Hello there, I'm The Royal Protector and you're reading the third chapter of This War of Ours. I don't really have much to say apart from that I'm currently looking for a beta for this story. I shamefully admit that my English vocabulary may have degraded over the months and so some of the expressions I use may be a bit weird or straight up wrong. So yeah, I would appreciate if someone could go over chapters before release and point out them for me, besides the normal task of pointing out possible pacing errors in a chapter (So we could avoid a repeat of the bombshell of Mirror Images chapter 10).
Oh, and I don't know if it requires me to change the story the M rating but there is mentions of racism down the line, so should I change ratings? Anyway just a heads up.
Other than that, I haven't got much to say.
Reviews are love.
Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, Ruby would have asked about her Silver Eyes the first chance she got. OCs are mine though.
Chapter 3: Legends and Fairy Tales
My first impression of Vacuo as I looked at it from atop a large dune? It was expansive, really expansive. I blinked at it as I started down towards the walls. The whole place looked like Cairo for example, it was probably as large too, seeing as it supposedly contained most of the kingdom's population; but I could also feel a Vegas vibe to the place. The entire city was defended by two walls, one lower and more robust on the outside made from sandstone and one tall and slim one that was made out of marble or something equally as white. I was confused by the two completely separate walls until I went through one the first wall's main gate.
I found myself in the middle of a shanty town.
Ah, right.
The show did mention how the kingdom was basically put into the ground after the Great War both economically and politically. The natural deposits of Dust around the city were mostly depleted during the war and the destruction brought by the conflict also made any attempt of land reclamation from the Grimm impossible. This caused a large wave of refugees from destroyed towns to flock to the capital. But seeing as Vacuo's government was essentially non-existent shortly after the war rendered any hope of recovery impossible and to be swallowed away by the sands.
I looked to the inner city's gate and decided to check there first, thinking that a Huntsman wouldn't ever live in the slums. Looking around as I walked I couldn't help but be aware of the… poverty surrounding me.
It didn't surprise me as much as I would have thought it would. It was strangely familiar actually. I furrowed my brows in I walked through the crowds of people towards my goal. Back home… this scene wouldn't be as unusual as I would have liked, or at least the capital had many similarities with Vacuo. With the civil war going on entire city blocks were shelled out and turned into battlefields by the opposing sides.
Thankfully my apartment wasn't in one of those areas, but it was still on the edge of one, as evidenced when one morning I came home to see my neighbor's house burning from an incendiary shell. My neighbor was in front of it on her knees and cried as the flames consumed her house. My mind stopped when I saw her and I just watched her. That house could have been mine, I could have been her. What would have happened to me afterwards with all of my possessions up in flames?
With a sigh I quickly put a hand on her shoulder and led her into my apartment. It was the beginnings of our little survivor group actually, other people came and went through the months and we greeted them with open arms most times.
I shook my head at the memories, these people had it better at least. Say what you will, living in the slums was still better than living and sleeping in an active war zone. You could actually walk outside while it was still bright and not be afraid of a sniper mistaking you for the enemy.
Finally, after a good few minutes of walking I reached the inner gate and frowned as I looked upon it. It was closed, figures. I looked to the side and saw a person sitting behind a barred window. I eyed the large gate and then the person before shrugging and walking over to him.
I stopped when another person cut in front of me garbed in a similar cloak to mine. I glared at his back for the rudeness, but bit my tongue.
"Excuse me, I would like to get to the inner districts" The newcomer spoke up impatiently. The man behind the barred glass looked up from a book he was reading and regarded the man with disinterest.
"I'm sorry sir, but no one's getting in today through the gates. Take a bullhead or something else" He said lazily, then returned to his book.
"What?! Why?!" The garbed man fumed and I listened closely to the conversation.
"Some representatives of that new kingdom… Atlas I think it was, are scheduled to arrive this afternoon and the Council would hope to avoid a supposed 'terrorist attack' from those violent Faunus groups" He air-quoted without looking at the man.
"And how is getting in by Bullhead any different then? As opposed to just walking through this gate?" The man waved at the gate angrily, it seemed he was in a hurry.
"You need an ID to use a Bullhead while you don't need one here" The person behind the window articulated slowly "This means we can monitor the traffic in the kingdom for an entire day" He drawled as he flipped a page in his book.
Hmm… That's bad. So I can't use the main gate today because of a partial lockdown and I can't really use a Bullhead because I don't have an ID here… I turned around and left the area. I really didn't want to waste an entire day when I could use that time to search for this Karl person. I wanted to get home, as soon as I could, I didn't care if I was in the world of legends and heroes, where adventure awaited around every corner. I wanted to go home to my family; and one thing that should be known about me is that if I set myself on something, I devote myself to it fanatically until I see it done.
This setback would be irritating. I'm sure the frustrated expression on my no longer covered face and my flaring eyes were to be thanked for the meters wide berth people gave me as I marched through crowds. I essentially stomped outside the wall perimeter and looked up at it.
Something felt… off about it. How could a mere stone wall stop a Grimm invasion when they could climb on walls…? Or what if…? I picked up a pebble at my feet and threw it above the wall easily thanks to my strength. The pebble flew high before hitting a previously invisible wall. Its impact sent little ripples around and then it fell to the ground.
Ah, a force field, joy.
