Revised as of 11/14/17
A/N: The opening prologue can be skipped if you really want to, but it contains most of the essential information about everything that sets up for the story. It's mostly basic information, if you want to skip you can but you would most likely have to put a little more thought into the rest of the reading to get an idea of what's going on.
Prologue -
Prejudice is within man's own nature.
It matters little of what fickle thing or paltry reason, the slightest movements to each action and the smallest phrases that may bare malcontents. No matter what incorrigible thoughts that may grace our minds, we can do little but to listen to the voices in our heads that tell us that what we see is a symbol of utter malevolence, something that is not to be trusted.
However, there could have been a time where wishful thinking had not borne the events of avarice that had brought upon the fate of ancient man. Perhaps if men had just taken to a understatement of what had lived amongst them, they could have thrown away their intuitions, their need for a simplicity untouched by nature. If they had not sought for a world in which negligible acts came with a widespread understatement, then perhaps the inevitability of what they had sewn would not be upon them.
These were the sections of history, that in relativity to its importance, were a loss to all morals to have been learned.
Afore the lands of uniform cities, following a certain moral code deemed to itself only as society, they were more primal beings that came about with an unbridled confidence. Yet these beings were only the ancestors to men.
The men of ancient time had lived with a certain breathy word to their existence, a thought that they had everything within their obtainable reach. The only people who stood in their way were their own brethren, those of exact decent, and a common goal, yet each had a method that stood unfathomable to the other.
However, it had not been man's own arrogant self that had brought about it's own undoing, in place of who had been the only anticipated combatants, came a new people.
A people, who came without any prior signs.
Perhaps this had been the first gaffe to man's fragility?
The beings had come from within the bosom of the world itself, nurtured by a flame unbeknownst to the men of the past. They came silently, no words, no interactions, just the solemn gaze of one from the hills, or from within the fields.
It mattered little of where that sad, almost understanding leer had found its place. Rumors of those watching from the distance became apparent to the men of the past, as it inevitably would.
No malcontents could be known to have been traceable amongst the foreign gazes of the forlorn enigmas, yet a certain unease had taken root within men. A primal fear that surfaced all because of a curious glance, that fear surfaced within men to the point where it seethed over.
And so the beings were given their names, one that they would eventually even take to adopting.
Demons.
The name had been little more than a fearful insult, however, this had only helped to bring upon another fear to the men of the past. A fear of loss...
A consternation that man had developed, a thought that they could possibly lose all that they had gained. All brought upon them by their own lack of insight.
It had not been an unreasonable fear to these men however, their own tenacity had birthed great cities and landscapes alike. Their own competition with themselves only drew them to outdo what they had already done, their own desires for progression built them working systems, and moral codes. Not unlike that of modern men, it's only difference being their unrefined execution.
However the gaze of the frightful beings only worked to have pushed man to their most dire choices, all made from a form of prejudice that had worked against men from their creation.
So these beings had been labeled as the enemy to man, their names and frightening appearances only helping to bolster man's already quick witted thought.
They had become the symbol of all hate to the men of the past, and the mention of Demons only worked to make men shudder in anticipation. Their own embodiment of hatred, was a prospect even comparable to those of modern times, however on a more one sided advance. The Demons of the past could be argued to have been man's answer to a lack of the Grimm from the future, however the Demons were shown to have had a semblance of personality.
Their faultless example of such personality had been of one Demon who's own morals were questionable.
He even had a name, a concept almost human.
Seraphim.
That had been the name most feared by ancient men, its pronunciation bringing a pang of terror to citizens, and a wave of unease to the soldiers who had stood to combat the estranged newcomers.
Despite all of man's arrogant words and reassuring prayers, they stood like logs above a fire to the Demons. Their own prejudice mistake bringing upon them a war that tore apart much of what they had come to create and appraise, their own avarice being their setback.
However, man had discovered a force that had gone unseen to them, something which held a power so benevolent to men that it had been an epiphany to their weary minds.
They had divulged the power of their own faith.
With their minds tainted with the fear of losing what they had brought to their own insignificant creations, they had looked to greater forces. Beings on an entirely different and equally foreign basis for existence, an unseen force that had however made it's presence very known.
The Gods.
Through simple strength of faith alone, man was able to conceive a being into sentience, a prospect that should evoked the prejudice desires of men. Yet it had not, for it only stood for men, and the preservation of their own kind, a moral that men had taken an unparalleled fondness for.
Whilst unseen, The Gods still played their part in the carefully orchestrated game of war, making themselves utterly known to the Demons.
It was these beings that had single handedly pulled man from its newly created shriving hovel of a world, forcing the enemies men had come to back to their place of birth, sealing them away.
As comforting as the thought had been to the men of the past, it was only temporary. Its fix, only a slight stitch in a greater tear.
Led by his own hatred, Seraphim returned.
Driven by a malice and hatred towards The Gods, Seraphim had devoted his existence towards their destruction.
It had only played out as it had before...
The Demons were once again sealed within the bosom of the world's own insides, yet that hadn't stopped him from clawing his way through everything that kept him below.
Yet his actions were met with naught, as they had before, and for many times to come.
His undying rage refusing to allow him to sit idly by as he was capable of acting.
The Gods, alongside the existence of men sought for a more permanent solution to man's unending strife. So, in a display of desperation The Gods instead turned to the humans for help rather than the inverse, blessing a single human with the abilities to kill the Demon, riding man of their largest enemy.
Perhaps man had a chance to live without Demons...
-S-
It was almost relaxing, in all honesty.
From where she was sitting with her back propped firmly against the base of a large oak, the view was beyond gorgeous. A view that she came to value during her time here, the views from Beacon's cliffs.
Though she never thought herself to be much of a thinker, often times her mind found itself drifting to the more confounding things of life. Those areas were much better suited for the habitually quiet and reserved Belladonna, not for the red hooded reaper.
That hadn't really bothered her though, she enjoyed musing on petty nothings and simply outlandish thoughts. Like the one she couldn't get out of her head at the moment. One that had come to her for no real reason, but she still humored the idea to ponder it.
How can you tell when someone's truly a bad person?
The thought had come to her for no particular reason, there were no events or interactions that would have warranted this train of thought, but it had still come to her. For whatever reason as well, she just couldn't get the thought out of her head, it's what had even drove her to come and enjoy the view.
It was the reason it was almost relaxing though.
It genuinely made her wonder. It had even been enough to stop the usually absentminded girl in her thoughts, and it amused her to a certain extent that she was even thinking like this, it just didn't seem like her.
Sure, someone may do something that is inherently considered evil, but why they do it could change that prospect.
It's not the action or doing itself, rather it's the motive. The force which drove them to do what people could consider evil, even if their general human morales dictated otherwise.
It truly brought her to qualms with herself, to the point where she furrowed her top brows in internal conflict. It didn't bother her to the point where it affected her attitude, but it was something to think about, just a little something to keep her up for an extra few minutes at night.
She didn't know if it was just her, but without a proper answer, it irked her.
It had caused her some obvious inner turmoil, as small as it may be, but the lack of a clear answer is what got her most. As ambiguous as her question was, it wasn't the question itself that had truly brought her to a solemn moment of intense thought, rather it was the fact that she really didn't know.
She didn't even know the answer to her own question.
As she found her mind settling, she opted to appreciate the view in front of her over her internal tug of war. The stretching miles of green trees and the sheer drop brought back some fond memories to her, ones that although weren't long ago, still felt that way. Her initiation had brought her to a meeting with the Schnee heiress, who initially exhibited the qualities of a bad person, though she would never tell her partner that. Their strife having already been solved, it made it clearer to the young reaper that people can still be good even if they have a little bad to them.
So it only complicated the question further for herself.
"Ruby!"
With a slight jump from the yell of her name, the hooded girl pulled her train of thought to a stop.
Turning her head around the trunk of the tree she sat at the base of, she took in the sight of her overtly protective sister. A quick sigh escaped through her lips as she took in the sight, but it wasn't entirely out of resentment, just mild annoyance.
"What are you doing out here?" She began, slowing herself as she came to a stop next to her sitting sister.
Taking a brief moment before speaking to clear her mind from her strange thoughts, she looked up to her older sister. "What are you doing here?" She mocked, turning the question back on her.
The sister's expression dropped ever so slightly, just to the point where it was noticeable. "Well, looking for you for starters. So wanna answer my question?" She prodded, mentally poking at the younger girl teasingly.
"Oh, well just relaxing and taking in the view." She responded, refusing to elaborate on her previous thoughts.
Looking at her briefly, the Xiao-Long decided to take a seat next to her younger sister at the base of the oak, letting out a heavy breath as she slumped down besides her sister.
"It's a pretty good view isn't it." She spoke as she allowed her eyes to take in all of the expanses of green and blue spread out before her.
"But you shouldn't be enjoying it all alone, how about you bring some cute boy out here next time." She continued, prodding at her sister with her elbow, all whilst giving her a signature Xiao-Long smirk. A smirk that Ruby was just a little too familiar with.
A comment like that usually embarrassed the easily flustered sister, but for some strange reason she couldn't find any room in her mind for her to be taken back by the statement. A fact that her older sister seemed to notice as well when she only replied with a small smile that she followed up with a a playful "Shut up"
Her reaction was strange to Yang however, she knew her own sister better than any person on the entire planet should probably know. So this one small change in her demeanor didn't go unnoticed to her, and it had prompted her to some confusion and equal parts worry.
"Ruby?" She started questioningly.
"You ok? I know being in Beacon two years ahead of everyone else can be a little overwhelming, but you've got you're team if you really need us." She spoke comfortingly, each octave of her voice coming out in a steady and relaxing tone.
Ruby just looked back at her with small parts confusion. There wasn't any major problem that was bothering her, but that one question she had let into her mind was still left unanswered. Yet, how could her sister notice that the question she thought up was actually beginning to bother her.
She hadn't thought that she showed off that much fret or worry because of the question, but to her sister; small things like that wouldn't be hard for her to pick up on. She had an almost uncanny knack for telling when something was wrong with her sister, it made hiding things from her very difficult.
Deciding not to stay in silence for too long to the point where her sister worried, Ruby responded. "Well, I've just been thinking about this one thing." She spoke ambiguously, but it had at least notified Yang that there was something on her mind.
"And what's that?" She asked back, wondering to herself what thought could have brought her sister to the point of seclusion.
To Ruby she hardly minded sharing her thought with Yang, she doubted she would be that much of a help in finding her answer, but it would at least relieve her worries. She had shared many things with her sister after all, things that she would never tell a single other person.
So she spoke, taking a moment to collect her scrabbled thoughts before speaking.
"Yang, how can you tell when someone's a bad person?"
She felt a gust of wind sweep past her, carrying a few leaves off the edge of the cliff.
Yang pulled her brow down in a way similar to Ruby, allowing a moment for the thought to run itself through her mind. She certainly hadn't expected a prospect as heavy as the one Ruby presented, but she wouldn't put it behind her. If anything she had expected it to be something much less than it actually was.
However, a newfound seriousness had become present.
To the sisters, that single thought hung above them, dangling just out of reach.
The older sister shifted, leaning a little more of her weight upon her significantly small sister. A single thin strand of her hair had been pulled by a gust of wind in front of her eye, wanting to be free so it could fly away and over the cliff's edge.
Yang sighed slowly.
"I couldn't tell you."
-S-
Chapter 1 - Desert of Woe
He opened the next blank page of his journal.
The leather bindings that had held the shoddy piece of equipment together stretched and groaned as the crusted pages of the journal turned. The deerskin that had held it's contents together stretched, creating thin creases that ran across the fronts and backs of the tattered clump of papers bound together.
Pressing the sharpest point of his ink dipped feather to the page's top, he began to write.
Three days worth of traveling and I don't get even a moment of rest. It's true though, that Demon is here. However, he won't make himself known, instead he resorts to his normal tactics of inducing fear. Although this is not our first meeting I will formally make this our last, The Gods have prepared me beyond many bounds, he will not live on this world for any longer.
In the desert though, in these ruins, why would he ever choose to meet here? It doesn't sit well with me, he is a fiend and that is fact, the very embodiment of deceit. Although, I will not hold back truths, a feeling of dread is apparent in my mind, I do have my doubts. Yet, I know that the weight of my actions is strong and that this Demon is a threat greater than any other. For that reason I can assure myself that victory will be my only solace, I must win.
With my blessings of strength, I can assure that this Demon will be no more.
- Aen
Releasing three days worth of exhaustion out in one sigh, he grabbed at his discarded helmet, putting it before himself to take in its visage. He even allowed his inked feather to drop into the sand so that he could hold it more steadily.
It was a useful thing, the closed visor of the helmet only leaving him enough room to see into it through a small slit that ran across the front. It was an incredibly useful thing actually, he thought that as he tapped his knuckles to the heavy breastplate of his armor, the resounding clang that his knocking created only reassuring him of the strength the armor held.
He looked to the helmet again, recalling the many magical properties that The Gods had blessed the entirety of his plate-mail with. The few ones he could recall being the physical strengtheners of the armor, though there were many others that he couldn't recall.
As useful as his armor was to him though, it did have a raging flaw that had caused him as much discomfort as it had annoyance. The armor covered almost all of his being, the only parts that weren't covered in metal - mostly his joints - were instead protected by the strong links of chain that he wore underneath the armor's plating itself. Because of this otherwise useful fact, the many grains of sand that flew freely through the desert found themselves getting stuck with the joints and cracks of his armor, rubbing against him uncomfortably.
He sighed again.
His face was weary, clear with exhaustion, even if The Gods had given him the blessing of strength. His mind was active as well, too active for his own liking.
His thoughts constantly drifted, they never stayed in one place and many times things quickly became unclear for him. The only thing that ever really stayed clear in his head was his name, Aen, simple as it was.
Aen was about the only word that could recur in his mind with the same meaning, a Champion. The one who stood to combat the malicious desires of the Demon he waited on.
The waiting was getting to him, he didn't want to have to wait long within the desert's heart, not while an evil presently lurked within it. However, before his mind could shift away from a concise line of thinking, a voice echoed inside his head.
"Aen, out the door, something is coming."
With a startled jump the armored man quickly brought the helmet of his armor over his young face, covering his shortened black hair and oppositely colored eyes of green and gray. Aen then reached towards his hip, clasping at the grip of his sword as he stood to his fullest. He drew it cleanly, the long silver sheen of his intricately decorated blade brandishing itself to his surroundings.
He knew the voice, it was the voice of The Gods. It made him aware that he should listen carefully, The Gods had never told him a lie and he would trust their word.
Another voice rang out again, this time of another one of The Gods.
"Content thee Aen, it is only his messenger."
The voice was only present in his mind, but he still replied out loud through his own words.
"Eir, is his messenger of any danger to me?"
Aen spoke back to the one of his three gods that he served, the one that had been that symbol of health and tranquility. Her voice was by far the most calming of the three, the two others having their own unique but strange tone of voice.
"His messenger is as it states, simply a peaceful pawn of his. No danger should await you."
Aen took his first step towards the exit of the small ruined home he had taken refuge within, the sandy floor leaving an outline of his armored foot as he began forwards. He was only able to take just the first step before another different voice once again rang out inside his head.
"Keep your blade brandished Aen, we are not omnipotent"
The voice was of the one who had personally crafted his sword, Balder. A weapon with a power so great that the third God - the one of knowledge - Aesir, had to shed his own knowledge of weaponry onto Aen so that he could even wield the weapon to it's fullest. He had done so with his ability of knowledge transference, a power of the Gods that allowed them to bless any being with any amount of knowledge they wished.
Nodding internally to himself the young Champion stepped through the crumbling door of the sandstone ruin he sat within previously. He held his blade ready in his right hand, his left carrying a shield of his that he had left lying in the sand by the door, and observantly looked about the rest of the ruined homes.
It wasn't long before the consistent batter of wings hit his ears, making him turn to face the origin of the noise. What Aen saw was the form of a small bat-like creature flying towards him, a parchment of paper wrapped round it's ankle as it flew.
He had seen the creature before, it was the messenger that the abhorrent Demon had used to deliver his messages, a hellbat. A creature whose intentions were peaceful, but found itself used by the wrong forces.
It stopped before him, letting out a loud squawk as it set itself on the ground before Aen's feet, lifting the ankle the parchment was tied around up for the champion to see. Aen bent down gently, grabbing carefully at the small ankle of the fuzzy creature, trying to be careful so he wouldn't startle the usually stalwart lesser demon.
The thing, though unnerving in its appearance never really bothered Aen, and for that reason he could hardly find it within himself to hate the lesser Demon. Don't harm the messenger per-say.
Deeming it safe to himself, Aen returned his blade to it's sheath and let his shield drop to the sand at his side.
He pulled the parchment free from the bat's ankle, he then took a brief moment for his eyes to scan over the rolled piece of paper. A letter, clearly a letter from the Demon he was waiting on. The red wax sealing that the Demon commonly used was present on the rolled paper, confirming to the Champion that the Demon was near, possibly nearer than he anticipated.
Without wasting a moment, Aen tapped an armored hand to the bat's head in a comedic form of thanks before he peeled away the wax sealing. The parchment unraveled and it revealed to the Champion a letter neatly written in ink, the handwriting crisp and fine, far better than Aen's own.
Glancing once more to the bat who sat idly at the Champion's feet, Aen assured his safety and then began reading.
Dear Champion,
Is it so hard for you humans to comprehend the weight of your assertions? You throw about ideas and lies, just so you can turn everyone away from a frightening image. That will end shortly, without a figurehead a ship cannot sail, surely that comparison means something to you.
Fret not on my own ideas, you haven't the room in your mind to hear them through, and I doubt any of you ever will. So for now, keep your eyes to the stars, when the moon reaches it's fullest my light will be to the north.
I anticipate your arrival.
Sincerely, Seraphim
Aen sighed, he could never fully understand many of the letters the Demon had presented. To him though, this one made sense.
He knew that it called for their final meeting, and the fading light that came from the setting sun told him that meeting wasn't far away.
Perhaps he should take a moment to rest.
-S-
He would be lying if he said he had gained proper rest.
Though the sun had already set he knew that their meeting was scheduled only for when the shattered moon had reached it's fullest. As it stood, the moon was nearing it's climax, and Aen's anticipation had sent jitters through his body.
To the north, that's where he was supposed to be.
Even if he had rested for a brief moment, it hardly helped his mind. His constant stare towards the northern dune of sand just outside the ruins hardly spoke of a clear mind. There was no way around the fact that this moment decided the outcome of everyone's livelihood, and for that reason Aen couldn't keep his differently colored eyes away from the dune.
Even through the thin slit of his closed helmet his eyes clearly could make out the dune in the distance, and he felt a certain amount of dread come to him as the moon's light shone harder upon his armored back. He knew the time was nearing, and the swelling of some emotion he couldn't put a name to in his chest told him his task wouldn't be easy.
That's when he saw it.
They were hardly a noticeable thing, five lights shinning upon the northern dune's top.
They shone just barely brighter than a dull lamp. They were piercing lights though, sharpened and small, and accurate to a point. Aside from showing the Champion where to go, the lights bore no guidance, no solace or relief, just an enticing flame with a deadly owner.
Aen drew his sword, releasing a slow breath through his mouth and out the small holes of his closed helmet. He then began forward, but after his first step he faltered, even with his blessings of strength.
Looking carefully upon the lights he reassured his victory, and strengthening his resolve he brought himself forth upon the sandy dune. Continuing up and forward towards the five small piercing lights Aen continued to assure himself that his course was just, the footsteps he left in the sand telling him that he stayed his course.
As he crested the dune's flat top, he looked closely upon the lights.
The sight of Seraphim before him did not ease his mind.
The Demon let a hand slip out from his ragged burlap robes, revealing five candles that he balanced upon the tips of each of his boney and elongated fingers. Had it not been for those lights though, the full height of the creature would have been lost to Aen, and he almost wish it had.
Seraphim stood tall, easily two heads above the Champion, but his eyes leveled themselves with the top of his head. The creature would have found the need to crane it's head down to look at Aen had it stood to it's fullest, but instead it reduced height by hunching, bringing it's eyes level with Aen's head.
However, the Demon had one obvious feature that stood out; its clear lack of eyes.
The empty cavities where the eyes should have been were nothing other than a shaded hole where two small - yet bright - red orbs floated within. The intensity of the red orbs was only comparable to that of the five candles' flames that he balanced upon an outstretched hand, a hand which bore only small similarities to Aen's, the elongated fingers and their boney structure making that fact very clear.
Alongside the sickly gray and rotting skin the creature was covered with, its horribly skinny form and skeletal appearance only assured him that this truly was the Demon he had searched for.
Though the horribly gaunt creature had an appearance frightening enough to send the Champion into silence, nothing shook him more than the voice of the Demon.
"Greetings." Seraphim began.
His voice was low and gravely coming out as a croak, the backs of the Demon's throat sounding as if they desperately lacked hydration.
The Demon smiled deviously, revealing to Aen a single row of jagged teeth.
"For as long as my candles stay lit, we may be open for conversation." The demon remarked, nodding his eyeless head towards the candles he balanced on his fingers.
Aen just looked at the candles, watching as their wicks slowly burnt away on the tips of the Demon's hand. The prospect of conversing was tempting, he wouldn't be telling the truth if he said that he held no interest in the Demon. However, that was no the reason fro him being here.
"I do not come for conversation. I come to uphold my goal." Aen spoke, taking a moment to muster up his courage before he drew his sword from his sheath at his side and raised his shield in front of his body.
Seraphim just looked at the Champion, the red orbs which acted as his eyes trained deeply on the warrior. His smile had disappeared, instead replacing itself with an expressionless stare.
"That's a shame, I had many interests in you. I suppose it is your human nature though." The demon brought the candles close to his face after his speech, illuminating each of his cadaverous features.
"I had wished you would not be like your kindred. It appears that I was wrong in thinking highly of you" Seraphim added, bringing the hand upon which he balanced his candles near his rotted lips.
"Shall we start?" The Demon remarked slyly.
The corner of his lip curled up ever so slightly, and he brought the first candle close to his rotting lips.
With a quick breath he blew out the first.
"One" A wispy trail of smoke floated off into the night sky.
Aen tensed, he could feel his back foot digging into the sand in anticipation. Why did the demon have to toy with him?
"Two" The second candle's flame quickly extinguished.
Aen grit his teeth together, he would not play the demon's game. Seraphim's frightening stature held him in his place though.
"Three" The third candle lost its flame just as quickly.
This wouldn't do, Aen wouldn't sit by while the demon had his way. Tightening his grip on his god crafted sword, he readied himself.
"Fo-" The Demon's speech was cut short as Aen lunged forward with speed uncharacteristic of his armored stature.
He swung his sword down in an arc from over his head, aiming to cleave the lowered shoulder of the taller creature. His sword met resistance though, stopping in its place.
Aen felt the color drain from his face as he saw what had stopped his sword. Seraphim had grabbed it, with his bare hand at that. Somehow mustering the strength in his skinny body to grip the blade in place, the demon then looked closely into the slit of Aen's helmet.
The small red dots that floated in the center of the demon's empty eye sockets bore down upon Aen, their intense glow sending a chill down his armored back. He could feel the eyes studying him closely, and Aen watched back closely with his own, refusing to falter where he stood.
The demon just smiled.
"I was not aware that your eyes are different colors." The demon remarked calmly, the smile he held never leaving his face as he spoke.
"Intriguing" Seraphim muttered.
Aen's will did not fail him, but his nerves were certainly shaken, the brownish blood that seeped from the Demon's hand that grasped his blade making sure of that. However, Aen hardly got a time to study the blood before he watched the candles he balanced drop to the sand beside him.
Their flames were all gone.
The demon then quickly let go of the champion's sword and stepped back, pulling a concealed sabre out from within his burlap robes. The sabre was crude and looked unwieldy, Aen had not doubted its deadliness though in the hands of that demon.
Seraphim gave him hardly a moment to think.
He sprung forward on his spindly legs, swiping his sword directly towards the chest of the armored champion. Aen backstepped though, moving himself safely away from the crude sabre.
Working on his opening Aen then sent his sword forward in a stab, the blade only found itself smoothly knocked away as the demon closed in on him. Swinging his sabre with surprising speed the demon continued a furious onslaught of swipes and swings, forcing the champion to dodge and block the strong and carefully aimed strikes.
The last swipe he sent directly down on the champion did not miss or land however. It instead met Aen's shield which he raised up at an angle, causing the crude sabre to slide of its angled front.
Quickly closing in on his opening the champion lunged past the demon's side, dragging his sword across Seraphim's mid-drift as he moved. The blade cut deep into the rotted skin, leaving behind a sickly gash which leaked a brownish rotten blood.
The wound hardly seemed to affect the creature though. Turning smoothly on his heel the demon lunged forward towards Aen, his sabre meeting cleanly with the champion's own sword. The strike was uncharacteristically strong coming from the skinny demon, but it had still succeeded in knocking Aen's sword down.
Working with Aen's shaken stance the creature swung its sword back around from the side, aiming directly towards Aen's own mid-drift. Without a moment to recompose himself the champion opted to raise his shield over where he predicted the sword to land, he didn't even have a proper moment to angle it our position it correctly.
