The Pledge

But perhaps victory is in the simpler things you've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul?

Ozpin

Ozpin was quiet as he sat in his office, closing his eyes for a moment as he thought about today's events… The very first day of the year, and tomorrow would be one of the most dangerous of it. Initiation day.

Beacon's initiation expected a certain level of not only competency, but was also quick thinking and imagination. While every Huntsman Academy had its… accidents, the initiation at Beacon had only the second highest casualty rate of the four major academies. Only Vacuo's Shade Academy was higher, while Haven was below Beacon, and Atlas typically had none, but that was because unlike the other three academies, Atlas initiation was in a controlled environment, rather than inside an area filled with Grimm.

Many students had been lost to this test before school actually even began in earnest… and currently his main worry right now was what Nightingale was going to do to him for this… the Nurse had been… adamant about being there when initiation began, and originally, he had agreed. That had been before Gudao had explained that the Nurse, a Berserker, had a very particular quirk… if someone was injured, she was going to try and save them.

Long story short, he had accidentally thrown a wrench into his own exam, because the moment she knew someone was injured, there was an absolute certainty she would be going in after whoever that was to 'heal them'... at least there was a positive side to this, hopefully they wouldn't have to send home any notices of a dead student, rather than a lost limb or expulsion due to actually failing the test.

There was also the small problem of that… he hadn't actually explained to any of the Chaldeans that this exam was a deadly one, and he was fairly certain that at least Gudao was going to tear into him if anyone actually died… which is where Nightingale hopefully would keep that from happening… but then his thoughts turned to a very particular examinee.

Jaune Arc, the wild card. And from the very quick observation of him during the orientation speech, he knew, for an absolute certainty, the boy was completely out of his depth. His Aura wasn't unlocked, and his weapon of choice was the (likely stolen), ancestral sword and shield of the Arc family… problem was, that wasn't exactly a great combination when it came to having an effective landing strategy… he'd have to skew things a bit to make sure that Nightingale didn't fly off the handle when the boy got launched and hopefully didn't break anything on landing… He still held firm by his choice to let him into Beacon, but he at least had to pass the entrance exam… which thankfully, aside from the fun part of 'landing strategies' and 'surviving a forest filled with Grimm', entailed just reaching a small shrine with 'artifacts' that would be used to decide teams. He'd let Port pick what they were this year, and his friend had decided on chess pieces. In total there were enough pieces to pass twelve pairs of students, which equaled out to twenty four students, separated into teams of four that made six teams this year. Admittedly this was actually a larger group than normal. Last year there had only been enough 'artifacts' to pass eight pairs of students, or sixteen total, for only four teams. The council had been rather adamant on 'more huntsmen', not understanding part of what made Beacon so successful was not that it bred quantity like the other schools, but quality.

How ironic was it, that he'd learned from Gudao himself that his main advantage over his enemies was usually having a higher 'Quantity' of Servants, over the 'Quality' of them. And the Master had made a rather decent argument for Quantity when he'd raised his concerns about how many students would be in the classes this year, the diversity of students. It was hard to balance Quality and Quantity…

As he was musing, the Elevator dinged open, and Ozpin raised his head, drawn from his musing as Avicebron walked into his office. The masked Caster was holding a large binder. "Avicebron, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked, offering the man a seat.

Avicebron took it, adjusting his cape so that it didn't catch on the chair in front of his desk. "I'm here after doing a quick observation of the student body, and a quick estimation of magical readings, I just wanted to confirm, only Faunus, and only very particular Faunus, are capable of magic, yes?"

"Outside of extreme circumstances like myself and those I have granted magic to? Yes, that is correct," Ozpin answered, raising an eyebrow as Avicebron put the binder down, before opening it.

"Then do you mind explaining the following?" Avicebron asked, and Ozpin leaned forward to see what the page in the binder had on it. A few names, and pictures clipped to it. Blake Belladonna and Weiss Schnee, two of his 'Hopefuls' for this year…

"Seeing as how Robin hasn't told you, and it's off the record, so don't mention it, miss Belladonna is a Faunus, she's just hiding it… what is going on with miss Schnee on the other hand?" Ozpin asked, and Avicebron shook his head.

"There seems to be some sort of magical presence floating around her. It fluctuates in distance, and it's very faint, but it is there… I would be more capable of identifying it if you-" Avicebron started before Ozpin opened his hand.

