Ah, here we go.


Beta: College Fool

Cover Art: Dishwasher1910

Book 6: Chapter 6


The sound of children playing in water, bustling shoppers and people moving peacefully to and fro created a stark juxtaposition to Ruby and I, sat in stilted silence on the edge of the oasis, my eyes fixed on her in mounting horror, hers aimed down towards the water. Ruby's arms tightened around her legs, as if she were waiting for me to attack her, or to accuse her, insult her, something. But all I could do was stare.

"Ruby…"

My words trailed off, as useless as they'd begun. There was no uncertainty in Ruby's accusation. No `I think you're lying` or `something isn't right`. She knew. She knew I wasn't telling the truth. She didn't know in what way, or how much, but she knew I wasn't the Knight I claimed to be.

Lying to her might have been an option – convincing her I was something else, another Hero Class perhaps, but I quickly realised that would in turn be impossible. There was no good explanation for why I'd disguise myself as a Knight for so long. The only explanation, the only reason, was that I had to do so because my real Class wasn't a part of the Hero Caste.

And suddenly it made so much sense that Ruby would dare reveal her problem. I was no risk to her. Even if the word `blackmail` would never cross either of our lips, we both knew it was there. I couldn't reveal her secret without her revealing mine, and vice versa.

The moment I realised I was thinking like that, weighing up the pros and cons, assuming that Ruby was manipulating me, I felt sick to my stomach. When had I started seeing her as a threat? Why was I acting like she would take advantage of me? Why couldn't I trust her?

"Ruby, I…" The words failed me again. Damn them. "How long?" I asked instead.

"I… I thought something was wrong when you gave me the scythe, but I didn't know for sure," she assured me. "I thought it might be a fluke or that maybe everyone was wrong and there were combat scythes. But I put in an order in Vale to order a scythe from anywhere on Remnant, and nothing came through. But it wasn't until after Mistral that I started to think there might be something different again. It was after I went into the Vault."

I swallowed at that and broke eye contact. So, she'd been looking everywhere for a scythe and I'd never noticed… the fact that the auction houses across Remnant never had any was bad enough, but for not even the Vault of Beacon to see one; it had been too much. I'd never even realised she was looking for a new weapon, though maybe I'd just been distracted with Blake.

"But it wasn't until recently that I knew for certain; when you… did something to Crescent Rose. I noticed it instantly, of course. How could I not?" She laughed bitterly. "My Constitution doubled the second I picked it up. I nearly had a heart attack right then and there, and whenever I carried it I could go on for longer and longer. I knew something was wrong and I knew it was something to do with my scythe, so I looked it over everywhere."

"And you found a Rune," I whispered.

Ruby looked my way and nodded nervously. "I-Is that what it is? I found the little squiggle, the sign, and I knew it hadn't been there before. It was well-hidden, but I know my baby like the back of my hand. I borrowed Yang's dusters, too," she said. "I, uh, saw that she had the same one hidden under the thumb-ring. It was the exact same pattern."

It had been easier to hide hers on the inside, but a scythe only had so many places. The haft, the blade, the handle. I'd put Ruby's under the blade and against the haft, as close to the seam as possible, but it was still so much more visible than Yang's. It wasn't like Blake's daggers, where the Rune had been present from the moment I'd forged them. She just thought it was decoration or matching patterns my dad put in to mark them as sister blades. It probably didn't take Ruby long at all to find her Rune once she realised something was up.

"S-So, yeah," Ruby whispered. "That's when I knew for sure…"

That was still over a month ago, though, before Magnis. "Why didn't you say something?"

"What was I supposed to say? Hey Jaune, you did something to my weapon and now it's better, but you didn't mention it, so you obviously want it kept a secret. Tell me anyway. I want to know." Ruby scoffed. "Was I supposed to say that, or something else?" Her head dipped a little and she let out a quiet sigh. "I kept hoping you'd tell me. Or us. Or someone."

Guilt welled up inside of me. Ruby had been waiting and waiting and I never did.

"B-But then I realised that was hypocritical," she said. "You're not the only one with a secret."

"So, you decided we should have a mutual reveal? Is that it?" I asked, a little too sharply. Ruby flinched and I instantly felt horrible. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I didn't mean it like that."

"No. I deserve that…"

"You don't. This is my problem and my secret. I… At least your secret is just because you don't know which the right answer is; Hero or Labour Caste. It's not the same with me. I'm… I…"

"You're Labour Caste," Ruby said softly. "It… I guess it was kind of obvious looking back. You were always defensive about them."

"Yeah."

