Chapter revised 31/12/2017; please see chapter 11.
/
Hello, folks. It has been a while hasn't it?
I don't really have much of an excuse, midterms and essays and video-games occupied most of my time this last month.
But like I said before, I intend to see both of my stories through to the end. There will be periods without updates, but at no point will my stories be dead.
With that out of the way, I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised by the amount of positive feedback I received for this story. Surprised, and if I'm being honest, a bit annoyed that the story that I wrote pretty much on a whim received more reviews, favs (is this right?) and follows in 1 chapter than the store I actually have relatively well planned out did in 4. But considering both got nothing but positive reviews so far, I'll count myself lucky. Hell, I've even received some reviews recently asking me to update
And I have you guys to thank for it.
But there's something I have to say about the story that might drive a few of you away. If it does, I understand.
If you are looking for massive deviations from canon, you will not find them here.
Now, to answer some of the reviews:
D0vahK1n9: Sorry about that m8, if it's any consolation, the same thing happened to me a few times already.
Necrofantasia and Guest: Rest assured, Tristard will have a lot of fire power, but I don't think it will quite reach that level.
Stalkzone: Thanks. I try to write stuff that's fairly unique.
Joshiewoshie: Tristard is well aware of this fact, and he's gonna make an effort to avoid drawing unwanted attention, but I haven't quite decided yet whether he'll be successful.
Dario Soto: I haven't decided on a pairing yet. I'm on the fence between 2 girls, but I'm sorry to say Velvet is not one of them.
Abe: I think part of this review is missing, but from what I understand you want to see argonians. If that happens, it'll be much further on.
Demetori and Shadow Kaiju: I actually had a scene of that nature planned for this chapter, but decided to leave it for the next one.
And now, on with the show.
Oh, and I apologize for any errors you might find, I didn't pay as much attention as usual to those.
/
For the last two hours, Tristard had been telling Ozpin about who he was and where he came from, or at least the short version of it. The Headmaster was accepting, but lady Goodwitch was sceptical, until the man showed proof in the form of a few spells, and items he had been carrying. Ozpin then explained to the dimensionally displaced mage about this strange new world he found himself in. A world where only humans and Faunus, which were basically humans with animal traits, existed, and they faced a dire threat. The creatures of Grimm, the beasts he had slain in the forest, soulless, relentless monsters of countless shapes and sizes, who seemed to prey on Man, for no reason other than they could, but mankind had endured through sheer tenacity, something they called "technology", which allowed them to build all sorts of weapons and other things, far beyond anything Nirn had to offer, the strange crystalline substance known as Dust, which was used for everything from fighting to providing everyday comforts, and the power of Aura, a manifestation of the soul which granted various abilities to people, he briefly wondered if there was any similarity to his thu'ums. As if that wasn't bad enough, while the four kingdoms where experiencing a long period of peace, the threat of war was ever present. Which was why this academy he found himself in trained young boys and girls to become hunters and huntresses, champions whose duty was to fight the Grimm, and on occasion humans as well.
All in all, he thought the place still beat Apocrypha and the Soul Cairn, hands down.
As he was mulling over this information, he couldn't help but think that he was missing something...
Wait a minute...
A new realm...
With a broken moon...
...
Tristard sighed in exasperation. "Oh, Gods dammit."
"Is there something wrong?" Ozpin inquired, while Glynda raised an eyebrow. The archmage shook his head. "Not at all, Professor, it's just that I only now realized that I had some forewarning about this situation..."
/
The Augur of Dunlain, he was called.
Once, he had been one of the most brilliant and promising students of the college, a gifted genius the likes of which occur only once in a generation, and a curious individual who craved knowledge in all its forms, pursuing the disciplines of magic with a drive that bordered on obsession, until an accident during an experiment had turned him into this large sphere of light before Tristard, forever trapped in the catacombs beneath his beloved college.
The man had earned knowledge, at the cost of nearly everything else perhaps, but he was willing to share it with those he found worthy, which these days meant pretty much just the Dragonborn, with whom the Augur often shared theories and discussed philosophies. And just as they had finished one of these conversations...
