Servants of Remnant
The Great War was a time of strife for all involved. And yet, it brought people together, made heroes, founded the academies. It's end was caused two fold, by the King of Vale… and a great Archer. The hero of the bow, who gave his life to end the conflict, a hero of the people harmed by the war the nations fought.
Arash
Pulling back his bow, Arash let loose another arrow, yet another soldier falling in the distance as the war around him raged on. He'd been in Vacuo for nearly fourteen years at this point, and ever seen he'd appeared, he'd decided to make himself its protector from the creatures of Grimm. He pulled back another arrow, and shot another soldier, an arrow between the eyes. When this war started ten years ago, he'd tried not to get involved… but he hated the conflict, the reasons that Mantle and Mistral fought it.
People should be free to choose how they lived, not stuck to the rules of a kingdom so far away. Another arrow, this time fitted with a Fire Dust bomb, was nocked, and he let it loose, a group of soldiers exploding in the distance as his arrow pierced one, and then the cartridge exploded.
Officially, he didn't fight for anyone, not for Vacuo, or for Vale, and most certainly not for Mistral or Mantle. He fought for the people… and yet people rallied behind him because of that. They held him up as a shining example of what a hero was. He wasn't some great hero, just a bowman with a strong body and a will to keep people safe. Off in the distance, a King Taijitu was slithering towards the battlefield. Glaring, he pulled back his bow once more, one arrow in the string, and a second between his fingers, and he fired, the first arrow finding its mark in the white head's eye, and the second landing in the black head's brain, killing the Grimm with expert precision.
He looked to his left, and far atop another hill, was the King of Vale, cutting down men with the efficiency of a Saber, and a storm above his head. The amount of mana coming from his area was… well intense. "Arash!"
He turned to look to one of his friends, a Julia, a young faunus girl who had a bow just like him. He'd saved her years ago, and she'd been following him ever since, like many of the others in Vacuo. When they'd risen up, he'd help them throw Mistral and Mantle out of the country the first time. "What's the problem?"
"The Mistralian army is pushing in from the south east towards Shade!" She shouted, pulling back an arrow herself and firing off into the distance, he looked out of the corner of his eye to watch as it managed to hit a soldier clean through the helmet. He nodded.
"Right then, you all hold down the fort here, I'll deal with it," he ordered, Julia nodding as Arash took his bow, and started running. They'd be fine without him, the king was here. He had to go stop Mistral from turning Shade into a massacre.
Pumping stored prana into his legs, he ran, kicking up sand before leaping, and when his feet hit the ground, he started skidding across the sand, leaving a massive trail in his wake as he spun to get a better angle. He could barely see the first row of soldiers after maybe two minutes of running, he nocked an arrow as he slid across the sand… and fired.
The first soldier fell, and he slid to a stop before bending his knees, leaping up and landing on a sandy hill. Laid out before him was a full contingent of Mistral's mighty army. He smiled, behind him, Shade, the land he'd made his home. He'd sworn to defend it, and so he would till his dying breath.
He started advancing, stepping forward and nocking an arrow, firing with each step. The moment his barrage really started, the soldiers raised their shields… before the lines parted, Arash stopped firing for just a moment, as a figure stepped out from behind the lines, then he pulled back an arrow from nearly a mile away and fired.
The figure swung their sword, a ray of dark power obliterating the arrow as their cloak was blown away, revealing a white haired figure clad entire in darkness. Slowly, he lowered his bow in shock. Of all the people he'd expected… he never would have expected this one.
Arthur… no, an Alter of his former foe and friend, closing his eyes, Arash chuckled, before his foe threw out his arm, saying something he couldn't hear from this distance. The once of future king was to be his opponent then. Well, Arash pulled back yet another arrow, today seemed like a good day to die.
Just as he prepared to fire, Arthur rocketed forward, propelled by dark lightning, Arashi grit his teeth before jumping to the side, mere seconds before Excalibur impacted the sand, kicking up a sandstorm in an instant before he turned to try and swing at him. He loosed his arrow, the swing turning to a parry as Arash summoned another three, jumping backwards and firing as fast as he could as the Altered Arthur pressed towards him.
He charged up Excalibur with dark energy, for a moment Arash wondered what had caused such a change in Arthur. He didn't speak, nor say a word, he simply swung his sword as Arash leapt over a wave of darkness the cut across the desert, impacting a sand dune and blowing it to pieces.
Glass started to rain down on them as Arash pulled back another arrow, firing as he ran towards Arthur, the arrow was easily deflected as Arthur swung Excalibur down at him. He put up his bow, the dark blade slamming against his bow, which started to bend under the strain… and then he kicked Arthur in the stomach, sending the alter skidding back across the sand before spinning a arrow into his string and firing another arrow, nailing him in the knee. But for his trouble of landing a clean shot, Arthur raised Excalibur, causing a large beam of darkness to erupt from it.
He dodged to the side as Arthur brought down the black hammer, cleaving deep into the desert sand, leaving behind glass. Arash then leapt into the air, firing a barrage of five arrows in the span of a few seconds from above. Arthur just lit his blade up again and slashed all of them into oblivion as Arash landed behind him on a sand dune, and continued firing.
