"So, why is it that you summoned us, Yang?" Ozpin asked. "Is it about the ever present problems in Menagerie?"
"I demand authorization to deal with non-compliance of territorial agreements on behalf of this body." she informed them. "If we are all in agreement about each of our territorial boundaries, then there is no risk of ambiguity to assign an enforcement unit."
"Somehow I don't believe this is just a good-filled effort to make all parties comply with the Treaty of Atlas." said Ironwood in a slightly biting tone. "What is this really about?"
"I do want that authorization," Yang admitted easily. "but, yes, this is about something I found in Forever Fall forest, something that infringes on Kingdom of Vale's boundaries."
"And something that you want gone," Ironwood said in an accusatory tone, clearly stating what in his mind were undoubtable facts. "but not desperately enough to provoke Ozpin."
Yang nodded.
"Then maybe you should inform us of your findings." Malachite suggested, looking for all intents of purposes as if she hadn't been informed beforehand.
"Deep in the Forever Fall forest, I came close to finding a town, perhaps even a Kingdom of its own, where the Elves have made their home. Their control over nature prevented me from directly reaching them, though, I'm sure I could get around that"
"Elves?" Ironwood asked disbelievingly.
"With what you all told me about Salem, is that so hard to believe?" Yang countered instead.
"Elves…I haven't heard about them in quite some time." Ozpin admitted. "And you are certain it's them? I thought them all gone."
"My Greens personally witnessed it." Yang confirmed. "They have been in conflict for a while. The Elves want to push the Green's out, and the Green's want to stab the Elves when they try."
"You keep mentioning these Greens," Malachite started. "are we to assume they have some unique capabilities like ones we saw the others having in the liberation of Atlas?"
Yang snapped her fingers, and a Minion Gate opened near her. From it a single Green emerged, and looked up to his Master for orders. Upon receiving a mental order from her, the Green vanished from view, and Yang could hear surprised gasps from Ironwood, and Malachite, though hers sounded somewhat fake.
"The Greens can become invisible to the eye, and can even hide from the senses of magical creatures." Yang explained. "They also have an immunity to poison, and an innate ability to consume any and all poison."
"The Reds control fire, Greens have invisibility and poison related abilities, Blues can heal," Ironwood listed out, and then asked the question that he wished to ask. "So what can your Browns do?"
"First, the Blues can do more than just heal." Yang informed him. "They can revive recently dead Minions, and if a Blue Minion survives long enough, they can learn to revive long dead Minions too, at a price. They also have some innate magical ability, and are very attuned to all things magic. That aside, Browns are skilled with weapons, and make very good craftsmen too when needed."
"Let's get back to the subject at hand." Ozpin said redirecting them to the talk of the Elves. "I assume your interest in the Elves is more than just a simple continuation of the conflict between them and your predecessors?"
"They have few things that belong to me." Yang explained. "That aside, they are infringing on our land."
"Then the solution is simple, I think," Ozpin said. "They are in Forever Fall, right? If they submit a request, Kingdom of Vale would be more than happy to welcome them to our lands. They could make powerful allies against the forces of Salem. I think I wouldn't even mind letting them keep the parts of the forest they now occupy. Beacon and infrastructure of Vale use very little part of the forest."
"Or they could be powerful enemies deep into our lines if Salem convinces them to join her." Ironwood said in disagreement. "I don't pretend to be informed about just how powerful they are exactly, but if they can control the Forever Fall forest as Yang claims they can, that would give them a powerful defensive position from which Salem could funnel her troops through."
"Then we should be the first ones to extend a hand of friendship." Ozpin countered. "We cannot start a war on 'what ifs'. And I don't think I need to remind you, old friend, that your Kingdom hasn't yet fully recovered from the damage Salem's forces have done to it. Kingdom of Vale would have to bear the brunt of such conflict, and I don't believe we are quite prepared for such a fight.
"How powerful are they exactly?" Malachite inquired for this is the one thing her Master had yet to inform her of. "I think we should all know the answer to that question before we decide whether they are friend or foe."
"Hmm…" Ozpin said, thinking of the best way to describe it, before answering her. "Imagine, if you will, an entire race of beings that are all born with the abilities of the Maidens, except where the Maidens are limited to elemental magic only, the Elves have no such limit. They also boast a completely unique branch of Magic, that is to say Magic that controls Nature."
