Change has come to Remnant.
That was all Ozpin knew, something had changed, shifted in the world, and he could not tell if it was for good or for ill. Seven years ago, he felt a surge of power, pure unrivaled cosmic power the likes of which he had not felt since the gods cursed him.
Yet it was completely foreign to him. This did not feel like the gods who have long since gone silent. This was much more powerful then them. More powerful and for a moment, it was unbridled. Who or what had such power that it could be felt by him yet not pinpointed due to its blinding strength was cause for concern.
For years his inner circle searched for the cause of that surge, surely something that powerful would be easy to spot? He feared that the death toll would be the herald of this new entity, but nothing happened, no natural disasters or anything strange happened for about a year. Then, something did happen.
Reports of settlements being protected from the Grimm by strange forcefields came in. At first, he thought they were the product of fear during an attack or hunters drinking too much. Then Qrow reported the same thing and with photos of what was protecting the villages. Hedrons with a script etched into all their surfaces and possibly inside of them.
Ozpin went to study these monuments himself, and what he discovered upon seeing them shocked him to his core. They had magic. These Hedrons where using magic to create a field that repelled the Grimm. They also contained a faint trace of the entity's power that he felt before.
He couldn't make heads or tails of how they functioned other then the obvious fact that they protect the area they surround and that the script on their surfaces was probably a language used to control them. How to manipulate them or even what else they could do was something that he could not grasp at this moment. He would let Ironwood know that these Hedrons used magic and that Atlas`s scientists and scholars should be brought in to study them. He was only one man after all, and he couldn't dedicate his time to unravelling the mystery of these wonderous artifacts.
It did help answer one question of his though. The entity that released all that power made these, and it made them with the intent of protecting the people who lived within the circle of hedrons.
For now, he could breathe a little easier knowing that he did not have another Salem on his hands. At least not yet, while the gift was indeed wonderous Ozpin could not help but worry that this entity might be using these hedrons to fence in humanity like cattle waiting to be slaughtered. While unlikely, it was still a possibility that kept him on edge.
More of these safe zones kept popping up, and only on the continent of Anima. Qrow was losing his mind trying to track down who or what was setting these things up, it got to the point that he almost always was in a drunken haze, which lead to a dumb idea that paid off.
He decided to turn into a crow and sleep in a tree in the woods outside the village he was staking out in hopes that he would spot the magical bigfoot. What he saw was a colossal dragon doing magic.
Ozpin first asked if Qrow had switched to drugs over booze, but the next night stone cold sober and in the village next door he saw it again, even got a picture of its back to prove he wasn't high as a kite. Turned out though that after he switched to human form and took that shaky picture the dragon noticed it was being watched and shot fire from it mouth and then disappeared, as if by magic Qrow had said, which at this point was probably true.
The picture that Qrow took was out of focus and hard to get a good look at the creature but the silhouette told you it was a bipedal lizard with wings, and the scorched backside of the hunter said the fire was real.
So, reality warping magical dragon was the only conclusion at this point, oh and Qrow said it might have been wearing armor. Ozpin was seriously considering joining the drunken reaper in his trips to the bar, but experience from a previous life stopped him. The Dragon was never seen again after that and the safe zones stopped popping up.
He was a little disappointed with the last one, but it told him more about the, now known dragon. It was secretive, maybe benevolent, highly intelligent in order to make the hedrons and hide itself, and really, really didn't like to be snuck up on, but the most important thing he knew was that it had magic. This was also the most perplexing.
He and Salem were supposed to be the only people with magic in the world, aside from the maidens. Yet here was a dragon of all things, with more magical power then he ever had, hell even the gods didn't have that much power on their own. Where did it come from? Why is it here now? And what is its goal?
Maybe the new students could shed some light on this mystery. Jaune Arc, one of the first years to arrive and go through initiation, and perhaps the key to this little puzzle.
His performance during the test was quite impressive. He also carried a small trace of the dragon`s power. Not enough to suggest that the dragon gifted him power like Ozpin did with the maidens, but enough to suggest that he had come in contact with the dragon at some point.
The only problem was how to approach him. The dragon had shown to be fiercely protective of itself and might know if we stress the boy. Not that that was an option Ozpin wanted to resort to, he did have morals, and it was possible that Jaune could be unaware of the mark left on him or even who put it there. For now, he would have to wait and see which cards where played in the hopes that the dragon would reveal his hand, and not burn the table.
