Well, we're back here again. It's a new year, a new chapter, and we're nearly on a new book for Forged Destiny as well. I half-wish I could have planned it better so that it specifically ended last year on the ending of book four, but, well, it's hard to be that specific ahead of time.
Beta: College Fool
Cover Art: Dishwasher1910
Book 4: Chapter 14
In the stillness that permeated the temple interior, my laboured breathing echoed loudly. I'd have fallen even further were it not for two arms catching me, cradling my body against a familiar one as Blake's horrified face appeared before mine. She looked so afraid that I felt I had to say something, no matter how foolish.
"I-I'm sorry..."
"Jaune?"
"R-Really… sorry…"
Blake fell onto one knee, lowering me as well. Her eyes burned with unshed tears and I knew I was the cause. As suicidal as it had been, it was the only option I could think of to win. There'd been a chance I might survive it, but only a small one. At the very least, this way ensured everyone else would make it out in one piece.
Heh… it was strange how calm I felt at the prospect of my own death. I should have been frightened, but I wasn't. In truth, the thought of surviving when everyone else died was far worse. At least I wouldn't be going alone. I gripped onto her hand and struggled to see what had happened to Tyrian.
The Paragon was face-down several metres away, his swords discarded and blood pooling from several grievous holes in his back and side. As expected, when he'd thrown all caution aside to kill me – believing he had to save Salem – he had left himself completely open. I'd banked on that instinctive desire not to let the same disaster strike again overpowering his common sense. It looked like I'd been right.
He was dead, or dying. Blake and Qrow's high Levels and Pyrrha's prodigious Strength… even if they couldn't muster the skill to break past his defences, the raw power behind their attacks had been enough to do serious damage. They'd just needed an opportunity to drive it home. I wasn't even sure if Weiss' rapier had been a factor, possibly not, but she'd at least contributed a little.
"M-My Queen…" Tyrian whimpered.
He was still alive!?
I struggled to move, and Pyrrha hurried for her own sword, but it was obvious that Tyrian wouldn't last much longer and we both paused. He paid no attention to us at all, his eyes focused on the woman sat cross-legged on the altar. Tears poured down his cheeks.
"My… My Goddess…" He reached out one hand and pulled himself towards Salem. Another hand slapped down before another and he dragged himself across the flagstones, leaving a crimson streak of blood in his wake. Pyrrha took a step forward to finish him off, but stopped when Qrow shook his head.
Salem remained on her altar, having cast Crocea Mors aside long ago. She watched her apostle's approach with a frustrated expression. It still felt like that was more at my despair being unpalatable than anything else. I wouldn't regret it though, even if I died here. To save the people I loved would be a good death.
"M-My Goddess…" Tyrian rasped.
"Tyrian," she returned, as if she weren't concerned with his impending demise in the slightest. "This is quite disappointing. I have to say…"
"I… No… I…" His face was pale and stained with tears. "I tried my hardest, my Goddess. I tried my hardest. P-Please don't forsake me. Not again. Please. I… I just wanted to be trusted. I tried so hard to save her… to save you…" He sobbed brokenly. "Please don't forsake me."
"I did not forsake you, Tyrian. Nor will I." Salem said. "Sadly, it was you who did that to me."
He gasped. "No. I'd never!"
The dying man sounded so afraid, so utterly broken. The emotion in his voice caused it to crack and I couldn't help but stare at him. It was obvious that when he looked at Salem he didn't see a Grimm monster. In fact, I wasn't even sure if he saw her at all. Perhaps he saw his old Queen, the one he'd tried so hard to save and failed. The one whose death had resulted in his exile and insanity.
I felt pity for him, but it was brutally apparent Salem did not feel the same. She swept one leg clear and stood, a hand coming before her lips as she hid a vicious smile, looking down on her beloved Hero.
"Oh, but you have, Tyrian. Your Queen forsook you when she failed to trust you to protect her, and she died as a result. You wanted her to stay and believe in you, to be safe in the knowledge you would protect her until the end of your days. You would have protected her, Tyrian. You would have done everything in your power. Isn't that right?"
Tyrian nodded through his tears, and even injured as I was I felt my heart constrict. He'd loved the Queen that much? He'd been that loyal a Hero?
