To quote a mighty dragon spirit tasked to safeguard the only heir of his family:

I LIIIIIIIIIVE.

Well it has been awhile hasn't it? I'm sure many of you thought this story was dead, and I frankly cannot blame anyone for thinking that. I always intended to return to this and my other stories. I never meant to leave them this long but... such is life. I will say this however. I never intend to abandon any of my stories. For those of you who were following me since my early days on here with my story 'The Vagabond' know I did actually abandon that one, though I intend to rewrite it one day. One glorious day...

My point is that short of my death or being put in a coma I will always strive to write and complete these stories. And I know where I want them to go! It's just getting there that's the issue...

Anyway, I know what you guys are here for, and it isn't for my Author's Note ramblings. I'll have some more of the aforementioned ramblings at the bottom of the chapter, but those can wait.

Quick note to add: I totally forgot about this when I was writing this chapter, but congratulations to fmjl101 for figuring out that the characters in Blake's book are parodies of Jaune and Cinder and being the first person to mention in a review! If you're reading this fmjl101 you get an imaginary cookie.

ON WITH THE STORY!


Cinder's eyes fluttered opened as she groaned awake.

"Hey there," a familiar voice said next to her, "Try not to move too much, you've been through a fair bit."

That voice...

She turned her head to look at the one speaking. "... Jaune?"

He grinned at her. "The one and only.' The smile faded, replaced by a look of worry. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck."

"Funny you should say that..."

As he recounted what had happened after the crash to her Cinder's suspicions flared. She knew Adam Taurus had it out for Jaune, but had this been an attempt on him?

Or had it been an attempt on her?


"And the rose just... started glowing?" Ruby asked, wide eyed.

Yang nodded. "Yeah it was the craziest thing! One minute I'm just playing my game and Blake is reading her smut-"

"It's not sm-"

"And then I notice the rose is starting to glow a lot brighter than normal. It nearly blinded the both of us."

Weiss listened to Yang explain what had happened in the dorm room with a growing sense of unease in her heart. While there wasn't necessarily any way to be positive, the heiress was willing to bet anything that the Rose's sudden burst of light had happened around the same time as when she had summoned the knight.

And she still wasn't entirely clear on how she'd done that. Weiss excelled at her glyphs, but she'd always struggled with summoning. Today however she'd not only summoned a creature to fight for her, she'd summoned something massive, something that should have been well above her capabilities.

And the Angel's Rose had most likely flared into light around the same time. What did that mean? There had to be correlation between the two events, but what was it? Did the rose empower her somehow? And if it did, then how? And that woman's voice she'd heard...

Too many questions, too much speculation, and not nearly enough answers.

"Weiss?"

The heiress was pulled from her contemplation and looked up at the others, wondering which one had called her name.

A hand on her shoulder made Weiss turn and she saw Winter standing behind her. "Can we talk in private?" Her elder sister asked.

"O-of course!" Weiss leapt to her feet. "I'll be back in a moment," she said to others, then followed her sister out of the hospital cafeteria.

Weiss didn't fail to notice that Atlesian soldiers stood on guard at regular intervals throughout the hospital. They saluted Winter as she passed, who returned their salutes in kind. Before long they reached an office with a sign on the door that read 'Tallow Hill, Chief of Security."

"Until Mr. Arc is released the Atlas military has taken over hospital security," the Specialist explained as they entered the room and sat down. "The head of security was kind enough to give me his office for the duration."

"That was very kind of him," Weiss agreed, even though she doubted that he'd had much choice in the matter. "So you've been put in charge of Jaune's security?"

"Indeed I have. He is considered too valuable of an individual by the General and your Headmaster to leave at risk. The attempt on his life earlier today has made it clear to us that his enemies are bolder than we thought them to be." The eldest Schnee child frowned. "However, he should have never been allowed to leave in the first place."

Weiss nodded enthusiastically. "We told him as much when we caught up to him," she explained. "I just... wish we'd found him sooner."

"What happened isn't your fault, only the White Fang's," Winter said calmly. She smiled at her younger sister. "And some good did come from this. I hear you managed your first real summon, and a powerful one at that. I suppose all you needed was something to galvanize you to action."

"Yes, well..." Weiss cleared her throat. "There may have been another factor in play too."

Weiss passed on to her sister what Yang and Blake had told her about the Angel's Rose. Winter quickly went from merely curious to very interested as Weiss talked. "Interesting... and you think this flower gave you some kind of power boost?"

"I'm not exactly sure what happened, or how it happened, but it seems to me there is a correlation between the two events. Yes, I believe it did give me an increase to either my aura or my ability to channel aura."

"And who knows about this?"

"You and my friends."

"And how exactly did you acquire this rose?"

Weiss's face turned a light shade of red, all the more noticeable thanks to her pale skin, and she found it hard to meet her sister's eyes. "It was given to me... by Jaune." That was technically true, even if he hadn't given it to her directly.

Winter leaned back in her seat, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Interesting. It's never done this before?"

"Not that my teammates or I are aware of, no."

"Do you think you could replicate what happened in a controlled environment.?"

She thought about that for a long moment. "I don't know, maybe?" She shrugged. "There was a lot going on all at once."

"True, there was. However I think it would be worth it to try and I believe the general and headmaster will agree. The limits of such an item needs to be tested, and we need to discover how this rose formed some kind bond with you."

"Could it... bond to other people?" For some reason the idea of someone else using the Rose made her feel uncomfortable.