Jaune would say that being part Elder Dragon Planeswalker had more upsides then downsides. The intellect boost made homework and strategy games easy, he knew more about magic then most and could use it, and obviously he could turn into a giant fire breathing badass.
This all made the homicidal psychopathic voice in the back of his mind tolerable, especially when that knowledge came with a way to almost silence said voice, but in the morning, he cursed that part of himself. Apparently, Elder Dragons don't like to wake up, or be woken up until they feel like it. For Jaune this usually means about ten hours of being dead to the world, or someone else becoming dead, followed by a nap.
Of course, Nora had to be the one to poke the dragon. When all she got was a growl that would have sent any sane person running, she decided to up the ante.
She tried to jump on top of him, key word, tried. Just as she was about to land on top of him, he pounced. She didn't know how it happened, only that she was on the floor with the scariest thing she had ever seen on top of her. "Nora" it said with such sweetness covering the intended threat you could almost believe it was Jaune talking and not this monster.
"Don't wake me up ever again, unless you want to end up as kibble" it spoke with such malice that all she could do was nod frantically in hopes that it would crawl back to the pit from whence it came.
Satisfied that its doctrine was established the demon slithered slash crawled back into its blanket cave.
Ren and Pyrrha, who where cowering in the corner, couldn't believe that a human body could move like that, but then again whatever their leader just turned into was decidedly not human. Only when they heard snoring did Ren speak. "Our leader is terrifying." No one could argue, in fact Nora might say that he was understating it.
None of them saw their leader until they got to breakfast in the cafeteria. He was just sitting there eating some sausage and smiling, like he didn't just scare them witless.
Once he spotted them he grinned even wider and waved them over. They warily made their way over to him, this was something he noticed.
"Uh guys, why are you acting like I'm a Grimm?"
Nora was still shaken and Pyrrha dumbfounded, so Ren again had to take up speaking.
"Nora tried to wake you up and then you pinned her to the floor and threatened to turn her into kibble in the best impersonation of an angry dragon I will ever see in my life."
The color drained from Jaune's face. "Crap I forgot to tell you, I sleep like the dead and if someone tries to wake me I kind of lose it but never remember any of it, I`m so sorry Nora."
He had the best kicked puppy face any of them had ever seen, unshed tears and everything. If not for the recent terror they all would have let their guard down.
"You lose it? Jaune, you slithered back to bed like a snake after Nora agreed to not wake you up ever again, how did you even pull that off?" Pyrrha exclaimed.
"Really I only threatened her? That's an improvement."
"Don't change the subject!" Pyrrha shouted, getting team RWBY`s attention.
"What`s the matter guys?" Ruby asked in concern.
"Nora tried to wake Jaune up and he turned into a demon, threatened to turn her into dog food then crawled back into bed in the best imitation of a snake I will ever see, and now we are interrogating him." Pyrrha ranted.
A small, scaly part of Jaune liked it when she was mad, but he wasn't about to say it. Team RWBY decided that the grilling was worth watching and now all eyes were on Jaune, he sighed.
"Guys I have never remembered any of these incidents but I do know that they have happened from my sisters telling me, I have never needed an alarm clock so they just leave me be now and I didn't want to tell you guys cause it's kind of embarrassing and if I told you I think Nora would have tried anyways just to test it."
Nora started whistling, proving Jaune`s point, Pyrrha calmed down and Ren was as Stoic as ever. RWBY on the other hand was on the floor laughing. Nora didn't like this
"If its so funny then why don't you guys try waking him up tomorrow." She challenged.
"I gave my warning, I am not responsible for any injuries incurred from trying to wake me." Jaune stated with resignation, for the look on RWBY`s faces said they where going to try waking him up in the future.
Most of the classes where fairly standard. History interested Jaune, considering he had the history of several worlds inside his head to compare it with so it wasn't as boring for him, and the professor`s rapid rate of speech wasn't a problem for a mind reader.
Grimm studies was coma inducing for him though. All the professor talked about was how he killed them and what weak points each type had. Jaune and Ugin did more research in a month then all of Remnant did in millennia.
The Spirit Dragon was curious and Jaune was retraining his skill with magic at the time. Turns out the Grimm are like the gods of Amonket, but aren't made of leylines, just the energy from them.
Their connection to the world was stronger then the angels of Innistrad but they weren't a natural occurrence like the angels were.
Which begs the question, who or what created them, and continues to do so?
Ugin and Jaune never got to answer that question, but Jaune had a feeling that the answer would reveal itself in time. One of the answers they did get was that counter magic worked on both the Grimm, and a person`s aura.
