From Ashes to Dust

by joecola00

Remnant is a world housed by the remains of a people constantly warring with soulless monsters that would see them extinct. Yet they aren't the only remnants on their planet. Remnant is far older than any of its denizens could imagine, older than even their Brother Gods. One of these relics of their past is not as dead as the rest, and its awakening will bring fate to its knees...

9. Fight Club

Ch 8 - Fight Club

A/N: DS3 fans are for the most part well aware of the reputation of the arena-like balcony just after Pontiff Sulyvahn. Dark Souls 3 did not start out with a dueling arena on launch, so this area rapidly became the go-to spot for impromptu duels, where a host of embers would let the PVP hotspot that became known as Gank City be flooded by invaders of all stripes, who would realize what was going on and politely duel each other, sometimes with these unofficial arenas going on for hours. And woe unto the player who went to heal while in the ring. While I'm not a fan of participating in fight clubs myself when I'm out mashing the red eye orb, I'm such a Dark Souls nerd that whenever I see or read about Goodwitch's combat class, I can't help thinking of how in a way, it's also a fight club. Hence the title.

This is one of several chapters that I'd like to do in the "several weeks" period between "The Badge and the Burden" and "Jaunedice." I would assume "several weeks" means more than two, but less than a month, so that gives me somewhere between roughly 18-24 days to work with before the next part of cannon. I'll see how many chapters I can fit in.

As of today, 26 of the 51 chapters have been moved from google docs to the FFN doc manager, only awaiting my upload schedule in order to properly join the site.

Review Responses:

XiHeng: This 5 man team, really didn't need it, kinda overused, cringe, and boring. It would've been better if Vyliria were to be more of a traveling lone warrior that wondered around Remant slowing meeting rwby over time.

Imagine this, Vyliria, due to her time in Lothric, was a extremely friendly person and talked to everyone , but, since she always fought alone became a lone wolf in terms of fighting. However, because she herself now has no purpose and has been wondering around Remant for a month now, saw rwby in trouble and helped them, had a conversation, and then went their separate ways. This continues over and over again including jnpr and Vylira starts to enjoy helping and fighting alongside them.

I think thats much better than, no offense to your story, but just RWBY1.

But it is your story and how you want to tell it is still up to you. Keep up the good work!

My response: Well, most authors slap the 5th person onto RWBY. I had the way things have went planned out for a long time, and all the words have been down for a while now. The issue with your idea is that this universe is currently following RWBY canon, and the only variable at the moment is a single person. So unless Vyliria happens to be in Mt Glenn, RWBY doesn't exactly have a chance for a random encounter, nevermind several, unless I push back the fall of beacon by one or more YEARS. On top of that, lacking a purpose is an incredibly dangerous thing for an undead, because if you don't have a purpose to work towards, you're going to be a hollow sooner rather than later. That's a big reason why she latched straight onto Qrow's offer. She didn't have a purpose, and was basically lost in a new age. She was offered a purpose, and one that aligns with her own morals, so she grabbed it. You have a good idea, and looking back, if I'd had that idea when I was still planning this, I could have easily worked with it. However, the winds blew a different way, and this is how the story went. Also, Vyliria has... issues. Being alone for extended periods (say, months in the wilderness), left only to her own thoughts, wouldn't exactly be good for her mental health. One doesn't go through Lothric without some serious baggage following them when they leave, nevermind the additional elements of the horrendous backstory I crafted for this poor woman.

I understand you don't enjoy RWBY1, even if its technically JNPR1. If you don't enjoy that, I wish you the best of luck in finding another story, but also ask that you at least give this one a chance moving forwards. Who knows, I might change your mind.

Thanks for the well wishes, and stay safe out there.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Souls or RWBY. Dark Souls belongs to From Software and RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth. I only own my own OC.