"Seeker of knowledge, hold."
Tristard stared curiously at the being.
"Do you recall what I once told you about your path?"
"Aye, that it was a good one, one untraveled by many."
"Aye... and soon, it will lead you to a great trial."
The man's curiosity increased. The Augur shared yes, but only when asked. What could be so important that he had found it necessary to speak?
"How so?"
The being seemed to shine brighter.
"From beyond Oblivion, a realm calls,
And beneath a broken moon, darkness falls.
Fangs and flames, a deadly Game,
And devouring all, the Beast shall rage untamed.
If you wish to stop this Shadow,
Be the White Knight,
Alongside the maidens of Red, White, Black and Yellow."
And with that cryptic advice, the Augur vanished, leaving a confused archmage behind wondering about its meaning.
/
"... Months passed since then, and with other more pressing matters, I forgot this prophecy, 'till now." The man finished his tale, and noticed the listener's thoughtful expression. "You know something about this."
Ozpin nodded, both in confirmation and approval of the man's perceptiveness. "Indeed, I believe I know at least who that last verse refers to."
The headmaster pressed a button on his desk, and the large screen once again appeared in the office, much to the mage's surprise and curiosity, must be those "cameras" Lady Goodwitch told him about.
The man watched the images... and it took all his self-control not to let his jaw break through the floor.
In the very same forest he had found himself in a few hours ago, four young women were going toe to toe with a raven-like Grimm larger than some dragons he'd killed. The one with golden blond hair kept the creature's mouth open while using her gauntlets to shoot balls of flame inside, the black-haired one wearing a strange ornament that resembled the ears of a khajiit leapt on its back and repeatedly slashed at it with her blade, the regal-looking white-haired one used her rapier to weave glyphs in the air, freezing the massive bird's tail and trapping the beast, and the younger girl, with black hair and red bangs, wearing a red hood and wielding a scythe bigger than herself finished the thing off by beheading it... after dragging the damn thing up the cliff.
Silence filled the office as the screen faded.
"Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose. These four have just two days ago passed their initiation, and become students here at Beacon Academy as team RWBY." Ozpin explained.
"Well... They certainly seem to match the description... I can't help but wonder if my aid is even necessary..."
Ozpin offered Tristard a mug of the beverage he called coffee, which the mage politely refused, (certain events with a certain Daedric Prince had made him weary of any drink other than water and potions.) "That, I do not know. The girls show promise yes, but they are still young, and quite inexperienced. Perhaps you're here to provide the experience? Or a new perspective? I truly cannot say." He then took a sip of his own mug. "But I do have a proposition for you."
"Do tell."
"If we're to believe this... prophecy of yours, then those four will be very important in what is to come, and it would be in everyone's best interests if you were around to provide support, so that being said..."
"You want me to join the academy in some capacity." Tristard finished for him, to which Ozpin once more nodded approvingly.
"Yes, that would be my suggestion. Now I'm afraid that magic as you know it is not something the people of Remnant are capable of using. Our power comes from within."
"So does mine in some ways, but I see your point. That would mean, since teaching is out, that I would be in a better position to intervene if I became a student." A janitor was also an option, but he would not be the one to voice it.
"You are quick on the uptake. Yes, not only would it allow you to remain close, but it would also help you to know more about our world. I suppose you have no issues with this?"
"Why should I? Everyone has to start somewhere. Why, just 3 years ago, I entered the college of Winterhold with nothing but my clothes and a rusty sword, and now I am it's Archmage. You might want to be careful about that." He finished jokingly.
Ozpin chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind. Now then, since you'll be joining, I will need to prepare some documents, and for that we will need to think of a story for your past, I believe your true origins should be kept a secret, at least for now." Tristard nodded in agreement. "And you will also need to perform the initiation exam..."
The mage and the teachers spent a little more time coming up with a background for him and discussing a few minor details, after which Glynda escorted him to a spare room so he could rest for the coming trial.
/
"Oh man, I wonder why they had all the students assemble here all of the sudden." Fifteen-year-old Ruby Rose wondered aloud, as teams RWBY and JNPR stood alongside the other students in the large room.