Could I teleport on top of the wall and behind it? Weak twitching in my eyes answered in a negative. I scowled and felt my frustration rise. How the hell did my Semblance work? One moment it's perfectly fine and allows me to appear wherever I glance at and in the next it does nothing!
I took a deep breath before I could devolve into a furious mess that would catch the attention of every Grimm in a hundred miles radius. I'm not even exaggerating, I know myself and I know that I don't do anything halfway; if I'm happy then I will show it with all my heart and if I'm angry then you'd better search for cover until I let it out of my system.
Right, I needed to figure out my Semblance. So… teleportation that works when it feels like it? Unlikely. So a conditional Semblance, with limitations perhaps? I wonder…
I looked to the side and into the distance and tried to shift there, it didn't work and I tried it by looking only a couple of meters away, it was also ineffective and I had to cross out distance from the possible limitations.
"Hey, Red Eyes" Someone snapped their fingers in front of me and I blinked, apparently I was too deep in thought to notice other people. I looked at the person in front of me and saw a teenager with bright blonde hair and… golden eyes? Seriously, what was wrong with genetics in this world? People with animal traits, impossible hair and eye colors, but I wasn't one to complain, seeing my… condition. Great, now I feel like an albino just because of my eyes.
"I'm sorry, were you talking to me before?" I asked as I observed for any other… surprises. His skin had a bit of tan and he was wearing a travelling cloak with a pale yellowish and white color, and it seemed cloaks were popular in Remnant as well, though it could be chalked up to us being in the desert. Other than his eyes, there was nothing off about him. Still, with my luck he was going to turn out to be just like a Silver Eyed warrior just to spite me…
Wait a second…
Eyes of an unnatural color? Check.
Abilities of Semblance and Eyes don't match up or even cover each other? Check.
Eyes have an ethereal glow to them when in use? Check.
Arren freaking out when I got them and basically demanding that I leave the entire planet? Check.
Having found clues in an ancient temple in the form pictures that point to a history? Check.
Well, shit…
I need to find a library… and a bar… not necessarily in that order… I would actually prefer if I could do the pair at the same time.
"Hey, Red Eyes? You okay?" The voice of the guy in front of me shook me out of my half panic, half resignation.
"Yeah, yeah, I just have a lot on my mind right now" I frowned lightly "But nevermind that, what do you need?" I shook my head.
"I've actually been trying to find a way to the inner city for a couple of hours now" He explained neutrally "You see, I have a package to deliver that's due today" He lazily tapped a pouch on his cloak "Then I caught you ready to burn a hole through the wall with just your glare" He said with a small smile.
"You're point being?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We could work together" He shrugged lazily "The both of us have business on the other side, there's really no reason for us to work separately".
I eyed him with curiosity, if what he said was true then he had some guts, coming up to a person that everyone else avoided like the plague, even pickpockets were steering clear of me, not that I was complaining about that. Huh, perhaps I did look intimidating. Still, it also told me that rather he wanted something else from me or that he was just that lazy. A quick glance to his half-lidded and generally bored looking eyes basically confirmed the second option. He was just using me to get over the wall... I didn't really find anything wrong with that notion. Plus he will might even owe me a favor for this.
"I see where you're coming from" I slowly nodded and crossed my arms as I looked at the wall "Have you come up with anything?" I asked as I got into a thinking position.
He smiled at my acceptance and shrugged "Not really. The only thing noteworthy I found while scoping out the walls were the maintenance entrances, but those are locked with keycards" He admitted nonchalantly, I hummed as an idea formed in my head.
"I may have a way to get a keycard but I need to figure out something first" I told him and he nodded.
"Meet me here when you have a card and I'll lead you to the maintenance entrance" He said with a yawn and he walked over under a nearby palm tree and just plopped down. I sent him an 'are you serious' look to which he just shrugged "I wouldn't advise standing under the sun all day, you might get a heat stroke or something" He drawled lazily and produced a small book from a pouch by his side.
I was ready to voice the obvious attempt at work ditching but then a lightbulb suddenly appeared over my head.
"Right" I said simply instead and walked to where I tried to get in the first time. I arrived in a couple of minutes and was greeted with a still ongoing argument. Damn, that man really wanted to get in, the man behind the glass was still calm and non-caring though.
I silently positioned myself behind the arguing man and felt my eyes change. I waited until the man behind the glass looked down to flip to the next page and then felt my eyes burn. I appeared inside the little room and behind the seated man. I turned to look around lazily as I felt blood sliding down my cheek. Now where would I be if I were a keycard? The arguing man suddenly stopped his complaining and pointed to me.
"Hey, what is he doing inside?" The person demanded and the cleric slowly looked over his shoulder, only to find thin air when I reappeared beside the shocked man. Finding nothing in his office the bored cleric turned to look at the now sputtering man in front of him.
"Sir, when was the last time you had water? Perhaps you are dehydrated?" The cleric said sarcastically to the man. I reappeared inside while he turned back and casually searched his office for his keycard. After a minute I found it and mouthed a silent 'bingo' before stepping behind the still talking cleric and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned back again but I used that distraction to appear outside and simply walked away with a smirk on my face.
I loved my Semblance. Once I found out about its single condition it was very easy to use. It was situational and Aura costly but it was totally worth it.
