So.
Hhhhhmm.
Here I am?
Howdy, folks, how's it going?
Damn, it has been a while since I wrote that greeting…
Hope you al had a pleasant Holiday season.
I know, I know, I haven't updated this story since this very day last year, and I haven't updated any of my stories period since May.
For that, I can only apologize. 2017 was a really busy year for me, peppered here and there with some rough patches and sad situations. I won't bother you all with the details, but suffice it to say that I hope the coming year will be better.
That said, I do have a tradition to keep, and thus here I am, at the last day of the year, with the much awaited (I hope) next chapter of Beneath a Broken Moon.
Just as a heads up, the next couple or so chapters mark my first attempt at writing a completely original story arc. Hopefully I will be able to deliver an entertaining experience.
Also, as an added bit of compensation for the wait, I took the liberty of finally going through the previous chapters and do some more thorough spell checks. I cannot promise that I didn't miss anything, but at least now my story should be less of an affront to good grammar.
And as always, I owe a lot to Chaos Productions for the continued commentary and discussions that are instrumental in shaping and writing my stories, so a big shout out to him.
And with that out of the way, please, enjoy.
/
The town burned.
All around her, people screamed and ran as the fire consumed the buildings. She didn't know why...
As she wandered, she saw people fighting other people. She didn't understand why…
And then, the howls started in the distance.
Lost, confused, trapped, she could only whimper in the little corner she found.
All around her, the town burned…
/
The black, werewolf like creature howled as it rushed at her. Serana silenced it with a single swipe of her blade through its throat.
Amidst the woods of another world, the Vampire scowled in annoyance. Upon first arriving, she had marvelled at the natural beauty of the place. There was just something about the ground, the trees, the sky, something that hummed in the very air around her that made the world so much more… vibrant and colourful than anything she'd ever seen on Nirn. It had been a wonderful, exciting new experience.
And then that feeling of wonder had been broken very shortly after.
They had been warned, before coming here. Durnehviir had told them of these "Creatures of Grimm" that plagued the land, a blight that could give any of the many threats that had plagued Nirn in its long sordid history a run for their money.
He had just neglected to tell themhow infuriatingly persistent they were.
This was the fourth pack of creatures to waylay them today, and they'd been here for 5 days, wherever here was. Her patience was wearing thin.
Fwwoooosshhhh
'Well, at least someone's enjoying themselves…' she thought dryly, as she felt heat washing over her from the flames J'zargo had just used to incinerate the last 2 members of the pack.
"Eh, different world, different monsters, same flammability." The Khajiit said, an immensely pleased grin in his feline features. "J'zargo thinks he'll do well here."
"I am glad you are having your fun." She grouched good naturedly. "But need I remind you we are here for a reason?"
"Yes, yes, J'zargo knows. We're here to find Tristard. That task, however, would be much easier if we had an inkling of where he might be. Or where we might be for that matter. It's a step up from the snow and cold, but J'zargo's growing bored of so many trees."
Serana had to concede the point. The duo hadn't even been certain of whether they had landed in the right place until the first night rolled around and they saw the broken moon in the skies. But in all their time here, all they had seen had been forest, Grimm, more forest and even more Grimm.
In hindsight, they really should've considered that finding Tristard here would be the same as looking for a humble Altmer amongst the Thalmor, incredibly difficult if not borderline impossible.
"I feel the same, but for now we have little choice. First and foremost, let's focus our efforts on finding a settlement, then go from there."
"With the way these things work, by the time we find a place we'll also find him there, knee deep in trouble. In fact, 20 septims says that's exactly what happens."
Tempted as she was, Serana knew better than to make bets like that.
/
The blazing edge of Gurahyol swung in an uppercut strike, bisecting Blake from left hip to right shoulder.
As the clone dispersed, Tristard pressed the advantage by bombarding the retreating Faunus with fireballs, and she danced and dodged her way around them with all the feline grace her heritage would imply.
Then she made for a straight dash towards the Dragonborn, only to be met face first with another fiery bolt…
… And as that clone faded, the real Blake struck with a blindside kick to his head, sending him tumbling and his mask flying.
After the events at the Docks and the revelations that followed, things had fallen once again into a comfortable routine. And the Archmage found himself genuinely enjoying a comparatively mundane lifestyle. Studying the lore to be found in the Academy's library, entertaining Ruby and Nora's requests for tales of his exploits, taking a little time, every once in a while, in order to give Durnehviir a chance to stretch his wings (even skies not of Nirn where better than nothing as far as the old dragon was concerned, plus the Grimm made for passable amusement) …
… And of course, attending to classes, such as the currently occurring Combat Practice.
Tristard rolled with the blow and quickly got to his feet, taking in his surroundings.
The scoreboard, now properly calibrated to account for his… unique signature in order to prevent any more technical victories (for the sake of good sport) showed Blake to have the advantage, the Aura bar slightly bigger than his.
From the audience, came reassurances and encouragement from Ruby, who was so torn between which of her teammates to support she had settled for just taking turns.
And in front of him, his adversary stood combat ready, eyeing him with that half-smirk of hers.
Tristard took a moment to rub his jaw. That had smarted.
"Crafty, Blake." He stated, then planted his axe on the ground next to him, putting her on edge. He was planning something… "Now, let us see how you handle something that you can't dodge."
"FEIM ZII GRON!"
As the words of power took effect, the Archmage became a spectral wraith, only half real.
Blake could only blink. She recognized this shout from initiation, but how could he beat her if he couldn't even touch her?
Then her eyes widened as she saw him waving his arms in rhythmic patterns, mumbling in some language unknown to her. Of course, what better time to prepare a nasty trick than when the opponent couldn't touch him?
Tsk'ing in annoyance, the Faunus girl prepared herself, her posture coiled like a cat about to pounce. She'd have to time this just right…
A few moments passed between them, the crowd growing silent at the obvious tension.
Tristard's form begun regaining its normal cohesion.