"We'll have to test it and see what we can find out. For now let's just try to figure out how it empowers you, if indeed that's what happened, and go from there." Winter said with her usual composure. She pulled out her scroll. "I'm going to inform the general of this development. You may return to your teammates Weiss." She smiled softly. "It was good to talk with you, even if only for a little bit. Hopefully when things have calmed down we can take time to catch up."

The heiress smiled as she got out of her seat. "I would like that very much Winter." She curtsied to her sister and made to exit the room.

"Oh, and Weiss?"

"Yes?"

"Say hello to your boyfriend to me."

Weiss's face turned a color of crimson that put Ruby's cloak to shame. "Jaune isn't my boyfriend!"

"I didn't say it was Jaune," the eldest Schnee sibling retorted with a small smirk.

"Well you certainly implied it. Besides I already... never mind."

"Weiss? Is there something you want to tell me?"

"No?"

Winter sighed. "Sit back down."

Weiss returned to her seat and slumped.

"And straighten your posture!"

She sat up sharply, back straight and against the back of the chair.

"Weiss, are you currently in a relationship?"

"Kind of..." the heiress looked down at her lap, unable to meet her sister's gaze.

"Kind of? Care to elaborate?"

"Well we've been on a few dates, but that's it really."

"What is his name?"

"Please don't do a search for him the database..."

"Don't be ridiculous, I would never do that." Winter said as she activated her terminal. "Now, what is his full name?"

Weiss groaned and shook her head. She knew better than to try and change her sister's mind at this point. "Neptune Vasilias."

"Hm." The elder sister started typing. "How many dates have you been on?"

"I... four I'm pretty sure. One a week."

"Pretty sure, or sure?"

"Winter..."

"Fine, fine. Have you kissed him yet?"

"Winter!" Weiss nearly shrieked, aghast.

A tight smile curved her older sister's lips. Was she... teasing her?! "I'll take that as a no. Good. For his sake I hope he won't do anything untoward, or I'll have to kill him."

Weiss groaned and leaned back in the chair, posture be damned. "He won't Winter. He's a nice boy." And even if he did Winter would have to get in line behind Weiss's own team, Jaune, and his team as well. "He's been very respectful of my personal space and comfort."

"Well that is good to hear... but I think we need to address another Goliath in the room."

"Jaune?"

"Jaune."

"Is this really the time or place for this Winter?" Weiss rubbed her eyes. She'd gone from saving The boy in question from assassins to discussing the increasingly complex webs of emotions surrounding her and the two boys. She was already beginning to feel emotionally drained by all this.

Winter's eyes softened and she closed her desktop. "Perhaps not. We can schedule a time for the two of us to meet and talk." The two sisters stood, and Winter came around the desk and placed a hand on Weiss's shoulder. "I was your age once you know. I understand the way feelings can make you conflicted." She squeezed her shoulder gently. "Go be with your teammates and your friends. We'll talk more about the rose and other things later."

Weiss made her way back to the others. They were still sitting around the cafeteria table and chatting. She slid into her vacant seat between Ruby and Blake. "Everyshing ghud?" Nora asked through a mouthful of food.

Weiss leveled a flat stare at the ginger, but she'd long since learned better than to think she could fix some of Nora's more egregious habits. "Besides you spraying crumbs my way, yes everything is fine. Winter just wanted to ask me some questions about what happened."

"Yeah, about that," Yang interjected. "Pyrrha and Rubes say you managed a summon. Do you think..."

"That it had something to do with the Rose? I think it's likely."

"The rose?" Neptune asked, leaning forwards in his seat. "You mean the one I- er, Jaune, gave you?"

She nodded. "The same. I don't know precisely how it happened, but I doubt this was a coincidence."

"So you're like super charged now?" The blonde brawler asked.

"I have no idea," Weiss sighed. "I don't understand any of this."

"Well we should test it then, right?" Sun added, tail waving idly in the air.

"And how would we do that?" Weiss asked.

"A good old sparring match of course!" He announced as he leapt up onto the table, finger pointed in the air. "We all need to train for the Vytal festival anyway, right? Two birds, one stone."

"He's got a point," Yang said. "Though don't think for a second we're going to let you and your team train with us just so you can figure out our tactics," the blonde brawler teased.

"Had to try," Sun said with a grin and a shrug as he sat down. "Let us know how that goes though. Sounds like interesting stuff."

"It's more than just interesting," Blake said as she put her book down. "It's... miraculous, insane, out of this world. Jaune just happened to find a glowing flower in the Emerald Forest, gave it to Weiss, and now it apparently has formed some kind of bond with her?" The cat faunus looked around at the others. "That doesn't raise more questions in all of you?"

Silence fell across the gathered teens.

"How many unusual things have happened since Jaune came back to Beacon with Talon? Can we even list them all?"

"I mean... we've asked him about it," Pyrrha said quietly.

"And?" Blake prompted, eyebrow raised.

"He's told us a bit, nothing he hasn't shared with the rest of you."

"Exactly," Blake threw her hands up. "He's told us a bit. How much more has he not told us? What is he keeping from us about all this, and why? Jaune was pulled out of regular classes to train to be a Gryphon Knight. Why? Why is it so important that this ancient order of warriors gets rebuilt? I think human and faunus kind have been doing a pretty good job of keeping things more or less together without them around. So what's changed? And why is team Cardinal suddenly involved in it? What happened that's got Ozpin so concerned that he's going along with all this?"

"What are we not being told about?"


"Buddy?" Something shook him gently. "Hey Cardin, wake up."