Arthur just spun around, unimpeded by the arrow in his leg and started deflecting arrows with ease before jumping towards Arash, leaving behind a crater when he jumped. Arash ducked, a cut slashing his face, and blood exploding from it as Arthur nearly soared right for his head, before he received a metal kick to the face, flying dozens of meters into a nearby sand dune, blowing completely through it and rolling for a few meters before flipping back up to his feet, a cloud of sand blocking his vision… at least that of his eyes.
He lept upwards as Arthur exploding from the cloud of sand, bringing down his black sword in an attempt to cut him down. He snapped three arrows into the slits in the armor on Arthur's back, before he turned and spun, swinging the still energy enveloped sword with one hand and slamming it into his side, send Arash flying with a grunt as the blade cut deep.
He righted himself midair, blood pouring down his side and from his cheek as Arthur jumped from dune to dune, leaving craters behind in an attempt to catch up to the archer he'd launched away. Behind him, a storm raged as Arthur jumped towards him… before a figure lept in front of him, white hair and clad in armor himself, a green shield meet black hammer before both were blown away, Arash landing in the sand and picking himself up as the King of Vale got to his feet nearby, panting as the Alter of Arthur stood up in a crater, glass and magna boiling around him as he looked up towards them from behind his mask.
"Nice of you to drop by," Arash jested, even as he panted, his side really hurt after that last hit.
"Save it for later, we have to deal with this man first…" The king cautioned, and Arash wasn't about to argue. The king raised his sword, and Arash raised his bow as Arthur raised Excalibur, the seals starting to break as Arash gasped.
"RUN!" He started, the king looking towards him for a moment before Arash pulled back his bow. "Tell them… I'm sorry I can't make it home."
The king was silent for a moment as Arash pulled back his arrow… before he blitzed forward, appearing in front of Arthur and kicking him into the air. The Alter's Noble Phantasm was cancelled, and Arash did the same and began firing at Arthur as he flew into the air. He still deflected his arrows, his blade a barrier he could not pierce as the King appeared in the air again and slashed as Arthur, their blades clashing, the two butting heads as Arash braced himself against the shockwave from the clash, but then started firing as fast as he could.
The arrows shot into Arthur's back, but didn't slow him down at all as he kicked the King away mid air, turning back toward Arash and throwing out his free hand, A beam of dark energy shooting out towards Arash. He jumped away, the energy exploding where he had just been standing as Arash landed in a hand stand before flipping backwards to his feet, he looked around, the armies of all four kingdoms were fighting well within range of sight. Nothing was slowing Arthur down… so if anything was going to stop him…
The King appeared again in front of Arash, Arthur charging towards them both and clashing with the king once more, sword against sword, breaking away from each other as Arash started to aim skyward, waiting for his moment… before leaping as far away as he could from the King and Arthur's clash.
Landing on a sand dune a hundred meters away, he saw Julia, leading his friends in battle still against the forces of Mantle. The king and Arthur were still locked in their struggle, Arthur slowly overpowering the king as Arash pulled back his bow. He knew what he had to do.
"O holy lord! O radiant lord who grants wisdom, majesty, and strength!" The king had just managed to knock Arthur off balance, the alter grunting as he charged up Excalibur again to try and use its full power, the King sheathing his sword and crouching down.
"My heart, my thoughts, and all that I can see. Come, servants of the moon and the stars. My actions, my last moments, my sacred devotion; witness it all. With all my might, I shall release this one arrow-" as he was chanting, the king ran up towards Arthur, and stabbed his sword into the ground, a pillar of storm sending the saber into the air, still charge Excalibur to blast it down at the King, who raised a shield of green. He felt his core already shattering as he continued… and ended.
"-and let my body be crushed upon this place!" Arash shouted with all his might, and for a moment Arthur looked towards him… was that surprise on his face? Had the king taken his attention that much, or had he forgotten who he was? In either case… this time had been quite the run. And he would leave the kingdoms to their own devices, hopefully that King could see them to a lasting peace. "STELLA: THE LONE METEOR!"
His spirit origin exploded, and his body started to do so as well as his arrow flew, splitting into a rainbow of colors… before directly impacting the Alter Arthur… a shockwave, a rainbow, splitting out over the land. He smiled, looking towards Julia, who was crying… at the sight of the rainbow that blew away the storm. He closed his eyes… fading into dust, golden wisps on the wind as the King of Vale looked towards he had been standing… and closed his eyes.
And on that day, the battle ended, the great hero Arash having given his life to end it, to slay the blackened Arthur before he could have obliterated the King of Vale. Shade survived the battle, and Vacuo mourned the loss of its guardian, its protector.
To this day, the name Arash is still spoken with reverence, and the bow and arrow as more than a weapon, but as an art. Shade Academy was founded and despite being the one place of law in Vacuo, it still revered the Archer of Freedom. The rainbow, and all its colors, gave hope to the people. The colors that became the names of all those born. As for the King of Vale… the rainbow, and the war, had given him something he'd long forgotten, but he would forget it again in due time… But for a time, there was peace, the nations and the world were at peace… just as the hero had hoped it would be.
AN: And that's the story of Arash, at least this tale. Just something quick I thought of, and decided to show off. There may be questions, there may not be answers. But let it be known that, at least in one timeline... an old friend gave his life to end a war once more.