Hey guys, here is the next update of this fanfic. Hope you have enjoyed the read so far.

Anyway, read on.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Haven

Braveheart

It has been a few days since the Lord Commander and Weiss had left the castle behind. Raze had watched them leave, feeling apprehensive about the task that Ozpin had left him to accomplish. He knew somewhat of the reason why he was chosen, and it was a tactical move by the Lord Commander, to take the advantage of him being a Northerner. Raze was born and raised in the North, thought he wasn't part of a well-known House, he knew enough of the North to understand both side of the conflict that was in front of them.

The meeting with the Lord Paramount hadn't gone the way they had wanted but somehow, Raze had expected it. He had been nothing but a young man when the War in the North took place and saw firsthand just how dangerous the Faunus could be and how brutal they can be to their prisoners. With such knowledge in hand, he could understand why the Lord Paramount didn't want any of the Faunus back into his lands again, not when they had sacrificed so much to push them back in the first place. However, Raze knew what was out there on the other side of the Chains of Remnant.

He knew that the Grimm had returned and that their presence could destabilize the already divided Remnant even further. Ever since he had returned from the Frozen North, he had done his best to keep his understanding about what was going on out there in the world. He had heard about the civil war that was going on in the Vale and about the other conflict going on between Mistral and Atlas, though they weren't a whole lot of people that came from there with how dangerous the roads had become now with the war happening.

Haven was still relatively safe from the conflict so far thought, with it so close to the Harrowing Amastrial, they have been worries about an invasion force coming from there as well but nothing that could do anything since Haven wasn't at war with anyone yet. However, Raze find himself still apprehensive with the task he was set out with.

How was he going to convince the Northern Lords about the Grimm's return?

He may have seen them and faced them in combat but somehow, he had managed to survive them and now that responsibility was upon his shoulders. He was to convince the Lords of the North about the Grimm and get the Lord Paramount on his side so that he could let the Faunus of the Frozen North through the Gate…

The man let out a sigh.

When he has sent Weiss out there to get the Faunus, he never actually believed the girl would have been able to gain their help. He remembers just how frightened he had been after that night at Sina, after that terrible battle which had taken place under the silver light of the moon. It was just plain damn luck he survived that night and the month that followed. But somehow, Weiss had managed to get the Faunus to help her, something that no one thought could be achieved.

She managed to do more than most of the veterans at the Hunt, he thought, If she managed to get the Faunus to trust her…then, my job don't really seem all that dangerous now does it.

Lord Argus had sent the letters a day before Weiss and the Lord Commander left. If they managed to convince him of the threat, Raze didn't know, thought as far as they were concerned, the Faunus were the bigger concern rather than the Grimm after all, the Faunus were a more familiar enemy and so far, all that they were going to be doing right now is wait for the Lords to come to Braveheart and he will be able to accomplish what he is here for and maybe during his time here, he might get some news about how his family is doing, after all, it had been years since he heard from them. When he became a member of the Hunt, he had turned his back on them as it was as a member of the Hunt, thought he hardly heard anything about them at all.

"Huntsman?"

He turned his attention at the voice who called out to him. It was one of Argus's son. The young man was dressed in his fur, his red hair bright in the low light from how gray the sky was. He shared much of his father's look thought his eyes were as bright as emerald. He was also bearded marking him as the oldest son of the Nikos family.

"Lord Nikos," he spoke out with a light bow of his head in respect.

"My name is Jon," he said, "I wish to speak with you."

Raze only nodded.

"Of course, my lord," he said.

He followed the man from where he was standing. During his time here, Raze had spent most of it out of the castle and merely traveling the grounds of Braveheart. He had never been in the grounds of the castle before, so he was quite curious about the place as the banner of the Nikos danced in the winds around them.

"Yesterday, my father summoned my brother and me for a meeting," Jon told him, "I had believed that the Hunt's arrival in Braveheart would have been something familiar like the Faunus getting over the Chains as they have done during the war…however, I would have never imagined that the Grimm of all things would be what's coming."

