Thanks for understanding last week why there was no update. Rough time.
Cover Art: X-ComiX
Chapter 48
They heard the battle long before they saw it. The beating of wings, shouting, spellfire and screams. The cacophony was a distant hum at first but grew louder as the three of them moved closer. The towering bookcases meant that seeing anything was all but impossible.
Brief flashes of light caught the upper shelves and reflected off polished wood, but it was like being trapped in a thick forest. The greater evidence was the scratch marks and gouges torn into she shelves, the books tossed haphazardly across the floor, all signs of Grimm pouring through with destructive haste.
"This is where our lives are most at risk," Merlot said with the kind of calm born of resignation. "We shouldn't have to worry about our own failing to recognise us, but we may find it hard to pierce through the Grimm."
"Leave that to me," Adam said.
"Do you have that power? I admit that Wildmages can do incredible things, but an Arcanist can struggle against a single Grimm. We may well be facing hundreds here."
"Hmph. Don't worry about me." Adam pushed past her, his eyes catching hers as he moved ahead. "Just keep your side of the bargain.
There was no magical contract or oath sealed in blood. Yang would have said that made the promise not worth anything, but she intended to follow it through either way. Ruby nodded to him, sealing the promise.
"I've had time aplenty down here to learn about what makes a Wildmage," Adam said, speaking loudly. Power coursed around him, visible waves of shimmering air like smoke above a cooking fire. Grimm screeched in the distance. Nevermore rose like a wave set to come crashing down on them.
They'd sensed him! Even with Arcanists everywhere and magic being hurled across the Archives, they sensed Adam the very second he used his magic.
"Arcanists spend years to study every little detail. The theory, the concept and the specific flows of magic. Control, control, control." Adam sneered deeply. "They apply that twisted logic to everything. Control magic. Control people. Control Wildmages. There's a reason they convince themselves that everything in life must be under their thumb. It's because they're afraid. Afraid of change. Afraid of uncertainty. Afraid of not having the power to exercise their control."
The Nevermore swept downward. Not hundreds, Ruby realised, but thousands. Some were so small she could fit four or five in the palm of her hand. Like a swarm of hornets, they rushed in with razor sharp beaks and talons.
Adam swept his arms out wide. "Let me show you why!"
Shelves rattled and wood creaked. There was no wind that whipped up, yet the books began to shake free all around them, tumbling off the shelves to be caught in a gale that didn't exist. They swirled and tumbled through the air, clacking against one another as more and more heavy tomes were ripped from shelves several aisles in each direction. Adam flung his hand forward with a snarl.
A shadow was cast over them. Merlot gasped and Ruby looked back, eyes growing wide as books blocked out the light from above, an avalanche of leather-bound paper that blotted out the ceiling.
"Impossible," Merlot whispered. "The control required-"
"No control!" Adam barked. "Only intent. Crush them!"
The books surged forward. A hurricane of literature met a swarm of Nevermore and, like two stormfronts closing, exploded into a cyclone of whirling death. Nevermore were swatted out the air, smacked out the sky by hardened book covers that struck with the force to shatter bones and cave in ribcages. Walls of brightly coloured covers swept left and right, sweeping birds out the air.
Those that survived tried their best to duck and weave through the maelstrom, but there was no hope. The constant thunk, thunk, thunk of Nevermore bodies striking the floor echoed through the air, mingling with agonised squawks and angry screeches cut short. The crunch of bone and wings snapping overpowered even that, along with the loud smack of books hitting the floor, shelves and even one another in the air.
He's not controlling them, Ruby realised. He's just making a hurricane of obstacles for the Nevermore to kill themselves on. Adam kept sweeping his hands around, changing the flow and the speed and direction, keeping the movement chaotic and ensuring the Nevermore were pounded from every side.
"Skreeeee!"
A far larger shadow flew up over the shelves, landing atop a bookshelf to dig its talons in and splinter two rows. It spread its mighty wings and leapt up, building height to come crashing down on the Wildmage. Adam saw it. Scoffing, he joined his hands together and angled them up.
