Chapter sixty-four
Call of the desert
Journal entry #230
"We arrived in Vacuo today for our final year! These past three and a half years felt like they've flown by. It's hard to believe that we're on the cusp of graduating and becoming Huntsmen and Huntresses! Sunstone's stories have painted Vacuo as a land of mysteries, dangers, and mysticism. I'm so excited to explore!"
The 42nd Vytal Festival tournament was a week and a half away, and all of Vacuo was on edge. Many Vacuoan citizens distrusted outsiders, which wasn't exclusive to the tribesman out in the desert. But also, those within the city that shared the kingdom's name and Shade Academy itself.
Sunstone had firmly told her students that she wouldn't tolerate any fights, or rude remarks, with or about the students from other kingdoms. Which she made very clear would apply to the transfers as well.
Since Sunstone was also the unofficial head of the kingdom itself, she had decreed that while the transfer students were in Vacuo, they were Vacuoan. She didn't care if they were native to Vacuo or were from another kingdom. No special treatment was to be given.
There was grumbling, of course, but her word was law, so they'd listen to her edict.
Theodore and Ebony were in their shared office when Sunstone came in. "Our guests have started their final descents. Ebony, go meet the Atlesians. Theodore, you and I will go meet the Valians." She was out the door before either one could say anything.
"Guess we better should be going, no?" Ebony asked her tribemate and her fellow second in command.
"Indeed, we should."
Vacuoan Skies
The students and their chaperones from Vale had been on the airship since the middle of the night. Since Vale and Vacuo were on the same continent same-day travel was possible, just time consuming to undertake.
Since Professor Ozpin and Professor Song didn't want to arrive at nightfall they had opted instead to start the several hour trip in the middle of the night. That way they would be arriving early in the afternoon.
RWBY as well as Nora and Pyrrha watched the desert landscape get closer and closer as the airship started its descent to the docking tower. "Amber's nervous… it's the first time that she's been home since she became the Fall Maiden." Pyrrha whispered to Nora who was keeping her company while Ren helped Jaune get over his airsickness.
"Would it maybe be easier for her if she was in control…?" Nora asked quietly but Pyrrha shook her head.
"She's… conflicted about what she wants to do. For now, she's fine staying back."
"Alright, that's okay. I'm here for her, and I know she knows that the boys and team RWBY are too."
"She does, and she's thankful for that. She says she just needs time."
The hushed conversation was interrupted by a thud and they both jolted forward a bit. "I think that means that we've landed," Pyrrha said which made Nora chuckle.
Once the ship had docked and they were able to disembark, the students from Vale saw a small crowd of Vacuoans waiting for them. Two immediately stood out.
Shade's Headmistress had come out to personally see them and was standing next to a man who was a lot taller. Both of them were clad entirely in blackened suits of iron armor, sans helmet. Sunstone's chest plate differed in one way, and that was the bright red paint imitating claw marks running down from the left side of her neck to her hip.
Professor Song pushed through the throng of students and was followed closely by Professor Ozpin. "Sapphire, I know it's only been half a year but it feels like it has been far longer," The man said as he threw his arms out, and she nodded.
"Vice-Headmaster Theodore, normally I would not indulge a hug but I shall make an exception this once." Sapphire embraced him, and the two hugged for several seconds before they let each other go.
"Headmistress Sunstone, an honor to see you again." Sapphire knocked her fist into her chest twice before saluting.
Sunstone smiled slightly before returning the gesture. "An honor to see you again as well, Sapphire. how has Vale been treating you?"
"It is acceptable, though I do miss the call of the desert," Sapphire admitted as Sunstone's lip curled more.
"We'll have to catch up soon. Unfortunately, I have pressing things to do," Sunstone said as her attention turned to Ozpin, who had let them have their moment of reunion.
"Professor Ozpin, I welcome you and your students to Vacuo. I hope you will all find it to your liking."
"Headmistress Sunstone, thank you for your hospitality. We are honored to be your esteemed guests."
The two bowed to each other respectfully before Sunstone turned her attention to the crowd of students behind her. "Help the Valians find their dorms and ensure that they get settled in."
Her students all nodded before they started to move in unison to help their Valian counterparts. Seeing that they were listening to her, Sunstone's attention turned to Theodore, Sapphire, and Ozpin.
Several groups of combined students had already left when she saw something that caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Sunstone noticed that while all of the other students were helping carry their things, one was not, and her gaze narrowed at the sight.