Raze looked at the man, a contemplating look appearing upon his features.

"You came to me to verify these claims?" he asked.

Jon nodded.

"Is it really true then?" he asked, "The creature of yore…creatures of fairy tales breathed into the real?"

"They are as real as you and I my lord," Raze answered him, "I faced these creatures in battle and this was the first time I actually felt fear when I held a sword in my hand. We were trained to fight men, not monsters."

Jon looked at him.

"You've seen them?"

"Aye," Raze said.

Jon fell silent as the two came out in what seems to be an open part of the castle. Jon let out a small sigh placing his hand upon the railing in front of him.

"This world gets more and more dangerous as Winter crawl by," he said, "How can we be living in such times? Rebellions in the south, a civil war in the Vales and now, the Grimm returning for the first time in thousands of years and to top it all off, you are here to convince my father to let the animals of the Frozen North through the Gate to save them?"

"That is the deal the Hunt has made with the Faunus," Raze told him, "I am a Northern man like you my lord. I have been nothing but a boy when the War in the North happened. If it was anything else, I would have agreed with the sentiment of leaving the Faunus where they belong but…I have seen the Grimm, and how outclassed we are against them. The Faunus of the Frozen North know the Grimm better than any men on this side of the Chains, at least according to what Weiss told us."

Jon glanced at him.

"You trust her words?"

Raze stayed silent for a moment, thinking.

"I do," he said, "She may be a bastard, but she has a good head on her shoulders. That's what managed to keep her alive so far."

Jon let out a small sigh.

"I can only imagine," he said.

The two were interrupted, however, were interrupted by the arrival of the younger brother of Jon, Thor. The young man approached toward them, and Jon frowned.

"What is it Thor?" he asked him.

"Some people from Mistral just showed up," the young man told him.

"Mistral?" Jon repeated, surprised, "Why are they here?"

"They've asked an audience with father," Thor told him, "But other than that, I don't really know what's going on yet."

There was a silence as the young man stood there, a light frown upon his features for a few moments before he turned his gaze toward Raze.

"It would seem our conversation has come to an end," he said, "I will see you later then."

"Of course, my Lord," Raze told him giving the man a light bow.

Jon and his brother both walked away from him, both young men speaking with each other and Raze caught the words of "If Mistral came this far North, they want something…" before the two walked away from him. Raze found his curious as well. Mistral was reaching this far North, and there was only one reason as to why they would be doing something like that.

They wanted an alliance against the Crown.

It was well known that the former Queen Cariel had relations with Mistral since she was the daughter of the Lord Paramount there. It was only logical that Mistral would be angry at her assassination and the overthrown of the entire Schnee House from the Throne of Jewels.

If Mistral is here…then they are going to look for an alliance…however, if something like that happened, then…the Northern Lords wouldn't help the Hunt at all…

This was a precarious situation. For Mistral to be asking for help of them, they must be buying the Alliance of ones that were sworn to the Schnee to fight back. But there was nothing much he can do right now except waiting for the Northern Lords arrival. Raze was waiting for that meeting to come and present his case to the people of the North. While the Hunt has no loyalty to anyone, however, with the Grimm returning to the world, how many would have to face them.

How can one convince ordinary people that something that they don't believe in have returned?

Raze didn't know how he was going to convince the Northern Lords, but if Weiss had made him realize anything was that one must always push forward because if he didn't, Weiss's promise to Blake would be for naught and the Hunt might find themselves in a war of their own.

In the coming few days, the people of Mistral departed from Braveheart though what they desired to speak Lord Argus about stayed within the Nikos family. The Lords of the North had come and many of the major Houses had come and sit in the large Hall with the Lord Paramount seating at the high table. Raze looked at them all, noticing many familiar faces among the many men that were there. There were House Caster, House IronFall to name a few of the ones that were most powerful beside House Nikos.

Then the Lord Paramount stood up, bringing a silence within the room.