Teleporting in and between shadows and overall darkness was both fitting for me considering and extremely ironic. It was poetic in a way; I basically lived in darkness for the last half a year and darkness was the word that activated my defensive Aura last week. I felt like the universe or some higher being used my situation as some sort of entertainment, but I didn't think much about it, seeing that in the end didn't really matter. The most I could do was at least make it seem interesting.
Besides, I already had a name for it; I grinned as I wiped away the blood on my cheeks;
Shadowstep.
"Hey Goldilocks! Would this do?" I called out to the teenager sitting under the palm tree and tossed him the keycard. He caught it easily and nodded "This should do it" He got up and dusted himself off.
"How did you get it?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as he motioned me to follow him.
"I have my ways" I told him with a slight tug to my lips and followed him.
"Figures" He rolled his eyes "The guy who's garbed like a desert marauder and has a glare that would make children cry has ways to steal from right under the government's nose" He told me sarcastically.
"Not like you're better" I retorted without any real malice in my voice, I think I'll just have to come to terms with being intimidating and just generally not being a people's person "You're not exactly inconspicuous in your cloak, and you're trying to sneak into a kingdom. That's not shady at all" I replied with equal amounts of sarcasm "Why aren't you just using a Bullhead?" I turned my head to him as we walked to a less guarded segment of the wall.
"Why don't you?" He asked instead of answering.
"I don't have an ID" I told him honestly.
"There's your answer" He shrugged nonchalantly and I hummed in understanding.
"So, what brings you to Vacuo? Not many outsiders come on foot nowadays, although there's talk about that trans-continental railway they're building now" He asked interestedly.
"How did you know I'm not from Vacuo?" I asked instead and furrowed my brows.
"You look like you haven't seen the sun for the last couple of years" He stated with a complete deadpan expression.
"Touché" I admitted the fact in stride "And I'm looking for someone" I answered his previous question as we came to a stop beside a maintenance. He nodded in understanding and swiped the card in front of a scanner, it chirped happily a moment later and the lock on the door clicked open.
"What about you? You're a postman or something?" I asked, pointing to the package by his side. He chuckled and shook his head.
"Not exactly. While there is a postal service in the city itself, there isn't really an organized service in the Borderlands" He told me while we walked through a service tunnel to the other side "I'm more of a Courier actually. I go between outlying settlements and deliver packages back and forth. It's actually quite good money, if you know what jobs to take and avoid just being a mailman" He shuddered at the thought.
"Isn't it dangerous to travel through the Borderlands alone?" I asked with a raised eyebrows, I travelled with a qualified Hunter and I still almost died… twice.
"I have my ways" He parroted my excuse earlier and gave me a cheeky grin. We arrived at the inner exit and opened it without much hassle. He pocketed the keycard and turned to me offering a handshake.
"Samuel Citrine, but please, Sam will do just fine" He introduced himself and I accepted the handshake.
"Daud, Daud Carnelian" I copied him then something occurred to me "Actually, do you know where the nearest bar and library is?" I inquired with a light frown. Sam looked to be in thought for a moment before pointing in the distance.
"There is a good quiet pub about two blocks from here and I think there is a public library somewhere near Shade Academy" He recalled with apparent disinterest, I nodded in thanks and we said our farewells. I honestly hoped to meet the guy before I departed back home, he seemed just like the person I could get along with; lazy, blunt, good to banter with and he had absolutely no interest in social niceties.
I opened the front door to the bar Sam mentioned and stepped inside casually. I looked around for a moment and was met with the gaze of a few drunk patrons. I took that stride and just walked up to the bartender, the gazes disappeared shortly after and I let out a silent breath. I didn't want to start a bar fight anytime soon, and with my luck I would probably accidentally insult everyone's mother by some cultural misunderstanding.
"A beer please" I called out to the bartender and sat down on one of barstools. There weren't many patrons around since it was only around midday, so he went to service me immediately. He filled up a glass with beer and passed it to me. I took a deep gulp of it and smiled in approval. I was thirsty as all hell and beer was like nectar to me at the moment. I quietly put down the glass on the counter and found that the bartender was still before me, cleaning a glass with a piece of cloth.
"If you don't mind me asking, but aren't you a bit young to visit places like this?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"And you're asking this after you serviced me?" I shot him the most deadpan look I could to which he just shrugged.
"Business is business"
"Right" I frowned at a bit at the implication that he would serve minors "And I'm nineteen so not really" I shrugged and finished up my drink quickly. I passed the empty glass to him and put down a few more Lien cards on the counter than it actually cost, he furrowed his brows and looked at me questioningly.
"I'm looking for someone" I explained and he made a sound of understanding, he put away the cards and turned to me with attention.
"I'm looking for a Huntsman named Karl Crayol, do you know him?" I asked him hopefully. He frowned "That depends, why do you need him?" He replied defensively and I attempted to put on a disarming smile.
"I need someone capable for a job and a friend of mine recommended him" I told him half-honestly, it wasn't going to be a job, more like 'please send me home before I go crazy and gouge my eyes out'.
He stared at me harshly and I tried not shift uncomfortably under his gaze, while I was somewhat familiar with the harder aspects of survival I had never before tried getting information this way, I was basically winging it as I went along.
"Alright" He nodded slowly after a while "Yeah, I know him, he lives a couple of corners away from here. I can write down his address if you'd like" He said and I gratefully nodded. He wrote it down on a piece of paper and I put it away in a pocket. I was about to say farewell when a white light suddenly enveloped me and I found myself in the middle of the street.