"Excuse me, but… first, you've already been told a Workshop isn't being allowed on school grounds for various reasons, by myself, Gudao and Robin, but second… what do you mean by 'floating around'?" Ozpin asked, concerned…

"Exactly what I mean, there is a presence that regularly is either very close to her specifically, and or far enough away until she begins to either move towards it, or it moves towards her… and just as well, the cameras have observed something quite strange. She either seems to be talking to herself, or is looking towards something that isn't there… or rather, at something that is," he explained, and Ozpin leaned back in his chair… something was going on with the Schnee heiress already, and the first day wasn't even over yet… he was going to need more coffee.

"What do you propose this 'presence' is?" Ozpin questioned… and he had a small inkling of an idea, but better to get a professional opinion, relatively speaking, from the man who had actually been doing the observing.

"Either miss Schnee is capable of holding conversations with a sentient and invisible familiar… or she has a Servant, hanging around her in spirit form constantly," Avicebron posited, and that had Ozpin sitting up in his chair quickly.

"And this is… just a hypothesis?"

"It goes against what you said… for it is clear she is human, yet if she possesses a Servant, then that goes against the idea that they cannot possess magic without very special circumstances… while it is possible to summon a Servant if one is a very poor mage, it should be impossible to summon one if one is completely devoid of magic… which she herself is," Avicebron explained… so something strange was going on.

"I would suggest leaving it for now… we still have the test tomorrow… if she does have a Servant," Ozpin offered and Avicebron nodded.

"Then they will likely reveal themselves if she is put in explicit danger beyond the norm. Very well… I will be of course informing my Master of this," Avicebron added before closing the binder. "Do you have any theories as to why this strange happening is occurring?"

Oh he had a theory alright… it seemed that his idea that Miss Schnee's semblance was a little bit different from the expected one of her family was paying fruit… but so soon, without literally anything done previously? What had happened? "Just one… but I'll hold it for right now, in case of it being wrong with so many unknowns."

Avicebron actually huffed at that. "Like Sherlock…" he muttered, before getting up out of his chair. "I will take my leave then. Have a good evening Headmaster," the Caster said before walking towards the elevator and pressing the button, getting in before the doors closed and leaving Ozpin alone once more with his thoughts.

He turned, looking out towards the mountain Glenn, worry and wonder in his heart at this information… Weiss Schnee, in possession of a Servant? That had many possibilities… and most of them likely negative at this early of a juncture. She was haughty, spoiled, and certainly not completely emotionally stable, but no teenager was. A Servant was not likely to be something that could contribute to a healthy mental state if the… quirks of the four he knew personally were any indication. But it was too early to judge… what was going to happen now?

He sighed, turning towards his desk again and grabbing his coffee mug, looking inside and seeing that it was, indeed, still empty. Well, it was going to be a long night, might as well make some more coffee. Twas the simplest of joys in life.

Mandricardio

He still couldn't believe it. He still could not, honestly, believe it. He'd written it off when that guy who kinda looked like Gudao had been on stage, that could have just been an honest coincidence. He'd written it off when he'd heard someone screaming about a 'crazy nurse'. Hell he had written off watching that very short guy who looked alot like Hans had vanished around a corner and into a building.

But there was absolutely no goddamn way he could ignore Avicebron of all people, walking around, out in the damn open, complete with that cape, mask, and his silts, carrying a binder of all things, and probably mumbling to himself. Weiss was already asleep, hell, a lot of people were, and he really, really did not want to wake her, because she would be very cranky and she kinda needed this sleep for the big exam tomorrow. But he literally had only one way to even try communicating with Avicebron, admitted in the vain hope the guy remembered him, and that was his currently sleeping master, or trying to play charades… and this was Avicebron, who was absolutely terrible at reading people.

So, instead, he resolved to stay in… well he was already a spirit, so just invisible he guessed, rather than go after Avicebron… but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try and find either the Gudao lookalike (who he really hoped was actually Gudao), the short kid who kinda reminded him of Hans, or whoever had been screaming about the crazy nurse… actually scratch that, he still vividly remembered Nightingale's… un-gentle mercies even after nearly forty thousand years, and he wasn't going to take chances with a Berserker, or someone being chased by a Berserker.

So here he was, 'walking' around Beacon academy and trying to get a lay of the land/look for people. Given how late it was, there was nobody actually out and about… except for Avicebron, but he'd actually forgotten if he was actually a man, machine or something else. Most interesting thing he remembered about the guy was his clothing, but hey, made him easy to spot.

The probable Caster was walking towards another building, so he just decided to shadow him. He wasn't an assassin, but hey, being invisible works pretty well when the guy's face is in a book and you literally can't make sounds. And as Avicebron entered, he just poked his head through the wall… and got a face full of bookshelf. A quick push later and he was now looking through that too, and fairly sure half his body was stuck in the wall. Because for some reason, gravity was one of the few things that still affected him fairly sporadically, he could walk through objects, but not jump through them from above or try to climb through them from below, it was weird. At least he hadn't had to try and float after the ship…

"Andersen," Avicebron called, and that pretty much confirmed that theory.

