A/N: Greetings, and happy holidays! This chapter is shorter intentionally, as it starts the ball rolling for some good stuff. The next chapter will be finishing the preparations for the Battle of Vale, so expect quite a bit more detailed action in the next few chapters! If my pacing is right, then Chapter 11 should be the herald for the Battle of Beacon. This means Chapters 9 and 10 will be quite long, as they will be going through a significant portion of the semester. 11 itself should be more or less primarily the Vytal Festival Tournament.

The fleet arriving at Vale with the Amity Colosseum, it turned out, would not arrive until midday. By that time, Aran had dragged both her own team and JNPR into additional training.

The seven students had first gone to the fairgrounds, enjoying a breakfast outside of Beacon's cafeteria. Then, they had gone to their training grounds that Aran had set up with her team half a mile out of Beacon, near the seaside cliff's edge.

Jaune had been paired with Ren and Nora against Y'Shtola and Ryne, a duo that when they were first paired months ago, had given Jaune hope for victory due to Y'Shtola only having just started learning her chakram.

He had quickly been proven wrong, when none of them were able to even touch the Miqo'te despite her unfamiliarity with her new weapons.

Now was no different. If anything, it was worse for them with the Scion showing a mastery of her weapons born from the personal tutelage of Aran, combined with the Warrior's insistence on physical conditioning which Y'Shtola had taken to like a fish to water.

While all the teams that joined ARY on sundays for training underwent the Viera's brutal conditioning regimen, it was clear that aside from Pyrrha, Y'Shtola, Ryne, Nora, and the snake faunus Trevel of Team MOAT, none of the others were able to keep up with her pace. As a result, she put together a secondary regimen for them to follow, one that both Jaune and CRDL had taken to using zealously. The others involved did their best, but it was clear who were the most involved and dedicated.

Aran watched with amusement alongside a panting Pyrrha as Y'Shtola was running circles around Jaune and Nora, outpacing even the usually indefatigable Nora Valkyrie with only controlled breathing and a single bead of sweat rolling down her cheek. Ryne had found herself dueling Ren, until all of them stopped when large shadows began to cover them.

Glancing up revealed the Atlas fleet having finally arrived around Vale, while a lone airship - larger than the rest - made for Beacon proper. The structure that made up the Amity Colosseum followed two more airships which broke off to hover over the sea.

"Twenty four airships. Seems excessive, doesn't it?" Ryne asked in astonishment. Beside her, Ren nodded in agreement until he noticed Aran's scowl.

"Aran, what's wrong?" The boy asked. All eyes fell on her as her scowl deepened.

"Grimm are attracted to negative emotions, no? What are the people of Vale to feel when they see this foreign fleet hovering above their city? I guarantee you that safety is not what they'll feel first. The longer this fleet remains here, the more it will feel like an occupation. How long until the White Fang strikes at Atlas forces within Vale? How long until Atlas cracks down on Vale in response, upsetting the people? How long until the people rise up in defiance of Atlas, spreading chaos and fear in waves that will draw forth Grimm in untold amounts?" Aran snarled. Her scroll rang a few moments later. Seeing Ozpin's ID as being her caller, her mood soured even more as she stepped away to answer it with a curt "Ozpin." The others were left looking to Y'Shtola in worry, Ryne included.

She answered the call.

"Good day, Miss Vinland. I believe we need to have a talk."

"About?"

"Your associates within Vale's underworld."

"I don't have any associates in that capacity, Headmaster." Aran replied coldly.

"Let's dispense with the deception, Miss Vinland. We don't like each other, but we do need each other. While I most certainly do not want to do this, I must have certain reassurances of your actions regarding another student within my halls. If that isn't enough incentive, then if I have to threaten the lives of your team to force you into line then I will. Come to my office, or be prepared to lose them."

Aran's eyes beneath her visor turned white at the Headmaster's threat, her careful control of the Light within her evaporating gasping in pain, she dropped her scroll as liquid fire consumed her.

