Vengeance Is My Name
Chapter Eighteen
The Great Ending
"Roman."
The ginger dressed in grey and gold nodded smartly as he straightened to attention.
"Sir?"
Jaques stood from his chair, closing his open folder and placing it atop the others. He glanced around the empty room before settling on the man standing at his side.
"I need you to find someone for me."
Roman reached into a pocket on the inside of his tunic and pulled out a scrap of parchment and a scribe.
"Who might that be, sir?"
"I need you to find a woman by the name of Kali Belladonna. Last I heard of her, she was out east. If you go east of Citadel, where our territory runs out, you'll find Oceanum Abyssi."
"I'm familiar with the place."
Jaques nodded. "Good. When I spoke to her last, she was training a small demon army in an attempt to fortify the border between Oceanum Abyssi and Citadel. I'm assuming she's settled down and made that town her home. She should still be there. Find her. Tell her I have need of her."
Roman scratched dutifully at his paper.
"And can I expect any resistance? Will she come willingly, or will I have to coerce her?"
Jaques smiled thinly.
"She will come willingly, I guarantee it. She owes me."
Roman nodded.
"May I inquire as to how, exactly, she owes you?"
"Oh, it's very simple, and not at all an exciting story. I caught her stealing food from our storehouses back in Nova, many years ago. Normally, such a trifling issue would be beneath me, something for our soldiers to deal with, but she had the misfortune of being caught directly by me. So in exchange for sparing her life, she promised to be indebted to me, ready to lend a hand with whatever I might need."
Roman paused, looking up to stare disbelievingly at Jaques.
"I find it hard to believe that you would see any worth in her at all. Why not... ?"
Jaques waved a hand dismissively.
"Surely, we've been in each other's company for only a short period of time. You've been privvy to a select few very sensitive issues plaguing my family, and that has undoubtedly given you the opinion that I slaughter everyone who crosses me without a second thought. This simply isn't true. A man cannot make it in this world without strong alliances, and if he killed everyone he crossed, he would have few alliances indeed. This marriage with the Winchesters is a prime example. They have what I do not. Knowledge and skills I cannot hope to obtain by killing them. Frivolous warfare is to be avoided, and fighting must only be done when there is no other suitable course of action. I prefer to make friends and business partners instead of enemies, wherever possible. Young Kali Belladonna is no exception. Originally I had no idea what I would use her for, but the information I'm picking up coming out of Oceanum Abyssi leads me to believe she's become a formidable warrior, with quite a cult following of powerful demons."
Roman tucked away his parchment, twirling the pen between his fingers.
"So you're looking to add another army to your employ? Amassing that many warriors seems to contradict your previous statement that you don't prefer fighting."
Jaques hummed quietly.
"Not that it's particularly any of your business, but I'm feeling generous tonight, so I'll explain."
Roman stayed silent.
"I need to arm the ships that I've bought. A force of warriors that lives on the edge of the sea would certainly be more familiar with sea-going vessels than the Rose Army, which has spent it's entire young existence on dry land. Also, the purpose for the ships is to launch an expedition in search of some very old technology. It will need hardy warriors capable of surviving rough conditions and the risk of pirates and bandits. Demons are much more robust than their human counterparts. It is well known."
Jaques looked down at the folders he held in his hands, his firm grip denting the paper slightly.
"Lastly, I'll be using them to exterminate the Rose Army. The leader has grown brash, and no longer listens to me. She does as she pleases, and has failed to meet my expectations on my most important task for her. If she doesn't want to listen, I have no desire to continue paying her. Also, there's a massive conflict of interest. My eldest daughter has forsaken her family name to chase the carefree leader of the Rose Army, and this does nothing but vex me. So, to avoid possible retaliation, and to coax Winter back to my side where I can make use of her, it's better if I just cut the head off the Rose Army. With no leader, they'll scatter like flies. Those of them that remain in search of a fighting force to call their own, can join Kali's army."
Roman exhaled slowly, shaking his head.
"What is all of this in pursuit of?"
Jaques stared at Roman unflinchingly.
"To resecure the immortalization of the Schnee family name in the annals of history. For that, I will stop at nothing."