"I just wanted to do my duty," he sobbed. "Why did she flee…? I would have protected her. I could have… I could have saved them all. No one had to die. No one had to be forsaken!"
"Yes. She fled like a coward, but I did not, Tyrian. I waited for you. I waited for you and you still failed me. I did not forsake you." Her eyes flashed, and she pushed away from the altar, stepping slowly towards him. "You are the one who forsook me."
"N-No…"
"You betrayed me."
"No. No, please I-"
"You failed me."
Tyrian sobbed brokenly. He did not resist as Salem knelt down and cupped his chin with one hand, tilting his face up so that he could look directly into her cruel, mocking, gaze. She tilted her head, let out a quiet breath, and then whispered – audibly – into the silence.
"You, Tyrian Callows, proved yourself to be just as bad as the Queen you so despised."
The proud man snapped. His eyes clenched shut and he sobbed loudly, arms curling around the wound that pierced through his stomach. When Salem let go of him he slid down to the floor and curled into a ball, weeping in a pool of his own blood. He continued to do so until he expired with a tired, agonised, rattle.
His chest did not rise again. His face was frozen in a rictus of horror, pain, and self-hate.
"Despair, regret, broken dreams, garnished with just a touch of irony." Salem chuckled darkly as she stood and appreciated her handiwork. "Truly delightful."
Something inside of me snapped, too.
"You're a monster!" I cried. I'd never hated anything more at that moment than I did her. I wanted nothing more than to take my sword and run her through. "He trusted you," I accused. "He made a wish and he… he was a bastard, but he didn't deserve what happened to him! You played with him. You broke his mind - and for what - your own entertainment?"
Salem smiled.
"Yes."
I sagged. She was a monster. I wasn't sure why that surprised me, but it did. Tyrian had, if anything, been little more than a victim in this whole affair. An enemy, sure, and someone who had led so many astray, but ultimately someone who hadn't deserved so pointless an end. He should have still been in Mistral saving lives, protecting the people and being a figure looked up to with awe and respect. Instead, he lay face-down in a puddle of his own blood, forgotten and abandoned in a temple no one would remember.
It seemed too unfair. I grit my teeth past my pain and glared at the woman responsible. I wanted so badly to hurt her. To kill her. In turn, she sensed my rage – and from the smile on her face she truly enjoyed being the cause.
"Now," she said, eyeing us. "What to do here?"
A figure appeared before Blake and I as Qrow took position, bedraggled and bleeding from a hundred cuts, but still cognisant enough to hold up his sword and glare at the deadly woman. "I think we've had enough of you," he said. "I'll thank you to go back to whatever world you come from, monster. Before I cut you down myself."
The words were bravado and little else, but I felt grateful to the Druid nonetheless, even if he couldn't do a thing to stop someone like her. None of them could. Salem knew that as well for she threw her head back and laughed. It was a beautiful, musical, sound. At odds with her callous cruelty, or perhaps it accentuated it. It was an otherworldly laugh. It seeped into my bones and froze them in place.
"That would be quite the sight to see, little Druid. Fortunately for you, my time here is at an end. The wish had been fulfilled, the bargain has been struck, and the terms have been completed in full."
I gagged at the words. Completed…? Tyrian had wished for a Queen and a Goddess, and he'd received one, of a sort. She'd been a cruel and callous witch who broke him worse than the first ever had. In that regard, I supposed her words were true. She'd matched Tyrian's previous Goddess almost perfectly, and betrayed him in much the same way.
Perhaps what he'd really wanted was the chance to redeem himself. In that regard, she'd granted it… but also orchestrated events so that he'd fail and be broken in the process. Was that why she entertained my idea of letting Pyrrha, Blake and Weiss fight alongside Qrow? Had it all just been a trap to slowly ensnare Tyrian and kill him?
All for her twisted idea of fun!?
"Then begone!" Qrow snarled. "Leave us be. Take your prize and whatever satisfaction you can and never return."
"Do not presume to give me orders, human." Salem's voice was more amused than offended. "I will leave if I am not wanted. I am just not sure if that is true…"
Qrow readied his weapon. "What do you mean?"
"Is there none among you who would make a pact with me?" She floated back to her altar and sat cross-legged upon it. She gestured with one hand towards Tyrian's body. "As you can see, I am very adept at fulfilling those wishes."