"That doesn't mean every Elf is as powerful as a Maiden, though." Yang interjected, and Ozpin nodded.
"Indeed. Maidens are given great power, and they only need to learn to control it. The Elves, on the other hand, are given far more potential. A dedicated and trained Elf can be far more dangerous than a Maiden, but a lazy and untrained one could be less dangerous than a Huntsmen." Ozpin explained.
Both Malachite and Ironwood seemed to be shocked at the revelations.
"How dangerous are they at their maximum possible strength?" asked Ironwood in a blunt, but apprehensively curious tone.
Ozpin turned to look at Yang.
"Do you have any good examples?" he asked in a curious but somewhat mirthful tone, despite the harsh situation they have found themselves in. "I'm curious as to how much of your own history you know."
"I know of only two Elves that have reached anywhere near their full potential." Yang reluctantly admitted. "Oberon Greenhaze, from the Evernight Forest, and Queen Fay, from the Everlight." she paused and considered how to best explain their power, and whom to start with. Finally she decided to start with Queen Fay, and started explaining her powers. "I don't know how powerful Queen Fay was exactly. But she was powerful enough to completely charge the Tower Heart and survive, and that is not an easy thing to do."
"How powerful is this Tower Heart then, Master?" Malachite inquired.
"Once, it had exploded when an Elf tried to tamper with it. The explosion was powerful enough to turn the entire region, bigger than a capital of one of the Great Kingdoms, to a wasteland, and unleashed a Magical Plague upon the land. Anyone unlucky enough to touch the blue substance of the plague would be mutated. They'd become stronger, much stronger, but lose their minds and attack all living. The Plague twisted even the sky, turning it as forever blue and cloudy in the area, and forcing the sky to rain more and more of that Magical Plague"
Ozpin nodded.
"Ah, yes, Great Cataclysm." he said sorrowfully. "Terrible tragedy it was for the region. The resulting fear of Magic and its persecution, for a time, certainly makes this tragedy even worse."
"You remember the Great Cataclysm?" Yang said surprised, while the others were still shocked about the revelations of the Tower Heart's power. "You're way older than I thought."
"I age very gracefully." Ozpin said with a mysterious smile directed at her.
"And the other Elf?" asked Ironwood, being first to get over his shock.
"Oberon Greenhaze." Yang said in regretfully respectful tone. "He may have even been more powerful than Queen Fay. Not more powerful than the Second Overlord, and far less powerful than the Third Overlord."
"How can someone so strong exist?" Malachite asked surprised. "I don't mean to question you, Master, but this does seem hard to believe. And that there were two other people more powerful than even that Elf…"
"You can't even begin to comprehend the Third Overlord's power." Yang said, her tone a mixture of a warning and ardent.
"Indeed." said Ozpin with a small nod. "He was without equal. Or is without one."
"That implies that he is still alive." Ironwood pointed out in a clinical tone.
Yang nodded in response.
"The Third never died." Yang said and didn't have time to elaborate before Ozpin steered the conversation back to Oberon.
"Oberon is, of course, a good example of an Elf at the peak of their powers." Ozpin confirmed. "Though I don't suppose you know much about his powers that the Third did not encounter?"
Yang nodded.
"I only know what the Minions know, or saw."
"And that information...?" Ironwood continued to press her for information.
"Once, the Dwarves attacked the Evernight Forest, but Oberon was so very tired of all the fighting. He was one of the Eight Heroes that led a crusade against the Second Overlord. This had mentally tired him out. When the Dwarves attacked, he did not fight for his people. Instead he slept and slumbered." Yang said, only momentarily distracted by Ironwood saying 'Despicable'. "His sleep was not peaceful however. He dreamt of Nightmares, and what he dreamt was made real. His deepest Nightmares gained blood and flesh, his Nightmares slayed the invaders and pushed them back. And when there were no one else, the Nighmares turned on his own people. By the time the Third Overlord came to Evernight, there wasn't a single living Elf, except Oberon, in all of the forest"
Ozpin looked thoughtful.
"I'll admit, I did not really know what happened in Evernight. I did know of his many exploits, and his great power. If what you say is true, untwisted by your teacher, than his power is greater than I had believed." Ozpin then shook his head. "But that is such a great tragedy. I lament that the Elves had to suffer that."