Winter could barely hear her father's words over the pounding of her heart, but she'd heard enough. Struggling to keep her breathing under control as her fury skyrocketed, she pulled away from the closed door that separated her from her father and his aide. Deciding she'd best leave before she was caught, she fled silently down the hall. She was scheduled to spend one more night here before setting out on her journey back to Ruby, but there wasn't enough time for that. Not with a bounty on Ruby's head.
She'd leave tonight.
"Are you nervous?" Yang whispered, just loud enough for Blake to hear her.
Blake said nothing, her only response a minute shake of her head.
Yang sighed exasperatedly.
The last few days, Blake had made a point to speak to her as little as possible. Yang had a feeling it was because of the almost-kiss in the training room, but Blake wouldn't hold a conversation with her long enough to find out for sure. Blake had been extremely short with her, speaking only when spoken to and sometimes not even then. During the day, their travel was silent, with Blake riding a few paces ahead of Yang. Blake had chosen to split her time between sharing a horse with Pyrrha and sharing a horse with a talkative, flamboyant girl named Neon instead of riding with Yang as previously planned.
At night, their original plan called for Blake and Yang to share a tent, and Neon and Pyrrha to share one, and they did, but Blake kept herself shoved over to one side, refusing to share the slightest bit of space with Yang that she absolutely didn't have to.
It hurt.
A lot.
Yang had devoted a significant amount of her time and resources to sharing this journey with Blake, and the girl was ignoring her like she didn't even matter. It would have been infuriating, if Yang couldn't easily see why she was doing it.
Yet, that didn't make it hurt any less.
And it wouldn't stop her from trying.
"Well, I'm nervous. We're about to come face to face with the Rose Commander. Pyrrha's talked so much about her, she's kinda larger than life, ya know? I'm expecting some... " Yang trailed off for a second, her thoughts catching up to her mouth.
"Well, I'm not really sure what I'm expecting, to be honest, and that's kind of exciting!"
Blake rolled her eyes, but said nothing. Taking that as an invitation to continue, Yang loosened her grip on her reins as she lifted one hand to gesture wildly in front of her.
"Aren't these ruins spectacular? What do you suppose they came here for?"
Blake shrugged lazily. "We're going to find out."
Before Yang could reply, Blake dug her heels into the sides of her horse, spurring it forward as the strange girl Neon flailed for something to grab onto in the wake of the sudden movement.
Yang was less than pleased to see her grab onto Blake's waist.
Deciding that a taste of her own medicine would be beneficial for a while, Yang steeled her nerves in advance of spending the rest of the day ignoring Blake's existence.
Which, Yang thought, if Blake kept her current attitude up, would be more of a spectator sport instead of actually requiring any effort.
Still, two could play at that game. Blake was stupid anyway for being upset at her. Yang wasn't the only one who wanted that kiss, and she knew it.
"Ugh! Stupid Blake!" Yang cursed, slapping her thigh angrily with her fist. These thoughts were going to drive her insane if she let them.
Some distance up ahead, Blake shot Yang a dirty look over her shoulder. Catching the look, Yang stared steadfastly ahead, intent on holding up to her decision of ignoring Blake.
It wasn't long until Pyrrha came to a stop, dismounting from her horse and waiting patiently as first Blake and Neon, then Yang pulled up to her.
"This is where we'll stop." Pyrrha gestured to a dilapidated stone wall that stretched out in both directions in front of them, cracked in many places, missing chunks in others. Yang couldn't tell how old it was, but it looked downright ancient. It was tall, too, far too tall for any of them to easily scale.
The path they'd followed had lead them to a hollow in the wall, an entrance courtesy of a massive sprawling archway.
"Is this where we're meeting the Rose Commander?" Yang asked curiously. Internally, she wondered how the girl would have known they were coming, much less that they'd arrived.
"No." Pyrrha answered quietly. "This is why we have Neon."
Taking that as her cue, the strange girl stepped forward from where she had been leaning against the side of her horse. She had been looking all around, straining her neck to peer this way and that at the unfamiliar lands, but now she stared at Pyrrha, completely focused.
"Neon, we need you to find Ruby. Bring her here. If that's not possible, come and get us, and bring us to her."
"You got it, Pyrrha!"
