Arc I, Chapter II

The Crown Prince

A dissonance of voices, varied in emotion, clawing against the surface of his mind. Explosions of emotion send premonitions of discord and strife throughout his nerves. An uproariousness of unwanted thoughts stuck in a paradoxical loop in his mind- ever present yet so fleeting as they come.

The pressure builds, pandemonium set aflame in his mind. It builds from stray embers into a roaring bonfire of disquietude emotion.

And then, nothing. Clarity and serenity.

Weary eyes open to a dark throne set atop a large flight of grandiose marble stairs. Surrounding it, lesser, but equally as imposing thrones stretching from the fringes of his vision. Below him, an eloquent pattering of marble flooring, not a blemish marring its glossy surface. Above him, blue flames swirled around the boundaries of the area he were tenant to. It were if a room was torn out of reality itself and cast unto the eye of the storm.

Amidst the calm and serenity, the sound of a thousand mirrors breaking echoed throughout the dimension, echoing in infinite distance, yet in reverberation throughout the throne. In front him loomed an armored figure, easily doubling his height and tripling his width. His armor silver and intricate, more so than the architecture of the dimension itself. Curved horns protruded from his pauldrons, and a fierce set of four horns distended from his ornate helmet. Four small slits were carved out of the helmet, presumably to see out of.

"You are bright. Optimistic. Hopeful. Naive." The voice was deep, distorted, projecting from every direction but that of his figure.

"Your soul radiates a pureness of Light we've not known since the ages of yore, time immemorial itself."

Likened to earlier, the sound of a thousand shattering mirrors once again paradoxically reverberated through the dimension, another armored figure walking behind him. He dare not turn his head, for he was strangely apoplectic towards the figure in front of him.

"You trust easily, yet are so susceptible to betrayal and hidden intentions. Yet, here you stand before us. You heed our call without query. An illusion to your willingness to believe in the innate good of humanity, perhaps? Maybe a defense mechanism against a psychological trauma." This voice was smooth, someone who obviously knew their way around a conversation.

Glass thrice rang throughout the dimension.

"Ease yourself, Callidus. He is but a babe in comparison to our existences. Need I remind you that our kingdom began as nothing but a pebble lost among billions of others. Within the universe itself, the cosmic garden of mythical proportions that surrounds and awes us. Woe, but humble monuments to creation we are, for everything that is splendid and great stands at the end of incalculable chance and mayhem." The armored figure moved through Jaune's periphery and came to rest next to the first figure. Smaller in stature compared to his counterpart, his armor was light and airy, accompanied by a plethora of angelic wings stemming from his back.

He looked down upon the boy and in that moment, Jaune felt how truly small he was in this world.

"Yes, you have talents. Enormous, wondrous powers dwelling deep within your righteous and pure soul. Flawed and perfectly imperfect as you may be. You are humanity's second chance, yet do you know what it is to be a king? Do you comprehend the human struggle? Do you truly know what it means to sacrifice? No, no you do not."

The towering giant walked forth and stood mere feet from Jaune now.

"Not yet. Your name is yet another pebble, lost in this equation of incalculable chance and mayhem. You? You are but a cold apple seed." The figure knelt before Jaune, his helmet now a scant few feet from his face.

"But you will grow."

And with his speech concluded, he swiftly and graceful rose once more, like an angel rising unto the great heavens above, taking his place to the right of the original figure.

Quadruple, for the familiar cacophony of broken glass echoed once more, this time to the left of the first figure. This one was distinctly feminine, with heels longer than his arms, armored greaves, and a flowing waist cape. Ribbons trailed behind her armored figure, dangling from the protrusion of her pauldrons.

"Oh Sophus, if only Callidus here could be as ever eloquent and tactful as you. I will concur with him, though. This is the boy we rest our hopes on. While his innate goodness is a quality we've seen few and far between, I cannot help but be apprehensive that it will be his undoing." She spoke, her eyeless gaze resting on Jaune.

The sound of broken glass once again filled the dimension, but this time to an unarmored figure. A man of Jaune's height, his grayed hair smoothly slicked back. He wore formal black and white striped attire, a pauldron and cape also resting upon his shoulder. He walked forth, studying Jaune with an appreciative interest.

The man turned back, looking upwards to the female figure behind him. "Crepera, come now. He is young. One must understand this."

