History lessons with Ilia were like a mixed bag, but one that was mostly full of good stuff, with just a few more boring things as well. With the family she had, Luna already knew most of what was being taught, but it was mostly still interesting to hear the way Ilia told things, especially when it came to things she herself had been involved in. On occasion though, Luna found herself zoning out of the more boring lessons, especially if Astra was next to her being cute. Thankfully though, Ilia never seemed to mind unless it was something she wanted Luna to pay attention to. All the same, Luna hoped today's lesson would be one of the more interesting ones.
She settled in the benches between Astra and Cobalt and waited expectantly for Ilia to begin the lesson. Beside her, Astra wiggled excitedly, and Luna found it adorable that she always got so excited for lessons even though she found more of them boring than Luna did.
"All right everyone," Ilia began as the class quietened. "Today, we'll be focusing on an important piece of more recent history, something that took place only around twenty years ago." Her pale gaze swept around the room. "You must all be aware of the war against Salem, but how many of you are aware of the aftermath, and what took place after she was defeated?"
Most hands in the room rose, including Luna's and Cobalt's, though Ilia already knew that they were fully aware.
Ilia nodded as she took in the information. "As I figured. However," She gave a slight smile. "I doubt that most of you will have heard it from someone who was actually there."
Astra sat up straighter with a slight gasp of excitement, and Luna smiled at her. She had a feeling she'd enjoy this. Ilia had fought alongside Luna's parents in the war and had indeed been present after the war had ended and the relics had been gathered for their intended purpose.
"There have been many tales and legends in the past about various Gods and other mythical figures in the world of Remnant," Ilia stated. "However, after the final battle was fought and the four relics from each academy had been used, it was revealed to the world that the two creator Gods, the Brothers of Dark and Light, actually existed, and were indeed responsible for Remnant's creation. Despite this, there is a very reasonable argument to be made that they were also responsible for its near-destruction at the hands of Salem and the Grimm. Can anyone explain why?"
Luna smiled at Astra as she raised her hand excitedly, bouncing in her seat.
Ilia glanced at Astra. "Miss Katt, you seem enthusiastic as always. Can you explain?"
Astra's hand shot down again. "The Brothers were the ones who cursed Salem with her immortality and prompted her vengeance on them and all of their creations," She announced proudly. "Oh, and the Brother of Darkness created likeā¦all of the original Grimm."
Ilia nodded approvingly. "Very good. It was also the Gods who set Ozma, who you all may know better as Professor Ozpin, on the impossible task of fully uniting humanity, and threatened to destroy all of Remnant once and for all if he did not."
Luna already knew this, but she narrowed her eyes. She'd never been a fan of Ozpin, given what she'd been told of him constantly hiding things and putting everyone in danger as a result, but for the God of Light to place the fate of Remnant on his shoulders alone had been totally unfair and cruel.
"The Gods were far from the benevolent creators they seemed to be," Ilia continued. "Even though many people still preach them as being so. When we summoned them back to Remnant and they saw that humanity was still in disarray and disagreement over various issues, they were frustrated, and intended to destroy the entire world, once and for all."
A few small gasps and mutters rose from the class; clearly, not all of them had known of the Gods' cruelty, or at least not the full extent of it. It annoyed Luna that some people still worshipped the Gods without having any idea of what they were really like. Some people were just too stubborn to let go of their disillusions, and Luna was grateful that people like Ilia existed to teach the truth of what the Gods were really like. She had a feeling that it was not the case in every school, especially given that Storm and even Astra looked surprised to learn that the Gods had nearly ended their world's existence before they'd even been born. What did they teach kids in Atlas, if not stuff as important as this?
Ilia kept going. "Thankfully," She explained, "One person had the courage to stand up and defy them. And what she said that day was something important that not everyone knows, but everyone should. It was a lesson that took me and so many others many years to learn. And so," She moved from where she stood beside her desk and began to move towards the door at the side of the room. "I think it's only right that I let her explain it to you all herself."
She opened the door, and someone Luna knew all too well walked into the room, greeting the class with a small, slightly awkward wave. Beside Luna, Astra squeaked and almost fell out of her chair, and many other students drew awed gasps.
But Luna just smiled softly and was pleasantly surprised to see her aunt. Ruby Rose, baker of amazing cookies and giver of the gentlest hugs. As she stood beside Ilia, a loose braid of black and red-streaked hair over her shoulder and hands clasped in front of her, she was not the legendary silver-eyed warrior to Luna. She was simply her slightly socially-awkward, kind, creative, and wonderful aunt.
"Uh, hi everyone!" Ruby greeted. "It's been a while since I've been here, but I'm glad to be able to have this chance to say what I've come here to tell you. Ilia was right- this lesson is something everyone needs to know, whether you're a huntsman or not."
Her voice rose as she spoke and Luna watched as her leader-quality confidence took over her initial awkwardness.
"When the Gods threatened to destroy us for not existing in the perfect image they wanted us to, I stood against them." Ruby continued. "I demanded to know why they'd bothered giving us free will if they only wanted us to obey their orders and their rule. I told them that it was cruel of them to create us as beings that could choose our own path, only to lay one out for us anyway and expect us to follow it without complaint. That's an important thing to remember, but it is not the main thing you all need to know."
She fixed her silver gaze on the class, who were dead silent now, fully focused on Ruby as she spoke, their attention captured. Luna had always marveled at the way Ruby could catch the focus of everyone in a room with just a few sentences. She longed for the same ability, though she wasn't sure if she'd be able to handle so many people staring at her.
"The fact of the matter is," Ruby stated, "The world will never be fully united. No matter what the topic, there will always be people who will stand against something, whether it's because they truly believe in what they're doing, or whether they want to disagree out of pure spite."
Thinking of Birch and Rowan, Luna found herself nodding. Even today, even after Salem was defeated, the world was still full of bigotry and discrimination, and she knew it could never fully go away.
"This world is dark and dangerous," Ruby spoke seriously, her tone low. "There will always be monsters, whether it's the creatures of Grimm or small-minded people who will try their hardest to wipe the world of people they disagree with. But that's why we're here. Not just Huntresses, but humanity in general. No matter what we choose to do with our lives, we can always choose to make the world better, and we can do that. We should do that. Inaction can be as bad and harmful as direct attacks."
A couple of seats away, Luna saw Storm look down, only for Cobalt, who was sitting beside him, to place a hand on their shoulder. No words were spoken, but Luna could tell what her friend was communicating to the other student. Yes, they'd taken the path of inaction before, but they were working on that, and doing well, from what Luna had heard.
"I told this to the Gods," Ruby continued. "I explained to them that their vision was impossible, that it was unfair to expect such a task of us when the two of them could not even see eye-to-eye themselves. If they could not stay united, they could not expect us to. And just because not everyone in the world can unite for or against one cause, it's good enough that even a few of us can. All of my allies stood with me as I spoke, and each of us had been fully dedicated to our cause. And when they started to speak up as well, we were finally able to get through to them."
Beside her, Ilia nodded. "I can take it from here. Thank you, Ruby." As Ruby stepped back, Ilia continued the story.
"The Gods relented and agreed to leave us be, on two conditions, one from each of them. The God of Darkness insisted that his creations, the creatures of Grimm, had to stay on Remnant. He believed that, if his brother's creations, the plants, and animals, were to remain, then his must too, to provide an ongoing challenge for humanity. And the God of Light made it clear that, if they were to leave again, they were never to come back, and that humanity would have to survive completely without their guidance. He told us that there would be no changing of minds."
"And good riddance!" Astra shouted, prompting chuckled from the class and even Ruby.
Ilia didn't laugh, but couldn't resist a smile. "Yes," She confirmed. "We knew we didn't need the Gods. We had survived without them for long enough, and we will continue to survive in their permanent absence."
The lesson continued, with Ilia and Ruby taking turns to explain how people had recovered and moved on from the effects of the final battle. Luna's mind remained fixed on Ruby's speech. She'd heard it many times, but it hit her deeply every time. Even as a kid, Ruby had always had faith that she could make the world a better place, and in the end, she had, probably more than she'd expected to. But Luna couldn't hold that sentiment. She knew she was a good fighter and she knew she had an amazing team. But there was still so much evil in the world, still so much to fight. And she didn't have silver eyes like Ruby, or Maiden powers like Yang, or even a Semblance that would be helpful in battle. In the grand scheme of things, what could she do? Fight off a few Grimm? Catch a couple of criminals?
She forced away the feelings as Astra seemed to notice her fallen mood and asked if she was okay. Now wasn't the time to share these doubts, when Ruby had just been so uplifting and hope-inspiring. For now, Luna would have to deal with them on their own.