"What is it? I'm trying to sort things here!" Andersen answered, before walking into view with several books in his arms.

"I have something that everyone must know. Can you please contact the others?" Avicebron asked, and Andersen just sighed.

"You have your own scroll," Andersen muttered and Avicebron spoke up.

"I have been unable to get it to function," he complained, and Andersen just started laughing.

"Ah! Magi, fools the lot of you when it comes to this stuff! Fear my powers then!" the other caster started spouting bombastically and pulling a scroll out of his pocket after setting down the books, and very slowly turning it on, in full view of Avicebron. "There, see, that's how you turn it on."

"I shall endeavor to try and understand it," he said… and now Mandricardio realized why the guy was probably walking around with a binder in a world where he had quickly learned was rather advanced when it came to handheld tech.

Magi in general were completely hopeless with technology in nearly any form, and Avicebron was clearly not an exception.

Andersen, sighing, called someone. "Hey, come to the library, and try and find Gale and Robin, Avicebron wants all of us here," Andersen started before his eyes drifted towards… where he was. Quickly he pulled himself back through the wall and started running away. He still was very unsure of the situation, but if someone could sense him, then that meant bad things.

Probably for Weiss, if anyone realized she was his Master right now. Deciding not to start second guessing himself, he ducked into the hall where Weiss was sleeping alongside so many other students, and sighed in relief… internally, since he literally couldn't.

Slowly, he sat down on the windowsill, and looked up towards the broken moon. Remnant was a strange place he'd learned in his short few days here… people with animal parts, monsters around every corner pretty much. People who needed saving, adventure to be had. Hell, if he was still alive, he'd probably consider this place a wonderland for a hero… at least from what he saw… there was a sort of darkness beneath Remnant. Jaques was just a problem on a bigger canvas, and quite frankly, he was a minor one in the hopeful long run…

But the idea that Gudao was here set his heart ablaze. He'd waited so long to see his best friend again… and the one time he had, he hadn't even recognized him… then again last he checked was thirty-nine thousand years ago, and he was… probably certain Gudao had rather spiky hair instead of droopy hair that covered a white eyepatch.

Weiss groaned, and he looked towards her as the girl started to toss and turn in her sleep. He got up and walked towards her, kneeling down and muttering to her. "Don't worry, everything will be alright… just rest easy and get ready for tomorrow, yeah?" he offered, knowing that she would hear him in her head. Whether it was his presence, or his words that caused her to calm, he didn't know, but when she did calm he returned to the windowsill and lay down before closing his own invisible eyes… what a strange place Beacon was alright.

Gudao

"So… you mean to say that there's a girl, without magic, that has something magical following her, that she is clearly interacting with," Gudao summed up what Avicebron had just told the four of them, and the Caster nodded in the affirmative. Robin was currently covered in small bandages from his… incident with Nightingale earlier that day, but the Berserker had calmed down after making sure his original injury… and the others he'd ended up sustaining because of the chase, were properly treated.

"Well that's just a mystery ain't it," Robin complained as he leaned against the desk in the library, Andersen sitting in his personal chair that he'd pretty much browbeat Gudao into getting for him with the funds Ozpin had provided them for 'preparation' for the school year. Nightingale was standing, while Gudao had taken a spot on the floor.

"Oh good, I like a good mystery, so who wants to play guess that Servant, my money is on an Archer," Hans decided to chime in, clearly already deciding that this 'mystery magic' was obviously a Servant… and no one was going to deny that it probably was given their usual track record.

"Why an Archer?" Robin muttered as Hans just chuckled.

"Because whoever they are, presence concealment, they do not have," Hans said, and very quickly, Nightingale held her hand to her face as everyone else stared at Hans. "What?"

"Did you… sense this mystery Servant Hans?" Gudao asked cautiously and Hans just shrugged.

"Well they bugged off the moment I looked in their general direction, so they were probably hanging around in spirit form, so yeah, not an Assassin, good news!" Hans said with a clap.

"That is more concerning, an Archer would be more dangerous, nevermind any other class besides Assassin in a direct fight," Nightingale said, and Robin muttered something under his breath.

"Yeah tell that to Sasaki, the Old Men or Shuten…" the Archer complained under his breath, but Gudao raised a hand.

"But what if it's someone we know that remembers?" he offered hopefully, and Avicebron spoke up.

"A possibility, but we must consider every outcome," the Caster stated, well it wasn't a no so he'd hold onto the hope then.

