I return once again old lads and lassess! And I hope you're as excited as I am! Sorry, I would have had this out sooner, but damn writer's block hit me hard. But luckily, one idea got my creative juices flowing, and I cranked out 1,500 words in two days once I was home from work.
Update Shout-Out: Next up we have Stars Fade by totallybursar. Now this is something I wasn't sure could be done well, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that a Dragon Age/Mass Effect can actually work. I've only read one other good DA/ME story before, but it chucked the DA character into the ME universe. This one is the exact opposite, were Commander Jane Shepard wakes up on Thedas with nothing more than ruined armor, an omnitool, and of course, her trusty sniper rifle. This sure get stirred up in the great story. (WARNING: The story gets rather sexual in a few parts, just FYI)
-][-
It's a good thing I possess a patience that would eventually make a mountain break down into tears, because I know frustration, truly I do. Especially after having experienced who knows how many deaths at the hands of a King who shant, or rather can't, be named. But I digress, my overabundance of patience is good because of a certain mint-green haired stalker who will not stop shadowing me at random times throughout the day. And it's only because of said patience that I haven't introduced myself to her with the tip of my blade… that and the fact that I don't want to kill a (more than likely) innocent student of Lord Ozpin. The Firekeeper has agreed with my plan of letting our stalker make her plans known before taking action.
On another note, over the last several weeks, the Firekeeper and I have each fallen into our own little routines. She'd spend the night reading through whatever books had taken her fancy that she hadn't been able to get to during her time in the library. The daylight hours on the other hand were either spent sitting in on various classes, conversing with Lord Ozpin, Lady Goodwitch, and various staff, or just meditating.
More often than not, you would find me alongside her, either in the classroom or library, but every two or three days, I'd wander off by myself. Sometimes I would head back up to a certain area on the room at night, giving Sir Arc and Lady Nikos some tips, but this has occurred only another two or three times since the first, otherwise I leave them be. May perhaps, I go find a quiet place and just watch whatever there was to watch. But more often than not, I make my way to the forge that is located in a building separate from the academy, and watch the students as well as the Forgemaster, Lady Masa, go about their work.
Forging is a skill that I always wanted to try, but never found the time to truly learn (Big surprise there). During my spare time at Firelink, when I wasn't learning magic from my various other teachers, I'd sit by Lord Andre and watch. Though while he never formerly taught me, the aged blacksmith did show me how to repair my own gear, as well as forge simple things like throwing knives, arrows, and plain weapons. Nothing fancy, but helpful nonetheless.
The forgery was a long rectangular building with a large double door set in the shorter side facing the academy. Upon entering, you'd see yourself facing Lady Masa's forge that dominated the center of the room, surrounded by different stations ment for sharpening, gun tuning, cleaning, cooling, and a myriad of other things that I had no idea what they did. Running along both longer walls stood one forge after another. Each one smaller than the Forgemaster's, but well equipped.
As I entered the forgery, I saw Lady Masa at work with hammer and tongs, shaping a piece of steel into her desired design. The Forgemaster was a well muscled woman no older than twenty-eight of average height, standing about five-five with golden-brown skin, jet black hair, and dark green eyes. She wore a pair of heavy tan colored cloth pants, a gray long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up, dark brown forging apron and gloves, and a pair of goggles set firmly over her eyes.1
Receiving a nod in greeting, I took my now customary place against the forge, waiting for my new teacher (Though the term is used extremely loosely) to give me a task. Relaxing against the warm metal, I thought about the first meeting between Lady Masa and I. It had been memorable to say the least.
-][-
During one of my early wanderings of the campus, I eventually ended up at the forge, only to find the ear of a student in the vice-like clutches of the Forge-woman. The student had to be at least six or seven inches taller than her, but Lady Masa had him pulled down to her level as she laid into the kid with a friendly smile and sweet tone in her surprisingly soft voice.
"I ma' not know what kind of da' ye're having, but taking it out on ma' equipment is a sure-fire wa' for it to get a whole 'ell of a lot worse." She said with an accent that seemed to lift at the end of most words. "Now lad," she added while twisting the ear a bit more, causing the kid to squeak out in pain as her smile turned into a scowl, "ye're going to leave that scrap of metal ya' call a chestplate here and let someone who knows how to treat ma' tools with respect repair it. Ye' can come by tomorrow afternoon and get it ya'self, and be sure to bring one 'ell of an apologe' for pa'ment. Ya' hear me?" The kid nodded his head as much as he could, which wasn't very much considering the grip the Forgemaster had on his ear, tears starting to prick at the edge of his vision due to the ever growing pain.
Giving the ear one last twist, Lady Masa nodded her head and then let go of the ear, "See that ya' do lad, now get out of me sight." Without a backwards glance, the kid disappeared out the door I just came through faster than a crystal lizard could vanish. Looking about herself, the Forgemaster stared back at the other students in the room with a raised eyebrow, "Well, what are ya' twerps looken' at?" The words had scarcely left her mouth before the room was once again filled with the sounds of banging and clashing of metal upon metal and hissing water, not one of the children wanting to draw the attention of the irate Forgemaster. Nodding her head, she then turned and walked up to where I was leaning against a wall, "Hey there," she said, pulling her goggles down around her neck, "ma' name's Masa. Ya' here to use a forge?"
I shook my head while shrugging my shoulders, as if to say, 'Not really'.
"Strong silent type I see, that's alright, I can work wi' that." She said with a grin while wiping the sweat and soot off her face with a cloth she pulled out her apron pocket, "Well, if ye're not here to forge, is there somethen' I do for ya'?"
I once again shook my head before leaning back against the wall, showing her that I was there to merely watch.
Getting the message, Lady Masa chuckled, "Well, let me know if there's anythen' I can do for-BLAST IT ALL TO ELL'," she yelled in frustration as some other kid accidentally overheated a forge, causing the flames to shoot out dangerously, "I TURN MA' BLOODY BACK FOR TWO SECONDS AND YA' DO THIS!"
I grin as the infuriated forge-woman stomped off to lay into another unfortunate student who had been dumb enough to make a mess of her equipment again. Thus went the next several hours as I watched both student and Forger go about their business. Most just there to do nothing more than fix a cracked piece of armor or chipped blade, but every couple hours I'd get the opportunity to watch Lady Masa work on something too complex for an amature forger to deal with.
It wasn't until the final students were walking past me to head back to their dorms did I realize that the day was gone. Looking about myself, I found Lady Masa cleaning the leftmost station. Shrugging, I walked to the rightmost station and copied what she was doing. Scrubbing down the anvils, sweeping, and reorganizing the equipment back into their rightful place.
As I finished the final station on the right, I turned around to find Lady Masa standing there with hands on hips and an amused smile on her face, "What do ya' think ye're doing?"
I shrugged, which caused her to step up to me with a sly grin on her face, "Don't ya' know it's rude to do someone else's job without their permission?" She asked, head tilted back to stare me in the eye.
I hadn't thought of it like that, but nonetheless, I took a step back and pressed my fist to heart while dipping my head in apology.
This apparently was funny to her, because she broke out into a fit of giggles before speaking, "Well well well, I have a gentleman in ma' Forge room." She jokingly curtsied her apron with a large grin on her face, "As I said before, ma' name is Masa, Sable Masa if ya' will, and ma' I know the name of this knight in shinen' armor?"
I stared blankly at her, trying and failing to place her accent, but it wasn't one I'd heard before. I apparently stayed silent for too long because the grin fell off her face and was replaced by a look of ever-so slight concern, "Ya' really don't speak much, do ya' big fella?
I, once again, used my favorite and most used answer that has, by this point, worked my neck muscles more than fighting ever will. Another shake of the head.
Lady Masa sighed, wiping the last of the sweat from her brow with a smile on her face, "Well come on," she said, motioning for me to follow her to her forge, "lets see what ya' can do."
-][-
I hadn't been on the look for a new teacher at the time, but I'm glad for the opportunity I was given. And while she was no Lord Andre, Lady Masa was an extremely skilled Forge-woman in her own right, being knowledgeable in things Lord Andre wasn't, namely guns. It felt nice to be learning once again, learning was one of the precious few pleasant things I had. Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I returned my focus to Lady Masa as she showed me another technique of how to shape steel.
As the sun reached its zenith, a crimson whirlwind sprinted into the forgery with tears in her silver eyes as she rushed up to Lady Masa with Crescent Rose cradled in her arms like a baby, all while screaming, "MY SWEETHEART'S BEEN HURT MS. MASA! I NEED A FORGE!"
Lady Masa didn't seem to be put off by the urgently tearful greeting and seemed to share the young Rose's anguish, if to a smaller degree, "Rube', what happened to Crescent Rose!"
I, along with several other students, watched with raised eyebrows as genuine tears started rolling down Lady Rose's cheeks as she told of her woeful tale, "M-my t-team an-and I were pra-practicing combo at-attacks out in th-the training fields wh-when Yang punched the gr-ground and something got lodged in the ba-barrel. Th-The next time I p-pulled the trigger, the b-bullet hit wha-whatev-whatever it was and explo-exploded inside, da-damaging t-the entire, entire-". It was at this point Lady Rose burst into tears.
Lady Masa surprised everyone as she gave the crimsonette a comforting side hug and wiped away her tears with a clean cloth she pulled out of her pocket, "Sh sh sh sh sh sh sh, don't cry lass, I'm prette' sure I understand what happened to ya' weapon. Ye're not hurt are ya'? Having a bullet go off in the barrel can be dangerous, especially with the caliber that ya' use."
"No," Lady Rose said while shaking her head and wiping her eyes with the cloth, having managed to stop sobbing, "my aura protected me." She then looked up with a hopeful look in her shimmering eyes, "May I please use your gun station? I know you normally do the delicate repairs yourself, but I need to fix my baby myself and-"
"Ya' know ma' rules Rube'," Lady Rose's face became downcast, "but ya' also know that if I could have an assistant, I'd want it to be ya'." Silver eyes shot back up with a glimmer of hope in them, "I just don't let the rest of these twerps use it because the' don't know the pin sets from the screwdrivers, AND THEY ALSO DON'T KNOW HOW TA' MIND THEIR OWN BLOODY BUSINESS!" The room, much like my first visit, quickly went from a half working murmur to full blown clashing and banging. Wrapping one arm around Lady Rose's shoulders, the Forge-woman led Ruby to a table not far from me that was filled with claps, wedges, and small tools and sat her down with a reassuring pat, "Don't worry ya' prette' head lass, we'll get Crescent Rose fixed before the day's through." Sparing me a quick glance, Lady Masa jerked her head towards the forge where she had a piece of metal slowly heating.
As I moved to keep an eye on the metal, Lady Rose grinned sweetly at the slightly taller woman a gave her full on hug, uncaring of the soot and sweat, "Thank you thank you thank you Ms. Masa." Without further adieu, the two forgers went about dismantling the weapon, and as they removed the outer casing, I leaned forward in interest. Never before had I seen a gun during its construction. I had, of course, seen several in action during the many sparring classes I had sat in within the last couple weeks.
They were deadly machines, there was no other way to look at it. Back in Lothric, the worst thing you had to worry about at range was a Greatbow on top of a building2. I can't imagine how much more difficult my journey would have been if I had to be wary of an enemy a mile or so away. Or turning a corner to be blown into pieces by a shotgun. Or just getting riddled by bullets from something I had my back turned to. Put simply, killing was already easy enough with a blade or arrow, but now someone with no combat experience can hold a gun and have an entire room down in fear.
Realizing I was staring, I turned my full attention back to the metal currently in the forge and gave it another turn to evenly heat the entire thing, letting the day pass by with the sound of two weapon enthusiasts going back and forth.
-][-
As Lady Masa finished locking the door to the Forge, I dipped my head in farewell and turned to walk towards the dormitories.
"What are ya' doen' tonight gigantor (Yet another title I've had to get used too)?" Lady Masa asked before I could take a step. I turned back towards her and offered a shrug in answer, "Well, some of the other staff and I are getten' togetha' for a drink and to discuss the Vytal Festival. Ya' can come along if ya' want ta'."
I look up at the setting sun to find that it couldn't be later than six and thought of my options. It was either go with Lady Masa, head back to the dorm and wait for dawn, or wander the campus for the next couple hours, and I hadn't met all the staff yet.
As I nodded my head in agreement, Lady Masa grinned widely and shouldered a bag, motioning for me to follow, "Well come on then, the others said we'd meet in tha' staff lounge and we're runnen' a bit late."
With that she jogged off towards the main building, forcing me to do the same if I wished to keep up with her. As we left the grounds and passed into the hallways, Lady Masa made her way towards the cafeteria, but turned into a side room next to it. Once inside, I saw the rooms lights were off, allowing the amber light of the setting sun to shine freely inside. Dotting around the place were tables and chairs, some arranged for seclusion, often in view of a window, and others were positioned for groups to get together and converse.
Sitting in several big cushy chairs situated by a large window was Sir Port, Sir Oobleck, a blond woman I hadn't met that wore a pale pink blouse, Lord Ozpin and surprisingly, Lady Goodwitch. The fact she was there wasn't surprising, what was surprising is that she had a glass in her hand that contained a clear olive colored liquid. The rosy hue on her cheeks also didn't go unnoticed. This caused me to grin slightly, it was both amusing and heartening to see that the strict professor was able to let her hair down, so to speak. As Lady Masa and I entered the room, everyone at the table turned towards us.
Sir Port was the first to welcome us, "Ah, Sable my good girl, glad you could make it. Though I wasn't informed that Mister Ash now worked here." He said good naturedly.
I glanced down at Lady Masa as she smacked my breastplate with the back of her hand while we walked over, "Eh, Gigantor here has been helping ma' at ma' forge a couple times a week for the past month. At this point he's ma' unpaid, somewhat learned apperentence, who STILL hasn't said one word to ma'!" She said with hands on hips, directing the last part to me in mostly mock frustration.
"And he's not likely to." Grumbled a tipsy Lady Goodwitch, who was both annoyed at my continued silence and embarrassed that someone who's not a close friend see her drunk. Apparently alcohol caused her to drop the frosty manners and eloquent speech.
The blonde woman I didn't know laughed at her colleague's misfortune before standing up and offering her hand to me, " It's good to meet you Mr. Ash, my name's Vanessa Peach. I teach biology here along with being the head nurse."
I accepted the proffered hand and shook firmly, Lady Peach not at all put off by her bare skin meeting the cold, unyielding steel of my gauntlet. A true show that she wasn't a stranger to combat herself, though I would guess that most, if not all staff here at Beacon were trained.
"I'm glad to see that you've found a way to fill some of your downtime Mr. Ash." Said Lord Ozpin as he stood up and shook my hand as well, "If you would like to pull up a seat, we were merely speaking of the upcoming Vytal Festival over a couple drinks."
"Aye, we'll be joinen' ya Oz, though it seems Glynda has already gotten a head start on us." Lady Masa said while grinning widely at the aforementioned Sorceress, who scowled into the bottom of her drink as if it were to blame for her current predicament. Shrugging, Lady Masa walked over to a shelf full of different colored liquids and poured herself a glass of amber colored liquid as I pulled two chairs into the haphazard semi-circle the other staff formed. "What's ya' poison Gigantor?" Lady Masa called over her shoulder, holding an empty glass in her outstretched hand.
I shrugged, uncaring as to what they gave me. After all, anything I ingest seems to have no effect on me whatsoever, with the exception of Estus and select other things.
"Oh come on," Lady Masa moaned in friendly exasperation, "Whiskey, Bourbon, Martini, Beer, what do ya' want?" I just stared, unsure what each drink was, but eventually motioned towards her glass. This caused the Forge-woman to grin, "Ah Bourbon, a man after my own 'art."
As Lady Masa handed me my drink, we all heard Lady Goodwitch grumble out once again, though she didn't know she was speaking so loud, "How's he gonna drink if he won't remove his blasted helmet?"
Lady Masa slammed her fist into her palm, explaining, "Bloody hell! How have I not seen ya' face yet Gigantor? Better question, how have ya' not sweated ya'self to death while working the forge in all that armor?"
"He's not going to show you, if that's what you're hoping for Sable. Ozpin and I have had several interactions with him, and he still refuses to take the blasted thing off." Muttered Lady Goodwitch, with annoyance veiled so thinly, that it could have been torn through by a stray breeze.
Lady Masa ignored the Sorceress and turned to me with a pleading pout, "Will ya' please take off the bucket and show me what ya' look like? You'll be ma' new favorite unofficial Beacon employee."
"He's the only unofficial empl-" Lady Goodwitch started, but was stopped by a shush from Lady Masa, who then turned back to me, doubling the pleading pout.
As everyone, with the exception of Lady Goodwitch (Who was annoyed), and Lady Masa (Who was still pouting), chuckled at their colleague, I felt something trickle into my mind that I hadn't felt in a long time. Something that often upset the affected people, but amused anyone else. Something that, if you tilt your head and squint carefully enough, could almost say was childlike mischievousness. Setting my drink to the side, I slowly reached up and placed my hands on either side of my helmet, causing a bright smile to grown on Lady Masa's face. Pulling upward, I placed the helmet alongside my drink and then turned back towards the others.
I possessed a rectangular-ish shaped face with a defined, slightly pointed chin, a sturdy jaw line. My skin was rather pale from being in armor since my awakening, and my hair, which fell to my shoulders, was a wavy and messy dark brown. But I possessed two features that were rather eye catching to anyone who is not an undead. Firstly were my scars. As my journey moved on from Firelink and into Lothric Castle, I quickly found that incineration, crushing, or any other deaths that destroyed my body, left no physical scar in their wake. But any death that left my body intact more often than not left me marked.
Though while they were many, I could tell you how I received each and every one. The wound that ran from my right ear to chin was from when a Hollow Slave dropped onto my shoulders and drove its hatchet into my face. The long burn mark that started at my right shoulder blade and ended at my left hip found its way there from when Pontiff Sulyvahn and his shadow overwhelmed my friend and I the first time we made our way to him. The hand-sized puncture wound over my heart was from a greatarrow not far past the Pontiff. The large, thick scar the encircled my neck was from when my head was removed from my body (With beautiful grace) by the Dancer of the Boreal Valley. Those, along with every other scar I possess, has faded with time, leaving behind angry white lines in their wake.
But it was my eyes that were my most defining feature, or rather the defining feature of any Unkindled. If you were to just glance, you'd think they were a bright gold, if with a slight glow. But if you looked closely, it would seem that fire itself sprang from my pupils to form the iris. Each flame of orange, red, and gold seemed to dance, quiver, and weave together, just as real fire would.
After everyone took in my appearance, Lady Masa turned towards Lady Goodwitch with a smug grin, "See Glynda, all ya' need to do was ask nicely." All the Sorceress could conjure up in reply was grinding teeth and another mouthful of whatever was in her glass. Apparently not able to keep her curiosity in check any longer, Lady Masa turned towards Lord Ozpin with a thumb cocked towards Lady Goodwitch, "Alright, what's got Glyn's breeches in a twist eh'. I've never seen her knock back enough booze to get drunk, let alone the amount she's downing now, which is enough to drown a fish in. So what's up?"
I just leaned back, listening as Lord Ozpin smiled as he took a sip of his own drink, "She said, and I quote, 'Already feel the headache approaching, so I may as well welcome it'."
The Forger leaned forward with smirk, "Qrow's comen' in, ain't he?"
Lord Ozpin shrugged, "He's been radio silent for quite some time, but it's more than likely he'll be back for the Vytal Festival tomorrow afternoon."
Lady Masa threw up her arms in mock horror, "QUICK, stash the scotch, waste away the whisky, bury the bourbon! No fermented drink is safe from that man's parched lips!"
"And not only that," Lord Ozpin added, "James and Specialist Schnee are also supposed to be here tomorrow as well."
"Oh," Lady Masa exclaimed, "better wipe down the campus and shine our boots in the process as well than."
Sir Port and Lady Peach, who had been watching the back and forth with rapt attention, burst out laughing as Lady Goodwitch let out a groan of anguish, thinking of the upcoming day with her head in hands.
Slapping Lady Masa on the back, Sir Port finished laughing and refilled her drink, "What would we do without you, Sable my girl."
The Forgemaster shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, "Probabla' be joining Glyn to drown out ya' boredom." She then glanced seriously at Lord Ozpin, "Speaking of boredom, is there ane'thing more we need to do before the start of the festival tomorrow?"
Lord Ozpin nodded his head, "While all official preparations are either complete or set to be complete tomorrow, there is one task that the Council never deems worth doing, that I on the other hand, do." I leaned forward in interest as Lord Ozpin continued, this sounded like it was going to be interesting. "I would like send two Hunters out tonight and start lowering the Grimm numbers around Vale's main entrance. There will be a number of people who can't afford passage on a ship who will be arriving by foot. The forest in that area doesn't contain anything more than a few Beowulf and Creep packs, a few roaming pairs of Ursa, the odd Boarbatusk, and possibly one or two young Deathstalkers or King Taijitus. Nothing an experienced Hunter couldn't handle. Once the way is clear, I'll have James send some of his extra mechs in the morning to keep the road safe."
Lady Masa shook her head, "I'd love to Oz, but ya' know I gotta' keep the Forges goen' tomorra', or else some kids ma' not have their equipment in tip top shape for the tournaments."
Lady Peach nodded her head in agreement, "Same with me, except it's keeping the medbay running both here, then at the Amity Colosseum in the afternoon."
"You know I never turn down a good hunt Ozpin," said Sir Port with genuine sadness in his voice, "but Bart and I are hosting the matches tomorrow and have some last minute things we need to oversee before the tournament starts."
Lord Ozpin sighed, "Very well, I'll see who else I can-"
Before he could finish I was standing up, helmet already back on my head, once again drawing the attention of everyone who had completely forgotten I was there during the banter due to my silence.
Lord Ozpin look intrigued, "You'll do it Mr. Ash?"
I nodded my head and hid my elation at the same time. While I truly did enjoy the peaceful downtime the Firekeeper and I had been experiencing the last month, I could feel my flame getting restless, burning for the adrenaline rush of true combat.
Sir Port clapped me on the shoulder, gut wobbling as he bellowed, "What ho Mr. Ash, you have courage, make no mistake of that. You know," he continued, "you remind me of a Hunter I used to know. Silent fellow like yourself, but instead of a sword and shield, he wielded a warhammer the size of our girl Sable over there! Let me tell you, he was a warrior like no other. Why, once he-"
"Leave Gigantor be Peter," Lady Masa interrupted with a laugh, "don't bore 'im to death with ya' stories. He has as slayen' to do and it's nearle' dark alreade'."
I stepped away from the slightly downcast professor and pressed my fist against my chest and bowed to Lord Ozpin.
As I stood straight, the Headmaster was standing in front of me, "You don't need to feel obligated to do this Mr. Ash. I know you are an extremely dangerous person, but even you can be overrun by numbers."
I shrugged, uncaring. While the creatures of Grimm were ferocious, they were nothing when compared to the likes of which I've slain. It will just like the Road of Sacrifices, but without the swamp. The only thing I have to worry about is a source of healing due to my Estus only restoring about one mouthful each week. Maybe the Firekeeper will have a solution, and in worst case, I have plenty of healing herbs and other things in storage I never used that will serve well.
"Very well, and I thank you for giving up your sleep." Lord Ozpin said with a small grin, knowing I hadn't slept a single minute since coming here, "I would send a team of students with you, but they need to rest up for the tournament tomorrow. Though I'll be sure to send someone your way once they become available."
I nodded my head in thanks before leaving the quickly darkening room. Once I had a quick 'talk' with the Firekeeper, it was time to go hunting…
I hope you enjoyed the final chapter before the start of RWBY Season 3. That's right, you heard me! Season 3, and with that comes plenty of action, plot thickening, and even more questions.
1 - Sable Masa was inspired by the legendary forger Goro Nyudo Masamune, who is possibly the greatest swordsmith of all time. I envision her having a accent like Yoana from Witcher 3, but slightly heavier. Let me know what you think of her :D
2 - I have no idea what the range of a greatbow is (Or any bow for that matter, due to conflicting research). So please excuse my ignorance.
Please review, like, favorite, and share among your other Fiction reading friends…
…Archangel Out