He turned back towards Jaune. "You are confused. Our call leads you here, yet the purpose eludes you. The greater scheme, beyond your grasp." The man spoke. Charisma laced his words with the smoothness of silk, a welcome change to the distorted and powerful voices of those above him.

Managing to find his nerve and the ability to coherently speak once more, Jaune eyed the man with a dawning realization.

"I-I've seen you before! Paintings in my home, footnotes in history books. You're my great-grandfather! The one who fought in the war!" Jaune exclaimed, shock and awe coursing through his already overloaded nerves.

The man smiled, "That would be correct. Avus Rex Arcus, the Regem of Vale. Or in the more common tongue, Avus Rex Arc, the King of Vale."

Ignoring the fact that he was possibly in an alternate reality, Jaune narrowed in on a blatant disparity between his family's current standing compared to what his grandfather had told him.

"Wait, if you were the King of Vale, why wouldn't have my grandfather- your son have inherited the throne then?" Jaune inquired.

"Unfortunately, that tale will have to be tabled until the current matter is settled, my child. Aside from the corruption that seeds our kingdom, a great darkness seeds the world itself, ever so close to entrapping humanity within its most vile webs. Forces and powers beyond your wildest imagination are at war, my child. Most unfortunately for humanity, we're losing, gravely. If humankind doesn't do itself in first, the darkness will be thereupon to finish the job."

"We've not much time before you return to the world, so we must make great haste in preparing you."

"Grandfather, I don't understand-"

"I know my child, and I am most deeply sorry for that. You must heed our words carefully, young one."

Jaune closed his mouth, intent on letting his ancestor explain.

"The Ring you donned is imbued with great magics, magics that come from time antiquity itself. Before aura and dust, before the Golden Age, to the very beginnings of humanity itself. Long before the Gods entered their slumber, they bequeathed this ring unto our ancestors, so that they might fight against the growing darkness. Within this Ring, are the culminated powers of our ancestors. The ring has chosen you, my child, to be its bearer, so that you may purge this world of darkness, and absolve humanity from its long war."

"As you've seen and heard before your eyes, our ancestors are present and with us even now, thanks to the magics of the Ring. The power dwelling deep within our blood, it binds us- past, present, future. To us, constraints such as time, space- it crumbles beneath the bond that is shared between our line, Jaune. The Rulers of Yore, as you've met some already, aid the new ringbearer in their quest against the darkness. Their power and wisdom are at your behest so that you may save our world, Jaune.

"There are things that we cannot reveal to you yet. It would put you in too much danger before you've learned to properly control your powers. I know it seems a great deal to take all this in, and it is indeed a heavy burden to bear. To be frank with you, this is a lot to take in within such a scant amount of time. I need you to trust in us Jaune. I implore you."

Jaune had interjected Avus at this point, "I don't know if I'm ready to handle all this. I'm not prepared to fight in a war. I couldn't even get into Beacon without faking my transcripts. What you're asking me to do is beyond anything I could manage on my own. I- I just don't even know where to begin. Even if this isn't some weird dream, you're asking me to overthrow an entire government!"

Avus smiled softly at his descendant, seeing much of his younger self in the boy. The hesitation, anxiety, worry, the fear.

"Then allow this to be your first lesson. A king is nothing without his friends. His allies. His people. Your first step in this war is to reclaim our throne. To unite the people of our kingdom underneath one banner. A kingdom divided is doomed to fall, and we must rectify the issue before it worsens."

"Ozpin. It is imperative you find Ozpin Izunia. He will guide you through your trials. Just as when he served me as my adviser, he will serve you as a vaunted ally, and most importantly, as a friend. In our absence, he has fought for us as valiantly as he could. It is paramount that you find him."

As Avus finished his tidings, the ground violently shook, parts of the pristine marble cracking and swirling upwards into the now roaring and unstable vortex above.

"Our time is ending here. Remember, the line of Arc goes with you and shall guide you. You need only but look inward for our guidance."

The word began collapsing in on itself, vehemently soaring into the endless vortex.

"Protect the ring, protect your people, and protect our kingdom. Walk tall, grandson."

And once more, Jaune had been thrown in the abyssal darkness.

Please let me know of any mistakes as I did not have a chance to have this betaed. I intend to have a beta look it over and add some things before I post the third chapter. Nothing story changing, just better usage of words and such.

Thank you to those who have read so far! Please leave a review down below with any comments or critiques you may have.