"I've never seen her so upset Y'Shtola. What's going on?" The Oracle asked when Aran had first stepped away.

"Aran has lived both sides of what she spoke of. An oppressor, and the oppressed. I share her worries, to speak plainly, but her experience in such things increases her feelings on the matter exponentially. As detached as she can seem at times, I feel that she's perhaps the most empathetic person I've ever known. And it wears her down." Silence reigned, split up only by the vague snippets of conversation that were carried on the wind from Aran. It became increasingly clear that her conversation with the man was making her angry.

"Y'Shtola, she's becoming more unstable. If she gets any more worked up, I don't think she'll be able to keep it contained." Ryne stated seriously, much to the confusion of Jaune, Nora, and Ren.

"Indeed. Her aether is fluctuating- wait, everyone get down!"

The Miqo'te's shout was nearly drowned out by an astonishing amount of aether bursting free from the woman, both Light and Aran's, though it did little more than force Y'Shtola's words upon the others. The Viera that now stood overlooking the sea reigned in the aether expertly, gathering it within her hands which now were crackling with golden-white electricity. Then, the sun was put to shame when she thrust out her hands towards the sky and sea, blinding all who watched for a few moments as the aether blasted forth in arcs of golden lighting then burned after images into the watcher's eyes. The world went dark around them as the light consumed their vision, their ears overburdened by a deafening boom, followed by crackling electricity as it spiderwebbed through the sky and into the ocean.

Ozpin lowered his scroll, blinking as he witnessed the sheer magnitude of magic from his window. Beside him, James Ironwood gasped as golden arcs of electricity crackled, sending steam into the air where it met the ocean. The general had only arrived in the office minutes ago from his airship.

"That was the woman you've been talking about? Fria is a fully realized Maiden, and this… not even she could manage this."

"I'm aware, James. And now I know that it is indeed Aran that we need to be careful of, not her partners."

Qrow cleared his throat behind them nervously.

"Oz, perhaps we should rethink our strategy here-"

"Oh, no. This is exactly what I was hoping for. Now we know that she cannot be the one who attacked Amber, as no Maiden at full strength could possess that much raw power, much less one at half. Not even I at my strongest wielded such power without a very steep price to my body."

He raised his scroll to glance at Aran's Aura meter and smiled as he saw it untouched. If anything, the usual fluctuation had subsided somewhat. While magic granted by being a Maiden did not consume, or even require Aura, it was still connected to one's soul.

"And judging by this, her Aura did not need to repair her body as mine would have needed. I believe Miss Vinland to be the one we need to tip the balance in our favor."

A low growl sounded from Qrow's throat.

"Ozpin, she's not someone to fuck around with. Threatening her? That's just plain stupid, and something I thought you were above doing."

Ironwood was quick to agree with Qrow.

"Quite. Don't underestimate the girl. Why you even allow her within your academy, I don't know. But your antagonism is going to turn her against us. The last thing Salem needs is someone of her caliber, if what you say about her skill is true."

Ozpin smiled once more as he took a drink from his cup, still admiring the demonstration that the Warrior of Light was giving.

"There is much more to the woman than the three of us know. She entrusts this knowledge with those she arrived with, and with Pyrrha Nikos."

The Atlesian general shot Ozpin a look.

"Wasn't Nikos the girl you said matched your criteria?"

"Yes. And this development changes nothing. Pyrrha is still both skilled enough to defend herself, and possesses the most fitting personality to take on the responsibility of a Maiden. While she found a close friend in Aran, I still believe that she will ultimately take Amber's burden of her own choice. The only difference would be bringing Aran into the fold, something which she is close to unraveling herself at any rate. So, we may as well finish filling her in when she comes to my office."

Ironwood grunted, while Qrow frowned.

"You're still not giving her enough credit, Ozpin. That woman… she reminds me too much of Summer. And you know damn well that Summer was capable of defeating us if she wasn't so set on keeping Salem in check, even without her eyes." At his own words, Qrow had a realization that he kept to himself, deciding to have another talk with Aran. Preferably without Ozpin's knowledge. "If Aran's anything like Summer, then you know how badly this can and likely will backfire."

