Ruby walks into Qrow's room with some of his remedy.
"Hey uncle Qrow… I have your medicine."
"Thanks sweetie," he begins to drink it, "I'll be fine from here."
"Well… Actually, I have a question."
Qrow gives her a curious look, "sure, hit me."
"Did I really stop Cinder with my power?"
"Cued in on that, did ya? It's true you froze that Grimm Dragon and gave her quite the blinding light… But it was another that took her down."
"Is this another fairy tale?"
"Nope… Just history."
Before there was Grimm, Fauna, dust, auras, semblances and even all of Remnant, there was Earth. Earth was a world of a much more secure state than our world, you'd never even recognize it as one in the same. In its ancient history was a group of warriors known as ninja, who have traveled through legend to today. Oft forgotten though, is the group that was inspired by them, the Striders. The Striders were at first, a splinter group that focused less on the of traditional spying and sabotage methods of the ninja and instead on the rarely used assassination techniques. However, as ninjutsu faded into history, the Striders only grew in power and secrecy.
"Wait, so the Striders didn't die off with the ninja?"
"Nope, they lived on and kept their methods alive via secrecy. That's not to say they weren't invested though. Tell me what these names have in common, Adolf Hitler, Jack the Ripper, Osama Bin Laden and Pablo Escobar."
"They're all villains and criminals from Earth, right?"
"And, they were all slain by Striders. Wonder why Hitler would kill himself when he still had his niece to take care of? Where did Jack the Ripper go after his string of murders? How did police and SWAT teams track down Pablo Escobar and Osama with the current level of tech?"
"Wow… I never thought about that."
"Stay sitting, there's more…"
Soon though, a man in northern Europe found the secret to unlimited power… With it, he single-handedly conquered and enslaved the world. It was then he was targeted by the Striders, who were promptly wiped out by Meio's genetic creations and magic infused soldiers. Then, in his two thousand and forty-eighth year as ruler of Earth, the last Strider took the mission. His name, was Strider Hiryu and he slew Grandmaster Meio, ending his regime and changing the course of history.
"So because of Hiryu, the Striders lived on while all other ninja disappeared?"
"Bingo, and they are the most lethal of fighters. Seeing one on the opposite side is akin to putting a gun to your head. Striders are ruthless, emotionless and completely determined to complete their mission, whatever the cost."
"That's… Horrific."
"The good news is that they're also rare. The Strider Program is extremely exclusive and they only intervene on matters that go far deeper than political wrangling, though they have been known to take certain jobs for a certain price."
"So Cinder being the new Maiden of Fall is why…"
"The Striders have returned, you're right. And the one that saved you was a B-Class Strider named Soren Blazer."
Ruby stopped and stared at Qrow, "Soren… Saved me?"
TO BE CONTINUED IN VOLUME 2