The books mirrored his action, thousands of them swirling upward in the same motion, coiling through the air in pursuit of the giant Nevermore. It wheeled and dove, as did Adam's hands.
"It's too fast!" Ruby cried. "You'll never catch it!"
"Tch." Adam let the books fall and spread his arms out left and right again like gripping onto something. The Nevermore swept down between the bookshelves, avoiding the tumbling books to sweep down at chest height, talons extended. "This thing doesn't know who it's dealing with!"
His hands came together in a mighty clap. So, too, did the giant wooden bookshelves to the left and right and only twenty metres ahead. They swept in as though launched from a crossbow, crashing on either side of the Nevermore with an almighty crack and shatter of wood.
Ruby flinched, eyes snapping shut and then cracking open again nervously. The huge wooden shelves, so heavy it would have taken twenty men to move, peeled open like the jaws of a vice, revealing the broken and battered form of the Nevermore inside. Its wings were snapped, its body battered and covered in blood. Weakly, it struggled up and fixed its eyes on Adam, dragging itself along the floor on one functioning leg.
Adam's right hand rose so she could see it and slowly curled into a tight fist. The bookshelf to the right creaked and groaned, splintering inward as though trying to mimic him. Wood eventually gave way with a sickening crack, the thick unit folding in and splintering. It snapped in two, several jagged pieces of wood splintering free. Almost negligently, Adam slashed his hand from right to left.
Sharp stakes of wood smashed into the Nevermore's flank, piercing through feathers, flesh, bone and even its eye. The force of the barrage toppled it to the side, the monster dying with an almost confused look on its avian face.
"There are no limits for us," Adam said – and she had the suspicion he was speaking to her. Teaching her. "There is nothing that a Wildmage can learn in a Collegium other than the feeling of helplessness. Ours is a power gated by one thing and one thing only. Will. That is why they are afraid. Because they cannot hide the power behind years of study and indoctrination. Because they cannot pick and choose what to teach and what to bury. They cannot control every nuance of what we are, and so they destroy everything we are. All for the sake of what we might be!"
Howls echoed ahead as Beowolves surged down the aisle. With a grunt and a foot pushed forward, Adam gripped the air before him in both hands like he was trying to pull over a heavy object. With a grunt, he wrenched it to the left.
Ahead of them, the bookshelves on the right-hand side of the aisle fell inwards, crashing down and crushing the smaller Beowolves in the lead. It didn't stop there, however. The shelves continued to fall moving on, toppling down like dominos, smashing lupine creatures and shattering bone.
The smaller Nevermore screeched and raced in again. Adam flung his arm in the air and scattered them with an explosive wave of wind created from nothingness. Those on the outskirts were sent tumbling away, while those closest exploded into puffs of feathers, instantly killed by the force.
Incredible. It was incredible. Amazing. Beautiful.
"Terrifying," Merlot whispered. "How terrifying…"
Why? Why was it something to be afraid of? Arcanists could do the same with enough time and preparation, yet she and Adam were monsters because they could do it better? How was that fair? It's not fair. It's the deer crying out that it's unfair the wolf is born with fangs with which to kill it.
Nature was cruel. That was a part of life. But the moment it was humans involved in nature, the same rules didn't apply. Humans hunted down and drove wolves out not because they needed food or fur, but because they decided nature didn't apply to them anymore. The same had been done with the Wildmages. Instead of learning to live beside them, they'd taken one look at Wildmages and decided they were unnatural.
This, though. This didn't feel unnatural at all. The air hummed with what Ruby could only call excitement. The magic twisted and coiled and flowed like water down a raging river. Compared to that, Arcanist magic felt so stilted and fake, like someone was forcing the river down a manmade canal against its will.
Adam twisted on one foot and stabbed a hand out in front of him. The floor itself curled and peeled up like the skin of an orange, toppling Beowolves back and crashing down to swallow them whole. He ducked, touched the ground and flung his arm up. Shattered stakes of wood from all the broken shelves fired up like arrows from a hundred bows, piercing through the Nevermore and sending them raining down like gory trophies.
