Ignore the troll in reviews

Internet still dead thanks to ISP. Driving out again today to use a friend's. I've been trying to hook it up to my mobile to use that, but my pc doesn't have wifi and for some reason the USB tether isn't working. Maybe it's the wrong kind of adapter. I'd think the whole thing a hardware problem if it wasn't also bust accessing wifi on my phone and if the ISP didn't admit it was damage on their end.

Hoping they get it fixed by Monday to be honest. This is a pain.

Cover Art: Z-ComiX

Chapter 46

Across the Collegium, the bells tolled angrily, ringing out peals that were out of tune, out of synch and frightening in their intensity. That Arcanists chased their ways across lawns didn't help, nor did the column of Collegium Guards marching over the lawns. Wardens from the dorms called for Initiates to return to their rooms, while entire classrooms were turfed out.

"What's happening?" Weiss shouted at Coco worriedly. "What's going on?"

"I've no idea. I'm an Initiate too. To your dorms! Get to your dorms! Not you." Her hand gripped Weiss' shoulder and pulled her back. "You're White, right?" The question must have seemed pointless to her given Weiss' white robes. "Never mind. White are being called to the Cathedral. That includes White Initiates." Pushing her away, Coco continued to shout, "To your rooms! All Initiates inside. Yatsuhashi will take your names down for a register!"

Weiss hurried away as quick as she could, pulling her robes up so she could move faster. There were other White Arcanists and Initiates doing the same and she ran into a somewhat familiar face by the entrance. Pyrrha Nikos – the Collegium's youngest graduated Arcanist – was one foot in the doorway when Weiss stumbled up.

"Pyrrha!" she gasped. "What's happening?"

"Weiss?" Stepping down, Pyrrha took her hand and drew her inside. "It's an attack," she said. "Or something on that level. The bells signal a summons – the note and intonation can dictate specific Arcana and the nature of the crisis. You'll learn all of that once you graduate," she added. "For all the bells to ring means something of a far greater threat. I've no idea what it might be."

Inside the White Cathedral, Arcanist Goodwitch waited with several other Initiates, summoning them over with a wave of her hand. Already mid explanation, she made no effort to start again for their sake.

"The White stands as protectors of the Collegium. Now, you shall witness this truth with your own eyes. Know that your role is not to fight! You will be entering as the third wave, and your goal is to assist any wounded out of the area and pass messages as dictated."

The other Initiates looked pale and afraid. Weiss didn't dare interrupt to ask what was going on, not with White Arcanists bursting by, some running so fast they were practically leaping through doors. This was no time for her to demand an explanation. Pyrrha looked far calmer – as she might, being of the Crimson. Combat for her was something she had mastery in.

Glynda noted it. "Arcanist Nikos, though you are trained, you're still an Initiate to the White. I'll ask you to look after your fellows should anything go wrong. We shall be too busy to do so."

"I shall defend them to my last. What is the threat?"

"Grimm."

It was only one word and yet all the blood drained from Weiss' face, leaving her as weak and frail as the others huddling close together. Grimm? It couldn't be. Monsters of stories and legends that she technically knew to be true but had always expected she'd never have to meet. Someone among the group whimpered. Weiss was relieved it wasn't her.

Goodwitch rounded on them. "You will see the Grimm, but you shall not face them!" she snapped. "I reiterate, your work is to pass messages and pull the injured away. Keep to your task and trust those more experienced to defend you. Now come. Follow my instructions to the letter and none of you shall come to any harm today."

That was all the instruction they received. Arcanist Goodwitch moved, her long and flowing white robes edged with gold swaying, and it was all they could do to follow. Pyrrha was the tallest of them and stood in the centre, crowded by frightened White Initiates like a farmer surrounded by sheep. Weiss turned to a boy a year or two older than her and whispered, "What's happening?"

He didn't know her any more than she did him, but he said, "It's the Azure Arcana. Something has happened and there's Grimm inside. People have died."