"You twist them, more like," Weiss said. "You fulfilled his in word only, but not only avoided the spirit of it but changed it into something that would break him."
"Words are important. Terms are important. There is nothing I cannot achieve. Phrase your wish wisely and perhaps there will be no means for you to suffer." She chuckled. "Tell me, is there not one among you who has a wish for me? One that is… rather pressing?"
Her words were mocking, her tone knowing. Though she didn't seem to address it to anyone it felt like the insinuation wormed its way inside all of us. Surely no one would fall for it, though. Not after what she'd done to Tyrian. There was no one who wanted something bad enough to sacrifice their life for it.
Blake's fingers tightened on my shoulders. Realisation struck instantly.
"No, don't!" I hissed, catching her collar with one hand and weakly dragging her head down so that it faced mine. "Whatever you're thinking, don't."
Blake's eyes watered. "She could heal you."
"And kill you!"
"I could word it-"
"You couldn't," I said. "No one could. Whatever you say, she'll twist it and leave you in despair. Please, Blake. Not for me. Not in front of me."
"But you're…" She looked down to my wounds and her voice cracked. She didn't finish, doubtless because she didn't want to frighten me, but I knew. It was hard not to.
I was dying.
"We have no wishes," I shouted to Salem, preventing Blake from making a terrible mistake. "There's nothing we want other than for you to leave."
"You heard the kid," Qrow said, taking position before us once more. "No one wants one of your contracts, demon. No one is going to fall for your tricks."
"The boy will die if you do not," she said, almost conversationally. "I could prevent that. If you are so afraid of what I might take, then why not allow him to make the wish? If it is death that awaits you, then it would be little risk to chance it with me."
I'd be lying if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind. If I made the wish and she somehow used it to kill me then it wouldn't be any different from if I bled out in Blake's arms. Still, something stopped me. It wasn't bravery – not when I already felt so afraid – but rather the suspicion that Salem was smarter than each of us. There wouldn't be any despair in her killing me if I was bound to die either way. No, if she wanted the kind of pain she liked, the kind she found delectable, then it would come with a cost that would truly break me.
Heal me, for instance, but at the price of another's life. Would she take Blake's life force and use it to bolster mine? Bring me back from the cusp of death but kill everyone else? Or maybe she would go a step further and heal my body but trap my mind within it, leaving me locked in a shell that could perceive the world around but never interact.
I'd rather die that chance any of those outcomes. There was more to think about here than just myself. If she wanted to really hurt me… to draw out the worst pain… then she would target the others. I couldn't let that happen.
"I'm not making a wish," I said.
Salem's smile fell. "Then you will die."
"I… I guess I will. I've made my peace with it."
"Foolish humans and their mortality. Do you expect a life after death? There is not one, you realise. Such fallacies are invented by mortals who fear an end to their existence. All that awaits you is nothingness."
"Then I'll embrace it!" I snapped. "At least people will remember me." Unlike Tyrian. "That's enough for me. I don't need any of your favour."
She scoffed. "Fool."
"You seem awfully determined that he shouldn't die," Weiss suddenly said. The Mage bled from a small wound on her arm, but still had the strength to glare at Salem. More than that, her words brought silence to everyone else, and even a small frown to the demon's face. "It's almost like you're trying to browbeat him into making a contract with you so that you can save his life. Or maybe it's that you intend to anyway but want to trick Jaune. I'm right, aren't I?" Weiss smiled victoriously, pressing her advantage. "You want him to live. Or," she said, eyes narrowing, "something is preventing you from letting him die."
"Weiss?" Blake asked, confused.
The Mage didn't respond, and Blake's eyes – and mine – slowly shifted back to the demon before us. Though still a commanding presence, her eyes were sharp and her lips twisted into an uncharacteristic frown.
She… wanted me to live?
"Troublesome Mages." Salem rose from her altar with a sigh. "That Intellect allows you to see things you should not, but also has a delightful tendency to lead your kind to ruin. Curiosity is often fatal, after all, and it is the wise and well-read who are so easily led astray. That said…"
Salem vanished and reappeared once more, this time in between Qrow and me. The Druid gasped and tried to spin but was launched away with the flick of Salem's hand. When Blake tore her weapon out to protect me, she too was thrown back and sent sliding across the floor into a wall. She rolled over mid-way, flipped onto her feet and dashed forward, but Salem glared at her and the crushing weight from before must have returned, for Blake was driven to her knees. Her eyes were wide, however, and she tried to drag herself towards me.