"How is she supposed to find her?" Yang asked.
Neon glanced at her, then tapped her nose with her index finger. Throwing a wink at the questioning blonde, Neon moved toward the archway that permitted them entry.
"I have my ways!" She said in a sing-song voice. "See you later guys!"
Without waiting for a response, Neon took off at a run, vaulting over some fallen chunks of stone that had once made up part of the impressive walls and archway. In seconds she was out of sight, leaving Yang to sigh in exasperation as she immediately found herself bored out of her mind.
It was some time later when a group of voices reached Yang's ears, and she sat up from where she had been lying on her back on the ground.
Blake had taken to leaning sullenly against the wall some feet away, brooding and silent. Yang had thought about trying to talk to her more than once, but her self discipline won out in the end, and she stayed quiet.
Blake, for her part, seemed to enjoy the silence.
Yang glanced interestedly at the broken entrance to the ruins, and a moment later three people appeared. One was Neon, the girl talking excitedly to two others.
Jumping to her feet, Yang hastily brushed the dirt off her clothing. Excitement rushed through her at the prospect of finally meeting the girl that Pyrrha had spoken so highly about, and she glanced nervously at Blake to see what the girl thought.
Blake was staring at her, but quickly looked away when their gazes met.
Yang scowled briefly, before putting the half demon out of her mind. Turning to the newcomers as they approached, Yang raised an arm and waved excitedly.
"Pyrrha!" The tall girl that Yang could only assume was the Rose Commander approached, scooping Pyrrha up in a tight hug. Pyrrha laughed, returning the embrace before being released.
"Hi, Ruby. How was the trip?" Pyrrha asked. The girl's eyes lit up, Yang noting with mild interest that they were a bright silver that gleamed in the sunlight, not unlike a polished sword blade.
"It was great! Uncle Qrow is the best travel companion."
"Did you encounter any resistance?" Pyrrha asked, nodding to the man who must be said uncle.
Ruby shrugged. "Not really. It's been pretty uneventful, which is strange in it's own right."
Pyrrha nodded. "Well, every day we keep our sword sheathed is a day properly enjoyed."
Ruby rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I guess. Hey, who are these two?" The girl turned to gesture to Yang and Blake with a sweep of her arm.
Pyrrha laughed. "Err, well... those are the vagrants we were sent out to capture or kill."
Ruby's eyes widened. "Oh." She stared at Yang for a few seconds, before looking to Blake.
"Oh."
Pyrrha nodded. "I gave them the choice of death or a life in servitude to the Rose Army."
Ruby's eyes slid back to Yang, and Yang wasn't sure what to say. Raising her arms up helplessly, she smiled her most disarming smile.
"Well, here we are!" Yang said.
"I figure if nothing else, they will make great cannon fodder." Pyrrha chuckled.
"Hey!" Yang protested. Ruby laughed at that, and Blake sighed in exasperation.
"I haven't figured out what to tell Jaques, yet. I know he wanted them dead, but... you know how much I dislike that method of dealing with people. Everyone's life has value."
Ruby waved off Pyrrha's concerns.
"I'll deal with that stuffy old bat." She said confidently. "Leave that to me. I'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
"Speaking of things nobody was talking about, " Neon interjected herself into the conversation, "Did you guys find what you were looking for?"
Ruby glanced at her uncle, and by proxy, everyone else followed her lead, turning their gaze to the man who had been silently observing them up to this point.
He nodded solemnly, before shrugging off a hefty looking backpack. Setting it on the ground, he glanced up at Ruby once more, and she nodded.
Satisfied, he untied the drawstrings holding the knapsack closed. Pulling open the top flap, he reached inside to withdraw a bundle of rags. He handled whatever it was quite carefully, as if it were fragile and would break at the slightest provocation.
Placing it on the ground, he slowly peeled back the rags, one by one until the object lay bare before the group.
Yang hesitantly stepped a bit closer to get a look at it, noting from the corner of her eye that even Blake had taken an interest, pushing off the wall she had been leaning against to move closer.
Upon initial inspection, Yang only saw a long, rectangular chunk of blackened metal. It didn't look like anything noteworthy at first, but the way it was practically being revered by the girl Ruby must mean something, so Yang leaned in for a closer look.
