Through Crystal Eyes

In one moment, my world was filled with Darkness. Light snuffed out instantly. I couldn't see... and all I felt was pain. But he came. He saved me, gave me a chance to find the Light again.

By losing my eyes... I found my way home.

Chapter 1: Blind Beginnings

"Truly... this is a dark time we live in..."

This thought crossed through the mind of a older man as he walked through what could only be described as a war-zone. Sirens and yelling dominated the airwaves as the smell of blood and agony assaulted the nose. Mill Cerul had simply come to Atlas to visit a old friend, and what he came upon would haunt him for the rest of his days.

What started as a protest against unsavory and racist treatment against Faunus in the Kingdom soon deteriorated into a full out race riot. Its unknown which side started it, but the only blood running across the streets was that of Faunus blood. They were unarmed, defenseless civilians pitted against fully equipped Atleasian soldiers.

A one sided massacre sprang forth.

So far there have been fourteen casualties and well over a thirty injuries, though the list of the former would surely rise. Many of the injured where having to be moved to some of the farthest hospitals in the city, due to the closer, and much more exclusive towards the upper class, refusing to treat "animals."

Mill's heterochromaic blue and orange eyes scanned the scene, sorrow building in his old heart. Even after all this time, Remnant could not let go of the past. With the terrorist actions of the White Fang, tensions between Humans and Faunus were at a all time high, especially in Atlas. Scanning the the street more, his gaze settled on something, rather someone, who needed medical assistance greatly. A renewed vigor came upon the fifty-eight year old Human as he walked swiftly as he could to his target, a difficult task considering his age as well as having a limp that required this use of his walking staff now. His mind was focused only on reaching the person that everyone around him seemed to completely ignore.

Looking down, his eyes softened in sorrow at the sight of the child laying in a pool of his own blood. The boy was small and thin, most likely from not eating properly, and his clothes were dirty and tattered. He was most likely a orphan and homeless, such a terrible thing for one so young. The child's most defining feature was the long white reptilian tail. The hide was smooth and snow white, a trait that was shared also by his hair and the rest of his skin. An Albino on top of being a Faunus... this child was a rare one. Kneeling down, Mill gently flipped the boy off his side onto his back so he could see what the poor child had suffered through. At the sight the man had to restrain himself from tears.

Three bullet holes littered the child's small torso, but that was not even the worst.

A long cut marred deeply across the boy's face, right across both his eyes.

Someone had deliberately cut right across the child's eyes. Even if he lived... the boy would be blind for the rest of his life.

Light coughing brought Mill out from his inner thoughts and back down to the boy. The very faint moving of the chest showed the boy was alive. After what he had been through, the elder man could easily see that the young Faunus had a strong will to live, despite what he had been through. Summoning strength and willpower he hadn't had in years, the aged Mill gently, but swiftly, scooped up the young child in one of his arms and hauled himself to his feet. Looking down the street, the elder man hurried down the closest street, hoping he would be able to find a place to treat the child.

He would save this boy, Mill Cerul swore on his life he would.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

To be so young, and go through so much in a single night, a single hour.

She had heard the sirens blaring all across the city as police forces and Hunters alike rushed around, trying to save as many lives and prevent as much damage as they could.

She wondered, how could a peaceful protest go so horrifically wrong?

Watching the news coverage of the city wide protests had painted it clearly, the Faunas were using no violence to get what they wanted, they stood in lines, holding up signs and chanting for their rights outside establishments that had used and abused them. Her people were so peaceful in their ways, not once did they raise a hand in anger when the people they were protesting to told them off and threatened them.

Then, suddenly in a horrifying flash of light, fire spread through a crowd. Someone, no idea who, had thrown a bottle of lit Fire Dust into the the group of protesters outside of the Schnee Dust Company Headquarters. Panic and fear arose in an instant, faunas scattered with cries of startle and others shouted to the heavens in horror as they were burned alive. Bile rose from her stomach and she swallowed to keep it down as she remembered the charred bodies of those that survived being brought into her hospital, the disgusting smell of burnt, crisp flesh and hair. And their cries, oh their unbearable cries...