No subtlety at all, though to be fair it didn't mean much since most people still believed the Class above your head couldn't be changed. Oh, Neo had managed to do it with illusions, but her real Class would still be visible the second someone jostled into her or she cast a spell. It wasn't as complete as mine.

I felt tired, too tired to keep lying.

"I'm a Blacksmith."

Ruby, head between her knees, nodded once.

"Is that it?" I had to ask, voice terse. "You finally hear my dark secret and you just nod. I guess you figured it all out already, huh?" I growled and ran a hand down my face, trying my hardest not to snarl when Ruby nodded again, this time guiltily. "You covered for me," I said. "You kept my secret. Why? Because you had one, too?"

"Because you're my friend…"

More guilt, thick and fast. Gods, I felt awful. I tried to rein in my fear, my paranoia, by taking several deep breaths and letting them go. I was afraid, I couldn't help but admit. My secret was finally out and intentional or not, Ruby could destroy my chances of remaining at Beacon. She could destroy everything.

I couldn't hate her, though. No matter how much I tried. It was obvious she felt just as bad from how she was acting, let alone how she'd separated me from everyone else to broach the issue. She'd even opened herself up in turn, leaving them both vulnerable when she absolutely didn't need to.

"Why?" I asked. "Why bring this up now, out here? If this has been burning at you for so long, you could have mentioned it in Beacon where it was safe. There's a reason you're taking a risk out here. What is it?"

"I need your help…"

"Ruby, you're my friend. I'd help you even if you just asked."

"I need the kind of help a Knight can't provide," she explained. "I don't need a Hero. I need a Blacksmith. A really, really strong one. One that's very high level and can do amazing things no one else can."

Well, that explained Ruby's sudden desire to know my Level the other day. This had been eating away at her even then? I'd never noticed. Maybe she just hid it well. But the fact she knew I and only I could work with Runes? That came as a surprise.

"Someone's been doing their research…"

Ruby giggled. "Can you blame me? I thought I'd be trapped on five Constitution for the rest of my life, and then suddenly there's a little squiggle on my weapon and I'm almost twice as tough as I used to be. That's the kind of thing that can change everything for me. I… My Con score is the only thing really holding me back from being a Hero. If it could be boosted, then I wanted to know more, but there was no record of anything like those Runes."

"That's because there isn't," I said. "Believe me; I spent weeks looking them up the moment I got the Skill. I'm either one of a kind or no one bothered to write anything down. Still, you could have brought this back up in Beacon. Why out here?"

"I… I'm scared," Ruby blurted out. My eyes widened. "There, I said it. I'm scared."

"Scared of dying?"

"Everyone is scared of dying, but I'm afraid of what we're going to face, and of letting everyone down," she explained. "Grimm I'm okay with. I can rely on you guys to keep their attention and I'm fast enough to get in and out without being hurt, but we're going against people now. This is us against the Greycloaks – and that's different. They're not going to conveniently focus on the tanks, and with how fast and small I am, I'm pretty much going to be the first person they focus on."

And that would get her killed if the enemy landed a blow – even the smallest of them. I was reminded of Ruby against Russel all the way back in our first year, where Miss Goodwitch's spell to replace damage for muscle lock led to Ruby being completely and utterly paralysed in a single hit. Even there, Russel had technically done enough to kill her. I had to wonder if anyone realised. Miss Goodwitch certainly must have, and Ozpin.

Had Ruby been close to being expelled at that moment? No, not just expelled, but taken down to the Labour Caste and removed from her dream altogether. She could talk of fear here and now, but I had to wonder just how terrifying Beacon must have been for her. What kind of pressure had she been going through, smiling the whole time?

"It doesn't help that we're up against an Illusionist, a Thief and a high-levelled Paladin," she went on. "That's a kill team if I've ever seen one, and I'm not good at resisting spells or finding people who are using stealth. Dodging doesn't mean much when you can't see where an attack is coming from. I… I think there's a really good chance I'll die here, and this time Weiss won't have an elixir to save me."

"S-So, yeah," Ruby said, hugging herself a little tighter. "I don't want to die here, and I don't want dad, Uncle Qrow and Yang to be put through that, or everyone to be angry because I got myself killed playing at something I'm not supposed to be. It's unfair, I know." she said. "This is my problem, not yours, but you're the only one who can actually do anything to help me. I'll keep your secret, I promise," she said. "Even if you can't, or if you refuse to, I'd still keep your secret. It's just… I need this. And it can't wait."