Weiss Schnee replied annoyed. "We'll learn why we're soon enough, Ruby, you'll just have to be patient."
"I'm curious myself, actually." Their teammate Blake Belladonna replied. "We're supposed to have the week off to settle in, so it shouldn't be about classes."
"I hope it's nothing bad." June Arc, the leader of team JNPR, said apprehensively. Having entered Beacon with forged documents, the young man had a certain amount of paranoia about being found out. Pyrrha Nikos, his fellow team member, considered one of the best huntresses in training, put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "Relax, Jaune, I'm sure it's not."
The chatter on the Amphitheatre died down as Ozpin stood in the platform.
"Good morning, students. If you look around you, you will see many others like you, aspiring hunters and huntresses, from many different backgrounds. I make it a point to allow in my academy people from all walks of life, and in a way, that's why I've called you here today."
There were a few hushed whispers as the Headmaster paused.
"Yesterday evening, a traveller from outside the kingdoms accidentally wondered into the Emerald Forest, where he was caught on camera fighting the local Grimm, and he displayed such skills while doing so that after we rescued him, I offered the young man the position of a student, to which he agreed. In a few minutes, he will begin his initiation, which is what we are gathered here to watch."
More hushed whispers.
"Now I am well aware that all of the teams are full, which is why he will have to retrieve a relic like you did, and the relic he picks will decide which team he will join as a fifth member."
Whispers became full blown chatter once again.
"So, we have the chance of having a guy in the team, uh?" Yang Xiao Long wondered aloud, to which Weiss replied.
"I certainly hope not, it's bad enough having to deal with the dunce."
Ruby sank to her knees, an aura of gloom around her.
"Hey, no need to pick on my sister, Ice Princess. Besides, what's so bad about it? I certainly wouldn't mind, and if he's good-looking, even better." The blonde finished with a grin. Weiss just shook her head exasperated.
"It's about to begin."
A massive screen appeared behind the Headmaster showing the cliff overlooking the Forest, currently occupied by professor Goodwitch and the potential student, whose appearance earned him some curious stares from the students.
"What's with the outfit?" Yang wondered, eyebrow raised. "The guy looks like an rpg character or something."
"And that mask. Who wears a mask like that these days?" Weiss added, with some suspicion in her tone, since the first answer that came to her mind wasn't exactly a pleasant one. Blake wondered the same thing for similar reasons, but quickly came to the conclusion that there was no connection.
"Oh, oh, oh!" Nora Valkyrie, a hyperactive member of team JNPR, who likely had ADD, said excitedly. "Look at those tusks, maybe he's an elephant Faunus? Maybe he's using it to hide a trunk? Geez, I wonder if he likes peanuts. Do you think he likes peanuts? Because I..."
"Nora." Lie Ren, the stoic final member of JNPR, and the poor bastard who had to run damage control whenever Nora got a bit too excited, interrupted her ramblings. "I seriously doubt he has a trunk, Faunus or not."
"Well, I guess we're about to see what he's capable off." Ruby stated, as the chatter finally died down, and everyone began watching.
/
"So, what exactly is this trial about?" Tristard inquired, as he stood on the square platform on the ground like Lady Goodwitch asked him to.
"On the North side of the emerald forest there's a temple, which you'll have to reach. Inside, you will find a set of relics, one of which you will have to choose and bring back. The forest, as you're well aware at this point, is filled with Grimm, and they'll be trying to stop you every step of the way."
"Enter forest, get to ruins, find relic, return, kill everything between the two points. Eh, feels like home." Tristard couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I suppose I should begin making my way down the cliff then?"
"That will not be necessary. You will be launched."
The dragonborn barely had the time to blink in confusion before he heard a noise that dozens of close calls in ancient nord tombs, dwemer ruins, dungeons and bandit hideouts had taught him to dread.
The click of an activated mechanism.
"Ozpin, you son of a..." Whatever else he was going to say was lost to the wind as the Launchpad did its job, and the mage was sent cartwheeling through the air, the result of his failed attempt to leave the platform.
