Brighthaven was a decent sized settlement near the Eastern edge of Vale. With the forests to the west, and very close to the cliffs to the east, it made for a more defensible spot against the Grimm. Currently the sun was setting, creating a beautiful contrast between the green of the trees and the red sky. A small ways from town was a clearing in the forest, with a person looking intently at their scroll.
Jaune looked through the manual on his scroll once more, trying to make note of each position. Then, he took up his sword and shield and started swinging, grunting after each move that had been drawn in the pamphlet.
"Ok" he thought as he repeated the moves, "I just need to get this down." grunt "After I get into Beacon, I'll just act confidant, keep my eyes out" grunt "And I'll pick up tips and tricks from the other students!"
He still felt guilty about having to forge an application in order to get into Beacon... But it wasn't his fault! He just knew that if he had been through training when he was younger that he would be an epic fighter!
His dad had always told him how important it was to protect his family, but when Jaune had expressed the urge to become a Huntsman a couple years prior, his dad was almost furious at the thought! He shivered. Now he just refused to train him. Not that he's going to let that stop him! He was going to prove to his dad that he could be a hero!
He had grown up hearing the stories of his great-great-grandfather, and about how he had been a hero in the Great War. His own father was an extremely strong hunter as well! And then when you add in the majority of his sisters? Surely some of that strength came through the family genes, and since he was family, that meant that he could be just as strong, if not stronger!
"Ok, sure", he told himself. "You haven't exactly done a great job in the past with fighting, what with the bullying... And that one time your dad did try to teach you to use a sword, and you accidently dropped it and it landed on your foot... But that's all in the past, and IF he had pushed for it, then he surely would be a top tier fighter!"
Thus reassured, he threw himself into his training.
A couple hours into his training and Jaune finally stopped and put down the sword and shield, doing a few quick stretches for his aching muscles.
That should be enough for now. he thought as he did various stretches. I'll just do that every day I can, and then when the time to enter Beacon comes I should be able to sl-aaAAHHHH!" His thoughts came jumbling to a halt and turned into a vocal scream. As he was stretching his back he had looked behind himself, and saw that he was being watched.
"Nononononononono! If he tells my dad, my sisters, or worse, my MOM, they'll be soooo pissed off at me! I've gotta distract him!" He thought frantically, and his mind latched onto the first brilliant excuse he could think of. "I just have to keep calm, not say anything stupid, and I'll be good. Be confident!"
"Oh, hi there! Umm, lovely weather we're having tonight, a-am I right?" He said with sheepish smile, mentally facepalming. "Aaand objective: don't say anything stupid is a failure... K, just don't look it, and it'll be alright" It was only when the stranger started laughing that he became focused enough to look at him.
He was surprisingly young. If Jaune had to guess, he would say maybe five years older than himself at most? He had silver hair, part of which covered one of his eyes, and he wore a full set of armor, which surprised Jaune quite a bit. I mean, he had been planning on buying some armor for himself, but this guy went WAY over the top with it. How much did it weigh?!
Oh, and he had a shield. Did he forget to mention that? A HUGE FREAKING SHIELD! The largest shield that he had seen up until that point was part of Crocea Mors, and this thing absolutely dwarfed it in size. It looked like a large stylized wooden cross with a circular piece in the center of it, and it was almost the same height of the armored guy. Jaune twitched as he thought about how heavy the thing might be put together with the armor.
The young man coughed as he looked at Jaune, getting his laugh under control. "Yes," he said with a few more chuckles, "I suppose it is nice weather right about now. Perfect for some training I see" He looked Jaune up and down for a bit and Jaune's face flushed.
"So, I guess that's what you're doing right now?" the man continued. "training with a, uh, stick and a trash can lid?" He finished in a confused voice.
Jaune gulped as his face probably turned into a new shade of red. He had needed something to practice with, and he figured that so long as it looked about the same, that he could get you know, some kind of practice in. So he found a sturdy looking branch that had about the same length as Crosea Mors, and he, ah, borrowed one of the metal garbage bin lids from town. He couldn't exactly practice with Crocea Mors a lot, somebody might notice him taking it down and putting it back up on the mantle before he left for Beacon!
"Ummm, yeah! I, uh, thought of some moves that I wanted to try out, so I, um, found some stuff to practice with. I wanted to get it down before I forgot about it" He said with a winning smile.
The young man nodded slowly. "Hopefully he's falling for it" Jaune thought to himself.
Jaune than made a show of looking at his scroll. "Hey man, I'm real sorry, but I've got to head back to my house. But I love the talk that we had! So... Any-who, I guess I'll see you around!"
Before he could walk off, he heard "Your form was off."
Jaune turned back. "Huh?"
The man tilted his head in the direction of the stick and lid. "Your form was off, and your tools were unbalanced. If you keep using them like that, then it'll build muscles and muscle memory in the wrong places, making it much more difficult when you use actual weaponry."
Jaune stared at him for a second. "Oh." That was a thing? "Of course I knew that! I just, eh, wanted to get a feel for how it was like when it felt wrong! That way I could would know for the future and get it right." Please just leave me...
The man then looked at him for a few seconds, a contemplative look on his face.
Ok, this day just wasn't turning out for him. He wasn't doing the exercise right, which means that he just wasted his evening, he was embarrassed because this stranger caught him doing it, and now said stranger is giving him the third degree... Oh Oum, could this get any worse?
Galahad looked at the young man curiously.
Sure, his form sucked, he had bad practice material, his strength seemed pathetic, and his lying was terrible. Actually, that last trait wasn't a bad one. But the boy was trying, and was earnest in his attempts. That was something he could respect.
Oops, he was making the boy nervous now. Galahad coughed, blushing a little.
"If your form is bad, then would make it easier for you to get injured, as well as prevent you from reaching your full potential. Quite frankly, I'm disappointed that your trainer hasn't pointed that out to you." Galahad stated.
The boy straightened a little bit. "Oh, I, uh, totally knew all of that. And I'll be sure to inform my trainer of that as well." the kid said while nodding.
Galahad gazed at him with an eyebrow cocked before chuckling and reaching out his hand. "Look kid, it's alright to admit that you don't know something. You tend to learn more when you do so." He said with a wry smile. "My name is Galahad, one of the Knights of the Round Table."
The kid hesitantly took his hand and shook it before looking at him in the eyes. "A Knight of the Round Table?" he said in a confused tone. "Is that a group of Hunters or something?"
Galahad gave a chuckle, "Or something." He agreed. He looked at the kid expectantly.
After a few seconds, the kid jumped a little, "Oh! My name is Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it." he finished with a bright smile.
Galahad blinked in bemusement at that, "Oh? Do they really?"
Jaune winced. "Well, they haven't yet, but that'll change once I get to Beacon and actually meet more girls! I don't know very many besides my sisters around here."
Galahad chuckled at that. "Yeah, I can see why that would make it a bit difficult." He looked Jaune in the eye again. "So you plan on joining Beacon? Isn't that more of an advanced combat school?"
Jaune stiffened and hesitated before answering. "Um, yeah, it is."
Galahad looked at him confused for a bit, enough to make Jaune squirm.
"Those, um, weren't exactly "advanced" moves that you were doing, you know?" Galahad stated cautiously.
Jaune looked everywhere except at Galahad for a bit, then put a hand to his ear and said "Hey! I hear somebody calling my name. I better head over to see what they want before they miss me for much longer. HaveAGoodRestOfYourEvening!"
And after stating that as fast as he could, he ran off into the direction of town.
Galahad stood there for a second, looking at where Jaune left, before going over to one of the stumps nearby and sitting down. He put his hand on his chin, thinking to himself.
He wasn't provided with a lot of information about this current world.
But he knew the basics.
The culture around here didn't start training their kids as early as knights did - he still remembered first becoming a squire at the age of seven. However, they did start at a young age, and the four Huntsman Academies took in the best fighters from the combat schools and trained them to be Huntsmen.
He was a little hazy on the process.
However, he was pretty sure that what he had observed did NOT fall under the category of something that they would accept. True, he wasn't sure how they went about accepting students, so Jaune might be able to get in if he lied, but they would kick him out as soon as they noticed the deceit. In Galahad's time? The punishment for pretending to be a knight was harsh.
To guard the honour of fellow knights, to eschew unfairness, meanness, and deceit, and to protect the weak and defenseless.
Three tenants of the code of chivalry, the code that which all knights follow.
Right now, Jaune wasn't a knight, and though he wished to be, his pretending of being one could hurt the honor of all knights. He was weak and defenseless, and the manner with which he planned to get into Beacon was probably deceitful.
As a knight, Galahad should try to dissuade him from his path. He wasn't sure what his family situation was, but Jaune should have been training long before this if he wished to become a knight.
Except.
Though his form was terrible, and his tools unwieldy, his moves had an earnestness that Galahad hadn't seen in a while. A determination that he found impressive despite the lack of training.
Galahad stood up with a smile and headed into town.
There was always more than one way to make sure the code of chivalry is followed.
The next day, Jaune sneakily went over to the clearing. The Huntsman that found him the day before meant well he was sure, but he couldn't exactly show off how bad he was until he got into Beacon. Not that I intend on showing I'm bad there, Jaune hastily told himself, moving from tree to tree. I just need to get in, and then learn from the other students as best as I can. That's the goal.
Before he got to the clearing, he started hearing sounds. Somebody grunting, something thudding against other objects, and the occasional crash.
Curious, Jaune sped up his sneaking.
When he got to the clearing, he was surprised to see Galahad there, doing his own training. And oh Oum, Jaune's eyes went wide at the sight.
The clearing had been torn up, with gouges in the ground, and with several trees having been tipped over. In the middle, he could see Galahad doing some moves with his shield.
Jaune had always assumed that a shield was supposed to protect you from attacks. He never really thought that it could be used as offense.
Watching Galahad as he swung his shield and hit a tree with a 'CRACK!', which caused it to tilt and start falling. Jaune gulped. He was pretty sure he would never be able to look at a shield the same way again.
Eventually Galahad stopped, breathing lightly and with a small sheen of sweat on his face. Jaune was about to leave him alone - he figured after that display he earned the right to this clearing - when all of a sudden he heard Galahad call out,
"Why do you wish to be a hero?"
Jaune froze, looking at the Huntsman who still had his eyes closed.
Jaune licked his lips, nervous all of a sudden, and walked closer. "Um, sorry? What did you say?" And why do you want to know?
Galahad opened his eyes and looked at Jaune. "Why do you wish to be a hero?"
Jaune took a deep breath. This was something that he had thought about quite a bit. "I want to be a hero like my dad, and the rest of my family. I want to prove that I am good enough to be one, to show that I'm not weak anymore!"
Galahad nodded thoughtfully while continuing to look at him, so Jaune continued "I know that I'm not the strongest right now, so I'll just have to keep working at it! My family doesn't believe that I can do it, just because of a few things that happened in the past." At this, Jaune's face went a bit red, "But that just means that I'll need to work harder. I'll show them that I am good enough on my own. An Arc doesn't give up!" he finished proudly.
The clearing was silent for a bit, and then Galahad smiled at him.
"What kind of training are you willing to do to become a Knight?" He asked.
Jaune blinked in surprise at the question, and him talking about a Knight instead of a Huntsman. Maybe they're the same thing to him. He quickly came out of his thoughts. "Anything" he said promptly.
Galahad stood up straighter, slamming his shield in front of him. The air grew solemn, the clearing taking on an air that Jaune would expect at a manor... Or a castle.
A moral system, adopted by the Knights, instructing how to act beyond just combat.
Galahad started talking. "Would you be willing to follow the code of chivalry? To protect the weak and defenseless? To fight for the welfare of all? To obey those placed in authority?"
It was their code of honor. If broken by any knight, the reputation of all would be affected, and when obeyed by one, strengthened all.
"To at all time speak of truth and eschew unfairness, meanness, and deceit? To persevere until the end in all that you start, living by honour and for glory?"
A knight could not just be strong outside of combat. He needed to be better in all aspects of life
"To respect the honour of women? To keep faith? To obey those in authority, and guard the honour of fellow knights?"
Though the enemy might not follow this code, that would never excuse a knight to break it as well.
"To never refuse a challenge from an equal? Never turn the back upon a foe?"
Honour, Honesty, Valour, Loyalty. The virtues all knights strived for.
Do you swear to stand by them?