"What the-" I began confusedly only to be cut off by a fist to my stomach. It knocked the wind out of me and I grunted in pain; my Aura wasn't up so it actually hurt a bit.
"I'm terribly sorry sir" Someone next to me said and helped me on my feet "I was this close to hitting that stupid Faunus bitch" He grumbled and I looked up at him in confusion.
"What are you talking about and why did you hit me?" I asked with an edge to my voice, I was even half-tempted to flare my eyes, but he actually apologized for hitting me, which was weird, so I wasn't as mad as I would have been. I looked over him and realized that he was one of those Atlesian soldiers from the show, but his gear looked… less advanced and more bulky?
He coughed into his fist "As I was saying, we've been chasing a Faunus stowaway for a couple of hours now but she has some kind of ability that allows her to switch places with other people or animals" the soldier explained neutrally, but I could hear a bit of resentment as well.
I looked back in the bar and indeed, where I was previously sitting was a white haired teenaged girl, she was clutching her face as if she was in pain. I got weird sense of Déjà vu from that and I was about to make my way over to her when the soldier next to me spotted her inside.
"Hey, you there! Stop!" He yelled and ran in the bar, midway there he was suddenly enveloped in a white light. I squinted my eyes for a moment and then saw that the girl from before was there instead. She panted and clutched her face with a hand. She looked up and we locked eyes for a moment. What I saw made my eyes widen; her eyes were just like mine! Only they were glowing an ethereal blue instead of crimson. She wiped away a bit of blood on her cheeks before looking elsewhere and switching places with someone in the crowd.
I stood there like a statue for a while, my mind was a mess. There were others like me? Does she know what happened to our eyes, and why was hers a different color? Were there other colored eyes? Were there more of us? I wanted to find answers but she quickly vanished without a trace.
Figures, switching places in a street full of people is even faster than my Shadowstep in this case.
I stared at the piece of paper in my hands while I hummed a slow tune from back home. It was only a distraction for my mind though, I had too many thoughts swirling around my head at the moment, dimension hopping, magical mirrors, rainbow colored eyes and me in the middle of all this. I had more questions than even when I arrived here a week ago and they ate away at me. I didn't even know if wanted to know the answers honestly, Remnant was a deep rabbit hole that took your whole arm if you offered it your finger, and I didn't want to get wrapped up in this shadow war at all. And I was sure that I would be dragged into it just because of my eyes, I had a gut feeling that told me they were somehow in the same category as the infamous silver ones. I just hoped that Karl would help me and I wouldn't have to worry about any of those haunting answers.
I rounded a corner and came to face with my destination; a small building tucked away in one of the inner residential districts. I folded away the paper and put it away before stepping up to the door and preparing myself for an interesting conversation.
'Oh Monty, just let this go smoothly' I sighed deeply before loudly knocking on the wooden door three times. I stepped back a bit and waited for any kind of response. Nothing happened for around a minute and I frowned, surely my luck isn't that bad that he would be away at the moment? I stepped forward again and banged on the door firmly another tree times. I was midway through my third knock when the door opened. I winced when I couldn't stop my fist mid-motion from hitting the person in front of me. However they caught my wrist faster than I could've seen and I widened my eyes in surprise at the vice-like grip on my arm.
"I'm sorry, but I was a bit busy" The woman apologized "What can I help you with?" She put on a rigid smile. I didn't answer at first and chose to instead look her over curiously. I didn't even occurred to me he would be living with a woman. She looked to be in her late twenties and definitely had a blue theme going on. She had light blue eyes and dark blue hair that went down to her shoulders. She was rather attractive although there were slight discolorations on her temples that I guessed were fading scars, and that smile just looked wrong on her. Her skin was just as pale as mine, she definitely hadn't been under the sun for too long. Lastly she wore a long azure cloak that covered most of her body except her lower legs. Under it I could make out dark pants and worn looking brown travelling boots.
Again, with the cloaks. Did the people of Remnant had a cloak fetish or something?
I looked at my still bound wrist and raised an eyebrow at her. She glanced at it as well and hastily released it. I let my arm fall beneath my cloak and quietly massaged it with my other, this woman had an iron grip, let me tell you.
"I am looking for a man named Karl Crayol" I began after a few moments of silence "I wished to discuss something with him and people told me I could find him here" I told her warily, her facial expressions just rubbed me the wrong way.
"That depends, who are you and who told you to find him here?" She narrowed her eyes and scowled at me. I put up my hands in a placating manner.
"My name is Daud and his brother, Arren I believe he was, told me" The woman looked at me up and down before resuming her scowl.
"What do you need to discuss with him exactly?" Judging by her expression she told me to better have a good reason. Well, here goes nothing. I mentally sighed and activated my eyes. I blinked once and looked her in the eyes.
"This would be the matter" I told her deadpan and she looked at me with mild surprise, if her facial expressions were anything to go by. She quickly regained her wits however and sent me an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry but Karl is out-" She began to say but she was cut off by a man flying through a wall in the corridor behind the woman. The man impacted the other wall and left quite an impression there before falling to the ground on his side. He coughed up blood and tried to stand up before an invisible force grabbed him and held him above the ground.
