"Once upon a time, the world of Remnant was wild yet teeming with life. The Gods of Light and Darkness formed our world, and gave life to all the animals crawling across its surface, swimming in its seas, and flying through its skies.
"The God of Light then went on to make his greatest creations. He formed man out of dust, and breathed life into them. He then formed faunus, too out of dust, and breathed life into them, so they could be the bridge between man and the animals they shared the world with.
"The God of Darkness, the lord of death, saw the beauty of his brother's creations and felt rage at his own limitations and dominion only over death and destruction. His 'greatest' creation was meant to be the natural predator to that of his brother: the Creatures of Grimm. They were crafted to exploit and abuse the thing that made the God of Light's work so beautiful. The very emotions each and every human and faunus felt. The emotions that make us who we are, that prove we are alive, gave life to the very things that existed for no other reason than to take ours.
"The two groups banded together, seeing that there was strength in numbers, and just barely, were they able to fight off the threat of the Grimm. The gods appear to disappear from this tale, but the struggle between the children of the Light, and the beasts of the Darkness rages on.
"In time, the resourcefulness of humans and faunus led to them discovering a natural wonder that gave them fantastical powers that they used to turn the tide in their struggle against the Grimm. This power, they appropriately called 'Dust'.
"The peoples of the world banded together in the four corners of the globe, building castles and cities to serve as the bastions of their civilizations, and thus, the kingdoms of the world were born. The mighty militaries of these kingdoms fended off the threat of the Grimm, but their loyalties lied with their kings before all else.
"However, the tenacity of these early residents of Remnant, and the valor of their armies and soldiers gave rise to the idea of Huntsmen. Brave men and women who dedicated themselves to the extermination of Grimm, and the preservation of peace, rather than any man or woman sitting on a throne. It's thanks to them that the people of Remnant are able to sleep soundly at night. It's because of the Huntsmen that people can run, and play, and dream, and laugh. People like… you!"
The fair skinned woman looked down at the little girl sitting on the bench beside her, who shared her same complexion and jet black hair. The girl was looking at her with wide, gleaming silver eyes. As she ended her story, she reached down and lightly poked the girl's nose. The girl started giggling wildly.
"How much of that is real, mom?" Asked the girl.
"Well… if I'm being honest, I don't know, Ruby. I don't know if this story is all true, sort of true, or just something we made up to make sense of the world. All I do know is that the Grimm are out there."
"And people like you fight them?"
"That's right." She began stroking Ruby's hair. "And I'll keep on fighting them, so that you and Yang can be happy and safe." The wide smile on the girl's face warmed the woman's heart. "So that I can protect your smiles."
Ruby forced the smallest of smiles onto her face as she placed a blanket into her basket on top of the lunch that she had made. The sun was streaming into the kitchen, bathing the room in a pleasant, warm light. It was a good day to go out, Ruby thought. With her picnic basket packed, Ruby picked it up and started to head out of the log cabin she called home. As she walked through the living room, she stopped at the dog bed that sat by the sofa. The black headed tri-color corgi she had known for most of her life looked up and tilted his head.
"Sorry, Zwei… I hope I didn't wake you up." Ruby knelt down and started petting Zwei. When he started licking her hand, she started to laugh. "I'm off to go see mom… I'll be back later today, alright? Be a good boy while I'm gone, okay?".
He barked, though Ruby couldn't tell if he was telling her he'd behave or if he was barking at nothing in particular. She opened the door and a sea of green appeared before her. Grass and trees filled the landscape before her, a dirt path leading towards the town of Patch she called home. She walked down the path, looking around. When she heard the sounds of impacts and grunting, she walked around the house. There she saw her dad and sister sparring. Her sister's violet eyes flashed in her direction, then their father's fist caught her square in the chest. Ruby winced as she fell. She sat up, freshly fallen leaves and grass peppering her golden blonde hair with specks of green.
"Dammit, dad!"
"Sorry, Yang," as he helped her up he said, "but that's why you never take your eyes off your opponent in a fight."
"Hey, Ruby! Heading out to visit mom?" Yang asked.
"Yeah. I'll be back later. Don't wait for me if I'm not back in time for dinner, okay?"
"You know I'm not going to be able to do that, Ruby," said her father, "If it starts getting dark, I'm sending Yang after you." Ruby shrugged, and her father sighed. "Take care, Ruby."
Ruby pulled up the hood of her red cloak and headed down the path towards the town. Her mind was swirling with the things she'd want to talk to her mother about. It wasn't like it had been all that long since the last time they spoke, but a lot had happened since then. She wanted to make sure that she didn't forget any of it; that she knew how she wanted to articulate things.
She entered the town of Patch proper. It was a small town. Ruby would guess it only had ten thousand residents at most. Other people in the town had the same idea as her, to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go on a walk. Passing a tavern, she saw a group from the Patch Garrison playing a game of cards. She frowned, unsure if they were just taking a break because someone else was watching the town's gates, or if they were just slacking off. She shook her head and tried to smile again. She didn't want her mom to see her upset like that.
Patch was a very rural town, but one structure definitely caught someone's eyes whenever they walked by it. The Patch Airport. It was a grandiose, modern building. Patch was a small island, but that building was one of the few things that connected it to the Kingdom of Vale whose jurisdiction it fell under. Maybe Ruby would head into the capital to do some shopping soon.
Ruby crossed the town and ended up among nature once again. She approached a cliff on the far end of the island. A small rose emblazoned gravestone stood at the very edge. The girl set down her basket and laid out her blanket. As she sat down, the words etched onto the grave were front and center.
Summer Rose
Thus Kindly I Scatter
"Hey mom. It's been a little while. I hope I haven't left you feeling too lonely. A lot's happened since the last time we talked."
Ruby laid out everything that she had packed. A tumbler of cool water, a sandwich, and some lemon squares. Lowering her hood, she took a few bites before speaking next.
"Heh. It's just a roast beef sandwich, but it doesn't hold a candle to yours! I'll keep working at it though. …I-I'm done with my first year at Signal! It wasn't easy, but I made it through! Uncle Qrow is a saint, I swear! I don't know what I'd do if he wasn't there to help me out… Two more years, and then I can take a shot at Beacon Academy in the capital!
"Oh, yeah! Yang got into Beacon! We just found out a few weeks ago. Dad was so happy! Well, Yang was super excited, too! And I was, too! I just know you'd be so, so proud of her! But…" Ruby's shoulders slumped and her eyes drifted to a random spot on the ground. "She'll be leaving soon. She'll just be a flight away, but… she won't be here. She won't be at home. She won't be in the bed right next to mine. She might be too busy with her friends to remember her little sister back home. I'll only really get to see her during summer and winter break because I don't know when she'll want to go home. I don't really know what I'm going to do without her, mom… I'm… scared."
Ruby felt a tear trickle down her cheek and quickly wiped it away. She scarfed down the rest of her sandwich and lightly slapped her cheeks. She needed to do something to cheer herself up. She sprung up and reached under her cloak.
"I showed you after it was done, but…" She pulled out a bulky red rectangular object and cradled it like a child. "I made some upgrades to Crescent Rose!" She flicked a switch and the block began to expand and unfold. A moment later, she was holding a black and red mechanical scythe. "It wasn't just some regular old tune ups, either!" She flicked another switch and the wide blade turned skyward. "I added a war scythe mode! Uncle Qrow said it would be more practical, so I thought it wouldn't hurt! It was really useful during my practical exams at the end of the year! But I still think Crescent Rose's normal form is cooler…"
Talking about her weapon definitely cheered Ruby up. She compacted Crescent Rose and took her seat on the blanket again, resuming her lunch. Then something crossed her mind that she had wanted to ask.
"I had always wanted to ask about our eyes." She reached up, lightly touching her face, right below her left eye. "My entire life, the only time I've ever seen silver eyes like ours were when I looked at you, and looked in the mirror. I'm not really good at biology, but I think I sort of understand genetics? Even if silver eyes are a rare recessive gene, for the only people I've ever seen with them to be us… it's always confused me. I've just been carrying this question with me for years, and I don't know if I'm ever going to get an answer."
Ruby looked down at her mother's grave, feeling a profound sadness, but she wasn't on the verge of tears anymore.
"It's been so long now… eight years? I don't know if I'll be able to get across how much I miss you with words alone. I wish you were still here. I remember when you and Uncle Qrow started teaching me how to fight. He gave me Harbinger right away and I fell right over! Then you started yelling at him, and dad was in the back laughing, Yang was yelling about how she wanted to hold it too… You looked so disappointed when I fell in love with it right away and said I wanted to use a scythe just like him. I was so clumsy and bumbling back then, but I think I'm pretty good now! I wish you were here to see me now. And Yang too! She's been practicing so hard with dad, and she's getting really good!
"I wish you were here now. I wish that I could show you how far we've come. I know that you can't do that now, though. I'll keep going on, though. I'll keep pushing, and studying, and fighting, and one day I'll graduate from Beacon. I'll work hard to be a Huntress you can be proud of, mom! I'll protect the smiles of the children of Remnant, just like how you protected mine."
Just as she finished the lemon squares her dad had made, she heard the familiar roar of an engine. Turning back, she saw Yang pull up on her motorcycle.
"It isn't that late!"
"Yeah, I know. I just finished up with dad, thought I'd come say hey, too."
She stopped by Summer's grave, a somber smile on her face. Ruby patted the blanket and scooted over so Yang could join her. The two sisters spent a few hours talking to their mother. She wasn't there anymore, but Ruby found comfort in moments like this, taking time to visit her, and update her on what was going on in her life. Even if her mom couldn't talk to her, or hold her anymore, the thought of her soul being out there somewhere, watching over and listening to her made her miss her less, even if only a little bit.
Author's Note
If you've made it this far, I want to thank you for reading the first chapter of RWBY: Gears of Fate. What I'm hoping to do with this story is take my own swing at RWBY. I enjoy the show, and find the ideas it has interesting, and wanted to put my own spin on things, which eventually became this story.
This chapter will be followed up by the other three "trailers", with chapter one of volume one being uploaded on Friday, July 15, 2022. After that, I will do my best to keep a consistent upload schedule. That is, Thursday afternoons or early evenings. I can't necessarily ensure weekly uploads, but unless otherwise specified in an author's note like this, there will always be something new every two weeks, at the very least. The goal is to have a backlog of chapters so I can stick to that schedule without forcing myself to rush through things, but life might just get in the way.
It'll start off very similar to the original show, but as time goes on, things will diverge more and more. The general premise is the same, but between changes in characters and events, and details about the world, the story will take on an identity of its own. I hope you enjoy what I do with the world of Remnant and the people who inhabit it.
This was meant to be the full version of the summary, but character limits prevented me. I had to cut it down quite a lot, so I'm putting it here instead, since I find this version to be much better.
Fighting the Grimm. Defending against the Grimm. Training to defeat the Grimm. Huntsmen and Huntresses are symbols of Remnant's eternal struggle for peace and tranquility. Both against the Creatures of Grimm, and each other. Does it matter, though? If your town was meant to be destroyed; if your defenses were meant to fail; if your loved ones were meant to die? If there is such a thing as fate, and all your actions can do nothing to prevent pain and suffering that had been set in stone, is there a point in even trying? Like all those aspiring to be Huntsmen, Ruby Rose is no stranger to loss and heartache. She, though, rejects the idea of fate, and the notion that her attempts to save lives are all futile, all due to the whims of some unknown cosmic force. Her foremost wish is to forge a future made by the people of Remnant, wholly in their own control, no matter what it would cost to make it a reality.