"Thank you all for coming," he spoke out, "I had hoped that better tidings would have brought the Houses of the North into my hall, but I fear that a shadow long thought gone has returned to us. I am sure that many of you have received the letters I have sent about what the Hunt had found in the Frozen North, the land that is separated from us by the Chains of Remnant."

"With all due respect my lord," a man said standing up.

"Lord Reyne," Argus greeted.

"Are those tales truth?" Lord Reyne asked, "Thousands of years have passed since the Grimm last appeared in this world and since then no one had seen them at all. How can we be sure that the Hunt speak the truth and they aren't making up stories to ask us for our manpower?"

Lord Argus raised his hand.

"The Hunt had left one of their own here," he said, indicating toward Raze as the man stood up drawing the eyes of the entire Hall toward him, "This man is Raze Stallion, he and others claimed to have battle against the Grimm at Fort Sina more than three months ago. He will be the one to tell us the story of what truly happened out there."

Raze nodded his head toward the Lord Paramount before facing the room.

"Thank you, Lord Nikos," he said, "My lords, there is something that you must be aware of. I am not sure if Lord Nikos had mentioned it in his letters, but the two Forts the Hunt had within the Frozen North had been completely abandoned. We've lost more than a half of the Hunt, most of them veterans Huntsmen and Huntresses that had served us for many years. At the time, however, when my company reached Sina, we were as baffled to find it empty of life."

He stared around the room.

"In a single night," Raze continued, walking through from where he was seating to the middle of the hall, "The Grimm attacked and only seven of us had managed to survive. Seven Huntsmen out of more than thirty men. Those are the odds that we are facing and many of the Huntsmen who fell were also veteran and new recruits."

The man looked at them.

"I will not be ashamed to say that I was frozen in fear," he said, "Me someone who had been serving the Hunt for more than ten years has been completely frightened. One of the new recruits had managed to do something that no Huntsman had done in centuries. She managed to make allies of the Faunus of the Frozen North and from what she says, this war is coming and if we are not prepared, Remnant would be engulfed in a war that many would not survive."

"A Huntress making allies of those animals?" A lord scoffed at the idea.

"What kind of Huntress was she?" another Lord asked.

Raze stayed silent for a moment.

"Weiss," he said, "The bastard child of Jarus Schnee."

There was a murmur around the Hall as many of the Lords scoffed again at the notion.

"You'll trust the word of a bastard?" A lord laughed.

"The Hunt must be down in the shits if a bastard is the best they can trust," another said shaking his head.

"Probably doing this for a little bit of power," another Lord laughed.

"My Lords," Raze called out, feeling a bit of anger at how they disrespected Weiss and what effort she had done to help the Hunt.

Raze had forgotten how little thought bastards are given by Remnant. How many people in Remnant sees them like a blight upon the family they are born in…and some bastards are not even considered part of the family, more like a servant and nothing more. An embarrassment they are.

"Weiss may be a bastard," he said, "She may not have the name of the Schnee, but the blood of Kings run in her veins. The blood of the dynasty that shaped Remnant into what it is today. In the Hunt, the ones who join are no longer tied by the family we are born in. Noble births, bastards, farmers, it doesn't matter where you come from. When you join, you are a Huntsman and we regarded each other equally. I trust her word and she has more than show that she is capable."

Raze narrowed is eyes at them.

"You may scoff at her, but the truth of the matter is that the Grimm are real, and they are coming," he said, "And if Remnant itself is to survive, then we must bind our forces together and prepare for them because the Grimm won't stop at the North. They will continue all the way down to Mistral the farthest Southern realm of this continent…however the Grimm are not the only reason why Lord Nikos had summoned you all here."

He let out a breath.

"I told you before that Weiss had made allies of the Faunus of the Frozen North," Raze announced, "The Hunt had also promised to give them passage through the Gate and they could be vital allies in this war."

"The animals through the Gate?"

"Are you fucking insane?"

"I won't allow these beasts into the lands of my ancestors," a third shouted.