Both I and the woman tensed up the moment we heard the crash and I grabbed the handle on both the swords as subtly as I could. Still, neither of us moved from our spot, the woman merely turned halfway towards the newcomer with an unreadable expression on her face. Soon a woman stepped out of the hole on the wall and stopped before the man. She seemed to be in her late thirties and had a similar cloak akin to the woman beside me, only her cloak was of a black and white color scheme. She slowly turned to us and regarded me with a blank look. She had several fading scars adorning her heart shaped face and her long black hair fell freely on her shoulders. Her eyes however were the most off-putting; they were a pale blue like a blind man's but they still moved normally. Her blank expression changed when she glanced at my eyes, her eyebrows rose in an amused manner before turning to the woman beside me.
"I haven't seen a Wanderer with those eyes before, have you Seth?" The woman asked with a chillingly calm tone.
"No, I haven't either, Lady Izanami" The woman beside me, Seth, spoke with a half bow.
The older woman, Izanami, huffed "It's a pity then, I would have liked to learn about his eyes more" She nodded slightly at Seth and turned away to the still floating man in the hallway. My instincts at this point were screaming at me that something was horribly wrong and I was slowly shuffling backwards to the nearest shadow during their little talk.
I was only a step away from a shadow when Seth snapped her head in my direction and I felt something launch me to the middle of the street. Luckily I listened to my paranoia from earlier and activated my Aura just before the attack connected. I impacted the ground and rolled a couple of times, all the while convulsing from the electricity cursing through my body. I continued to involuntarily watch as Izanami stepped up to the man, who I presumed was Karl, and asked him a question, and judging by the murderous look on her face, Izanami didn't like his answer. She and Seth turned away and walked out of the back exit, from there Izanami lifted up a hand and a small black orb of energy materialized above her palm. She let the ball slowly float away into the house where it stopped above the man and imploded violently, sucking in the building around it and distorting space in its vicinity. The few people who were near ran away in panic at the sight of the collapsing building.
The dust and sand from the collapsing building created a small cloud around the ruined home and covered the street. Once I felt control returning to my limbs I coughed due of the debris cloud and slowly got to my feet. My head was aching from the blow and the even more frustratingly confusing situation I now gotten myself into. I dusted myself off and cursed viciously; Karl was dead, no doubt about that, two women killed her, almost killed me! Just because I knocked at the wrong time. I was angry, no, furious. My last hope of returning home was now lying under tons of sandstone and concrete! What the hell was I supposed to do now?! I winced as I tried taking a step forward, reminding me of one of the biggest reason to my anger;
That blue haired bitch threw a Monty-damned lightning bolt at me! And I wasn't even exaggerating! It was just like the ones you would see during a thunderstorm, and point blank! It was as big as one of those too. It had the power to send me flying at least ten meters and nearly depleted my Aura too! The same Aura that held against a Nightprowler for several minutes! And it chew through it seconds!
I scowled in irritation when my left arm twitched. Aura was great and all but it only prevented physical damage, meaning that while the thousands of Volts coursing through my nerves weren't damaging me, they sure as hell still counted as electrical signals and my nerves treated them as such.
I waited for the dust to settle and came to witness what remained of the house, a crater filled with rubble. I clenched my fists, whoever those two were probably came here for Karl, for what I had no idea. Maybe because of the mirror, maybe not, whatever clue they would have left behind was now destroyed, lying meters below ground level.
Who were they even? Izanami and Seth? Those were the name of gods from back home. Seth was from old Egyptian mythology and was the god of many things… like lightning. And Izanami was one of the creator gods in Shinto mythology… Were these names common in Remnant or did they even knew the names of deities from back home?
And they reacted to my eyes… They knew of them, they mentioned something about Wanderers? Was that a legend or something?
Ahh, this is so frustrating.
I rubbed my temple to ward away my headache and decided to get the hell away from the murder scene before the cops arrived.
Assuming Vacuo even had law enforcement, anyways.
I moved through a crowded street somewhere in the commercial district. It had been a couple of hours since the incident involving those two women and I couldn't tear my mind off of my whole ordeal. I was stranded in another world with minimal amounts of money I took from Arren's sled, I had no home to call my own, no job, no plan, no personal connections, no identity and….
I stopped abruptly in the middle of the bazaar street with widened eyes.
For all intents and purposes I did not exist here, nobody would care if I'd gone missing. My friends and family will likely believe I'm dead, died by the fighting in the capital. The other survivors who got out from the city would confirm that they had last seen me fighting against looters and never returned. No body would be found, no investigation would be held from the nonexistent police force. My family didn't even hear from me since the beginning of the war because of the cut comm lines. I would be just another unfortunate victim of the civil war, my name would be carved onto a memorial stone and I would be soon forgotten.
A chill ran down my spine.
With no lives in both worlds I have either never existed or ceased to exist.
I was nobody…
That simple statement filled me with more dread than any of my previous encounters, even more than that titanic Grimm.
I stood there petrified for a whole minute before my expression hardened and the dread was replaced with determination. I was always someone and I wasn't going to become something… less. I was going to get home, no matter the cost… I was going to get my life back, even if I would have to do it alone.
I needed to find the Mirror, that was the only way back. If it somehow got destroyed or damaged then I would be stranded here forever.
