The truth is rarely pure and never simple-Oscar Wlide

"What?" said Ruby? "So my mom wasn't a hunter?"

"Yes, Summer Rose was her name, the one she changed to anyway, before her name was Callista Curnow, She was one of the few women in the order back then, an excellent student, one of my best, I loved he like a daughter, but one day she asked for permission to leave the order, of course I accepted. She was one of the oldest members at 40 years old, and while most like her left active duty and did other things she just kept on fighting, after she left after a year she sent me letter asking me to marry her and a man called Taiyang Xiao Lang, I accepted trusting her judgment, a month later they arrived and I married them, they lived like that for a year before you were born, they sent me a picture of you, I was very happy for her"

"What happened then, well no doubt Yang's parents told you of a large Grimm attack, well that's not technically true, what actually happened was that a large amount of very powerful Grimm congregated on her while she was out hunting. But I know that she was strong enough to defeat them, no… there was something else (Sigh) if only I knew… anyway we recovered her body, as per ceremony it was burnt to ash and placed in an urn within our hall of commemoration. You can visit her later should you join"

"I see… where is her body now?"

"After we recovered her was to put her in the hall of commemoration, this shows her as an important person, after our talk you can go see her body, but just so you know most had to be rebuilt due to her wounds" Said Campbell standing up and reaching into a nearby bookshelf and taking out a folder "You have a mission, more like an entrance exam, you need to first however learn how to use our swords and guns, I have assigned Overseer Blair to train you begin tomorrow"

"Thank you Sir"

"Just call me Campbell or High Overseer, Sir just makes me feel old" said he kindly before handing her the case, "Know that this sword is not combat worthy Ruby, use this only as a keepsake said he as he handed her the blade. Ruby felt nothing special from it but for only a millisecond she saw her mother holding the very object she now held in her hands…


"Make sure to visit the quartermaster to have them adjusted to you" Heard Ruby as she left the office to find Phill on his phone on one of the sofas

"Well Phil, I am now officially an Overseer!" said Ruby proudly, successfully hiding the conflicting emotions in her mind

"Not so fast Ruby, Didn't you read the leaflet?" interrupted Phill

"Erm…Yes? Kinda"

"Well I believe you've got to be initiated properly to count, as in ceremony and everything. He should have given you a thing with the date and time of it"

"Oh right" said Ruby as she searched through the box he had given her "no it's not here, shall I go back to him and ask?"

"Yes I think you should, you wouldn't want to miss your initiation would you?"

Ruby once again entered the office to find The High Overseer playing a game of cards with himself… "Blood and Void in the same hand? Yeah right" muttered he to no one in particular before noticing Ruby's re-emergence "Can I help you with something Miss?"

"Yeah… I believe you forgot to tell me when this imitation was"

"Have I?" he said as he stared into space for a few moments "Yes, I must have forgotten… Yours will be in two days; tomorrow we are doing someone else's. You must arrive at 10:30 in the Induction room on the forth level"

"Thank you Campbell, I'll be off now"

As she left the room once again she saw Phill Waiting for her by the door, he looked annoyed before turning to her and miffedly said "It appears I am wanted for another assignment, you'll have to last then next two days yourself… Head to The Barracks and say that you're a new recruit they'll take care of you until your initiation, alright?"

"Yep, but where are the barracks?"

Phill walked over to one of the tables and picked up a leaflet which he then handed to her "This is a map of the bunker, at least all that you will need of it for now. See here?" he said pointing at a square on the map. Upon her affirmation he left in a visible hurry, pushing through the mild crowd that was shifting on the street…


She walked down the street and into a smaller passage until there were no more visible civilians and only the black coats of the overseers were a constant feature in addition to the occasional sign indicating this and that. After about 15 minutes of brisk walking she finally stood in front of a double door labelled 'Barracks-Overseer Personnel Only'

Ruby knocked on the door and it soon opened to reveal an Overseer in half-uniform who looked in confusion at her "Can I help you with something?"

"Overseer Phill sent me, I'm going to be initiated in a few days, could I stay here?"

"Erm… Hey Ross! Get over here, I need some help"

A rush of footsteps was followed by another Overseer coming over and asking "What is it Bergen?"

"This girl here is apparently being initiated and needs somewhere to stay" said the newly named Overseer Bergen before saluting and leaving his superior to heal with the issue

"Oh, in that case you are considered a guest Miss…"

"Ruby at your service"

"Ruby… okay follow me and I'll take you to your temporary quarters, you new around here?"

"Yeah, I only just arrived today; don't know much about this whole place"

"Well I can give you a few texts to familiarize you with our order" noted he as he led Ruby into the room. It looked quite homey as the fireplace roared in the corner while several couches were scattered around it with a small flatscreen TV in the corner, a small radio playing some quiet music over the cosy abode.

As Ruby continued forth she passed a small kitchen and library before arriving at a spiralling square staircase where she was lead four floors up to a corridor of around 10 doors. She was directed to one…

Upon their entry she was greeted with a modest suite. The furniture being draped over by white sheets, yet despite this it was easy to recognize that she had a bed, chair, table and a wardrobe. The room was relatively cold but then Bergen walked in and typed something on the thermostat and it began to quickly warm to a more hospitable temperature.

"Well Miss, I'll be leaving you here for now. Get rid of the covers and our housekeeper will be over shortly" he said before handing her a card "This is a guest access card, it will allow you to access most areas within this facility and serve as a keycard for this door" he then left, the door sliding inward before walking back into the lightly lit hallway

Ruby looked around to find a clock on top of the wardrobe, it read 11:27. "Is it that late already?" she thought only just realizing how tired she was, just then she heard a knock on the door… upon opening it she found herself face to face with a rather ancient looking woman "Ruby is your name right dearie?" she asked, her somewhat raspy voice bouncing off the walls like the wind

"Yes, you must be the housekeeper?"

"Yes, just call me Granny though, everyone does…" she said eerily as she shuffled past to take off the white shrouds from their resting place on the furniture "So dearie, I hear you'll be initiated soon, looking forward to it?"

"Yeah, the ceremony is in two days… oh yeah, I was recommended to read up on what the Order is and stuff like that, could you perhaps provide me with some?"

"Of course dearie, I'll bring you some books from the library below. Also I ask that you remain in your room whenever possible so that questions aren't asked about what you're doing here as technically you're still a civilian"

"I see how I will eat though"

"I'll take care of that dearie, anyway you should get some sleep for tomorrow, you've got reading to do haven't you?"

Ruby did indeed feel quite tired and her head hit the soft pillow, as her eyes closed she heard

"Granny, Granny, Granny

Come out with me instead

Granny, Granny, Granny

Can't because you're dead"


Ruby woke up the next morning, she went into the bathroom to find that it had already been stocked. After brushing her teeth she exited to find a plate of porridge and several books on her table along with a jug of clear water and a cup.

'Well this is weird' thought Ruby as he tucked in, she had been in the bathroom for less than five minutes but this rather odd housekeeper had already been there… 'Perhaps she is waiting outside' thought Ruby before slapping herself for the ridiculousness of that statement (but only after sliding the door open and checking the corridor outside)

She set upon the porridge, it was quite tasty but she couldn't quite pinpoint it, 'either honey or tree sap', she wasn't quite sure. Upon finishing her porridge she began reading through the books 'Granny' had left for her, the first being a history book of some sorts, she learnt little new information on the period Phill had already described for her but there was still plenty on what happened after the Overseers landed there.

The Dragon shaped continent of Mycelle lay above Vytal, one of the most prosperous lands of this world. Yet as more and more Grimm settled the area those that resided there were slowly driven out until all that remained of life on the continent was relegated to living on the coast and many fleeing. But then the Overseers arrived… they began hunting the Grimm for the people in return for various supplies: food, metals and recruits. The Order grew and grew before they had finally rebuilt. Thanks to them the remaining population of Mycelle was able to rebuild some of its former glory. In the end the Overseers replaced Huntsmen and the Police completely and while the remaining Towns were ruled by Councils the Overseers had quite a bit of influence in the areas they protected.

Over the years The Overseer's main Base Expanded and grew to accommodate various workshops, facilities and even a high street of sorts. But the areas they had to patrol for Grimm were becoming quite vast and thus several decently sized outposts with a garrison of around 50 men each were built in various strategic locations around the area, some of these would expand into small towns of their own while others would be left in ruins over the years due to many Grimm assaults beating against their walls.

During these years the formations used by the Overseers changed… Formerly they relied mainly on marching and horse-drawn carts as well as the occasional truck to shift supplies and men. Now the order underwent a Motorization effort, the horses were replaces with Trucks, the Trucks replaced with APCs. Now with a highly mobile army Overseers could be deployed anywhere on the continent.

The Overseer order never focused much on a navy but they did have some convoys and escorts for when they were needed. But in terms of air forces the Overseers built a few reconnaissance planes in addition to a single model of multi-purpose fighter in order to combat various airborne Grimm such as Nevermores and Griffons.

Ruby put down the books… her head was already hurting from all the knowledge she had absorbed in the last 18 hours, she had eaten both lunch and dinner while reading and now that it was nearly 11 she decided it was time for bed.

Tomorrow it was to be her initiation