Glynda scowled as she watched him go.
She would have to scold him for that later.
/
Tristard was one of the few beings in Tamriel who could safely say he had had a bird's eye view of the world.
Riding in the back of dragons did come with a few perks.
It was one of the reasons that he wasn't quite as worried as most other beings in his place would be, in fact, he couldn't help but casually compare the perspective while mounted and the one he had now, there were subtle differences.
In all honesty, he was more pissed at Ozpin because the Headmaster hadn't deigned to warn him about the whole catapulting thing than about actually being launched. He was still going to have words with the man, though. Painful words.
Soon he reached the apex of his flight and gravity made itself known again, and as the ground began to get dangerously close, the other reason he wasn't all that bothered became evident.
He was also one of the few beings in Tamriel with the ability to survive the fall.
Three little words.
"FEIM ZII GRON!"
His form shimmered, becoming a transparent ethereal blue, and the mage descended through the canopy, his body fazing through the branches like a phantom, landing in a kneeling position and becoming corporeal once more as he stood and watched his surroundings, before heading North as instructed.
/
Yang chuckled when she saw the guy being launched. "Damn, that was even funnier than yours, Vomit boy."
Jaune wasn't quite sure how to answer to that, and Weiss frowned disapprovingly. "Such rudeness. Why would Headmaster Ozpin allow someone this disrespectful to join his academy?"
"Perhaps they know each other?" Blake suggested, she wasn't quite sure, the way the guy talked, it seemed like he considered Ozpin an equal. No one had an answer for her.
The group went silent once more as they watched, curious as to what his landing strategy was, growing a bit concerned when didn't move while getting closer to the ground, and then surprised when he finally did something.
"What was that? Did he just turn in to a ghost?" A bewildered Ruby asked.
"I actually think that's pretty accurate." Pyrrha replied as she watched him with an analytical eye. "It seems like his semblance is intangibility, and he used that to deny any damage from the landing, but I don't know what or why he shouted like that."
Ruby was even more confused. "What-a-bility?"
"Intangibility, you dunce, it means he can pass through solid objects." Weiss answered annoyed.
"Awesome..." The younger girl said with that awed childish enthusiasm that at this point everyone expected of her.
And she had seen nothing yet.
/
Tristard stopped in the middle of a clearing. The forest was quiet. Too quiet.
"Laas yah nir!"
Unlike most other Thu'ums, Aura Whisper wasn't a mighty shout, but rather just that, a discreet whisper, which revealed to him every being close by, not by their souls, as Remnant's inhabitants might think if they heard the name, nor by their life force, like the detect life spell, but by their potential to be a threat, which was why it didn't differentiate friend from foe, and was capable of detecting the constructs of the dwarves, the unliving, and as he just found out, the Grimm as well.
Aaaaannd they had him surrounded. Lovely.
As if realizing they had lost the element of surprise, six were... beowolves charged him from different directions, claws ready to rend and tear.
Chain lightning arced through the air, incinerating the three beasts in his field of vision, after which the mage rolled forward to avoid a vicious swipe at his back. As he rose, lightning turned to ice and the offending monster was knocked into a tree by the massive spike of ice impaling its gut. Tristard turned to the two remaining ones, who had stopped their charges when they saw their brethren's fate, and were beginning to circle him, looking for and opening to strike. They were larger, bulkier, and had a few scars, which if Tristard remember what Ozpin told him correctly, meant they were older, smarter and likely more experienced in fighting humanity.
He reached for the axe on his back and held it in a battle stance, the red filigree glowing brighter, as if anticipating the coming slaughter. The creatures eyed the weapon wearily, there was something about its wickedly sharp appearance that made them restless.
"Not quite as... flashy as what you are probably used to facing, perhaps..."
The axe's blade ignited, bright orange flames fading into wisps of green and purple.
"... but Gurahyol comes with its own set of tricks."
Breaking the standoff, one the beowolves pounced on him. Tristard dodged to the left and lashed out, lopping off the creature's arm and immediately cauterizing the wound. Its pained howl was cut short as it fell to ground in a strangely stiff manner, and Gurahyol went through its skull before the paralysis wore off. The last remaining one tried to reach him as he removed the weapon, but he was ready for it.
"IIZ SLEN NUS!"
The beowolf found itself trapped in thick layers of ice, the mage merely walked up to it, and swinging in a wide arc, beheaded the thing.
With the fighting done for the time being, Tristard couldn't help but remember how many times back in Tamriel he had surprised his opponents with this weapon of his own creation. Mages, while feared for their power, we're generally considered weaklings when it came to physical prowess, one of the reasons Nords disliked them so. Many had assumed the same about him, and few had lived to regret their mistake. It was amazing how so few people seemed to be aware of the existence of battlemages. And while it was true that, like most bretons, Tristard had a great affinity for the magical arts, unlike most bretons, he had been an experienced thug long before he had learned his first spell.
Remembering something else Ozpin had told him, the mage examined Gurahyol. The paralysis and flame components of its enchantments had been effective, but sure enough, its magical charge hadn't been restored in the battle, and the soul trap hadn't activated. Grimm truly had no soul. This might become a problem if he didn't find another way to recharge the weapon.
Filling this information for later research, he started leaving the clearing, when a loud hissing noise was heard. Only his well-honed battle instincts allowed him to jump out of the way as something lunged at where he had been, creating a large crater on the ground.
The creature rose and turned to face him. It was massive, to the point that most of its serpentine body was still hidden by the foliage. Pale white scales shined in the clearing's light, it's grey, red-mark bone mask covering only the top of its head, a head that was marred with burns so severe parts of its skull were visible. Its left eye had been burned off, leaving only an empty socket, and its right one glared at the dragonborn, an eye that showed nothing but maddened pain and hatred.
Tristard groaned.
"You again?"
The king tajitu lunged once more, intent on killing the one responsible for its torment.
"WULD!"
The mage disappeared from sight, not to mention from the way of the attack, and reappeared near the Grimm's body, lodging Gurahyol's blade deep into it. The snake hissed in pain as more hideous burns were inflicted upon it, and a great force slammed into Tristard from behind, sending him flying through the clearing. Trough bleary eyes, he noticed he had been blindsided by the creature's other half, it's lifeless black head being used as a battering ram. It would seem his fireball spells the other night had been more effective than he expected. Taking advantage of the its opponent's disorientation, the serpent surged forward and began constricting him. Glee joined pain and hatred in its eye, the prey's weapon was out of reach, ironically still stuck to its body, and its pitiful attempts to break free from its coils were doomed to fail. Revenge upon this human was near.
Tristard grinned.
The beast's first mistake was believing its victory was assured.
Its second was turning him so he could stare at what it believed was his impending demise.
This had begun with fire. It was only fitting that it ended in fire.
"YOL TOOR SHUL!"
An inferno sprang into existence, hitting the surprised monster's face. The Grimm's world became fire, it became agony.
It became darkness.
The charred stump where the head had been fell lifelessly to the ground, and Tristard escaped the loosened coils, wincing as he did. It would seem the beast managed to break a few of his ribs, but that was easily solved with a healing spell. He looked at his handiwork.
"You should've taken the hint when I blew up your faces." He grumbled as he dislodged his axe from the corpse, and finally began making his way North again.
/
Shocked silence reigned over the Amphitheatre.
When the prospective hunter had suddenly stopped in the middle of a clearing and whispered something, a few eyebrows were raised, but it was soon made clear he had noticed the Grimm ambush. Then he had used lightning and ice to dispatch most of his foes, with no apparent usage of dust, much to everyone's confusion. Wasn't his semblance intangibility?
When he had drawn his strange looking axe, which obviously lacked a foldable frame, Ruby had jokingly told Jaune that apparently, he wasn't the only one with an appreciation for the classics.
Then the thing set itself on fire, again with no apparent dust usage according to Weiss, and he proceeded to dispatch the remaining beasts, once again confusing everyone when he froze a Grimm solid by literally screaming at it.
And now he had just turned a king tajitu into barbecue, also by shouting at it.
