Chapter-18

Ozpin

Cysgod village, a month after Operation Night Raid:

A little 12-year-old girl hummed happily as she walked out of her house.

Finally! I can come out of my house! She thought. Ever since those weird grimm showed up and started terrorizing the village, she'd been stuck in her house for the past few days for her safety. To pass the time, she helped her mother with the household work, since she had sprained her ankle falling down the stairs and was told by the doctor to take a rest.

As much as she enjoyed helping her dear mother, Orchid also wanted to go back to her old habit of seeing the lush green fields stretching for miles all day long. And the opportunity was finally here! Her mother had recovered and the other villagers were saying that there was now less grimm activity around the village and it was safe to at least come out of the walls.

"Orchid!" She heard her mother call out. "Don't go too far from the village!"

Orchid smiled. "Yes, mother!" She replied. She knew the woods to the Village's south were infested with those grimm so going there was a bad idea. But the pond just a little distance from Cysgod's walls shouldn't be a worry.

She walked out into the streets, waving to some of the other villagers and the guards before heading out of the main gate and into the open fields.

Ah, it feels like ages since I gazed upon these fields… Orchid thought as she skipped happily through the long green grass.

Soon, she reached the pond, it's waters glittering in the sunlight like jewels. Orchid grinned at the sight of the pond.

Now what was the first thing I did… She thought before remembering. She walked up to the pond and gazed at its water, admiring her reflection. She then noticed a tiny little rat sitting by the edge.

"Eep!" Orchid shrieked. She hated rats. They were nasty little creatures which always seemed to find a way to burrow into her home. She'd even found some burrowed into her cheese!

She waved her hand, trying to drive the rat away but it didn't move, instead staring at her.

After a minute of screaming and desperate attempts at scaring, Orchid realized the rat wasn't doing anything.

She tilted her head in curiosity and scooted a little closer.

It doesn't seem that bad. Orchid thought before the rat suddenly morphed into…

"KYAAAAHHHH!" Orchid's horrified shriek sounded as she looked at the creature in front of her. It was some sort of dwarf with a long, pointy nose and mismatched sharp teeth dripping with blood in its toothy grin and bulging yellow eyes looking at her with hunger in them.

Orchid scrambled back as the monster giggled before running towards her, baring its sharp teeth to tear her throat out…

Before some projectile embedded itself into its skull, killing the creature.

"Even if your mother allowed you, you shouldn't be so careless, Ms. Orchid." Orchid heard a familiar voice as she stuck herself to the armor of her savior. "Thank you, Mr. Knight! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

Her savior looked down and patted her head. "There, there, it's alright. Are you hurt?"

Orchid sniffed. "No…"

"Good. And I told you to call me Tristan."

Orchid pouted at him. "But you look like a shining knight, with your white armor and all that…"

Tristan chuckled, holding Failnaught away and hoisting Orchid onto his shoulders. "I suppose so." He spoke before sighing. "What a stubborn girl. It is sad that I get stuck in situations like this…"

Orchid glared at him and hit his head with a fist. "I'm not stubborn! And don't you start with your 'I am sad' speech!" She spoke. Tristan was a nice person and a strong fighter, but she couldn't get just why he believes himself as sad and sad and sad all the time?!

"And you deny it. How…" Tristan stopped himself. The poor girl had just come out of a frightening experience, it's better that he did not stress her mind further. Speaking of the frightening experience…

"Uh, Mr. Knight?" Orchid asked, her tone shifting to nervousness, "Do you know what that…thing was earlier?"

Tristan hummed. "Ah, that was a Knocker, albeit a rather violent one."

"A Knocker?"

"Yes, they are like Cornish Leprechauns. You could find them in the caves of my homeland Cornwall and the neighbouring Devon."

"Leprechauns?"

"They are…small mischievous creatures. But usually Knockers aren't violent. The most they do is play harmless pranks. Although, there aren't any Knockers with sharp bloodstained teeth."

"S-So…"

"You must stay in the village, Ms. Orchid. I'm afraid you'll have to extend your period of quarantine."

"Noooooo…."

As Tristan carried Orchid back to the village, a shadowy humanoid watched the two before disappearing to inform its superior of the threat.

Ozpin sipped his cup watching Team RWBY train with Ruler, the man gracefully dodging the strikes of the girls while countering by throwing his blades and attacking with his South Animan blade.

A month of training after the classes under Ruler had really showed the difference. The girls had showed significant improvement in their skills after getting beaten black and blue by ruler. They could now react a lot faster to attacks than they earlier could, had better coordination where instead of trying to give each other space to utilize their different responses to Ruby's commands, they were now warming up to the idea of working together as a well-oiled machine.

There were still some areas for improvement, but Ozpin believed those would eventually be closed up with experience. However, he still had to be careful about sending them against one of those people again. They were lucky the enemy seemed to be only focused on capturing Ruby, otherwise things would have been catastrophic.

Thankfully, the mission he was going to assign them at the official welcoming of the students of other kingdoms and the inauguration of the Huntsman's apprentice did not seem to have anyone like Saber. It wasn't easy, such was Ozpin's intention to keep on testing RWBY, but he was sure they will be successful in this one.

He nodded to ruler as the training session concluded and walked back to his office to sort out a few formalities before heading for his bed.

I'll be having Port and Ruler to keep them company… He thought.

The next day, Ozpin found himself on the auditorium once again, much more relaxed than he was a month ago.

The staff were not present, since they, along with other huntsmen, would be waiting for each team assigned to them in the bullhead airfield.

Currently, a sea of students in different uniforms could be seen. The first that caught his eye were his own students, all wearing their uniforms inspired from the formal clothes of the Old Knights of Vale, who'd made a valiant last stand against the forces of Mistral and Mantle in their invasion of Sanus.

A last stand you forced them into… A part of him whispered that Ozpin tuned out.

Next were the students of Haven academy, clad in their uniform that evolved from the dress code of the Monks of the Hina Monastery, Haven's old form. It had been the shelter of many of Mistral's citizens when a horde of grimm burst of Mistral's underground in what was known as the Day of Horror.

The students of Vacuo were clad in a random assortment of clothes with no sense of uniformity. It was expected, considering the concept of a uniform reminded them of Mantle's own rigid armies during the great war.

Finally, the students of Atlas academy, still clad in the same grey uniforms back in the days of Alsius academy.

Even in this festival of peace, Ozpin could see the traces of the Great war in the mere clothing the students of the four academies wore. Perhaps Thane was right about the Great War's legacy staying with Remnant for gods know how long.

But enough of such thoughts. The students were waiting for his address.

"Greetings to all the students of the other kingdoms. I welcome you to Beacon and the Kingdom of Vale." Ozpin began as the murmuring among the students quieted down.

And here comes the boring part… Ozpin thought. His customary history lecture about the Vytal festival which is frankly unnecessary.

"80 years ago, Remnant was thrown into warfare because of the desire for freedom as well as greed. For 5 years this war raged on, claiming the lives of not only thousands of soldiers but the old institutions of Remnant. The monarchies, the old militaries, all were swept away by the waves of war. Yet, from the remains of the Old order, a new remnant arose. King Osmond, before his death, had set about rebuilding Remnant after the war ended. He drafted up the Vytal treaty to prevent a tragedy like the great war from happening again, and established the councils in various kingdoms. But, what could be considered one of his greatest contributions was the formulation of the Huntsman associations."

"His personal assassin Thane was known for his help in slaughtering grimm hordes across remnant to prevent them from killing people amidst this bloody war. So Osmond convinced him to pass on his skills to a new generation. And with Thane, huntsmen and huntresses were born."

Before he could begin his next part, Ozpin stopped. What if he did something different this year? After all, his efforts as King Osmond weren't the only thing that created the academies

"Every year, I always talk about how the Vytal treaty and King Osmond's efforts created the institutions of huntsmen associations we know about. But this year, I would like to bring to light the importance of other players. Thane, first of all. Very little is known about who he really was. All people knew him as was the mad hunter who seemed to cause chaos in the multiple fronts of the Great War and the First Huntsmen. But Thane was much more than that." Ozpin spoke as the students suddenly perked up.

