Volume 1: A Beacon of Hope

Alden, like every other huntsman and huntress before him is ecstatic to be accepted into the coveted Beacon Academy, wide eyed and naïve, he is overjoyed to have reached the final hurdle on his journey to become a huntsman. Join the newly formed team MANA as they dive headfirst into their training. But as they are seemingly followed by abnormal events and dangerous strangers, they learn that maybe becoming huntsman and huntresses may be stranger, and far, far more dangerous than they first thought.

Vol 1 Ch 1: The Shining Beacon

Alden could see a flash of electricity, a moment later the static whir originating from his sister's weapon grazed past his ear as he desperately rolled out the way, digging his knee into the dirt to stop himself from over balancing and collapsing to the floor. His eyes snapped to the left to see the crackling edge of his near impending doom, swinging down towards him…

He raised his arms up, arcing his wrists in so the blades protruding from them crossed in a large X and caught the offending item before it could reach his head. Lightning arced off it, grounding onto his own weapons but not down into his own skin. He smirked and shot his leg out and wrapped his ankle around his opponents and yanked her off he feet. She fell but quickly jabbed her staff into the ground, holding her weight up. She then pushed with her hands to right herself and then jumped, arcing high into the air and pushed her weight backwards so she swung out of reach of his own weapons, landing with the finesse of a Gazelle as she skidded to a stop.

The air seemed to still, as if the very wind waited with bated breath watching over the dual. In his mid-fight adrenaline rush, Alden's senses were on overdrive, he could feel the drop of sweat cruising down past his eye, he could hear the pants from his sister as they circled each other, and beyond that the angry yap of a Wolf disciplining a cub. The smell of the oak trees waving in the wind. His sight tunnelled back to the objective at hand.

Mary Cirq coiled up like a spring ready to pounce, a confident smirk dominated her feature, her staff, dubbed Fulmen was raised above her head, electricity lazily coiling and arcing around the tips. Alden himself rested his weight on his back foot and raising his ankle, getting ready to counter charge.

A clattering sound on his wrists sounded the rotation of the dust chambers of his gauntlets and a click sounded the insertion of a dust cartridge. The medium length blades protruding from the front of the gauntlets suddenly flared up in a coiled burst of flame, the ignition so dramatic that the weapons were named after it: Impetus Tempestatis, more commonly known as Whirlwind or Tempest.

The flare seemed to set the pair off and they sprang towards each other, both swinging their weapons. The clang of metal striking metal at such velocities hurt their ears as sparks flew off their weapons as they deflected off each other, both combatants spinning to try and get a second hit in. Mary winced from the heat of Tempest's blades as they past mere inches away from her knuckles, but she grit her teeth and press her attack, her staff a blurred whirlwind as she tried to land blow after blow on her older brother. Alden pressed to the backfoot was working incredibly hard to stop the bone jarring strikes against him, constantly stepping back to try and get his sister to over balance. His chance came mere moments later, Mary stumbled on a slightly upturned sod of dirt. Alden's left blade retracted, clearing the way for a barrel at the end of the gauntlets, it fired a bright blue stream of hard light dust, wrapping around the bottom of Fulmen. He pulled and forced Mary to let go with one hand rendering the weapon virtually useless. He pressed forward to point-blank range to capitalise on this newfound weakness. His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled to destabilise her before bringing his blade up. Before he could fully accomplish this however Mary had kicked backwards, knocking his right leg out causing them both to collapse to the dirt. They both scrabbled to bring any usable weapon to bear.

Alden whipped tempest's blade around to lay across Mary's neck, only to find that she had reached around to her lower back and had unsheathed and deployed her back up dagger, and it's point was resting very uncomfortably at the base of his own neck. Both looked at the opposite's weapon in surprise, panting heavily from the fatigue.

Laughter could be heard from several feet away, both heads turned to see their father leaned up against the door, chuckling to himself at the resolution of his offspring's sparing match. He clapped a few times before pushing himself upright and walked back into the house.

The siblings pulled themselves apart and sorely got to their feet.

"That was a good one." Alden panted, his hands resting on his knees and he used his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his brow. The pair had been going at it for over an hour now, and their Auroras were more depleted by exertion than actually taking hits.

"Tell me about it." Mary huffed as she stretched her back, sighing when she heard a pop. Once they had gotten the breathing back under some semblance of control, they made their way across the battered field towards their house.

The Cirq's had lived on the Kingdom of Vale's western island of Patch for several generations and were amongst the original settlers. The island was relatively small, mostly uninhabited compared to its size and for all intents and purposes, shouldn't exist. The Cirq's humble and lonely abode was one of the few reminders of that fact. Unlike the rest of the Kingdom's Patch didn't have street names, or any organisation for that fact, only the basic infrastructure, one of the best rated combat schools on remnant due to the population it recruits from, and a small dockyard to help ferry trade and people to and from the island and the Kingdom at large.

Patch unlike its much larger counterpart had no natural defence to speak of and was completely open to the elements and still not completely free of the Grimm that stalked its woodlands. Much like Mountain Glenn as well as the other kingdoms failed attempts at a large-scale general expansion Patch had two crucial details which allowed it to prosper. The first was that it was generally small scale, barely a village could be said to exist on its shore, with more the entire island existing as one entity. The second was that most of its inhabitants were huntsman and huntresses, If someone was exploring within the slightly denser populated portion of the island, and came across a creature of Grimm, then they were only a shout of help away from a fully armed huntsman or huntress living nearby.

Tempest's blades had folded down inside his gauntlets, and when he got to the door even the gauntlet began shunting down towards his wrists, leaving behind a thick silver bracelet. Alden pushed the door open and stepped inside, holding it open for Mary to follow.

"Had fun?" Their mother asked, hands covered in soap as she was busy washing up, their father standing next to her unfurling a tea towel.

"It's getting harder now, Mary's improved massively, it may get hard to keep up with her rate." Alden said, taking a freshly dried coffee mug from his dad and stored it in the cupboard above the oven.