()

Combat class was something that Vyliria had been anticipating for a while. The first year teams had gathered in the indoor arena of the dueling hall, waiting patiently, in their chosen attire instead of their uniforms (with Vyliria having swapped back to the armor she'd worn when she awoke in the Kiln), and armed with their weapons in anticipation of imminent sparring with their peers. Without the unconscious worry of having their bunks collapse whilst they were in them, RWBY told Vyliria that they were having markedly better sleep than the night before. As a result, both JNAPR and RWBY were both early to the class, and though she hid it well, Vyliria picked up the eyebrow raised in surprise by Professor Goodwitch when she noticed their punctuality.

Goodwitch walked to the front of the class, before speaking. "As you all know, students, this is combat class. Not only will you duel your peers in an arena style setting to hone your current skills and learn new ones, but you will also be extensively rehearsed in combat theory, tournament rules, and weapon maintenance." She looked at the students as many of them deflated upon the realization that this class would have actual learning, before giving a light smirk. "That being said, since you are all new students, we will be starting the first few classes with duels to get a baseline understanding of what your current skills are, and what needs improvement. So are there any volunteers to go first?"

A host of hands were raised, and an equal number of voices clamored to be selected, but Goodwitch ignored those and took note of the quietly volunteered hand of the enigmatic and apparently magical student Ozpin had informed her of. "Vyliria Avalon, please step up to the stage." Surveying the students once more, she added, "Cardin Winchester, you will be her opponent."

As Vyliria calmly walked onto the arena platform, she looked to her opponent as he did the same. He had indigo eyes, and dark orange hair, short cut and slightly peaked at the front. Unlike a great deal of the other students, he had a reasonable amount of armor being worn, being colored silver-grey with gold trimmings, and a golden bird with wings sat spread upon the chestplate. His under-the-knee boots were likewise armored. Beneath was a black shirt and pants, and a red sash tied around his waist. Both combatants turned on their scrolls to sync them to their auras and the projectors at the back of the room, where a rather glaring problem revealed itself, much to the murmurs and speculations of the audience.

"You don't have aura?" Cardin asked, his cocky attitude momentarily thrust back by his shock.

"The headmaster tried and failed to unlock it before the semester started," Vyliria replied. "I signed a waiver, so you aren't legally liable for any accidental knocks you give me. The hope is that if I end up in enough strenuous situations my aura will unlock that way. I've been banged up before, I'm not going to shatter like glass from a few knocks of a mace. And besides, I've been hit harder by larger weapons before. I've learned the hard way that I can stand having my entire rib-cage shattered," she finished in a light tone, which was fairly morbid considering what she was making light of. She then noted, with mild amusement, that Ozpin had managed to procure a photo of her with her mask on to put for her non-existent aura meter.

"Uh… Professor?" Cardin looked towards Goodwitch.

"Miss Avalon has signed the waiver. Under normal tournament rules, a combatant has lost when their aura dips into the red or they are forced out of the ring. This will still apply to you, Mister Winchester, but Vyliria will lose at the first hit that gets through her armor, which I have been told is surprisingly durable for its mismatched nature."

Vyliria huffed. "Hey, if I can take a greatarrow to the pauldron without taking damage besides a scratch to the armor, I can get hit by a mace without breaking my shoulder."

"Alright combatants, assume positions."

In a flicker of embers, a black bisque urn appeared in Vyliria's right hand, and she drew her parrying dagger with her offhand. She bent her knees slightly, and readied herself. Even as Cardin got into a stance of his own, he asked, "How did you do that without aura?"

"Magic," she smugly replied, before Goodwitch shouted to begin.

Cardin decided to open up by charging at her. She merely tossed the black firebomb she was holding at him. Predictably, he rolled under the projectile, where it exploded harmlessly behind him. Coming out of the roll, he swung his mace towards Vyliria's torso. The shaft of the mace was flawlessly caught between the curved guard and blade of her parrying dagger, deflecting the attack and leaving Cardin wide open. With a savage grin hidden by her helm, Vyliria reared her right hand back, and with a burst of burning ash, a murakumo was called forth, the curved greatsword slamming viciously into Cardin's torso. Yet she wasn't done. With another flicker of flame, her parrying dagger disappeared and her left hand shot out and grabbed her opponent's head, the murakumo swinging back to slam into his face this time. As he fell to the floor from the second blow, Vyliria straddled him, gripping her weapon in both hands, raising it high before slamming it into her disoriented opponent one last time. A buzzer immediately sounded, and Vyliria stood up and looked at the projection of Cardin's aura, which was at less than a tenth of what it started. Gods, the hornet ring is just unfair, she thought, but damn if it isn't satisfying to land ripostes with it.