A Beowolf lunged for him – finally close enough to attack. Adam gave it one look, frowned and snapped his fingers. The entire thing exploded into a ball of fire, screeching and howling as it skittered past on its claws. It howled again as it rose, suspended in the air and hurled back into its fellows.
"No wonder the Menagerie Arcanists looked to him for protection," Merlot whispered. "Ten of the best the Crimson had to offer could not fight the Grimm this effectively. Perhaps with time to plan and set up their strategy in advance, but not in the heat of the moment as he is. It's a wonder they didn't survive down here indefinitely."
Not a wonder. It was the work of a White Arcanist.
"We'll be able to break through like this," Ruby said. Adam was tearing a path through the Grimm. They didn't have a hope against him. "We'll be able to get back!"
"Yes. Though I'm concerned what he might do when that happens…" Merlot took her shoulder and squeezed it tight. "You must promise me you will stay back. Whatever happens between him and the Collegium is not our battle."
"Adam said he'd surrender peacefully."
"Did he? That's a relief. Though…" He shook his head quickly, pulling away. "This isn't the time for talk. Come, Ruby. Let's stay close and let him cut a path through."
The two of them hurried after Adam as he waded through the Grimm. Beowolves were started to reach him en masse, proving that even with all his strength, he wasn't some invincible god. The books and shelves he used as weapons were being reduced to nothing. Shelves splintered apart while books were shredded, trampled or scattered into loose pages. Adak kept pulling, drawing more from further away, but it obviously took more effort. Drawing his sword, he chambered it back and swung forward. To Ruby's shock, he released it, hurtling the blade ahead of him.
The reason why quickly became apparent. The sword began to glow and struck the first Beowolf, slicing through its body as though it were a hot knife against a block of butter. It carried on without losing momentum, now caught in Adam's wild magic, and swept back and forth, cutting foes down like a scythe through wheat.
An explosion of fire ahead cast aside two more Beowolves. It hadn't been caused by Adam – they were close! Caught in an attack from both sides and with the Nevermore decimated by Adam's bookish tornado, the Grimm were faltering. Ruby caught sight of men and women in robes – predominantly red, but some white and even soldiers in leather armour and breastplates. They were holding the line as the bookshelves gave way to the desks and Rubricator, the shattered chairs and ruined remains of the portal.
"It's there!" she cried. "The way out!"
"Take light, reflect and refract, signal our arrival." Merlot chanted briefly and cast his hand upward. A bolt of light a solid blue in colour fired up at a forty-five-degree angle, bursting in the air and littering motes of shimmering blue like glitter. "That should signal to the Arcanists of our approach," he explained. "Hurry. This is our chance to break through."
Breaking through wouldn't be a problem. In fact, the battle was all but ending. The final Grimm turned to face Adam, completely ignoring the beleaguered Arcanists and Collegium Guards. The sentiment wasn't mutual however, and exhausted men and women took advantage of the distraction, lashing out to cut Grimm down. Those they couldn't reach rushed in for them – and Ruby swore she heard Weiss scream her name in abject panic. All eyes were upon them.
Upon Adam, as he stepped forward, called his sword to fly back to his hand, sheathed it, whispered something under his breath and drew it in a swift and beautiful arch of roaring red flame. The crackle of ignition burst through the air as a wave of red fire flew from the blade and incinerated the charging Grimm, burning away their fur, flesh and muscle and leaving only ash behind.
Beautiful, Ruby thought, meaning the way the magic moved just as much as the vivid colour and graceful swing. That was… It felt so raw. So powerful.
So natural.
"WILDMAGE!"
Lightning struck Adam's chest.
Ruby's proud smile dropped. "W-Wait," she gasped. "He's not fighting back. Why are-?" Louder, she screamed, "He's not fighting back! It's okay! He's surrendering!"
"White Arcana, prepare for transport! Crimson, bring him down!"
"He's not fighting!" Ruby screamed.
Rows of crimson-robed figures stepped forward. Adam grunted and covered his face with one hand as a barrage of spells crashed into him. He didn't scream but Ruby did, straining against Merlot's suddenly powerful hold on her shoulders. The spells exploded across Adam's body, driving him down onto one knee.