Cardin Winchester was stacking more suitcases on top of an already large, wobbly pile that was being carried by a student of hers. There were so many that it wasn't surprising when the pile came crumbling down back onto the sands.
Sunstone smirked just a bit at seeing the annoyance on his face. That didn't last long when she realized who exactly had had all of his things shoved into her arms. A petite, brown-haired, wolf Faunus who was visibly upset.
Cardin's visible annoyance only increased when a male bat Faunus with brown hair came over to him and got into his face. "What the hell are you trying to pull? Do you think that she would be able to hold all that heavy crap you shoved into her arms?" The Faunus asked angrily.
"Why's it matter? She's a dog, they're supposed to be able to run while carrying a lot of supplies. It's what they're trained for. Aren't you supposed to be looking for blood to suck instead of bothering me?" Cardin fired back.
"What'd you just say? Do you even realize how stereotypical that is? Besides, vampire bats that suck blood don't even live here."
Cardin just rolled his eyes and looked back at the wolf Faunus who was being helped now by a female, gray-haired, spider Faunus. "C'mon, what was it? Annabelle? Sara?"
The only thing he got from her was a glare but he ignored it and shrugged. "Whatever, now let's mush. Chop chop!"
That's when Sunstone moved. "Oh, Mr. Winchester, you don't understand. That way of thinking might work in Atlas but you are not in Atlas anymore."
Her lips curled into a thin smile while her eyes stayed narrowed. It was a smile that those who knew her had only seen a few times over the years.
One that said that you were on very thin ice with her.
"It's a fact of life. Humanity is simply more evolved and at the top of the hierarchy. It's not my fault that you can't accept that fact," Cardin said with a completely straight face and with the same cockiness as before.
Sunstone was silent for several minutes before she unknotted the leather straps holding on her chest plate and let it drop onto the sand. She then removed her gauntlets and dropped them onto the pile. The armor on her legs was the next thing to be removed.
Once she was in nothing but a thin t-shirt and shorts, she finally turned her attention back to Cardin. "You think you're superior to me? Then prove it. Hit me with all of your strength."
"What the hell are you talking about? I'm not about to bash in the face of Vacuo's Headmistress just because she can't accept reality."
"Oh, right now we're on equal ground, son, and no one's going to knock you for trying. So if you think that you can defend that opinion like a man then take your best shot, tough guy."
Sunstone smirked and that's when Cardin knew she had manipulated him. If he backed down it would basically imply that he was a coward. He glanced around, realizing that he had backed himself into a corner.
No one, especially not a Faunus, embarrassed him. Cardin swung with all his might towards Sunstone's head and felt satisfaction when she stumbled backward with blood coming from her nose.
Sunstone wiped the blood away from her nostrils and chuckled. "Well, that tickled. My turn."
She seemed to teleport as sand went flying into Cardin's face and the next thing he knew; he was flat on his back. She was on his chest, and his arms were pinned by her hands.
His head felt like it had just gotten hit by a sledgehammer and his vision was blurry for several seconds. "What the hell…"
Sunstone looked up and saw that Ebony, Ironwood, and his students had just arrived. She got up and Cardin scrambled away, metaphorical tail tucked between his legs. The three Faunus smirked to each other before looking at Ebony who looked at them coldly, even while a very thin smile betrayed her true thoughts.
"Oh, James. I trust you had a pleasant flight. Mr. Winchester and I were just having… a difference of opinion about the Faunus. Speaking of which, I have an announcement for all my guests…" She redirected her gaze to the students that stood around her. "Humans and Faunus are equals and it is character that matters here, not outward appearance. If you believe otherwise, then feel free to ask Mr. Winchester about the lesson he just learned in diplomacy. Otherwise, welcome to Vacuo. I hope that you all enjoy your time here. Ebony, Theodore, Ironwood, Ozpin be in my office in five minutes."
She picked up all of her discarded armor before walking off.
Vacuo is a kingdom and landscape torn apart by war, ecological disasters, and unrestricted mining. Most people think of Vacuo as a wasteland filled with sinkholes, deadly and unique Grimm that live nowhere else, abandoned settlements, and tightknit tribes of both Humans and Faunus. But the kingdom wasn't always the sandblasted landscape that is now.
It was greed and complacency that destroyed what Vacuo was. Depending on who you asked, Vacuo had the best geography where it sat. Mistral simply has too much territory, much of it swamp, and thick forests, which make for an excellent hiding place for Grimm, bandits, and smugglers. Atlas has mostly frozen tundra, rich in Dust and minerals but harsh and inhospitable to life. Vale could be argued as a contender. Since it sits on three separate but interconnected via bridges, peninsulas. The deep waters serve the dual purpose of acting as a harbor and ensuring the kingdom's fortress-like geography. But much of their kingdom is bottled up in their enormous capital city, trapped in a cage of sharp cliffs and towering mountain ranges a thousand miles wide.
Vacuo, meanwhile had oases for water, rich ore and mineral deposits, lush jungles that had all the resources that they could yield, and natural defenses. The desert was harsh on the Humans and Faunus that called it home, but it was also hard on the Grimm.
Atlesian Grimm are excellently adapted for cold; they have ice on their bodies, their fur heavy and thick while they are all heavily armored with their characteristic white armor plating. Except for the Megoliaths, which is the largest Grimm on Solitas most are small. Vacuoan Grimm are almost the antithesis of their far northern counterparts, most are large with few exceptions, two of which are noted.
Dromedon, Jackalopes, Ziraph, Brunnea, Pardus, and Leon are all tough for graduated Huntsman teams to dispatch. As such, even first-year Huntsman learn how to fight our eternal foes, though it is in their second year that they actually fight in hands-on exercises. The Felis is the only common Grimm that isn't the size of an automobile or building.
The Felis is only eleven inches tall, so it's a glorified house cat. Or, it would be if it wasn't capable of leaping over fourteen feet into the air. They might look cute, but they've killed more than one careless Huntsman who underestimated them.
I hesitate to even mention the Lappet at all, since they're less a threat and more a nuisance. They have an incredibly large wingspan for their size at forty feet and may look like they can knock an airship from the sky. Yet their light weight makes them fragile creatures who have come to represent cowardly bottom feeders amongst the Vacuoan people. They're fragile to the point where I once saw a girl no older than six accidentally backhand one and break the creature's neck.
That reminds me that I have another request from Jacques Schnee to reject and tell him where to shove it.
Anyway, the Grimm were the deadliest threat… until our ancestor's complacency and outsider's greed made the lush waters turn toxic from the over mining. The constant need for wood for building materials led to most of the jungles being cut down and those that weren't soon died from the toxic groundwater.
Deep under the desert in the labyrinthine cave system that runs underneath the entirety of Vacuo lay untouched freshwater springs. Even after all this time, it's been estimated that only thirty percent of the snaking caverns have been mapped so who knows what lies within the other seventy percent. Most people spend the hot summer days underground, waiting for the slightly colder nights to come.
To the south ringed by a violent, never-ending sandstorm lies the Valley of The Forgotten Kings where our ancient ancestors are said to lie. Guarded on the surface by sand capable of ripping skin from bone and underground by sheer drops, ancient traps, freezing cold neck-high water, Grimm variants that are wholly unique to the Valley, and who knows what else. It's a deathtrap down there and while reports of skin-ripping sand may be an exaggeration everything else is not. Of that, I can assure you.
There's a reason no sane Vacuoan will go within twenty miles of that place. It invites only despair and death. Yet, strange tales have been told of that area… tales that speak of spirits. People have stories in every kingdom, I suppose. Why would we be any different?
Vacuo's people have always been a bit contradicting, and I say this as a native. We are at once friendly but standoffish, accepting but guarded. It takes time for us to accept outsiders as our own. But once we do, we see them as brothers and sisters.
The desert doesn't care if one is Human or Faunus, it simply exists, and survival is everything. Racism has no place in the Kingdom of Sand and Steel. If you can survive here, you are welcome here
Normally, my duties as Headmistress align closely with that of the elders of the more isolated tribes. However, as the only real source of authority in this sand-kissed kingdom, sometimes I have to put my foot down and show that I will not tolerate overt dissension.
I am not an unreasonable woman; I am well aware that sometimes people will see things differently than I do, and I respect that. Ebony, Theodore, and I hold a biweekly meeting where we hear grievances between tribes or between members of the same tribe.
If anyone thinks they can lead Vacuo better than me, they are welcome to challenge for the right to lead. Just as it was when I took stewardship of Vacuo from Theodore.
Vacuo will outlast me; I will sacrifice anything to ensure that it does.
The Vacuo arc has begun. The in character section before this is canon.
The three Faunus are canon characters but if you have ideas review and i'll pm you whether you're right or not
Until the next chapter
Dragondeathdrop