Blake lunged the moment it started happening…
… And was too late to stop the Archmage from slamming his now glowing hand into the ground.
A bright green flash filled the entire amphitheatre, hiding everything from view. And when it died down, the girl fell sideways, body frozen mid sprint by the Mass Paralysis spell.
Satisfied with his success, Tristard picked up Gurahyol, calmly walked towards his downed opponent, and casually put its blade to her throat.
"I think it is safe to say that this is my win, Professor."
…
…
…
"Professor Goodwitch?"
Confused by the lack of response, the Dragonborn turned to the woman… Only to find her leaning against the wall awkwardly, stiff as a board.
"Eeeerrhhmm…"
Noticing the sudden silence, the Archmage looked around his surroundings, only to find the other students all on the ground on pairs and piles of awkwardly frozen bodies. He half wondered how in the name of the Nine had Jaune managed to land face first into Pyrrha's bosom. The girl's face was redder than her hair and he could swear there was steam coming out of it…
"…I may have gotten slightly carried away."
The Professor's glare made it clear she was not amused.
/
"Is friendly fire from you something we're gonna have to watch out for in the future, Storm Caller?" Yang asked teasingly as he left the class room.
It had taken him a while to manually break the spell on every student (and he'd very pointedly left the blond and redhead duo for last, to see if they'd finally take the hint…), and after that a while more to get through Goodwitch's stern lecture…
"I am not infallible, Yang." He replied with a sigh. "And having trouble with the concept of holding back is a flaw of mine I admit to freely."
"You mean you weren't taking me seriously until you used that trick?" Blake asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Nothing of the sort and you know it. I guess you could say it's sort of against my nature. And from a certain point of view, Paralysis is me holding back."
After the things she'd seen him do, Blake couldn't really argue the point.
"Well, at least you only got a couple of days' worth of detention." Ruby stated, in her own well-meaning but awkward attempt at encouragement. "I mean, coming from Professor Goodwitch, that's practically getting away scot free."
"So you say, Ruby, so you say." The Dragonborn allowed with a chuckle. Then he realized that the member of team most likely to have words for him regarding this debacle had yet to speak. Looking at her, he found that Weiss seemed lost in some quiet contemplation.
"Weiss? Is something the matter?" He inquired, snapping the Heiress out of her musings.
"Uh? Oh, no, no-I mean, yes, I mean, that is to say…"
Such blundering was so out of character that entire team looked at her in surprise. And that reaction seemed to stir the girl back on track as she took a deep breath and started over.
"Actually… yes, Tristard. There is something in which I feel I could have need of your…expertise." She admitted.
Tristard raised a curious eyebrow.
"Oh?"
/
"Summoning, you say?" He asked in an intrigued tone.
At her request, the duo had separated from the rest of the team and found unoccupied area in the training rooms. And only then did the heiress reveal her issue.
"Yes." She explained. "It is an incredibly rare occurrence in general, but in the Schnee family, our Semblance of Glyphs is hereditary. And besides what you've seen me doing, it also allows for summoning. Winter, my sister, explains it as the summoning of foes vanquished in combat, and she's very proficient in it."
"You are fond of her." The Archmage noted, her words and her way of saying them making it plainly obvious.
"I am." She replied with a smile. "Winter is… she is what I aspire to be."
The smile was short lived however, as Weiss sighed dejectedly.
"But I am a long way off from that." She admitted, with a humility that surprised the Dragonborn. "And certainly not while I keep having this issue…"
"Hhhhhhmmmm…" Tristard considered, arms crossed in contemplation.
"Very well, then." He said at length. "I cannot promise that my input will help you, Weiss, but let us give it a try. First, however…"
Before the girl's curious gaze, her teammate got down on one knee, took what appeared to be a small piece of coal out from his pocket, and began drawing something on the floor, a strange angled rune.
"What are you doing?" She inquired.
"Creating a minor binding ward. In the art of conjuration I dabble in, it's a good protection for first timers. Not everything that we call upon is gonna be docile right away." The Archmage explained as he gave his work a few finishing touches, then pressed his hand against it, the black lines briefly glowing purple with power.
"A little rough, but it'll do the trick." He said as he rose and took a few steps back. "Now then, let me see how you try to perform this summoning normally, using the ward as a focus."
Nodding slowly, Weiss took a deep breath, then drew Myrtenaster, holding the blade before her. As Tristard looked on, a Glyph manifested on the floor, over his quickly-drawn rune, where it began to spin. Slowly at first, then progressively faster.
So it went for a small while, with nothing happening. Eventually, Weiss's calm posture started faltering, her focused face shows clear signs of frustration.
And soon after, her sword lowered, and the Glyph faded to nothing as the heiress slumped briefly.
"This is what happens every time I try." She said, somewhat bitterly. "No matter how hard I focus, nothing comes!"
"Hhmm… You say that your family summons fallen foes to serve as allies, aye?"
"Yes, that is how it has been explained to me. Winter can summon ice blue beowolves to aid her in battle."
"Interesting…" Tristard mused. The description and what he had just seen alone wasn't much, but still…
"You must understand, Weiss, that as far as I can tell, my conjurations and your Semblance's summoning work in entirely different systems, so I cannot be certain whether the methods that are right for one are right for the other."
The Heiress looked down, seemingly disheartened.
"Still." He continued, making her perk up in interest. "What I've seen here gives me a few ideas."
"And they are…?" Weiss asked eagerly.
"You see, Conjuration magic comes in 2 main different forms. The first is based around willing raw magical power into shape, forming weapons and armor. Like so."
The Archmage lifted his arm, hand now suffused by a deep, purple glow. As Weiss observed keenly, a spectral Gurahyol manifested in his grasp.
"Impressive…" She breathed out as she studied the piece, a perfect copy down to the last detail. With a glance to ask for his permission, she reached for the weapon, and was shocked to find something strangely solid under her grip. "…Truly impressive. But if you can do this, why even bother carrying that-" She pointed at the real blade strapped to his back "-around then?"
