How the Mighty Have fallen
"Is anyone here?"
"Blake?"
"Kali?"
"Sienna? Ghira"
"Mom? Dad? Sun?"
All the assembled Faunus were now stranded in a black void, at a loss as to what was happening. Even Blake, who had pretty much gotten used to the "antics" of the god, was rather disquieted by this.
"Alright?" Sun said, spreading his arms, "What the hell's going on here?"
"In the beginning, when this world was still young, my brother and I feuded," the voice of Darkness said from seemingly nowhere.
With that, the void changed into what looked like a luscious green forest. But then everyone's attention was seized by flashes of light in the sky. It was a swirling stream of gold and purple light, as if the two were trying to overwhelm each other. The stream slammed into the forest, sending out a shockwave that leveled it in the process. Ilia instinctively held up her arms, even though she wasn't really there.
Blake had seen her teacher in his true form once before, but that didn't make the sight of the colossal dark dragon emerging from the dust with a roar any less imposing. And then from the dust emerged a colossal, golden, Mistrali dragon, the God of Light. He looked like Yang's dragon form, only he had two large feelers coming from his snout, a beard under his chin, a pair of antlers, and was noticeably larger. With a roar, Darkness lunged at Light, who twisted out of the way, before pinning his brother to the ground. Darkness then lunged up, grabbing the God of Light by his throat. They turned into torrents of glowing energy again, and sailed back into the sky.
"Eventually, the two of us would strike a balance. What he would create, I would destroy, and he would create again, putting an end to our feud. But then my brother shattered that pact, and created beings of pure creation, things to steward his creations."
A chill ran down the Faunus' spines, as they watched as the God of Light, still in his dragon form, perched atop a rock, holding out his front claw. Four balls of glowing energy, one red, one orange, one silver, and one blue. Light then opened his claw, and the four balls floating into the air, before they coalesced into humanoid ones. The sight of these beings sent a universal shiver down the spine of the Faunus present.
"My brother and I had no names for them, but you would come to call them 'Spirits'."
Blake could only stare as she processed the knowledge in front of her: the Spirits really did exist. But that now raised another several questions about the rather drastic implications of this.
"In the beginning there were only four, one that each embodied an aspect of creation: Knowledge, Memory, Preservation, and the most powerful, Order. These 'High Spirits' had all the powers of creation within them, and though they could never hope to match the power of my brother, they were capable of truly immense feats. And they were only the beginning, as my brother created more beings to further his creation."
The image changed, as the four balls of multicolored light soared over the land, countless white lights following them. Wherever they flew, greenery followed them. It was like watching a new world being born.
"Beautiful," Kali murmured a she looked over the sight. Most of the rest of the group would agree, save for Blake, who knew there had to be more than what they were seeing.
"They threatened the balance we had agreed on, threatened to tear it asunder. So I answered accordingly."
The image changed again, to see the God of Darkness in a barren, dark landscape. He was standing on a massive crystal, before he opened his massive maw, and a black ooze spilled out. The ooze pooled up, and from it emerged a black, skeleton hand with bone plates. It didn't take a genius to realize what these were. The image then turned into sights of the forest being consumed by a literal wave of Grimm.
"So for ages the forces of destruction and creation clashed, until the time came when my brother and I came to an understanding that nothing would be gained if this conflict continued. As such, we decided to combine our powers to make one last thing, together. Something with the ability to create, destroy, know, and above all, choose."
The image then changed again, as the two gods landed in a field of dust facing each other. In a flash of gold light and purple smoke, the two assumed to their humanoid forms. The God of Light then held out his hand, and after a moment, the God of Darkness did the same. The two both tipped their hands down, as gold liquid dripped from Light's palms, and purple liquid from Darkness'. The liquids combined, pooling and soaking into the dust. The dust then glowed, as the God of Light fell to one knee, and reached down to it. A hand then reached up, and took his finger, and as Light stood up, he pulled the first human out of the dust. The Faunus watched as they did, with a whole menagerie of emotions. Ilia's face particularly soured at the sight; she couldn't explain why, but the sight of the Faunus' oppressors being created…. It made her feel all sorts of emotions she knew weren't fair.
"From dust you were born, and from dust you will return," Darwin said, reciting one of the tenants of the Faith of the Two Brothers.
"So that's how the humans were made, but what about the Faunus?" Sienna asked
"When these new beings, these 'masterpieces', were seen by the Spirits, they did not see them as such."
The image changed to a prospering village, with the people going about their lives peacefully and happily. However, as they were doing so Spirits peered through the trees at the villages, glaring down at them. Ghira knew what look quite well, the look of anger, and resentment; he had seen it in other Faunus sometime ago.
"All they felt, looking at these humans, was envy and animus. No longer were they the favored of the God of Light, a position stolen from them by the humans, and then the time came that my brother and I left this world, the Spirits remained, and their anger continued to simmer, but not just towards humanity now, but also towards my brother."
"Why?" Darwin inquired.
"Because he abandoned them, left them alone in a world now ruled by humans, a race that stole their creator's favor from them. So they decided that they would do something to show him by making something of their own. Something to spite my brother, an imitation, a mockery of what he had created."
The image then changed again, it showed. Three of the High Spirits, the red, orange, and silver one, gathered deep in the clearing of the woods. One of them, the red one, held up its hand, which began to glow, and the ground in front of it began to bubble and ooze. The orange one then held up its own hand, revealing the hand of a human (there was a retching sound from Sun), which it then dropped into the ooze. The last one, the silver one, then held up various animal parts, and threw it into the ooze as well. The ooze began to boil and wreath, and shortly after, from that ooze crawled a number of beings, the first Faunus.
They were human-like in appearance, but each one had an animal traits, a tail, ears, antlers, scales, the list went on. These beings, these pitiful individuals crawling out the ooze, were really the first Faunus? All the group could only stare at their pathetic forebears. With that, the image turned back into the black void, and the Faunus were all together again. Kali began to tear up, as Ghira brought her close. Sienna fell to her knees, as Sun and Darwin hung their heads. Blake looked at her family, wanting to say something, but found she couldn't find the words; what words could even be said at this point? This was the origin of the Faunus? Them crawling weakly out of a pit of mud due to the bitterness of lesser beings of creation?
"So this is all we are?" Ilia asked slowly, looking at her hands, "An act of spite by angry Spirits against the God of Light?"
"Yes," Darkness said, as he suddenly appeared before them, "That is exactly what you were. And this world belonged to the humans before it belonged to the Faunus." Blake glared sharply at her teacher, as everyone stared at him.
"But that is not what you have to be now," Darkness continued, "These hands may not have created your kind, but that does not give you any less of a right to be on this world. Be more than than an act of spite and bitterness." Blake smiled at that, glad to hear that kind of wisdom from him again.
"And there was a time where the Faunus did just that."
"What're you talking about?" Ghira asked.
"There is still much about the Faunus you do not know," Darkness said, before he flicked his wrist. The image hone changed again. They were now in a village in a dense forest. Milling about the village were a number of Faunus of varying appearances, all apparently living peacefully. Compared to the human villages they had seen, it was almost like a completely different world.
"For nearly a thousand years after their creation, the Faunus remained ignorant of the world of humans, and the humans ignorant of them. They built their own worlds, societies, and ways, separate of each other. But then, everything changed."
A pair of Faunus children, one with a cat tail, and one with rabbit ears were throwing a ball to each other. The rabbit girl thew the ball far, into the bushes. The cat boy volunteered to go get it, as he dove into the bushes to get it. He rooted around for a while, going deeper into the forest. That was when his keen hearing noticed something approaching. He pushed through the bushes, and soon found another child holding his ball, but to the Faunus confusion, this boy had no tail, big ears, or scales.
"Behold, the moment when humans and Faunus first met."
No one was sure what they had expected, but everyone thought it would be something more than this. Ilia and Sienna, for example, envisioned it as being as a point where a human army ravaged through a Faunus village, looting and burning everything in their path, or something like that. At least not just two children meeting.
The human child looked at the ball and then at the Faunus. He then smiled, and held it out to him. The Faunus seemed surprised, but smiled too, and took his ball back. Despite herself, Blake smiled at the sight, as did Darwin, Sun, and Kali. This made one thing clear: there was no prejudice there, it was just two children meeting each other.
"In the beginning, there was no hatred, no anger."
"So how did it all go so wrong?" Ilia muttered. That was when the image changed again. It showed the same Faunus children still staring at each other, when two women emerged from the trees, clearly their respective mothers. But instead of the soft curiosity the children showed, both women looked at each other, at the being that looked so much like them, and yet was somewhat so different. And all they could both fear upon looking at the other, was fear...
"There it is," Sienna said, "The point where it began. The point where the humans did not see other people, but hideous animals."
"I am afraid it was not that simple."
"What do you mean?"
"Let us just say first blood was not first drawn by them…."
The image eaten changed again, showing a human village, nothing really out of the ordinary, with the people mulling about their daily lives. That is, until a horrible sound began to leak from the forest on the edge of the settlement. In short order, a large band of Faunus carrying weapons, on the backs of horses charged out of the trees. The warriors cut down and burned everything in their path.