Their parents: Ogora and Marcus had met each other when they had been assigned to the same team when they went through Beacon, a relatively common occurrence, Marcus had grown up on Patch and when he invited Ogora to his parent's house half way around the island she fell in love with the place, and it's where they had lived essentially ever since.

Mary budged him over so she could put another cup away and Alden went back to get more stuff. Soon they were finished, and the family navigated the bright wooden hall of their home to the living room. The holo-television was quietly playing on the wall.

"…revealed that a Faunus civil rights demonstration will take place at the end of the week, the organisers of the event declared…" Ogora switched the channel to something a bit more light-hearted.

Alden walked over to a cabinet by the door and opened it. Inside at the top were two weapons, a fairly large cannon on the left and a long spear on the right, Ogora's and Marcus' on the bottom were various "sockets for his own and Mary's weapons. There was a hissing sound at his wrists as the chambers opened up to allow for their removal. Just as he removed one, he was interrupted by his mother.

"Alden, hang on." Alden froze holding of his gauntlets and looked over his shoulder.

"Do you mind seeing if you can find a couple handfuls of Bisporus? I was going to use them for dinner but we're out."

"yeah sure." Alden said slipping the bracelet ack on with a click as the chamber secured itself. "Do you need them now?"

"Umm…" she hummed thinking, "Yeah, we get started nowish, should be done by… half five-ish? Should leave you time to check the port this afternoon." Alden looked in the clock as he did his own calculation, it should take less than an hour, add the hour and a half to cook, should lave enough time for this evening.

"Yep, sounds like a plan." Alden said, spun on his heels and walked back the way he had came from, teasingly flicking Mary's hair as he walked past, causing her to let out an agitated huff as she glared at his back as he walked through the kitchen and opened the door. "Back in a bit!" he called over his shoulder before stepping outside and paused to stretch his arms over his head for a second.

He looked up, the sun was slowly heading on it's downward track across the sky. He had about an hour in the forest before it got dark, he shouldn't need that long. Alden cut across the small field out the back of his house and wondered into the treeline beyond. Once he was under the canopy of the trees het took in a big lungful of air through his nose, the different smells of the forest filling providing good company. He could hear the rustling of a badger nearby. To his left he could see a young deer calf playing in the leaves, kicking the up with its hind legs. Its mother staring wearily at Alden from its position laying down nearby.

Alden bowed low in a sign of respect and slowly moved off to the side and not making eye contact, but looking at her lower legs to show he wasn't a threat; he didn't want to get into a confrontation with any of the wildlife. He walked a little way further into the forest before finally sighting his goal: a clump of the common mushrooms he was looking for, Pale in texture, Bisporus could be found pretty much everywhere apart from Mantle.

Alden carefully pried the mushrooms from the soil, carful not to pull the heads off the stalks. Soon he had a handful and place them in a small bag. Though he thought they could probably do with a few more. He spotted another cluster by the stump of a tree nearby. He walked across and kneeled down and started to gather them up. When he was nearly done, he heard a grumble form directly behind him. He whirled around, Tempest deploying and the triggers folding down and barrels extending. He was expecting to see a block hulking form, with the crimson glaring eyes of a Beowolf. Instead he was staring into the Auburn eyes of a very shocked deer calf. It had gotten curious and had decided to approach and see what he was doing. It's mother had shot to her feet and warbled a warning, scuffing its hoof in the dirt.

Alden very slowly lowered his arm and Tempest folded back. He very carefully reached into his bad and produced a mushroom and gently offered it to the calf. It slowly approached, no longer sensing any danger form him and sniffed the mushroom, before delicately picking it off his hand with it's teeth before happily munching on it. He slowly reached out his hand and scratched it behind the ear, it tilted its head into his hand and snorted in satisfaction.

The calf's mother had calmed down but was still eyeing him with alarm. Alden took out another mushroom and gave it to the calf, "Sorry for scaring you." He said as smoothly as he could to keep it calm, he then patted it on the head and slowly moved away from it, bowing again to its mother before heading back the way he came.

When his eyes rested on the wooden house again, he could see grey smoke wafting slowly out the top of the chimney, he could see his parents through the window, happily dancing around each other as they were preparing dinner.

Alden pushed open the door and entered the kitchen, resting his bag on the table. He reached inside and grabbed a handful and washed them under the tap before placing them on the chopping board his dad was standing by. Marcus twirled the knife in his hand, before quickly cutting the freshly gathered produce in half. Alden returned to his bag and deposited the rest of his haul into a beautifully crafted pine box, packed with straw to help keep them fresh.

Ogora added the mushrooms to the simmering pan she was standing by slowly stirring with a wooden spoon. Mary was leaning up against the doorframe, slowly flicking through the pages of a book. Alden slipped past her and quickly glanced at the television as he went, he saw a small icon of a letter at the corner of the screen. He felt the small fresh of anxiety swell up in his chest. He fought to keep it down, it was possible that the particular mail and arrived today, but not likely, he pressed the icon to read the information about it: it was being held at the port, he would have to go down there after dinner. He turned right and ascended the staircase to the upper floor, running his hand along the banister and rails as he headed for his room.

Alden's bedroom was dominated by the bed, resting against the wall in the middle of the room, the room was lit by a large window facing the setting sun. just before that was a large spruce desk with various sheets of paper and scattered doodles. He sat down at the desk and tapped his fingers across the surface surface watching the horizon slowly turn yellow.

He shivered slightly as the afternoon sun was no longer gifting as much warmth. He walked over to the wardrobe on the other side of his room and opened a door and reached in to pull out a dark green jumper. He slipped it over his head as he walked back to head downstairs. Though as he was trying to fit his arms through, he felt the sleeve knock something to the floor. Once his head popped out the correct hole, he looked down at the floor to see the old stuffed toy that was resting on a small bedside table. Given to him by his parents at birth, Alden was strangely attached the object. It was a black dog, with small glass beads for eyes and a small red ribbon around it. He picked it up and carefully placed it where it began.

He walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen. Ogora was pouring the mixture that was in the pan into a tray and smothered a layer of mashed potatoes on top before crumbling some cheese above that before sliding the tray into the oven. Marcus was busy clearing up, stacking up cleaned pans and stowing them away.

"Alden, can you help Mary? I think she's got stuck on one of the traps." Ogora said. Alden looked out the window, he could see Mary angrily staring at a floating rabbit hanging from a tree at the edge of the forest. Alden grabbed his shoes from behind the door and slipped them on before jogging over the field.

"What's up?" He asked as he reached Mary. She sighed and gestured to the piece of string.

"I tried to loosen it, but I just broke it." She said. Alden stepped forward to examine it, he could see the rock counterweight had fallen to the floor.

"The trap worked alright though?" he asked, following the various knots in the string.

"Yeah, it worked fine. Rabbit didn't feel anything." She said. I just messed up trying to release it. Alden nodded and suddenly noticed where a knot had been released where it shouldn't have been.

"You pulled this one." Alden said. Mary looked over his shoulder and swore.

"it should have been the one above." Alden hummed in confirmation and held the rabbit by its hind legs before pulling on the correct knot and the loop came loose. He laid the body on the floor, and quickly retied the trap. He picked the rabbit back up and he and Mary headed back towards the house. He hung the rabbit's corpse on a small rack just outside the door, he would butcher to tomorrow. He subconsciously ran his finger in a T shaper, along it's brow ad between its eyes. In general folk law the "hunters mark" was to apologise to the creature's spirit and asking it not to bring Grimm to hunt them in return. Nowadays it was only seen as superstition, but seasoned and experienced hunters (not the warrior kind) would often still be found doing it as a sign of respect for the animal's life they had taken.

They walked through the now empty kitchen. And into the sitting room where their parents had switched the television back to the news. Alden instantly recognised the several spires of Beacon academy that dominated the screen.

"Students across the kingdom anxiously await to see if they have been accepted into Beacon." The reporter was saying, "The letters were released today so from here on out students can expect to receive a letter from the academy to see their results over the next few days, so from me and everyone else at the VNNS we wish you all good luck." The picture then snapped back to a man in a news studio and they began talking about a new library that was opening up within the city.

"They may have arrived already if they prioritised getting letters out to Patch." Ogora said laying up against Marcus' side on one of the old red sofas.

"Hopefully," Alden said as he curled up into the corner of the other sofa in the room, "I'm getting tired of waiting."

"Won't be long now." Marcus said.

"I just can't help but feeling like I won't get in even after all that work."

"Alden, with how good you are, Beacon will not be denying you. Trust me." Mary said, looking up from her book.

"You say that for yourself next year when you apply." Alden said.

"Oh, trust me, I won't, don't you worry." She retorted. Alden smiled and gently shoved her shoulder. She smiled up at him, before looking back at her book. "Darn it Alden, you made me lose my page!"

Ogora closed her eyes for a second. "two hundred and forty-three" She said looking over towards them.

"Thanks mum." Mary said, quickly flicking through pages, smiling once she recognised her spot. "You're the best, have I ever told you that?"

"You really shouldn't abuse your mother's semblance for such simple things." Marcus said.

"nuh-ah Mary didn't ask mum to do that, that was her choice." Alden said, nodding over enthusiastically." Alden and Mary secretly fist bumped. Their parents just shook their heads but smiled.

An hour passed and the Cirqs had assembled round the table as everything was dished out, everyone licked their lips hungrily as the meat and mushroom pie was laid before them.

The sound of cutlery clinking soon filled the room.

"So Tai said Signal was planning their own mini, in house Vytal festival this year, juts made out of people in our year." Mary said

"I suppose that's not a bad idea, you'll have to wait a few years for the next one to come around." Marcus said.

"Yeah, because this one sis old enough to participate this year." Mary said, while gesturing to Alden with her head.

"That's if Whatever team I end up with qualifies for it, there's no guarantee."

"Isn't he technically not allowed to tell you what you're doing in school yet?" Ogora asked.

"Ummgh" Mary grunted with her mouth full.

"Nope, he's not. But he's Tai and I met him at the port this morning getting that parcel, and I asked him if we were doing anything fun."

Marcus sniggered, "Yep, that's Tai all right."

Alden was hurrying to finish up his dinner, impatient at how time was so slowly creeping by, like a carrot on a stick.

"Impatient Alden? You're about to shuffle off the seat!" Ogora said smiling at him. "Go on, if it will stop the waiting, you can go now, we'll clean up."

"No, nah, its fine, I can finish." He replied. They stood and started to wash everything and put it away. Admit the clanking of plates and cutlery a faint rumbling sound could be heard from outside the house.

Ogora looked at Alden. "Oh, so you were just being lazy then?"

Alden smiled sheepishly, "I didn't ask for it?" which came out more of a question.

Ogora smiled and sighed.

"That girl is too nice to you." She said as Alden was already out the kitchen, slipping his shoes on and grabbing a jacket.

"I'll be back soon!" He called and dashed out the front door."

The front of their house did not have a clearing like the back, and so he was immediately within the confines of the forest. What dominated his attention though was the familiar yellow motorcycle, purring on the road just outside.

"That was a record time." Yang said as Alden approached. She had removed her sunglasses and hung them from the pocket in her jacket.

"Well what can I say? It's a big day." Alden said, Yang grimaced, no one was impervious to the anxiety caused by those dammed letters. Alden swung his leg over the back of Bumblebee and gripped hard to secure himself onto the bike. Yang twisted the throttle, the engine growled and Alden lifted his feet to secure them to the sides as they accelerated, guided by the small stream of daylight that was slowly fading from the exposed treeline of the road.

Alden leaned slightly to the side to see past the blonde mess of Yang's hair. Watching the trees go by at a near blur, noting the occasional house as they passed, that was the Robinson's, that was the Thurlow's one of the few families that didn't have a hunter lineage, there was the Woodcock's the twins that lived there were in Yang and Alden's year.

Yang turned her head to look back at him. "So how confident are you?" she called over her shoulder.