"Cardin Winchester is out by aura depletion," called Goodwitch, stunned that he had been defeated so soundly.

Vyliria dismissed her weapons, and reached her hand out to a groaning Cardin, who asked, "What was that?" As she hoisted him up, surprising him with the ease at which she pulled his mass upright, she responded, "Barker bomb-bait."

"What?"

"In Irithyll, there was a rather… popular spot for duels and the like. There was a famous… or infamous, depending on how you looked, combatant by the name of Adam Barker, who made quite a name for himself. A move that became synonymous with his name was the Barker bomb-bait, where one tossed a firebomb or lightning urn at a relatively close opponent. Almost without fail, the opponent would evade the attack, coming towards you thinking that they could get an easy hit. And almost without fail, that rolling swing, laughably predictable, would be parried, and the person baited by the bomb was treated to a rather painful riposte. I don't know why it works so consistently, but it does, and I wanted to test if that was the case here. Which it was. My apologies for how ruthless I was."

Cardin wrenched his hand away from the unkindled, glaring at her, and saying, "Yeah, whatever," before storming off the ring.

"I'm fine for another bout, Professor," Vylira chimed up again.

"Very well," Goodwitch said, "Is there anyone else who wishes to face Miss Avalon?"

"I'll fight her," Yang Xiao Long spoke, stepping up.

"Very well, then assume positions."

As Yang got into a fighting stance, her shotgun gauntlets, Ember Celicia, at the ready, Vyliria cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders, calling forth Friede's Great Scythe. Bending her legs, she used her left hand to twist the scythe behind her, her right hand grabbing the shaft much closer to the blade, which was now held near the floor.

"Go kick her butt, sis!" Ruby shouted.

"Break her legs, Vyliria!" Nora thundered in kind.

Both opponents locked gazes, before Goodwitch shouted, "Begin!"

Vyliria shot forward, spinning along with her scythe twice, Yang dodging back from the first blow but getting struck by the second. As Yang went to throw a buckshot augmented punch at the unkindled, she leapt back, sweeping her blade against the floor and sending a sheet of spiked ice towards her opponent. Yang jumped off the ice as soon as she felt just how fast the freezing sensation crept up her boots, and just in time, as a moment later the ice erupted in a frozen explosion. She turned back to Vyliria, just in time to see her leap a ridiculous distance into the air, rolling out of the way as her scythe slammed down, but the champion of ash immediately followed with two more swings. Struck by the first one, and wincing again from the cold, Yang thrust a hand out to catch the second slice against her gauntlet, and immediately followed up the successful block with a punch against her opponent. Vyliria raised her left hand from the shaft of her weapon, batting the fist aside, and the buckshot glanced off her black knight gauntlet with a shriek of tortued ancient metal and a cascade of sparks, yet beyond a few scratches, it was no worse for wear. Vyliria disengaged and leapt back again, this time raising her empty hand, which crackled with black flames, before slamming it into the floor, an undulating stream of black fire making its way to Yang with a mind of its own. Yang barely dodged the black serpent, the flame seeming to track her, only to get slammed with the chaos bed vestige the unkindled had followed up with. Knocked backwards by the blast of flame, she dug her fists and legs into the ground and carved a furrow in the floor of the arena to slow herself.

