The First Step

Opening one of his eyes Aedan groaned as he was met with the still dark room. Hoisting himself out of his sleeping bag, he quickly looked around. Seeing nobody else up, he switched his jeans and got dressed, grabbing his weapon and holstering it on his back. Stuffing the by the school provided sleeping bag in a corner of the room, he silently left the room. After a quick wash-up and breakfast he brushed his teeth and made his way to the entrance of the school. When he arrived there Ozpin and Glynda were already awaiting him.

"Good morning Aedan, glad you could make it, now come follow us." Glynda greeted as Ozpin took a swig of his coffee.

Nodding, Aedan followed the teachers. When they arrived at Beacon Cliff, Ozpin took the initiative to tell Aedan more about today's initiation:

"The initiation for the first year students this year goes as followed. First they will be launched from a launching pad into a Grimm infested forest. After landing, using their own strategy, they can pair up and make their way to the abandoned temple at the northern end of the forest. There each pair will have to choose one of several relics, after which they have to make their way back to the top of the cliff from which they were launched. For you counts the same, but aside from you going through it alone instead of getting paired, you will take the relics with you to place at the temple for the others."

Glynda handed Aedan a small black backpack, which he presumed contained the relics.

Ozpin continued: "You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. You will meet opposition along the way. But our instructors will not intervene. When you placed the relics, take the long way back. There are two ways to get up here, you can't miss the first one, it's a stone bridge with a tower along with some other stone structures. When you go some way to the left of it you'll find a small carved out stairway that leads to the top of the cliff. Take that way so you can avoid others and their eventual questions about you lack of a partner."

"Do you have any questions?" Glynda asked.

Shaking his head, Aedan replied: "No, I don't. Let's do this."

Putting the small backpack on his back he walked over to the launching pads and stood on one. Letting out a deep breath he bend his knees a bit and positioned his hands in anticipation for the flight. Feeling ready he nodded towards the two, on which he was almost immediately launched into the air.

After his time flying through the air was coming to an end and the tree line was coming closer Aedan prepared himself. Seeing the first tree in his path he bend his knees and angled his feet. Managing to plant his feet on the side of the tree, he managed to slow down his descend a bit. He did this by redirecting his course by jumping towards the side of another tree. He managed to do this two times, but then he slipped and was coming straight at another tree at a wrong angle. Quickly pulling out his combat knife, he jabbed it straight into the tree. He slid down a bit, cutting a trail in the tree, a straight vertical line, where his knife had cut. No longer sliding down and coming to a stop, Aedan looked down and saw that he was just a bit higher than he was comfortable jumping. Saving that thought he first needed to get his knife out of the tree.

Removing his small backpack and dropping it to the ground, he planted his feet against the side of the tree and started to pull on his knife. Suddenly the knife slid out of the tree, as he was falling Aedan let a bluish rectangle appear beneath him. Because of the short notice he had utilize his Aura Shielding he hadn't made it strong enough. Upon landing on his back on the Aura shield he created it almost immediately broke into pieces like a sheet of glass. With a slowed down momentum he hit the ground back first.

"Argh!"

Picking himself up immediately, he stretched his back a few times and rubbed his back. Thinking it could have been worse if his shield pieces didn't disappear when his shield was destroyed.

"Still, that could've gone better." He murmured to himself.

Sheathing his combat knife back behind his back, Aedan removed his weapon from its holster, placing the weapon on his shoulder. After that he picked up the small black backpack from the ground and put it on his back. He started to walk calmly towards the northern end of the forest with his weapon resting on his shoulder while he was paying attention to his surroundings for any opposition. Suddenly something rustled in the bushes in front of him.

The Emerald Forest

The two Ursai that came out of the bushes stood right in front of him. Taking a small jump back, Aedan charged his weapon. Right when one of the Ursa lunged at him he released the beam, tearing right through the Ursa's stomach, one-shotting it.

The second Ursa, having seen what happened to the first one, immediately went to close the gap. When it was standing on its back legs, preparing to take a swing at him, Aeden knew he didn't had enough time to take this one out the same way he did the first one. So instead he swung his weapon at the Ursa's bone armored head like a club. This only caused a minimal stagger for the Ursa, but it delayed its attack. Using this delay, Aedan put his weapon away and managed to get even closer to the Ursa, delivering an elbow in its chest. While this again caused only a minimal stagger, it was this time that Aedan used to reach for his combat knife and shove it straight in the Ursa's head from its unarmored underside, killing it. Making a spin to the side to let the Ursa's body fall to the ground as it disintegrated, Aedan sheathed his knife and positioned his weapon on his shoulder again. He looked around to see if there were more enemies nearby, finding none he continued his walk like before.

A while later he came in a somewhat open clearing, feeling he was being watched, he stood still and tried to listen where the being could be hiding. Suddenly the black half of a King Taijitu came lunging, with no time to allow Aedan to charge his weapon for a powerful enough shot. Quickly Aedan spun to his left, causing the head of the King Taijitu to zoom past him. Before he could do anything else though, the King Taijitu came lunging at him again. This time Aedan couldn't dodge in time.

(Cut to black, moment later cutting back to the fight.)

Aedan was lying on his back, his right leg pressed against the King Taijitu's upper jaw and his left leg against its lower jaw. Thanks to his Aura, this was preventing the King Taijitu from sinking its fangs into him. Seeing an opportunity Aedan grinned, solidifying his grip on his weapon, he charged up a shot. When he reckoned it to be powerful enough, he released the beam right between the King Taijitu's awaiting jaws. The beam tore through the King Taijitu, leaving it through the back of its 'neck'. Rolling to his right side, Aedan let what remained of his opponent fall on the ground and picked himself up from the ground.

But before he could completely stand up again he was smashed in his back by the head of the King Taijitu's white half, making its presence known. Thrown back on the ground, Aedan's weapon landed away from him. The white half lunged at Aedan, mouth open, ready to sink its fangs into him. Due quick thinking and some desperation, Aedan gathered some of his Aura in his right hand and threw it inside the King Taijitu's throat. As soon as it was inside its throat, he let it expand in size. This didn't kill the King Taijitu, but now it was thrashing around in pain due the Aura shield stuck in its throat. Picking himself up, Aedan ran to take cover behind a tree. After regaining his composure, Aedan peeked around the tree to find his weapon. He soon found it, the only problem being that the King Taijitu was between him and his weapon. Taking a runner's start pose, he sucked in a deep breath as he waited for his take-off shot.

*Hoarse growling!*

Aedan started to run towards his weapon, when part of the King Taijitu's body came crossing his path he dove over it, ending it with a somersault back into running. He wasn't even running for four steps before he had to slide under another part of the King Taijitu to avoid being stopped in his tracks. Arriving at his weapon, he didn't even stop to pick it up, he just quickly scooped his weapon up from the ground. Getting behind the then closest tree, Aedan checked the state of his weapon. Seeing nothing wrong with it, he stepped out of his cover and whittled the King Taijitu down with medium sized shots. When the King Taijitu was too dead to move anymore, Aedan calmed down from the encounter. He let the Aura of the disc fade back into his own Aura before continuing to his destination.

Arriving at the temple, it fit Ozpin's description, he opened the black backpack that was given to him by Glynda. After zipping the bag open, Aedan got a look at the relics.

'Chess pieces?'

Shrugging his shoulders, Aedan placed the relics on the pedestals. After doing that he zipped the now empty bag close and put it on his back and started to make his way towards the stairway.

Aedan stood before the small stairway that led to the top of the cliff. He was putting a new magazine in his weapon while behind him four bodies of now dead Beowolves were slowly disintegrating. Letting out a deep breath he put his weapon on his back in its folded state and started to go up the stairs.

As he was halfway towards the top he saw teenagers flying through the sky, which indicated that the others just started their initiation. Arriving at the top of the cliff Aedan turned around to look at the forest he was just in.

After a while he let out a sigh.

'I'm getting bored.'