Chapter 1: Goddess's Gift
Forrest Trail
The sun shined brightly as a small horse-drawn cart made its way down the dirt road. A woman was sitting in the cart, wearing a white robe. A hood attached to the robe covered her head, and two small reindeer like antlers poked out from holes in her hood. Her pale white hands gripped the reins tighter, as she slowly approached her destination.
A small smile appeared on her lips as her cart pulled to a stop. The remains of a destroyed village laid in front of her.
Where the village's gate once stood, was now nothing more than a pile of wood. Deep claw marks told the story as they laid across the ground, gate, and the village walls.
"She said he would be here… So where is he? Dammit, I hope I'm not too late, she'll be so pissed at me if he starved to death!" The robed woman shuddered at the thought, but then sighed as she walked into the village.
Once she passed the broken gate, the woman slowly made her way through the village. She carried a small burlap sack in her hand as she stepped over loose rubble from destroyed buildings. The once bustling village was now silent, the only sound she heard was the wind blowing through the empty streets. She sniffed the air as she noticed something strange.
"Where are all the bodies?" The woman questioned aloud.
Even though the creatures of Grimm did eat humans, they didn't feed off of them. During Grimm attacks, especially on this scale, Grimm creatures simply kill, then move on to the next hunt. Leaving the bodies behind, to be fed on by vultures. But now, the woman couldn't smell any rotting bodies, and she couldn't hear any vultures. But, she did smell something.
"You can come out now… I won't hurt you." The woman stated in a soft voice.
She stood completely still as the seconds started to tick by. She was about to speak again, but she stopped herself. The sound of footsteps filled the area, followed by a harsh scraping sound that grated on her ears. Her eye twitched at the sound, but after taking a deep breath she slowly turned around.
A young boy carrying a sword appeared behind her. The sword dragged and bounced across the ground as he slowly walked towards her.
"G-Go away!" The boy shouted in a raspy voice as he swayed, barely able to stand and hunched over.
His sunken eyes were glazed over as he stared at her. His face was pale and thin. He had long blonde hair that draped down around his head and nearly blocked his eyes. His shirtless body revealed ribs poking through his skin, his bare feet were dirty and covered in cuts.
"You don't have to fear me, Boy." The woman stated softly as she slowly lifted up her hood, gently lifting it over her antlers.
Once the hood was pulled back, long white locks of hair fell down to her waist. Her pale face was soft and round, but her eyes were covered in bandages.
"Come here, I won't hurt you." The boy didn't move, instead, he narrowed his eyes at her.
"H-how can you see me?" The woman chuckled as the boy moved his hand around in front of her. A small smile appeared on her face as she touched the bandages covering her eyes.
"Silly Boy, I might not be able to see with my eyes, but I am a Faunus… My senses are far above the 'human limit', allowing me to see even better than most… But enough about that, come here Boy, I can hear your stomach rummbling." The woman knelt down as she pulled out a large silver thermos from the sack.
Steam poured out of the thermos as the woman unsealed the lid. She flipped the lid over and poured out a creamy white soup into it. Chunks of meat dropped into the soup, causing small splashes in the lid.
The boy dropped the sword once the soup's aroma filled his nose. He licked his dry lips, quickly taking a step forward, but he froze before he could take another step. Forcing his eyes away from the soup and back to the woman.
"Wh-who are you? Why… Why are you here?" The woman kept the smile on her face as she slowly blew on the soup. Causing even more of the mouth watering smell to enter his nose, forcing his stomach to rumble harder.
"My name is Amelia, I came here to buy some more supplies… But enough about that, don't you want this soup? Eat it, I have more in the bag." The woman, Amelia, held up the soup filled lid towards the boy.
He rushed forward, reaching for the soup with shaky hands.
"Careful Boy, it's hot, and if you eat to fast, you'll throw up." The boy simply nodded but he was only focused on the soup now sliding down his throat. Ignoring the heat, he didn't feel it, all he felt was his empty stomach finally filling up once more.
One Hour Later
Amelia sighed and tilted her head towards the boy as he laid on the stone ground. He wore a satisfied grin on his face, surrounded by her now empty food containers.
