Before her was a orb made entirely of steel, and with a snap of her fingers, the spell work on it was finished, and it wobbled itself into air and began floating. It was a product of nearly three months of labor, and although the making of the orb itself took nearly no time at all, the intense spell work consumed a lot of time and effort. The free time she had from that was spent on her duties as the Emperor, hearing reports about Menagerie, and learning swordwork from her mother, as well as practicing Magical Arts.
That's part one of promise to her apprentice complete. She looked at the gauntlet she had the Minions make, one she had also enchanted, and smiled. The only thing left to do was to connect the two.
She reached out to the floating orb with her senses, and pulled its magic towards the enchantments of the gauntlet. The gauntlet seemed to heat up, but it neither melted, nor exploded, which alleviated her fears.
She frowned. The connection seemed less stable and strong than she would have liked.
She summoned five Blue Minions to her, and together they spent an hour fixing up the connection between the orb and its corresponding gauntlet.
She focused on the bond between herself and her apprentice and called for his presence in the dungeons. Ten minutes later her apprentice arrived, likely having had to excuse himself from his lessons at Shade academy.
"Master?", Finster asked, curious as to why he was summoned.
In response, Yang threw the gauntlet at him, which he easily caught, and figuring that his Master wanted him to put it on, he did so. He felt some a connection, similar to the one he shared with his Master, but not as personal, to the orb, and he could swear he could feel some sort of power in the gauntlet, though he did not have the benefit of his Master's senses to be sure.
Yang snapped her fingers, and the Minions brought in the Fireball spell totem from upstairs back to here. The orb she created carried the ability to use the totems as well, and it was one of the big reasons the project took as long as it did. Yang quickly used her powers to establish a link between the totem and the orb. This would, of course, mean that she herself couldn't use that totem, but she had long since learned all the spells from the totems, with the illusion totem being the one exception.
"Point to a wall", Yang said to her apprentice, "and focus your mind on your desire for a ball of fire to appear"
Finster did so, and to his shock, soon after a ball of fire shot out from the gauntlet and hit the wall.
"The gauntlet is connected to the orb", Yang explained, "and the orb is filled to the brim with as much magic as steel can handle. You will be able to use many of the same totem-based spells as I can use, and with dedication, you will be able to learn to cast new spells as well. Your only limitation is your reliance on the gauntlet."
Yang hoped it was enough for him, and from the happy grin she received from him, she was sure it was. Happy feelings welled up in her, happy to see her apprentice happy as well.
"And there's something else to look forward to", she said, "because I intend to remove that limitation too. But, for now, you'll have to make do with just this. The other methods either take too long, are too dangerous, or I don't have the materials to do them"
Finster rushed and hugged her in response. And, although, that really wasn't proper Master-apprentice etiquette, but she happily ignored all that and hugged him as well.
"Thank you", he said honestly, "You're the best!"
Yang chuckled.
"Well, of course, I am.", she said, "I am me after all"
Her apprentice, too, was smiling.
"Never the best at humility, though, are you, Master?", he said cheekily.
"Humility?", Yang asked in feigned and dramatic shock, "What then? Being good?"
They both laughed, and after a bit more talking, Yang sent him back to the academy to resume his lessons.
Good times, of course, all have to come to an end, and her good times were no different. Soon after her apprentice left, she received word that the daughter of Menagerie's Governor was missing. For a few moments Yang debated just leaving Menagerie to handle that issue themselves. After all, she had no explicit duty to help with this.
She shook her head and sighed. She had a soft spot for family. The burning rage she felt at Qrow mellowed out in the nearly three months since she last saw him, and although she understood his reasoning, she still carried some resentment towards him. But family missing, that sort of thing could tear families apart. She didn't particularly like Belladonnas, but it couldn't hurt to see if she could help.
"It's all for the stability of that region and my Empire", Yang thought to herself, words that deep down she knew were false. She refused to admit, even to herself, that her mother's assessment of her might not have been completely wrong.
She changed into a dress, the dress was a black, ankle length, sleeveless cheongsam that is covered in an intricate and dense pattern of faded bronze and tarnished gold that nearly hides the black coloring. A black cloth sash is wrapped around her stomach from waist to just below her chest, with a gold band wrapped several times around her stomach before being tied, growing tired of being in her armor all the time, and wanting a more friendly look for this anyway, and teleported to the Belladonna's family home to their entrance hall where she had last left a Tower Gate.
Once she arrived, she reached out with her senses to find both of the Belladonna's and using her telepathic powers announced her presence. She smiled to herself. The reactions to this were always funny. Even those who knew she could do it got startled and fearful, and creeped out too,
Soon enough, both of them arrived to greet her, and although Ghira had a pleasant expression on his face, the woman, Kali if she remembered correctly, was nervous, but the displeased look she gave her made it clear that the nervousness wasn't about Yang's arrival.