"The Faunus drew first blood?" Ghira muttered. For so long, they had only seen themselves as the victims, but now that they knew it was the Faunus who struck first, it made Ghira's head spin. Granted, the image changed again, showing a human raid on a Faunus village, and as one might be expected, the humans weren't disposed to be merciful.
"That is how it continued for over a century, one side attacking the other, then the other attacking in retribution, and so on."
"Just an endless cycle of violence and anger," Darwin said, solemnly tightening his grip on his staff. Blake clenched her fists; this was all too similar to who things would often go every time the White Fang launched a raid. The humans would push the Faunus, the Faunus would push back, the humans would push back harder, and it kept going on and on.
"Yes, until from amongst the Faunus, a leader emerged.."
The image turned to a whole army worth of Faunus gathered around a massive tree. Six Faunus, apparently leaders of a sort, consisting of a man with spider legs coming out of his back, a woman with a shark fin on her back and fins on her arms and legs, a man with frog-like skin, a man with a cobra hood, a woman with eagle wings, and a woman with a wolf tail, all fell to one knee before the individual standing before him. A man with massive deer antlers emerging from his head dressed in a green robe, and carrying a large spear, which he thrust into the air.
"His name was Cerununnos, and he united the six Faunus tribes into one cohesive people, and would that combined strength to finally bring an end to the conflict between humans and Faunus."
On the surface that sounded good, but looking at that individual. Anyone could tell, he was a warrior, not a peacemaker. That was when the image changed again, to show Cernunnos leading a vast army against a human city, as the humans proved incapable of stopping the Faunus forces.
"Under his leadership, the united Faunus armies overran the various petty kings and lords of Saunus. They had abilities that the humans did not, and used them build a Wild Empire that would span the entirety of the continent."
"That's good," Sienna said with a solid nod, "Uniting the Faunus to push back against their oppressors, and building a society where the Faunus can live in peace, without fear of the humans." Ilia nodded in agreement.
"But what about the humans?" Blake asked.
"Well, I'm sure they came to an understanding with their new overlords."
"That they did, and quite an understanding it was."
The image then changed again, showing a vast, sprawling city filled with Faunus. But it also showed something none of them ever thought they'd ever see. Scores of humans enchained, being marched single file, carrying stones on their back, pulling statues to various Faunus leaders into the sky, and being whipped by Faunus overseers if they were too slow. Humans were shown standing on a stage, being auctioned off, while others were strung up and flogged. It was then one, singular fact set in upon the group: originally it was the Faunus who enslaved the humans. The sight horrified all those present, but possibly the most horrified were Ilia and Sienna.
"Why are you so disturbed? Was this not what you wanted?"
"I… I didn't want this," Ilia said.
"You said you wanted the humans to fear the Faunus. Well this is fear."
Ilia could only continue to stare as she watched a human child sobbing over her fallen mother, only for a Faunus in armor come over. As he got closer, his skin turned bright red, just as Ilia's would when she was angry; he was a chameleon, just like her. Her eyes widened in terror as the guard grabbed the girl by her hair, and hoisted her up.
"Stop!" Ilia cried, as she instinctively threw herself forward, only for the guard to phase right through her. Ilia looked at her hands, as she could only watch the act take place.
"It seems our own kind were not always the oppressed," Darwin mused, "Quite the opposite, actually."
"For nearly a thousand years, the Wild Empire ruled the whole of continent, and was poised to invade and conquer the other ones under the reign of Empress Artemis."
The image changed to show a woman with long blonde hair, spots tattooed on her arms, and a long spotted tail (marking her as a leopard Faunus) standing on the balcony of a massive palace, spreading her arms to the cheering masses beneath her. She wore a magnificent golden dress, and had an iron crown with the heads of six animals (a spider, a shark head, a frog, a cobra, an eagle and a wolf) atop her head. For the group to witness this, it was both frightening and amazing.
"To think the Faunus once ruled half of Remnant," Sienna said. She might have wholly disapproved of actions of the empire, but the idea that the Faunus were once this power sent shivers up and down her spine.
"How the mighty have fallen," Darwin mused.
"So, how did the empire fall?" Kali asked.
"Because not all Faunus supported it and its practices. In fact, there were many who opposed such a system, including one very important young woman."
The image then changed to show a figure running through the alleys at night, her outline showing her to be a woman. She seemed to glance around a corner, before hiding as several guards marched by. Once they were gone, she dashed across the street.
"Who's that?" Sun asked.
"Princess Neith, the twin sister of Artemis."
Eventually, the girl, they knew to be named Neith, came to a stop at a small house deep in the poor section of the city, where the humans lived. She looked around before she removed her hood, revealing black hair, and a set of black cat ears. A series of gasps resonated across the group.
"Blake?" Ilia asked. Indeed, the princess looked almost exactly like Blake. There were some differences, such as her hair being much shorter and the lining around her eyes being red instead of blue, but aside from those two details, Neith and Blake were virtually identical. Blake could only stare at the sight of her near doppelgänger.
"She… she looks….," she said.
"She would resemble you, she was your ancestor."
Those words hit Blake like a blow from Yang's fist. This woman, this princess from a bygone age, was her ancestor.
"Wait!" Sun said, "Blake's a princess?!"
"I don't think it counts when the country's gone," Blake commented, though she said it partially to herself. They then turned their attention back to the image. Neith looked around again briefly, before she took a breath, and opened the door. As she entered, the room was empty and dark, save for a candle on a table, and a young human man sitting by it, reading from a piece of parchment; he had short, dark blonde hair, and light green eyes, honestly reminding Blake somewhat of Jaune. He looked up from his paper as Neith approached, and smiled.
"Who's that?" Sun asked.
"His name was Orion…"
"You made it," Orion said. Neith smiled as well as she came closer.
"Like I wouldn't have," she said. The two then embraced, before the man tipped Neith's chin up to look at him, and with that, they kissed, to everyone's shock. The princess of a Faunus empire, falling in love with a human slave? It seemed almost impossible; of course there were a lot of things they would've dismissed as impossible before today, so most tried not to dwell on this. Blake then had to consider the fact that this meant she had human ancestry, no matter how distant.
"Neith disdained the empire her sister ruled, she disdained everything about it, above all the treatment of the humans."
The image changed to the slave drive again, as they continued building whatever Artemis wanted. Blake's fists tightened in rage at the sight, and apparently she wasn't the one with such emotions. One slave collapsed in exhaustion, which quickly attracted the attention of a guard with rabbit ears, who quickly stomped over.
"On your feet you wretch," she growled, as she held up her whip. The human just cowered beneath her, holding up her arms in a vain defense.
"Stop!" Neith's voice shouted, as she suddenly positioned herself in front of the overseer, "Leave her alone!" The rabbit, knowing her place, bowed at the waist and hurried away.
"It appears rebelliousness and the drive to do what's right runs far deeper in the family then previous thought," Kali said with a smile. Blake could only stare at her ancestor helping the slave her to her feet, offering her some of the water, which the slave eagerly accepted.
"Unfortunately Neith's views were not shared by her sister. Much to the contrary…"
The image changed again, showing Artemis sitting in a lavish throne room. Neith stood by her side as dozens of individuals, likely the Empire's ministers as generals, stood at the foot of the dais. Artemis looked only maybe half interested in the meeting, as she checked her nails, leaning on her hand. Neith sighed at her sister.
"The human numbers continue to grow in Anima," a lizard Faunus dressed in armor said, as he pointed to a large map in the center of the room, "At the rate they're going, they may eventually overwhelm our colonies."
"To say nothing of their ever increasing numbers here on Saunus," a goat Faunus, also in armor said, "At this rate, the city alone may have twice as many humans as Faunus."
"That is of no concern," a dog Faunus said with a scoff, "We're superior to the humans in every way." Hearing the same words Ilia said not so long ago spoken by a man like that, it made the chameleon's skin turn a brilliant blue.
"No," the Empress said as she suddenly looked up, "Quantity is a quality in of itself. It doesn't matter who superior we are, if the humans can send more against us. We must take action." With that, she rose to her feet.
"Artemis…," Neith tried to say, reaching for her sister's arm, only for it be shaken off.
"Beginning at the end of the month," she said, stepping down the dais, "We will begin a systematic purge of the humans. Every other human in the city will be promptly and decisively culled." Everyone, both in the past and the present looked shocked by that suggestion, save for Blake, who only felt rage. The fact that she shared blood with a person like Artemis….
"Your Majesty's will be done," the lizard Faunus said eventually, said. Neith stared at the floor, as he fingers curled into fists, and her teeth clenched.
"In that moment, Neith knew if she did not act, then her people would be forever damned."
The image changed again to show inside Orion's house, with Neither and Orion standing with a number of other individuals, both Faunus and human. That needed to be stressed, Faunus and humans alike, were standing together, all united with the same goal of freedom and equality. If ever Blake needed proof that the two races could work together…
"As it turned out, Artemis' ideals were not as widely shared as she thought they were. When the time came, many Faunus across the Empire rose in support against Artemis' reign. After that, it was only a matter of time…."
The image changed again, to show the throne room again. Artemis was sitting alone in the dark room, holding her head in her hands, as the sounds of battle and death raged around her. She then looked up, as she watched the doors burst open, as the revolutionaries entered, with her sister at the head.
"Artemis, it's over," Neith said, as she stepped up to the dais to the throne, "The whole army has either been defeated or laid down their arms. Please, step down." Artemis shook slightly, as she rose to her feet.
"It's not over!" she declared, "So long as I draw breath, the Empire endures!" One of the revolutionaries drew his bow, but Orion held up his hand to stop him, as Neith started to ascend the stairs towards her sister.
"I swear by the Spirits!" Artemis said, pointing to Neith, "once my army is rebuilt, I will burn this so called revolution to the ground! You and all your traitorous allies and human pets will burn, and I will…" She then was silenced, as she felt a huge punch to her gut. She
"Neith," she said softly. Darwin knew that look; despite her blustering, Artemis had never actually considered the possibility of killing her sister, let alone her sister killing her….
"I love you, sister," Neith whispered through her tears, as she pressed her forehead to Artemis'. With that, she pulled her blade out, and Artemis stumbled down the steps, as she came to rest at the feet of the revolutionaries, who could only break out in cheers at the death of the tyrant. Neith, however, could only look away, as Orion watched her sadly. Neith, however, then wiped away her tears, and turned to face her followers.
"Free every last slave!" she ordered, "No one will ever be in chains again!" Cheers resonated across the whole of the room.
"So that's how an empire dies," Sienna said, "At the hands of one's own people."
"For the sake of their own freedom," Ilia murmured.
"A lesson for the ages," Kali said. The image changed again to show Neith standing at the balcony, watching over the city, which was alive with celebration. In her hands was her sister's crown, which her ancestors had worn since Cernunnos became the first Emperor. Her attention was then taken by the sound of Orion approaching.
"Well, you did it," he said, putting a hand on his beloved's shoulder, "The throne is your's, and we are all finally free." Neith was silent as she stared at the crown, at the symbol of an empire that had claimed so many lives the centuries. Her grip tightened, before she took a breath.
"No," Neith said, "The Wild Empire had its time. It's time for a new realm to take its place." With that, she tossed the crown away over the balcony, where it vanished into the darkness.
"And we'll build it, together," she continued, putting her hand on Orion's chest, who put his own hand on her cheek.
"Together, the two of us," he said. Neith smile then broadened, as she shook her head.
"Three," she corrected.
"Three?" Neith then took her beloved's hand, and brought it to her stomach. Orion's eyes narrowed then widened, as he looked at Neith, who nodded happily. Orion then picked up his beloved, and spun her, as they passionately kissed. The group all watched at that; everything seemed so… perfect. What caused things to become the way they were now?
"How did it all go wrong?" Sun asked. This time, the god was silent, but the image still changed. It showed Neith and Orion standing on the balcony together, before the cheering throngs, Neith now visibly pregnant, their hands interlocked. Orion held up his hand to his and Neith's people, as they prepared to lead those people into the future. That was when it happened…
It happened so fast, Orion took a moment to realize what was happening, as he stared at the arrow in his chest. Neith cried out, as she tried to catch him, but couldn't stop as he collapsed to the ground. The people all gasped at the sight, at their hero struck dead in an instant. It was only a matter of time, then, before the blame began to spread...
"The Faunus! They killed him!"
"The humans tried to kill the Queen!" That continued, and quickly escalated. All across the city, the humans and Faunus who once stood together against tyranny started fighting, as all hope for peace seemed to evaporate then and their. As for Neith, who remained crouched beside Orion's body as her dream crumbled away into nothing, all she could do was hold up her head scream…
And with that, the image was again replaced by the void….
Note: Wow, this turned out long…
So the Faunus were created by the High Spirits as an act of spite against the God of Light, and they once had a mighty empire to their name. A mighty empire built on the backs of enslaved humans. While I'll go further into this in the retrospective at the end of the volume, I like date idea that the Faunus weren't just arbitrarily the victims of the humans, rather they had their own bloody past.
Cernunnos is the name given to a Celtic deity, generally associated with nature. While I'm sure everyone knows who Artemis and Orion were, Neith was the Egyptian goddess of the hunt. Think of her as something of the Egyptian equivalent of Artemis. I decided to stick with a theme of naming the royalty of the Wild Empire after deities associated with the wild or hunting.
Be sure to review.
Minor note, originally it was one red, one silver, one blue, and one green. I turned the green one to orange; no real reason, just thought it would work better. Also, I have made up my mind on how the pairing is going to go, so the poll is going to close. I won't tell you though...