Standing back up, with a yell, Yang thrust her hands behind her, using her shotguns to propel herself forwards towards Vyliria at an extreme velocity. With a twirl, she spun just around Yang's punch, thrusting her hand towards the blonde as she zoomed past, blasting her with an explosion of black flame. Yang was knocked to the side, and rolled a few times before coming to a rest, and a quick glance showed that her aura was under half. Yang stood up and glared at Vyliria… before noticing a single, singed lock of blonde hair slowly floating to the floor. Her eye twitched, and with a scream, her hair started glowing, and her pupils turned red as she seemed to explode forth an aura (not the shield kind) of golden flame. She launched a flurry of punches towards Vyliria, even as she stormed forward, the unkindled forced to wildly swing her scythe to protect her head by deflecting shots as pellets impacted her torso and arms. Yang closed to point blank, and though Vyliria intercepted the first punch Yang threw at her, the second impacted her upper torso with a crunch as the armor cracked, yet still held. Vyliria took a step back, and was already quickly speaking as her offhand grabbed her chime.

With the power of the kick of a mighty warhorse,

The cleric blasted them back with a wave of force!

A shockwave erupted from Vyliria, and threw Yang back, giving her much needed breathing room. She leapt back further, sweeping a shorter, yet much wider arc of ice onto the ground in order to keep Yang at bay. Damn, she thought, I still have to get used to these damned semblances. I wanted to save this for a surprise, but I want to win more. She reached behind her back, grabbing the smaller shaft that had always sat away whenever her main scythe was out. Holding Friede's scythe in one hand, she stood up straight, legs together, and as she whipped her left arm out and drew the other shaft, it was revealed to be a support scythe as a blade purely made of frost materialized at its end.

With two spins, gathering a cloud of ice around her blades, she leapt straight up, before crashing down towards Yang with an explosion of frost, and as Yang jumped backwards, she yanked the support scythe out of the ground, causing another blast of ice to shoot out and strike the blonde brawler. She quickly recovered, yet as she went to hit Vyliria, the unkindled whipped her main blade forward, hooking it behind Yang and pulling her off balance and towards her, following up with a frozen strike of her support scythe. Yang thrust her fists forwards and rocketed back from the recoil as two dents, cracks webbing out of them, forged themselves into the lower torso of the Ringed Knight armor. Vyliria staggered back but then lunged forward, striking Yang with two swipes of her support scythe, before bringing around the main blade to land a third hit, spinning and drawing her offhand back to land another swing that Yang blocked in a burst of buckshot. Undeterred, Vyliria leapt forward, nailing Yang with her main blade, and then slammed the support scythe down to follow up, which caused a vicious wave of cold to spread across the girl. A buzzer sounded again.

"Yang Xiao Long is out by aura depletion."

Yang turned, shivering at the unnatural freezing sensation lancing through her, looking in shock at the red reading on her aura meter, before turning back to Vyliria, who stood there panting. With a burst of cinder, she dismissed her weapons.

"That was a damned fine bout there, Yang. Almost had me a couple times. I also wanted to save showing off the support scythe, but you forced my hand. Congratulations on that." She coughed, and it sounded wet. "Oh dear, I think I might have broken a few ribs during that." Before Professor Goodwitch could order her to the infirmary, the unkindled pulled out her chime again, and intoned:

Wearied by the journey yet glad to be home,

They sat by the flames of a hearth of stone,

Regaling their tale, enjoying their kin's sentiment,

The long gone warrior took in their replenishment.

With a quick ring, and a light glow of the chime, a small circle with runes and a stylized sun rapidly etched itself around her, before fading, a light golden glow suffusing her being.

"There," she said, "that should patch me up in about ten minutes." She then followed up by taking out a small brown bag from where she kept her possessions, and grabbed a fistful of a golden powder, before applying it to the damaged parts of her armor. The damages to her gear undid themselves as the powder spread across them.

"Are you sure, Miss Avalon?" Goodwitch asked.

"They might not be my forte, but I am quite versed in the healing miracles, Professor," Vyliria replied. "Besides, if I do drop dead, you're covered by the waiver," she finished with a laugh. Turning to Yang, she walked up to her, holding out her hand. "Again, that was a good fight, Yang. I'd be happy to have a rematch in the future."

Yang grinned, and shook her hand. "I'll h-hold you t-to it."

"Oh, dear, I gave you frostbite via the scythe and didn't even realize." In a flicker of embers, she called forth a clump of rime-blue… moss. "Eat this. It'll alleviate the unnatural cold running through you."

"What? Th-that's literally m-moss!"

"Yes, moss that grows in the Boreal Valley, which has been used to treat frostbite via both natural and arcane means for generations at home."

"F-f-fine!" Yang shouted, snatching the plant in questions, chewing it despite the decidedly unpleasant texture and bland taste, yet upon swallowing it, a warming sensation spread from her stomach and rapidly drove the cold away. "Wait, that worked?"

"I told you," the unkindled said, waving a hand back as she walked off the ring, ignoring the murmurs and questions of the other students as her mind kept drawing back to Yang's semblance.

()

Two days later, after mulling over her thoughts, Vyliria found herself outside RWBY's dorm door, raising her hand to knock. With two thunks of the Dancer's gauntlet against the wood, she took a step back, before Ruby opened the door.

"Oh, hi Vyliria!"

"Hello, Ruby. Is Yang currently here?"

"Yeah. Wanna come in?"

With a nod, Ruby opened the door the rest of the way and gestured in. As Vyliria stepped in she took a moment to take some slight pride at the actual bunk beds she had magic'd into being, noting that Weiss was studying while Blake was reading a book. Judging by the furtive glances the ravenette kept throwing around every few seconds, the book may have been about a more risque subject than Vyliria was used to. Yang was doing something on her scroll, and judging by the pulled out seat and extra books by the desk Weiss was at, Ruby had likely been studying with her. Those inside noticed her presence, and they all exchanged hellos.

"Yang," Vyliria started, "may I speak with you privately?"

Yang looked up, smiling mischievously before answering, "Oh? That's awfully bold of you, Vyliria." She wiggled her eyebrows.

Vyliria stared at her. "I'm mature enough not to be unnerved by your flirting. I'm also not looking for a relationship, nor a tryst at the moment."

"Aw, you're no fun," Yang said. "Fine, let's go to the roof."

A few minutes later they were standing in the mid-morning sunlight atop the dorm building. Vyliria took a breath, and then began to speak, "Yang, I was thinking back to our spar the other day, and after a good deal of thought, I've come to a conclusion. I believe that you would be suited to learning pyromancy, should you be interested in doing so."

Yang went slack jawed for a moment, before regaining her composure. "Wait, like, magic pyromancy? Throwing around fireballs pyromancy?"

Vyliria sighed. "Yes, that kind of pyromancy."

"Alright! Sign me up."

"It's not quite that simple, Yang. Pyromancy is taught from one master to one pupil. Without a pupil, there is no master, and without a master, there is no pupil. This has been the way since the Daughter of Chaos Quelana first taught the art to Salaman. If I agree to teach you, I will not be teaching anyone else. Additionally, one cannot create a flame from nothing. To receive a pyromancy flame with which to cast themselves, a pupil receives a piece of the flame of their master's. A pyromancy flame is different from a physical catalyst. It is a part of its wielder, intertwined with their very soul. If I give you this, I will give a piece of everything that I am to you. This is not a gift you can squander, nor one you can return. I want to know that you truly want this, that you will commit yourself to learning the art of the flame."

"Oh geez, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was that serious."

"I'm not trying to dissuade you," Vyliria clarified. "I am merely ensuring this is something thou desireth. If you wish to learn, I will teach you, and I will gladly do so. But I want to ensure you truly wish to pursue this path."

"I'll do the best that I can then."

"That's all we can do… Now, Yang, which hand is not your dominant?"

"Uh, my left. Why?" she answered.

"Casting from both hands is a more advanced technique. It's better to receive a flame in your non-dominant hand, so early on you can wield a weapon and your flame at the same time." She held out her hands, and Yang gave her her left one.