"Would you be willing to follow this code?"
Jaune stood in shock for several seconds, Galahad looking at him solemnly.
The entire clearing seemed to be waiting for him to answer, so he quickly thought about what was said. Did he have anything against what was said?
Well, not really... I mean, a lot of that is stuff that I was already planning on doing as a Huntsman. The lying and deceit bit is a problem, but I would be doing that before I became a Huntsman! And I would totally obey it afterwards… So I think I'm good there. But why exactly is he asking me? This is kinda sudden... Is he just testing my dedication to becoming a Huntsman?
Jaune cleared his throat awkwardly, "Yeah, I would be willing to follow that code to become a Huntsman."
Galahad smiled at him "Then, Jaune of Arc, would you be willing to become my squire until the time you leave for Beacon? And in that time, I swear I will train you to the best of my ability in becoming a Knight."
Jaune froze. Ok... A little more than just testing my dedication. I was hoping to do this by myself, but... This guy is strong, he looks like he knows what's up, and he already knows that I'm not the greatest. Being trained by him would help out a lot...
Jaune gave a tentative smile. "I accept."
Galahad's smile became bigger. "Excellent. I'm glad that you said that you were willing to go through any training to become a Huntsman. Your body isn't prepared for fighting yet, so we're going to have to go through some intensive training to get you prepared. I'm not that talented with a sword, but I know the basics and a bit more. And if you plan on using a shield?" His smile turned vicious "Then I can really help you, my squire."
There is more than one way to follow the code of chivalry Galahad thought once more in amusement. By training Jaune, Jaune would no longer be weak and defenseless, and in fact he will be able to help protect others. I will help him be stronger, so he has no more need to be deceitful, and the honour of knights will be protected.
"Now then" he said brightly, "Let's talk about what we'll do first."
Authors Notes:
So, not gonna lie, this one was a tough one... First off, I'm sure many of you are wondering, why Galahad? Well, truthfully, when I was thinking about who to pair with Jaune, I was thinking about his weapon, Crocea Mors. It was really, really tempting to put Julias Ceasar in, and I actually had several ideas along that vein that could work. However, something that caught my thoughts was that something that sets this Crocea Mors apart from the original is that in RWBY, the shield is also Crocea Mors. In Fate Crocea Mors was just the sword, though it did get lost after getting stuck in a shield, which caused Julias Ceasar no end of grief. That, combined with Jaune's massive Aura reserves and endurance, made me want to pick somebody who was gifted with a shield. My thoughts were either Aias the Great (owner of Rho Aias) or Galahad. In the end, Galahad won in my mind because he was a knight.
Now, a lot of you had guessed that Jeanne d'Arc would help train Jaune. I gave this one some thought, and actually figured that it wouldn't work too well... Jaune doesn't seem to dislike his parents, but there are times when he is frustrated that he doesn't live up to his family name. His father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather, were all heroes. If Jeanne d'Arc were to come, I think that he would be frustrated that there is yet another person he is related to that is better than him. I could be wrong of course, but that is why I wanted a different hero. It felt better to me. She might still meet him in the future though.
Jaune confuses me, to be quite honest. He is quite determined to be a Huntsman, but before coming to Beacon it doesn't seem like he trained at all for this. He comes from a family of "heroes" and yet he doesn't even know about Aura, which is hardly something that is kept secret. I don't remember Jaune's family being explained. It doesn't sound like he dislikes his family, but none of them ever showed up at Beacon demanding to know what he was thinking.
Personally, I think that his family loves him, and they don't want him to become a Hunter because it's dangerous. And it is! Hunters dying suddenly in the field is not a new thing. As parents, it's understandable to not want a child - especially one that has shown that they are not very strong - to become a Hunter. This of course would look different from Jaune's perspective. So, who knows. Hopefully I did a good job expressing him.
Jaune will still be the weakest person at Beacon at the start. However, he won't be stomped on like an ant. It will be a level of weakness that is still in the same range as the other students. Does that make sense?
For those who are interested in guessing who is going to be next:
The next Heroic Spirit will be befriending Pyrrha Nikos
Many thanks to my sister, who helped beta this chapter :)
That's all for now. Thank you everybody once more for following/favorited this story, and I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!