Terror gripped Weiss' heart. Ruby! "How many? When!?"

"I don't know. The Azure are holding them off for now but they're not fighters. They've called on the Crimson and the White for aid."

If they were holding off, then surely that meant Ruby would have been evacuated already. It had to. No one would let an Initiate of less than three months fight Grimm. Weiss flinched as two Arcanists in blood red robes raced by, kicking up wet mud as they tore toward the bookish looking building in the distance. There were crowds outside it, huddled figures, some stood and others on their knees. It was the ones that were laid down that worried her most, figures in green bent over them healing injuries. As they drew close, the moans, cries and tearful sobs came into focus.

Weiss forced herself to look at all of them, desperately searching for Ruby among the people waiting safely outside. That she couldn't find her had Weiss' body growing cold. Hadn't Ruby said she and her mentor were spending a week inside? What if they'd been caught in this? Weiss kept looking, kept hoping, until Arcanist Goodwitch took them up the stairs and into the building, where they were immediately confronted by several members of the Azure talking furiously with the Grand Arcanist himself.

"-the sanctity of the Azure Archives-" one said.

"Is nothing compared to the safety of the Collegium," the Grand Arcanist interrupted tersely. "I will not be moved on this. The White and the Crimson shall enter the Archives. The Azure shall retain it once it is deemed safe, but secrecy must play second place to security. That is as it has always been."

"It's tradition, Grand Arcanist!"

"Traditions change. My word is final." He turned away. "Glynda, the White have their permission to seal the area." Behind him, the Azure Arcanists bristled. "Secure the portal and form a barricade. We cannot simply seal it on this end. The Grimm would burrow through."

"Understood, sir. Initiates with me. Azure, please guide us."

One of the Azure grudgingly did so, walking ahead of them with their procession behind. Weiss couldn't help but notice how despite asking for a guide, Glynda never made a move in the wrong direction. It was like she knew the way already. Even when they approached a split in the path ahead, she was moving toward the right before the man in blue robes did.

They reached a dead end. Or seemingly one. The man hesitated and then walked left, through a wall that rippled. An illusion? Ruby had called the Azure the Arcana of Mysteries, but this was taking things too far. Weiss tensed as she passed through it, unsure what it would feel like. Nothing was the answer. It wasn't there and felt like it wasn't, with the rippling of the stone being little more than a visual effect.

On the other side, a stone corridor and staircase led down to an open door. Within, the most horrific of sounds could be heard. Screaming, shouting and the incessant beating of thousands of wings. Weiss shivered and pushed back. If it weren't for Pyrrha standing there like a barricade, she might have fled.

"Initiates!" Glynda barked. Her hand rose and a golden, shimmering bubble of light formed around them all. "Fall in behind me. Remember the Trial of Will. You are of the White, and the White does not falter."

"The White does not falter," Weiss murmured with the rest of her group. Her heart was racing, and the ringing of the bells echoed in her ears. Pyrrha took the first step, all but pushing Weiss ahead, forcing her to move. When Glynda advanced, they were forced to go with her or risk leaving the shield she'd put up.

They stepped through the doorway and out onto a platform at the top of a great flight of stairs. The sudden change in light from a dark corridor to an impossibly large and bright chamber momentarily blinded her. Weiss' eyes struggled to stay in focus, and she blinked them rapidly, shaking her head.

They'd been inside a small passageway. How were they now in an infinitely vast plain where walls did not exist and only floor and ceiling continued for eternity? How was it so bright when they were indoors, and why was the air dotted with black smoke?

A scream broke into her thoughts. A woman in blue rose into the smoke, suspended by it as it coiled around her arms and legs, yanking her up by her robes. She flailed and screamed shrilly before the dotted smoke coiled in and through her. Before the eyes of Weiss and the other Initiates, the woman was ripped in two, her upper half hanging in the air while her midriff and legs splattered to the floor. The smoke wasn't smoke at all but hundreds of thousands of tiny birds.

Vomit rushed up Weiss' throat.