Vyliria clasped her hands over Yang's. An orange flame started to burn, interpressed with flecks of red and black, yet the flames did no harm to Yang's hand. "Our souls were born from the flame. The flame obscures all, and reveals all. But fire is not readily caged. The denizens of Izalith, who first created the art, sought far too much control over the flame they held, and in the end it consumed them utterly, the survivors suffering a far worse fate than death." Yang felt something warm in her chest, mirrored in her hand. "Respect this flame; it is a part of you, more valuable than anything you shall ever own. When all abandon you, when your weapons lie shattered, and your armor broken, this flame will still remain with you, to the bitter end." The fire started to burn from her own hand now, not just Vyliria's. "Do not presume it to be a tool, that it is something you can bend completely to your will. It is a great power that you will wield, one which grows and ebs with your own strength, but one that can burn you just as easily as your foes. Fear the flame, Yang Xiao Long, lest it swallow you whole."

Vyliria removed her hands from Yang, the fire the unkindled bore going out. Yang stared at a flickering flame, as large as her thumb, hovering in her palm. It descended, absorbing through her skin, and her whole hand started to lightly burn with gentle orange flames, yet no pain came. Slowly, the fire faded out. Just as Yang started to panic, Vyliria spoke up again.

"It's not gone. Don't fret, it's merely dormant. I mean, imagine just how annoying it would be if your hand was constantly on fire, for Gwyn's sake. If you wish to call your flame forth, feel for the fire within your soul, feel the path it takes to your pyromancy flame, and call it forth. When it reaches your flame, merely let it out," as she finished, she held her left hand up, which began to once more gently crackle with flames.

Yang tried to do some kind of meditation, feeling inside herself, and she did feel something akin to a flame within her. She focused on it and then imagined it moving to her left hand, and then coming out of the skin like sweat. After a few seconds, her hand started to get warmer, and then flames started to gently burn across the skin again.

"Wow," she said in a whisper.

"Careful you don't burn yourself with it," Vyliria said, before giving a chuckle. "That was exactly what Cornyx told me when he gave me mine…"

She took a breath. "The most basic pyromancy is a spell called combustion. Through the process I described, will the flames to your hand. Rather than letting them spill out, hold the flame there. Let it build, until it is ready to burst. Then, let it out all at once." She clenched a fist, sticking her arm out to the left, and then opened her palm as a small explosion of orange flames burst forth. "We will practice this in an empty training room, and then you will demonstrate your ability to do it on your own. I will spend a few days helping you learn how to utilize your flame, and what it can do passively. Then, once I am satisfied with your ability to cast combustion, we'll move onto 'throwing fireballs,' as you so eloquently put. But for now, it has come to my attention that handing over a tiny fraction of my soul makes me hungry. I want to go get lunch. It just doesn't do to practice pyromancy on an empty stomach, you know?"

"Well I mean, I just got this," Yang said brandishing her flaming hand, "but since you've had it for so long, I'll defer to your experience."

"Right," Vyliria responded, reaching the door to the roof, which was locked. "Oh dear. Neither of us remembered to unlock this, did we?"

"Uhhh…" Yang trailed off.

"Wait!" the unkindled called with a snap of her fingers. "I got it! I'll just cast spook on both of us and we'll jump off the roof!"

"Can I call Ruby and tell her to come out the front door first?"

"Why?"

"So we can jump off and land next to her, and then say we were just dropping in."

"That. Is a terrible pun…" Vyliria trailed off, "And a great prank! I love it! Let's go wait above the front door of the building."

()

A/N: Hornet Ring OP, pls nerf. And now Adam Barker is canon to this story. He won't be showing up, but now he's part of the lore. I may or may not make cameo-references to other DS youtubers as the story goes on.

So, Yang vs Vyliria was the first Person vs Person combat scene I actually ever wrote. I feel happy with what I've done, but I'm paranoid, so I hope I did good.

Also, Yang's got pyromancy! This was something I had planned for a while, and I do plan for the main cast to all get some manner of spellwork in their hands at some point. I'm going with the lore of DS1 pyromancy flames, and the significance of giving a part of your own flame, your own being to the individual you decide to teach.

Lastly, we're now going to weekly uploads, so I'll see you all next week on Friday. Unless you guys reach 100 reviews before then. Then you'll get an extra chapter next week.