It appeared to be a machete, now that she had a close look at it. The hand grip wasn't like anything Yang had ever seen before, although the curves seemed to suggest that it was meant to be held comfortably in hand.
It appeared to be constructed entirely of metal, most of it black save for some dirty, once-shiny steel near the base of the sword-like item. A smaller rectangular window cast into the centre of the machete near the base revealed that another item was sheathed inside, and Yang had to wonder if it was some sort of sword-within-a-sword.
"What is it?" Yang was the first to speak up.
Ruby glanced up at Yang, excitement clear in her vibrant, silver eyes.
"A magnificent weapon, forged from star-stuff." She spoke softly, her voice full of awe.
"Star-stuff?" The confusion was evident in Yang's tone, and Ruby gestured to the scruffy looking man crouching protectively near the supposed weapon.
"He'd be the one to ask any questions to." Ruby spoke. "He knows everything."
The older man laughed, shaking his head.
"Not everything, Ruby. Not by a long shot."
"What is star-stuff?" Yang asked.
The man - Qrow - stood slowly, keeping close to the weapon.
"It's a material from a past civilization. We don't know exactly what it is, and 'star-stuff' is more than likely largely inaccurate. We believe it was a material found readily in natural reserves, mined from the ground with large, sophisticated equipment. The old texts speak of it often, and it appears to have been a driving force of their economy and day to day operations. It appears to have had nearly endless applications, from medicine, to food preparation, used as a fuel source, and of course, as weaponry."
There was silence as everyone around Qrow slowly absorbed his words.
"And, of course, myself and others in the Royal Historical Society of Aster believe that it played a critical role in the events of The Great Ending."
Yang's nose scrunched up as she looked on in confusion.
"The Great Ending?" Her voice sounding as puzzled as she felt.
"It's an old fairy tale." Blake spoke up for the first time in a while, sidling up beside Yang yet refusing to look at her. Instead, she stared down at the weapon at Qrow's feet.
"Or, a historical, factual event from our past, depending on who you talk to." Blake finished before Qrow could interject.
"How do you know?" Yang directed her question to Blake.
The girl shrugged non-committedly, folding her arms across her chest.
"I used to work in a bookstore. You see a lot of books on a lot of subjects. You read some of them. You talk to people. People with a lot of knowledge about a lot of things. You hear stuff."
"Like what?"
Blake opened her mouth to reply, but Qrow held up a hand, cutting her off.
"Let me put this thing away, then we'll set up a fire. Cook some food, I'm sure everyone is hungry. Once we've put something in our bellies, I'll fill you all in on some things. Sound like a plan?"
In no position to argue, Yang merely nodded. Blake copied her, and the rest of them murmured their agreement.
"Good. Because it's a hell of a story you guys are in for." Qrow warned as he knelt down to carefully wrap up the chunk of metal. Placing it back into his knapsack, he slung it protectively over his shoulder. Looking around at the girls that surrounded him, he nodded.
"Let's get started."
The sun had disappeared below the horizon some time ago, and the last rays that scattered throughout the sky painted a dark band of reddish purple along the horizon. From the east, a dark bluish band colored the sky, signalling the approaching night. In mere minutes, complete darkness would descend upon them, swallowing them up and shrouding them in complete darkness.
Luckily, Qrow was way ahead of the curve, gently stoking a small fire. Giving it time to get established before adding larger logs to it, he leaned back against a fallen log that had been dragged over for the very purpose of providing a rest.
Blake had no trouble seeing in the poorly lit environment, and she took a moment to scan the trees that surrounded the clearing they were in.
They hadn't bothered moving from the clearing that lead up to the entrance to the ruins. Scavenging for firewood had taken no time at all with the task divided up between the six of them, and although they hadn't needed the fire for cooking their supper earlier, it seemed like a good idea now, being in unfamiliar territory with the air temperature rapidly cooling off.
Seeing nothing of interest in the treeline, she settled down as comfortably as she could against a chunk of stone, extra clothing from her travel pack acting as a buffer between the cold, sharp edges and her back. Pulling her knees to her chest, she rested her chin on her knees as she stared at the fire.