If it were just her, she'd have died there. Their entrance drew attention and what seemed like thousands of finch-sized birds coursed toward them, slamming into the barrier. People jumped back screaming but Arcanist Goodwitch held both hands up. The creatures were no bigger than her hand. In fact, four or five could have sat in her palm comfortably. They crashed into the golden barrier without a care in the world, and with much the same result as a bird flying into a window. They dropped like fat flies to the floor, twitching and shaking before burning away into black mist.

"With me!" Glynda roared. "Stay with me now." Her descent down the staircase was slow and measure, allowing them to huddle behind as she maintained the barrier. Down below, men and women in red and white moved quickly, rushing out to support the Azure Arcanists bravely trying to hold an outer line.

A White Arcanist met them on the way back up, an older man carrying a young woman in blue in his arms. Blood ran down her body and over her blonde hair, but the girl was alive, albeit gritting her teeth against the urge to scream. Another followed soon after, this time ushering three Azure Initiates ahead of him, turning back to send streams of fire up and into the Grimm as they tried to harry his charges.

The scenes at the bottom were much worse. Pinned down and unable to move, three Azure Arcanists protected at least seven wounded, weaving intricate beams of pale blue light that cut through any Grimm they touched. That might have meant something if it were only four or five they fought, but it was four or five thousand in their area alone. Weiss watched in horror as a larger shape cut down through the sea of black and slammed its talons into the shoulder of an elderly man. He screamed as he was drawn up and into the air by a Nevermore the size of a horse.

Those left behind were quick to act and a piercing bolt of yellow light snapped through its right wing, ripping it off. The Nevermore dropped its pretty and dropped itself, crashing behind several bookshelves. The man fell and looked like he might hit the ground, only to bounce on the waves of tiny birds. He was knocked up and then fell a few metres, then was pulled up higher again, only to fall and be caught.

Up and down he bounced, knocked around in the air as Nevermore streamed all around him. It was like a sick game of keep away with someone throwing a ball up and down. This was no game, however. Blood sprinkled down like rain as he was slowly ripped asunder. Others tried to save him, but no amount of Nevermore burned or blasted out the air could make a difference.

Weiss heard someone beside her start crying. In truth, she was surprised it wasn't her – but she felt too terrified to cry. Where was Ruby? What was happening? Why were they here? Why couldn't they be in their dorm waiting this out? Was this what she'd signed up to with the White Arcana?

"We are the White," Glynda intoned. "Our duty is the preservation of the Collegiums. See this and understand why our work is paramount. Stay close to Arcanists, do not leave the central area. If possible, carry the wounded back to the staircase but do not ascend it. The Nevermore will notice you. Leave that to those better trained."

With a whispered word, the golden barrier fell, and they was thrust straight into hell.

/-/

"Have a look around," Merlot told her. "I need to collect the Arcanum."

"I thought you said that was only if our lives weren't in danger?" she hissed. Whether it was a good idea to snap at an Arcanist didn't even cross her mind. This wasn't the time for common sense. "I think this counts!"

"We need to wait for the Grimm to pass us by either way. We may as well busy ourselves." He stooped and began peeling back robes, removing Menagerie sigils.

Shaking her head, she stepped over a skeleton and tiptoed around another, careful not to disturb them. It wasn't a noticeably big area within the stacked cases, but it was big enough to have three distinct areas. There were no doors to cut them off from one another, but someone had hung sheets of cloth to form makeshift privacy barriers. Ruby peeled one back and looked inside, wincing at the sight of around twelve bodies laid side by side on the floor. They'd died asleep by the looks of it.

How does one sleep through an attack by Grimm?

Letting the curtain fall, Ruby moved over to another and looked through. This one was obviously a cooking area – presumably kept apart for sanitation reasons. There was a collection of small pots instead of one big one. Some of them were knocked over, but one was still full. Ruby peeked inside but had to pull back, gagging. The smell was horrible and there was fungus growing within it.