But how could I find it? Arren said it was in the middle of the Grimmlands, and if the kingdom's Borderlands were anything to go by they were a hellscape filled with nightmares. I could hire Huntsmen to escort me during my expeditions in the desert but I didn't have money for expeditions that would last months for years. I once asked Arren how large Maghri, the surrounding desert, was and he stated it would take him three months to cross it from end to end. He also said that he was running at a hastened pace on the first two days while I was out.
I clenched my fists before letting out a silent sigh and releasing them. This whole… project was going to take years at this rate. Seeing no quicker option I dejectedly accepted my situation and continued formulating my plan.
I needed to find out more about my eyes, people have already taken notice of them, so might as well use them to their fullest potential… if only I knew what that was. Maybe they could help me in my mission someway.
I probably wouldn't be able to amass that much money in my lifetime anyway, so the paying for escort option is out. So that leaves me with one option.
Arren did say that I was good Hunter material…
My thoughts were interrupted when I felt someone crashing into me. Thankfully I only stumbled backwards, meanwhile the person who ran into me rebounded off me and fell onto their back. I grunted in irritation as I clutched my stomach before lifting my head up to glare at the bumbling fool on the ground.
My glare turned into a surprised frown when I recognized the white haired girl from earlier. She was looking at me fearfully while panting heavily. Now that she wasn't running around or switching places with everyone I could actually make out her features.
From what I could tell she had a slim yet athletic build that was covered by mostly blue and white dominated outfit. She wore black heeled boots and form fitting navy blue jeans. Going upwards I could see a white dress top under similarly darker blue shaded long-sleeved jacket that reached down to her thighs. Her skin was pale, though mine was a bit paler still, so just like that soldier said she wasn't from around here… I think he said something about Atlas so that would be my first guess. Her face had soft features and would be attractive if it wasn't for the still glowing eyes and the two blood streaks flowing down her cheeks. And lastly her long snow white hair flowed freely down to the middle of her back in a sort of organized mess. Though the most peculiar thing was the pair of white fox ears stocking out from the top of her head.
So, a snow fox in the desert? Irony at its finest.
It was honestly… unsettling to see a Faunus in real life; sure, I've had seen furries back home, but these appendages were actually real and had function. I had no real problem with it, mind you, I wouldn't point at Faunus and shout filthy animal across the street; that was just bad karma. I was sure I would get used to it though, given enough time, like I said, I wasn't the discriminating kind.
I chuckled quietly and offered her a hand up. She looked at my hand warily and then I decided to use my trump card, hoping it wouldn't just make her teleport five city blocks away in fear.
My eyes changed and I tried to offer a disarming smile to her, of course I didn't make my eyes glow, that would have been a bit over the top and unnecessary in my opinion. Her own ethereal eyes widened in surprise and her expression changed to confusion and then something akin to hopeful. She tentatively grasped my hand I pulled her up.
"Hey, you okay?" I smiled at her and she offered a tentative one in return.
"Y-yeah, I-I'm fi-" She began to say but a shout from behind her made her yelp.
"There it is! Fine work on catching the filthy animal, young man. We'll take it from here!" A man in his late forties yelled to me as he and two other men ran over to us in the crowd.
I looked over the girl's shoulder with a raised eyebrow and I felt her tense. I lifted my hand up to her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly. I normally didn't like to interact with strangers but this girl had eyes like mine, so you could believe I was in an 'all for one' camaraderie kind of mood right now.
"Excuse me, but what animal are you talking about?" I gave the man a fake innocent smile that due to my eyes and normally constantly frowning face came off a bit off-putting. They stopped before us and looked at me like I grew a third head. Meanwhile with one eye I could see the girl giving me an incredulous look.
"That stowaway before you" The man ground out irritably "'It' hid away in the cargo hold all the way back in Mantle and we've been chasing 'it' all day".
"Ah. I see, and what do you intend to do with her?" I stressed the 'her' past on purpose.
"What should be done to all other beasts as well if we were in Atlas" He seethed "We'll lock her in a cage until we're back in Atlas then we'll cut off those freakish appendages and mark her for all to know her shameful heritage. Even if she looks human" He spat to the side and sent a fierce glare at her back.
I maintained a steely expression but on the inside I was furious and scared. Why? Because it angered me for someone to treat someone like some animal, no, not even, like some lower life-form and I was scared because I had no idea this kind of discrimination, no it was full on physical racism at this point, existed in Remnant. I knew that there was supposed Faunus slavery before the Faunus Revolution but I always believed it was more akin to Greek slavery than the American one.
Still, after the revolution it was stated that civil rights were somewhat granted to the Faunus in all kingdoms, but to a random Atlesian merchant to walk up in the middle of the street and basically demand an eerily Holocaust-like procedure was shell-shocking. It made me scared because the last time people hated each other this much 70 million people died.
I glanced at the petrified girl before sending a murderous scowl at the man "I will only say this once. Turn around and leave, before I make you" My eyes began to glow menacingly while I said that and the atmosphere noticeable became heavier.
The man sent me an incredulous look" You can't be serious! The freak should have known the repercussions"
Without a word I Shadowstepped beside the girl and opened my cloak. My eyes began to bleed and I made a show to slowly reach for my extended swords. The man and his escort exchanged unsure glances and they reached for what I assumed were handguns. I quickly decided to flash my Aura to show the pointlessness of their actions and they stopped.
"Faunus loving lapdog" one of the escorts muttered while the other just made 'tsk' sound. The man in the middle seemed to look me over before speaking up.