"He isn't fighting back!" Ruby wept. Her voice caught, hiccupping. "He isn't – Merlot, tell them to stop!" When he didn't do so immediately, she shrieked, "Tell them to stop!"
"I cannot. And they won't."
"Huntsmen!" Goodwitch ordered.
Three figures in black leather with masked faces charged in. Adam stood with a pained sound. He raised his hands, allowing his sword to fall – a clear sign of surrender. Clear to her and to all of them.
A wooden baton struck him in the neck. The sound of strangled choking was more than audible. He dropped, but that didn't stop one of the Huntsmen kicking him hard to bring him low. Another took his sword and threw it back, while the one with the heavy wooden club raised it high and brought it crashing down on the defenceless man.
"Stop it!" Ruby howled. "Stop it!"
"Ruby," Merlot hissed into her ear. "Don't do anything. Don't even think of helping. You won't be able to and you'll only end up in the same- argh!" He grunted as she stamped a foot down on his and broke free. Ruby hurled herself forward, covering the distance in a sprint.
"No!"
It was Adam that shouted out, hurling one of the Huntsmen away. It was the first sign of him fighting back and the Arcanists reacted poorly, throwing spells his way. They wouldn't harm the Huntsmen, making it safe to do so. There was a moment where he could have run. Could have escaped. He didn't. Instead, Adam turned to face her and shook his head.
Don't interfere. Don't try and protect me. Don't break your promise.
Ruby released a strangled sound and dropped to her knees, tears running down her cheeks. The barrage hit and Adam and the Huntsmen were engulfed. His scream pierced through the smoke but was quickly cut off. The loud smack of a cudgel being repeatedly driven down was all she could hear, and even then she had to close her ears against it, pushing her face to the floor and covering both ears as Adam was beaten unconscious less than ten metres away from her.
"Ruby!" Someone wrapped their arms around her. White covered her vision as a sleeve dappled with blood clung to her. "Ruby, are you okay?" Weiss demanded, sounding so afraid. "Are you hurt? Do you need healing-"
"Help him, Weiss," she begged her friend. "Please help him."
"Him-? But Ruby, he's a Wildmage…"
"He isn't fighting them," she cried, clinging to Weiss' robes. "He protected us. He promised to surrender. He hasn't once tried to fight back and they're killing him. Weiss, he saved our lives!"
Weiss' pale blue eyes stared down on her for a long second. They looked tired and haunted. Her own must have been worse because Weiss swallowed and looked away, "He's surrendered!" she shouted. "Lady Goodwitch, the Wildmage agreed to surrender to the Sanctum! There's no need for this-"
"Silence Initiate." Arcanist Goodwitch strode forward with her eyes locked onto Adam's form, watching him go still as the cudgel rose and fell. "Wildmages are dangerous unless contained. What carnage could he cause if we trusted and brought him to the Collegium? Even the distance between the Archives and the Sanctum could cost hundreds of lives if he chose to attack."
"But he isn't fighting!" Ruby screamed at the cruel woman. "You're hurting an innocent man!"
"Initiate Schnee, take your companion away from here. If you can, talk some sense into the fool girl's head while you're at it. Arcanist Merlot," she barked. "I hope you have good explanation for why you have been found in the company of a Wildmage."
"An explanation I will gladly give, Arcanist Goodwitch, provided it is to the Grand Arcanist. Ironwood and you have no power over the Azure Arcana."
Ruby couldn't pay attention to them. Her eyes returned to Adam, staring past Weiss' sleeve as three men beat him within an inch of his life. He'd stopped trying to cover himself, arms broken. His face was covered in blood and his legs twitched with every blow. And yet despite all of that, he watched her. Watched and said not a word.
He was letting this happen because of her promise. As a Wildmage, he could have fought to the death. He might still have been brought low, but he could have chosen to die rather than face this. If she tried to save him now, she'd spit on that. If she cast Weiss aside, rose and summoned her power, she might be able to strike Goodwitch and the White low while they weren't expecting it.
