microphone. «You will gather in the ballroom for tonight. Your initiation begins tomorrow. Be ready». Like her appearance, her voice was severe. Dismissed, the students filed out of the room, not without several whispers.

Pyrrha, ignoring the many stares that followed her even that far away from Mistral, stored her weapons and armour in the locker she was assigned and then made a beeline for her bedroll. In complete silence she got under her blankets and tried to sleep. Only "tried" because several other students wanted to ask her about her tournaments and all her other achievements. After a good quarter of hour, she managed to send the priers away with the -true- excuse she needed to sleep.

#####

The morning after, while she retrieved her equipment from her locker, she was approached by a white-haired girl she was almost sure was a Schnee. The girl retrieved her own weapon, a short rapier with a revolving barrel containing several charges of Dust of various colours, before turning to Pyrrha.

«So, Pyrrha, have you decided which team do you want to be in?», she asked, a not-so-subtly-hidden vein of arrogance in her voice, looking up at her.

«Actually, I was thinking of just letting the pieces fall where they may», she replied, carefully choosing her words like every time she was near someone.

«Well», she said, her intention clear. «I was thinking we could be in a team together».

«That would be grand», replied Pyrrha, although she hoped not to end up with the Schnee. Whatever the pairing system was, hopefully it wasn't bribable by the Schnees, or she would end up in a very bad situation with that girl.

«Perfect!», she cheered, her enthusiasm just as fake as Pyrrha's. «My name is Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. You must have heard of it. After all, you owe my father's company the Dust to make your very weapons».

«Actually, I don't», she countered politely. «Back in Mistral, I chose a... local company to get the Dust».

«Oh, but that's so unfortunate!», shot back Weiss. «Don't worry. If we are on the same team, I'll make sure to have Father send you new weapons. The Schnee's Dust is the best, after all, and you -Pyrrha Nikos herself- should only have the best of the best».

«Thank you», she said. «But I'm fine with my current weapons».

«Oh, nonsense!», retorted Weiss, determined. «Since we will be on the same team, you can't use second-quality Dust for your weapons. We will trash them as soon as the new ones arrive».

Irritation spiked in Pyrrha. Not even Weiss Schnee could talk like that of Miló and Akoúo. «Pardon me, but my weapons performed perfectly since the start», she replied, stiffly. «Besides, I am familiar with my current equipment. Getting used to new weapons could be tiresome and a hindrance to my studies».

«Of course», nodded the other girl. «That's why I would ask Father to send me exact copies of your weapons, but forged with better and higher-quality Dust. Schnee Dust».

«Pardon me again», continued Pyrrha. «But I don't think I need your Dust. As I said, I'm fine with the one I currently use».

«As I said, nonsense», retorted Weiss. «As soon as I will be team leader, I will get you new weapons. On the Schnee name, and that's no small promise».

'Then I really hope not to end up in your team', mumbled Pyrrha in her mind. The blonde woman from the welcoming speech spared her of the need of an answer by calling all the students to the Beacon cliffs for the initiation. Closing her locker, she rushed out, narrowly avoiding to be stuck in another conversation with the Schnee.

#####

«For years, you have trained to become warriors», said Ozpin, facing away from the chasm behind him. «Today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest».

«Now, I'm sure many of you heard rumours about the assignment of teams», continued Professor Goodwitch, the blonde teacher whose expression seemed to have only two outputs: severe, and pissed. «Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today».

«These teammates will be with you for the rest of your times here at Beacon», resumed Ozpin. «So it's in your best interest to be paired with someone you can work well».

«That being said, the first Dragon you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years», Ozpin dropped the bombshell. Many whispers passed among the «We gathered a large number of Dragons of your age in the Emerald Forest. Some of them are from the Forever Fall Woods, some of them from the Snow Taiga, some of them from the Tropical Jungle and some are native of this forest».

«Luckily you won't need another Dragon!», chirped a small girl with a pink cape, speaking to the tall, dark-haired boy at her side. With slight surprise, Pyrrha noted that the boy was the Dragon Knight she had seen the day before. The girl beside him was dressed in a white-and-pink outfit, and seemed to be very attached to him, since she didn't stop talking one second. She had orange-haired eyes and her eyes were of a strangely familiar aquamarine, but she couldn't place them in her mind.

«After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die», he warned with a serious tone. «You will be monitored and valued for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene».

«You will find an abandoned temple, at the end of the path, containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We'll regard that item, as well as your standing, to grade you appropriately». He paused for a second. «Are there any question?».

Nobody had questions.

The metallic pads on which they were standing sprung into life, hurling the students up in the air and into the Emerald Forest.

Nora (because of course Nora is a Dragon!) is an Aquamarine Pink Quartz Half Dragon. Her Draconic Power will still be Lighting Absorbtion.