"I knew that folks in Vacuo were peace-loving dogs, but I didn't think they had lost their spines as well" He told me in a venomous tone "Maybe you should look to the animals who are gnawing on the bones" He sent a disgusted look at the girl "Regardless, I'm supposed to say that one day you should visit our kingdom, but I doubt you would find it to your liking, animals don't like to leave their natural habitat I'd heard" He spat before me, not quite reaching me, that was his only wise decision during this conversation, otherwise he would have left with a broken nose. He and his posse turned tail and disappeared into the crowd.
I continued to stare at the spot they disappeared into until I felt a tug on my shoulder. I turned over to the girl and her wiping away the blood streaks on her face.
"I-I, w-why did y-you help me?" She stuttered curiously, not quite meeting my gaze. I mulled on her words, thinking over the best response for a bit before replying "You may technically be a criminal but you don't deserve that, no one should" I said slowly "Besides, I have a few questions if you don't mind" I said tentatively.
She looked at me with confusion before slowly easing into a more relaxed state "Y-yeah, I don't mind, I guess a-and thank you" She swallowed before nodding earnestly.
I attempted a bright smile "Great, let's get to a quieter place though. I don't feel comfortable talking in the middle of a bazaar" She nodded but winced when her stomach grumbled "I was heading to a library actually, but we can go eat something I guess, my treat" I chuckled and took off towards one of the restaurants I saw earlier when I was scoping out the town, and no, I definitely wasn't sulking with a gray cloud over me, just scouting, yes.
The girl, whom I was tempted to just call Snow White, unknown cultural references be damned, stared at my back with surprise and then a smile slowly spread across her face and moved to wordlessly follow me.
So, I guess introductions are in order" I stated nonchalantly after we found a quiet spot in an open aired restaurant and ordered some food. The menu mainly consisted of eastern spicy foods and middle-eastern cuisine from back home, that didn't come as big of a surprise as it should have all things considered. I was starting to accept any ridiculous situation this world threw me at this point and just rolled with it.
"I'm Daud Carnelian, I'm not much for formalities so just call me Daud" I shrugged and leaned back in my seat.
"I-I'm Kara, Kara Nightingale" Her stutter lessened significantly after our meeting but small tidbits still remained "So, what did you want to talk about?" She inquired meekly.
I nodded and activated my eyes "Well, I was hoping you could explain what our eyes are supposed to be, I mean they look similar enough for there to be a connection, right?" I asked slowly, unsure how to handle the subject.
She blinked owlishly at me then shook her head "I-I have no idea. My eyes only changed a short time ago…" She admitted quietly "I was actually hoping you would tell me about them. That's the reason why I didn't Displace away the moment I ran into you…"
"Displace?" I asked confusedly.
"It's my ability, I can switch places with other people or animals, I can do it with similarly sized objects as well, but I have to concentrate really hard for that. Displacement just sounded like a good name" She smiled sheepishly, I shrugged in acceptance, not like my naming skills were any better.
"So, you have no idea either, back to square one I guess…" I muttered tiredly as I tried to find a tangent we could follow.
"How did your eyes activate?" Kara asked suddenly and I blinked away my thoughts.
"Well, I was in the middle of a fight with a nasty Grimm and right as I was about to lose, my eyes felt like they were on fire and then suddenly everything became so… clear" I explained, thinking back to the itching and burning sensation I felt.
"My-… I got mine when a relative of mine died…" She sounded crestfallen but quickly collected herself before I could comment on it.
"So, our eyes activated when we went through what? Mine was a life or death situation but yours was-" I asked with a puzzled expression but Kara cut me off.
"Emotional turmoil" She stated right after "I-I was in a lot of pain when s-she died and I don't think you were an emotionless statue when you were fighting?" She half-asked and I nodded in agreement, I was… I had a lot of different emotions coursing through my mind in that minute.
"So? You have an idea?" I scratched the back of my head, interested if she was going somewhere with this or not.
"I… It seems familiar, like I've heard of something like this before" She frowned in a thinking manner "From a legend or something, but that's ridiculous" Her nose scrunched up in a slightly upset way.
It was at this moment when our drinks arrived and we took a moment to take a sip.
"I actually ran into a rather unfriendly duo a couple of hours ago. We didn't have what you could call a full conversation but they referred to me as a 'Wanderer', whatever that is" I admitted with a frown of my own. It sure got a reaction out of Kara though, she stilled while she drank and her eyes slowly widened, almost comically, and she almost choked on her drink. I raised an eyebrow and she slowly put her glass down and stared off somewhere behind me.
"That…. doesn't make sense…. no, it actually does, but only partly, but it shouldn't make sense even then" She mumbled almost incoherently and I felt like we finally got somewhere.
"So, care to enlighten me on your revelation?" I chirped and she shook herself out of her thoughts.
"If what those people you met said was true then… we're basically two of the Three Wanderers. And despite how unbelievably unlikely and overall laughable it sounds, it makes a certain amount of sense…" Kara tilted her head to side in thought.
"The Three Wanderers? What are those?" I asked confusedly.
"You don't know of them?" She asked with a surprised expression and I shook my head "It's a fairly popular story, or legend if you follow the religion they're part of" She told me matter of factly.
"…Let's just say I'm not from around here" I shot her an innocent smile "So what is this legend about anyways?" I asked and sat a bit straighter.