The boy had drunk three Thermoses worth of soup and ate two large packets of dried meat. But she wasn't worried, she was prepared for this, she had more food in her cart if she needed it.
"Boy, now that you're full, how about you tell me your name?" Amelia stated while she knelt down to pick up the empty containers, stuffing them back into the sack, the boy's eyes snapped open at the question.
"O-Oh! Uh… My name is... Jaune… Jaune Arc…" Amelia nodded as she stood up, brushing off her robes.
"Well come on Boy, it's time to go." She turned to leave, but Jaune quickly stood up.
"Go? What do you mean?" He asked as he tried to steady himself, his body was still weakened after days of eating very little.
"I came here for supplies, but clearly I can't get them from here. I can't leave you here alone either, so you're coming with me."
"I-I CAN'T LEAVE!" Jaune, seemingly now filled with energy, shouted in a panicked tone.
Amelia twitched in annoyance but managed to keep herself from frowning. She turned around with another smile on her face.
"What do you mean Boy? Why can't you leave?"
"I-I… I can't!… I'm not done yet! I HAVE TO FINISH!" Jaune shouted again, shaking as he spoke.
"Speak clearly Boy, you're making no sense. What do you need to finish?" Jaune gulped as he started shaking harder. He just shook his head as he turned to run away, grabbing his sword on the way.
"This is why I hate kids." Amelia muttered as she followed Jaune's scent.
Five Minutes Later
Amelia sighed as she slowly followed Jaune's trail, while she was annoyed, she was in no rush. It only took her a few minutes to find Jaune, and when she did, she was forced to stop in her tracks.
She followed Jaune towards the back of the village, to the rear gate. The gate led out and into the village's farmlands, massive fields used to grow crops to feed the village. Except now, instead of crops, the fields were filled with graves.
Amelia couldn't see the graves, but she could smell them. Hundreds of shallow graves dug just deep enough to hide the bodies, but not deep enough to mask the smell of rotting flesh.
A loud screech shook the woman out of her thoughts.
"GET OUT OF HERE! SHOO! GO!" Amelia turned her attention away from the graves and towards Jaune's voice. Five bodies laid at Jaune's feet, wrapped up in scraps of cloth crudely tied together.
"I SAID GO!" Jaune swung his sword around the best he could, fighting off a large squawking vulture trying to get to the bodies.
With one last cry, the bird flew away, looking for a new and easier meal. An easy task in the Grimm infested forest.
"I… I have to finish…" Jaune leaned against his sword as he tried to catch his breath. Amelia didn't speak, she simply walked up to the boy.
"Give me your hands." She said as she knelt down to him.
"W-what?"
"Hands Boy! Show them to me."
Jaune quickly dropped his sword and held out his hands.
"Gah!" The poor boy yelped when Amelia grabbed his wrist. He bit his lip fighting back the pain as Amelia ran her thumbs across his palms and over his fingers.
While parts of his hands were rough and calloused, most of it was covered in sores and blisters.
"Fine..." Amelia said as she stood up, and let go of Jaune's hands.
"Here take this Boy, there's still some food and drinks left… Finish what you need to do, I'll be waiting at the village's front gate… Finish what you need to do, then come and find me… I'll take you with me… There's nothing left here for you…" With that, Amelia turned and left. Leaving the burlap sack in his hands.
Jaune didn't say anything as she walked away. Once she was back in the village he put the bag down and picked up a nearby shovel.
The Next Day - Dawn
Amelia yawned as she sat up, and pushed away her blankets. It was cramped in the cart since it was full of crates of food and blankets. Normally, no one would be crazy enough to sleep in the middle of the road, surrounded by Grimm infested forest.
But Amelia wasn't afraid, she knew the Grimm wouldn't attack her unless they were ordered to, or unless they went into a mindless frenzy.
Once again a loud scraping sound filled the area. Causing Amelia to turn her attention to the front gate. A still shirtless Jaune Arc walked out of the village, carrying the burlap sack, and dragging his sword.
"I-I'm ready…" Jaune said as he walked up to Amelia. The woman moved to the front of the cart and took the reins.