"He…was the definition of a 'hunter'. Relentlessly hunting down grimm to the remotest corners of Remnant. No matter how strong or how big, to them all grimm were his prey. His determination inspired more and more people to flock to the huntsman academies. His will served to be a source of inspiration to those who wished to devote themselves to protect humanity against the grimm. And perhaps this is why Thane could be called an ideal huntsman. To be a huntsman is to abandon normalcy in your life. To be a huntsman is to wade into the darkness that lies beyond the comfort of the Kingdoms and eliminate threats that would dare to harm our people. If you are to be a huntsman, then you must have the will to abandon your normal lives and take up arms to fight the grimm. Today, you shall be accompanying huntsmen on dangerous missions which might intimidate many of you. But I want you to remember Thane's determination. Remember the will of Thane, and you will find your own courage." Ozpin spoke walking off the stage, leaving the students in silence as the announcements were made for the instructions.

As he left the auditorium, Ozpin let out a sigh.

Goodness me, that was a little emotional… Ozpin thought. Thane always had that effect on him.

By the time he reached his office, he could see some of the bullheads leaving for their respective missions.

Ozpin sat down, before a sudden urge for nostalgia washed over him. He opened the drawers in his desk and pull out an old frame containing a picture of himself as Osmond standing beside his Inner circle of followers. Among all of them stood out one familiar man with a huge smile on his face wearing round sunglasses.

"Hello again, old friend…" He muttered, closing his eyes. It's been 15 years since he watched Thane die in peace in his home. Most of the deaths of his Circle's members did not shake him so much beyond the feeling of guilt, but Thane's death had been the first one in centuries to make him cry.

"Working under you was the best time of my life, Oz. I don't give a shit about what your current members think about you. To me, you'll remain that devoted protector of humanity."

A tear raced down Ozpin's eye that he wiped away before noticing the letter Thane wrote before his death. He picked it up once more to read its contents.

Hey Oz,

I'm writing this considering I don't have much time left to live. It's a bit of a confession, but I actually used the relic of choice a long time ago. I know, pretty disobedient of me. But what I saw in that future, I realized that this shadow war of ours is approaching its end.

Salem's going to start going after the relics themselves more than a decade after I die. I know you're afraid of bringing the relics together again, Oz, but trust me, they are the key to surviving what is going to come. As for that is…it's so big it makes Salem look like a sideshow. Maybe you could fashion a youth potion and turn me young again because I'm getting anxiety for how the future's going to handle this threat.

Thane

Ozpin massaged his head. Currently, he wasn't seeing anything drastic other than Salem gaining new powerful allies who most likely didn't have any organization outside of Salem's faction. The relic of choice itself didn't show absolute futures. He usually believed Thane, but considering he was asking him to drop the passiveness and start getting the relics together by force, Ozpin couldn't help but be skeptical.

Because he could not see what could possibly warrant the Vessel to be recreated and the gods to be brought back on Remnant again.

A/N: I have returned to post another chapter. Long story short, I was sick so I couldn't upload last week. Heck, I was struggling to finish this chapter because I'm still a bit exhausted from the ordeal of my sickness. But anyways, two more arcs remain in Volume - 2. After that, I'll be taking a small break from this story to get started on my second story, whose cover image I've already designed.

Response to Reviews:

Guest: Yep.

mg1147: While that is true, I don't think they are older than Perseus. Their estimated time of living is difficult to pinpoint because of the age old problem of Greek mythology having timelines intersect in impossible circumstances. They grow up in King Tyndareus' court, which makes them Helen of Troy's siblings and hence placing them around the time of the Trojan war, but they're also stated to be a part of the Argonauts, which also places them in the voyage for the Golden Fleece that is confirmed to have taken place a generation before the Trojan War. But whatever the case, they were definitely born after Perseus' time or when Perseus had become an old man.