"Relatively, just don't want to get my hopes up just to be let down." Alden replied. He felt like the entrance exams went well, especially the combat exam, but everyone did well in the combat exam, that was the whole point of them being there in the first place.

"Same here, just want to get this over with now. They better be there."

"Maybe they were just setting up a kingdom wide prank?"

"I don't think they would want a few thousand angry hunter students blitzing the place."

"True, but it would be a hell of a lot of fun."

Yang looked back over her shoulder again, raising her eyebrow at him. Before shaking her head and smiling and turning back to keep an eye on where they were going. Soon they were passing the single large spire of Signal academy. From the outside the grounds seemed eerily quiet, they had spent most of their lives training within those boundaries, and most of their generation as still trying to get out of the habit of going to a school on their own island.

IT wasn't long before they had left Signal behind and the large expanse of sea between Patch and the rest of Vale could be seen, the large glittering reflections of the windows could be seen even from this distance. Sprawled out before them was the largest industrial centre on the island: the docks. The landing area on the island became so important to the early settler's survival that it soon became the administrative home of the island. If you needed anything you couldn't find, gather or make yourself then you went to the docks. It was here were the only shops existed on the island as well as doctor's surgeries and the post office, which was their destination.

Bumblebee approached the main gate, the large metal grilled structure slowly skirted to the side to let them past. As Bumblebee rumbled through, they waved up to the tower overlooking the gate where Jackie was on shift at this time and had let them through without hassle.

Yang leaned the bike into a turn and dropped the speed. Passing by a few shops and people as they moved about. They headed towards the water where the red building of the post office was. Bumblebee soften backed to a purr as they pulled up outside, before sputtering and dying as Yang turned it off. They climbed off and walked towards the door, waving to a few locals they knew, such as Mrs. Langston, the owner of the local mechanics, so Yang absolutely adored her.

The door opened with a chime as they entered. The post office was small but cosy, with a handler's desk at the front. Behind it could be seen rows upon rows of shelving, each filled with letters, parcels and anything else you could dream of posting. They were probably even be able to post your pet, though Alden didn't want to try.

"Ah, Hello you two! Thought you would turn up this evening." Mr. Harrison said from behind the desk. He was a short but happy man, content with the simple life of administering the different bits of paper shipping to and from the island. "Have how has your days been?"

"Not bad, just… anxious." Alden said as they approached the main desk, letting the door shut with a click behind them.

"Well," he said, pushing himself off the chair and turned to head into the back. "I believe you're in luck. These came in from the ferry around mid-day." Mr. Harrison dragged a ladder to one of the taller shelves and nimbly ascended to near the top where he procured two letters. Soon he had scaled down and had returned to the desk, checking the names on the letters and handed the corresponding letter to the two of them.

Alden gingerly took his and stared at it, in the corner was the twin-crossed axes, lined by a laurel: the symbol of the Vale government. Alden looked up from his letter to see Yang earing a similar expression. They looked at each other and came to a similar conclusion.

"I'm not waiting." Yang said as she flipped the letter to open it.

"I'm glad you said that." Alden replied as he followed suit.

Mr. Harrison watched on in interest as the two teenagers eagerly ripped into what could possibly be the most important documents of their lives.

Alden carefully unfolded the contents and his eyes began to track down the page:

Alden Pine Cirq

Forest Edge

Patch Island

Patch

Dear Mr. Cirq

It is with great interest that we have been watching you and many of your peer's progress as you have progressed through combat school, since you first entered you have trained and evolved to be not just a better warrior, but a better person. So, whatever the outcome of your studies, the skills you have learned will never be wasted and are actively sought after by nearly every industry. It is the goal of every student who attends a combat school to be accepted into one of the academies of the different kingdoms, and reach the final hurdle on your way to become a huntsman or a huntress, however the academies only have so much space, so it is important to read now before you see your results what you can do if you were not able to be accepted into an academy this year:

It is possible that you may get a referral and enter into an academy next year, so all is not lost! However if you feel like moving on to this level is not for you then don't threat, Students who have graduated from combat school are given a grant bonus by the Vale government to undertake further education in a different subject, as well as the skills you have already earned will prove useful and will demand the attention of whatever occupation you wish to move into.

Now that is over, we will move onto the subject of acceptance, at the bottom of this page you will see a dark grey sticker. Under that will reveal if you have been accepted into Beacon Academy or not. If you are not accepted, I wish you luck on whatever path you chose to take from here. But if you are accepted, it will be my pleasure to welcome you to my academy. I wish you all the best of luck and I hope to see you seen.

Kind regards

Professor Ozpin

Headmaster of Beacon Academy

Kingdom of Vale

Alden looked down; there it was. That small grey sticker was the source of all his doubts and anxieties over the last few weeks, he knew he had done well in the entrance exam, it was just the matter if he had done well enough.

He locked eyes with Yang again, their hands resting on the lip of the sticker. They shared a nod and pulled… Alden didn't want to open his eyes, but he felt them peeling open anyway. Written at the bottom of the page:

We are delighted to inform you that you have been ACCEPTED into Beacon academy! You will receive a message to your scroll soon with further details.

Alden released the breath he felt like he had been holding for days and a uncontrollable grin spread on his face. He looked up; Yang was beaming to her violet eyes gleaming in the artificial light of the post office.

Suddenly they had wrapped each other in a hug of both congratulations and relief. The two friends had been through a lot together and didn't want to be separated on the final hurdle. Mr. Harrison and the rest of the staff present at the post office gave them a round of applause. It was well known that getting into a hunter academy was the single hardest career occupation to get into.

They pulled apart, still smiling as they looked down at their letters, just double checking to make sure their eyes hadn't deceived them.

"I don't believe it!" Alden said. He looked at Yang who was pinching her arm.

"Well I'm not waking up." She declared as they headed for the door, waving to Mr. Harrison as they left. Yang opened the saddlebag on Bumblebee and they carefully laid their letters in it, they didn't want them damaged on the journey back. They straddled the bike and it growled into life once more.

The ride back home was quiet, but not unhappy by any means.

Alden could have sworn that even though then sun had not ceased it's journey down the sky, everything seemed brighter, and the leaves a little greener. He even noticed the way the wind danced and played through his hair. Bumblebee skidded around a corner and he could see the roof of his house poking up above the hill. The drone of Bumblebee's engine slowly faded as they pulled up outside.

Alden swung his leg off and retrieved his letter from the saddlebag. He hugged Yang again in farewell.

"You still coming over tomorrow?" She asked as they pulled away.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" he replied turning and headed for the door.

"Oh! And bring Mary, Ruby said she wanted to try something with her." She added as Alden opened the door.

"I will, see you tomorrow!"

"See ya!" She gunned the engine and she disappeared in a trail of her own dust. Alden shut the door and headed into the house. He passed through the hallway and he pulled his shoes off and left them in the cupboard, he continued forward and suddenly all they eyes of his family were staring at him. Alden stopped in the doorway, pinned by their gazes.

"Umm…" he said.

"Well?" Ogora asked, crossing her arms over the back of the sofa and rested her chin on it, hope clearly evident in her eyes. Alden waved the piece of paper in his hands.

"I got in." He said. A cheer erupted through the room, and suddenly he was engulfed in a family wide group hug. And they all gave off a collective sigh of relief.

"Told you, you would get in." Mary said. Alden could only nod.

"I'm proud of you." Marcus said as they all pulled back. Ogora hadn't said anything, she was closely observing the scene with a beaming smile on her face. Alden opened his arms and hugged his mother directly, he could feel though his arm's she was humming with an unnatural energy, her semblance hard at work.

Marcus bent down and picked up the piece of paper Alden had dropped and opened the cupboard in the sitting room, he took a spare frame and slipped the certificate into it and hung it next to two other similar picture frames, their own admissions into Beacon when they were kids. His chest filled with pride, Alden had made it into Beacon. He suddenly felt very old, he remembered when he had received his entrance certificate, and now he was watching his own son go through it, he knew when he told his parents who were living a little ways down the road that they would tell him that they had felt the same thing, and he knew that one day Alden would do it to.

He looked back to his family, he always appreciated moments like this, when everyone was happier than just happy, there were laughs and everyone was positively beaming. Marcus would look back on this day fondly, of simpler times when everything was clear and safe. They all would. Before they arrived… Before it all went wrong…

Alden dodged to the left, spinning as Yang's gauntlet careered past him harmlessly before swinging down himself, grinning at the tell-tale flash of her Aura being grazed. She dodged backwards and flung her fists forward, the howling noise of fire dust projectiles in flight. Alden raced forwards and counted to three, when he was done, he jumped as high into the air as he could, summersaulting over the first and corkscrewing over the second. They exploded behind him harmlessly. He continued forwards and jumped again, the handles folding down on his gauntlets and he fired a pair of his own projectiles. Dirt was thrown into the air as Yang dodged them, she gritted her teeth and rushed him. One gauntlet reflected off his blade, the other he caught in his palm and winced as the shockwave went through his arm.

Yang tried to ram her knee up into his stomach, but Alden pushed he off balance and ran forward whilst still holding her arm, simultaneously dragging her off balance and disorientating her. As she fell Alden twisted, Tempest's blades retracted, and he delivered two swift punches to her lower her pack before jumping and delivering a twirling kick to her abdomen. Sadly, she didn't recoil, and just pushed back. Swinging a flurry of blows aimed for his chest. Alden dodged two, but at this close range it was impossible to keep up with it and he received a square blow, the gauntlets fired too, and Alden was flung back, crashing into the ground. He instinctively checked his scroll attached to his wrist, although he had only taken the one hit his Aura bar had dropped into the orange, dangerously low, he couldn't take another.

He stood up from the small trench in the dirt and Tempest redeployed, reflecting the light of the evening sun. Yang pointed her gauntlet s behind her and fired rocketing towards him. He stood there, seemingly accepting his fate. Just when she was mere feet away from him Alden jumped, tucking his legs in to pull his weight over back wards and flipped, the dust chambers spun, and a spray of small lightning bolts raced towards the ground. A few struck Yang causing her Aura to flash, but she ignored it and spun just as Alden landed and thrusted forward, Alden didn't see it coming and stopped deathly still as he stared down the barrels of Yang's weapon.

"I win." She said. Alden wasn't exactly in a position to disagree. He hated training fights where he wasn't allowed to use his semblance, but Yang was right, he was to reliant on it, he used it nearly as much as his weapons but with such a weak Aura it was kind of a necessity.

He and Mary had headed to the Xiao Long household after a hour or two of deciding about what to pack, but since Beacon was only an hours journey away, Alden decided to just take the basics, and anything more advance he would simply come back for it. He was hardly traveling to another kingdom.

That morning his scroll had been messaged like the letter said it would. Explaining that the new term would begin just the next Monday, just a week from today. Weirdly though, he couldn't wait. There used to be a time when everyone despised waiting for the holidays to finish and having to go back to school but now…

This was Beacon. Could anyone one really blame him?

Their weapons retracted they took a few minutes to stretch out and then headed back inside. Mary and Ruby were sprawled over the sofas eyes glued to the Holo-television, tapping vigorously on their scrolls, ironically playing a game about huntsman and huntresses, considering that's exactly what they were training to do. Alden opened up a cupboard in the kitchen and pulled out two glasses, filled them with water and offered one to Yang as he downed his own.

"You looking forward to Beacon Alden?" A voice said from behind them. He turned to see Taiyang coming through the door into the kitchen.

"Yeah, just don't like the waiting." He replied.

"It's the same for everyone at that point, first we're nervous about not getting in, then we're nervous about not being good enough when we're in." he laughed and shook his head. "I remember that feeling well."

"No! No! No! mmmghh! Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on!" Ruby's voice echoed in from the sitting room.

"I've got it! I've got it! I've got it!... Yes!" Mary cheered as she won the round.

"Oh, Yang would you mind checking the nets when you've got time? Tai said as he jogged out of the kitchen, "I've got a meeting in twenty minutes at signal."

"Yeah, that's fine. Have fun with your meeting." Yang replied and gave him a hug of farewell. "See you later dad."

"Bye dad!" Ruby called from the sitting room.

Yang waited to hear the door shut before her shoulders slumped.

"Ughh, I hate doing the nets." She said.

"There not that bad." Alden said as he headed for the back door. "Come on, I'll keep you company." She smiled in thanks and the pair headed off to the side a little ways where a small stream slowly meandered through the island.

They reached into the river and hauled out the nets, a meagre catch of only a few fish, but that was more than enough for a while. They dragged their catch to the shelter of a nearby tree. And they unsheathed small knives attached to their belts and began to gut and head them. The grass beneath them getting slightly slick. Once they were finished, they rinsed their hands in the river and carried the carcasses back to the house, placed them in pots and stored them in the cool cupboard to be cooked that evening.

"Thanks for the help, that was definitely easier." Yang said as they moved into the sitting room to watch Ruby and Mary go head to head in their game.

"no problem." He said his voice difficult to hear under Ruby's cheerful yell of victory.

Alden was once again crushed under the many limbed group hug of his family. When they pulled apart, he was met with tearful smiles all around.

"I'm gonna miss you." Mary said a they fist bumped.

"It's not like I'm leaving the Kingdom, I can come back at the weekends if need be, stop treating it like this is the last time we'll see each other, you're making me nervous." Alden said.

"Maybe we they're tears of joys and we're looking forward to never seeing you again." Marcus laughed as he patted Alden on the shoulder.

"Ouch."

Alden made a move towards the door.

"Oh, have you got your scroll?" Ogora asked.

"Yep" Alden said

"Wallet?"

"Yep"
"Bag?"

"By the door."

"Whirlwind?" Alden lifted his arms up so the bracelets could be seen.

"And checked you've got everything in your bag?"

"Three times over, so I've forgotten about half of everything I need." Alden said grinning.

"Well you can always come back for it." Mary said.

"Precisely." Alden replied.

Alden quickly hugged the occupants of his house again, before reaching the door and slinging his backpack over his shoulder and tightening the straps to keep it secure. Opened the door and with one final wave of farewell began the walk along the dusty track towards the docks.

"Permission to come aboard skipper?" Alden jokingly asked as he hopped onto the deck of the Sapphire wave. Captain Tiller smiled at him from his position leaning over the railing.

"Big day ey' lad?"

"Very." Alden sighed as he stood beside him, looking out over the docks.

"Don't ye' fret. Anyone who can bullseye a crest viper at fifty feet is good enough for Beacon."

He looked down at his watch. "We're supposed to cast off about now." He sighed staring at the road.

The ferry captains of Patch ended up getting to know the various families of the island quite well. So, if they knew someone was intending to get passage on their ship, they would bend the rules and wait an extra few minutes in case someone was late.

Soon the purr of an engine could be heard over the cranes operating in the docks and soon the yellow streak and pulled up alongside the ship and had driven down the access ramp. Yang jumped off Bumblebee.

"Sorry about that Tiller, has to pack some extra rubbish." She said with an impish grin and nodded her head back to the bike where Ruby looked offended.

"Hey!"

Tiller laughed, and then called down the ship: "Cast off!" The mooring ropes were quickly retracted, and the engine room hummed to life as the ship left port.

"So, you here to Wave us off?" Alden asked Ruby.

"Nope." She said proudly, pulled out a piece of paper slip her pocket and handed it to him. Alden unfurled it and began to read:

Ruby Scarlet Rose

Riverside

Patch Island

Patch

Dear Miss Rose

This letter serves as an admission slip to confirm you have been excepted into Beacon Academy under unusual circumstances, I would strongly suggest that you keep this letter on you at All times when you first arrive with the rest of the students as you will be able to use this in case a member of staff has not got the message and challenges your right to be on premises. I hope you enjoy your time with us.

Kind regards

Professor Ozpin

Headmaster of Beacon Academy

Kingdom of Vale

"You got in!?" He said beaming down at his surrogate little sister.

She nodded happily and stuck out her tongue at him. "I did it two years earlier than you."

He smiled back, but inside he would admit he was jealous, what he wouldn't give to have his own sister join the fray…

He knew why Ruby was let in, she had explained in great detail what had happened during her dust shopping trip to the Cirq's when she had come over the next day, the day before Alden and Yang were set to depart. But Alden didn't expect that it would allow her into Beacon. Alden found it funny how fate seemed to twist and turn. Ruby had asked Mary if she needed any dust, and if she wanted to come with her, but she had to pass because she was dealing with a before term school project. Alden could only wonder what would have happened if she had gone along.

Ah well, it was never good to dwell on the past…

Yang had stored her bike in a nearby rental garage, next to the airfield, and they were standing amongst the throng of students waiting to board the airship, eagerly watching the large craft slowly descending from the sky.

The ramp slowly descended from the side of the airship and when it touched the ground a collective cheer went up from the students and eagerly ascended the ramp. They were up amongst the last of the students. The inside was very rand, with large metalwork arches spanning across the interior, with grand windows dotting the sides, giving a near unobstructed view of the world outside.

Alden nearly tripped on someone's foot and stumbles slightly. He turned to see someone apologising profusely to him.

"I'm so sorry!" He said, Alden quickly noticed the small pointy ears on the boy's head, amongst the mop of greyish black hair. The moment he saw Alden had seen the ears they immediately flattened across his head in embarrassment. Alden smiled.

"Don't worry about it, I tripped up on you, so really I should be saying sorry."

He smiled back and Alden looked to see Yang and Ruby staring out the window. He looked beside him again and smiled when he saw his ears slowly stick back up as he got comfortable. Alden had met several Faunus in his life before and always hated how they immediately got embarrassed and defensive about it. Even though Alden hadn't made a single move nor gesture to suggest he was a threat to them.

He wandered over to the window and looked over at the distance, he could make out Patch through the morning haze and the sole tower of signal academy peaking put over the top of the treeline. Spread out before him was the rest of the city, row upon row of red tiled roofs and larger commercial structures dotted about. He could even see the sever large towers of the arcade he and Mary were fond of.

He heard Yang say something about the "bees' knees" but her voice was easily drowned out beneath the noise of countless other excited students talking about where they were going.

"The robbery was led by the nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who has so far evaded authorities. If you know anything of his whereabouts, please contact the Vale police department. Back to you Lisa" The Holo screen to his left showed a picture of a man with orange hair with a sky smirk staring at the screen. It was talking about the shop robbery that Ruby interfered.

The view quickly changed to the news, which described how the Faunas civil rights movement had been interrupted by the white fang and turned violent. He hoped not many were hurt.

Suddenly the image was cut off and was replaced with a hologram of a person. She was tall and wore a white shurt with the staggered purple and black cloak.

Hello, and welcome to beacon." The figure said. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among the privileged few who have received the honour of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future huntsman and huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task. Now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

The Hologram flickered and vanished, leaving the interior of the ship in silence for a few seconds before conversation slowly started to pick up again.

"Hey Alden! Check this out!" He could hear Yang call from further down the ship. He walked over to them and found himself standing at the front, looking out the main viewing port. Beacon Academy dominated their view, it's imposing yet somehow friendly towers casting a long shadow over the cliff it was situated on. They could make out several large "pads" protruding form the edge of the cliff, serving as both landing pads for the many Bullheads ferrying people to and from the school as well as a landing jetty for the gigantic airships. A retching noise could be heard from behind them and they turned to see a blonde lad running the length of the ship holding his hand over his mouth. Alden guessed that maybe the air wasn't so cut out for everyone.

He heard several noises of disgust from beside him, Yang ad Ruby were obviously standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me!" Ruby cried

He cracked a smile, and looked down, Yang had a speck of dirt on her shoe, "Vomit boy" A Yang had dubbed him, had missed her shoe, but that didn't stop the girls from overreacting anyway.

The airship slowly listed as it banked to pull up alongside the jetty. And the door at the back of the ship folded down to allow the students to disembark. Considering they were at the front they had to wait a while before they could get to the ramp. As he reached the door Alden looked out. The ramp had extended to reach the jetty, so it was quite a long way, he looked to the side to see there were no handrails, and beneath them was a very, very long drop.

"So much for health and safety" he remarked as he continued onwards, feeling a little bit better when his feet reached solid ground. He reached the pad and continued down the path a little way before coming to a stop next to Yang and Ruby.

"Whoa." Ruby said, unusually stunned into near silence.

"The view from Vale has nothing on this." Yang said. She was right, the long straight pathway led into a large circular courtyard with marble arches and a huge fountain dominated the centre, the whole thing was surrounded by trees with scarlet leaves and that was before you even got to Beacon itself, its towers stretched so high into the sky that even from this distance you had to turn your head backwards to be able to see the top, mingling with the clouds above.

He looked to the left to see something small fall out of someone's bag. He jogged over to it and picked it up, it was a scroll, lucky he was the one who saw it. He jogged up to the person who had dropped it and tapped them on the shoulder.

"Hey, your bags undone, and this fell out." He said. They turned around and Alden recognised him as the wolf Faunus he tripped up on when he boarded the airship. His face lit up when he saw the scroll.

"wow, that would've been really bad if I lost this, my dad would've killed me." He said as he took it back with a smile and placed it back into his bag and re-zipped it up. "Thanks for that, you don't know how much you've helped me there."

"It was nothing," Alden replied, "Just keep an eye on you bag, it's bulging to the point of popping."

He laughed and their heads turned when they head a voice calling in their general direction.

"Hey Aegan! Come see this!"

The Faunus turned back to Alden.

"Thanks again, I'll see you around."

"See ya." Alden said and the Faunus walked off. He saw Yang walking towards the courtyard and jogged to catch up with her.

"Where's Ruby?" He asked.

"Oh, she wanted to have a quick look around, though knowing her she's probably staring inappropriately at people's weapons." Alden laughed at her joke and they followed the path around the fountain. It was now impossible to see the top of Beacon's main spire, but at its base a large set of doors had opened to allow the large stream of new arrivals into the academy and they could hear guides struggling to shepherd the new students in the right direction.

As they passed the fountain Alden was comforted by the trickling noise of running water, it reminded him of the rivers you would often hear from anywhere on Patch. Alden could see several people jumping up at one of the countless banners hanging from the lampposts to see if they were real or just a hologram.

"Enter through the main doors hear and then go through the first one on your right!" A voice called out over the crowd, trying to direct them. As they slowly marched forward within the throng of students they felt a wall of heat pass over them as they entered into the academy. They were in a large circular chamber with a large tree growing in the centre, casting strange shadows along the walls projected from several spotlights at its base.

Soon they were though the other doors and the hallway went dark with only a few wall mounted lights to guide them.

"Any idea what this is all for?" Yang asked, she was the only easily identifiable individual in the hall, her hair glowing slightly in the strange blue illumination.

"Nope, none. I hope though they won't be asking us to walk around in the dark for too long, it's only a matter of time before someone trips up."

There was a loud crashing noise from behind them "Ow!" someone called out as they faceplanted the floor.

"As I was saying." Alden finished smiling as he jinxed the poor soul behind him.

The hallway soon opened up into a huge amphitheatre, with a large stage at the other end of the hall. With a huge gathering place dominating the rest of the room. They could see the large groups of new students filling up the room and headed for a relatively empty space where they could have some breathing room.

He felt something knock against the back of his head, eh turned to see Liam, one of his other friends from Signal waving him over. He walked over to him as he saw Ruby enter the hall looking greatly confused and… slightly singed? Waving it off as Ruby had probably done something very Ruby… ish he assumed everything was fine and dropped into the conversation with some of his friends from signal and some new people that they had met before then. Within it was also that Wolf Faunus that Alden had tripped up on the Airship, they shared a friendly smile in greeting before being interrupted by two people entering onto the stage.

On of them Alden recognised as the Woman in the hologram as they were on the airship, Glynda Goodwitch she had introduced herself as. The other was a tall but thin man with crystal white hair and walking with a cane. He carried an air of both authority and respect. There was not a single person in the room who didn't know who he was. Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon academy and by extension one of the most well-known person on the entirety of remnant.

He cleared his throat into the microphone to get everyone's attention.

"I'll… keep this brief." He began whilst looking out over the assembled group of students. "You have travelled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." He left a brief paused as he looked over everyone in the amphitheatre again. "But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy. In need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you from this. But your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you, to take the first step."

He cast his gaze over the students one more time before marching off without another word. Professor Goodwitch stood up to the microphone and briefly addressed everyone:

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

"Well that was… stern." Alden remarked.

The students started to file out of the amphitheatre, once again being herded by several older students. As they made their way through the maze of corridors, they came upon a large locker room. One of the guides jumped over the bench and shouted to be heard.

"Right everyone! These lockers will serve as your storeroom temporarily until you can be assigned your own permanent one! Just pick one that isn't taken and punch in the code you want it to be! Make sure you store your weapons! They're not allowed in the ballroom, we learned that from experience!"

Alden walked a little way up to avoid the mass of students trying to get to the ones closer to the door. The lockers were all the same, so he picked one in the corner of the third block. He typed in an easy code to remember and unlocked the door. Inside there was plenty of room for his bag and even adjustable slots to hold different kinds of weapon. At the bottom the academy had even provided sleeping bags for them to use.

Alden slung his bag off his shoulder and stuffed into the bottom shelf.

"Hey, is this one taken?" Someone asked from his left he looked up to see the Faunus pointing at the locker next to his.

"No, it's free." Alden said. The Faunus smiled and began to type his code in.

"Hey it's Aegan right?" Alden asked, seeing if he was friendly or not. He turned as smiled at him.

"Yep, Aegan Losaw." He said and held his hand out, Alden shook it.

"Alden Cirq."

"Nice to meet you Alden."

"So, where you from Aegan?"

"I live on the outskirts of the city, you?"

"I live on patch."

"You're from Patch?" Alden nodded. "That's rare, Patch's population is really small isn't it?"

"Yeah, compared to the city, it's miniscule."

"Then how does it have its own combat school? I've always wondered that."

"Because nearly everyone living on it is a huntsman or huntress."

"Really?"

"Well why do you think it hasn't been overrun by Grimm by now, it doesn't have the defences of the city, so the people defend it."

"That actually… makes a lot of sense."

Alden laughed, "Don't worry, most people don't really think about it, we're just an island off the coast, and we're happy to stay that way."

Tempest whirled around and hissed open as Alden pulled them off. He looked up t see Alden looking at them.

"Would you mind if I have a look?" He asked.

"Sure." Alden said and held one up for him.

Aegan took the Bracelet and twisted it under the light to get a better look at it.

"What is it?" He asked.

"It's a sword-gauntlet hybrid." Alden explained as he put the rest of his stuff in the locker. He looked up see Aegan accidently flick the override switch on the inside, his hand shot up and pulled Aegan's arm away from his face as the gauntlet deployed and the blade sprang out, if it was where it originally was it would have taken his head off.

"Careful." He said and took his weapon back, refolded it and locked it away in his locker.

"As much as that would have hurt, your weapons are awesome!" He said grinning.

"I'm glad you like them; I think my teacher said I spent three times longer than average to design and build those."

"I'm not surprised." Aegan said as he shut his own locker and they headed onwards into the large expanse of the Ball room. It was an incredibly grand room with large stone pillars holding up an Alcove that ran around most of the room, with stairs leading up to it from both sides. They quickly headed for them and made their way onto the upper floor.

The rest of the day passed like a blur, everyone started to get acquainted with each other, some meeting old friends again, others making new ones. Already groups were forming, and large centres of conversation were dotted around the room. It wasn't long before they were instructed to settle down for the night. Everyone retrieved their sleeping bags from their lockers and rolled them out in any free space on the floor they could find.

Alden found himself next to Aegan and rolled his sleeping bag out onto the floor. He sat cross legged on it and wrapped his jumper around him, the stone pillars and large steel windows made him feel cold, not surprising considering he was usually surrounded by forests and beaches. Though when he looked over to Yang and Ruby, he noticed they were having no such trouble, but Ruby was hyperactive and Yang was a biological heater, so anyone sleeping near her would definitely be warmer.

"So" Aegan said "We're really here."

"Yep," Alden said, "Though don't remind me to much, I'm sacred I'm gonna wake up and realise I'm just dreaming."

Aegan laughed, "yeah, I know what you mean, it's hard to believe it."

A group of boys passed them, trying to put in each other in headlocks, he noticed Yang gave them an approving look and laughed internally.

"How are they not cold!?" Alden whined, shivering. He for one would freeze to death if he took his jumper off, let alone his shirt.

"They live in the city…" Aegan deadpanned.

"Stop talking sense." Alden huffed, and stuffed himself inside his sleeping bag to try and warm up more. He looked around and noticed that apart from Yang and Ruby every person he recognised from Signal Were all bundled up in jumpers, not used to not having the evening sun warm up their rooms.

Several lights flickered off around the room, leaving only a few areas Illuminated. Alden could see Yang and Ruby talking to two other girls, though he wasn't sure if it was "talking" or "arguing"

Shaking his head, he hunkered down into his sleeping bag and took one more look around the room, he was here… he was actually at Beacon! He smiled and huddled further into his sleeping bag and closed his eyes. Dreaming of what was to come.

Hello again everyone, for those who are returning, welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the upgrade, and for those who are new welcome! Just be warned, that the next few chapters will be much choppier than this, but they will improve as they go on, and will be improved themselves, so sit tight. I would really appreciate any feedback you're willing to give me, weather you like it or not, if your new or more experienced in MANA's adventures. I tried really hard to make this the pinnacle of my writing ability so far but there will be mistakes in there, but I hope you agree that this has come a long way since it started last April. , so we're coming up on its Year anniversary!

So Yeah, please Drop me a PM or leave a review, I would love to hear from you!

Until Then!

Etherway