Good Evening Dear Reader! Welcome to the first Interlude chapter of 'The Darkling Thrush'. Before we begin, got some shoutouts to some reviewers! Bagration and Majestic Sappling! Thanks you guys, I appreciate the input.
The Russel Speech was something short but also supposed to be a slap on the face sort of thing. But a Romance for Russel? I've considered it, but if there was going to be one, it would be with a minor character.
Well enough of me talking. On with the show.
Winchester
One of the final battles the Valean Guard took part in was The Stand Still of Cape Groad. Surrounded by bodies of water on each side, Cape Groad connected the city of Tungsten to the sandy nation of Vaccuo. What amazed the Valean Guard was that the attack had not come sooner. It was all quiet on the Western Front.
Whole battalions of Huntsmen turned soldiers marched along the killing road. The city of Tungsten was under siege. The City Defenders were stomped over and blood flew across the sky taking form into a red bird.
Thus birth the Cardinal.
Roman Winchester, a mere Sergeant at the time, with no notable acts to his name, rallied his broken men. If Tungsten would fall, Vaccuo and its people would sweep through Vale and the war would be lost.
For months, the Winchester and his men braved volley upon volley of cannon fire. A wall of lead swept through the air, cutting down those too stupid or too slow to duck. With precious dust running low and their numbers dwindling, Roman and his men raised their weapons for the final push.
The blood bath would not come however. As Roman and his men waited for death, so did the enemy. Those from Vaccuo sat in their trenches surrounding Tungsten, or rather what was left of it. They too had run out dust. So they all just waited for someone to make the next move.
But it never came. In those final days, those final hours, the countries of Remnant gathered on the Island of Vytal and hashed out treaty.
When news reached Tungsten's defenders, Roman marched out the ruined city, past the decimated homes and the streets of ash. He met those he'd fought at Cape Groad alone. In an act that shocked the Vaccuans, it had appeared that Roman had held them off all on his own.
The superior officer, a man named Cesare Violette met Roman and shook his hand. In the name of peace, there would be no more bloodshed. So Violette took his men and marched on home, leaving behind those who had fallen in the trenches.
And Roman returned back where he'd come, amongst the corpse of a city. Where there had once been children laughing in the streets and the smell of freshly baked bread in the air, all that remained was the smell of burnt dreams and echoing sounds of screams.
Roman Winchester walked away a war hero. A man who'd taken a stand against unbeatable odds and held back defeat. Roman retired after serving two years on retainer. He'd gone where no man dared to and walked away with scrapes and bruises.
Ozpin set up Beacon during those days of peace. The world had gotten too mixed up with politics that they'd forgotten the true enemy of humanity. The Grimm. As a favor to his old mentor, Roman took up teaching.
The looks on those aspiring faces, those young men and women who wanted to be Huntsmen just like him. But Roman couldn't look them in the eyes most days. Roman had good days when he could stand up straight and educate his pupils. Other days weren't so good.
Roman quit teaching after a year or two. It just wasn't working out.
He dug into the money he'd saved up and invested in Vale's future. Rebuilding infrastructure of the country was a top priority that had gone unattended after the ruling government was reformed.
During a drunken night out in the city tavern, the old veterans and Roman got to thinking of what to call the new capitol. They could never remember who coined the name. But so was birthed Vale. The city within Vale.
Roman would marry eventually. A nice innkeeper who wasn't too set in her ways. They had a pair of kids Richfield and Margery Winchester. Having invested in Vale, the city he'd been kind to return the favor and returned his money tenfold.
When Roman died, twenty years after peace, he left the Winchesters off with more than he had.
And so is story of the Hero of The Stand Still of Cape Groad. His Great Grandson would hear tales of Roman's exploits and aspire to be something great just like him.
And so, now, Cardin Winchester awaits to join Beacon Academy. The place where his Great Grandfather once taught.
This one went through several revisions. I knew I wanted to write an interlude about Cardin, but then I considered the role he'll be playing throughout the story. He's the second protagonist, we'll be spending a lot of time with him. So that left me with trying to figure out how do I tell a small Cardin story that won't make it repetitive further down the line.
I went through talking about Northern Cardinals to maybe writing Cardin in what is considered to be juvie in RWBY. Cardin designed to be a bully character, but his character design tells a different story. He's well off, he's covered head to toe in armor with gold trim. That's pricey material. So he's got a background and I bet his family would have ties to the country of Vale as a whole. So this just made sense.
Anyways, I hope you liked this. Not all Interlude stories will be following this format. I'll update this story in a bit hopefully. 'Til then. Later days!