Ozpin didn't respond, opting instead to take a drink from his mug as the lightning finally died down. Behind him, Qrow's eyes narrowed in anger as he couldn't help but compare the man with Raven in that moment.

"Aran!" Y'Shtola shouted, hand reaching for the Warrior as she panted. She was taken by surprise when Aran stepped away.

"Don't, Y'Shtola. I'm still reigning it in."

The Miqo'te nodded slowly, dropping her hand and glancing back at the others. She winced as she saw their awestruck, yet fearful expressions.

"What… was that?" Jaune asked.

Y'Shtola answered before her lover.

"That is what we call aether manipulation. In your terms, it is called magick."

"And… how did she use it?"

"Aran and myself are gifted. Unlike most people on Remnant, our Auras and Semblances manifest much differently. Through the use of our souls and the latent energy of life around us, which we call aether, we can manipulate our surroundings. Fire, ice, lightning, air, the elements are ours to command, so long as we have the aether and the mana to do so. And while I may be a great mage in my own right, Aran is far more so, due to her… heritage. So, I dedicated myself years ago to filling in what few shortcomings she has." She had opted to leave Ryne out from being considered a mage; the girl was taking after Thancred's pursuits with far more zeal than any of the aetherial arts that both she and Aran had demonstrated.

Nora began bouncing in excitement, leading to Ren placing a hand on her shoulder to keep her in place.

"So what makes you different from us then?" Ren asked.

"We're not quite certain. We suspect it has something to do with how our respective ancestors were able to manipulate the aether. Perhaps a preference for one kind of magick led to a permanent change in how we were able to use it."

A pained grunt came from Aran, instantly drawing both Y'Shtola and Ryne's attention back to the Viera. Both frowned as they watched her reign in her pain, donning an emotionless mask that made Y'Shtola's heart drop, reflected as it was within her aether. She had seen that mask once before, shortly after they had first met. She had run away from the Circle of Knowing and one of the adventurers that would become a Warrior of Light that would disappear at Carteneau shortly after, afraid of what she believed her actions had caused.

"No." Y'Shtola hissed. "You will not be running away this time, damn you. I swear-"

Ryne's hand grabbing her arm gently stymied the Archon's words.

"Y'Shtola, she's controlling the Light within herself."

Aran nodded slowly, but said nothing as she picked up her scroll and began to walk past the students.

"We need to leave before Atlas decides to check on what happened over here," she stated coldly. "And Ozpin had better have answers."

She opened her scroll once more, dialing a number provided to her by Neo and Torchwick.

Upon arriving back at Beacon, Pyrrha found herself cornered by her teammates in their dorm. Aran had marched directly to the elevator leading to Ozpin's office, while Y'Shtola and Ryne waited for her to come down. Strangely enough, there was an older man dressed in embroidered black waiting in the elevator for her. Along the way, they heard conversations about something happening along the cliff. Apparently, the display of magick was both visible and audible from Beacon and Vale, though the cause of the phenomenon was thankfully unknown.

"Pyrrha, you spend more time with Aran than you do with your actual team. You have to know something more." Ren stated, arms crossed. "Whatever happened back there, you weren't surprised by it." Beside the unusually vocal boy, Jaune was frowning in thought while Nora only looked to be joining in because Ren dragged her along. Truthfully, Nora had thought that the magic they saw was awesome.

"It's not my place to talk. If you have questions, then you should talk to her directly." The champion answered.

"Pyrrha -"

"Ren," their leader interrupted, "pushing her on the matter won't work. And she's right anyways, it's Aran's past and nobody else's. But can you at least tell us why you specifically are so defensive of her? Or at least weren't surprised?"

Pyrrha chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment as she thought of her next words for a few moments.

"Well… she reminds me of my mother. Exceedingly so, actually, and we were always close. She also helped me find myself, taught me much more than I ever thought to learn. Both in combat, and in other areas."