Ruby reached into her cloak and drew forth an ingot. I hadn't even seen her buy it. In fact, she hadn't bought it today, which meant she must have been sitting on this request for a few weeks, no doubt planning how to go about it and backing off at the last second each time. I reached out to take it and weigh it in my hand. It was a mineral composition I hadn't worked with before, something of a mixture of steel, Vacuan Silver and something else, something that felt cold like Atlas, and probably came from there.

Without answering Ruby's question, I took it in both hands and concentrated. My eyes flashed for a moment, but to Ruby it must have seemed like nothing happened. At least for a few moments, anyway.

A gasp from the Reaper revealed otherwise, as the metal began to turn cherry red in my hands and my fingers sank into it. I could feel her eyes on me but she didn't speak, too afraid of distracting me. She needn't have. Something like this… it was second nature by now. I worked the metal between my hands, bereft of forge, coal or any other material. As the air around it warped and shimmered, my skin refused to buckle. Fire from the Forge kept me safe; my useless Passive.

The metal stretched as I worked it. It became thinner, longer and wider, flatter, and I raised it up before me and let it flop down on either side of my hands. A quick glance to Ruby, considering, and then I was working again. Thicker in places, but not too much so. The metal began to take shape and curve, the edges smoothing unnaturally as I ran a hand over it, working out any perfections with the palm of my hand.

Water hissed as I dunked the piece down, dashing it in the oasis for ten to twenty seconds, before I drew it back out one final time, heating my hands to bring the temperature higher again, but not as high as to smelt it.

Ruby watched in awed silence as I worked, and her eyes met mine as I placed the piece down, allowing it to cool in the sand. A single pauldron, curved to fit over her left shoulder with a raised ridge to protect her neck from any cuts from the side. There were slots for leather straps but I'd also forged a linked chain that would let it be strapped atop her outfit for now. It was the best I could do without the leather.

"That's incredible," Ruby whispered. "You… with your bare hands!"

"It's nothing special."

"Are you kidding me? You just made a piece of armour in, like, five minutes. Sure, it's too slow to use in a fight, but you could equip an entire army in a month or two. Can I?" She reached for the piece of armour nervously. I nodded.

Ruby struggled to put it on at first but managed it after a few failed attempts. I'd gotten good at judging sizes and the piece fit snugly. The chain links went under and around each arm, linking in the centre to hold it firmly in place. She worked her arms a little but appeared pleased with the range of movement she still had.

"It's nice," she said nervously. "But I don't feel any, uh, stronger."

"That's because I haven't put a Rune on it yet. It's just armour at the moment."

"Oh, right." Ruby's cheeks heated up and she wrung her hands together. "Can we do that now?"

"Sure." I moved over so that I was sat behind her, Ruby cross legged between my knees. She tried to see what I was doing but I pushed her head forward, not wanting to be distracted by her hair brushing against my nose. "Let me focus," I said.

"S-Sorry…"

Shaking my head, I placed one hand atop her shoulder to keep her still and the other flat against the back of the pauldron. I needed some metal to work with and since Ruby's outfit was so heavy on leather and cloth, this was the only way I could work a Rune into her. I used my thumb to brush an area flat, and then used my Engraving Skill to slowly etch it into the metal. It was slow, at least at first, but I'd done the Minor Rune of Constitution a few times now, so it was easier to work from memory than it was with something else. The Rune didn't activate when it was complete, and I had to push some heat into it first. When I did, it flashed blue for an instant before it faded to a seemingly inert pattern.

In my grip, Ruby writhed a little. "O-Oh, I felt that."

"Better?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah. I feel a little stronger. This is amazing!"

It really wasn't. The Minor Rune only gave her an extra four Constitution, which was what I could expect to get on a single level-up, and I'd long since ceased to actually feel the difference. It made me stronger, but in an unnoticeable way. But for Ruby, four was a lot, and took her, combined with the Rune on her weapon, to thirteen Constitution.

Ruby shifted in my grip. "Jaune…?"

"It's done," I said. "I… I'm just not sure what comes next."

"I won't tell anyone. You can just keep going like normal." Her head tilted back and I could see the confusion in her eyes. "How are you hiding it?"

"An amulet." I touched it under my clothing. "I… I found it."

"You found an amulet that changes your Class?" Ruby sounded so horrified I couldn't help but explain.

"It only changes the words above my head, like an illusion but one that stays no matter what."

"B-But how could someone make something like that? And why would it just be laying around where a Blacksmith could find it? Why would it even exist in the first place? That's not the kind of thing someone could make just like that. It would have to be a Dungeon drop."