"I have no doubts about Gnarl's loyalty." Yang said sternly, somewhat angered at the accusation.
"I hear he is quite loyal to his Masters." he agreed, and yet somehow Yang thought that in itself was a hidden insult. "Though, I wonder...Who exactly is the Master?"
"Me, of course.", Yang said, her voice confident and not betraying the confusion she felt as his line of questioning.
"Of course." he said with a nod and seemed to be starting on another topic and then he stopped and continued. "...And yet, are you not doing exactly what he wants? Is this Empire not what he had wanted?"
Yang's eyes flashed red at the implication. Anger surged within her.
"I am my own Master." she said barely holding back her anger.
"Of course you are.", he said with a smile. Yang thought he was mocking her., though neither his face nor voice betrayed that.
"Wait, wait wait!" the incoming argument was interrupted by a uncharacteristic burst from Malachite. "Are you saying that he was powerful enough to create life by merely sleeping?"
Ironwood, too, seemed in disbelief, though he was hiding it much better. Yang turned to look at Malachite and nodded.
"He was probably the strongest of his race that ever lived." her mouth then curled into a slightly cruel smile, her eyes shining with satisfaction. "Though, before the great power of the Third Overlord he barely stood a chance."
"You seem to almost worship the ground he walks on, Master." Malachite carefully pointed out.
"I'm a fan of his journey. But I don't worship him like a God. I don't worship any of the Gods" she explained.
"And that implies that there are many, of which you consider the Third to be one of them." Ironwood was quick to point out.
"Well. if you remember the events leading to the Treaty of Atlas, I mentioned once an Infernal God. And later on we talked about the Brother Gods and their relics." Yang said, and the others nodded as they indeed remembered. "Obviously, the existence of the Brother Gods is...well, obvious." to that too they nodded. "There are more. The Elves worship Mother Goddess. She is said to have blessed them with their powers, and created all of nature. And then there is the Infernal God. He rules over all Evil Creatures."
"And this Infernal God is supposed to be the Third Overlord?" Malachite correctly guessed.
"There was, once, another." Yang explained. "When the Third Overlord ruled over all of Remnant, the previous Infernal God, ex-husband of the Mother Goddess, had dared to try to expand his Infernal Abyss to the lands of the Overlord. The Third was furious. He gathered his army of Minions and invaded the Infernal God's domain. He was greeted by the undying armies of the dead, and all of his toughest enemies had risen from the dead to challenge him again and again, endlessly. The armies could not die. And yet, he won. He bested the endless, undying, armies of the dead, and marched to confront the God himself. No mortal sword can pierce the skin of a God. All spells fizzle out in their presence. Life and death, reality itself, all plaything before a God. The Mother Goddess once had deemed that no one is to ever remember her Husband's name. And, so, all of history about him disappeared, all memories gone from the heads of all mortals, and even as he unleashed his terrible might upon the world, after managing to reach beyond the Infernal Abyss, none still could remember him. Even as he spoke his name aloud, reality itself shifted, refused to recognize the sound that he so desperately wanted to convene. And faced with a being before whom reality was but a plaything, 'less of course another God was involved, when faced with a being like that, his sword pierced the flesh of the Infernal God. His spells burned the God's skin. The Minions empowered by their Master tore apart the God's skin. Not even a God was safe from the wrath of the Third Overlord. However, the God was still mighty indeed, and the battle was long and fierce. With a final breath the Infernal God cursed the Third Overlord and trapped him in the Abyss just like his ex-wife had trapped him so long ago. And like that the Abyss reshifted. and the dead kneeled, for the Third Overlord had killed the Infernal God and inherited his powers, and his domain."
"I had felt it." Ozpin said in almost nostalgic reminisce. "It felt as if reality, and Magic itself, had cried out, and had at the same time broken. There was an unmistakable feeling of irreversible change in the air, to those that could sense it, as if something that could, fundamentally, not change, had shifted. As if a part of reality had collapsed and shattered, and only moments later it appeared as if nothing had happened at all. Like seeing a column holding up a coliseum shatter, and not even a second later seeing the same column in its place, all as if nothing happened. But it did. For the briefest of moments you saw it, and then witnessed reality shifting to correct itself. And that knowledge, that feeling that only the most aware could have felt, it allowed you to realize that something was indeed different, even if all looked the same. I was one of the few fortunate enough to have had the chance to witness, or sense would be the better word, such an event. Death of a God is impossible. And yet the Third Overlord made mockery of the land that religions would refer as hell, and made mockery of a fundamental, unalterable piece of reality."