Nora donned a Cheshire grin.

"Are you two-"

"Absolutely not, Nora. I just said she reminds me of my mother." Nora's smile fell along with her head and shoulders in defeat. "As I was saying, she's… unique. And I can't help but to trust her. I always feel so safe around her, as if her very presence is reassuring me that I'm making the right choices."

Jaune nodded in agreement with her statement as she continued.

"As for why I wasn't surprised, I guess that's because I know what she's capable of. I've seen it in her past, and what she displayed today wasn't even the full extent of what she's capable of." She watched a shiver go down both boys' spines while Nora's defeated look disappeared behind another smile. "I.. should probably get her permission to reveal how I saw it. It was her past in which I did see it. But I can tell you that she doesn't mean us any harm. It's why she's training us, so that we'll be prepared for anything. If you still have questions, please ask Aran herself."

After a moment of hesitation, both Jaune and Ren agreed. They backed away from Pyrrha and began discussing Grimm Studies; if they wanted to participate in the tournament, they would need to bring their grade up.

"Ozpin!" Aran growled as she entered the man's office. She ignored Qrow and the larger man in a white suit with graying temples, heading instead straight for the seated Headmaster who had his mug and a scroll in his hands.

"Ah, Miss Vinland. I was-"

"Don't you dare finish that statement. I knew you were a manipulative bastard, but listening in on private conversations? Blackmailing me? Go ahead and release the information you stole from me Ozpin, you obviously have done more than just listen in and read my conversations. I'll make sure it's the last thing you ever do."

The man dressed in the white suit drew in breath, preparing to rebuke the woman for her words until Ozpin spoke.

"Not now, James. This was the reaction I pulled from her myself, and was quite hoping for."

At that, Aran's head swiveled to glare at the General.

"James? As in General James Ironwood, Headmaster of Atlas Academy?"

"That would be me." The man nodded, clenching his teeth. "And you will address me with respect, student."

The Warrior's lips quirked upward, revealing her teeth.

"When you have earned such an honor, Jimmy, I will. By the Wood, what were you thinking by bringing an occupation force to Vale? The people will not see this as mere security, they'll be seeing it as an invasion. Have you even thought of the consequences should the White Fang attack your soldiers or steal your technology?"

"The White Fang is a terrorist organization that shall be put down if they do anything to show their heads."

"Through what military dictatorship? Vale is not Atlas. If you do that, then Vale will retaliate against you. It's an ever-growing snowball, General. The more you try to snuff them out, the more you trample on the rights of the citizens of Vale. And how exactly do you think that will fare with Grimm lurking outside the walls? Did the King even agree to this? I'm not sure if you're a fool or just stupid."

Ironwood's eyes sparkled dangerously, ignoring Ozpin's attempt to silence him as the Headmaster of Beacon stared into the open elevator.

"Atlas forces will respond as needed. I had the approval of Vale's Council to provide security for the Vytal Festival this year, and I am taking it seriously. The King has no say in what has happened here."

The moment the words left his mouth, Ironwood felt a shiver run down his spine. Another voice made itself known from the elevator, this one deep and grave, clearly having been damaged in the past.

"You seem to misunderstand how Vale works, General. This is not Atlas, where full authority has been given to the Council. The King must be informed of all dealings with foreign nations, and this never made its way to his desk. You see, the King must sign off on any agreement or arrangement regarding the movement of troops within our borders. As he has not seen any such documents, the Council has committed high treason against the Crown, while your occupation could be seen as an act of war. What say you in your defense?"

A sharply dressed older man exited the elevator, leaning on a black quarterstaff. His black suit was embroidered on the chest with Vale's crest, topped with a crown. The sleeves were rolled up and pinned near his biceps, revealing arms marked with a number of scars and age. Neck length silver hair was slicked back to allow for a face partially covered in scarred burns and a single glinting green eye.

Ironwood mentally cursed as they recognized the man instantly. Ferrick Arget, Captain of the Kingsguard of Vale.