"Guess that means plants can grow in here," she muttered, pinching her nose. The pots that were knocked over had stained areas on the floor but no sign of fungus or rot. Whatever cleaned the Archives while people slept had done its work there.

The third `room` was smaller and appeared to be an office. There were three desks with papers strewn across them, some chairs, and some bags. Ruby moved over to the bags and rummaged through them. Some supplies – the food long since rotten – and a bag full of Arcanums. They must have been following the same rules Merlot was. It bothered her just how many there were inside. Ruby hooked them onto her belt and stood up, idly noticing the overall clean state of the room. In fact, the whole compound was clean if one ignored the bodies. There weren't any broken down walls, shattered furniture, or scattered bones.

That's weird. The Beowolf tore through a whole bookshelf to get to Merlot and I. Why are all these walls still intact? They were damaged. She'd seen the pitted claw marks on the way in. They'd obviously been broken through once or twice and repaired. At the end though, when these people died, the walls were still in one piece. Had the Grimm come through the front entrance? That was weirdly polite of them. Even more so to leave the bodies in one piece and not disturb those asleep.

Something wasn't adding up.

Stepping back from the bags, the skeleton sat on one of the seats caught her eye. It wasn't the fact he was dead – her and Merlot were the only exceptions there. Instead, it was the ropes coiled around him, now resting on his desiccated pale grey robes, but once, she imagined, tightly coiled around his stomach and arms. Creeping up to him or her, she gingerly probed his robes aside. They were mottled and grey with age and muck, but not a dark grey in colour. Sure enough, his Arcanum contained a single gemstone.

White.

As his robes fell down his ribcage, she noticed something trapped within it, lodged between two ribs, and held there by the widening metal. Curious, she pulled the knife out. It wasn't a dagger you'd want to use – more a cooking or chopping knife. It was sharp, though, and the tip was stained with dried red blood. This person hadn't been killed by Grimm. He'd been murdered. And judging by the fact he was tied to a chair, it hadn't been self-defence.

"What happened here…?"

Merlot was still rummaging in the main room, going about the bodies sat and laid next to chairs and strewn out over the floor. Now that she thought about it, the whole set up didn't fit what she imagined from a Grimm attack. Surely most people would have died fighting. The spells flying around left and right would then have summoned more, bringing down a group large enough to break the walls and scatter the survivors.

On the nearest desk there was a tatty book. It shouldn't have been surprising in itself, but it hadn't been taken back to a shelf despite being abandoned for a while. That was strange enough to have her moving over to take a look. The book was thin and light, tatty and browned on the edges. Flicking through, she saw rows and rows of neat writing. It was inked by a neat but rapid hand, and not as straight of as legible as most of the books taken down by scribes. It was handwritten. Ruby flicked back to the front and opened it up.

/-/

Foreword

This is the account of Corsac Albain, White-Azure Arcanist of the Collegium of Menagerie. Or what it once was. As of writing this, Menagerie has fallen. Grand Arcanist Ghira Belladonna stayed behind to mount a final defence while his wife, Arcanist Kali Belladonna of the Azure-Black, has brought survivors into the Azure Archives. This, despite my protestations. We find ourselves wandering here now, trapped and alone. I shall write this journal in the event that any find it or our remains.

Day 1 – Night 1

Lady Kali pushed us hard through the day, seeking to put as much distance between ourselves and the portal as possible. Though this was a wise and valid precaution, it does not seem to have achieved the goal she wished. I believe she hoped that by putting distance between us, the Grimm would not be drawn to our magic and would not locate the portal. Alas, they are loose in the Archives now. I suggested we go back and face them to seal the portal, but my word was overruled. Of the survivors, few are of the Crimson and I am the only one of the White that remains. We are an assortment of Black, Azure, Emerald and the blasted Shadow Arcana.

I fear our chances down here are not good, but so long as we hold to hope, there is still a small chance.