Salem ignored her. The others still could not move, and I was bleeding out across the floor, unable to protect myself as the terrible woman crouched beside me. She kept her voice low enough that only I could hear.
"I am a being of pacts. Of contracts. I claim what is mine, but I also repay my debts." One hand gripped my face, twisting it so that I was staring into her eyes. So close to her I realised they weren't like normal human ones, but that the red inside swirled and rippled like an ocean of blood. "You should consider yourself lucky that your presence amuses me, Deceiver. I can see a thousand ways to twist this debt to my pleasure, but I shall withhold. For now. Continue to dance for me." Her hand touched my hip and I gasped as something vile ran through me.
"W-What debt?" I gasped. "What are you doing?"
"Tyrian's wish would have been a bothersome one to fulfil. I might well have been trapped with him for the remainder of his mortal life. Though you intended it to save your pathetic allies, your actions aided me more than any other." She removed her hand. "Consider this my repaying the favour."
What would-? I sagged as she released me, but felt a strange burning in my back and sides. When I reached down with one hand, I was shocked to not only realise I could, but that there were no gaping wounds to be found. Salem winked out of existence before I could question why, or before anyone else could rush to my aid. Her disappearance released the strange spell she had cast on the others too, and everyone scrabbled to their feet.
"Jaune," Blake gasped, and Ruby too as she finally regained her ability to move and crawled frantically over. There were tears in her eyes, while Blake's were wide and afraid as she ran her hands over me, looking for whatever terrible mark Salem had left behind. "T-There's no bleeding," she whispered. "How?"
"H-He's alive?" Ruby gasped. "But… But I saw… and I couldn't move and I just laid there as he was stabbed." She looked like she might burst into tears, so I placed a hand on her head, even as I heard Yang cry Ruby's name and vault over the balcony to join us. Ren and Nora were close behind.
"What the fuck was that?" Qrow demanded, beating Yang to us. "You spoke to it," he hissed. "You know that thing!?"
"It knows us," I said, still unsure that I was alive and still half-waiting for a nasty surprise from Salem for the healing. My skin felt sore and… almost burned, but it was whole. I felt my strength return, enough to stagger to my feet with a little help from Ruby and Blake.
"We saw it in Atlas," Yang said. "Ozpin knows."
"Does he now? Bastard didn't see fit to warn me of that, though he probably thought I wouldn't believe him." Qrow looked to the altar and sighed. "Can't even say I blame him for that. I suppose Ozpin will want to see this thing." He stalked over and took the book from it, storing it away in his jacket. Once he was done, he turned to stare at the various golems that surrounded us. They were inert and their eyes no longer shone red. "If you would, Mage," he requested.
Exhausted and bleeding as she was, Weiss still managed to send a lance of ice through the chest of one. It didn't try to dodge, nor did it react as it crumbled into rock and dust. They were all deactivated now. A small miracle given how spent half of our party was. I could only hope Blake, Pyrrha and Weiss had earned some decent Exp from Tyrian. Since I'd only taken part to be stabbed and almost killed without striking a single blow, I'd not earned any. Sadly, not even the boosting Coco had given me had worked that easily. I'd needed to do some damage to the Grimm before she killed them. I hadn't even thrown an attack at Tyrian.
"Jaune's fully healed," Ren said, crouched down by my side and inspecting the wound. "The skin is discoloured, unusually so, but it's not bleeding internally or externally."
"We'll be getting that checked when we can," Qrow said. "I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I'm not about to trust that thing's words. There's no telling what she did to you. You understand that, right?"
I did, and nodded. Though I felt fine it was possible she'd only healed me temporarily, or that she'd left some kind of curse behind. It might even be that she wanted me to feel the hope of my own survival before it was torn away, that it would make my agony all the better for her. Still, if that were the case I felt she'd be here to experience it. Call me crazy, but I was confident she actually had healed me.
But why?
For a debt repaid?