I'd thought the same, in the rare moments I thought about the amulet. In the same way I was probably the best Blacksmith in Remnant by level, it would take a Jeweller or Jewelsmith or something else like that to make this. If stat-boosting Runes were above what any normal Blacksmith could manage, then how strong would some Jeweller have to be to create an amulet that could alter nature itself?

Impossibly high. It was impossible that someone crafted this, which meant the only option was a drop. But again, if that were true, then why would it be on the floor outside my house where I could find it? It didn't make sense. And I, desperate to be a Hero, had never really questioned it.

"Jaune, that seems really, really dangerous," Ruby said. "What I'm doing… It's bad, but only because I'm hiding it from everyone. The King knows. Ozpin knows. I'm not breaking the law or anything."

"But I am."

"You are. If people found out, you'd be accused of heresy or something. You're disobeying the natural order of things. I-I don't care," she rushed to say. "Honestly, I don't, and I doubt the rest of the Guild will either, but everyone else will! The Heroes would despise you for pretending to be the same as them. The Labour Caste would call you a liar and a cheat. The Soldier Caste would be angry that a Labour Caste tried to be better than them, and the Noble Caste would see this as a threat to their control, that people they rely on for taxes and hard work might have thoughts above their station."

"I'd be imprisoned," I said weakly. "Or killed."

Ruby nodded, eyes wide and afraid. I knew then and there she'd never betray me, because to do so might well be to end my life. But even so, she knew as well as I that the charade couldn't last forever. Ruby's own was falling apart now that our enemies were getting stronger and stronger, and except in one Stat, she wasn't.

"You have to tell the others," she whispered.

"I can't."

"You have to! W-We can cover for you. We can adapt, figure out ways to fight so that you're not noticed or your Class doesn't slow you down. We can fill in the gaps." She gripped my hands over her shoulders. "We'd stand with you, Jaune. You can't say you'd think we wouldn't. Do you honestly think Blake would push you away?"

"She might," I said. "To protect me. Blake would be cruel to be kind."

Ruby hesitated. She knew it was possible, in the same way that Yang often held her back from any danger. At least Ruby might be a Hero. We had empirical evidence I wasn't.

"Still," she tried. "You have to tell them all sooner or later. I… I won't, but you have to. If you don't, you might get killed. And maybe you'll say that's fine, but it isn't! If you die, I'll never forgive you or myself for not telling them! If you die because you're a Blacksmith, and I knew all along and didn't warn them, then your death is on my hands."

"Going for the guilt route already?" I asked, laughing bitterly.

"If I must!"

"Don't tell them," I begged her.

"Jaune…"

"I… I'm going to tell them soon," I said. "I planned to do it after the war, at which point I'll let them decide what happens. I already hate that I've dated Blake on a lie, and my Class is important to her. The only reason we ever got together in the first place is because we bonded over our Class differences."

"But she loves you now," Ruby whispered. "She wouldn't turn on you because you're different."

"Maybe not, but it's still a betrayal of her trust." I took a deep breath and let it go. "Just… Let me do this on my own time, Ruby. I beg of you. I'll tell them, but not now. Not out here in the middle of a Quest in a desert, fighting against some of the strongest enemies we've ever faced. They'll be afraid of letting me help and hold me back. They'll know I won't accept that and make Nora, Pyrrha or Blake stay behind to guard me. We'd be two people down against the Greycloaks." Ruby's face became paler and paler the more I went on, ultimately culminating in her clenching her eyes shut. "If that happens, someone is going to die," I said.

"I… I know that!"

"So please, just for now, don't tell them. Let this be our little secret."

"That's not fair," Ruby complained.

"It's not," I said. "I know that. I'm putting way too much on you, asking too much. But I trust you, Ruby. You were my first friend here. If there's anyone I'd trust with this, it's you."

"You should have trusted Blake first," Ruby grumbled. "She's going to be furious when she finds out I knew before she did." Ruby glared at me for that, which I accepted with a pleading expression. She looked away, shoulders slumping. "Fine. Just… If you die, I'll hate you forever."

"Thank you, Ruby," I said, wrapping my arms around her. She didn't resit the hug, but she grumbled angrily under her breath. "Thank you."

"Just don't die, Jaune. Please."

I didn't intend to. If anything, she was the one who was at risk of dying. Thirteen Constitution, even after the two Runes. It was still so little, especially against the likes of who we would be facing. It wouldn't be enough to protect her.

My thumb heated up and I scraped it across the Rune, destroying and smoothing it out.

Ruby felt it and tried to turn around but I held her still with one arm, even as I dug in the small pouch on my waist with the other. A small chunk of metal came free and I placed it against the back of her shoulder. The Rune of Cold Steel. My armour Rune.