Cardin groaned and rolled over in bed. "Five more minutes..."

The figure standing over his bed chuckled kindly. "I've got a surprise for you."

That made Cardin crack his eyes open. "Surprise?" He rolled over and looked at the person who had woken him.

Ulysses Winchester smiled down at his six year old son. "Thought that would get your attention. Come on." He reached down and scooped the boy up in his arms. Cardin squirmed and whined until he set him on the floor. He hurried down stairs, bare feet slapping on the wood floor as he hurried down stairs. Ulysses strolled behind him calmly, smiling softly.

Cardin hit the bottom of the steps and looked around. "Where is it?!" he asked excitedly.

"In the kitchen, but wait for me."

Cardin did not wait for him, not that Ulysses had really expected him to. The young boy charged into the kitchen, eyes bright and smiling wide.

He wasn't expecting to see three boys his age sitting around the kitchen table being handed plates of food by his mother Priscilla.

The boy screeched to a halt and stared, confused and apprehensive. "Dad...?"

Ulysses set his hand on his son's shoulder. "Cardin. Meet your new brothers."


It wasn't easy for Cardin to acclimate to having three new brothers his age. He had wanted a brother, but he'd always imagined it would be a little brother, someone he could teach things to, not three other boys his age. Things were rough between them for a time. The other three Sky, Dove, and Russel had used to live in a little village outside the walls. When the Grimm attacked their parents got them on a boat that had docked by the town, but hadn't made it out themselves. They'd only been around three at the time, and had lived the rest of their short lives in an orphanage in Vale until Ulysses had adopted them. They practically couldn't have been more different from Cardin, who'd lived his whole life in the large house in Vale with his mother and father. There were tensions. Tempers frayed, arguments were had, and sometimes fights broke out only to be interrupted by Ulysses or Priscilla, who would then punish the boys involved.

But time passed, and as Cardin spent time with his three brothers they all grew closer to one another. They still bickered from time to time, as siblings were wont to do, but there could be no denying they loved one another and did everything together.

Ulysses and Priscilla worked together to run a Faunus charity, known as the Winchester Foundation, devoted to helping poor Faunus receive medical care, legal representation, quality education, and better housing. The charity had been started by Marvin Winchester, Cardin's grandfather, and the most outspoken proponent of Faunus rights on the Vale council. As the burden of his duties weighed on Marvin, Ulysses stepped up to take over the foundation in his stead. His duties included a number of public meetings, balls, fundraisers, and other events designed to encourage donation and bolster support for their cause.

It was at one such fundraiser that everything went horribly wrong.

The four twelve year old boys were backstage bored out of their minds. This was the third fundraiser they'd attended with their father in a month. The brothers had wanted to stay home with their mother, who had come down with a bad flu, but Ulysses had insisted. "After all," he'd said, "one day taking care of the foundation is going to fall to the four of you. This foundation helps thousands of faunus a year. If anything happens to it then a lot of people are going to suffer for it." He smiled at them. "When we're done, we'll stop by a rental store and pick up a couple of movies. Sound good?" That brightened them up considerably. Movie night was always bound to be fun, thanks in no small part to the fact that Dad tended to be more lenient on what kinds of movies they could watch. Which often ended in him getting an earful from Mom.

Ulysses hugged his four sons and smiled. "My address shouldn't take more than a few minutes. No one wants to listen to a tubby old man drone on for a half hour or more. Then we'll mingle with the others and you can all meet some kids your age. It'll be fun, I promise."

After getting agreements of varying levels of begrudgement from each of them Ulysses made his way onto the stage. People applauded when he appeared. Cardin saw his father smile and wave as he made his way to the podium, where he waited for the crowd to fall silent before adjusting his circular glasses and clearing his throat. "Ladies and gentlemen, I want to open up by thanking you all-"

Cardin would never know what his speech was beyond those opening words. There was a flash and a loud bang, and he was sent flying through the air as everything shook. Then there was an impact on his head, followed swiftly by darkness.

When he came to, he was being carried out of the burning auditorium by his father. Ulysses Winchester had never been a strong man. He was short and rotund, always more comfortable in the library than the gym. But he had thrown all four of his sons over his shoulders and carried them all out at once. Outside police and firefighters were beginning to descend on the scene, creating a cordon around the burning building and unrolling fire houses to douse the blaze. He set his boys down as paramedics swooped in to take them to safety.

Cardin would always remember what his father looked like in that moment. His circular glasses that had been perched on the edge of his nose for what felt like all of Cardin's life were missing. His shirt was untucked and torn, his grey suit stained black with ash and blood (whose blood? He would never know), his air askew, the edges singed, and the painfully red color of his skin, seared from the heat of the blast. All of it was backlit by the burning hall.

"It's gonna be okay boys," he said with a smile. He shook off the paramedic trying to pull him away and ran back inside. Cardin remembered how he screamed for his father, how they all did. He remembered how his father plunged back into the building with no thought for his own safety to get more people out.

He remembered how the building exploded and what was left standing collapsed in on itself.


A day after the explosion, faunus declaring themselves as members of the White Fang took responsibility for the firebombing of the Winchester Foundation fundraiser. The claim was hotly refuted by Ghira Belladonna, then leader of the White Fang, who swore that neither he nor anyone in the organization would ever commit such a heinous act of terrorism, especially not against an organization helping the faunus within Vale. But the damage was done, and it was only worsened when the people responsible were arrested and it was revealed that they truly were members of the supposedly peaceful activist group. Ghira continued to protest that while members of the faction had carried out the attack, the White Fang itself hadn't had anything to do with it.