"Well, it's actually a really long story and I don't know even half of it personally. I only know as much as I do because my mom told some of their adventures to me as a bed time story. The gist of it is that hundreds of years after mankind's creation the God Brothers, satisfied with their creations, decided to abandon Remnant for another world to seed with the circle of life" She recounted and I listened patiently, silently pointing out things that were actually believable with what I know.
"But before they left, the two of them agreed that they had to leave behind something that would guard the cycle. The God of Light gave his eyes to some of his most trusted followers and decided that their bloodlines would guard Remnant forever trough his eyes" She said softly, as if reminiscing something.
"They were the Silver Eyed Warriors, right?" I took a guess, I mean the genetic legacy kind of did give it away. She nodded and continued.
"Right, but the God of Darkness believed differently, he thought that giving someone such power only because of their heritage was irresponsible and dangerous. The older brother disagreed and the younger brother knew that no matter what they did they wouldn't convince each other, so when it came time to leave, the younger brother conjured up a mirror that connected to his own realm" I perked up at this and if it was even possible I listened even more attentively "He said that whomever steps through the mirror would receive his gift, his own eyes with powers no Semblance could possess. He didn't say anything else before they left and not long after, three people stepped through the mirror into Remnant"
"The three was surprised at their arrival into the world but soon got used to life here. They live peacefully for a while, not showing any signs of having received the Divine Eyes until one day, one of them sees their friend dying. She unlocks her Aura and Semblance that day, but her eyes change as well…" Kara suddenly stops and actually pales a bit.
"Her eyes glow an ethereal blue with an almost black background…. She also gains the ability to switch places with other people, animals or objects" her eyes change as she says this and she flinches.
My own eyes widen at this as I realize the implications. This could mean that Displacement isn't her Semblance after all, just an ability of her eyes, which seemed to translate through color? Does that mean that Shadowstep isn't my Semblance as well?
"The other two activate their eyes shortly after that as well. Over time they realize that their eyes overshadowed most Semblances in existence and they decide to use their abilities to the betterment of humanity. They travel Remnant for years, growing stronger and stronger until, one by one, they stop in their travels and decide to form a community around themselves"
"One settles in what would much later become Mantle, One stops in a mountain community in eastern Anima, this town would later become known as Mistral. The final, blue eyed one stumbles across a nomadic tribe and joins them on their journey to the center of the great desert. The city they would later found in that lush oasis would become Vacuo, the place where we are now" She finished her tale and I let out a wow of amazement. We decide to mull over the story a bit in silence and after a while our food arrives and we decide to dig in.
"Wait, what were the other two eye colors?" I asked between bites, having a gut feeling that gold was one of those.
"Well, you have mine, sapphire blue" Kara notes "Golden yellow" Hah, I knew it "And Emerald green" Hmm, interesting, I wonder where they are- wait a second. I stilled and my brain processes just stopped.
Kara notices my odd behavior and is about to comment when she stills as well.
"Daud?"
"Yeah?"
"What was your eye color again?" I flashed my ruby crimson eyes before continuing my stare.
"How?" She simply asks.
"…Let's just say I'm not from around here" I repeat my earlier words with a strained smile and return to my food.
Kara frowns in confusion at my answer before something seemingly clicks in her brain and drops her fork. Her eyes actually widen comically now and her face morphed into one of utter shock. She stared at me like I was an alien-, oh, nevermind, and I feared her eyeballs would drop out of their sockets if she kept it up.
"You're going to eat that, right? That shit was expensive" I asked amusedly with a raised eyebrow.
Well, that cat is out of the bag now, isn't it? I never planned for Daud's origins to remain a secret for long, seeing that anyone who heard of the story and had more than two brain cells could put two and two together.
Now, to things that may come up in chronological order:
Yeah, this Vacuo is pretty much headcanon for me. I like to believe it's believable with all the things we've heard RT say about the kingdom's past.
I hope you like the Semblance/Eye ability of Shadowstep. I tried to give OCs somewhat original Semblances, not just the run of the mill, uhh he's super strong or he can fly, but it's totally not broken, promise! Semblances.
Actual racism, hmm. I don't know what RT was thinking when they introduced racism to a show that was originally meant for young teenagers and then promptly ditching it later on. I know the White Fang remain a somewhat prominent albeit absolutely incompetent enemy through the show… but I simply couldn't sympathize with them, at all. I would understand them turning violent because of treatment like I wrote but because not being able to go into a couple of shops and some snide remarks? Seriously? If that's the extent of racism in Remnant then it's a utopia compared to Earth. The only somewhat serious racial offense I could concede are the Schnee mines and unequal pay, but that's just one company in the entire world, granted they are an industrial giant but still, it just doesn't warrant a full blown terrorist organization like the White Fang. In this story Faunus will actually have motives to rise up like the Fang.
Shadowstep and Displacement doesn't sound that powerful compared to let's say, Polarity or Telekinesis? Well, dear readers, you would do well to remember the fact we're talking about the Eyes of a God, and Semblances evolve with time.
I hope you like the origin story, I know it's a bit bare bones, but that was the point. It's only a legend for most people at this point. Now what's true and what's not regarding it? Well, Daud will just have to find out in due time. After all, we all know there is more to legends and fairy tales in the world of Remnant.
Until next time.