The sabre met cleanly with the broad side of Aen's shield with strength he wasn't expecting. The shield clanged loudly as Aen was knocked onto his side from the force of the blow, the sand puffing up around where he landed.
Aen had only a moment to react when the demon burst through the cloud of sand with it's sabre ready to pierce his prone form. He used that moment well though, and rolled on his side away from the sabre as it stabbed into the sand where he used to be.
Standing as fast as his armor allowed him, Aen quickly backpedaled away from Seraphim, attempting to put some distance between himself and the demon.
Seraphim had not chased him down though, and instead stood at a distance. He watched carefully and intensely, refusing to remove his red orbs from Aen's haggard self.
Aen let loose a breath, and took in the cool desert air.
He couldn't win with his sword, even if he had landed a hit on the creature he doubted the Demon would make the same mistake twice. He needed to switch up his tactics, it was clear Seraphim had already adjusted to the way Aen used his sword.
Straightening up he decided he would now use his sword's power, what better time then now?
He held the thin blade out in front of him, and in his mind pictured the form of an even thinner and sharper pointed blade. A golden light enveloped the sword casting a glow onto the sand as the sword warped and changed.
It's blade thinned, and the point sharpened, turning itself into the elegant form of a rapier. When the glow had faded Aen no longer held his original blade, but instead the rapier that it had transposed into. The blessed power of transposition allowed the blade to transform it's shape into that of any other weapon Balder had allowed it to, and Aen took full advantage of that power.
Seraphim looked at the new blade Aen had now held in his hand, studying it carefully for any flaws that the blade could have. Aen didn't give him a long moment to study though. He pounced forward with rapier in hand, and thrusted strongly towards the torso of the taller being, in response the demon jumped to the side. The blade had missed it's mark but Aen continued his attack, sending well placed stabs from his rapier at the demon with zeal.
None had met unfortunately, all having been either blocked or dodged by the surprisingly fast demon. Aen did not let that fact discourage him though, and continued with a final stab that aimed itself toward's the creature's chest.
Seraphim had attempted to knock the thin blade away, but the speed that had followed the attack caught him off guard. His small miscalculation had allowed the blade to land itself in his ribs, piercing a small hole in between the oversized demon's bones.
Seraphim let out a pained grunt and quickly jumped back from the champion, holding a boney hand over the wound which leaked more rotten blood. He just looked back at Aen, still refusing to stand to his fullest.
With new confidence Aen then charged forward once again, taking the initiative in their brief stand-off. He lunged off his back foot and thrust his rapier forward towards the demon's neck this time.
Seraphim had predicted the attack however.
Tilting his head to the side he watched as the blade flew by the side of his face, missing him and his neck by only the smallest increments. He worked with his carefully timed dodge and set his sabre down across the breast plate of the champion, cutting a gash cleanly down the front of his reinforced armor.
With a yell of pain Aen jumped back using more effort than before. He was lucky in the placement of Seraphim's strike as it had only grazed down his chest, but it did not mean he was unharmed. The pain was bearable, but the tactics he was using would have to change.
Holding the thin rapier out to his side he watched through the corner of his eye as the weapon called upon the power of transposition, a golden light shinning over his armor. In the rapier's place was a far more brutish weapon, the large form of a heavy mace now stood in for it.
Ignoring the pain Aen ran forward with the mace in hand, holding it high above his head as he prepared a strike. The demon readied itself and held its sabre at the ready, taking solace in the fact that it had landed a strike on the small human.
He was not as ready as he had anticipated though. The heavy mace came down with strength Seraphim had not predicted and his attempt to block high was thwarted as the mace crushed through his raised sabre. The mace only stopped when it collided with the left shoulder of the taller being, creating an audible crack that assured Aen he had broken bone.
The attack had knocked Seraphim off balance, and the pain flared up. He wouldn't let it bother him though and quickly swept his sabre up at the armored human.
Aen had stepped back just enough for the attack to miss by the smallest amount, but the strong kick that followed the upwards slash had surprised him. The demon's foot collided hard with the breastplate of his armor, but the force that followed the kick was worrying as it sent him off his feet and onto his back. Both his shield and mace had been knocked from his hands by the force of the attack, he grimaced as he noted the dent in his breastplate.
The demon didn't give him even a moment and charged forward towards Aen's laying form. The speed at which the demon carried itself forwards panicked the champion, forcing him to call upon the last of his abilities.