"How is he doing that?" Weiss wondered out loud, as she tried to understand what she had seen.
"I don't know." Pyrrha was equally perplexed. "But I think we were wrong about his semblance."
"What do you mean?" Blake asked.
"I don't know how he created lightning and ice without dust, but every time something bigger than that happened, he shouted those strange words beforehand. If I had to guess, I'd say those were his semblance."
"A brilliant deduction, Ms. Nikos."
The group nearly jumped, at the unexpected voice, and looked at the source that was standing right beside them.
"Professor Ozpin." Weiss said politely. "Could you please elaborate. How can words be a semblance?"
Ozpin gaze never left the screen. "From what he explained to me, Mr. Soverick calls his semblance "Dragon Shout". In times of need, these words come to the forefront of his mind, and by shouting them, he is capable of creating several effects to turn the tides of battle in his favour." The headmaster took a sip as the group's eyes, as well as those of everyone within earshot, widened in surprise. This guy had an incredibly powerful and adaptive semblance.
"That is so awesome!" Ruby and Nora shouted excitedly, stars twinkling in their eyes.
Before anyone else could speak, a loud growl caused everyone to turn back to the screen, and quite a few to gasp in alarm.
"Oh, my." Ozpin said in a curious tone. "I wonder how he'll work his way out of this one?"
/
'This is getting very close to being labelled as one of those days.' An annoyed Tristard grumbled in his mind. Let it be known that if there was a word to describe the Dragonborn's luck, that word would be "unpredictable".
Sometimes, he could make the journey from Fort Dawnguard to Solitude, basically from one end of Skyrim to the other, without any major incidents.
Others, he couldn't go from Rorikstead to Whiterun without being attacked by at least 5 bandit groups, 3 trolls, a band of giants with their respective mammoth heard, 2 dragons and a homeless Khajiit on skooma (Disturbingly enough, the hardest one to get rid of, the son of a whore just wouldn't. Stay. Down.). And thus he began to label these days, when everything went wrong and even the Gods seemed to be out to get him, "those days".
The reason for which he thought today qualified as such?
The beast that had stomped out of the woods to meet him. Ursine in appearance, it was massive, a colossus of muscle and bony spikes, the black fur of the Grimm seen only through the spaces between white armored plates, marred with the scars of hundreds of battles. Dwarfing the Ursae he'd fought the other day, it was an Alpha in every sense of the word.
Another tense standoff was had between man and beast.
But while the man prepared for battle, the beast simply stared at this interloper into its territory, a calculating, intelligent glint in its eyes. For Grimm grew not only bigger and stronger with time, but smarter as well. They began to be able to strategize, to reason on a primal level, to act against the bloodlust and recklessness that marked their younger years, which was why the older Grimm were considered top level threats that only experienced teams of hunter should engage. This particular Ursa had been around for a long time, it hunted and was hunted in return, and what it saw in front of it was no human prey.
It saw a fellow predator, fangs bared, wings stretched, and fire pulsing in its jaws.
It realized that if they fought, there would be no victory.
And so, with a final growl, the beast turned and made its way back into the woods, leaving a slightly confused Archmage. After a quick use of Aura Whisper to make sure it wasn't a trick, Tristard merely shrugged and went on his way.
"Alright, perhaps not quite one of those days... yet."
/
Complete and utter silence.
That's what filled the Amphitheatre at this point, as every single student stared in shock at the impossible scene.
It ran.
The Grimm ran.
That went against everything they knew. The Grimm were relentless monsters, they never stopped until their prey was dead, or they were. And here they saw someone who had scared off a gigantic Ursa just by staring at it. Who the heck was this guy?
"Interesting..." A pleasantly surprised Ozpin said to himself.
"Professor Ozpin." A stunned Blake asked. "What just happened?"
"Ms. Belladonna, you are aware that the older a Grimm is, the stronger and more intelligent he becomes, right?" The headmaster answered, and most of those around nodded.
"Well, as you could plainly see, that Ursa was quite old, a veteran fighter, and whatever it saw in Mr. Soverick, it seems to have decided it wasn't in its best interest to fight him."