"This is really not a good time", Kali said without any pleasantries, "We are very busy"
"This really isn't the best time, Emperor", Ghira confirmed with a bit more politeness, "we can't make the time for you if you show up unannounced"
Yang frowned.
"Menagerie is my land, Governor", Yang reminded him, "and you are my people. I will go and do what I please"
Yang then shook her head, and adopted a more polite tone.
"But this isn't about business. I heard the news about your daughter", Yang said some concern seeping into her voice despite her attempts to prevent it, "She disappeared, right?"
"Yes", Kali confirmed, "And this is why we don't have the time to play with you"
"Kali!", Ghira said. While he agreed with the sentiment, the last thing they needed right now is to provoke their guest.
"Watch your tone with me", Yang warned before turning her tone more pleasant again, "But anyway, I wanted to offer you my help."
"Why?", Kali seemed suspicious, while Ghira seemed just grateful.
"Stable Governor leads to a stable Menagerie which leads to a stable Empire", Yang lied, "Really, it's just in my best interests."
Neither Kali nor Ghira seemed to exactly buy that reason, but nevertheless they didn't inquire further.
"I am able to provide lots of help in my Empire, Kingdom of Mistral, and the Kingdom of Vale, although less in Vale. My ability to provide help in Kingdom of Atlas is heavily limited", Yang admitted, "But anyway, I will need more information."
"While we would appreciate your help", Ghira started, "there's only so much information we can share. We're afraid that the recent events might have...encouraged her passions and her choice of friends didn't help much"
"The White Fang", Gnarl helpfully supplied in her mind, "Recent events all spiral around rioters and from them the White Fang"
"If you try playing politics and careful word games with me, I'll hang you and replace you with another Governor", Yang warned him.
Surprisingly, Ghira laughed, and sighed a breath of relief.
"I hate politics too", he admitted, "I just want to help people. All this political nonsense just makes it that much harder"
"So, I guess, your daughter was a White Fang sympathizer like you?", Yang asked.
Despite Kali's protests, he nodded.
"She has some friends in the White Fang, and she was always more than happy to participate in their protests", he recalled warmly, before he sighed somberly, "But she's young, full of passion, and feelings that this isn't moving fast enough. And those passions are always easily turned dangerous if there is lack of carefulness."
"The White Fang are now terrorists", Yang started, "Let's hope she didn't cross the line."
Silence reigned as nobody knew what to say.
"I have no empathy for terrorists", Yang said, "but every single one of my people have the right to petition me for a pardon. If your daughter becomes a terrorist she will be tried and sentenced, if found guilty, like any other terrorist. However, I still see two options for you"
"And those are?", Kali asked, not at all happy about the way the conversation was going.
"Local Governors, can submit a request to hold a trial in their own state, or in your case protectorate region.", Yang explained, "And while I would insist that this trial would be handled fairly, you might get a more understanding jury or a judge here."
Ghira nodded, "And the other one?"
"You petition a pardon on her behalf.", Yang said simply, "I would not grant a pardon if she asked."
"And we're back at politics again", Ghira said annoyed, "I assume you are leveraging my performance here for this favor?"
"That would help", Yang admitted, before sighting and saying her next words honestly, "I know how you two feel. I lived most of my childhood without a mother, and with often-absent father, and although he shaped up later on, my mother leaving, and the next one dying, tore our family apart."
All were silent as they listened.
"And I can sometimes make serious mistakes too", she begrudgingly admitted, "and so can my dear sister."
She shook her head.
"Point is, I may have some bias towards your request.", she admitted, "Though, good performance is expected regardless"
Seeing as they understood one another, the conversation steered to where their daughter, Blake, could be.
"Atlas", Ghira suggested, "The biggest resentment the White Fang felt was always at how Faunus were treated in Atlas. It makes sense that if she joined a radical sect, they'd go to Atlas"
Yang shook her head in disagreement.
"Atlas has bigger problems now, and the last thing they'd care was about some radical Faunus group. They're probably more likely to deal with them harsher than I would. Atlas is not in a really good state after we liberated it. I say she went to Vale. It would have better conditions for her, and they are likely to achieve their goals better there. It also would have better climate, something she might prefer to the coldness of Atlas."
"What about Mistral?", Kali asked.
"If she's in there, I'll find her", Yang said, and then added vaguely, "My influence in Mistral is far greater than the public is lead to believe."
"And is it as big in Vale?", Ghira inquired.
"No", Yang admitted, "But I know people there who are good at their jobs. If she steps foot in Vale, sooner or later, I'll know. Unless she stays outside of the big cities"
"Then why don't we focus on places where you don't have influence?", Kali said.
"I'll ask around in Atlas.", Yang conceded, "You two try to weed out the White Fang here. The more of them you uncover, the more likely it is that you will find something leading to her."
A deal made, Yang had contacted the Queen of Mistral and had her keep an eye out for Blake's arrival in Mistral, and contacted Roman and Junior and had them look for her in Vale as well. She issued a notice in her Empire that if Blake was to be found, Yang or the Ghira is to be immediately contacted. She also spent quite a bit of time trying to convince Ironwood to help out as well, although even if he agreed, Yang suspected that he wouldn't actually help as he had far more important things to worry about.
Having taken care of her part of the deal she turned her attention to finding the last Minion tribe that still eluded her. She recalled that Gnarl had told her that Greens preferred forest areas and places with a lot of plants. The biggest forests that she knew of were the one in Patch, although the Browns would have found them if they were there, and Emerald and Forever Fall forests in Kingdom of Vale. Forever Fall forest was bigger and so she decided to go there first.
Forever Fall forest was beautiful, with everything red either from the leaves on the trees, or leaves that have fallen down and covered everything around. What was weird was that this huge amounts of red didn't hurt her eyes, or look weird. Instead it all looked very beautiful and calm, even if she could sense big quantities of Grimm in the forest.
She began exploring the forest with fifteen of her Minion companions, taken at the request of Gnarl, trying to find the Greens. The Grimm seemed weirdly aware of where she was, constantly trying to flood her with their numbers.
"This is as good time as any to get some practice with my Maiden powers", Yang decided, and set the rushing Grimm aflame. To her, who has been using Magic for quite awhile, the powers were easy to use.
"I expect that like with all Magic it will get a lot harder when you try to do something more complex", Gnarl warned her, and indeed as Yang tried to make a flaming soldier to fight alongside her, the fiery construct just collapsed. She took great care to absorb any fire that landed on the trees or leaves. She did not want to start a forest fire.
A Grimm jumped at her, and using the power of the Maiden she sent lightning at the creature. To Yang's surprise, she seemed to fall into his mind, as if she had used the Evil Presence Spell, but soon after she was kicked out by the Grimm's overwhelming desire to consume and destroy.
The Grimm stood back up, having fallen down in the lightning blast, and when he was about to attack again, Yang lifted her hand and used her telekinesis to crush his head.
"What the hell was that?", she wondered aloud. She did not mean to cast the Evil Presence Spell.
"It seems you associate the pure-lightning-blast aspect, as opposed to when you incorporate it into your shield spell, with the Evil Presence Spell.", Gnarl said thoughtfully, "Therefore, when you launch a similar looking spell, your mind unconsciously applies the Evil Presence Spell element as well. You will need some practice to overcome this, but this should not be too overly hard."
The Grimm kept coming and coming in endless waves, but with her Maiden powers and help of her Minions, Yang kept defeating them wave after wave.
"That's not normal", she murmured to herself, "It's like they are specifically looking for me."
"Perhaps, Master, they sense the faint energy from your weapon?", Gnarl suggested, "It would make sense if they wanted to destroy it. It likely causes them physical pain."
Yang frowned, and a confused expression came over her.
"I barely sense it, even with my powers growing as much as they did", Yang said, "Do you sense it?"
She could feel him shaking his head near the Tower Heart, and he confirmed it verbally as well.
"No", Gnarl said, "not any more than you. The sword is behaving rather well"
"Then how could they?", she asked as she mindlessly used her powers to explode nearby horde of Grimm.
"They are the creation of the God of Darkness, Master", Gnarl reminded her, "I don't doubt that they are deeply aware of their opposite's creations."
"Wouldn't all the Kingdoms be under constant unending attack then?"
"Perhaps", Gnarl said, "and then again perhaps not. The Huntsmen keep Grimm at bay, and that aside, I do believe that even if the objects don't censor their power, like that Lamp-relic you have, the great distance would shield it from their senses. Maybe the vaults they lie serve some sort of shielding function as well. It is, perhaps, and issue worth exploring."
Yang agreed, and resolved to investigate the vaults of state of Vacuo and Kingdom of Mistral. For now she pressed on, going further and further into the Forever Fall forest, and battling a thinning hordes of Grimm. That was temporary, however. Grimm never fully disappear, and as long as mankind walks the earth, Grimm rises to consume them.
An hour passed and she was no closer to finding anything of worth. Something unnerved her, however. It was as if the forest itself was doing its best to press hard on her senses, to stifle their power, and she could swear the forest was rearranging itself to confuse her.
She gathered her Maiden powers and used them to lift herself up, trying to fly above the forest. The trees shifted, their tops hiding the sky from her.
She unleashed fire, and to her dismay, it seemed to do very little. The burned parts were regrowing about as fast as she was burning it.
She poured her Evil Energies into her fire magic, letting it kindle and warp the flames, in minutes turning the bright red flame into darkest black. The burned parts did not recover, but the trees grew from elsewhere to impede her progress. Despite now being able to do some sort of permanent damage to the trees, she was making no progress, and it seemed that the forest would not let her go this easily.
"You are not welcome here, Dark One", a mysterious and ethereal voice rang through the forest, "Do not resist, and the forest will lead you to your goal, and then you shall leave us alone".
"It would be best to play along, Master", Gnarl suggested, "Our enemy will reveal itself in due time, or we will find a way to bypass the forest's defenses. No one can ever fully stop the Overlord's March"
It angered Yang to feel so weak so unable to do what she wanted, but for now she complied.
"Lead on, then, forest", she said calmly, and began walking forward.
Before her very eyes the forest was rearranging itself to lead her to her Minions. Soon enough her path was blocked by plants, that from the look of wildlife around it, was spreading poison in short area around it. The forest didn't seem keen on making a path around these plants for her.
She focused her senses and cast them past the plants, and, to her delight, she had sensed a Green Minion nearby. She commanded him to come to her, and as he did, the Green Minion absorbed the poison and destroyed the plants.
"As you no doubt remember, Sire, poison is one of the Greens' specialties", Gnarl reminded her, "Quickly now, Master, find the Green Hive."
Yang nodded, and had the Green lead her and her companions to the hive. The Hive looked as if Artichokes have come alive and decided that their only purpose in life was to wrap around one another and try to strangle each other. Out of all the Minion hives so far, this one looked most pleasant by far.
"No magical artifacts?", Yang asked one of the Green's she found near the hive, to which he shook his head.
"No have any", the Green Minion confirmed sadly, "but there many magicks elvies taken!"
"Elves...", Yang said thoughtfully, "Yes, that makes sense"
And it did. Who else but Elves could control the forest like that? And the Elves had certainly plenty of reason to not want any of her kind, Overlords, to enter their lands. She frowned, as she considered that one thing didn't quite make sense.
"Why did the Elves allow you to stay here, then?", she asked.
"Elvies can no get rid of Minions!", the Green Minion said proudly, "We do many stab when elvies try! Elvies no can see Greens!"
The Green Minion disappeared before her eyes. Being so close to him, she could sense her servant, but she wagered, that for those not so deeply connected to the Minions as she was sensing them would be quite a challenge.
"We must take revenge", Gnarl whispered in her mind, "They stole artifacts that were rightfully yours, Sire"
As she listened to his whispers, she spoke aloud.
"I will now summon a Tower Gate and depart.", she said in her best Overlord voice, "You will not bar my exit"
She received no response, but she felt no interference with her exit either, and so she left. To Gnarl, she assured that they would have their revenge as soon as she figured out a good way to effectively bypass the Elven defenses. For now she returned to her Tower and plotted. There was something that she had sensed, some sort of dark foreboding, making her uneasy.
She cast those thoughts aside. There were other, more pressing, matters to look over. Vytal Festival was fast approaching, and she intended for her Empire to win. However, more pressingly, she had to call up a ICRD meeting on the Elven issue. She did want to deal with it alone, but it was technically in Ozpin's lands, and with the threat of Salem on the horizon she could not afford to make a conflict between herself and her uneasy allies. She will press them, of course, to authorize her to deal with the intruders on ICRD's behalf, though she suspected they would not agree as easily as she'd hope. She'll explain the issue to Malachite in private, and Malachite would see her way, she was sure. Ironwood, perhaps, could be convinced to see them as a threat to be disposed off preemptively. However, if Ozpin were to prefer diplomacy instead, like she assumed he might, then she wasn't all too certain that Ironwood would vote her way.
"Diplomacy is not the worst course of action",Gnarl soothed her with his words of wisdom, "Failed diplomacy and unwillingness to compromise can oftentimes lead to war. You need only to insure you are the diplomat, Master"
Yang nodded, and decided this is what she was going to do. If she can't get her way with the votes she wanted, she'll just have to convince them that she is the right woman for the job of diplomacy.
She paused for a second.
"On the other hand, that might not be as easy as I thought", she murmured to herself. She was known for many things and diplomacy was not really one of them.
She sighed.
She'll have to make do.