"On the other hand… can we worry about it later?" Gudao asked, and Robin looked towards him.

"This is kinda important," Robin pointed out, and Gudao raised a finger.

"It is also like eleven thirty at night," he said… and in about three seconds hell broke loose again.

Robin panicked and dived behind the desk before Nightingale exploded into a tirade about how the Master should not be neglecting his rest, and since the Master had been the one to bring it up, and both Robin and Hans hid themselves, she settled on browbeating Avicebron, who had been the one to call this meeting in the first place. Gudao just yawned, smiling as Avicebron was slowly backed into a corner by Nightingale, trying desperately to refute her claims, to little avail.

"I'm going to bed," he proclaimed, and that managed to get Nightingale to stop.

"Good, your health is important, get your sleep," she ordered, before walking out of the library, Robin getting out from behind the desk and helping Avicebron back to his feet, despite the shaking.

"I had forgotten her… adamance," Avicebron claimed as Gudao got up and left for his room himself. Tomorrow had the promise to be a great day… so long as Ozpin made sure nobody died.

Jaques

'And thus, the deadly sea was surmounted. The destination that awaits them is the dazzling underground city,' he closed the C-Chronicle, after reading his favorite fairy tale once again… this book, this ancient book, passed down from father to son, had been one of the few heirlooms tied to his original name. The stories contained within, fairy tales so fantastical.

'Only, they aren't fairy tales,' Jaques mused to himself as he looked back on the past week. It had been a few months before when he'd discovered the Saint Quartz within the Schnee Vault, and at the time, those two crystals had been nothing to him, just a vaguely familiar thing he'd barely recalled… until his eyes had fell upon this book once more, and the pictures on these old pages drew a picture that perfectly resembled the crystals.

That had been inspiring, and when he'd heard of Ironwood's attempts at getting open a crate that was holding a symbol, the very symbol that defines the C-Chronicle… the Chaldean Symbol, of the Chaldean Chronicle. And when he'd heard from one of the scientists who'd been there when the crate had been open! Oh, the idea that there was more Saint Quartz!

The C-Chronicle was a very detailed book, written by the mysterious Willma Silvers. It was perhaps one of the most thick books in existence as far as he was aware, and the tales within, oh, they were magnificent. He had his favorites. The Argos Neos, the 'Day God was Shot Down', the tale of Shimosa, and the Phantom City Shinjuku. But they were not the stories that gave rise to his new flight of fancy. Finding Chaldea, or at the very least, more Saint Quartz, and a way to quarry it.

The location of Chaldea, in 'Antarctica', the name of antiquity of the farest south of southern sea. Mount Meru, wherever that was, would have to be located, but the general area was more than enough of a starting point. He'd originally thought, based on the tale of the original Chaldea's fall, that it was located on Solitas, but no, with the aid of that Servant, from one of his favorite tales no less, he'd learned it was on literally the opposite side of the world.

He had to admit, his plan had been quite literally running on concepts he rarely thought of, rarely dreamed of. When he'd originally married into the Schnee family, he'd expected to only gain use out of their Dust Company, but his daughter, Weiss, had proven to be a boon he hadn't expected.

Her inability to summon as easily as her elder sister had… given him an idea. Whitely hadn't had his aura unlocked, and if he had his way, the boy never would, but Weiss' ability lie seemingly more in the glyph side of the Schnee family semblance, rather than the summoning that all others were known for… but he'd taken a different through route. What if she was unable to summon, for she simply lacked the catalyst to do so?

Thus, when he'd learned of the Saint Quartz, he'd dumped billions of Lien to buy just that one piece of it, prying it from Ironwood's grasp. He doubted that he'd be able to use that avenue again. Not just because of the impracticality, after all, fifteen billion Lien was not a small number, even for the Schnee Dust Company, but Ironwood had been so stubborn that he'd had to go through the council in order to acquire that one Saint Quartz from him, rather than the man himself.

And just his luck, with the ritual from the Apocryphal War story, Weiss had been able to summon a single Servant with the Quartz he'd provided! And one of his greatest heroes as well… but it was perhaps both a pity, and a boon that he was more of a ghost, than a physical form… he wasn't sure why that was the case, but it likely had something to do with Weiss herself. A pity, for he'd liked to have a moment to speak with a legendary hero of his fairy tales.

But the hero opposed him, for perhaps his rougher treatment of Weiss than necessary, but he wouldn't understand. The Seeker was not one who sought wealth, but one who sought companionship, after all, he'd died his saving his best friend from a deity… part of him was concerned that, with the existence of the Chaldean artifacts, that the tales of the C-Chronicle were true… it was a slightly humbling thought to realize that not only had gods existed… they'd been killed. Not just one god, but many, many gods. Perhaps that was why Remnant was the way it was now? A world without deities, for Chaldea had killed all those hostile beings in defense of the world?