The entire room had exploded into a ruckus of many voices yelling around at him. Raze had expected this, after all, Haven had suffered much in the War in the North and the Faunus had showed no mercy in their brutality in that war.

"My Lords," Lord Nikos spoke out, his powerful voice thundering across the room, causing them to fall silent now, "That is the situation that we face now. Like many of you, I can remember all to well the brutality of the War in the North. As the decision of allowing them through rest upon me, I wanted to speak to you all about it because this decision will affect Haven. We are all the Lords of these lands and despite being the Lord Paramount, the future of our people lies with us."

"Forgive me my lord," one of the lord spoke out, Lord Reyne again, "What says that the animals of the Frozen North won't turn against us if we allow them through? Their brutality, as you say, are well known to all of us northerners. Letting them through is simply inviting another war into our lands. With what's happening in the South, we can't allow another problem into our own land."

"Aye," another spoke out, "Lord Reyne speak the truth Lord Nikos. Haven is not ready for war if it comes to us and many of our armies have suffered in the War of the North. We were barely able to pull ourselves up and now you want us to allow the very ones responsible for our weakened state back into our lands?"

"Hear, hear," a few lords rumbled around smashing their cups into their table.

"These animals will stay and die where they belong," another lord shouted to the agreement of many around him.

Raze stared at them all.

"Then you will allow them to be slaughtered by the Grimm?" he asked, glancing around them.

"Then it will be our revenge for the monstrosity they had done in the war," a Lord said.

A few agreeing sounds echoed around the room. Raze stared at them unable to believe what he was hearing.

"If these creatures of Grimm that you speak of are real and are coming for all of us," one of the Lord spoke out said, "Then we will go and prepare our Forts and our armies to battle against them. However, we won't allow any animals of the Frozen North into our lands."

Cheers echoed around the room. Raze turned his gaze toward the high table at the Lord Paramount that was seating there. The man looked around the room, his eyes taking in everything as the lords were agreeing with the words that were being passed around before raising his hand causing them to fall silent.

"Lord Paramount?" Raze spoke out.

"the North has spoken," he said, "and the decision has been made. No Faunus will be allowed to enter Haven and the Gate will remains closed to them."

Raze looked at the man.

"Lord Nikos," he said, "If you do this, you'll bring a war to these lands, a war that will weaken us even before the Grimm reach the Gate. The Hunt will not be able to fight against the Faunus of the Frozen North, for we do not have the man power to halt their attack if it comes to fighting. Allowing them through will build road to have a new relation with the Faunus…"

"If it's manpower you want," Lord Nikos spoke out, "Then House Port shall help the Hunt to defend against the Faunus invaders. That is my order."

A man stood up. He was dressed in his northern fur with a red leather outfit visible underneath it. The man had gray hair and an impressive pair of mustaches upon his face as he gave a low bow.

"As my Lord commands," he said, "I will defend the Gate from the enemy along with the Hunt. It will be an honor to fight alongside them."

Raze knew just by then that he had failed.

The Lord Paramount will not open the Gate for the Faunus, too blinded by the horror of the past to see what was right in front of them. The real choice that they had to do but it would seem it would be too easy for them to choose the right path.

"Huntsman Raze," Lord Nikos continued drawing his eyes toward him, "You will travel with Lord Port at his Fort and with his men to use them as force against the Faunus when they come. All the while, The Northern Houses of Haven shall prepare for the War against the Grimm that is coming in the next few months."

Raze looked around the room and he just knew by seeing their faces, he had lost his chance to convince them. As much as it pained him to think of this, but the northern fools had just backed themselves into a corner.

Their bloody fucking pride wouldn't allow them to see too far ahead.

Weiss…forgive me, I failed to convince them, he thought dismayed at what had happened.

Well so that happened...guess it would be too easy to say that the Northern lords would have allowed them in without resistance.

Anyway, hope you have enjoyed that little bit.

Jacques0 out.

R&R