To her right sat Qrow, with the tall, slender girl Ruby on his right. Beside her, Yang shared part of the fallen log as a backrest. There was nothing but open space across the fire from her, and to her left sat the girl Neon and Pyrrha.
As much as she hated it, Blake couldn't keep herself from sneaking looks at Yang from the corner of her eye. Blake had been the last person to join the circle around the fire, and although she didn't want to admit it, she had chosen this spot because it distanced her from Yang but also let her keep an eye on the blonde.
Blake slowly chewed on her bottom lip, returning her eyes to the fire. She stared idly at the small burning twigs as Qrow leaned forward to add a larger log, apparently intent on building the fire up into a monster rager.
She had been intentionally distancing herself from Yang for what she thought were good reasons. Despite her every intention to the contrary, she found herself becoming more and more entranced by the lively blonde.
Yes, she still loved Weiss with all of her heart, and she believed that would never change.
Yet, the more time she spent in Yang's company, the more she couldn't deny that there was some indescribable force pulling the two of them together. No matter what she did, how poorly she acted, Yang always found a reason to stay by her side.
Blake sighed as she rubbed her cheek against her knee.
And here she was, treating Yang poorly for her own selfish reasons, unable to control her own emotions and Yang bearing the fallout of it.
It made her feel sick.
Small, pathetic.
It made her feel like every bad name she'd ever been called for being a half-demon.
Truthfully, she wanted nothing more than to cross over to Yang's side, press herself up against the girl, and enjoy the warmth of her embrace and pretend that it was the fire keeping her so warm.
But it wouldn't be fair to Yang to do that.
Blake snuck another glance at Yang, marvelling at how her vibrant lilac eyes gleamed so brightly in the dancing firelight.
Looking away quickly before she was caught, Blake wondered what to do.
Should she shut Yang out of her life completely? Even after everything Yang had done for her?
Or did she let things go back to normal, and pretend that every touch, every look wasn't absolute torture?
Gods, she was so horribly, terribly confused. Bowing her head and closing her eyes, Blake fought back tears with all of her might.
Nothing made sense anymore and she didn't know what to do.
"So I guess you all are wondering what the point of this little trip was."
Blake's ears twitched at the rough sound of Qrow's voice, and she realized that Qrow had promised to explain everything to them. Keeping her face buried in her lap, she twisted her ears toward his voice to show that she was paying attention.
"You did say you were going to tell us a story." Blake tuned in to Yang's voice.
"Right." Qrow groaned as he stretched, the sound of a lid being removed from a metal container reaching Blake's ears.
"Hundreds, even thousands, of years ago, the legends say that we all lived in a fantastic, futuristic world. Humans, and demons."
"Together peacefully?" Yang asked.
Qrow shook his head.
"No. Not even close to peacefully. There were some peaceful years, but for the most part, humans and demons did not get along. Segregation was the only way to keep the relative peace, and mostly anywhere humans and demons came together, there was trouble."
Yang hummed quietly. Blake could only imagine what she was thinking.
"The humans, they liked to invent. They liked it so much that they did it non-stop. They invented flying machines, and incredibly strong, light building materials. They built machines capable of speeding along the ground, allowing them to travel in hours what would take us days to travel on foot. In fact, they only thing they seemed to like doing more than inventing was fighting. So that's what they did. They fought, and they invented new, creative ways to help them fight."
"They could fly?" Yang asked, her voice laden with skepticism. "Like, birds through the sky?"
Qrow hummed affirmatively.
"I've seen the drawings, the blueprints for such machines. I've yet to recover any physical evidence of them, as it's believed they were mostly all destroyed. But I believe they existed."
Yang made a hesitant sound in the back of her throat, apparently not fully believing him.
Qrow pressed onward, apparently unphased by Yang's disbelief.
"The progress of invention was slow and measured, as war was waged almost as often as scientific research was conducted. It continued that way for a long time, until someone stumbled upon a certain type of ore."
Qrow paused a moment, and Blake heard the rustling of pages. Feeling that she had her emotions under control enough to risk a glance up, she steadfastly refused to look at Yang as she turned her gaze to Qrow.