Human faunus tensions in Vale reached an all time high. There were protests on both sides, riots and brawls broke out where opposite groups encountered one another, stretching Vale's police force, unused to dealing with civil unrest on such a scale, to the breaking point. More attacks happened, though none on the scale of the bombing. Instead it was racially motivated hate crimes. Muggings, assault, and destruction of property was rampant and would leave scars that would be felt for years to come.

None of this mattered to the Winchester family. Ulysses's death had shaken them to the core. Russell barely left his room, Sky lost himself in video games and tv shows to avoid thinking about it, Dove just sat on the couch and cried until he couldn't cry anymore, then just sat curled up in a sullen ball, watching Sky play his games. Cardin spent most of his time in his father's study, going over his notes and his books. He wasn't sure why he did it. Maybe he was just looking for a connection to his father. Whatever it was he never found it, and he tore the study apart before suffering a mental breakdown.

Priscilla Winchester did her absolute best to bear the weight of her sons and help them through their grief, though she herself was devastated by the loss. She made the decision for all of them to move in with grandpa Marvin for awhile, rather than keeping them in a home that had so many memories that had grown bitter. Marvin agreed wholeheartedly and in less than a week had modified his mansion to make space for his grandsons and daughter in law. For two months they lived with their grandfather. To say things got easier would have been a lie. Reporters pestered them constantly, trying to squeeze any information about the attack from the four boys, which their mother and grandfather responded vehemently to, barring any reporters from stepping onto Winchester property. That didn't stop them from standing outside the gates and taking pictures, or trying to ambush the boys on their way to school, when they were finally ready to return to school. Then of course was the fact that everything was different. Everyone treated them differently, be they students or teachers, like they were fragile and about to break at the slightest push. They had to talk to a councilor about the attack, not that they ever said much to him beyond 'yes sir' and 'no sir'. More than anything, there was an undeniable gap in their family without their father, a gap that would never be filled.

Things never got easier, but the Winchester family adapted to their circumstances and began to grow used to them.

Priscilla Winchester's suicide shattered what little solid ground the four brothers had managed to obtain. Marvin found her hanging from the branch of an oak tree in the garden behind the house. The doctors determined that she had snuck out in the middle of the night and done the deed while the rest of the family was asleep.

This was the breaking point for the Winchester family. Marvin Winchester, now the sole parental figure in the life of four pre-teen boys, became a raving anti-faunus activist. he used his wealth and connections to fight any motions in the council that would benefit Vale's faunus population. He worked to overturn as many of the pro-faunus legislations he himself had instated and won over the support of enough of the council and the human population that within two years, Vale had become the second most oppressive kingdom for faunus to live in, just behind Atlas. Within those two years, the White Fang elected a new leader, Sienna Khan. She declared that there would be no peace upon Remnant until all faunus in all kingdoms had the same rights and freedoms as their human counterparts. When he was informed, Marvin sneered and declared that 'it was the duty of good law abiding humans to put down the rabid animals'.

This unrelenting hatred caused Marvin to become somewhat of a pariah within the council. Even those elements with anti-faunus platforms distanced themselves from his blatant fanaticism. Within another year Marvin was voted off the council, which had begun to receive severe backlash from the other three kingdoms for Marvin's rapacious hate for faunus. He was replaced by Siv Horatio, the first faunus member of the Vale council, and pro faunus policies were passed to protect faunus from harm. In reality Siv and the laws were little more than a way for them to placate their denouncers. The faunus councilor's words held no real power in the council and his timid nature meant he went largely ignored for the most part. All the same, it only further incensed Marvin's hatred. A hatred that had taken root in the four young men.

Cardin, Russel, Dove, and Sky developed a burgeoning resentment for faunus kind that their grandfather encouraged. In time it grew into hatred, and mutated into a contempt and disgust for anyone they viewed as 'beneath' them, not just for faunus. Hatred fed hatred, and the four boys became insensitive and bigoted, throwing their weight around and using their grandfather's wealth and influence to protect them from any real consequences of their actions. When they were around thirteen the boys expressed an interest in becoming huntsmen and their grandfather encouraged them eagerly. Successful huntsmen could make a lot of friends and political allies, and had the freedom to do as they pleased so long as they didn't openly break the law, even go out and attack the White Fang. With the best tutors that money could buy and custom built weapons for each of them, the four sons of Priscilla and Ulysses Winchester trained to one day get revenge on the people they blamed for deaths of their parents.

They carried that contempt and sneering attitude into Beacon, pushing around anyone who couldn't or wouldn't protect themselves. Jaune Arc and Velvet Scarletina were two favorite targets of theirs. One was too weak to stand up for themselves. the other was too afraid. They made prime targets for team CRDL's abuse.

Until, of course, everything changed again. When Jaune saved their lives.

When the Ursa sleuth had come for them in Forever Fall none of them had been ready. One of them should have been on lookout for Grimm in the area, but they had been so focused on tormenting Jaune that the Grimm had practically been on top of them before they'd realized it. They had all fought of course, except for Russell, who Cardin had sent to go get help. In the moment of life threatening danger animosity had been put aside in favor of fighting for survival as Jaune and CRDL stood together. They had done well too, until the Ursa Major got involved. It had waited until the others were dead and the trainee huntsmen were sufficiently weakened before it made its attack. Dove and Sky were bashed aside as they rushed it, their strained auras snapping under the blow, leaving only Cardin and Jaune left standing. CRDL's leader had tried to blast it with his mace, but older Grimm were smart, and it had known to disarm him by knocking his weapon away and slamming him to the ground, snapping his depleted aura and nearly breaking bones.

Jaune saved him. When he could have run, when he could have left them all and saved himself, Jaune attacked the Ursa. He cut into its side with the axe blade of his halberd, dealing the first significant wound to it and drawing its ire fully onto him. They fought, and Cardin had felt sure that Jaune would die without help. But by either luck, or now more likely the will of the Lady, he broke open its guard by deflecting its strike on his halberd, taking the full brunt of the blow on his weapon and turning it away, then stepping into its guard and taking the Ursa Major's head off with one clean strike.

That had been the turning point. Not just because of the dreams that would begin to haunt team CRDL's sleep, but because someone they had seen as worthless and cowardly had stood and fought for them, the very people who had tormented him, the people he should have been perfectly willing to let die rather than put himself in danger to protect. In that moment, Jaune proved that he was stronger than the boys of team CRDL with a single choice.

But bitter old hates died hard. To acknowledge the bravery of the man who'd saved your life was one thing. To completely divest oneself of years of animosity and ingrained biases was another. But it was the choice they'd made. To be better than their hate. To be the men their mother and father had always wanted them to be, had believed they could be.


Cardin Winchester stared at the mountain, hands on his hips.

More specifically he stared at the massive gateway that had been carved into the mountainside. It was easily twenty feet tall at the least, and about as wide. It was also made of solid stone, carved straight out of the mountain face. chiseled statues of Gryhpons, worn into silhouettes by time but still intact, flanked the gates, and upon the gate itself was engraved the image of a knight clutching a great sword in both hands, thrusting it point first into the sky towards the sun which shone above him in the carving. It was very well made, Cardin could tell. Time had worn away many of the details, but enough remained that he could tell this had once been a much more intricate display.

He wondered who had made it. Had it been the Gryphon Knights, or even Vaya herself? He doubted he'd ever know. He wished he could talk to the creator, whoever they were, and ask them questions about their work.

Namely, how the hell they were supposed to open the damn thing.

Seriously, who made a door, especially one this large, without a way to open it?! Cardin signed and rubbed his face.

"There's probably an opening mechanism on the inside," Sky pointed out. "If this place was some kind of fortress it'd make sense they wouldn't want the enemy to be able to open the door from the outside."

Dove thumped his fist into the palm of his hand, inspiration striking. "Then we just need to find a way inside and we can open the gate!"

The other three boys turned and gave him flat stares until he put together the flaw in his reasoning. "Oh, right..."

"Ye could always bash it open with yer thick skulls," a familiar and grating voice said behind them.

Cardin growled unhappily and turned to face Deargis as she approached them, rifle slung over her shoulder. "Well maybe you should try to find a way inside," he snapped. "I thought foxes were supposed to be cunning."

He regretted it the instant he said it. Cardin and the others were trying to be better, but old ways died hard. It didn't help that Deargis's personality could be called abrasive if the descriptor were being lenient. Super bitch was closer to the mark.

"Racist arse," she spat.

"Judgemental bitch," Cardin shot back just as hotly. Give him Velvet any day of the week, it was like Deargis existed solely to piss him off.

"Okay," Russel exclaimed as he slid between the two of them, eager to head off the shouting match before it started. "Why don't we save the barbed words and nasty insults for the Grimm, yeah? Deargis, I'm sure insulting us wasn't the only reason you've come looking for us."

"Like she needs another reason," Cardin grumbled as he crossed his arms and looked away.

The fox faunus shot him a death glare, but didn't take the bait. "The elder sent me. He and your mentor found something."

They all perked up at that. It had been about a week since they'd arrived in the little village, called Concilon Sanctas, or Hidden Sanctuary in the modern tongue, and Nathaniel had been pouring over their collected records and historical texts for any clue on how to open the gate. Several thousand years was a ridiculous amount of time for any settlement to exist, and there were a great many records to go over. Much of what they had were the sole surviving copies of old lore, preserved and recopied by the people of Sanctas to ensure they were properly maintained and nothing was lost. Even so, the information had become difficult to navigate, and it had been hard to determine just wear to start looking. Elder Malach and Nathaniel along with the scribes had set to work scouring the records trying to find anything that might them a clue as to how to open the gate.

Deargis led CRDL to the large central structure that housed the records, named quite simply the Hall of Records, or the hall for short. It was only a two story building, but it was very long, and they knew that it was stacked wall to wall with books and scrolls. It was constructed of stone and metal, as little flammable material had been used in its building as possible, and no fire was allowed within one hundred feet of the building, let alone inside it. There was no lighting within the building itself, so the only light available was supplied by what came through the high windows and what people brought in with them. The people of Sanctus took their gathered histories safety very seriously, which was entirely understandable. This place kept records of events that had been forgotten in the wider world. If anything happened to them the loss would be nothing short of catastrophic.

"Try not tah burn the place down, aye?" Deargis taunted as she walked away from them. Cardin grit his teeth and made to retort, but Sky's hand on his shoulder stopped him. he growled and turned away, doing his best to put the fox faunus from his mind as he pushed open the doors and stepped inside.

Team CRDL had initially tried to help Nathaniel and the Elder pour over the records, but they had developed headaches after about two hours and Nathaniel had sent them out take some time to rest and recuperate after the long journey. That Nathaniel himself seemed just fine after an intensive month long wilderness journey filled with combat against the Grimm spoke volumes of his endurance. Would they be like that one day, Cardin wondered? Near impervious to exhaustion, able to push on far beyond the point where other people would have collapsed? It seemed impossible, but Nathaniel had done just that. Had it not been for him the boys of Team CRDL wouldn't have even made it halfway on foot.

Inside the Hall it was busy. Cardin gathered that it likely wasn't this active most of the time. He could almost see men and women bent over tables lit with electric lamps copying the contents of ancient scrolls or writing down events of significance to add to the records. Now people moved back and forth chatting animatedly, taking books and scrolls off the shelves or putting them back. The academics stepped aside as team CRDL passed, bowing their heads respectively and murmuring greetings to the young squires. The boys returned the greeting, albeit somewhat awkwardly. They weren't used to be treated with such deference, let alone from faunus. Such respect had always been focused on their parents or grandfather. Never them.

Dove asked one of the record keepers where they could find Elder Malach and Nathaniel. He was pointed upstairs to the very end of the building, and the squires made their way up. Sure enough knight and mage were there, talking excitedly. When he saw them Nathaniel waved the boys over and gestured to a musty tome on the table before them. "We found it," he declared eagerly.

Sky leaned forward and scanned the book with eager eyes. "How do we get in?" The other three boys joined him in studying the book, but the words were in a language they didn't recognize.

"Well you're lucky you've brought a knight of the Lady with you. According to this, only the power of the Light can, quote: 'light the blade and ignite the sun.'

Cardin thought back to the massive door and the engraving upon it. "So Nathaniel has to use the Light to illuminate the carving on the door. That should be easy."

Nathaniel frowned. "In theory, yes. In reality I've only channeled the Light through my weapon. I've never tried to extend it out from myself. I'm sure I can do it however."

"Great!" Dove shouted eagerly. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's crack the gate open and head inside!"

"There is more," Malach said, staring off into space with his blind eyes. "The gate isn't just an entry way. It's a conduit."

Sky frowned. "A conduit for what?"

"You recall I told you all when you first arrived that this valley was shielded by Vaya? According to this tome, her cloak will remain on this valley for so long as the mountain fastness remains sealed."

Russel sucked in a breath through his teeth. "So if we open that gate..."

Malach nodded solemnly. "Vaya's spell will be broken. Concilon Sanctas will not remain hidden for long. I and my forebears have placed our own concealments upon this land, but they are pale shadows of Her protection, and a mage's spells only live so long as they do. While I can stop Salem from getting an exact fix on where we are, she will feel the release of power as the spell ends. She will almost certainly send her Grimm to investigate."

"Then we find another way in," Cardin said, unhappy with the idea of putting Sanctas in danger for any reason. The people here had been kind to them, barring Deargis. "If opening the gate means bringing a horde of Grimm down on this place then we have to find another way."

"What other way?" Nathaniel asked. "According to everything we've found that gate is the only way inside."

"You can't honestly believe that there isn't another way in," Russel responded hotly in support of Cardin. "It's a big ass friggin' mountain for crying out loud! There has to be something."

"My people have lived here for many millennia. We have scoured the mountain and the land around it," Malach responded. "If there was any hidden entrance into the mountain within this valley, we would have found it long ago."

"That and it may not even matter how we get in," Nathaniel added. "The text specifically states that 'so long as the mountain fastness lies dormant and shut, Her blessings shall shield the Valley of the Faithful from dark eyes. It doesn't specify that the gate has to remain shut."

"So even if we found another way in or made one, the spell would still break," Dove said with a sigh. Nathaniel nodded in agreement.

Cardin ran his hand through his hair, which was back to its normal length after a visit from the local barber. "Maybe there's more in this book, or another one? There's plenty of material here. There could easily be a workaround we aren't seeing."

"Maybe," Sky said as he stared at the table, arms crossed. "But do we have time to look for it?"

"What are you talking about, Sky?"

"At this point we've been on this journey for a month or more. Most of that was just getting here. We have no contact with the outside world. Even with our scrolls charged we are well outside the range of the CCT towers. We have no idea what's going on at home. Salem knew we left the city and had Nevermore waiting to take us out of the sky as soon as we were beyond the reach of help. Even if she doesn't know what we're up to, she knows we're up to something, and she's eager to put a stop to it. What if she's got another Dark Champion waiting in the wings, or something even worse? I'd be shocked if she just decided to leave Vale alone because Jaune beat her champion." He looked up at his brothers, Nathaniel, and the Elder. "We need to get inside the mountain, and we need to do it fast. There's something in there for us, something that will change the world. Jaune said as much. We know how to get in. If the Lady wanted us to enter the mountain without breaking her spell, then I believe we would know how to do so. Maybe this is all part of her plan, maybe Concilon Sanctus is supposed to be unveiled for a reason we can't see yet."

Elder Malach smiled at Sky. "Well put my boy. As the leader of this village, I do not like the idea of putting it in such danger, but nothing stays hidden forever. I too believe this is the Lady's will. Nathaniel, you will open the gate. We do not know how deep the tunnels run underground, so I will see to it that supplies are packed for all of you. Worry not for our safety. There are fighters among us, and I can use my own magics to divert and distract any Grimm that enter my domain."

The faunus elder thumped his staff on the ground. The crystal head flared briefly. "In the Lady's name, let it be done."


Nathaniel knelt before the gateway, eyes closed as he focused. His helmet was to the side, letting the sunlight of midday wash over his face.

He could channel the light with ease, that was not the issue. He could push it into anything he was holding or wearing, but pushing it beyond his person was something he'd never learned to do, or even thought to attempt. So how did he do it?

The knight sighed and opened his eyes, staring at the gate. He wished that Glynda were here. She'd be able to think of an answer to the problem he was sure. He was simply a warrior, a soldier, not a solver of complex problems or riddles.

"You can project it," Elder Malach stated matter of factly. "The Lady would not have sent you here if this was beyond you."

Nathaniel sighed and pushed himself to his feet. "I know that, but this is different from channeling Light into a weapon. And I can't channel it from myself into the door directly." He'd tried that before, hoping that physically touching the door would be enough and pushing Light onto it would ignite the carving. It hadn't worked.

"This isn't about just projecting light. You need to make a connection."

the knight gave the mage a flat stare. "Connect. With stone."

"Yes."

"And how exactly am I supposed to connect with a rock?"

Malach chuckled and shook his head. "Nathaniel, I had thought that you of all people would understand that all that exists lives in some fashion. No, rock does not breath and think and feel like we do, but life is everywhere. Consciousness is everywhere. You just need to connect with it."

Nathaniel sighed and rubbed his eyes. "How? How do I make that connection? I'm not like you, Elder. I'm a warrior, a knight. I serve the Lady faithfully and I will do whatever task she sets before me, but this is not my skillset."

The peacock faunus reached out and placed a hand on the larger man's shoulder. It slid down until it found his wrist, then held it firmly. "Lead me to the gate, please."

Nathaniel led him to the gate until they stood just before it. "It's right in front of you."

"Good." The elder released his wrist. "Remove your gauntlet, as well as any glove you might be wearing.

Nathaniel did so, holding the gauntlet in his other hand. "Now what?"

"Place your hand upon the stone. Close your eyes and focus on the feel of it beneath your palms. Feel the smooth texture of the rock, feel the time that has worn away at it, and above all else, feel the ageless nature of it. Stone does not die. It cannot be fully destroyed. It can change forms, from solid granite slab to single grain of sand to flowing lava, but it remains stone."

Nathaniel closed his eyes and focused on the rock beneath his hand. He slid his hand up and down, getting a sense for the texture of the stone underneath his palm. it was smooth, worked away by time's entropic march, but it was still undeniably solid.

Stoic.

Unyielding.

He let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding and drew a new one in slowly. He swore it felt like the stone breathed with him. He could feel... something. Purpose, perhaps. A task that had been set out and would be seen through until one was worthy of opening the way. Was he the one? This thing of pink flesh that hid underneath metal shells to protect its fragile body? He grit his teeth angrily. Just because he was not rock did not mean he was weak. His spirit burned with faith and purpose, and he dared the stone to deny that. He could be bent, he could be battered, he could be beaten, he could be killed. But unlike stone, he could not be broken.

You will open. It is the Lady's will. It is MY WILL.

Stone acquiesced.

Nathaniel's eyes snapped open. He looked up at the gate way.

It was dark out. He had begun during the middle of the day, when the sun was sitting high in the sky. Judging by the shattered moon's position in the sky, he'd been standing there for at least twelve hours. But he had done it.

The blade of the engraved knight was glowing with white light, a torch in the darkness. The light speared out from the sword and impacted the sun, where it spread to fill the engraving. He heard people gasp and shout as the Light spread, and the sun grew brighter and brighter before a beam of pure white light shot out of it and lanced into the night sky, a blazing beacon of power that could be seen for miles around before it dissipated.

With a groan the stone gate began to part, slowly sliding open. Nathaniel stepped back, leading the elder out of the path of the opening gateway.

"You did it!" the old man cackled. "I can't see a damn thing, but I can feel the release of power! You connected with the stone, you opened the way." The faunus grinned smugly. "I told you that it was possible."

Nathaniel smiled and inclined his head respectfully despite the fact that he knew the mage couldn't see the gesture. "You were right, Elder. I apologize for doubting you."

"Feh," he waved his hand indifferently. "It is the way of the young to question the wisdom of their betters. Youth is wasted on the youthful. Speaking of, you'd best find those four boys if you intend to set out immediately. I'll need to speak with Deargis and have patrols increased. It won't take long for the Grimm Mother to notice that display of power."

Nathaniel didn't have to go far to find team CRDL. They had fallen asleep before the gate, waiting for Nathaniel to open it. The noise of grinding stone had awoken them and they stood ready, if a bit apprehensive if their body language was anything to go by. Cardin tossed Nathaniel's pack to the knight, who slung it over one shoulder. He looked at them, then back at the fully open gate way. it was dark within the halls beyond the gate. He pushed light into the weapon heads of his halberd. They wouldn't need any torches where they were going.

Sir Nathaniel hooked his helmet on his belt and looked back at the four squires. He smiled at them.

"Let's go."


In a far off land of darkness and unlife, a consciousness stirred as it felt the burn of a hated anathema.

Grimm Mother Salem cast Her senses out and saw through the eyes of Her creations as the beam of pure Light pierced the night sky, and She hated. What machinations had Her harlot sister set in motion now?

it didn't matter. Salem would put an end to them, just as She had so many others. This world and all upon it were Hers and Hers alone. Every day She drew a bit closer to Her old power. Every day the eradication of all that was not Her came nearer, and Vaya knew it. With a command she sent her Grimm in the area to investigate and to kill all the women and men they found.

The Grimm Mother's eyes turned from the beam of light as it faded to another place. A walled city. A place that had been beset and had broken her attack. All because of one boy.

The Dark Champion had taken more power to create than the dark goddess had been comfortable parting with, but She had thought it worthwhile to make an entity immune to all but the strongest assaults, or the Light in its most potent form. She had miscalculated. The boy had proven to hold greater strength than she realized. Already he would be Ascending to full knighthood, and he would become all the deadlier for it. Every day that passed the boy hero grew in might. Every day that passed he came just a bit closer to becoming a second Cailan. Or something even greater.

She shuddered at the thought of him. Cailan's blow had devastated Salem, reduced Her to little more than an agonized consciousness drifting upon the winds. It had taken a millennia just to regain enough control to stich Her fractured thoughts back into a cohesive whole. That would not happen again. The boy was not yet as such a level, but She worried that the he had reached a point of strength where Cinder would find him a difficult foe to kill, at least without the full power of the Fall Maiden. She could not risk her ambitious pawn's life on the gamble that she might be able to strike him down. Salem still needed her to amass the powers of the four maidens and turn them against the kingdoms.

But there was another that could bring Vaya's champion low with no risk to itself.

The Grimm Mother reached out and touched the slumbering mind beneath what had once been the mortal settlement of Mountain Glenn. it rested there, in a deep sleep. To awaken it from such a state would take power that Salem could ill afford to expend now. But there were others ways to awaken it. Massed fear and terror would draw it from its slumber. An event of sufficient mayhem would awaken the beast, like the scent of freshly spilled blood rousing a starving carnivore.

And when it awoke Salem would send it to destroy Vaya's last and greatest hope for Her children, and turn Vale into its lair to feast upon blood and sorrow at its leisure.


And the stage is set. The way into the mountain is open, and secrets will be revealed. Not a lot of Jaune in this chapter. In fact, none of this chapter was from his POV. But that'll change next chapter, promise. Also I want to go ahead and clarify that no, Salem isn't thinking that Jaune could easily beat Cinder in a straight up fight, just that without the Fall Maiden's full power Cinder may not be able to kill him quickly, and thus put herself and Salem's plans for the maiden powers at risk.

So, some Author's Notes stuff. First and foremost I want to point out that the events in the CRDL flashback pertaining to the fight in Forever Fall Forest were different from canon, which I'm sure was obvious to pretty much all of you. Rather than a single Ursa Major it was a pack of Ursa and Jaune and CRDL had to fight together to survive, instead of the other three members of the team breaking and running at the sight of the Grimm, which makes a lot more sense in this story since the backstory I've given them means they're much closer to each other. Honestly team CRDL is more competent in this fic than in the canon show, but that kind of makes sense. In the show they just exist to be pricks and an obstacle for Jaune to overcome, as well as being the primary source for anti-faunus racism we're initially introduced to. Which is a shame, I'd like to see them make a reappearance in the show as more mature and grown out of their old ways, but I'm not holding my breath.

Also I'd like to address something in this chapter that conflicts with what was said in the previous chapter. In chapter 18 Malach told Nathaniel and CRDL that he would show them how to enter the mountain. In this chapter they have to pour through stacks of historical records to find what they're looking for. I went back and changed Malach's line in chapter 18 to better coincide with the events in this chapter. There's no need to go back and read it (unless you really want to of course), I just wanted to go ahead and clarify that for anyone who might have read the previous chapter before the change was made and thought 'wait a minute, that doesn't make sense'.

Secondly: this story is not dead. It was in hibernation for a long time, and for that I apologize. I always wanted to continue this story, but I found it hard to either figure out how, or found difficulty in putting it in words. Writer's block, thou art a cruel mistress. The same goes for my other stories, they will be continuing as well, however I will be focusing on Gryhpon Knight first and foremost. We are nearing the end of this particular 'book' in the series, and I want to get there both for myself and for all of you.

To that end, I intend to upload at least one chapter each month of Gryphon Knight until we have reached the end of the book. Now that is not to say that I will upload only one chapter a month, just that it is my minimum goal. Between a 40 hour a week job, running a Wrath and Glory campaign on Saturdays, playing in a separate DnD campaign on Sundays, and general socializing, seeing friends, and relaxing my weeks are a bit full to say the least. But I think that a one chapter a month minimum is certainly within reason to accomplish. And if I find that it's within my abilities I may be able to increase the upload speed.

Once Gryphon Knight is finished, I will be moving onto two other works before doing the second book of Gryphon Knight: Errant Questor, and To Be Their Shield. That's right, To be Their Shield will become a full length story, not just a one shot. It'll follow the events of the RWBY show as seen from Jaune's perspective, starting from where the first chapter left off. Blood and Fangs will be continuing as well... eventually. I need to rewrite it to better suit the story I want to tell going forward, and honestly just to fix or remove some frankly pointless and stupid plot points (*cough*callouses*cough*)

But yeah. I have plans for things going forward. I want to set up an account on a certain website that Fan Fiction doesn't like to help me hopefully make some money for my writings, properly this time, and after I have a steady chapter and story upload pattern, and set up a YouTube account where I talk about RWBY stuff and, eventually, perhaps even do audiobooks of my stories. So yeah, I gots some plans :D

If you like this story so far then feel free to follow and favorite it (and meeee)! If you have a friend who likes RWBY, RWBY fanfics, or you simply think they would enjoy it then feel free to recommend it to them! If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions then feel free to leave a review or PM me! I love you all. BYYYYEEEEEEEEE!