I wasn't buying that. There was something more going on here. Still, that was something I'd have to consider another time. As Blake took my left arm and Ruby took my right, I struggled to my feet, the two being forced to support almost all my weight. Even though the wound was gone, my energy hadn't recovered. I still felt like I was on the verge of death. To my relief, Pyrrha stopped to pick up Crocea Mors, flashing me a smile to show she hadn't forgotten.
Honestly, it was kind of galling that she and Blake were still able to move, especially since they'd been stuck in melee with Tyrian the whole time. I shot his body one final look and shook my head. Curled into a ball, his arms wrapped about his head, it was obvious his end had not been a peaceful one.
I felt like that was my fault, somehow. But if I'd not stopped him then how many people would have suffered? He'd forced our hands. That didn't make it feel any better, though. He looked small and weak, like a child. Blake saw the direction of my gaze and turned me away. Ruby smiled weakly, as affected by it as I was. Judging from everyone's silence, we weren't the only ones who felt exhausted.
"Come on," Qrow said. "Let's get out of here."
It was a raw relief to leave the scene behind. I never wanted to see another temple again.
/-/
It was an exhausted group which made its way out into the warm sunlight of a Mistralian day. I breathed a sigh of relief the moment I saw the pinprick in the tunnels, and a greater one as we came out and into the open air. It was impossible to imagine what had just happened below, especially as the birds chirped and the clouds rolled by. Looking behind, I could see that the entrance leading into the mountain looked to be freshly hewn from rock, with a broken pillar beside it. It was possible the Greycloaks had discovered the pillar and decided to investigate further.
I couldn't quite place how good it felt to feel fresh air brush against my skin once more, especially when I'd all but accepted the fact I was going to die down there. Up here, alive once more, I had a moment to realise just how much I wanted to keep on living.
The mood among the others seemed fairly good too, with Nora whooping once we were outside and even doing a little spin with her arms outstretched. Rather than stop her, Ren smiled and watched, while Pyrrha giggled. I had a feeling the memories of Tyrian were going to stay with us for some time, but out under the midday sun life felt a little less gruesome. A part of me did wish he could have seen it again, though. He hadn't deserved what the royal family of Mistral did to him.
"What do we do now?" Yang asked her uncle. "We were supposed to wait for the people from Haven, right? That's kind of pointless now. Do we go home?"
"Not yet, I'm afraid. We'll make our way back to Stoneskeep and call for help from there," Qrow explained. "We'll wait until the reinforcements from Haven arrive and then-" He paused.
"Uncle Qrow?" Yang asked.
"Shh…" He held a hand out to quieten her, and slowly drew his sword. The others did the same, but I was too weak and supported by Blake and Ruby. Being the fresher of the two, Ruby pushed me against Blake and drew her scythe.
Twelve figures approached from behind trees ahead of us. As they came close, my eyes strained to make out the details past the sun behind them. What I did see was a flash of colour, however, and Qrow must have as well for he cursed angrily.
Greycloaks. More of them…
"Not again," Blake hissed, still holding me.
"How many of these assholes are there?" Yang growled.
Ren and Nora closed ranks in front of Blake and I, weapons drawn. Qrow remained at the head of the party and stepped forward to address the figures. He swept his sword before him and called out. "If you're looking for your master, he's dead. Unless the lot of you want to follow after him, I'd suggest you leave us be."
The Greycloaks hesitated. The hooded figures exchanged glances between one another, before one that appeared to be the leader stepped forward.
"You have a book," he said. "A tome. Give it to us and we shall let you live."
"You'll let us live when you feel you have the advantage, huh? That's generous. Tell me why I don't quite believe you. How about this, we leave – with the book – and the lot of you don't get to find out first-hand what happened to Tyrian Callows. How's that for a deal?"
Tyrian's name must have meant something for the twelve suddenly looked far more nervous, glancing between one another and one even taking a step back. He'd clearly been their leader, and these might have been more of his companions sent out to find willing, or unwilling, converts. Even so, and even with us having beaten Tyrian, twelve Heroes was far too much for us to contend with. They looked older than us, which probably meant they were higher levels.
"When I engage them, I need you lot to run," Qrow whispered.
Ruby balked. "U-Uncle Qrow?"
"Go back into the temple. Find the tunnel we entered through, slip back into the mines, and then make your way to Haven for rescue. Don't look back, no matter what you hear, and don't try to help me. Got it?"