Night – 3

Those fools! I cannot believe them! I wondered who it was that followed with Lady Kali under a heavy cloak. He always kept hidden, kept away, and she would never say who he was. I thought him a citizen. A servant or maid or someone of no Arcane ability. I could not have been further from the truth!

Lady Belladonna has brought a Wildmage into the Archives!

What was she thinking? Has the loss of her family caused the loss of her mind? I called for his immediate execution but was soundly rebuffed. I'll admit that he fought back the Grimm, and that without him we would have perished, but since when do we throw away the laws we live by? Worse, he's from the Sanctum. Lady Belladonna released him intentionally, hoping that he would help guide us to safety.

He may be intent to follow through on that for now, but I trust him not. I shall watch him. The White does not falter, even in times as dire as these.

Night – 5

The Grimm attacked us again today. Nevermore. Hundreds of them. They carried one of the children away. The Wildmage killed them both – called it a mercy. He's a monster. Driven insane by the Sanctum, I wonder when he'll snap and kill us all.

The others have started to converse with him. Worse, they've started listening to his orders. I subtly questioned Emerald Arcanist Trifa earlier today, and she says he's a natural leader. He has a way with words, and it makes her feel safer to have someone taking control.

He is a Wildmage, though! He is a monster. Mark my words, he will be the death of us all!

Night – 7

Another attack today. The Grimm are following, and we cannot travel any faster than we already are. One of the Shadow offered to stay behind and distract them. He said he could lead them away and buy us time. If it were anyone else, I'd have stopped them, but this would have never happened but for them. The Shadow Arcana never did play by the rules, so I won't mourn him.

The others are. I can respect and understand that. They don't know what the White does. Sometimes I wish I didn't either. There's bliss in ignorance.

The Wildmage has been quiet today. I think he's planning something.

The White watches. The White will not falter.

Night – 12, I think

Not much has changed. The bookshelves do, the food does. We've had to start rationing. Nothing of value to report, other than a brief scuffle between two hungry Initiates. Lady Belladonna sat them down and left them on the verge of tears.

There's not much room for niceties here.

Night –

Unsure how many nights it's been. I'll ask someone later and fill it in next entry.

I've almost forgotten what night feels like. This constant light is a bother, though thankfully it's not burning hot like the sun would be or we'd have all perished by now. Speaking pf perishing, we lost two more today. Not even to the Grimm. One tripped and cracked his head open. The other just walked out of camp. He was probably tired of it all and just wanted it to end.

There are times I feel like that too, but someone must document this. Someone must make sure the Wildmage doesn't lead us to ruin.

Night - ?

It feels like we've been down here weeks. There's talk of trying to make life work here. It's silly, but we have some Emerald Arcana and they think they can grow plants from food if they're given the chance. The original plan was to travel until we find another Collegium, but we've no idea if we're even going in the same direction.

And to be honest, I don't think it's a good idea. If we find another Collegium, we're as good as leading the Grimm to them. That cannot happen. I've spoken to Lady Belladonna about this multiple times, but she is taking the counsel of that monster! Worse, she isn't thinking straight. Our responsibility is to the man, not the few. If by saving ourselves, we doom another Collegium, then it is not worth it.

That is not a trade the White can allow.

Camp is formed

We've made camp and brought bookcases together to form barricades. I was sceptical at first, but it's nice to be able to rest and the Emerald Arcana's efforts have borne fruit – literally. There's not much to go around, but the more stock they have to work from, the more they can make.

It might actually be possible to survive down here.

There is renewed hope among the survivors. My only concern is that they are unjustly attributing this success to the Wildmage. The soil needs a constant supply of magic to work. The only ones seemingly able to provide that are the Emerald Arcana and the Wildmage. Without it, they wither and die.

I will hold my tongue for now.

This is a mistake

They've elected him our leader! They've made the Wildmage our leader! This is a disgrace! It is a betrayal of everything we hold dear! He's a monster, a prisoner, a criminal, and yet now when he walks among us, people smile and sit taller. Is he controlling them somehow?