"Grit your teeth," I whispered, directly into her left ear. "This might feel a little odd."

"What do you- meaaahhh!?"

Ruby's entire body flailed in my grip, legs kicking out and splashing into the water as her upper body sagged and she yelped, falling back against me. Her legs twitched a little more and she struggled to breathe as her Constitution increased almost by a factor of six. With the Rune of Cold Steel and the Minor Rune on her scythe, Ruby had gone from five to twenty-nine Constitution, which must have been a shock to the system.

"Ruby…?"

No answer. I turned her over and let out a quiet sigh. She'd passed out. A quick check of her vitals told me she was fine, likely just suffering some small shock from the sudden jump in Stats, which probably made her faint. Switching Runes in combat did the same to me, but obviously not on the same level, since an increase of twenty points was just a fraction of my total, not four times what I had. Stooping, I gathered the Reaper up into my hands and laid her scythe across her body.

Still no answer on what she intended to do with my secret, but I'd have to trust her. No, I did trust her, or I should. It was complicated and hard to explain, even to myself. Ruby had my trust and I'd bet my life on her before, but this was so much more. Somehow, for some stupid reason, trusting someone with the truth of my secret felt harder than trusting them to watch my back against monsters that would kill me in an instant. It didn't make sense, but then again, what did?

"Let's get you back to your tent," I whispered. "Preferably before Yang sees this and asks what the hell I did to you."

Ruby murmured something in her slumber but didn't awake.

/-/

Luckily, I'd been able to get Ruby into her tent without anyone seeing me, which was something of a miracle given her nosey our friends could be. Blake was still asleep and everyone else was either out, distracted or sleeping themselves. I tucked her into her tent, placed her scythe beside her and let myself back out.

I hadn't felt like hanging around, mostly because my mind was still a jumbled mess from having my secret revealed, so I waved off Ren's offer of food with an excuse that I wanted to clear my head and explore more of Vacuo. If he noticed anything, he let it go, and I soon found myself sat outside of a large tent-like building made of a frame of thin sticks and poles. I was on the sand, atop a pile of cushions, under a pavilion with the cool breeze from the oasis against my skin, and a cool glass of some lemon-flavoured water in hand.

In my head, all I could think about was Ruby.

The revelation of her Class made a lot of sense looking back, not just in how Ruby acted, but also Yang telling him about Ruby's mom, and even Qrow doing his best to look out for her. They'd probably have been the same if she were a Warrior like her mother, but still not as much as they were now. But they all knew Ruby was in a bad spot and wanted to help.

The question of what exactly she was supposed to be also haunted me. I knew what I was. I knew I was a Blacksmith pretending to be a Hero, and it was selfish, of course, but if I failed, the only one to bear the brunt of it would be me. If Ruby chose poorly or forced herself to be a Hero when she clearly wasn't supposed to be, then there was a good chance her children would be forced to be Heroes, too. It could kill them, and she clearly knew that.

Ruby's always been good in a fight, but how much of that was her using her obscene Agility to patch up her weaknesses? Agility is speed and dodging, but she's able to hit accurately – and hit hard. Her Stats alone didn't explain that, which meant her ability to fight must have been shored up by her Passive in some way. But if so, wouldn't that mean she was intended to fight? That should have answered the question for her.

Unless her Passive didn't really work in that way, and she was just forcing it to. Or if she was exploiting it somehow when it was obviously meant to be used for something else. I wished she was still awake so I could ask her.

And then there were her Skills. I could recall the one she'd used and unlocked in Eldon, against the Ranger that shot me. It cut a wide area around her about knee height, and she'd called it Crimson Slash. Of course, she'd called it that after a rather obvious moment of hesitation. One I'd washed away at the time as her just not liking the name but that being none of my business.

Was it called something explicitly focused toward labour? It wasn't hard to put a scythe to a farming task, nor to see why such a person might benefit from an area of effect cutting move that sheared at the height it did. A farmer didn't need a lot of stats, but most benefitted from high Constitution so they could work for longer. Ruby didn't have that, but her Agility could counter for it, letting her scythe a field of wheat in a fraction of the time it would take a farmer.

It was possible the Reaper Class was a Prestige-farming Class. Well, in so far as anyone could use the words farmer and prestige in the same sentence.

Even if she was a Hero, she's an Agility-user who is focused on killing blows. She'd be thrown in with the Rogues and Assassins, and generally hated by everyone. Little wonder she was so nervous when she first came to Beacon. She expected people to either hate her because she was some Class they'd never heard of, or to hate her for being an uppity farmer, or hate her for being some kind of Assassin hybrid.

