August 3rd
Ulysses sat on his bed, listening to the rain pouring down outside. It was close to midnight, but he couldn't sleep. He was still thinking about the conversation he'd had with the Faunus refugee earlier.
While we fight against Mistral and Mantle, the Grimm slaughter our citizens. Does high command know about this? Ulysses thought they had to on some level. Rumors of destroyed villages had even reached the citizens of Vale. But as far as he knew, nothing was being done about it. More soldiers were being sent to the front lines every day. Ulysses hadn't heard of any being tasked with protecting against Grimm.
He stood up and walked over to the desk where his letter to Penelope sat. He missed his chance to send it that day, too caught up in his own thoughts. Reading it over, his description of the refugees seemed woefully incomplete.
Ulysses was thinking about writing a new letter when the blare of a horn interrupted his musings. There was one long note to wake everyone up, followed by three short blasts and the sound of a flare being fired in the rain.
Again? So soon?
As Captain Ajan jumped out of bed, Ulysses grabbed his weapon and gauntlet. He was out the door in a second and didn't stop running until he was outside.
There were dozens of tents set up in the square to keep the rain at bay. Ulysses saw his men scrambling to get ready, but between the weather and the time of night it was going to take them longer to prepare themselves than it had earlier.
The Stormcallers slowed down by a storm. Disappointing.
Ulysses grabbed a random soldier from the crowd and asked from where the flare had been shot.
"East, Captain, same as before," the man answered.
Ulysses nodded, unsurprised. There was no time to wait for his entire platoon to get themselves together. He activated his Semblance and, once on horseback, yelled to the whole company.
"Get to the eastern gate as soon as your squad is ready!" He was about to take off when a voice called back to him.
"Ulysses, let's go!" The captain turned his head and saw Major Agemus running towards him, staff in hand. Ulysses reached down to pull his commander onto the back of his horse, and they sped off to face the Grimm.
Arriving at the gate, they found it barred shut and heard terrible scratching on the other side. They rushed up a stairway to the battlements above the gate where two soldiers were pouring machine gun fire down to the ground below.
Ulysses looked out from his perch on the wall just as a flash of lightning illuminated the field beyond. His breath caught in his throat.
Creeps filled the space below the wall. Individually, the lizard-like creatures were among the weakest Grimm, but the sheer numbers here were daunting. Ulysses knew the machine gunners were killing dozens and not even making a dent in the enemy force. He also saw Ursae walking among them like siege engines rolling through an infantry brigade. The creatures in the lead had already reached the gate and were clawing at it ferociously, but more were still emerging from the forest hundreds of feet away. It was like a tidal wave of blackness washing over the city, with red eyes and white bone being the only signs to distinguish individual creatures.
I've never seen so many Grimm in one place before.
Ulysses was snapped out of his shocked stupor when Major Agemus pointed his staff over the wall and unleashed a bolt of lightning. Fire was the major's preferred weapon, but it would be far less effective in the rain. His staff contained multiple Dust crystals, and he was a master with all of them. Ulysses stepped forward and added to the barrage with blasts of wind from his gauntlet. They were scarcely aiming; there was little need when the Grimm filled the entire field below them.
After a minute of hurling wind into the Grimm, he heard a call from behind and turned to see several squads of soldiers standing ready at the gate. The officers had lined up within earshot of Major Agemus. He considered the situation for a moment before giving his orders.
"Get as many guns as we can up here on the wall. Any rifles that can't fit need to be pointed at the gate. The Grimm are going to break through eventually, and when they do I want them to run into a wall of pikes. Don't let a single one through to menace the villagers. Now move!"
The men rushed to their positions even as more squads arrived from the town square. Soon there were thirty guns pointed down from the wall, firing into the never-ending horde of Grimm. The gate was starting to crack, but waiting behind it were the pikers of First Company, ready to impale any monster that got through. Backing them up were the rest of the company's rifles.
Ulysses returned his attention to dealing with the monsters that swarmed the wall. It was grueling, disheartening work. The men on either side of him poured gunfire into the Grimm, but it made no visible difference. Where one Creep fell, two more took its place. The Ursae took at least dozen shots to bring down, and even when one was killed there was no time for celebration. Every time Ulysses started to think they might be reaching the end, a flash of lightning revealed countless more Grimm advancing through the night. He began to fear that they might run out of ammunition before the enemy ran out of bodies.
The rain continued to pour down on them. A light drizzle might have been soothing in the summer night's heat, but this downpour left the men drenched and uncomfortable. Spirits were as low as they had ever been for First Company.
Yet still the gate held. The Grimm's corpses dissolved into smoke, but the Valean soldiers were killing them so fast that the bodies still formed a barricade, however temporary. That, coupled with the soldiers' ability to pick targets, meant that few Grimm reached the gate.
Ulysses lost all sense of time. He had no way of knowing how long they'd been fighting when he heard it.
A whistling sound filled his ears. Ulysses looked up from the Grimm horde to see a boulder bigger than a car hurtling towards his perch atop the wall. Before he had time to even process what he'd seen, it struck.
The noise was louder than a thunderclap. The stone wall shook, and a moment later Ulysses found he was falling. He hit the ground amidst a pile of rubble, all that remained of the battlements.
The captain slowly picked himself up and looked around. The gates had been shattered and the battlements above them destroyed, leaving a massive gap in the wall. The men who had been atop the wall were rising from the debris as best they could, many having been injured by the fall. Ulysses turned his head towards the Grimm and found them surging forward towards the now exposed soldiers. He was about to give orders to his men when he saw what had thrown the boulder that broke the wall.
What the hell…
It stood more than three times the height of an Ursa, easily the largest Grimm that Ulysses had ever seen. Its body was humanoid, but hugely muscled with long arms like those of an ape. Its legs were akin to some hooved animal, perhaps a goat. White bone plates covered its chest and shoulders like armor. In one hand it carried a tree trunk with roots still clinging to one end. Its mouth was filled with teeth as long and as sharp as daggers. A single crimson eye burned in the center of its head.
And the monster wasn't just standing among its fellow Grimm. It ran towards Renere, covering several yards with each stride, heedless of the Creeps it crushed underfoot. Once it had covered half the distance, the creature bent its legs and launched itself into a long jump. It took Ulysses less than a second to realize where it would land.
"Scatter!" he screamed, sprinting away from the fallen gate.
The ground bucked like a horse and Ulysses was thrown from his feet. He landed a moment later on his back in the muddy grass outside the walls.
A Creep pounced on the fallen captain, its claws digging into his Aura. Adrenaline rushing through him, Ulysses unleashed a blast of wind from his gauntlet, knocking the Grimm away. He sprang to his feet and drew his sword. Two more Creeps rushed the captain and were quickly cut down.
Then he saw the rest of the men who had been thrown by the one-eyed Grimm's impact. Without Aura to protect them, they were being massacred by the Creeps. Ulysses even saw Major Agemus, robbed of his staff by the earlier fall, being swarmed by Grimm. He struggled against them as best he could, before being laid low by the swipe of an Ursa's claw.
"No!" shouted Ulysses, charging towards his commander. He ran as fast as he could, cutting down any Creeps that got in his way. He'd covered half the distance when the one-eyed Grimm stepped in front of him and casually swatted him aside with its club.
Ulysses crashed onto his back. His Aura had saved him from suffering a broken spine, but his body still hurt all over. He watched in horror as the giant Grimm walked slowly towards him. He lay there, too scared to move, as it raised its club above its head.
Then he was blinded as a bolt of lightning filled his vision. When he could see again, a woman was standing between him and the one-eyed Grimm.
She wore a dirty brown cloak over traveler's clothing that had seen better days. Despite this she stood tall and proud, facing down the monster with no sign of fear. She carried no weapon or Dust that Ulysses could see.
The Grimm swung its club at the woman and she raised her hand as if to catch it. Ulysses was nearly lifted off the ground as a gale of wind more powerful than anything he could hope to conjure buffeted the monster, causing it to stagger backwards out of reach of them.
The woman placed her hands together and fire danced between them, apparently too hot for the rain to quench. As the flames grew brighter, she stepped towards the giant Grimm.
Lightning, wind, and fire with no sign of Dust? How is she doing that?
Then the woman stopped and perked her ears at the sound of growling all around her. She spun around and spread her arms. Tiny comets shot from her fingers to strike the Grimm that were charging her from all directions, killing them instantly. This also gave Ulysses his first good look at her face. She was in her mid-thirties and had dirty blonde hair. Dark circles under her eyes marred her otherwise beautiful face. By the time she turned back to the one-eyed Grimm, it had recovered from the blast of wind and was standing ready.
Ulysses realized what he had to do. Chiding himself for giving in to fear, he rose to his feet and picked up his sword from where it had fallen.
"Hey!" he shouted to the woman. "If you can handle the big one, I'll keep the rest of them off your back!" She looked at him and nodded before charging at the massive Grimm, the wind at her back and lightning in her hands.
A part of Ulysses wanted to watch the battle that was about to unfold, but he had a job to do. He turned away from the woman and activated his Semblance. As he was lifted off his feet by the horse appearing beneath him, he took in his surroundings.
He was forty-some yards from the destroyed gate. The field outside the city was no longer filled with endless ranks of Grimm, but there were still a huge number of them around. A massive group was pressing into the gap in the wall, likely doing battle with the pikers of First Company. Ulysses wanted to go help his men, but he knew he needed to defend the mysterious woman so she could defeat the one-eyed Grimm. Dozens of Creeps were surrounding them, slowly stalking forward.
With a thought, Ulysses sent his horse into a gallop. He charged towards the nearest Creep, and it rushed forward to meet him. Ulysses leaned down from his mount and sliced the Grimm in two with his sword. Another Creep came charging at him from the other side, and he quickly shifted so that he could cut that one in half too.
He kept moving through the horde, his blade coming down again and again to dispatch one Creep after another. He rode in large circles around the woman's battle with the one-eyed Grimm, keeping them just out of the corner of his eye.
He had completed his second pass around the battle when an Ursa Major came barreling towards him. Ulysses had to make his horse rear up and back off to avoid the creature's charge. But the monster pressed its attack, swiping its front paws at him. The captain continued backing his horse away from the monster's attacks, before finally seeing an opening. As the Ursa Major made a particularly large slash, Ulysses' mount reared up and kicked it in the face. The Grimm recoiled from the blow, allowing the captain to lunge in and stab it in the throat. He wrenched his sword to the side and beheaded the creature.
Ulysses paused for a moment to catch his breath before realizing that he'd taken too long to dispatch one Grimm. He looked over at the woman and saw four Creeps charging her from behind.
"Look out!" he yelled over the rain. The woman turned a second too late, and the Grimm pounced on her, dragging her to the ground. Lightning flowed from her fingertips, but the creatures had her at a disadvantage, and the one-eyed Grimm was approaching.
Ulysses sent his horse galloping towards her at full speed. He had nearly reached her when the giant Grimm suddenly turned and swung its club at him. The tree trunk passed through Ulysses' mount, dissipating it like mist, and struck the captain in the chest. He was sent flying through the air before crashing into the ground and skipping like a pebble.
As Ulysses lay there, face down in the mud with his entire body hurting, a memory flashed through his mind unbidden.
Ulysses entered the ballroom with his fellow officers at either side. The room was crowded with men and women, many of them officers of the Valean military. The ones who weren't wearing forest green uniforms were dressed in their finest clothing. The dancing hadn't gotten underway yet, so people were simply standing around and conversing.
But Ulysses saw none of them; his gaze fell only upon her. She was standing on the opposite side of the room with her friends. Her soft features, framed by wavy chocolate brown hair, stood out to Ulysses like a beacon in the dark. Her sapphire eyes glittered even from so far away. Her silver necklace and earrings complemented her slightly tan skin.
Her dress clung to her figure, accentuating each curve until it let out a bit past her hips. There, a narrow slit showed just a bit of her left leg, smooth and elegant. The neckline sank low enough to show just the smallest bit of her cleavage, sensual but still tasteful. The dress was a gorgeous violet color that gleamed in the light of the chandeliers.
Penelope caught sight of him across the room and her face was illuminated by a vibrant smile. She waved to get his attention, not realizing that she was the only thing in the room that he saw. She was beautiful every time Ulysses laid eyes her, but standing there in that dress wearing a smile that was meant only for him, she was absolutely radiant.
Ulysses quickly crossed the room, stepping around or pushing past anyone who came between them. When he reached her, he took her hands and whispered so that only she could hear.
"I love you."
A surprised smile crossed her face, the reaction everything he had hoped it would be. He pressed on before she could speak.
"I've been searching so long for the right words to tell you that. But when I saw you just now, I realized that nothing beats the simple truth."
She removed her hands from his and placed them around his neck, pulling him down to her so that she could kiss him on the lips. The kiss was soft and slow, saying everything that Ulysses knew she would never be able to with words.
"They're the best words I can imagine," she whispered when she finally pulled away, leaving the taste of the kiss still lingering on his lips.
Now Ulysses' lips were covered in mud, and his uniform was torn and drenched in rainwater. He slowly raised his face from the muck to see the woman battling against the one-eyed Grimm. She had apparently dispatched the Creeps that assaulted her, but had been forced onto the defensive, barely holding back the giant Grimm with blasts of wind and fire.
"Penelope," whispered Ulysses, slowly raising his body from the mud. "I won't die here."
He reached out and picked up his sword from where it had fallen nearby.
"I won't leave you to raise our child alone."
Leaning on the sword, he dragged himself to his feet, swaying a bit.
"Whatever it takes, whatever stands in my way…"
He slowly put one foot in front of the other, his pace growing faster with each step.
"I will come BACK TO YOU!"
Drawing on Aura that should have been long broken, Ulysses was lifted off his feet by his Semblance. The rain stung his face as his steed broke into a gallop, closing the distance to the giant Grimm at an incredible speed.