I don't think so. He knows of my distrust. He knows I'm watching. If he had the means to influence people, he would do so to me first. No, it's just stupidity – or maybe it's Stockholm syndrome. Whatever the case, this travesty cannot be allowed to continue. He will fail and I'll be waiting. I will show them he isn't to be trusted.

The Grimm are back

They've found us.

If it weren't for the Wildmage we'd be dead. He's being called a hero. Don't they see that if it weren't for him, they wouldn't have found us in the first place? He's drawing the Grimm to us!

I've spoken out but they're calling me deranged. ME! I'm the only one here that's making any blasted sense!

Scouts have seen people

I can hardly believe it, but the scouts have reported signs of life. Not any run ins with Arcanists, but smoke in the distance. We must be close to another Collegium, maybe only a few days or a week out.

Everyone is excited. The Wildmage is telling us to gather our supplies. We'll move soon.

The Grimm are still close by, however.

What happens if they follow us?

Kali is dead

Lady Belladonna couldn't be reasoned with. I drew her aside and told her my concerns -told her that we'd be dooming another Collegium. I spoke of the White's duty, our duty, and how we could not afford to bring the Grimm from Menagerie here. I told her it's the Wildmage they're following.

She would not listen.

I tried to reason with her. I really did! I promise you! That she wouldn't listen isn't my fault. It's not my fault!

I didn't hit her that hard either, but she fell and the floors are so hard. I didn't mean to but… no, it's done now. I hid her body under some books and set them alight. I must do this. There's no other choice. We'd lead the Grimm right to other Arcanists. How many died in Menagerie? How many more will die for our selfishness?

None. I shall make sure of it.

The White does not falter.

It's done

It's done. I've poisoned the food. I've watched everyone eat it – even the fucking Wildmage. This is my duty. This is my last stand. This is my sacrifice to protect everyone.

I am proud of all I've-

/-/

The journal cut off there. The words weren't finished but someone had scrawled `TRAITOR` in full capital letters on the page. He must have been caught, interrogated, and then killed. Or executed. Ruby couldn't say he didn't deserve it.

They were so close, she thought. Only days from safety after everything they'd been through, and then this… How could he? How could he do that to them? And Kali Belladonna.

Wasn't that Blake's name…?

Ruby took the journal and pushed it into her robes. Blake deserved to know. Cutting the Arcanum off the man's skeletal frame, she pocketed it so that Merlot wouldn't look deeper, then took the others in the bag and carried them back to the main area. Merlot looked up from a sack of his own.

"I found these," she said, holding up the bag of Arcanums. "They were collecting them too."

"Fantastic. Or, well, not," he admitted sadly, "But we can at least finish what they started. I suppose that's all we can do here. There's some food in the back here that we can use to bolster our supplies."

Ruby's face paled. "No, wait! W-What if it's gone bad or is rotten? It could make us sick."

"Hm? Oh no, I don't mean finished produce." He laughed briefly. "That would be long since gone. There are some planters with fruit growing. Look." He gestured to the side. "Some of it looks ripe enough to eat."

Sure enough, several small branches and vines were rising healthily from some rickety wooden plant boxes. Despite the lack of water and fresh sunlight, they were growing nicely and looked fresh and juicy. Merlot had already bitten into a tomato and it looked perfectly good to eat.

That didn't make sense, though. The notes said the plants wouldn't grow without a constant supply of magic. The kind that could only be provided by the Emerald Arcana. Or, if not them…

From the Wildmage.

Steel rasped as it was drawn free from a sheathe. Ruby flinched, spinning back to face the entrance of the small camp, and to come face to face with a man, face pale, hair blood red and clothes tattered and worn. He had a long sword pointed right at them and magic rolled off him in waves, visibly crackling and distorting the air around him. Ruby's eyes widened and a single word slipped past her lips.

"Wildmage…"

Yep. I wonder how many expected something like that? It's everyone's favourite red-headed faunus.

Jeramiah!

Wait, you don't remember him?

Next Chapter: 28th June

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