Ozpin was quite pleased, Tristard was doing quite a good job of proving his worth. Perhaps too good a job, judging by the awed expressions of many of the students.
Yang stared at man on the screen as if that would solve the mystery that he represented. Slowly, a smirk appeared on her face. Soverick, uh?
She really wouldn't mind if he joined their team.
/
A few hours and dozens of slaughtered Grimm later, Tristard had finally reached the temple, which consisted of a small circular ruin, with barely standing walls and pillars, and within he found his objective.
"Relics my arse." He muttered, as he looked at various chess pieces spread in a circle of pedestals. Now he just had to choose one...
His eyes stopped on one particular piece.
The White Knight...
...
Had prophecies always been this easy to understand or was he just getting better at it?
With a shrug, the Archmage grabbed it.
/
"YES! The awsome newcomer is one of us now!" Ruby and Yang cheered as they high-fived each other.
"He'll certainly be interesting to work with." Blake said with a smile. Weiss kept silent, and while she wasn't as happy as her teammates, she was somewhat pleased. At least the guy had proved he could hold his own.
"Indeed." Ozpin said with a satisfied smirk, he knew the misplaced mage would understand the admittedly rather obvious hint. "I'll have to take care of the paperwork, but as of right now, Mr. Soverick has become the official fifth member of team RWBY."
"Oooh." Ruby was nearly jumping in childish enthusiasm. "I can't wait to meet him. I've got sooo many questions. How did he pull that lightning and ice trick? How does his axe work? How...?"
...
Enthusiasm became dread.
"Oh no..."
/
"Well... shit."
In the small amount of time he was inside the ruin, the open field around it had been filled with beowolves, the horde he had escaped from the other day if he had to guess, eagerly waiting for the chance to tear their escaped prey apart.
Eh, they were just beowolves, he shouldn't have any major prob...
"SCCCRRRREEEEEEEEE!"
"When will I learn to stop tempting Fate?" He sighed in exasperation, as two of the raven Grimm, Nevermores he recalled, soared overhead. They seemed smaller than the one he had seen being killed, though. The beast's brood, perhaps?
This time there would be no "airship" to pick him up, and there was no cliff he could jump...
Oh well, it wasn't the first time he faced insurmountable odds, and he'd be damned if he let it be the last.
Still on the relative safety of the ruins, he called upon the magicka, and has a blue glow appeared in his hands, he waved them in arcane patterns, and cast the Dragonhide spell, it's light blue brilliance surrounding his whole body before fading into a faint outline.
After that, he reached into his robes, and removed a blue phial. He'd have to use them sparingly, but the current situation more than justified it. Moving his mask slightly, he drank the whole thing in one gulp, and immediately felt his magicka reserves restored.
His preparations done, the Dragonborn walked out to meet his enemies, Gurahyol resting on his shoulder.
"The creatures of Grimm, they call you..." He stated while facing the horde.
The Grimm were confused. This lone human prey, he did not fear.
He did not fear, he did not hate, there was no emotion coming from him other than calm, resolute acceptance.
"For millennia you have preyed on mankind..."
Slowly, but steadily, an aura of power manifested.
"For millennia you have sought our destruction..."
Under this presence, the beast grew restless, nervous even.
"...And for millennia, man has weathered the storm."
Even in their young, reckless minds, they were beginning to see what the Alpha had seen.
"Let us see if you can fare any better."
It was far too late.
"STRUN BAH QO!"
For what seemed like an eternity, but were actually a few moments, silence reigned over the Emerald Forest, as if it knew what was coming.
As if Nature itself wished to avoid what was coming.
And then, the skies of Remnant erupted in fury.
/
My first cliffhanger.
I have to say, they're not nearly as bad when you're not on the receiving end.
In case you're wondering, Gurahyol, according to thuum translator, means "Balefire", pretty badass, don't you think?
Tell me what you guys thought of this chapter.
Now, I make no promises, but I'll try to write at least one more chapter for each of my stories before the year's end.
Now, if you'll excuse, I have essays to write.
See you guys on the next update.