He was rifling through a well worn book, fingers flitting through the pages. Blake couldn't see the pages, but she had a feeling she wouldn't understand it anyway even if she could.
"Sorry, this person didn't discover the ore. From my understanding, it says here that the ore was common, and well known. According to the text, what this person did was find a way to use it. From what I can gather, the ore was thought to be largely useless, as it didn't produce any sort of metal when melted down. Useless for metal, and apparently unreactive when burned, it was useless as a source of fuel. It was ignored."
Qrow gently closed the book, setting it down beside him. Folding his hands in his lap, he glanced around at the girls surrounding him before continuing.
"This person realized that if you took the ore, and ground it down into a fine powder, it could be refined and used for different purposes."
"Who was this person?" Neon spoke up for the first time from Blake's left.
Qrow hesitated, and Blake caught the swift glance he threw toward Ruby, before looking back to Neon.
"We don't know." He said, and instantly Blake suspected that he was lying. Or at least, she thought, as she studied the man, he wasn't being entirely truthful.
"It's entirely possible we may never know, depending on what information we uncover in the future."
Qrow paused to take another drink from his flask, carefully replacing the lid before setting it down on the ground. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand then pushing his messy hair out of his face, he cleared his throat before continuing.
"Whoever it was, they figured out that you could grind this ore down into a fine power. The more refined, the better. Once in powder form, it could be used for various things, depending on the type of ore it was refined from. This is the stuff we now call star-stuff, for lack of a better name."
"Like what?" Yang asked curiously.
"I'm aware of two specific types so far." Qrow answered, crossing his legs in an attempt to get more comfortable.
"Water ore, which was apparently a very smooth, deep blue, translucent ore found in river beds. Although generally found wherever there was water, higher concentrations were found deposited in the outside curves of the bends in flowing rivers. It accumulated there as water carried it from upstream, the ore settling into the edges of the river over time."
"And the other?"
"Fire ore. This could be found by excavating on the slopes of volcanos, moving massive amounts of igneous rock and shale. From what I gather, it was dark red in appearance, with sharp, straight edges. Almost like sandstone. It would fracture if struck sharply against another chunk of ore or metal that was harder than itself."
"What was the ore used for?"
Blake snuck a glance at Yang, and was mildly amused to see the girl staring raptly at Qrow, hanging off his every word. Although Blake knew how smart Yang could be when she wanted to, it was still strange to see the girl engaged in any activity or conversation where she might accidentally learn something.
"There aren't many uses listed for water ore. At leaset, not many that I found. Fire ore, however, is very interesting. Once ground down into a powder, it could be mixed with other powders to blend ore properties. By itself, in high concentrations, it was explosive."
"Mining and weapons." Pyrrha spoke up.
Qrow nodded.
"Er. Right. Exactly right, actually. In the commerical side of things, it was used as a blasting agent, to help mining operations. The military picked up an interest in making weapons with the stuff, for obvious reasons."
"What a potentially wonderful technological advancement."
Qrow nodded. "Yeah, except, that it wasn't."
"How so?"
"Humans got their hands on it first, and a dynasty was quickly erected in the name of mining and refining ore. Fire ore quickly became a desired item, which quickly fueled what seemed like an unkillable economy. The military used the explosiveness of the ore to make extremely powerful weapons, and before long, the demons were overpowered and enslaved. With a new labor force at their disposal, they were made to work in the mines, recovering yet more fire ore for the purpose of powering the large military industrial complex. Advances in technology meant that fire ore could be used to power nearly everything, and it became the world's primary source of fuel. It powered nearly every type of machine and was a staple fuel source in every person's home. Burned in lanterns, it provided light. Burned in fireplaces, it provided heat. It marked the beginning of a revolution, a revolution that rode on the shoulders of an enslaved race."
"That... it's... " Yang trailed off, unsure of what to say.
"That's not the end of it." Qrow added.
"The demons didn't put up with it forever. It's believed that they began smuggling small amounts of the material out of the mine, building their own stockpile. They stole the odd bit of technology here and there, stole some intellectual property too. Soon enough, they had their own, slightly more crude, but no less powerful weapons utilizing this explosive powder. When they decided the time was right, they declared war, marching on every city and laying waste to anything within their reach. The conflicts escalated as the demon's natural strength and tenacity far exceeded that of the humans."