And then she'd met me, bumbling idiot with no knowledge of what a Hero did, and only a general idea of the difference between my ass and my elbow. Ruby struck gold there. Little wonder she clung onto me so much at first. As a Knight, a respected Hero Class, I granted her a certain aura of respect, of legitimacy.

Except that I wasn't, and she knew that now.

Shit…

Even if she wouldn't tell anyone, couldn't without giving herself away, it was still one person too many. I wanted them all to know, but on my terms, and preferably in a way that didn't get me in trouble. I was also smart enough to know that Blake should have been the first to know. What a complicated mess this was.

"Hey." The table flexed under me as Sun appeared on the other side, sitting down. "That's a long face you're wearing. Not enjoying the Roaming City?"

"It's not that." I hesitated to answer but ultimately took Sun for the welcome distraction he was. "I was just lost in thought about things, the Quest and the people we're hunting. Vacuo is fairly interesting, though. It's different from back home."

"Heh, I can imagine. What's surprised you the most?"

"Probably how small everything is. Back home, cities number in the tens of thousands and even small villages can have three or four hundred people in them. By the standards of Vale, this is just an above average trading town. No offence."

"None taken," Sun said, laughing it off. "Yeah, I guess it could be pretty weird. Then again I'd probably freak out if I saw so many people in one spot."

"Is it just the lack of food that keeps the population so small?"

"That's a part of it, but it's also other things. Our culture is… well, some things happen because of necessity, and it's not always stuff your kind of people can accept. They call us barbarians because of it at times."

"What kinds of things?"

"Well, take the fact the Roaming City has to move all the time," Sun said, kicking both feet up onto the empty seat next to him. He waved down a waitress, an Archer of all Classes, and handed her some lien for an iced drink a little darker than my own. "Berry-water," he said, noticing my look. "Water is king in Vacuo, and flavoured water more than anything else. We have our spirits and booze, but alcohol can be dangerous in this heat and considering how often we move, it's hard to let stuff ferment."

"That's a part of it, really," he went on. "Vacuo moves, and so do the tribes. There's actually only a few places that stay stationary – one or two settlements on the coast, and Shade."

"The Hero Academy?"

"Yeah. It has its own underground spring that sustains it. The people understand to leave Shade as it is, since we all need Heroes to fight off the worst of the Grimm. Apart from that, everyone else has to move from watering hole to watering hole in order to survive. The desert, as you've seen, is unforgiving."

"Heat, thirst, sandstorms and Grimm, I assume?"

"Yeah. First thing a lot of foreigners notice is that we don't put as much stock in Classes or Castes." Sun nodded to the waitress as an example and I nodded. Ruby's shopkeeper was another, but I could also remember seeing members of the Noble Caste wielding spears in Sun's tribe.

"I take it that's because it's just not possible for some Classes to do their jobs."

"That and necessity. Obviously, a Noble can't really rule anything here, and Farmers aren't going to be able to farm anything. With no static towns, we have no static defences, which mean no walls to keep the Grimm out. That means everyone has to learn to fight – no matter the Class or Caste. Some of the more civilised Kingdoms balk at that; call us monsters for making people fight who shouldn't." Sun scowled and took a long drink. "They don't understand that it's necessary. When your tribe can only sustain ten or twenty people, you can't put your entire defence in one or two Soldier or Hero Caste."

"Makes sense to me," I said. In a way it was what I'd always dreamed of, a sense of meritocracy where Class meant nothing. Sun was a Hero, or maybe he wasn't even that. He was the same age as us by the look of things, and he wasn't in Shade. That meant he was officially Soldier Caste, but since no one cared about that here, he'd been made the leader of his tribe. It was what I'd always dreamed of, just not in this way.

Not because people would die if they tried to do otherwise.

"And since everyone learns to fight, the Soldier Caste ceases to have meaning," Sun continued. "Or it does, but they also need to do other jobs to help out. Hence you have people of any Class doing whatever the hell they can, be it waiting, fighting or whatever else. In Vacuo, your worth is measured on what you can do, not what you are or what you were born as."

"Then why is that a bad thing?" I asked. "It sounds like a meritocracy. Even if the other Kingdoms don't agree with it, I don't see how they can call you barbaric."

"Because judging someone on their worth isn't always kind…" Sun drew a deep breath and leaned forward on the table, keeping his voice low. "The desert isn't kind, as I've said before, but the biggest killer isn't the Grimm. It's the distance, and the burden of travel. As I said, we cannot stay in one spot. Our people will die if we do. We must keep moving. So, what do you think happens when someone cannot move? What do you think happens when someone becomes old, or crippled, or is just born different and can't fend for themselves?"