Ozpin shook his head.
"Look at that, Yang...your dramatic retelling of that story infected me with some dramaticism as well." he said giving a merry laugh.
"Well...at least he's contained in his Abyss" Ironwood said with some relief for lack of anything better to say. His voice was met with a bitter laugh from Yang. Whatever she was about to say was interrupted as Malachite's eyes widened, and her mouth opened in shock.
"Your apprentice!" Malachite said. "I remember the haunted look on his face, and his words. 'She can prove it all and you really don't want that' he said."
Yang have a small nod.
"He didn't believe my claims about the Gods." she said as explanation. "I showed him the Infernal God's domain. The sight..." she paused and for a few brief moments her face looked pained. "...it will never leave you. I even allowed him to catch a ride on my senses to sense the Infernal God." she paused yet again, before continuing slowly, her voice tainted with a tinge of regret. "He sensed him for barely a second, and in that time, the sheer presence of the Infernal God had nearly crushed his lungs to paste, and nearly ripped his body to shreds."
"How did you survive then, Master?" Malachite asked at the same time as a surprised Ozpin asked "You can travel to the Abyss and back?"
"I am an Overlord." Yang said as if that explained it all. "It also helps that our...alignment is the same. To my apprentice, uncorrupted, untainted, and most importantly simply human, the Infernal God must have felt like all the wrongs made flesh. To someone like me, already remade by Evil Magic, I was left unaffected. His power feels intoxicating and pleasant to me instead. Though, of course, the Infernal Abyss is a sight beyond something as easy to describe as horrible." she turned to look at Ozpin. "I can't actually open a portal to the Infernal Abyss. I'm not that powerful, and I wouldn't want to do it even if I could."
"Why-" Malachite started to say at the same time as Ozpin started to say "Then how-'.
Yang gave a frown to her servant, and Malachite bowed and apologized. Yang addressed her first.
"Because I'm not stupid. I don't always make the best decisions, but I don't really feel like flooding the world with the armies of the dead. If the Infernal God is content to stay in his Abyss, I say let him stay. I don't want to rekindle his ambition of Remnant-conquest." she then addressed Ozpin again. "This ties into what Ironwood said." she explained. "The Infernal God is not contained in the Infernal Abyss." she said stressing the part about him not being contained. "The border, for the lack of a better word, between this world and the Infernal Abyss has never been thinner. And although the power of a God protects this world from the entrance to the Infernal Abyss, or just abysses in general, forming, the previous Infernal God had shattered most of that protection, of the Mother Goddess' making, trying to escape his prison. There were many abysses that he had controlled all of them that somehow bled into the Infernal Abyss. He used these abysses to open portals into the Third Overlord's domain, each of these portals a sign of a weakened protection, and when it came time for the Third Overlord to finally invade the Infernal Abyss, after he has dealt with all others, he used their powers and help from Gnarl, to attempt to open a portal to the Infernal Abyss. The Third Overlord attacked the protection from one side, and the Infernal God attacked it from his side as well. That the Third Overlord was able to invade the Infernal Abyss at all was a sign that the protection was shattered. Though with his dying breath the Infernal God put his own protection, a curse to keep the Third locked away in the Infernal Abyss, with the power he inherited from the Infernal God, and with many years of increasing his power, I have no doubt the curse is pretty much gone by now."
"Troubling news." Ozpin said but Yang ignored him and kept talking.
"And I don't know if you know this, Ozpin, being who you are and all, but to all of us Evil Creatures, the Infernal Abyss is always close by, just the edge of our senses, or at the furthest corner of their mind for those of us without any Magic in them, and it's very easy for ones mind to fall into, and hard to get out, to those untrained, but to those trained, you can take yourself, and more, deliberately on a trip to the Infernal Abyss. As long as you don't draw too much attention to yourself the mind should remain perfectly safe."
Ozpin's face morphed into light horror. before his expression turned to one of pity.
"You've fallen in there accidentally, haven't you?"
"Many times." Yang confirmed. "It's hard to just ignore something that's at the edge of your senses."
She shook her head.
"The Elves?" she said wanting to steer them back to the real topic at hand.
"We cannot afford to provoke them, Master" Malachite said, "I suggest diplomacy to better gauge their strength."
"Would they help us? Ally us?" Ironwood asked instead, directing the question to both Yang and Ozpin.
"The Elves have been known to work with even their most disliked enemies for a better cause.", he said thoughtfully, "It remains to be seen, however, how this generation will react."
Yang didn't like where this was going. It seemed like she won't get what she asked after all.
"I am outvoted then?" she asked rhetorically.
"Let's see.", was all Ozpin said, and they began the vote. "The Seat of Vale votes against the proposal by the Seat of the Unholy Ultimus Empire, and instead votes for the proposal of diplomacy."
"The Seat of Atlas concurs." Ironwood said and was soon followed up with "The Seat of Mistral concurs as well."
Yang scowled.
"I do, however, have a suggestion that I think will please us all." said Ozpin. "I believe Yang should be our diplomat."
There was silence in the room.
"Really, Ozpin?" Ironwood asked in disbelief. "She's about as much of a diplomat as I am a singer."
"I do believe she is rather good at dramatic public speeches," Ozpin said in her defense, "but indeed, I did not chose her for her diplomatic skills. The Elves and the Overlords have always been in a state of hatred for one another for many reasons. If the Elves are willing to work with Yang, then this alliance could bear fruit. If not, then I fear the Elves would not have been willing to do what it takes to defeat Salem. We cannot allow ourselves a liability in a moment when we will need upmost stability and strength. It also puts to the test whether we can trust each other at all. If Yang cannot put this fight above her desires, then I fear this body, and this alliance, is doomed to fail when we need it most."
Ironwood nodded, satisfied with the response, and they voted on the resolution. Just as the previous motion was passed unanimously (if Yang's vote is not to be counted), this one passed with just the same unanimously as well.
Yang hid a smile. At least one of her goals for this meeting was accomplished. That being said, Ozpin's words implied that he knew she wanted to sabotage the diplomatic effort and that this was a test. She narrowed her eyes in determination. She will pass this test. Salem was a bigger threat to them all. Her conflict with the Elves could wait a few years.
"Is this all then, Master?" Malachite asked with a pleased smile. "I am very busy turning Kingdom of Mistral into the greatness it deserves."
"Subjugation is what they deserve, huh?" Ironwood said bitingly.
Yang got the feeling that he was not talking about Malachite's control over Mistral, but rather of her own control over Malachite.
"We had this argument before. I had always wanted to make Mistral great. It's my home. You would do well to recognize the greatness of my Master. Her will turned Vacuo her own, got my respect, unified Mistral, and every enemy she desired gone, she destroyed. Even Atlas is not considered a threat to her anymore. Kingdom of Mistral will attach itself to the winning side. I'd urge your Kingdom to do the same."
"And I suppose her control over you has nothing to do with your beliefs?" Ironwood shot back.
Malachite shook her head.
"I respected her even before she opened my eyes and showed me how in the wrong I was to not submit to her will. That aside, as you are very well aware, I am allowed my own thoughts, feelings and actions."
"So generous of her." Ironwood said sarcastically.
"You would do well-" Malachite said her voice carrying a tone of a threat before Yang interrupted. "Enough!". Malachite nodded to her. "As you wish, Master."
"There is something else actually." Yang said.
"The upcoming Vytal Festival?" Ozpin guessed. Seeing her displeased scowl, he chuckled. "There's not much else important coming up. It was an easy guess."
"Fine, yes, that festival. I'm kinda new to this whole thing. What do I have to do?"
"Funding would not be amiss," Ozpin said, "but that aside, we need the festival to go perfectly. The festival should serve as a beacon of hope, cooperation and calm in these times full of conflict."
"Where is held this time?" Yang asked.
"Traditionally, it goes in this order; Atlas, Vacuo, Mistral, Vale." Ozpin explained. "Given that the last one was held in Vacuo, this one will be held in Mistral."
"I see a problem." Ironwood spoke up. "Making Mistral secure is relatively easy. But that makes the other Kingdoms ripe for another attack. Everything must be perfect, in the festival and outside. If this fragile stability we have managed to maintain threatens to collapse, we will have to become as much of a butchers like Yang here."
Yang narrowed her eyes.
"I could not let the riots in Menagerie continue." she said coldly. "I tried peace, and they refused. Quite quickly they understood my wrath."
"And does it not bother you that you so easily turn to massacres? You still maintain that your will is your own?" Ozpin said neutrally.
"What's this about?" she said asking instead of just blanketly denying whatever it is he meant.
"Each Evil action makes another that much easier to perform." Ozpin said in a somewhat vague response.
"I resist the Corrup-" Yang started, and then she was rudely interrupted by Ozpin. "It is not the corruption I speak of. If you get into a habit of doing evil, evil becomes more and more easy to do. Like anger, the more you give in to it, the more it clouds your mind without notice. It's not magic, merely the way our brains work. Surely you noticed, the first murder seems that much harder than the tenth?"
Yang slowly nodded. His words were true. However...
"I am meant for Evil, and it is something I am good at." she said in response. "My will is my own, and I will myself to make use of myself for my goals."
"Lies.", Ozpin said calmly. "I don't pretend to know you well enough to know precisely what you are thinking, though your mother seems to be very capable of that, but I can recognize a lie where I see one. Raven knows she is evil, she just doesn't care. She can destroy an entire town, and shrug it off. She could make some justifications for her actions saying that she needs to do that to survive, but she doesn't. She doesn't care. You are different. Every time you speak of committing horrible acts, I hear justifications. Sometimes I even hear that it was an option of last resort."
"Are you saying I'm not Evil?" Yang said with narrowed eyes, feeling quite a bit insulted and angry as a result.
"I am saying that you are a liar." he said in response. "Take it from someone who has spent many years lying to himself, that's not something you want to do. You haven't fully committed, and though many of your actions aren't reversible, there is still hope for you, hope that I previously thought non-existent."
"I have committed fully." she said in slightly raised voice, turning into a shout at the end. "How dare you?! After everything I have done!"
"Kill your family." Ozpin said suddenly.
"W-w-What?" Yang shuttered out, the sudden statement, and its content shocking her.
"I'll give you all the relics-" Ozpin said in a serious tone interrupted by Ironwood's 'Ozpin!' that he ignored, "I'll allow you your war with the Elves, which I believe you wish to acquire some sort of power, I'll do my best to give you every single bit of Magic I have, and I'll ensure that every single Maiden's power is transferred to you. All I need for you to do is to kill your family."
"If you suggest that ever again, Ozpin, I will do everything in my power to make every single moment of your live as torturous, literally, as I can possibly imagine." she said in a deadly calm voice, the only betrayal of the anger she felt was her red eyes. "I would sooner kill every single person in all the Great Kingdoms than do that."
Ozpin smiled at her, and she was about to leap to punch that smile of his smug face before she was interrupted by a warning from Gnarl that she was falling into Ozpin's trap.
"And there you go." he said jolly. "Not committed. Would Raven had refused?"
Yang felt stupid for having so easily fallen for Ozpin's test. His last words repeated in her head. 'Would Raven had refused?' he said. Yang wanted to believe that she would have. Raven had returned, after all, and she did seem to be somewhat rekindling her relationship with dad, and Yang thought Raven secretly liked her, despite how much Raven would pretend otherwise. She didn't seem to actively hate Ruby either. But a traitorous part of her mind whispered that Raven had once left, once betrayed them all. Had she truly changed?
That line of thought was too depressing to continue pondering and so she decided to return to the conversation they had before.
"Two thousand five hundred seventy three people died in the quelling of the Menegerian riots." Yang started. "The Life Force of every single one of them can be used to create as many Minions. And I have many more Minions in reserve. I can station them all as guards in critical areas, and I can have Gnarl keep a telepathic communication network with them all through the use of the Tower Hearts power. He would then relay any important information to me."
"That could work." Ironwood confirmed although it was obvious from his face that he found the Minion's method of creation distasteful.
They spend a few hours making plans for the security of the upcoming event, and the security of the Kingdoms, as well as discussing other Vytal Festival related matters. Afterwards Yang returned to her tower, and began practicing a spell to bypass the Elven protections.