He felt a ball of ethereal ice form in the palm of his gauntlet, and acting quickly on instinct he threw his hand forward. The ball's shape had morphed into more of a spike as it flew through the desert air, hurtling towards Seraphim's running body.
Aen could only watch idly as the only spell he knew flew past the demon, missing it's mark by just the smallest increment, courtesy of the way Seraphim hunched even more to duck under it.
In the moment the spike had missed a certain fear surfaced inside Aen's chest, a fear that every human held somewhere within them.
A fear of loss.
He watched in startled fear as the demon pounced over him, slamming it's sabre directly through his gut.
The pain flared up instantly. Aen couldn't trifle the scream that escaped his lips and reverberated inside his closed helmet.
Seraphim felt no mercy however, and didn't listen to the sounds of Aen's yelling. He just pushed the blade deeper till it stuck into the sand beneath Aen, a smile adorning his face as he felt it protrude through the champion's back.
Aen's eyes were wide as he stared up at the demon who looked down on him, his red 'eyes' stabbing their own daggers into Aen. He just watched Seraphim smile, soundlessly gasping for any amount of the desert's cool air.
"So then onto The Gods." Seraphim spoke, chuckling to himself quietly as he listened to Aen's last few raspy breaths.
"Do not fret, I'll show mercy. For you at least" With a snap of his free hand after his speech, Seraphim allowed a burning hellfire to envelop his blade.
Aen screamed in utter agony, his insides boiling as the hellfire that hugged the demonic blade burned away at his very flesh. He thrashed his arms and legs about, attempting in any way to cease the burning at his insides, but he could do nothing as the hellfire ate away at his melting insides.
Seraphim's smile left. "I had hoped you'd be more understanding."
Without any other remark the Demon turned and left, walking away from the Champion who could only watch his body burn hopelessly.
He couldn't even feel the pain anymore and his screaming subsided, yet the hellfire still burned strong. His body had gone numb, and his limbs felt heavy, the shattered moon being the only thing that he could look upon through his now blurry eyes. The flames hardly hurt anymore, he just felt cold now, the hellfire failing to warm his body.
The shattered moon is all he looked upon.
The only thought that ran through his fading mind was fearful, and it chilled his body faster.
He had lost...
~S~
Well then, first chapter done and revised. I hope it didn't throw you guys into everything too fast for you to handle, but I wanted to make sure I got everything I needed in the chapter. A small disclaimer for some more impatient readers though, the RWBY cannon doesn't actually occur until chapter 6, so if you're only interested in the RWBY cannon then you might have to wait. You can skip if you want but pretty much everything won't make sense, I had decided to spend the first few chapter developing Aen's character rather than throwing him directly into Beacon or something. The first chapters include a lot of backstory and essential information but there is some action here in there to spice things up. You can still just skim through them to get the essential information if you end up losing interest or something. Otherwise though, hopefully you enjoy the story.
Loasty Of The Toasty
Original A/N (Before revision)
Wow, I never thought that writing could be so hard. I've been reading a lot of fanfiction for a long time, it had originally started out as a joke with me and my friends because we thought all fanfiction was, was smut. Well eventually I found some really good fanfictions and I read them and I thought to myself, "Wow this isn't that bad" So I read more, and more, more, until I fell in love with it. I had so many ideas cooking up in my brain that I just had to wright them, but my parents would probably disown me and my friends would banish me or something like that. But eventually I got over my fear of that crap and began to write.
As you have probably found out this is indeed my first fanfiction, and I'm pretty impressed with what I was able to cook up. I also have some new found respect for other authors on this site, I never really realized just how hard it is to write an over 6,000 word chapter, Personally I always liked longer fanfictions with longer chapters, because it kept me interested while I read it, and that's what I liked about them, so that's what I aim to do with this fic. Also I haven't realized how dedicated you have to be to your writing if you want to make long chapters with good content, It's definitely a lot of work, and my back hurts after being hunched over at this computer writing away for about 4 hours. Next time I tell an author to hurry up on the updates, I'll think twice. Also one last thing, I don't feel all that confident in my fight scene and it would help if I could get some feedback on whether it worked out or not. Anyways my dudes, thanks for taking your time to read this, and please leave a review if you think that this chapter was pretty toasty.
- Stay toasty, from Loasty of the Toasty