How could anyone be so cruel?

Word of the incident had quickly spread, and more humans attacked, believing the protesters had started it, most ran, but some fought back, enraged that they were blamed for such an act. She took some solace in knowing that her people were not alone, some human sympathizers had been among the protest, standing at the very front of them even, fighting for rights of a different people. She shuddered, they had been among the most injured to arrive in her healing care, giving a worse beating then any of her kind had received tonight.

But none compared to the little faunas child she was watching over at this instant, pained eyes looking over his battered form as he held on for dear life by a thread of hair. His body was littered in stained bandages, already needing to be replaced from some of his lesser wounds. His eyes no longer visible from the bandages that covered them.

Not that anyone would see them without the cloth.

Her nails sharpened and a low growl escaped her throat as she remembered the young faunas being brought in, blood running down from his eyes as his attackers had gunned him down, slashed his eyes and left him for dead.

How could any sentient being be so, so utterly disgusting, so cruel to scar a child in such a manner?!

Her growls lowered as she controlled herself.

It had been two days since the boy had been brought into her care. Two days of watching over the boy.

Bell turned and stepped out the room, shutting the door softly, she didn't like leaving the young one alone, but hse had to for now.

It was against her Hippocratic Oath to become emotionally attached to her patients. But how could she not?

So young, yet so damaged...

She sighed to herself and moved away from the room, she needed to find the one responsible for bringing the boy in. He may have answers as to who he is.

No records ever showed up of the boy, medical or otherwise. It was not uncommon for faunas children to be orphaned and living on the streets, but she held a glimmer of hope that the person who had been nice enough to pick him up off the streets after the incident would know something, no matter how small...

Various doctors and nurses rushed around in the moderately small hospital on the far corner of Atlas that was run by and treated mostly Faunas. While they didn't receive most of the injured from the riot, it was still more than they were prepared for. The whole city was in chaos, and it was bound to get worse as the the week progressed. Two days had passed since the incident and violence had erupted across Atlas. And thanks to the most northern Remnant Kingdom being what essentially being a military dictatorship, soldier brutality continued onward's.

Pushing through the crowded main entrance room, the head doctor of the hospital, a Badger Faunas by the name of Dr. Honey Bell, worked her way up to the reception desk which was being manned by one of her nurses.

"Viridia! Who brought in that boy with the slashed eyes," the Doctor's take-no-bullshit voice called out to the young Antelope Faunas behind the desk. The timid woman nearly jumped out of her skin at her boss's command.

"U-Um... over there in the corner..." she pointed out towards the area she said. "The Human with the staff..."

Dr. Bell's light brown eyes turned to where her employee directed and walked off before Viridia could say more. Looking upon the somehow fairly empty seating area, the Badger Faunus sized up the person she was about to discuss the condition of the young boy with.

Firstly, as well as the most unusual aspect, was that the man was Human. In Atlas it was rare for there to be Humans that care for the well-being of Faunas. Rare, but not unheard of. The man was burly, built strong and stocky. He was obviously in his twilight years, most likely in his fifties or sixties if his wrinkles and ash gray balding head and medium beard were to be taken into account. His choice of clothing was... unique, to say the least. His garb was that of traveler/scholar from the early years of the Kingdoms' formation, robes of a dark grey and blue combo with a burgundy sash over his right shoulder. He had a strange eye shaped pendant about the width to a small plate and the seemingly ever-present walking staff. Overall, he was a odd looking Human.

Standing a foot away, Dr. Bell cleared her throat. "Sir, I'm Dr. Honey Bell, I run this hospital," her introduction caused the man to look up from his hands, showing his orange and blue eyes. "You're the one who brought in the young boy with the facial injuries?"

" Ah yes," he stood up using his staff and held out his other hand, which the Badger Faunas took for a handshake. "Mill Cerul, tell me, how is the child?" His deep and intelligent voice carried great concern for the young Faunas.

The sheer amount of caring in the elder Human's voice momentarily caught the medical practitioner off guard. She smiled internally before settling back into her strict persona. She motioned for him to sit back down as she took the chair next to him. "Mr. Cerul... the child has been through... frankly more than I would expect him to have survived..." Dr Bell opened a file she had been carrying, containing the boy's information. "Multiple healed scars throughout his whole body, poorly healed fractures and breaks in over sixty percent of his skeleton, what seems to be a deathly case of malnutrition..." The more she spoke, the greater the heartbreak Mill was beset with. Even after her years as a doctor, Honey herself was appalled at all the young boy had been through. "... and then there's the most recent damage; three close range gunshot wounds hitting him in the right lung, barely missing his liver, and the final grazing the left ventricle of his heart, then... the deep horizontal slash going across both his eyes," she then closed the file and inhaled deeply. "Its truly a miracle he's alive at all with everything he's been through. Speaking as if I wasn't a doctor bound to do no harm... I'd loving nothing more to than to skin the people responsible alive."

As the Badger Faunas doctor settled into a more comfortable position, the heterochromatic eyes of the Human beside her looked deeply into one spot on the floor, as if the answers to all the world's questions lied there. "In all my years... I have seen much, but... even I cannot understand how the child lives," he turned to Honey Bell, his face pleading for answers. "How..."

The Faunas doctor stared into space before leaning back in the chair and crossing her legs. "From what I can tell, there are two reasons from what I can tell. The first would be what Faunas species he is." she stated, getting Mill's attention. "Never thought I'd see one like him in my life... but judging from the sac in his throat and the makeup of his DNA... that boy is a Dragon Faunas."

Dragon Faunus. Considered to be the oldest, most diverse, and rarest of all Faunus species, it was a one in a million chance that the wounded child was one of them. Most of them lived in colonies far away from any Kingdom, unwanting to deal with the bigotry and segregation of Humans and their fellow Faunus. They are born stronger, faster, and generally more in-tuned with their animal sides, making Dragon Faunus powerful in the aspects of being warriors, and their minds are sharp and understanding, showing their great intelligence. Revered as much as they are feared, their collective species decided to disconnect from the rest of Remnant, seemingly fading away into the wilds. This wounded boy was likely the first of his kind seen since the end of the Great War many decades ago.

"Astounding..."

The Doctor let out a swift snort before composing herself. "Indeed, ironically him being a Dragon also most likely is the reason for the second aspect that saved his life. After you brought him here, his Aura unlocked on its own, healing him slowly as we performed surgery," She described, shifting herself again. "Though the damage is already done... he'll always carry the scars and his eyes have been destroyed completely. That boy will be blind the rest of his life."

A hollow victory it would seem. That was the thought going through both of the individuals as they sat and watched others scramble around the small hospital. Truly, fate smiled on the boy for his Aura to unlock. Usually one would be able to manifest their soul at a later age, through a time honored ritual with another or by sheer will, but for this boy's to unlock at such a young age... the only possible explanation was due to him being in a life threatening situation. With his life in such a dire state, his soul must have poured out and unlocked his Aura on his own to save his life.

The oddly dressed human turned back to the Badger Faunus. "Is he awake, may I see him?"

Dr. Bell opened her mouth, immediately wanting to shoot down the request. There were so many reasons she could give to keep this man from seeing the young one. The one that stood above the rest was the fact that he was human, the very species that had taken the young boy's future away. Mill may have brought the boy in, but that was not enough to prove his kindness.

She simply could not trust a random human to be in the same room as an injured faunas child. What's more is the trauma the boy would undoubtedly have from his experience. All faunas could smell humans, they had a different scent to them, a much clearer one, compared to their own which was always a mix of an animal. The young one might freak out if he smelled a human in the same room as him if he was awake.

But... letting Mill near the child might be a good thing. Her mind as a doctor began to turn, giving counter arguments to her bias views. Human interactions could be good for the boy, to ease and even erase his fear of humans in the long run. If he feared the human race all his life, he could grow up to lash out against them, or even worse, join that despicable White Fang.

Bell shuddered, an over emotional Dragon Faunas in the White Fang's arsenal would be disastrous.

She turn her gaze back to the old man before her, her badger side sensing him out. He was very old, maybe hitting his sixties, meaning he wasn't that fit for combat should he try to harm the boy, what was more was that he did not give off the sense of suspicion or hate she felt in most humans she met, and should he try something, Bell believed she could easily take him and defend the boy at the same time...

"This better not bite me in the bum..." She thought with a sigh

"Very well, follow me. He should be awake now."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nothingness.

That's what the young Dragon Faunus could describe in his vision right now.

Or... the lack off.

He ran his hand over the bandage covering the majority of his upper skull, wrapped securely around his child head. He could feel the faint outline of the heavy scar going across his eyes and the bridge of his nose. The boy already knew he was blind now, that was obvious. There was no use hoping he would be able to see again. He gave up on things like hope a long time ago...

What was more prominent in taking up his attention was why he was... feeling things. As soon as he woke up, the child was able to seemingly able to feel... things. While his vision was gone and only darkness was there, he could "see" a bunch of rich blue outlines moving around in the empty blackness. Above, below, at the same latitude as him... everywhere. The child didn't have the slightest clue to what these outlines were, but they roughly shared the same shape as people. Was he... able to see people...? No he was blind now, he shouldn't see anything at all. But this didn't make any sense...

The sound of the door to the room he was in cause the child to stiffen, his long snowy white tail swishing quickly in duress. Turning his head in the direction of the sound, the Dragon Faunus boy could make out of the pulsing outlines like he had been seeing. One was rather big, the other smaller and leaner. The boy assumed it meant he could make out more to the outlines when they were closer...? He would have continued his musings, but the sound of what seemed to be a chair being placed next to the bed brought him back to reality.

"Hello son..." the burly outline lit up with each word, and the tone of the voice was clearly a man's. His aged and friendly voice hitting the young boy's ears. "How are you feeling my child?"

Silence. The boy did not speak at all. Clearly he was still afraid, not that he could be blamed for it. It was amazing he was shrinking away in terror.

"I-I'm fine... it hurts some..." the child spoke for the first time. His voice was small and timid, much like how he was right now. His small hands griped the sheet covering his lower body, other than his tail which was sticking out and laid across the bed under his feet.

"What's your name? It'd be much more appropriate to speak as more than strangers," Mill continued, leaning forward. He was content with making the boy feel safe, because he surely deserved it.

"... Luzid, m-my name is Luzid Vitreus."

Mill smiled, he was making progress. "My name is Mill Cerul. You're name... it means Transparent Crystal."

Luzid's head perked up, turning towards the old Human. "You know the Old Language?"

The burly man let out a hearty laugh. "I do indeed my boy! An old geezer like me has been around a long time, I know many things," Mill smiled widely when he saw the Dragon Faunus smile lightly in return.

It was at this time Dr Bell cleared her throat, letting Luzid know the other figure in the room with him and Mill was a woman. While she didn't want to upset the boy, there was still medical information she needed to collect on the child. "Sorry to interrupt, but I need you to answer some questions for me Luzid. It's normal stuff I need." When he nodded, she pulled out a pen and picked up his medical charts. "First, do you have any family we can contact?"

Luzid was silent momentarily, then he lowered his head. "No... I don't have anyone anymore. My parents... were killed a year ago."

The Badger Faunus stopped writing and looked up at the boy, then the Human sitting next to him. The heterochromatic eyes of the old man told her to just continue with the questioning, better to not let the child dwell on his loss. "I'm sorry for your loss. I won't let you worry on that any longer. Next question, what kind of Faunus are you?"

"Oh... I'm a Albino Scaleless Dragon Faunus," Luzid answered, lifting his head back up.

Neither Mill or Dr. Honey had heard of that kind before. Frankly that part wasn't surprising, there were many different kinds of Dragon Faunus. Even still, the two adults guessed young Luzid was a very rare kind.

"Interesting... how old are you?"

"I'm seven."

"Do you have anywhere to go?"

"... no."

Seeing as there was no other questions, the Badger Faunus returned Luzid's chart to the end of the bed. "Thank you dear. Now, I need to speak to Mr. Cerul. We will return in a moment," she said, walking towards the door. Mill looked back at Luzid before getting up and heading to the door himself.

"Mr. Cerul."

Hearing the boy's voice, the old man turned back into the room. Luzid had moved his head slightly towards him.

"Are you the one who saved me?"

Mill looked at the boy and smiled, even though he couldn't see it. "I did."

Luzid sat in silence for around three minutes before he turned his head completely towards him.

"Thank you."

The human smiled, warmth filling his heart knowing this boy was going to be alright. He gave a audible grunt in response before closing the door behind him and turning to see the Badger Faunus doctor waiting.

"We've come to dilemma now Mr. Cerul," Bell spoke up, glancing over at the boy sitting in the bed who looked in her general direction. "If you don't mind stepping out with me for a moment..."

Mill looked back to Luzid who was still trying to look at the doctor and said. "I'll be back in a moment, there are some things I need to discuss with the kind doctor, alright?" Luzid turned his head back to the old man, a worried and sad look morphing the lower part of his face, Mill gave a soft chuckle. "Fret not, I will be back the moment I'm done discussing matters with her, here." Mill reached into one of his pockets and took out a dull golden pocket watch, not that Luzid could see it. Taking the young lads hand Mill set the the item in the boys hands and closed his fingers around it, Luzid looked down at his hands, curious as to what he had been handed. "Hold on to that for me and try to figure out what it is until I get back." Mill smiled and stood, releasing Luzid's hand and walking off. The young faunas had already been feeling the object over, trying to figure out what it was.

"What is the matter Doctor?" Mill asked as they both stepped out the room, shutting the door behind them.

"It is about Luzid," Bell sighed, looking through the window on the door. "And his mental condition."

"Oh?" A large frizzled eyebrow was raided by Mill with a curious look.

Taking a place across from the child's room, the doctor leaned against the wall and sighed heavily. "While it seems he's doing much better, I fear it's far from the most favorable situation. Concerning what all has happened to him, I expect Luzid to develop a phobia of humans."

Moving his other hand to grip his walking staff alongside its sibling, the aged human hummed in confusion. "A phobia you say?"

"Yes..." Taking up her habit of pacing in place, the Badger Faunus continued. "The last thing I expect the boy to have saw, was his attacker. Which is almost guaranteed to be human," She gripped her arm tightly, attempting to reel in her anger. "Luzid could come to fear your kind, wanting to seclude himself further away from them. Two options could come from that; the first is he will become disillusioned and spiteful, never trusting anyone, even other Faunus in time, and will live a bitter life of solitude. The second is much worse... instead the boy could become violent, hateful, and destructive. Blind or not, Luzid is still a Dragon Faunus, and his kind possess a strength few can ever hope to achieve. If the likes of the White Fang were to get their hands on him..." It was no secret that every day the once placid White Fang became more cruel and violent, and they'd jump at any chance to gain more power to further their bloody cause. Dr. Bell sighed once again, her voice cracking ever so lightly, the personal worry for the young albino bleed into her tone. "Against all my professionalism, I'm worried about him. He's only a little boy... and already suffered so much. I... I just want him to have a happy life. Is that so wrong to wish for this one miracle?"

The woman's words rang deep and true in the heart and mind of Mill Cerul. He was an old man, he'd long since lived a full life and had no regrets with his choices. But young Luzid was only ten years old, and his path in life was a great unknown. So many variables, different paths that can and could not be taken now. He's disabled, most likely still scared, and has suffered greatly already in his short life. While Honey was still in her own thoughts, the human turned back to the cracked door to Luzid's room. He could see the little boy sitting up in his hospital bed, his tiny hands running up and down the aged watch, trying to uncover what it was. He seems to be a inquisitive child. At that time the old man's mind, aged yet still knowledgeable and vigorous, began to turn its gears. "That could indeed work..." It was certifiably difficult, but the rewards to be reaped would be worth it. "It would give him so many options.." There was little risk in the long run. "He has nothing less than unlimited potential..." The mismatched eyes of Mill Cerul lit up with a spark he'd long since believed to have dimmed. This was his shining hope, a chance to do one more thing in his old life. There was no doubt in his mind, the human smiled widely at the Faunus child a few feet from him.

The life of Luzid Vitreus was not over with the loss he endured. No... this was only his beginning.

Only greatness will follow.

End

This is surely a great surprise to all. I'm not dead, AND a new story follows with my return!

I absolutely must confess to why I disappeared (again) after just uploading the reboot of my other story. Fear not, Heart of the Storm is just being difficult with me and I greatly apologize for making everyone suffer through my inability to compose it, but it will update once I can get back the missing piece to what I need when writing it.

As for my last great disappearance... for a very long time now, I've been struggling with a great deal of personal and emotional issues. I won't go into any detail, for I'd like to keep such matters private, but these issues have caused my writing, along with other things, to become stagnate and weakened. And, as if to further stack on to these matters, a few weeks ago I lost my job which I had for three years. Due to that, a whole slew of new emotional problems have been added on, along with financial issues I now have to deal with. In shorter terms... I'm struggling heavily with my life, and there are some days I don't see there being a future or hope for me. I'm a mess, and I've let that effect what I do here on this site. I love writing, and not being able to do it has only fed my misery to the point its akin to a gluttonous bloated pig.

I won't promise that you'll be seeing update constantly like I did back when I first started, there's no absolute there with everything on my plate now. But I will say, no matter what, I will always find a way to come back to writing. Its my passion and what I love to do, the day I give it up, is they day I have nothing more to live for.

Now then, onto this little gem (hehe, a pun) of a story...

In truth I have long since had this story in my mind with a great deal planned with it. This fic... holds a very special place in my heart, and I want to share it with you all. You can see by now, we've got a blind Faunus main character. Very unique, granted I'm sure others have already done the concept before, but I'm going to attempt my own flare on it. And a Dragon too... confession; I like dragons, I had to do it. But this story... I have SO MUCH I want to show with it. You can tell it's already going to be something else just by the genre tags. I've got it tagged as Spiritual not for religious purpose, but more for emotional and internal purpose. I will be tackling a lot of personal issues with this fic; individuality, insecurities, emotional distress, racism, love, etc. the list goes on. This story is like a extension of of who we are as people. The struggles we face as individuals, or what we may see others go through. There's a goal of making this story about overcoming our challenges with our lives, and achieving our goals, that I want to succeed in making. This fic is as personal to me as I hope it will come to be to some of you. I hope that when this fic comes to a end, whenever that may be, that it's moved something inside you like it does for me.

But this is still a RWBY story, so there will be no shortage of action, intrigue, mystery, romance, comedy, and whatever else goes into making this brilliant universe that Monty Oum created and the people at Roosterteeh continue to expand on. I love the show and everything about it, wouldn't be here if I didn't.

Well, there's not much more I have to say for now. I have no clue when the second chapter will come up, but I am making efforts to write more despite my real world problems. I hope everyone enjoyed this first chapter and look forward to the next.

Until next time everyone.