"W-What?"
"That's non-negotiable."
He couldn't hold off against so many. Then again, neither could we. He wanted to sacrifice himself to buy us time, and he was betting on the Greycloaks not knowing of the passage we'd entered through. A fair bet given they hadn't found it.
"I don't think going back will be an option," Ren said. "They're behind us, too. We've walked into an ambush."
Qrow cursed and looked behind him, revealing another four members of the Greycloaks who must have been waiting by the entrance, perhaps as guards. They must have hidden when we left, then looped back to cut us off from any potential retreat.
"My sword," I whispered.
"You can't fight," Blake said. "You're still injured."
Ruby agreed, hugging Crocea Mors to herself and backing away before I could grasp it. Damn it. It wasn't like we had a choice in the matter.
"Give us the tome," one of the Greycloaks demanded.
"Over my dead body!" Qrow yelled back. He brandished his sword and took an aggressive stance. "My name is Qrow Branwen, of the Branwen tribe. Come and face me if you wish, but keep in mind there's only one person who has ever been able to match me. Unfortunately for you, she isn't here."
The Greycloaks in the front backed away nervously.
I couldn't believe their fear, especially given the advantage they had. Did the Branwen name mean so much? A quick look to Qrow revealed that the Druid was just as confused at the turn of events. He hadn't expected them to be afraid of the name, which meant they probably weren't.
A soft, glowing ember flickered past my face, dancing on the air like a flower petal made of fire and ash. One of the Greycloaks backed away so quickly she fell on her rear, and then continued to kick away with both feet. At the same time, more embers brushed past, and I could feel an intense heat building up from behind us. The others noticed it too, and as Blake turned to see what it was, she brought me with her.
There was a creature born entirely of flame perched on the mountainside behind us, its talons digging into the rock on either side of the temple entrance, its wings spread like arms to pin itself above our heads, and its beak opened, revealing a hiss of steam and sulphur.
"W-What is that?" Blake gasped.
Of course. She hadn't seen it before.
"Phoenix…" I whispered.
"Kill the Greycloaks!" a familiar voice commanded.
The summon wasted no time fulfilling the orders. It screeched a high-pitched cry and propelled itself from the mountainside, whooshing over our heads and spraying hot embers across us as it streaked for the unfortunate Heroes in front. Some fled, others held their ground, but most had only the time to scream and raise their weapons before they were struck. Despite having no solid form, or apparently just being made of fire, the creation was able to pick one up with its beak and slam it down into the ground. The figure tried to move but a claw slammed down on top of him, killing him instantly as the Phoenix rushed for a second, flames billowing from its beak.
It would have been too much to call it a fight. It was more of a massacre. Phoenix seemed impervious to most conventional forms of attack and shrugged off every spell launched at it. What fire was blown away from its body seemed to refill without slowing it down, and it only became the more aggressive for the annoyance. The twelve in front were already on the run, but a cry from behind reminded us of the others.
There were three, now. One of the Greycloaks had drawn a knife and stabbed it into the heart of another, and the remaining two had drawn weapons to fend the sudden traitor off. I watched in horror as the crazed woman, eyes wide and mouth frothing, launched herself at the two with reckless abandon. She was slain with callous ease, pinned to the ground by their swords as she died.
The distraction was what it was, however. Even as the two stared at their slain fellow and wondered why she had suddenly turned on them, a silver-haired figure landed on the ground behind them and flashed forward. They turned and tried to defend themselves, but one caught a foot to the face before he could get his sword up. Mercury Black kicked off and used the force to reach the other, catching the man's palm with his heel, forcing him to drop the weapon, before he spun and roundhouse kicked him to the side.
The Greycloak fell back and slammed into a pillar. He gripped his stomach and grunted, before he pushed off to race back into the fight. Something held him back, however. The man froze and looked down again and gasped as crimson spread out from a whole in his stomach. The air there flickered and gave way, the illusion dispelling as Emerald was revealed, behind the man and with her twin blades sticking from the front of his gut.
The last Greycloak in the rear-guard fell into a defensive stance and backed away, trying to keep the two Heroes before him. He had almost reached the entrance to the temple where he could flee inside, but a figure fell to the ground behind him.
He didn't have the time to scream as Cinder gripped the man's shoulders. There was only a mighty fwoosh of air and fire, and the amber-eyed woman was stepping over his remains towards them. Her eyes were focused beyond, back on Phoenix, but she nodded and looked back to them, content to leave her summon to handle the Greycloaks.
"You're all alive," she said, sounding a little surprised. "That's good. It would be even more problematic if you'd died here. Worse than it already is."
Qrow sheathed his weapon. "What do you mean? Where is Mistral's response force? I thought you'd be coming at the head of an army."
"As did I. The situation has changed." Cinder's face hardened. "Julianna Verdant is dead. Murdered. Her position has been usurped and the new person in charge, Leonardo Lionheart, no longer wishes to pursue the campaign against the Greycloaks."
"What!? How can he just decide that?"
"He has control over Haven," Mercury said. "There wasn't much we could do."
Qrow cursed. "Then why are you three here? If this co-operation Quest is cancelled, why come back at all?"
"It's true that Lionheart would have ordered us to stay putt if he knew our intent was to rendezvous with you," Cinder said. "That is why we did not show ourselves to him. Lady Verdant had reason to distrust him, and from our own research we have reason to believe he has friends in… unlawful places."
"Friends with grey cloaks," Mercury spat.
Cinder nodded.
I couldn't believe it. The thought of someone in control of a Hero school being allied with the Greycloaks was horrifying. He wouldn't be able to move too overtly without being found out, and like Cinder and her friends, other students could ignore him if they wanted to. Had Ozpin ordered us to do something obviously illegal we could have said no. Still, if he was a Greycloak then he could use his influence to limit investigation into their activities, or just pass on messages on what was close to being investigated so that the Greycloaks could flee.
It was a good job we'd killed Tyrian now, then. He'd have been all but impossible to track otherwise.
"You three just decided to stick with us, then?" Qrow asked. "Why go so far? Not that we don't appreciate the save."
"Our role was to assist Julianna Verdant. I apologise if you thought so, but we are not technically students of Haven. As such, Lionheart has no control over us and we're a little deeper in the fight against the Greycloaks." Cinder's answer was as evasive as it was informative. "I knew Lady Verdant and have a personal interest in seeing the Greycloaks dealt with once and for all. As such, I chose to return and ensure the Quest's success, regardless of her life or death."
"And we followed," Emerald said, earning a nod from Mercury.
"We've been hunting and killing Greycloaks for months now," he said. "Not like we were going to give up when we finally go so close to the leadership over here. There are bigger people than the headmaster of Haven who want to see these idiots stomped out."
"That isn't the main issue at the moment." Cinder stepped forward, her eyes hard. "We're going to escort you to the border so you can charter a ship back to Vale. The nine of you need to leave Mistral. Immediately."
Her tone had us all exchanging confused looks.
"Why?" Weiss asked. "What's happened?"
"Several Mistral vessels were sunk in the strait. Over a hundred sailors, soldiers and passengers were killed." Cinder stared at us as we gasped. "The ships that did it flew the flag of the Vale Royal Navy."
"No!" Qrow whispered. "Impossible…"
Cinder shook her head and let out a long, frustrated, sigh. I knew deep inside what that meant, as did everyone else, but we stood in slack-jawed silence and forced Cinder to say it out loud. When she did, it was all I could do to stop my legs giving way again.
"The King's hand has been forced. Mistral has declared war on Vale."
Can things get worse? Yes, they can! That's the Coeur al'Aran promise.
Well, it's both good and daunting to be back. I felt very unproductive over the break and spent a lot of time bored. It's a funny thing but when you get used to having just about no free time, your standards on what you do for fun get higher. Suddenly faced with days that were completely free, I had no idea what to do and everything I tried to distract myself with felt hollow because it didn't keep my attention long enough.
In a way it's nice to be back to writing, even if my body sometimes disagrees. It's also good to be in a new year. Let's hope it's not as shitty as the last, and that there isn't a world war on the horizon. I've also been sitting on Leonardo for a while, which I know had confused some before because people assumed I didn't know about him or had forgotten, hence the casting of this Julianna Verdant character. Nope. He's here. He just needed a little time to reveal himself.
Next Chapter: 8th January
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur
