Chapter revised 31/12/2017; please see chapter 11.
/
I know what most of you are probably thinking.
"Did that bastard Unseen Lurker finally get his ass moving and posted the chapter we've been waiting for nearly two and a half months."
The answer is yes, yes, I did.
Those who read the last update to "An End to Corrosion" might be particularly pissed.
I apologize that I failed to keep my word. I hate it when that happens, but several things conspired to make it so.
However, you are here for the story, not for apologies.
That said, let's all put down the pitchforks and torches and other lynch mob instruments nice and easy, and enjoy the largest chapter I've written to date, shall we?
Right, so, to answer some reviews (of chapter 3, the ones of chapter 4 will be answered in chapter 5):
Dario Soto: It's more that Tristard respects Ozpin as a fellow Headmaster and as an equal, and after seeing the stunts Ruby and the others pulled, he knew that Ozpin was fully capable of taking it. Also he was really annoyed by the whole catapulting thing.
PageOfMind: I see where you're coming from, m8, and up to a point, I even agree. Perhaps there were better ways to go about it, but at the time making Tristard a student assigned to team RWBY seemed like the best way to ensure he would always be in the thick of it. Plus, he's used to starting low, just think of it as him going undercover.
Necrofantasia: I hope this chapter delivers, m8.
About the faunus, that's actually something I've been wondering about. When you live alongside humans and beastfolk, would seeing humans with beast features seem less strange, or more?
Thelastsoul232: Glad you liked it, m8. I was quite honestly surprised that, to my knowledge, no one tried something like this before.
Xbox432: Indeed they are. As for the co-ed thing, Yeah, that's exactly why I decided to mention it, even if in the end it doesn't make much of a difference, I just kinda assume that the people of Remnant are bit more open-minded about this sort of things.
Mastermind: Tristard is strong, that much is a given, but invincible he is not. As that scene with the Grimm showed, he can be caught by surprise. As for the brotherhood thing, yes, it's true that the rewards are good, but unlike us players, Tristard has morals. He's not the kinda guy who'd kill people just to get a reward, there's another reason why he offed Grelod.
As for bend will, that would be telling, wouldn't it?
Caloodles: Holy crap m8, Holy. Crap. I gave it a shot after reading your review, and indeed it was epic, it made me feel like I was seeing it from Tristard's eyes as he faced the Grimm in the heart of the storm. Simply amazing.
Oh that one: No need to apologize m8, this is an issue that has already been brought to my attention. I don't really think use of the F word is all that uncommon in Skyrim, but I can see your point and that's why I started using others that might be more fitting. There'll still be swearing, but I will tone it down somewhat.
KonahrikB157: Yang wins, hands down. And Tristard is a full breton, what made you think otherwise?
Now, at this point in time, pretty much everyone who's reading this should be aware of Monty Oum's passing. Much like many other authors, I intend to honor his memory by keeping my stories going.
For disclaimers, just check the first chapter.
That said, enjoy.
/
Beacon's Library, A few days later
'Well' Tristard mused as he read. 'The last few days have certainly been interesting.'
After the stunt he had pulled, their little group had been forced to wait another 30 minutes for Ozpin to get back. Even with Lady Goodwitch's glaring, the Dragonborn thought it was well worth it. Much to the teacher's quiet indignation and the girls' secret relief, the Headmaster took it in stride, a smirk on his face, and both men agreed to call it even.
He had the feeling that was the start of an interesting friendship.
Soon after that, they had been taken to their new lodgings, where the Archmage finally took a moment to marvel at this wonder called technology. For a world that was under constant threat by beasts of darkness, Remnant's denizens had taken pretty much every step possible to make life more comfortable. Nine above, if he ever managed to return home with some of these concepts... With indoor plumbing alone he could make the lives of millions better!
He would leave weapons well alone, though...
Flashback
"So, any particular reason for dragging us all here, Rubes?" Yang inquired curiously, and Tristard fully agreed with the sentiment.
The day following his initiation, their young team leader had dragged them all into one of the academy's training grounds. Fairly large place, with sparring arenas and target dummies and what not, all very advanced but still similar enough to what he had back home for him to recognize it. The red-cloaked girl was currently standing in front of the semi-circle the rest of them made.
"Aye, I must admit I'm quite curious as well, Lady Rose."
"You don't need to keep calling me that, you know." Ruby replied, her tone somewhere between bashful and perplexed. "We're going to be teammates for four years, just Ruby is fine."
"Yeah." Yang agreed with a nod and a grin. "No need to be so proper all the time, Big guy."
Blake just nodded her agreement while Weiss mumbled something about proper manners, and Tristard simply nodded.
"Very well Ruby, but you still haven't answered the question."
The girl stood to her full, unimpressive height.
"Right, so... Like I said, for the next four years the five of us will be teammates, and while we all already have an idea of what the others are capable of, as the leader I thought that maybe some demonstrations and explanations would be helpful."
...
"You just wanted to get a closer look at their weapons, didn't you?" Yang asked with a knowing look.
"I neither confirm nor deny that statement." The younger girl replied with a completely straight face, but the twinkle in her eyes betrayed her.
"That may be so." Tristard said with a chuckle." But a good leader always seeks to know those under his or her command. I think it's a rather reasonable measure."
Ruby beamed at the approval.
"Right! See, Yang, it's a perfectly reasonable measure. Look, I'll even go first."
She drew her weapon, the tip of the scythe slamming into the ground. Tristard still wasn't quite used to the image of such a small girl wielding such a massive cutting tool.
"This here is my baby, Crescent Rose." Ruby said with a fondness usually reserved for mothers speaking about their children. "I designed her myself. She shifts between a scythe and a high-impact sniper riffle, and she has a large range, both in melee and ranged forms. She has very strong recoil, but I've trained to used that to my advantage by helping me move around more easily. And to make that even easier, my semblance is speed."
...
Tristard... Had no idea what half of that meant...
Of all the things he'd seen on this world, guns, basically the evolution of bows and crossbows, were perhaps the most... Frustrating. He was no stranger to the dealing of death, but in his opinion, it should never be that... Easy. He had worked hard for his power and his skills, and yet with these contraptions even a talentless, skilless idiot could become a serious threat. Then again in his home world the struggle for survival against creatures of darkness was not nearly as much of a constant, so he guessed he really had no room to complain.
While he was musing, Yang stepped up and introduced Ember Celica, her dual ranged shot gauntlets and her semblance, which reminded Tristard somewhat of an orc's berserk rage (he wouldn't say it to her face though), Blake showed them her variant ballistic chain scythe Gambol Shroud and her semblance of clones, and Weiss the multi action dust rapier Myrtenaster and her semblance of glyphs.
Inevitably, four pairs of curious eyes turned to the Dragonborn...
Alright, how to best go about this...?
He drew his axe, raising it and allowing Ruby to approach for a closer look.
"This is Gurahyol, a daedric battleaxe. Forged it myself as well. It's been enhanced to both burn and paralyze whatever it hits."
While Ruby was fangirling over the weapon, actually using her semblance to see it from different angles, Weiss was giving it a more analytical look.
"Gurahyol? Daedric?" Blake asked curiously.
"Aye, Where I'm from, it means "Balefire" in an old dialect. Daedric is the material it's made of, a metal found in regions near my village that has undergone certain treatments to make it damn near unbreakable."
'Half-truths, Tristard... Half-truths...'
"You said it was enhanced." Weiss addressed him. "I can tell that no dust is being used, so can I ask how?"
"My semblance."
Yang raised an eyebrow. "How does that work?"
"My Dragon Shouts allow for a very wide range of effects, I just willed the weapon to do that."
"That... sounds ridiculously overpowered."
The mage shrugged. "It kept me alive so far. I'm not complaining."
The heiress seemed to consider those words, then something else came to mind. "Is that how you summoned those tentacles and skeleton horse during initiation?"
"Aye. For the most immediate and powerful effects, I need to shout the words, but in those cases just concentrating will do the trick."
The girls took some time to digest the information.
"Yep. Definitely overpowered." Yang gave him a look somewhere between impressed, approving and something else he couldn't quite place. "I'm glad you're on our side."
"Likewise." The Archmage chuckled, then he noticed that Ruby had been quiet for a while, so he looked at the girl, to find her visibly exhausted.
"Ruby, are you well?"
"Hhmm... What?" That seemed to snap her out of it, as she chuckled nervously. "OH yeah, I'm fine, guess I grew a little overexcited at seeing your weapons and tired myself out."
Flashback end
... There were enough ways to kill on Nirn as it was.
On the other hand, it been an adventure onto itself to figure out how most of these contraptions and everyday objects worked. This had confused the girls (and greatly amused Yang), but his cover story of having been born in a very isolated community allowed him to avoid suspicion. It wasn't that he didn't want to trust the girls, he would likely have to if he was to help them with what was to come, whatever that was, but in this situation, he found that a degree of caution was required. Necessity had forced him to make a gamble with Ozpin and Lady Goodwitch, and it had paid off, but he felt it best to know his associates better before he revealed more of who he was.
Annndd he was digressing once again. One of the downsides of being a mage, he supposed. Your mind tends to go on tangents.
Getting back on track, the room was quite homey, and rather spacious. Or at least it seemed like it was...
Flashback
Weiss tried, oh how she tried, but she just couldn't quite stop her eyebrow from twitching. The team's new room was just across the hallway from the previous one, so it didn't take much effort to move their luggage, and it was twice as large, with a row of five beds each with their own nightstands along the far wall.
Space shouldn't be a problem, so how the heck had it become more cramped than the old room when they unpacked!?
"Once again... isn't going to work." The heiress stated with an exasperated expression. "We didn't even have half of this stuff before...where did that ridiculous lava lamp come from?"
"Hey, don't diss the lava lamp!" Yang exclaimed, before chuckling nervously. "Also... This is kinda my fault. When I heard we were getting extra space, I called dad asking to mail some stuff that we didn't bring the first time around and, well..."
And now the room was a freaking mess, lovely.
She spared a glance to the rest of the team. Blake seemed to be trying to think of a way to put some order into the room, Ruby was fidgeting guiltily besides Yang, and Tristard (whose luggage seemed to consist only of his weapon, clothes and whatever he had in his pockets, he wasn't kidding when he said he travelled light) was watching it all unfold, his expression equal parts perplexed and amused.
The white-haired girl sighed, but before she could say anything, there was a knock on the door. Ruby went to open it, to see team JNPR standing in the hallway.
"Hey, guys, what's up?"
"Hey, Ruby. "Her fellow team leader greeted. "We came to see if you girls needed help settling in, and to greet the new guy."
"Oh." She giggled sheepishly. "Come right in then..."
She pointedly ignored the looks on their faces as they entered and witnessed the chaos.
/
Tristard turned to see the new arrivals, who stared back with friendly but curious looks. He remembered catching glimpses of them facing a gargantuan scorpion Grimm, which spoke volumes of their ability.
"Well, guys." Ruby decided to introduce them. "Meet the newest member of team RWBY, Tristard Soverick. Tristard, this is team JNPR: Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos and Lie Ren."
The Dragonborn's gaze swept through them as she spoke. The blond boy was wearing the closest thing he had seen so far to armor, and seemed like a decent enough fellow, if a little too green behind the ears. The girl with vibrant orange hair seemed more hyper than a khajiit on a moon sugar high, and for some reason was looking at his face with an intense, inquisitive stare. The other girl (if he didn't know it was impossible, he would have thought her a member of the Imperial Legion due to her outfit) had a polite and friendly demeanour about her, and the last one seemed, much like Blake, to be the quiet and serious type...
Tristard blinked. Was that a lock of pink hair? What in the...?
"Hello." Pyrrha approached and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you."
Deciding to leave that peculiarity for another time, the Dragonborn smiled broadly, and nodded politely before shaking hands. "Well met."
And with that he shook hand with Jaune (who winced under his grip), Ren (who gave him a respectful nod) and Nora (he decided it was best for everyone if he ignored her disappointed mumbling about a lack of tusks).
"Well, I know I said we came here to help." Jaune stated awkwardly, while staring at the utter disorder around him. "But I honestly have no idea where to begin."
"Well..." Ruby ventured. "The main problem is that the beds are taking up too much space..." A happy smile bloomed in her face. "So I guess we just need to do what we did in the last room and set up bunk beds!"
"What?!" Nora exclaimed excitedly. "You guys had bunk beds? We can have bunk beds? That's actually an option? Ren, why don't we...?"
"Nora, the last time you used the top bunk as a trampoline and hit your head on the floor. Five times. No bunk beds for you."
...
...
"I have been meaning to ask." Tristard stated, pretending the previous exchange didn't happen. "What are bunk beds?"
Everyone in the room stared at him.
"Wow, you weren't joking when you said you lived in seclusion." Yang said teasingly. "Bunk beds are two or more beds stacked on top of one another. Frees up space, and it's pretty awesome in general."
That... actually sounded bloody brilliant. He might just bring the concept back to Winterhold if he ever got the chance.
"I know I lost the vote last time." Weiss interjected. "But I have to disagree. Tying a bed to the ceiling and using stacked books to support two others are just accidents waiting to happen."
As much as she didn't want to, Ruby sadly had to agree with her partner.
"I see... I believe I can be of assistance."
As everyone's stares once more focused on him, a faint orange glow appeared in his hands, and as he made rising motions, the two beds between the middle one and the ones at the edges began levitating. With slow, deliberate movements, the mage moved both beds on top of the later two, and the glow changed from faint orange to bright green, cubes of energy surrounding his hands,
Many where the schools of magic, and Tristard knew of them all. The mind-bending tricks of Illusion, the loyal allies called by Conjuration, the flames and frost of Destruction and the lifesaving healing of Restoration.
Yet it was in Alteration, the shifting of the world around him to his will, that so often overlooked art, that the Archmage truly excelled.
The bedposts creaked and groaned, then started stretching, growing in a fluid, almost liquid manner, before merging together at a halfway point between the upper and lower beds and hardening once more.
Satisfied with his work, Tristard turned to his stupefied colleagues with a smile.
"Is this acceptable?"
Slowly, grins grew on Ruby and Yang's faces.
"Best... Teammate...Ever!"
"Heeey!"
"Weiss, he can make bunk beds out of normal beds, your argument is invalid."
Flashback end
The very next day, classes started.
And they somehow managed to almost be late. J'zargo and Old man Tolfdir would never let him hear the end of it.
The uniforms perplexed him somewhat. Much like in the College of Winterhold it wasn't a mandatory thing (he still chuckled when he remembered the faces Onmund and the others had made when he showed up for the first class in pilfered forsworn Armor), so he decided against using the one he had been provided. The girl's version, though...
Why in Oblivion must those...skirts be so tantalizingly short?
Once again, he digressed.
Most of the classes were rather interesting to the Dragonborn, and much like Ozpin promised, allowed him a great opportunity to learn more about the world of Remnant.
But it was the Grimm studies that proved the most memorable class of the day, although Tristard suspected he was the only who actually enjoyed it. In all honesty, Professor Port's speech might have been a little too self-aggrandizing and lacking in any actual teachings, but unlike the other, incredibly bored students, the Archmage could see the method to it, could glimpse the simple message hidden within. And damn if the man didn't know how to weave a tale, were he born in Skyrim the Bard's College would have welcomed him with open arms.
And his hands-on approach to Grimm fighting, with live Grimm no less!
There was potential to this, maybe Urag's threats of angry atronachs could be of some use...
At that moment, back in Tamriel, a certain wizened old orc felt the urge to grin, and every single student of the College felt the urge to run for the hills.
It was Weiss that stepped up to face the boar like beast. Proper and collected as she was, the girl seemed to be growing increasingly frustrated of late, and Tristard worried when she snapped at Ruby for her attempt at pointing out the beast's weakness. After class, both girls hurriedly left, and he followed...
Flashback
Tristard caught up to the girls just in time to hear the end of Weiss' tirade and watch the heiress walk away, leaving a dejected and crushed Ruby behind.
"Well..." He stated as he approached. "That seemed needlessly harsh."
"Tristard... Do you... Do you agree with her...? Do you feel like Weiss?"
The mage paused for a moment, considering how best to answer...
"I will admit, when I first learned that I would be under the command of someone five years younger than myself, I was somewhat hesitant. But I have seen the things you are capable of, Ruby. You have courage, smarts, and you care about us. So no, I don't feel like Weiss."
"But is she right? Am I a bad leader?" She stared at him with moist, uncertain eyes.
"You do have your bouts of immaturity." Ruby flinched at this. "But at your age, it's to be expected. She couldn't possibly expect you to be an exemplary leader when you just had the position for a few days. No, that comes with experience. And you have a good head on your shoulders, you will do fine."
"It can't be that easy..."
"Of course not. You will make mistakes, Ruby, it's bound to happen at some point." Here the Archmage put his hand on the girl's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "But all leaders do. The great ones learn from them, and don't let the past haunt them."
Tristard smiled.
"I fully believe you are one of those leaders. And don't forget me and the others will be ready to aid when necessary."
Ruby graced him with a smile that brought up old and bittersweet memories.
"Thanks, Tristard."
"Think nothing of it." He replied, while at the end of the hall he glimpsed Ozpin giving him an approving nod. "And as for Weiss, don't worry about it too much. She strikes me as the type that lashes out when things don't go according to plan. But she's not a bad person. She'll come around, and I'm thinking it'll be sooner rather than later."
The conversation he overheard between the two girls later that night proved him correct.
Flashback end
Just like that, a week had gone by, and Tristard was researching an abnormality. After his initiation, Gurahyol's charge was at an all-time low, but since then it had been increasing slowly but steadily. That just shouldn't have been possible, but it seemed that some natural law of Remnant was making it so. The Dragonborn sat in the academy's library, reading through various books, hoping to find some clue to the mystery.
"There you are."
He turned his head to find the rest of the team coming his way.
"We've been..." The phrase died on Ruby's throat as she and the others gawked at the scene before them.
Because Tristard had over a dozen books floating before him, and he was reading them all... at the same time.
"Ah, greetings, ladies. Lovely morning, isn't it?"
"I heard that the early bird catches the bookworm, but this is ridiculous."
Everyone who was not Yang groaned at the horrid joke, then proceeded to ignore it.
"How are you managing this?" Blake inquired, looking at Tristard with what to him seemed to be both respect and pleasant surprise.
"One page at the time." To emphasize, he moved his finger and every book turned a page. "Reading is one of my favorite pastimes, so I figured I should see what the Academy's library had to offer."
"Is that why you didn't answer when we called your scroll?" Weiss asked. "We've been looking for you for a while now."
Tristard blinked, then pulled the misleadingly named contraption from his robes, looking at it in realization.
"So that's what that blasted noise was about. My apologies, I'm more used to scrolls of the paper variety."
And the "ancient artefacts within which everything that was, is and will be is written" variety, but that was better left unsaid.
After a quick but thorough lesson on how to use the device, the girls occupied the other seats at the table, Weiss forcing Ruby and Yang to review their homework, while Blake started reading a book of her own. And this was how Glynda found them sometime later.
"Good morning, Professor Goodwitch. How can we be of assistance?"
The woman stared at the archmage with some brief curiosity, before schooling her features into the usual serious and stern look.
"Actually Mr. Soverick, may I have a word?"
Tristard raised his eyebrow.
"Am I in trouble?"
"Not at all, I merely wish to inquire about something."
Curious, the Archmage returned every book to their proper places with a wave of his arm, and rose from his seat.
"Very well, lead on then. I'll be seeing you girls later."
With that he followed the teacher to a more secluded location.
"So what is this about, Professor?"
The woman seemed to consider her words for a moment.
"Well, Mr. Soverick, after your rather... impressive display during initiation, I did start feeling under the weather..."
"Eh..."
"... And my condition worsened rather fast, so I remembered that... potion you gave me... and well, it worked wonders."
"Aye, they'll do that. I've learned to never leave home without a few."
"I have taken the liberty of analysing what was left. It's unlike anything I've ever seen. It's literally a mixture of plant and animal parts, and yet it worked faster and more effectively than the medicine we have. How is this possible?"
"These potions are made at an alchemist lab, Professor. Even if it's not a mage making them, the glyphs and symbols carved on it ensure that magic is infused on the mixtures for the desired effects."
"Can you make more of these?"
"I'm afraid not." The Dragonborn said with a somewhat embarrassed expression. "Alchemy is one of the few magical arts that I could never quite get the hang of. Never got the dosages right. One time, I even blew up the lab." He cringed at that particularly unpleasant memory. It had become something of an unspoken rule at the College that Tristard Soverick must never, ever go anywhere near an alchemy lab. "All the potions I have on me were either made by a trusted friend back in Winterhold, or taken from idiots who tried to rob me."
"I see..." The teacher sighed in disappointment. "That is unfortunate. Many lives could have been saved with this."
"If it's any consolation, I have thought the same thing of many things I have witnessed here on Remnant, Lady Goodwitch. If I ever find a way to cross between our worlds, I will see to making arrangements to bring alchemy labs, all the recipes in the College's Arcanaeum and any necessary ingredients over."
The teacher's stare was one of surprise, approval, gratitude and respect.
"That is... appreciated, Mr. Soverick. Thank you for your time."
"Think nothing of it."
/
Some days later
Another class that proved quite interesting to the Dragonborn was Duelling class.
He had to admit, this was yet another in the long list of ideas he would bring back to Winterhold if given the chance.
He was currently witnessing Yang completely demolishing her opponent, some bloke called Cardin something, and seeing an issue that he made a mental note to address later on.
Pretty soon the match was over, with the boy limping to the infirmary, and Yang returning to them complaining that she didn't get enough of a workout.
"Alright, for the final match of the day..." Professor Goodwitch looked into her scroll for a few moments, then announced:
"Pyrrha Nikos... against Tristard Soverick."
Silence fell over the amphitheatre as everyone stared at the two, who stared at each other.
"Well..." The Archmage mused in a friendly tone. "Let's endeavour to make this an interesting match, shall we, Lady Nikos?"
The red-haired girl was caught off guard. Being hailed as a champion and a prodigy, she was used to a certain set of reactions from people, idolization and boot licking being the most prominent between her fans, and fear and trepidation the most common among her foes.
The mild curiosity Tristard was showing was a first. But not unwelcome at all.
"Yes, let's." The girl nodded with a smile, then both moved onto the stage, the legionnaire looking girl reaching for her shield, and the Dragonborn donning his mask.
"Well, this will be interesting." Yang stated.
"I wonder who will win?"
"I don't know, Ruby." Blake answered. "They're both pretty strong."
"GO, PYRRHA, GO!" That left little doubt about which side was Nora on.
"Tristard is pretty strong." Weiss conceded. "But Pyrrha is the four-times champion of the Mystral tournament. If nothing else, she's used to fighting in this kind of duels, so I think she has the advantage."
"Perhaps." Ren stated. "But Tristard likely has plenty of tricks up his sleeve we don't know about. I think it could go either way."
"As long as he doesn't cause a storm in here." Jaune said half-jokingly, half-nervously. "And it looks like it's starting."
Both fighters had taken their positions on stage, both in their usual fighting stances.
"Are you both ready?"
"Yes."
"Aye."
"Then begin."
For a while, neither moved, choosing instead to observe, looking for gaps in each other's defences.
Tristard broke the standoff by throwing a low powered fireball.
Pyrrha blocked the projectile, then charged forward, and the Dragonborn met her halfway with a horizontal swing, forcing her to duck under the blow and go for a forward stab with her blade, which he batted aside.
The mage tried another strike, and his eyes widened when some unseen force pushed it just slightly off course, missing the girl entirely and forcing him to back away to avoid her shield slam.
Perplexed, the mage tried to strike from different angles, drawing a curtain of fiery steel around the girl, but each blow was redirected just like the first, and each time he just barely avoided the counter.
Just as he realized this must be some aspect of his foe's semblance, Pyrrha went on the offensive, sweeping her blade at his legs. Once more the mage backed away...
Only this time, the sword turned into its spear form during the swing, and the surprised mage fell to the ground with a grunt. He made to rise, but found the tip of the spear pointed at his throat.
He cursed his stupidity. Of course not all of the weapons would have only one melee and one ranged form.
Everyone else thought the match over...
...Until the mage grabbed the blade of the spear and sent a mild shock spell surging through it, stunning the girl and leaving her vulnerable to his retaliatory strike to the gut, which threw her back slightly.
Tristard finished rising and prepared to press the advantage, but then he noticed the tell-tale green glowing outline around the girl, who remained in a slightly hunched position, her eyes wide in alarm. The paralysis had taken effect.
The Archmage considered his options. He could end the match here, but to be honest, he was rather impressed with Pyrrha. The girl was disciplined, kept her head and played to her strengths. A fine warrior if there ever was one. And so he decided to see what else she could do.
In three swift steps, he reached her and delivered a fast punch to the face, breaking the paralysis and pushing the girl further back, but she quickly recovered and once more took a fighting stance.
Deciding to take a different approach, Tristard took two steps back... and vanished in a cloud of purple smoke.
Surprised, Pyrrha frantically searched her surroundings, adjusting her stance to a more defensive position. After a few tense seconds, she heard a faint noise, her eyes widening as she turned and brought her shield up...
Just in time for the blazing edge of Gurahyol to smash into it, the strength behind the blow forcing the girl down on one knee.
The girl struggled to move, but the Dragonborn applied more pressure, keeping her pinned as the flames intensified.
At this point, Pyrrha suddenly felt herself growing faint.
Even with the flames heating up her shield and her arm, she somehow felt cold... and growing colder by the second.
Her aura... something was happening to her aura... and it was somehow connected to the axe...
She needed... to get away from it.
With a desperate push and burst of her semblance, the weapon flew from Tristard's hands and embedded itself on a far wall, as the spartan went for an upward slash.
"WULD!"
The mage vanished to the other side of the stage, his eyes wide in realization of what had just happened.
Souls carry power.
On Nirn, this power was a contained thing, and often had to be tapped into from the outside, this was the basis of enchanting and most soul related spells, not counting the Thu'um.
But in Remnant... In Remnant each soul could freely tap into this power, use it in the form of a semblance. This power was radiated...
And Gurahyol, with its fiery soul trap and aided by his own mastery of enchanting, could drain this energy without even needing to come into contact with the source. This explained Ruby's exhaustion the other day, and why just now the axe's charge was slowly increasing even as its flames were burning.
He had what could very well be one of the deadliest weapons on Remnant.
All these thoughts passed through his head in a moment as he made a run for the weapon, only to find his path blocked by a hail of bullets.
He turned to find Pyrrha aiming her spear-turned-gun at him.
"Nicely done, Lady Nikos." He praised. "But two can play at that game."
"ZUN HAL VIIK!"
Reality bent to his will, and the redhead felt her weapon being ripped from her grasp, and flung to a corner of the stage. She tried to reach it, but a wall of flames blocked her path. She turned to see the flames dying down in the mage's hand. Undeterred, she once again took a fighting stance, and the mage responded in kind.
Once again, the two charged one another, and a furious brawl ensued. Pyrrha had speed, agility, and flexibility, keeping Tristard on his toes, but Tristard had reach, experience and a willingness to fight dirty, taking advantage of any openings and often catching her Pyrrha off guard.
But neither managed to gain an edge over the other.
At the same time, both stopped their assaults and turned, the legionnaire look-alike using her semblance of polarity to get her weapon back, the Dragonborn doing the same with a telekinesis spell.
She turned and stabbed her sword forward...
He turned and swung his axe horizontally...
"ENOUGH!"
...Milo stopped inches from piercing his heart.
...Gurahyol stopped inches from severing her head.
For a few moments they stood like that, then as the rush of battle faded, they lowered their weapons.
They turned to Professor Goodwitch, who stared at both sternly before addressing the spectators.
"Now, students, in a situation like this, it would seem that the result of the match is a draw, however..."
She turned to observe the fighter's aura levels, which no one else had given so much as a glance to due to the intensity of the fight.
Everyone's eyes widened in shock.
Pyrrha's bar was in the red.
Tristard's, with only a black sliver the thickness of a nail, was barely dented.
"... Due to his impressive aura reserves, the win goes to Mr. Soverick."
Pyrrha was dumbstruck.
She lost.
For the first time in years, and on the first match in a new academy no less, she had lost.
"That was a very enjoyable fight, Lady Nikos. You are every bit the warrior I was told you were."
And it was the most fun fight she had had in years.
"Thank you, your skill is also commendable. That was the best match I've had in a while." She then hissed in pain as her arm finally registered that it was burned. Noticing this, the mage approached, and passing a golden glowing hand over the area, healed the injury completely, much to the girl's shock.
"Oh, no need to look so shocked, Lady Nikos. It was my fault you were injured, it's only fair that I'd be the one to fix it."
Pyrrha smiled.
"Once again, thank you. And please, call me Pyrrha."
At that moment, another friendship was born, born out of the respect between fellow warriors.
"Indeed it was a good match." Professor Goodwitch addressed them. "Your reputation is well deserved Ms. Nikos, and that was another impressive performance Mr. Soverick."
Both fighters nodded in acknowledgement.
"And with that, the class is dismissed."
And with that, the Dragonborn and the Champion went back to their group, and the praises and congratulations of their teammates.
And that's that.
I hope that match was enjoyable to most of you.
That being said, before anyone asks, I will NOT pair Tristard with Pyrrha. If they had met before she met Jaune, perhaps, but as it is they'll just be good friends.
The next update, which I'm not quite sure when will it come out, will be to my newest story, "Of Red Petals and Black Feathers", a RWBY/LoL crossover. If you didn't know of it yet and you're into both series, by all means give it a try.
See ya guys then.