As Ulysses rode, he saw the one-eyed Grimm bring its club down on the woman in a massive overhead slam. She raised her arms and a storm of wind rose up to catch the blow. But even as she held back the tree trunk, the Grimm lashed out with its foot, catching her in the chest and sending her flying away, Aura flashing orange.
Ulysses let out a war cry, and the monster turned its attention to him. It stepped towards him and swung its club in a low sideways sweep that would take the legs out from under his horse.
Just before the blow connected, the steed leapt into the air, clearing the swing and rising towards the Grimm's terrible face. As Ulysses soared through the air, he allowed his mount to disappear from under him and took his sword in a reverse two-handed grip. He screamed as he plunged the blade into the Grimm's single crimson eye, sinking it all the way to the hilt.
The monster let loose a howl of pain that was neither human nor animal. It wrenched its head to the side, and Ulysses was thrown off. He slammed into the ground dozens of feet away, and his Aura finally broke.
When he recovered enough to look up, he saw the massive Grimm staggering around blindly. It swung its club back and forth while its other hand pawed desperately at the sword that was still embedded in its eye.
The woman had risen from where she had been kicked. A handful of Creeps moved to surround her, but with a snap of her fingers the lizard like monsters were consumed in flames. The woman gave Ulysses a quick glance and a nod before turning her attention to the blinded Grimm.
Her eyes began to blaze with golden fire. The wind gathered around her, and she was lifted into the air. She pointed a finger at the monster, and lightning split the sky in two. The creature roared in pain and swung its club about in a vain effort to find whatever had hurt it. The woman thrust her arms at it and lightning struck again and again, the thunder nearly deafening Ulysses. Finally, the pain became too much for the Grimm, and it sank to its knees.
The woman waved her hands in circles, and for a moment the rain stopped hitting the ground, redirected into midair rivers and ponds. She raised one hand and the collected water instantly froze into a dozen spears of ice, each ten feet long.
The woman lowered her hand towards the Grimm, and the spears shot forth in a frozen volley, impaling the monster through the arms, legs, chest, and throat. It was dead before it had a chance to make a sound, kept from falling by the spears that pierced its flesh. Its enormous body began to dissolve into black mist that was quickly dissipated by the rain.
The wind gently lowered the woman to the ground, and the fire in her eyes went out. Ulysses staggered to his feet and glanced around the field. All of the Grimm were dead. The sounds of battle had died down, and the ruined gates of Renere were blocked by a mound of slowly dissolving black corpses. The captain looked over to the woman who had saved them all and found her walking away from both him and the village.
"Wait!" he called, and ran to her as quickly as he could manage. She ignored him and kept walking. "That was unbelievable! It was beyond anything I could imagine, even with all the Dust in the world! With you here, the people will be safe."
She whirled on him, her eyes blazing and her face a mask of rage.
"I can't be everywhere at once!" she screamed with a voice that shook the earth. Ulysses stumbled back from her outburst. They stared at each other for a moment as the anger slowly left her face. "I didn't always have to be. These people used to have protectors of their own. I hunted the biggest and most dangerous hordes, confident that there were others working to handle the rest. But now those protectors have decided they would rather kill each other, and even a lone Beowolf is a disaster waiting to happen."
She let out a slow, shaky breath before continuing. "I haven't slept in days. Every time I close my eyes I think of all the people who could be dying while I rest. But you go on, soldier, and fight for your kingdom… while the Grimm butcher its people." She turned and began to walk away once again.
Ulysses stood there and watched her go, his mind reeling. Hearing this superhuman echo the words of the Faunus refugee gave all his thoughts a sudden clarity. He knew what he had to do.
People are dying. Families like mine are dying, and I have the power to stop it.
"You're right!" he called after the woman. She stopped, but didn't turn around. "We are sworn to protect the people of Vale, but by leaving them at the mercy of the Grimm, we have failed them. I will stay in Renere for as long as I am needed. But please, tell me your name before you go."
The woman looked down at the ground and sighed. "I can't tell you my name. It would be better if you didn't speak of me at all. But if you wish, you can think of me as Autumn." Ulysses blinked in surprise at her strange answer and stranger request. She slowly lifted her head to meet his gaze. "Thank you." With that, she turned and walked away from the village and the soldiers that she had saved.
Ulysses watched Autumn until she was out of sight. Then he turned back to Renere and approached the destroyed gate, wondering what to tell his men.
Author's Note: This is a chapter I've been excited for from the very beginning. It took me forever before I was happy with it. I tried to make both the Maidens and the Grimm as dangerous as I think they're supposed to be, and I think it turned out pretty well.
Thanks everyone for reading. Fingers crossed that more chapters will be out soon!