"Nothing, apparently. A shame, General. The King has granted you permission for six of your airships being within Vale's airspace, the rest must either leave or be restricted around the Colosseum. As for you Ozpin? I believe it's time you tell this woman about what's going on. The whole of it."

The man looked back at Aran and nodded politely.

"Thank you for your report, Miss Vinland. Keep an eye out for us, would you?"

Ferrick turned back around and entered the elevator, giving the remaining occupants in the office a once-over before the door closed.

The office was silent for nearly a minute until James pulled out his scroll and went to the elevator as well, which had just returned to the office. When he left, it was just Ozpin, Qrow, and Aran.

"You play the game of politics rather well, Miss Vinland." Ozpin finally stated. "Though, I will say that James' arrival with half of Atlas' fleet was a surprise to me as well. A most unwelcome one."

"Don't change the subject or try to win me over. Tell me about Salem and why Torchwick is of interest to you."

"Truthfully, he isn't. It was merely a topic to provoke you into showing me what I needed to see. Now, Salem..."

That night, Aran returned to her dorm, her mask still in place. She told her team of Salem and the day's events in Ozpin's office. When questioned on the involvement of the Kingsguard, Aran simply shrugged. She didn't know why Ferrick had so readily jumped at the opportunity Aran had presented, nor did she really know anything about the Kingsguard in general.

They avoided talking about Aran's slip of her control, though Y'Shtola never left her side the entire night. The next day during training, Jaune, Nora, and Ren had approached to ask about how Pyrrha had seen her past. Aran's response was to ignore the question and put them back to training. That night, Qrow found her in the halls and slipped her a folded piece of paper. When she opened it, she found a rough translation of Erzan scripture.

Find me at Junior's club next Saturday. Late.

The week was consumed by studying and classes, leading up to Aran's meeting with Qrow. When she arrived outside the club, she frowned when she saw a crow fly down from a lightpost. Her frown deepened as she saw it glance at the Malachite Twins, making sure they were looking elsewhere, before the black bird began to grow. A moment later, Qrow Branwen stood beside her.

"A handy tool." The Warrior muttered, drawing a slight chuckle from the man.

"It certainly has its uses. Let's grab a seat, I think I have a few things I want to run by you. And don't worry about Oz listening in, I'm carrying a signal scrambler on me to block any incoming and outgoing data."

Emet-Selch frowned as he looked into the night sky. The Scion standing next to him followed suit, ignoring the sand blowing around them. If they were to look behind them, they would see the ziggurat-like building that made up Shade Academy, far in the distance. Closer to them was a small village built around an oasis, where they had made their home for the past two days.

"She's in that direction. I felt her aether, as well as the Light," the Ascian stated. The Scion remained silent.

Shaking his head, Emet-Selch held his hand up and snapped. When nothing happened, his brow furrowed.

"Damn. To think the ward protects from that form of travel even once we're on the Shard… oh well. I suppose we will just have to take the long way."

Another voice broke the silence, coming from behind him. Soft and quite feminine, it was strange to hear the distaste that now adorned its tone.

"That direction lies the Kingdom of Vale. It would take the better part of a year to get there on foot."

The Ascian sighed.

"And let me guess, you have no wish to go there, nor will you help us find transportation."

"I have already arranged for word to be brought to your friends. As the crow flies, it should have arrived nearly a month ago. I suspect that they may know of your general location in Vacuo, but my informant has told me that they will likely stay and finish out their year of education. You have followed my advice up until this point, and I shall hope you heed me now as well. Let them come to us."

Emet-Selch glanced at the Scion next to him, who merely nodded in agreement. Once more, the Ascian let loose a sigh.

"Fine. Well then, I suppose we should go about doing something around here to pass the time."

Looking back at the stars and shattered moon, he sensed the owner of the feminine voice nod in agreement.

"Then allow me to fully explain the situation Remnant has found itself in. It all begins with a fairy tale, about a woman named Salem and an adventurer named Ozma…"