But that wasn't what mattered now. What did was the idea that Chaldea had existed, that pieces of it could be found. Most importantly, the Saint Quartz. With Mandricardio's aid, he now knew that they could, indeed, work like dust… perhaps they were Dust in its purest form? After all, dust was stronger when it was mixed, and Saint Quartz resembled rainbow crystals. It was an idea, and perhaps a rather easy connection to make.

But Chaldea had used a lot of Saint Quartz, that meant that they had to get it from somewhere. And while he'd love nothing more than to keep the ritual of Servant Summoning a secret, his profits would greatly benefit from the sheer energy production of Saint Quartz. Dust was already potent, but with Saint Quartz? The low estimate from his scientists said that a generator functioning off just a single piece could have powered all of Atlas and Mantle for a month, and that was one piece of Saint Quartz, at the lowest estimate. He understood Chaldea didn't exactly have the time, or the need for profit, but he himself had ample time and ample need.

Drawing his hand over the C-Chronicle's cover once, he turned the book to one of the very back pages, revealing his personal hero, his favorite hero of them all…

Romani Archaman, Jaques knew he had a heart that was likely as black as coal. He loved money for money's sake after all, and he knew one did not make as many enemies as he without burning many, many bridges. But he could still value others… and perhaps that was why he kept this one man close as a hero. A selfless man who worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of the world, when he could have done nothing, and no one would have ever known, even sacrificing, as the book put it, his very existence… for he could not be summoned like other heroes.

"Your efforts we have not forgotten Romani," he muttered softly. Perhaps when he'd found a way to make the generator, he'd name it after the great man. It was hard to earn his approval, yet just reading the chronicle of Romani Archaman, and his grand contributions to Chaldea… it was easy to see that this man had, in his own way, saved the world, even many years after his death… perhaps it was better that these weren't mere stories. The past was the past… what he held now was history.

His scroll rang, and he pulled it up out of his pocket, and looked at the number before picking up, "This is Jaques," he responded.

"Sir, we're ready to move out," the man on the other end, his head of security, said.

"Good, I would come with you, but I have a company to run. Keep in mind Robert, you hold the future of the Schnee Dust Company in your hands, understood?" he told the man.

"Understood, we'll send back anything we find," Roberts said, before hanging up, and Jaques put his scroll away before looking back at Archaman's picture… a small pang of guilt was there for a second, but he quashed it down. What he was doing would both make him a lot of money, and help Atlas prosper. It might even get him a seat on the council.

He thought back to the way that hero had opposed him. It was his duty and destiny to lead this company to greatness, no matter what. And not just this company, he'd help lead Atlas as well. Higher and Higher he'd climb, until he reached that seemingly unobtainable height that his heroes did. He'd carve his name into history, to try and live up to their insurmountable legacy.

He would make the Schnee Dust Company something that not even Nicholas had thought it could be. Chaldea had been built on a dark wish for money and infamy, and the company was becoming the same with him. He had no illusions that when the time came, the company would bare the brunt of his falling tower. And if anyone was going to take up the mantle of protector, it would be his daughters. Weiss was already a piece of that plan. He'd gone too far, and would go even farther, to remake that organization. No matter what.

He just hoped that when he'd done it, it would become something to stand the test of time without his dark legacy, to face the foes that the Chronicle had stated that Chaldea had left behind.

But right now, he needed to make money, to store more for the future, the build up resources and prepare. Weiss could summon heroes, he just had to make sure she could summon them correctly next time.

Jaques Schnee nee Gelé was many things, he'd ruined many lives, burned many bridges, and turned an honorable company into a dark shadow of its former self. But he was determined. When this dark period was over, the company would stand tall once more, under its new Master.

If he had his way, Weiss would be the 49th Master of a brand new Chaldea.

AN: Another few hours, and another chapter out. And I fully expect the oncoming explosion. Make no mistake anyway, Jaques is a dark man, he is not a good man. But he is a determined man who's been living inspired by stories he now knows are true. Remnant is built on Fairy tales afterall. Jaques is no hero, but it would be wrong to outright call him a villain either, in this story at least. Balancing his own Greed, his own Envy, with the drive to do whatever he deems necessary to live up to a legacy that he sees himself as the heir of?

Why, I simply ask many of you to recall Maris-Billy.

But with that, I leave you with yet another chapter in this story! Next time, initiation begins. Leave a review if you want to, and get ready for a wild ride.