"Is that all you're going to bring Boy?" Amelia asked as she tilted her head towards Jaune.
"This… This is all… W-Well there was a shield… but I can't find it…" Jaune's shoulder's slumped as he stared at the ground.
"Get in the cart Boy, you'll have plenty of time to mourn later. For now, we have a long journey home… There's food in the wagon and a sleeping bag. There's nothing to do until we get there, so just get some rest."
One Week Later
The week had passed in a blur for Jaune. Now that the poor boy could finally rest, his body took advantage of the opportunity. Spending most of the trip sleeping, Jaune only woke up when Amelia told him to eat, or if he had to use the bathroom.
The horse-drawn cart rattled as it traveled across a gravel pathway. The shaking cart woke up its sleeping occupant.
"Huhhh? What? WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" Jaune shouted in panic as he grabbed the side of the cart.
"Calm down Boy, we're here." The cart slowed to a stop as soon as Amelia said those words, allowing Jaune to stand up on shaky legs. His eyes widen at what he saw. A massive stone building stood in the middle of the forest, standing as tall as the trees, and almost as wide as his village's town square.
The building was in ruins, broken windows lined the outside, and stone crumbled off the walls. One of the doors laid broken on the ground while the other barely clung to a rusted hinge. Dead grass surrounded the area, and small animals scattered once the cart pulled up. Some of the trees were growing into the stone walls, breaking through the walls and going up through the roof.
"Umm… Where are we?" Jaune asked while tilting his head, he studied the building with wide eyes. Amelia just sighed as she shook her head.
While she couldn't see the building, she could hear the wind blowing through it, through the broken windows and walls. She could hear all the animals running around inside of it, as well as smell all of the feces left behind by said animals. Even without her sight, she knew this building was a complete mess.
"Why!? Why here!? Did I do something wrong!? I'll raise the kid, that's fine! But why here!?" Amelia shouted in her mind, causing her shoulders to slump for a second, but she quickly fixed her posture. She knew there was no questioning 'her' word. She knew the best thing she could do, is make the best of her situation.
"This, Jaune… Is our new home." The young boy turned back to the woman with a raised eyebrow and tilted head.
"Our… New home?"
"Do you know what this place is? What it once was?" Amelia took a few steps forward, walking past Jaune, and raised her hand towards the building. Jaune quickly walked up to her, standing by her side as he looked closer at the building.
On the building, above the doorway, there was faded writing engraved into the stone.
"The… Church of-" Jaune started to read the words out loud but stopped because the stone was chipped, making the word unreadable.
"The Church of Aura!" Amelia exclaimed, causing Jaune to jump, startled by the sudden outburst.
"T-The Church of what?!"
"Do you know what Aura is Boy?"
"Uhh… No? I guess not?" Jaune scratched his head as he looked up at the woman. He was sure he had heard the word before, he just didn't know where.
Amelia simply smiled as she turned to him.
"Aura is the greatest gift the Goddess has ever given to the people of Remnant… It doesn't matter if you're a human or a Faunus. Every person has Aura, which means every person is connected to our Goddess." The smile on the blind woman's face grew brighter as she spoke.
"Ummm? Goddess? Who's that?" Jaune's face scrunched up as he tried to make sense of the woman's words.
Religion is rare on Remnant, very feel people worship any form of God or Goddess. In small villages, like the one where Jaune was born and raised, people only focused on surviving not praying.
"The Goddess… Her name is Salem… You see Boy, a long, long time ago… When the world was still new… Humans and Faunus struggled to fight against the creatures of Grimm… The people of Remnant were close to going extinct… Until one day… The Goddess Salem appeared!"
Amelia shouted while raising her arms in the air. Causing a few birds to fly away in fright. Jaune, on the other hand, was now enthralled with Amelia and her story.
"Wh-what happened next!?" The Boy asked as he sat down on the ground, putting his hands on his cheeks and his elbows on his knees.
"The Goddess Salem saw the state of the world… She saw the people being killed by these creatures… So, in order to save the people… She sacrificed herself! She gave her soul to the people! Strengthening their souls, and allowing them to unlock the power of Aura!"