Further testing revealed that Jaune in his dragon form wasn't vulnerable to this. Something the Spirit Dragon had an answer for. His spirit was split between what it was and who he is now, which body he is in changes which aspect grows stronger.
The Elder Dragon half was a magically resistant creature, the Remnant human half didn't grow up in an environment like Dominaria and thus didn't have a resistance to it. That being said, it took quite a lot of power to drop his aura shield, probably a lot more then what it would take to bring down a regular huntsman`s aura.
Professor Port managed to break him out of his reverie, when he asked for volunteers to demonstrate how to take down a couple of Grimm. Weiss seemed eager and Jaune wanted something to relieve his boredom, so he volunteered as well
"This is a surprise Mr. Arc, I guess you can go first." Professor Port stated.
Jaune only brought back his sword from the lockers.
"Mr. Arc, I don't think you want to damage your uniform." Port chided.
"Don't worry sir I won`t." Jaune boasted.
The Grimm was going to the slaughterhouse and Jaune was the butcher. This would be one of those times that he would indulge in his urge to kill, to prove that he was the most dangerous thing in the room.
Port cut the chains holding the door closed, the Grimm came out of the box ready to fight.
Jaune waited, Nicol Bolas does not chase his prey he waits until it challenges him, the Grimm charges him, then he toys with them, Jaune timed it perfectly, his hand came out like a snake striking, catching it by the throat.
Showing that no matter what they do he will win. The Grimm struggled but Jaune`s enhanced aura prevented any of its limbs from doing any damage, just as the beast started to slow he tossed it to the other end of the room.
But that is not enough for him he has to see the despair in your eyes. Jaune stood rooted to the spot. Nothing the boar like Grimm did made him move, all it got for its efforts were choke holds and beatings over the head with his sheathed sword.
When you realize that all your efforts are futile, and hope has left you, that is when he comes to reap his rewards and your life. The Grimm was too weak to stand, from all the strikes to the head and lack of air.
Jaune walked up to it casually, like he was going for a leisurely stroll through the park. When he stood before the Grimm he drew his sword and stabbed it through the exhausted creatures head, ending its life and his entertainment.
The class was silent none of them had see someone dominate a Grimm, not kill but beat into submission, in such a fashion that it left everyone watching, both in awe and fear.
The collective thought they all had was "I hope I never have to fight that monster."
Port broke the silence "A most amazing demonstration Mr. Arc, class I think we are in the presence of a true huntsmen in the making. Ms. Schnee it is your turn."
Jaune took his seat to watch Weiss. She struggled at first and snapped at Ruby to stop breaking her focus.
Jaune could see where this was heading. After class Weiss and Ruby had a shouting match about her being team leader.
Jaune saw that Ozpin was going to talk to Ruby so he went to go find Weiss. When he did she was sitting on a bench in the courtyard.
"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked.
"If you must know, I have no clue as to why the headmaster thought that that child could lead our team better then me." She huffed, forgetting in her anger that, Jaune had delivered a verbal smackdown a few days ago.
"If you cannot see why you might not be suited to be leader then Ozpin made the right choice." He stated simply, no sense beating around the bush.
"Excuse me?" she exclaimed in that typical rich girl shrill.
"Tell me Weiss, what made your grandfather such a respected leader and businessman?" That threw her for a loop, but she recovered and answered.
"He created an empire that distributes dust, the life blood of technology, around the world." She said. "All true but not what made him someone people where willing to follow."
She gave me this look of confusion.
"He started off working in dust mines and took a risk that created the empire you now live off of. He was just like everyone else who worked in those mines and knew what the dangers of working in them was and did what he could to mitigate the risks to the workers. The lowest people under him could see some of themselves in him, what they could be and that those at the top can care about the little guy."
Realization colored her face but he pushed on.
"People call you ice queen because you are closed off, you show none of the compassion your grandfather was famous for. Even now you stand there like a statue made of ice, cold and unfeeling, only concerned about yourself and what you feel you deserve. A leader of huntsman needs to put his team before himself. You are more likely to get your team killed for pride and that's if they don't mutiny first."
She wanted to say something, but all of his words struck true silencing her.
"Ruby on the other hand joined because she wants to help people, to be a hero, any decision she makes is going either be for the good of the people that she protects or her team. It's because of this that she is the leader despite her young age, if you want to be a leader I suggest that you learn how to care about others first." He concluded.
It was harsh but Jaune wasn`t one for pulling punches. He left her to think about his words, he had a red haired warrior princess to find and as much as it hurt his pride, ask her for help.