But she couldn't beat them all. Not them and everyone in the Collegium above. All she'd accomplish would be getting herself thrown in the Sanctum with him and Cinder, and then there'd be no one to rescue any of them.
Turning away was one of the hardest things she'd ever done. And leaving him to be beaten unconscious was the most painful.
/-/
"Initiate Schnee," the Grand Arcanist said. "Thank you for bringing Initiate Rose here."
It was the first time Weiss had ever been addressed of the Grand Arcanist and the honour was muted by the weight of her best friend slumped against her side. Weiss supported her weight with one arm around her waist and the other holding Ruby's hand. Cautiously, she helped Ruby to one of the seats set up, the one beside Arcanist Merlot, her mentor.
He took and helped set Ruby down and didn't complain when Weiss pulled up a seat to connect to Ruby's so that she could offer her shoulder to lean on. Ruby took it, as quiet as she had been since her rescue from the Azure Archives. Weiss couldn't help but think Ruby's silence had more to do with anger than pain. And that some of it might even be directed at her.
There were two others in the room – Arcanist Ironwood of Atlas and Arcanist Goodwitch of the White. They stood on either side of the Grand Arcanist's desk, as if united against the three of them.
"Initiate Schnee, you may leave."
"Arcanist Goodwitch," she said, "If I may, Ruby is exhausted and not strong enough-"
"You have your orders, Initiate," Ironwood said sternly. "The White follows."
Weiss grit her teeth but made to stand – only to freeze when Ruby's hand clutched hers tight. Helplessly, Weiss looked to the Grand Arcanist. His eyes met hers and then dipped to Ruby's hand, softening slightly.
"Initiate Schnee may stay," he decided, drawing a frown from Goodwitch. "There is little that will be said here that she won't hear from her bunkmate, and she was in the Archives when the Wildmage was discovered. There are no secrets she has not already witnessed."
Goodwitch huffed. "As you say, Lord Arcanist."
"Merlot." Ozpin addressed Ruby's mentor with a placid smile. "Please explain to us the circumstances that ended with your accompanying a Wildmage."
"Of course, Ozpin. There's no grand conspiracy to it…"
He spoke. It was a long story that spanned days of his and Ruby's time, but which he summarised to a few key points. Weiss listened but placed most of her attention on Ruby, holding onto her and stroking her back, only looking up briefly to stare at the bag of Arcanum Merlot provided, proof of the fallen of Menagerie. Of the surviving Arcanists of Ruby's home.
Weiss clung tighter to her friend. Horrible as it sounded, she hoped none of Ruby's family had been among them. Better to have the certainty of their death in Menagerie than to imagine them hounded in the Archives.
Merlot spoke of the fallen Arcanists they found and then their encounter with the Grimm – one he had slain. He then told of their retreat, of seeing the Nevermore fly above and discovering the last outpost of the survivors.
"The Wildmage led them to us," Goodwitch decided.
"I disagree," Merlot challenged, earning two heated glares.
"Oh?" Ozpin sounded more intrigued. "Do tell."
"The Nevermore flew over us but also past Adam – the Wildmage, that is. I don't suppose you cared to ask his name before assaulting him. If they truly had been hunting him, they wouldn't have gone anywhere near the portal because Adam was not there. It's obvious that what they sensed was the Azure themselves. It had little to do with the Wildmage."
"And yet they would not have been close enough for that without the Wildmage leading them this close."
"Shall we ignore the Arcanists he travelled with? It was their decision to risk the journey in hopes of finding Vale. Not his."
"Rogue Arcanists," Ironwood said dismissively. "They went Rogue the moment they broke into the Sanctum to free one of its prisoners. Whatever their reasoning, the law exists for a reason that reason is the protection of all Remnant. They were no better than criminals themselves. It is fortunate for them they fell, or they would have shared his fate within the Sanctum."
"The White killed them…"
Weiss flinched as everyone's eyes came to her, or more specifically to Ruby. Intimidated as she was, Weiss hunched over her best friend's form.
"What was that, Initiate?" Ozpin asked kindly.
"It was the White that killed them," she insisted. Weakly, she fumbled in her robes and provided a small, worn book. Weiss took it and tossed it to the Grand Arcanist, who thumbed through it briefly without reading. "T-There was a White Arcanist in the survivors. He didn't like how they let a Wildmage protect them, so he murdered the Arcanists. Poisoned them all."
Weiss looked to Arcanist Goodwitch, expecting her denial, expecting something. What she didn't expect was for the woman to nod once.
"Good."
Ruby sucked in a breath. Weiss felt her entire body tense up.
"He made the ultimate sacrifice, and to protect other Collegiums. Not all can think so clearly in times of conflict."
"He murdered them!" Ruby hissed sharply.
"He did what he had to, Initiate. I don't expect you to understand, but the White does not falter. He chose Remnant over a small group of people. He chose the White over himself." The woman in white touched a hand to her chest. "May he be remembered for his sacrifice."
Weiss didn't dare echo the gesture Arcanists Goodwitch and Ironwood gave. If she did, she knew Ruby would never forgive her. Killing his friends because the White told him to. What if they told me to kill Ruby? I couldn't do that.
"Moving on," Merlot said nervously, waving Ruby to silence. "We chose to travel with the Wildmage because we really had no choice in the matter. He could have killed us and taken our supplies had we said no. As for leading him back, the Grimm had already done that for him, attacking the portal as they did. He would have reached it sooner or later."
"Your apprentice attempted to defend him," Goodwitch pointed out.
Weiss couldn't remain silent. "Ruby only said he promised to surrender! She didn't try and intervene!"
"The intent was still there."
"Intent isn't enough!" Weiss argued.
"Silen-"
"Enough." The Grand Arcanist silenced them both with a single thump of his hand on the desk. "Glynda, answer me truthfully, did Initiate Rose physically or magically assault those dealing with the Wildmage?"
"…" Arcanist Goodwitch sighed. "No."
"Then the matter is dealt with. We can hardly expect an Initiate to stand up to a Wildmage. To do so would be ridiculous. In the same vein, Merlot is a researcher before he is a fighter. With an Initiate to protect in tow, his options were limited."
"Thank you, Ozpin." Merlot bowed his head.
"I do not want any strife between the Arcana. There will be enough between the Azure and the White in the coming days, I'm sure. At least one of our problems is dealt with. The Wildmage has been caught."
"Ozpin, you can't possibly think he was the one from the slums." Ironwood argued. "He's been trapped in the Archives for months! Your own forces reported contact with the Wildmage above ground. And to speak of this in front of Initiates-"
"Come now, James. There won't be any hiding what happened today. People have died, the injured were seen on the laws and the Wildmage was dragged unconscious across the grounds under intense guard. There's not much point pretending news of this won't spread."
"Agreed," Glynda said. "Though as James says, the Wildmage we personally saw in the city is still at large. They are not one and the same."
"I am not suggesting that, of course not. That said, your efforts to locate him or her within the Collegium have proven fruitless, no?"
Ironwood grunted. "Admittedly."
"That is no fault of yours, old friend. I feel our mistake was that we have become distracted by the one in our Archives. We narrowed our search when we shouldn't have. He was close enough for our sensors to pick up his bouts of wild magic."
"You think the incident in the Collegium was him. That the other is still at large in the city and taking advantage of our mistake to stay hidden." Glynda hummed, stroking her chin. "It could be. What do you say, James?"
"Possible. The Wildmage had always been detected in the slums before, then once in the Collegium when the wall fell. Almost all the first year Initiates were accounted for at the time and my men have been through all the staff. It's possible that the reason we haven't found anything is because the architect of that specific surge was none other than the one we've caught today. So, the other would still be active in the slums."
"My thoughts exactly." Ozpin smiled and turned to face the two White Arcanists. "The attack on Initiate Valkyrie's workshop may have been the same. No one saw anyone come or leave and your tracking bracelets picked up little. It's known she keeps volatile material there – perhaps the Wildmage fighting the Grimm in the Archives caused sparks above ground that reacted poorly with something she had stored there."
"It's an avenue worth exploring," Ironwood said. "The wall is all but close to repaired now; only the final touches remain. I suppose we can ease the curfew and take the tracking bracelets back. If we're wrong and the Wildmage is still here, we'll soon know. We're likely due a Surge in the coming weeks. To think there were two and that we misread the readings. I'd not believe it if we didn't have one in captivity."
"Um. Sirs." Weiss chimed up weakly. "Maybe it is just the one."
"We have evidence it is not, Initiate. Please do not involve yourself in matters you know nothing of." Arcanist Goodwitch shot her down immediately. "And we should not be discussing this so candidly in front of two Initiates, regardless of what rumours may or may not fly."
"Of course." Ozpin linked his hands together and turned back to them. "I see no reason to punish Merlot and Miss Rose for what happened. It was hardly their fault and they acted as best they could given the circumstances."
"The Initiate questioned the White."
"And since when do questions deserve punishment, Glynda? Is not our job to teach and guide these children?" The question was frosty even to Weiss' ears and the woman stiffened. Ironwood made to speak but Ozpin beat him to it. "This is not Atlas, old friend. Do not think to push your ideologies here. I am the Grand Arcanist and I have decided."
"Yes, Grand Arcanist."
"Atlas respects the Collegium of Vale's sovereignty."
"Good. Now, unless there is anything you or Miss Rose wish to add, I think we are done."
"Nothing on our end," Merlot said quickly. He made to stand. "I think-"
"I want to say something." Ruby's voice cut through the conversation and had Weiss wincing. Even so, she helped Ruby to sit up and face them. "I want to ask Goodwitch something."
"That's Arcanist Goodwitch, Initiate."
Ruby ignored her. That was already a bad sign. "The Wildmage agreed to surrender to the Sanctum. He said he knew he couldn't fight back and would go there peacefully. He beat the Grimm and saved a lot of people's lives, and he dropped his weapon when you all attacked him. He didn't once fight back…" Ruby trailed off.
"Is there a point to this story, Initiate?"
"Why…? If he was surrendering peacefully, why hurt him like that?"
The Arcanist sighed and crossed her arms. "I should not need explain myself to an Initiate. That said, I suppose it does no harm. Listen well. A Wildmage is a dangerous beast. Just because a snake lowers its head does not mean you reach out a hand to pet it, nor do you ignore the wolf that looks away from you. If the Black could create something capable of restraining a Wildmage's magic, I could have relied on that to take him in non-violently, but there is no such tool. The only way to bring him to the Sanctum without endangering everyone in the Collegium was to ensure he could not cast. We did what we had to, Initiate. Does that explain our actions for you? Or would you like to question several hundred years of wisdom?"
"Maybe it needs to be questioned…"
Weiss tried to shush her, but it was too late. Glynda's eyes sharpened. "It does not. Initiate Schnee, take your friend away. She is obviously disturbed from her experience. I've heard tell some prisoners can develop an attachment for their captors."
"If you always attack and go after Wildmages something is going to break eventually," Ruby said. "If a Wildmage knows all they face is pain and beatings, they won't surrender. The next time, they might try and kill you."
"Initiate, I would challenge any Wildmage to try. The White does not falter. It has not faltered for hundreds of years; it did not falter in Menagerie; it shall not falter here. You ask what right I had to beat him? I ask you what right did I have not to?" Waving her hand, she said, "Take her away. I will not argue my methods with an Initiate."
This is an example chapter of what an experienced Wildmage can pull off. Keep in mind that while Merlot was able to kill a Grimm, it was distracted by Ruby and he actually had to use a few spells to do it – one to restrain, one to turn the floor to ice to trip it and another to make a weapon to pierce its skull.
Adam, and by extension Ruby, can brute force their way through it. A single spell in their hands can completely rip a Grimm's insides out, and they can adapt and use spells on the fly and as they need them.
To use the books as Adam did would have required intense concentration on every individual book, many moving in different directions. Think of music practice for piano or drums where you have to do one thing with your left hand and another with your right, but instead imagine it's two hundred different movements and you have to do it with your mind without once dropping concentration.
That's an Arcanist.
Next Chapter: 19th July
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