As soon as the last word left her mouth, her body exploded with a blue light. The explosion of Aura caused a shock wave that knocked Jaune onto his back. The young boy quickly recovered, jumping back to his feet.
"WH-WHAT IS T-T-THAT!?" The light's intensity died down, stabilizing to a dim, almost unnoticeable light that covered her body like a second layer of skin.
"This is Aura… A powerful gift from the Goddess that can be used in many ways, but the most common way it's used. Is as a shield to protect the body." Amelia pulled out a small knife, one she used to peel apples, and she quickly stabbed it into her hand.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Jaune shouted while turning away. He didn't want to see any more blood.
"Don't turn your head Boy, look at me!" Jaune hesitantly turned back to Amelia as he was ordered.
"Whaa… How?"
Instead of seeing the knife stabbed through Amelia's hand like he was expecting. The knife was stopped an inch away from her skin, unable to break through the blue light, which was brighter where the blade tip pressed on it.
"Aura protects me… The Goddess protects me… The Goddess's greatest gift is Aura, a gift she has given to every human, Faunus, and even animals…" Amelia pulled the knife away and slid it back into her robes.
"B-But…" Tears started to form in Jaune's eyes as he looked away.
"I-If… If everyone has Aura… Why… Why… Did they die!" Jaune clenched his fist, and bit his lip, keeping the tears back.
Amelia put a hand on Jaune's shoulder, giving him a second to calm down.
"…Jaune, look over there." The blind woman pointed at the building.
"Do you know why a Church devoted to our Goddess is in such a bad state?" Jaune wiped his eyes as he shook his head.
"Once the Goddess gave up her life for the people of Remnant, she was rightfully worshiped… For decades her name was spread throughout the land… Information about Aura, and how to use it, was widely spread… But… People are selfish… I don't know who started it, but a few groups of people wanted to keep the knowledge of Aura to themselves… They wanted to keep the power of Aura a secret so they could rule over the people around them… They killed everyone and anyone who worshiped Salem… Anyone who spread information of Aura was captured…" Amelia clenched her fist, then sighed, letting her hand fall.
"It is because of these people, the Goddess is no longer worshiped… And the true knowledge of Aura was lost… Where it came from, how it truly worked, how it was safely unlocked… Most of this was forgotten, or rewritten by fools…" Amelia sighed as she shook her head, she stood up straight and turned back to the church.
"The people of Remnant still use Aura, but they don't know where it comes from… They don't know how to truly use it… And some people never unlock their aura… Just like your village… Your village was fairly secluded, so maybe only a hand full of people managed to unlock their auras through chance, but against so many Grimm… It wasn't enough… If the Goddess was still worshiped... If the knowledge of aura was still spread… Then no one would have to die to Grimm attacks… But the Kingdoms of Remnant horde this information, they hold the Goddess's gift hostage…" Jaune stood up and wiped his eyes one last time.
The young boy knew very little about the Kingdoms. Every now and then he would hear his parents talking about 'news from the Kingdoms', but he never asked about it.
"What… What do you mean? What about the Kingdoms?"
"…Instead of sharing the knowledge of Aura with everyone on Remnant… Kingdoms keep the knowledge for themselves, and only teach their own forces… They train armies, and soldiers called huntsmen or Huntresses. They use these forces for their own gain… Villages like yours, who live far away from Kingdoms, don't have a high survival rate. Villages that live closer to the Kingdoms rely on the Kingdoms for protection… That means villages without the protection of the Kingdoms are prime targets the creatures of Grimm. Or for bandits and other forms of criminals…" Jaune gritted his teeth.
His village might have been outdated with their weaponry, using simple swords or bows, but they were good at fighting off the Grimm. All his life, Jaune had never once heard of a Grimm getting past the village walls. Until the day a gang of bandits attacked.
"That's why I brought you here Jaune." Amelia's voice broke his train of thought, he just looked up at her, confused.
"What do you mean?"
"I lied when I told you I went to your village for supplies, and I didn't find you by chance Boy… The Goddess told me about you… She came to me in a dream, she told me to find you… She told me to raise you…" Jaune's eyes where wide now, he felt his knees start to shake.
Even though he just heard about this 'Goddess', it was still unnerving to hear about a powerful entity knowing who he was.
"Wh-wh-Why me!?" He managed to squeak out, suddenly feeling his throat going dry.
"I am a Priestess for the Church of Aura... I am one of the few people who still knows about our Goddess, one of the few people who still worships her... And while I'm not much of a fighter, I've spent my entire life going all around Remnant helping people the best I can... All in the name of Salem... But, when she appeared in my dream she gave me a mission... A mission to find you, and train you... You have potential Boy… Even though it's not unlocked, you still have a powerful Aura inside you… So I'm going to train you… I'm going to train you to become an 'Inquisitor'…"
"A… A what?" Amelia smiled as she placed a hand on Jaune's head.
"Let's just say… One day you'll be helping people… Saving those that can't save themselves… In Salem's name, you'll be stopping bandit gangs before they can attack villages, stopping criminals before they can hurt innocents… Destroying hordes of Grimm that threaten the people... But it's your choice Jaune… If you stay with me, I'll train you to be strong, to protect the people… But if you want, I'll take you to the nearest Kingdom, and the path you take from there will be your choice… What will you choose?"
Jaune didn't even have to think about it. His village, his family would still be alive if that bandit gang didn't attack. If he could stop people like them, then it was a simple choice.
"I'll stay! I-I'll be an inquestioner!" Jaune raised his fist, and a hard look appeared in his eyes. Amelia just sighed as she ruffled his hair.
"It's called an Inquisitor Boy… But enough about that, if this is truly the path you want to take, then we have work to do."
"Huh? Like what?"
Amelia walked over to the horse-drawn cart.
"We have to unload these empty crates since you ate most of the food, then we have to go to the nearest village to buy more supplies. So let's leave behind what we don't need, like some of these crates of canned food, that way we'll have more room for food and clothes for you... Unless you like walking around shirtless, and barefoot?" Amelia lifted one of the crates canned goods off the cart and walked towards the church. Jaune quickly grabbed his own, empty, crate and followed behind her. His eye twitched with every step he took, walking bare foot on a gravel path did not feel pleasant.
With the crate in hand Jaune quickly walked through the broken Church doors.
Going from the bright outdoors, to a dark and abandoned building made the room look almost pitch black to him.
"It's kinda dark in here… I can't see a thing."
"Oh? You can't see a thing? That sounds ~sooooo terribleeee~ I just can't imagine not being able to see…" Jaune blushed as he looked away from Amelia.
"S-Sorry…" He mumbled as his eyes finally adjusted to the room.
"Whhooaa…" The boy exclaimed as he looked around.
He was currently standing in the middle of a massive room. Rows and rows of seats surrounded him, all lined up and facing a large podium standing tall at the back of the room. But what really caught his eye, was the massive stone statue standing behind the podium.
"W-Who... is that?" Jaune walked up to the statue. It depicted a woman wearing a long flowing dress while holding her hand up.
"Who's what?" Amelia asked as she walked up to Jaune.
"This statue can't you se- I mean, it's a statue of a woman…"
"Boy, we're in a church dedicated too…" Amelia stopped speaking in order to let Jaune finish her sentence.
"Salem…"
"The One True Goddess… Salem."
Jaune didn't hear what Amelia said, all his attention was focused on the statue. As he stared at the 'Goddess', he felt his body getting warm, and his heart started to beat faster.
"JAUNE!" Jaune jumped at Amelia's shout, his heart was still beating and he was covered in sweat. If the blind woman noticed anything, she didn't say anything.
"Come on Boy, we need to stash these can goods so we can head to the next town." With that Amelia turned towards a broken door on the side of the massive room. Jaune didn't notice it until now, but he could see past the broken door into a large, and dark hallway.
"R-Right! Be right there!" Jaune quickly picked up his crate and entered the dark hallway.
A/N: Thanks for reading the first chapter of what I hope is your next favorite story. If you have any questions/tips or ideas, feel free to leave a review or send a PM.
~Improv