"So what happened?"
Qrow glanced down at his flask, studying it for a moment.
"The Great Ending." He spoke quietly. "That's the most literal translation I could come up with. The few surviving records that make mention of the event paint a devastating picture. Every surviving army in every city around the world ordered to load up their entire supply of refined fire ore into every airship available. With the demons bearing down on them and defeat all but ensured, they stood strong against the enemy in one last gesture of defiance. Rather than be killed by demons, they decide to be killed by their own hand, killed in a way that ensured as many casualties as possible. It was mutual destruction, in every sense of the word."
Qrow reached into his pocket and withdrew a wrinkled scrap of paper. Unfolding it, he carefully studied the words scratched upon it.
"The airships were commanded to rise up into the sky. Nothing more than flying bombs at this point, they hovered above the city as hordes upon hordes of demons flooded the streets. When it was assumed that the death toll would be at it's maximum, the airships were destroyed, their stores of fire ore erupting in an explosion powerful enough to set the very air alight. No corner of the world escaped unscathed as humans and demons fought themselves to near extinction. Wave upon wave of fire razed the landscape, flattening buildings and eliminating all traces of life. The skies themselves seemed to be set ablaze, a fire that seemed unable to be extinguished."
Qrow paused, giving the group time to absorb his words before he continued.
"It obviously didn't destroy all life. There were a few survivors, both human and demon. Those that lived reclusive lives outside the protection of the city walls, those that were banished from civilization for theft or murder. Those that were far out in the deserts and forests between cities, and those that were under sail at the time. They made it. And they kept record of the fires that burned for months. The smoke that filled the air blotted out the sun for what seemed like an eternity. Everywhere you looked, the heat rolled off the ground in waves, distorting your view of the distant landscape and rendering everything indistinguishable. If you were brave enough to venture into the cities, you had to be careful where you stepped. The extreme heat had ignited seams of coal in the ground, and underground fires and road collapses were common. When the fires eventually stopped burning, there were few left who didn't die from starvation, smoke inhalation, heat exposure, and more."
Qrow took a sip from his flask.
"That, my friends, is The Great Ending. All that remains is whatever ruins we stumble upon, and whatever has survived since then."
Yang spoke up, confusion evident on her face.
"I'm confused. If that actually happened, how can you find books made of burnable paper from that point in time? Wouldn't it all have burned to dust?"
Qrow tapped the book that lay beside him.
"These books aren't from before the bombs went off. They were written afterward, by the survivors, in an attempt to document what had happened. A warning to the future, perhaps, or maybe an explanation of what had happened. They fought their wars with weapons of unimaginable power, so that we could fight ours with swords and spears."
Yang gestured for the book, and Qrow gently passed it to her. Opening it carefully, Yang perused it's contents for a few minutes, eyebrows furrowing at the sight of incomprehensible script.
"Unreal." She murmured, reaching out to touch the faded ink with the tip of her finger.
"They got bombed so hard they came out writing a foreign language."
Pyrrha sighed as she reached over to snatch the book from Yang's hands, Neon covering a snort of laughter with a poorly faked cough.
"So what does that mean for us, anyway?" Yang asked, turning to Qrow. "What does it all mean, and why should we care?"
Qrow eyed the old book carefully, but seemed pleased with the amount of respect Pyrrha was showing it.
"What it means is, there are weapons out there with the power to destroy civilizations. Why we should care? Because anyone with enough money to invest, and interest in such a thing could find a way to bring that technology back from the dead. Which would be bad news for everyone else. Right now, I know of at least one person interested enough in the technology to invest money into finding out more about this sort of thing."
"How much money are we talking?"
Qrow pressed his lips together for a moment, before glancing at Ruby. She nodded.
"Enough to commission the construction of at least six ships, the crew to run them, and the weapons to defend them."
Yang blinked in surprise.
"Oh. So... this isn't someone's passing interest in a history lesson. This is serious."
Qrow nodded. "The only way this can get more serious is if the weapon technology ends up in his hand."
Blake glanced at Yang, trying to gauge her reaction. Yang simply stared back, unsure of what to say.