"I… I don't know." Or I did, but I didn't want to say it. A heavy sense of dread pooled in my stomach, made all the worse by Sun's obvious frustration. I knew immediately that this wasn't going to be something I wanted to hear.

"I think you know, Jaune. You're no idiot. When someone can't move, they become a burden. If you break your leg, someone can support you, but if you're old and can't move at all, they have to carry you – and you become a burden for your family, often slowing them down. If they get slowed down, the rations and water don't last until the next oasis, and if those don't last and you don't make it, everyone dies. Old to young, firm to infirm, all dead because of one person."

I wanted to say it wasn't that person's fault, but nowhere in Sun's words did he suggest it was. I swallowed instead. "So, what happens to someone who gets too old or injured to make the migration?"

Sun sighed. "They return to the desert."

"I'm guessing that's not as kind a fate as you make it sound."

"We are born from the desert, and so too in time do we return to the desert," Sun recited. "Our bodies and bones become the sand on which the next generation travel."

Gods. They left their old behind. I tried to keep the horror and the disgust off my face but I must have failed. Sun laughed bitterly.

"Yeah, there it is. A meritocracy sounds good until you have to take it to the extreme, right? The more you can do, the more valuable you are, but value can go negative when you can't do anything. No one wants to be cruel about it, but after you grow up in the desert, you come to realise how hard just staying alive really is. By the time you're old enough to be a burden, you understand it. No one wants to be that any more than their family wants to leave them behind, but if it were you, and you had a wife, children and grandchildren, would you want them to die trying to drag you to the next stopping point? What happens after that, even assuming they make it? You're only going to get older, frailer, and they're only going to get more and more exhausted, not to mention they'll have to share food and water with you that they desperately need themselves."

"I get it, Sun," I said, voice hoarse. "I get it. What… How does it work? You don't just leave them, right?"

"It starts with a party…"

I looked up, aghast. "What?"

"It starts with a party," he repeated. "A celebration. We celebrate the lives of our elders, or the crippled. We tell stories, share our thoughts and feelings, and the family spends as much time with them as they can. Most people realise it happens at a stopping point, so it's their final one. If we stay for a month, then the family will spend that month with the person. Everyone knows it's the last time they'll see them, so we spend as much time with them as we can. Last requests, if there are any, are honoured. It is the responsibility of a tribal chief to also take any messages and see them delivered, the duty of which is both a responsibility and an honour. I would die before I failed in that."

"From there, the person is kept at peace until the tribe must travel again," he explained. "When that time comes, the family and the tribe bids them farewell. They are given a pitcher of fine wine or a favoured drink. It is… dosed so as to ensure they fall into a peaceful slumber. The person knows this. When we depart, the person will drink of it and toast the tribe, as will we in return with water to start the day. And then…" He sighed. "And then we walk away."

"And they die," I finished.

"They do. Their bodies return to the desert, and we take solace in the fact the poison makes it painless. Few are awake to feel their death, from whatever source it comes." He shook his head and finished his drink. "Not everyone does this, of course. There are some tribes who live closer to the border to Vale, the more civilised tribes. They can allow their elderly or infirm to depart to Vale and live there, although even such a life as that might be cruel. Few are those of our people who can hold any real wealth, and if they are old or unable to work, there is little charity to be found in any Kingdom."

"I've already seen several parting celebrations today," Sun said, and he pointed to a large family several tables down, who I'd seen before, sat in a group of ten or more, drinking, laughing and making merry. My heart fell as I now noticed the wrinkly face of an old woman in the centre. Armed with the knowledge I now had, I realised just how much everyone was looking to her, how everyone kept holding her shoulder, touching her cheek or how the young children were practically fastened to her side. They were all saying goodbye.

"They will have three months or more to say farewell," Sun said. "The Roaming City does not travel as much as we do. However, when it does depart, there will surely be many left behind. They will sit together in the sun and laugh and drink, toasting old friends and wishing for the safety and prosperity of their children. Soon after, they shall sleep the sleep from which none awake. Their bodies will fertilise the soil here, and in two years' time, those same children will return here and eat of fruit made possible by the sacrifice of their ancestors."

And so, the circle of life would continue, one that I would never have to experience because I'd been fortunate enough to be born to a peaceful Kingdom with bountiful resources. Not like Sun, who perhaps had to say farewell to his parents and walk away with tears in his eyes.