"Same reason you do. Magicka and Aura are different fonts of power, but they are both finite. No mage worth their salt is ever truly unarmed, but I find that many fail to account for situations where that power might fail them and do not prepare accordingly."
Like many a cultist, necromancer or cocksure glory seeker who thought it was a good idea to pick a fight with a Breton born under the sign of the Atronach, a vast majority of which found themselves dispatched by the mundane but rather effective method of "axe to the face".
"Oh. Right." Weiss said, sheepish at the in-hindsight obvious answer and silly question. "So, what's the other form?"
"The other form." The Archmage replied, letting go of the phantom weapon and thus allowing it to dissipate into nothing. "Is the more complex and risky one. Simply put, instead of willing magicka to take the desired shape, we are willing it to open pathways to places beyond, from where we call upon allies to aid us. Like so."
Once again, a purple glow manifested on Tristard's outstretched hand. Only this time, Weiss took a step back in surprise, because instead of a weapon a manifesting in his hand, a large, bright purple gateway opened in front of him, and vanished just as quickly.
Leaving behind the fiery, skeletal figure of a horse.
Before the Heiress could recover from the surprise, the spectral creature approached its caller, trotting almost eagerly, and began to press its muzzle to him, making the Archmage chuckle.
"Good boy, Arvak." He said as he petted the phantom.
Satisfied at the attention received from its master, Arvak finally seemed to notice the other being in its presence, and began approaching her curiously, to which she reacted with a tentative step back.
"Do not be alarmed, Weiss." Tristard was quick to reassure. "Arvak may look terrifying, but you won't find a more loyal and docile steed anywhere."
Glancing in his direction with a somewhat doubtful look, the girl remained frozen in place, as the horse came near and seemed to sniff at her curiously. She nearly jumped out of her skin as it gave a snort, pressed its muzzle to her…
…And she found herself surprised at the fact it didn't feel repulsive. Cold, certainly, rough, without a doubt, but not repulsive. Weiss would freely admit she didn't have any experience with animals, but even she could recognize this for the friendly gesture it was. Hesitantly, the white-haired girl raised her hand and slowly petted its head. The horse seemed to lean into her touch in delight.
"He likes you." The Archmage noted in amusement.
"I remember seeing i-him, during initiation. What… What is he?" Weiss asked, mystified at the strange creature that was now as putty in her hands.
"Arvak was a simple horse once." Her teammate answered. "But sadly, like many others before him, he ended up in the plane known as the Soul Cairn, from whence Durnehviir also comes. A dreadful place, full of nothing but wastelands of death and decay, its denizens doomed to roam for all eternity."
The heiress balked at the description, gazing upon the animal with pity.
"…Who would live in such a world?" She all but whispered.
"None by choice, I assure you. The Soul Cairn is the domain of beings known only as the Ideal Masters, who are ever seeking more mortal souls to add to their kingdom. To this end, they reach out to Nirn and promise knowledge and power to those willing to listen." Tristard sighed somberly. "Their domain is abundant with the souls of fools who do, and of all the innocent sacrificed by them in their pursuit of power."
"That's, that's just…" Weiss could not supress the shiver that ran down her spine. Tristard watched quietly as she let loose a despondent sigh of her own.
"Humanity had always wondered, you know." She said quietly. "Whether there was something more out there. To be hearing this now, that places like that exist… It's a little disheartening."
"Aye." Tristard, agreed. "Make no mistake, Weiss, the planes of Oblivion are dangerous places, alien to mortal comprehension, rife with Daedra, creatures of nightmare that would like nothing more than to prey on the helpless if given half a chance. This is a danger that anyone who dabbles in conjuration must be aware of, for we are creating pathways into these worlds and letting these creatures cross into ours. Control must be strict, every precaution must be considered, and an iron will is required to command what is summoned."
A long moment of silence, as the Archmage let the weight of his words settle with his current pupil.
"That is not to say, however, that they're all bad." He then followed.
"Oh?" Weiss sounded in confusion. "For instance?"
"You."
"Beg pardon?!" The Heiress exclaimed indignantly, shocked by the simple statement.
"The word "Daedra", -" The Dragonborn was quick to explain, not without some amusement. "-Is a catch-all term that means "Not our ancestors", used to refer to any being that didn't have a hand in the creation of Nirn, according to our myths and legends. Granted, I am uncertain of the position of Remnant in this grand scheme, but it is still a place outside of my world, meaning that from a certain perspective, all of you could be considered Daedra. And compared to the wastelands of the Soul Cairn or the eldritch libraries of Apocrypha? When I first got here, I instantly pegged Remnant as a marked improvement."
…
…
Against all she'd been taught during her upbringing, Weiss really couldn't contain a small giggle. She'd been doing that a lot more during her stay in Beacon, she noted.
She found that she didn't mind one bit.
"Well, I suppose your experiences would give you a certain level of expertise on the matter." She eventually replied.
"Damn straight." The dragonborn answered, pleased that his attempt to lighten up the mood had been successful. "That said, I believe we have gone on another tangent. That too is another flaw of mine I admit to freely. Arvak."
With some reluctance, the spectral steed parted from the white-haired girl, and approached its master.
"Ah, don't look so glum, old friend. Tell you what, why don't you stick around for a bit more while Weiss and I continue our discussion?"
Arvak neighed its approval of the idea and stood to the side, witnessing the proceedings.
"So…" Weiss began. "How does what you've explained to me relate to my problem?"
"Look at the ward I created, Weiss. Tell me, what do you see?"
Blinking once, the Heiress fixed her gaze on the spot where her summoning had failed, and for a long moment tried to analyse the strange writing, to figure out if there was any hidden meaning to the question. She found none.
"Hhhhmmm, nothing? I mean, it's just there, and nothing occurred."
"Precisely." Tristard affirmed, much to her confusion. "The purpose of wards, Weiss, is two-fold. It stabilizes the summoning process, smoothing the pathways opened, and compelling obedience from what is summoned, provided it's small and weak enough. If such had been the case here, the ward would have triggered and glowed brightly as it took effect. But there was nothing, no reaction, which tells me, that as far as I can measure, there was no summoning of anything from beyond."
"Which means…?"
"Well, if your summoning does not act in one of the ways mine is supposed to, either it doesn't work in any way I am familiar with, and thus my input in useless, or…"
"…Or it works in the other." The heiress finished in realization.
"Aye. You say that you summon fallen foes to aid in battle. In normal circumstances, such would be under the purvey of Necromancy. But by your example, given that Grimm leave no corpse, and also what I have witnessed here, I can only surmise that what you are doing is less calling upon something and more making something take shape. That what you create is so lifelike and apparently autonomous, I can only assume it's because of some property of aura. Remarkable, really."
"I suppose that would make sense… But then, why do all my attempts at doing it fail?"
"Oh, that's simple. You get flustered and lose focus too easily."
"Excuse me?!" Weiss exclaimed indignantly. "I do no such thing, I-"
"You do. You start thinking on all the things that can go wrong, then start to feel doubt as to whether you'll manage, which makes you lose your patience as it starts taking longer than you think it would, which then quickly turns to frustration which breaks your focus and guarantees you failure." Tristard cut her off, bluntly.
A full minute passed in silence as the white-haired girl stood there, staring wide-eyed at the teammate that had so quickly dissected her thoughts. And loathe as she was to admit it, so accurately.
"Fine, you are right." She allowed with a dejected sigh. "But if that is the case, then I suppose that there's nothing much that can be done other than keep trying…"
And she had dared to hope that she'd finally found a way past this hurdle…
"Well, of course, that goes without saying, Weiss." Tristard replied, sounding somewhat confused, like he didn't understand why she'd think otherwise. "What you're going through is a problem that plagues many a rookie at the craft. Oblivion, I am particularly well suited to the magical arts, and still conjuration was one of the hardest to learn. So much to keep a track of and all that. It's no use fretting, though, as I have no doubt you will eventually get it right. In fact… Come here."
"What?"
"Come here a second, I want to try something." The Dragonborn repeated, motioning her to move forward. Confused, the heiress complied…
…Only to step back immediately when he passed a pale green glowing hand over her face.
"What did you…do?" She mumbled. For some reason, she didn't feel as shocked or angry as she felt she should have been. Instead she felt… she didn't know what to call it, but it was a nice, soothing feeling…
"I just used a calm spell on you." He promptly answered, to which she tilted her head. Yep, she really should be angry at that, but wasn't, weird… "Useful to avoid unwanted confrontations, and also very good at clearing the mind when concentration is required. It will pass in but a couple of minutes, but before that, Weiss, try again. Picture in your mind what you want to summon and will it to take shape. No rush, no pressure, just try it."
"Ok…" She nodded, taking position.
She thought of the words of Tristard and Winter, and the glyph formed on the floor. As it began spinning, she briefly wondered if things would go wrong, and then simply dismissed the notion. Instead, she pictured in her mind a giant armored knight, a test by the man who never believed she'd manage. But a test she triumphed over. A foe that had been beaten…
Slowly, the Glyph grew ever brighter, and suddenly, a faint, hazy figure could be seen taking shape… Only to vanish as the strain still proved to be too much and the glyph shattered, fading into several shards.
The girl could only stare dumbly at the place where, briefly, something stood.
"Well, I'd say that was a marked improvement. Well done." Tristard said cheerily.
A bright, dopey smile bloomed on Weiss's face.
"Thank you, Tristard."
"Think nothing of it." The Archmage dismissed casually. "I have done what I can to help. Now, it's up to you. Find your focus, manage this state of calm by yourself, and the rest will surely fall into place."
The heiress nodded gracefully, an ecstatic feeling of accomplishment suffusing her even through the slowly fading haze of his spell. Then, a question popped unbidden into her mind, which she couldn't help but voice.
"Tristard…?"
"Aye?"
"You… mentioned magic and aura as 2 different powers. You clearly use magic, but… what about aura?"
"I never even heard of the concept before coming here, Weiss. My Thu'um comes from my soul, but as you understand it and explained it to me? No, I don't have aura, nor have I ever made use of it."
"What…? But, in sparring…"
"I've wondered about that myself, honestly." Tristard shrugged. "I can only theorize the equipment has either categorized my magicka reserves as aura, or the reading of my soul has confused it."
"But, going out against the Grimm without aura… that'd be suicide for pretty much anyone on Remnant…"
"Well, I'm not of Remnant, am I?" Was the cheeky response.
"Tristard…" Weiss said, with a scowl, a spike of her temper flaring. She paused in whatever half-hearted rant she was about to begin however, when she saw her teammate sigh wearily.
"Looks, Weiss, I appreciate your concern, I really do, but the fact is… As much as I am human, my soul is not. In my soul, I am a dragon. And you must understand, dragons are as a general rule… detached, in the way they see the world, and that is the nicest way I can put it. I have the perspective that they lack, but still… Souls are sacred, Weiss, and I worry at what the consequences tampering with mine may be. I have my defensive spells, and they have served me well here. That'll suffice."
Weiss wanted to object, she really did. Going around without aura in their line of work was suicidally idiotic in every sense of the words. What stopped her however, was not his words, nor his logic.
No, what stopped her was the fact that, for the first time since she met him, Tristard looked apprehensive. Scared even.
"…Very well." She said at length. "I can't say I agree, but if you feel so strongly about it, and against my better judgement, I suppose I can let the matter lie for now…"
"Thank you, Weiss." Tristard replied. "I ask for nothing else."
/
A couple of days later, an unexpected break from the routine occurred. All members of Team RWBYS found messages on their scrolls, urgently calling them to the Headmaster's Office.
And thus they answered.
"So… Any idea of what this could be about?" Yang asked her team as they walked, unsure what to think. "I mean, we haven't gotten into any trouble recently, have we?"
"Not that I can recall, no." Weiss answered. "I mean, I am sure I did not, but I can't speak for you."
"Oh, bite me, Weiss Cream, I've been a model student lately."
"Was that before or after that Friday Goodwitch caught you out after curfew?" Blake asked deadpan.
"Blake!" The blonde exclaimed theatrically. "How could you?! Betrayed by my own teammate, oh woe is me…"
"I am sure you'll survive." Her partner replied dryly.
"Trriiiissstard." Yang wined, keeping up the act. "Weiss and Blake are ganging up on me."
"You're a big girl, I am sure you can take it." Was his blunt reply, earning a giggle from Ruby.
"Boooh, you all suck." Yang concluded, before each of them broke into a small bout of chuckles.
"Well," a nearby voice noted. "Someone's having fun."
Glancing in its direction, Tristard found another team approaching them, which he quickly recognized as Velvet and her teammates of CFVY. After the debacle at the cafeteria, the second-year group had become friends with RWBYS, hanging out on occasion and sometimes giving pointers to help in course work. Apparently, coming to the defence of their Faunus member had earned him "brownie points" with them, whatever that meant.
"Oh, hi Guys." Ruby greeted cheerfully as they approached. "How's it going?"
"Hello yourself, kid." Coco, the team's beret-wearing leader, answered.
"Greetings." Was Yatsuhashi's reply, and by the Nine, if he didn't know any better, he'd have wondered if the man was half-giant, while Fox simply nodded his acknowledgement. A man of few words, that one.
"Coooooccccoooo…" Ruby wined in exasperation. "I am not a kid, I drink milk!"
"Kinda making my point for me here, Little Red."
"Eh, she's got you there, Ruby." The Dragonborn commented in amusement.
"Treachery! Mutiny!"
"Not so funny when it's you, uh sis?" Yang teased.
"Hush, you!"
As the younger sister tried to admonish the older, only to get caught in a headlock for her efforts, Tristard noticed he was being approached by someone else.
"H-hhmm, hello, Tristard…" Velvet greeted shyly, fidgeting in place and not quite meeting his gaze.
"Greetings, Velvet. I trust all is well? Cardin hasn't been troubling you again, has he?" He inquired kindly.
"N-no… In fact, since that day… No one has bothered me again. T-thank you for that…"
"Think nothing of it, I am used to settling problems like yours."
The rabbit faunus couldn't hold back a radiant smile at the words. Neither she nor him noticed the faint scowl of the other Faunus in the gathering.
"Aw, isn't this nice? Look at you, talking to your hero. A few weeks ago you could barely even form coherent words near him. Aaah, they grow up so fast…" Coco suddenly interjected, wiping a mock tear from her eye.
"Oh my God, Coco!" Velvet screamed, suddenly very red in the face. "I-it's not like that!"
"It's not like what? I'm just saying, this is good progress for you, Vel. Keep it up, and you might just get lu-" Whatever else the brunette was going to say was interrupted as Velvet rushed to cover her mouth.
"S-so, huuuu… What are you guys doing?" The rabbit-eared girl asked, ignoring her leader's protests.
"We've been called to the Headmaster's office. The message said it was important." Ruby explained, making the other team blink.
"Truly?" Yatsuhashi inquired, eyebrow raised. "It is the same for us."
"Hhhmmph-" No longer amused by her teammate's antics, Coco remove her hand before continuing. "And that is not a good sign. If 2 teams are being called at the same time, either we're in trouble or the trouble is elsewhere."
The first years were fast to notice that all levity had disappeared from the older (for 4 of them) team leader's tone.
"Then let's pick up the pace." Ruby stated, and everyone nodded before doing just that.
Soon after, they had arrived at the Headmaster's office. And the tenseness that both him and Professor Goodwitch displayed lent credence to Coco's words.
"Ah, Team CFVY and Team RWBYS, glad to see you here." Ozpin addressed them.
"Headmaster." Coco replied respectfully, while Ruby inclined her head. "So, why were our teams called?"
The Headmaster's answer was a long, weary sigh, immediately putting the teams on edge.
"I am afraid there is trouble. Glynda"
Nodding, the Deputy Headmistress briefly fiddled with her scroll, and a wide holo-screen popped up from Ozpin's desk, showing a map of what the assembled students recognized as the south-eastern border of the Kingdom, with emblems marking the scattered towns and villages.
One such emblem was colored red.
"The village of Ashenwood is an isolated community in the Kingdom's border." Goodwitch explained. "It's a small place destined to house those who work to maintain the region's CCT support tower, which maintains the communication grid of this entire external region of the kingdom, and is usually always manned by one team of Huntsmen. But, for the last 2 days, all communication to and from the village has halted."
The words hung heavy in the air, as the teams processed them. The implications were not pleasant.
"No alarm was raised before the village went dark." Ozpin took it from there. "And according to our own CCT technics, the support tower's still receiving our transmissions, which makes the possibility of it being overrun by Grimm unlikely. And that is why, I am hereby assigning Team CFVY a mission to investigate why Ashenwood isn't answering, with Team RWBYS assigned as back up. Will you accept?"
For a few brief moments, there was silence. The 2 teams glanced among themselves, then at each other. In all of them, there was a resolute seriousness.
"We're in." Coco spoke for CFVY.
"So are we." Ruby did the same for RWBYS.
The silence prolonged itself for a few more moments, as the Headmaster gazed upon the Huntsmen and huntresses in training.
For a brief moment, Tristar could have sworn he saw pride in the man's eyes. Pride, and a sorrowful, resigned acceptance.
"Very well. The Bullhead that will carry you there is expecting you at the landing pads. Prepare all that you will require and meet there as soon as possible. Good luck, and safe journey."
/
Having put their affairs in order and gathered all the gear that they deemed necessary, the 2 teams had met with their transport fairly quickly.
It would be a couple of hours ride, give or take, to Ashenwood. A time that was spent with last minute check-ups, discussions of how to proceed, tips and suggestions being handed out, and also some casual conversations in attempts to lighten the mood.
Some, admittedly, were more successful than others.
"For the last time, Coco." Tristard all but ground out. "I will not change my robes."
"I'm just sayin'." The girl, finally seeming to pick up on his annoyance, relented while raising her hands defensively. "That thing is an assault on good taste, and I could easily point to a few good places for gear…"
"Combat apparel doesn't have to be pretty, it has to be effective." The Dragonborn stated.
"Darling, please." Coco scoffed. "In our line of work? It has to be both. Besides, if it is effectiveness you want, there's much better protected get-ups out there."
"Can they instinctively lash out at what threatens their owner? Because if not, I will respectfully decline."
"…I honestly don't know how to respond to that."
"Then for the love of the Nine, don't."
"Jeez, Man, why so defensive? It's like you had to kill for that thing."
"And it was a bloody hard battle with the most despicable son of a whore I ever had the displeasure of meeting, but I'll be damned if I let the spoils go to waste."
…
…
"Uuuuh… Ok, then. Forget I said anything." The brunette said uncertainly, finally deciding to drop the subject, while the others watched on in bemusement, her teammates wondering whether he was joking, and his wondering how they'd react if they knew he wasn't. Then Ruby glanced out the window.
"Guys, look!"
Taking their places at the windows of the Bullhead's left side, the students saw a wild, thickly forested landscape. The only sign of civilization for miles around was the stone structure of the CCT support tower, stand tall in stark contrast with its surroundings. As the CCT staff had said, it was intact.
They were near their destination.
"Look alive, kids!" The pilot suddenly spoke from the cockpit, cutting into their conversation. "Ashenwood is just a few minutes, should be visible just little beyond the towe-aw hell…"
"What's the matter?" Coco instantly responded as she approached and took a look at what the pilot had seen. "Oh…"
The other quickly realized what was wrong.
Ashenwood was a relatively small settlement. The importance of the work its residents did, however, had afforded better protection than many other settlements in this frontier. Solid walls of stone surrounded the community that stood in the small plain between the edge of the forest and the river lazily meandering through the valley.
Said walls seemed to have availed it little though, because tendrils of black smoke were rising from within them.
"Crap" The older team leader stated succinctly.
"What the hell happened here…?" Yang muttered, unusually somber.
"The place's thrashed." The pilot answered as the bullhead flew over the village. Everything was burnt, some buildings collapsed into piles of rubble, but not signs of life anywhere. "Wrecked and burnt to a crisp. Fire probably started when the Grimm came in… You kids sure you're good for this?"
Coco and Ruby looked at each other, an unspoken conversation occurring between the team leaders before the older one replied.
"Yeah." Coco said seriously. "If nothing else we need to check for survivors. Drop us off at the center near the town hall, and inform Beacon, just in case."
"Roger that, kid!"
A few minutes later, the 2 teams stood amidst the ruins as their transport hovered a few meters off the ground.
"Not enough clear room for landing! I'll keep back and hover while I report this. Give a holler when you're done checking the place. Best of luck!"
With that, the Bullhead took off.
Leaving the students to decide where to go from there.
Tristard glanced around. Team CVFY were holding up fairly well. Clearly, they had some experience with these sorts of events. That was not to say they weren't affected, though. Little tells, from Velvet's drooping ears to Coco's unnatural seriousness gave away their apprehension.
His own team was faring little better. Ruby, Nine bless her innocent heart, was trying hard to be the leader she wanted to be, but her face betrayed her dismay as she stuck close to her sister for comfort, the blond herself showing none of her usual carefree demeanour, while Weiss's gaze darted this way and that as she took in the destruction, and even Blake's usual reserved demeanour did nothing to hide how aghast she felt.
Tristard couldn't blame them. He himself was hardly comfortable in this place. It felt like Helgen all over again.
And it was this very experience that had the Dragonborn on edge. Something did not feel right here…
"Ok, things are not looking good here." Coco addressed the group. "First and foremost, we need to see if we can find anyone who survived this mess, and while we're at it, check for any clues about what the heck happened here."
"Perhaps it'd be better to split up?" Ruby suggested somberly. "Cover more ground that way."
"Yeah, I was going to propose that myself." The brunette agreed, nodding in approval. "I suggest we do it like this: Ruby, Tristard and I will check the town hall, there should be a shelter there where we'll most likely find survivors. Fox, Yatsu and Weiss will check the gate and the walls, see if they can find were the breach occurred. Vel, Yang and Blake will check around the buildings and wreckage, see if they can find any stragglers. Any objections?"
It sounded like a solid enough plan, so none did.
"All right then." Coco concluded. "We will rendezvous here in 30 minutes. Stick together, keep an eye out for any clues, and stay sharp."
/
As the other trios split in different directions, Coco, Ruby, and Tristard approached the charred black structure of the town hall.
"Building seems like it's still holding well." The elder team leader noted as they stood at the threshold into its dark interior. "Hhhm, damn. In hindsight, I should've brought Vel for this part."
"Not a problem." Tristard reassured. "I've got just the thing."
With a little bit of focus and trickle of magicka, the bright orb of a candlelight spell pulsed into life in the Archmage's hands, before rising to float lazily around him.
"Nice trick." Coco noted with a raised eyebrow. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"
"I like to think of it as being prepared for any eventuality." He replied, earning a small giggle from Ruby.
"Fair enough." The brunette replied as she grabbed her handbag. "Well then, let's go. After you, big guy."
Following her example, the Dragonborn and the red-hooded girl both drew their own weapons, Ruby keeping Crescent Rose in its more compact sniper form, and the trio proceeded with their investigation, the Dragonborn going first, followed by his own teammate while the second-year covered the rear.
A quick survey of the 2-story building, however, did not yield much in the way of results.
"This is weird." Coco muttered as she quickly checked a small division that may at one point have been a janitor's closet. "Even discounting the absence of people, there's no signs of activity anywhere in the building."
"That would probably be an indicator that whatever has befallen this place occurred during the night." Tristard concluded.
"That… makes sense." Ruby offered hesitantly. "But still… Even accounting for the Grimm, you'd expect a greater mess here than what we found. Fire aside, the offices and divisions show no signs of anyone being in them for a while. Something doesn't add up…"
"You're right." The older leader agreed. "Let's check the basement. Best bet at finding a shelter."
Reaching the lower levels, the group were quick to find a pair of large, steel doors, the one part of the building that the flames didn't seem to reach. Again, however, try as they might, they could not find signs of activity anywhere.
In fact, as Coco worked the security pad on the wall and the doors opened…
… They revealed nothing but a large, empty room.
"Oh, hell…" The brunette cursed as the trio hesitantly entered the room.
"Where is everybody…?" Ruby mumbled quietly, but Coco had no answer to give.
Tristard, for his part, got down on one knee and softly brushed his hand to the floor in the faint hope he'd find some clues.
Once again, he found none. But that told him everything he needed to know.
"Doors were unmarred." The Dragonborn said. "This place has been left unscathed by the fire, and yet there's no indication that anyone's been here for the last few days at the least."
"Yes, I figured as much." Coco conceded. "But that doesn't make sense. Frontier villages like this have generally have safety protocols involving safe rooms like this. Even if the Grimm caught them by surprise, there's no way at least a few of the villagers wouldn't find their way here."
"Then answer, then, is obvious." Tristard replied in a grave, serious tone.
"What are you thinking, Tristard?" His own team leader asked.
"No signs of survivors. And no signs of any activity in what was supposed to pass for their safe haven. That can only mean that they never got the chance to get here in the first place."
Both of the girls processed the Archmage's conclusion. Even if they didn't like it one bit, it made a grim amount of sense.
"You seem awfully certain of this." Coco commented, not in denial, but a small deal of apprehension.
A weary sigh was her answer.
"Sadly, this is a scenario I am not entirely unfamiliar with…"
Before he could expand on that however, a scream was heard from outside.
"Velvet!"
Reacting instantly, the older team leader rushed to aid her friend, and the other 2 quickly followed.
/
Ashenwood was not a particularly large place not did it house a particularly large population. Therefore, it didn't take Yatsu, Weiss and Fox long to inspect the entire lengths of the walls.
"The walls are solid, and standing strong." The giant said as they walked. "No signs of weakness or damage on the inner side anywhere."
"Obviously then, the breach didn't occur through them." Weiss concluded. "Either the Grimm were in such quantities that they just scaled past the walls, which is not a good prospect, or they got through the gate somehow."
"We'll see soon enough, then." Yatsu replied.
"Up ahead." Fox said, as they neared the large stone arch of the village's entrance.
And found it's large, wooden doors swung wide open.
"What…?" The heiress couldn't help but breather out, as the massive swordsmen approached the gate and placed a hand to its burnt surface.
"There's no signs of Grimm marks as far as I can see." He noted.
The white-haired girl reached the same conclusion.
"And the lock is undone. What happened here…?"
"Inside."
"What was that, Fox?" Yatsu inquired turning to his teammate.
"The gates were open from the inside." The quiet man stated.
Weiss and Yatsu stared at him in shock as the conclusion crashed over them. It was unthinkable, but yet it made so much sense…
"Why would-"
A scream pierced the air.
"Velvet!"
Both of the boys of Team CVFY rushed in their teammates defence.
Weiss followed seconds behind only because of a brief pause.
She could've sworn she had glimpsed something twinkling in the woods outside.
/
"You hear anything?" Yang asked Velvet as they stood before a pile of rubble that may have once been an inn.
The girl's rabbit ear twitched a couple of times as she strained to do just that, then she sighed dejectedly and shook her head.
"Damn." The blond grunted in mounting frustration. Where was everybody?
As the pair moved down the street, Blake followed shortly behind, keeping her own eyes and ears peeled for any sign of trouble. While she kept alert though, a small part of her mind did take the time to wonder why she felt so uncomfortable with this arrangement.
Velvet was one of the nicest, kindest people she had ever met. Even if she seemed to have an odd lack of backbone for someone in her position, Blake had never once had issues with the other Faunus before.
Why, then, had she felt just a slight bit bothered when the girl had approached Tristard earlier?
…
Surely, it couldn't be-?
"Oah!"
She was suddenly snapped out of her musings when she noticed her partner almost stumbled on something half-buried in ashes and rubble.
"Are you all right?" Velvet instantly asked in concern.
"Yeah, no worries." The blond was quick to reassure as the disguised Faunus approached. "There's so much stuff littering the streets, I guess I just missed some plank or something."
"Sounds like something you'd do." Blake said as she glanced at the displaced ash and soot that marked where Yang had nearly taken a dive. Suddenly, warning bells began ringing in her head.
There was something there…
…
Oh, no…
"… Blake?" Her partner asked, cutting off her retort to the earlier teasing when she noticed her partner's suddenly grim demeanour.
Without replying, the dark-haired girl approached the spot, got down on one knee, and slowly tried to push the soot away. At her touch, however, a large part of the stuff collapsed.
Revealing the charred, black arm hidden beneath.
"Oh, shit!" Yang hissed in surprise as she took a step back. Velvet fared little better, letting out a shrill scream of shock.
Within minutes, the other 2 groups had arrived.
"Vel, what happe-Oh crap."
"Guys, is everything al-gasp."
In that time, Blake had reluctantly manage to unearth the rest of the corpse. The damage of the fire was too intense to make out whether it had been a man or woman, but by size alone it had been an adult person, lying face down on the ground.
"Oh no…" Tristard could not help but breathe out.
The sight hit the students around him hard. On an intellectual level, those training to become huntsmen knew well that eventually, they'd have to be faced with death. It was quite simply an inevitable part of the job. However, knowing and feeling were too entirely different things. Yang had all but glued herself to Ruby, the younger girl not daring to stare at the display in front of her. Weiss could only stand there, with an absolutely aghast look on her face. Velvet was shaking, but remarkably trying to keep it together. Yatsu and Fox seemed to freeze up, and even Coco's confident demeanour seemed to crumble briefly. Only he and Blake were holding up. But then, both of them were no strangers to situations like this.
To their credit however, it didn't take the rest long to snap out of this funk, without his prompting, no less. Quietly, the Dragonborn approached and took a knee by his teammate's side, taking the time to inspect the corpse as the gathered students shared what they had found and discussed possibilities.
"This… is bad." Coco stated as she finally snapped out of the funk. "What happened to this person?"
"They were buried in the rubble at the edge of this street." Blake noted as she glanced around. "The building here probably collapsed on them."
"That… that may have been what spared it from the worse Grimm could do. They wouldn't leave it in one piece like this otherwise." The older team leader replied.
"The Grimm didn't have anything to do with this."
The entire group turned to look at Tristard, as the dragonborn looked gazed at the body before him.
"…What do you mean, Tristard?"
"This person is facing away from the direction of the town hall… Why would that happen, if we already established that should've been the safest place around? Besides, look."
Tristard pointed to the back of the corpse's knees, which even in its crumpled state, sported large horizontal gashes.
"These wounds are too clean and precise to have been done by fang and claw. This poor sod was hamstrung."
"Why would anyone do that?" Ruby asked uncertainly.
"Why would anyone stop anyone else from being capable of escaping in a situation like this?"
"…Bait." Blake's eyes widened in realization. "This was bait."
"Aye." Tristard replied grimly. "Left behind to keep the Grimm occupied while the real perpetrators made their escape. The empty safehouse, the opened gates… This wasn't the work of Grimm. This was the work of men."
The archmage rose and looked to his comrades.
"We are dealing with bandits here."
A sullen silence filled the air as the two teams came to terms with this shocking realization.
What had befallen Ashenwood had not been the monsters they knew well, but rather monsters of another sort entirely…
In the midst of this silence, however, Velvet's ears began twitching.
"Wait…" The rabbit Faunus said. "I hear something."
Head darting one way and another, her eyes eventually settled on the pile of rule just behind them, and quickly she approached.
"…Whimpering. I hear whimpering! We have a survivor here! Guys, help me out here."
Frantically, the other students joined her in clearing out rubble, digging into the pile as well as they could, until they reached the massive, wooden bar that had once been the building's support beam.
"Whoever's in there is beneath this!" Velvet exclaimed, to which Ruby turned to her only male teammate.
"Tristard!"
"On it!"
Calling upon the magicka, Tristard's hands began to glow a bright orange, a glow that permeated the beam as, with some effort, the Archmage began to use his telekinesis.
After a few moments, the wooden structure began shaking, and with a soft rumble began to slowly lift itself, revealing a small air pocket beneath.
Velvet didn't even take a moment to wonder at this event as she dove in. A minute later, she came out again, with someone in her arms. It was a small girl, no older than 7, covered from her head to the tip of her large, furry tail in soot, wearing a simple dress full of scratches.
"I got her!"
"Quickly now." The dragonborn grunted as he let go of the spell. "Bring her here."
Doing as she was asked, the rabbit Faunus softly placed the girl on the ground, and the Dragonborn was immediately by her side, hands glowing golden as he assessed the damages.
"She seems mostly unharmed." He concluded at length. "Probably dehydrated from 2 days stuck in there but otherwise fine."
As a palpable relief passed among the assembled huntsmen and huntresses in training, Tristard pulled a small vial from his robes.
"Here, little one." He said encouragingly as he pressed it to the child's lips. "Drink this."
At first, there was no reaction. Then, slowly, the unconscious child began to take small sips of the stamina potion, until the beverage triggered a bout of coughing.
"There we go." The Dragonborn said, patting the lass' back encouragingly. She seemed to be trying to rasp out something. "…"
"What is it, little one?"
"Ba… uy…"
"What was that?" Blake asked.
"Bad… Guys… here…"
"What are you talking abo-wait…"
Tristard's instincts were screaming at him. Something was very wrong.
"Tristard, what's wrong?" Ruby asked, the team taking his sudden tenseness as a sign that something was going on.
The dragonborn's answer was to signal for quiet.
"Laas yah nir."
…
Oh, Ruth…
No sooner where the word of power spoken, Tristard's eyes widened in alarm, and barely did he manage to deflect the shot coming his way with Gurahyol.
"AMBUSH!"
Suddenly, dozens of men and women began surging into the street they teams were in, bellowing war cries. They came from within the buildings that were still standing, they came from the side streets, they came from all directions.
RWBYS and CVFY had nowhere to run.
They were trapped.
/
A fair lot of you will probably consider me an asshole for ending the first update in a long time with a cliffhanger.
I will not disagree with the notion, but I will defend myself by saying that it felt necessary for the current mood of the story.
So, Team RWBYS and CVFY working together. We don't usually see much interaction between them in the series, and generally it's JNPR that is used when scenarios like this occur in others fics, so I thought it would be an interesting direction to go in.
And before anyone asks, no, Raven's got nothing to do with this. Plenty of other bandit groups out there, people.
We will see how this all goes down in the next chapter, which I swear will not take as long (long time readers will probably know to take that with a grain of salt though…).
That said, I can say right now that at least until April, updates are unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely.
And with that said, I guess there's nothing left but wish you all a Happy New Year.
I'll hopefully be seeing you all in 2018.
Cheers, folks!