I could see why people back home would call it barbaric, but I couldn't agree. Vacuo was like another world entirely, and that world was cruel indeed. A meritocracy by the harshest terms one could apply to it. Compared to this, even the Caste System sounded kind. Sure, people like I, and perhaps Ruby, were considered to be lower citizens, but we were protected.

"I don't think you're a barbarian, Sun." I managed a shaky smile. "We'll leave that for Nora."

The Monk looked up, surprised at first, but he soon laughed. "Yeah, I'd hate to challenge her for that spot. She looks like she could split me in two." We both shared a long laugh, and when the woman from before came back to offer us more drinks, I purchased one for the both of us, pushing a glass over to Sun. He held it out and we clinked the two together.

I couldn't believe I'd felt jealousy towards him. I'd been a real fool. Whether Sun liked Blake or not, it was pathetic of me to stand and judge him for it. He deserved better.

"There is one thing I have to ask," I said. "You said the land here used to be fertile."

"Hundreds of years ago, yes. It's not so distant that the murals on the ruins don't show it, and we have texts and scriptures at Shade that agree – not to mention stories passed down through generations. The land was rich, and so too were the people who lived here."

"Then… how did that change? How did it become a desert?"

"The legends say a great cataclysm changed the land. The ground shuddered and shattered, forests were swallowed and the rivers dried up. The grass died and the soil turned hard and brittle, all in a matter of months. Great fissures rent the plains, growing into ravines that swallowed towns and cities whole, and soon after, when the land had crashed back together again, it had become as it is now."

"It was a geographical thing, then? A quake…?"

"That is how the people today remember it, but among our people, a different truth is known. I should not tell you, but I believe you will know enough in time. I also think you need to understand... both what happened, and why it's so important I come with you. Why I forced my presence on you all." Sun settled down and began to speak, his voice so quiet that no one other than I could hear it. "I mentioned before an ancient civilisation that ruled here. They were known as the Ashari, and this their Kingdom before it was renamed. They were a proud and cultured people with rich history, art and literature. They were also powerful and wealthy, and had embarked on many conquests against other Kingdoms."

"Inevitably, the pride of the Ashari worked against them. The other Kingdoms – more than the four at the time – banded together to wage war against the Ashari, who saw themselves as too powerful to ever deign to negotiate with the lesser peoples of Remnant. This alliance marched into the country, and although the Ashari were able to beat them back time and time again, victory remained ever out of their grasp."

"In fury, the King of Ashari turned to a new way to win this war and claim dominion over all of Remnant, as he believed was his right. He was approached by a mysterious stranger offering rumours of a ritual that might grant him his desire, should he be willing to pay the price."

My entire body tensed. I knew instantly what this was.

"The King responded immediately, and gathered those who would feed the ritual. Through their blood, their sacrifice, a great demon was drawn forth. With pale skin and bright red eyes, she asked of the King his wish. He made it, and Vacuo was never the same. The Ashari fell into ruin, and now all that remains of them is us, their ancestors, the Del'Ashari. Our pride shattered, our hearts humble, we now guard the tombs of our ancestors to ensure that no other Kingdom makes the same mistake our own did, that no one else suffers for our forgotten pride." Sun met my eyes and smiled grimly. "You know this creature," he said. "You have met her."

"Salem…"

The glass in my hand creaked a little as my fingers tensed. It all fit, from the method to the summoning, to the inevitable betrayal. I recalled Merlot, an arrogant monster, and Tyrian, a broken shell of a man, each tortured in their own way.

"Sun," I asked, looking up to him. "What did he wish for? What was the King of Ashari's wish?"

"Make my people stronger."


It all comes full circle. And yes, Salem has again technically fulfilled the wish. Through the brutal hardships of the desert, the people are very strong, indeed. Meanwhile, Ruby learns the truth of Jaune and he of her in turn, but where will this lead?

I know a lot of people were worried I might cheat it out here and have Ruby realise something else – which would have been total BS on my part, lol. As it is, I can't grant everyone full consequences yet, of course. Ruby knows and that's a danger. He knows he has to tell the others, but Ruby won't because to do so would be hypocritical given her secret.

Even so, she has gotten a promise out of Jaune. He has to reveal his secret soon, or to her own detriment or not, she will reveal him.

And yeah, with the bombshells of Ruby knowing Jaune's secret in both this chapter and the last, all the lore about Vacuo gets pretty much eclipsed. I really should have realised that in planning, lol. My bad. Still, I hope the lore and culture - meritocracy by brutal necessity - is, if not palatable, at least interesting.


Next Chapter: 23rd July

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur