Chapter 3- Uncovering a forgotten fairy tale- Part One
"Great. This is just great. We're stranded, were separated from a third of our party and we've gained a defenseless old lady, and a little kid, tagging along!" The blonde huntress said as she struggled to get her motorcycle out from the snow before the falling on her back as the motorcycle broke free of its icy imprisonment before falling over. "My name is Maria Calvaria. And I am not defenseless, I'm just a little hard of hearing and blind without my eyes… that are in desperate need of repair." Maria said and as if on cue she tapped on her metallic eyes causing them to open wide before returning to their squinted state. "Okay I see your point." She admitted as Maria walked off with a young tan skinned farm boy followed after her.
"And my name is Snowla Raion and I'm not defenseless either!" Snowla said slightly annoyed at being called a little kid. "I have my own weapon and my semblance!" "Yang knock it off will ya? If we lose our cool now we'd only attract more grimm." A slightly older man with messy black hair and red cape said trying to calm the young woman. "Does it even matter? Apparently we've been attracting grimm since we left Haven." A black haired cat faunus dressed in white and black chimed in. "Oh and I could I forget about that? What happened to no more lies and half truths?" The blonde now known as Yang asked, turning her gaze to the farm boy who was ushering Maria. "Yeah. I think it's time we got an explanation." He said, when his once hazel eyes suddenly glowed gold for a brief moment.
"Ahem, Yes. Well… I did not lie to you." The farmhand said, his voice no longer sounding like that of a teen going through puberty but rather an older man. "Well you certainly didn't tell us everything about the relic." A white haired young woman said, sliding over to Yang, her gaze cold, a hand on her hip. "Please now isn't the time-" He began, only to be cut off. "No were way past that. I wanna know why your still not telling us everything." Yang demanded. A brief silence fell over everyone as the snow fell before the boy spoke. "It is true that the grimm are attracted to the relics, its faint but undeniable. I believe it has something to do with there origins but I'm not sure. Regardless I was afraid that making you all aware would add anxiety and negativity. Which would've attracted more Grimm. And it seemed like the better option to not tell you this at all." He explained. "You know I'm really getting tired of others choosing what's best for me." The white haired huntress said, rolling her eyes. "Is that why you chose to lie to everyone about Professor Lionheart too?" Yang asked. "As a matter of fact Yes. I believed the kingdom of Mistral deserved better from the truth and I believed Lionheart deserved to be remembered for his lifetime of service rather than that missteps he made during his final years." He explained, as they all walked through the snow. "Missteps? He literally betrayed us and worked for Salem!" Yang said. "What Lionheart did unforgivable I won't deny that. But does one lapse in judgement really snuff out all of his good? Do we not all have regrets? You all may have meet Professor Lionheart but you haven't met the man he was before Salem found him." "Look were supposed to be in this together. You can trust us, we won't turn our backs on you." Yang said, gesturing to her teammates and uncle. "Do you really think Leo was the first? That he didn't say those exact words to me? I'm sorry but you have to understand that my behaviours are backed up by experience. I'm not saying I have reasons to doubt any of you or that you will betray me but I am saying the things that I do and the secrets I keep. The reason I…" He paused, looking around for a moment. "Where's… the relic?" He asked. "Right here." A new voice said softly, causing everyone to turn to the young huntress clad in red holding the relic. "It got scattered in the crash." A look of relief was on the farm boy's face as he extended his hand outwards. "Please hand it over." The red huntress stared at him for a moment as though debating on giving it to him. "So all those times you talked about having faith in humanity that was just for everyone else?" She asked, causing the young man to sigh. "I didn't mean to suggest that. Miss Rose the relic is a powerful item and I feel like it is my burden to carry." "But you said that it couldn't do anything right now." "Why does it matter who carries it?" The cat faunus asked. The farm hand was about to speak as he reached an arm out to the four when he froze in his tracks. "Oz?" The huntsman with red eyes asked, confused and concerned. "Hurry...He's trying to stop you." The farmhand said, his voice sounding like a normal teen again. "Stop her from what Oscar?" Yang asked. "He's afraid… you'll find out...what he's hiding..." He said straining his voice before collapsing to his hands and knees panting. "Her name… is Jinn. Say her name to summon her." The farm boy known as Oscar said as he fell into the snow. "Her...name?" Miss Rose asked, somewhat confused as the snow began to pick up around them. The red huntress looked at the lantern for a moment before saying its name as the snow surrounding the group stopped, frozen in midair. The lantern began to pulse with a blue glow before floating out of her hands and away from everyone, emitting a blue smoke that engulfed the lantern entirely before swirling around and taking the shape of a large woman with dark blue hair, her arms, legs, waist and neck were adorned with gold chains whilst her legs were covered with a blue mist, though her upper body remained bare as she stretched as though waking up. "Wonderful." She said with smile as everyone else stared completely dumbfounded and in awe. "Tell me what knowledge do you seek?" She asked, resting a hand underneath her chin. Maria checked to see of her eyes were working properly. "I am Jinn, a being created by the god of light to aid humanity in there quest for knowledge. I have been graced with the ability to answer three questions every one hundred years. And your in luck as I am still able to answer-" Jinn started to say only to be cut off by the angry and slightly more mature voice. "That's enough!" he barked. "Two questions this era." She explained as once again silence took the words out from everyone's mouth. "Ah ha. It's a pleasure to see you again old man." Jinn said, folding her arms over her chest. "Ruby… please don't." Oscar begged. The older man with the cape started to say something to Ruby only for Yang and the white huntress to both get into a fighting stance, weapons drawn. "Do whatever you think is right kiddo." He said, arms raised in a submissive manner. "Jinn what is Ozpin hiding from us?" Ruby asked the woman. "Nooooo!" Oscar shouted as he ran towards the red huntress causing her to flinch as everything around the group turned white.
"Woah. My eyes are really busted." Maria said.
"What the actual what is going on?! Where am I?" Snowla asked freaking out a bit as hundreds, no millions of questions filled her mind as she looked around the white space. When her lion ears perked up at the sound of Jinn speaking alongside the same blue mist that helped replace the empty void with a dark brown cobblestone road that led to a large castle with a single tower, the grassy land surrounding it littered with weapons. "Once upon a time there stood a lone tower... that sheltered a lonely girl… named Salem." Snowla gasped at the beautiful blonde. Salem let out a soft sigh as she gazed longingly outside her window before returning to her vanity and sat down, before opening her palm releasing seven little wisps of magic that swirled about in a circle, each a different color, in the center were four orbs of energy.
"Salem was powerful in the ways of magic. But she desired one thing… Freedom. She lived in a time where kings and queens ruled the land and kingdoms were plentiful." The mist swept the tower's bedroom away and Snowla found herself outside again.
"She was sealed away in a castle, waiting for a hero to free her. Many tried and failed, until one day a legendary hero came to face the challenges within the castle's walls. The people of the lands knew him...as Ozma." The scenery changed and they saw a dark brown haired, tanned, man running through the monsters. Battling many creatures with his jade scepter and his magic until he arrived at the top of the tower and burst through the large wooden door. Salem gasped as he came in, surprised that someone managed to get to her tower but smiled at her rescuer. "Together they escaped the fortress that kept Salem prisoner… And yet something bound the two of them together. Ozma had been ready to give his life for justice many times but now saw a woman who was worth saving it for and to Salem's surprise found her freedom not in escaping her tower and finally being in the outside world she had yearned for but rather in the eyes of the man who had saved her… The two fell deeply in love, planned adventures around the world and lived happily ever after…" The blue mist returned whisking Snowla away from the tower and was now standing in a small bedroom, Salem weeping at Ozma's bedside where the man lay gravely ill. "Or at least that's what should have been. Ozma the hero of legend fell ill and where all of the battles he had faced should have taken his life failed, a single sickness prevailed." Ozma's body disappeared as Salem continued to cry, holding the fallen knight's scepter in her hands. "The gods. Brothers of Light and Darkness, creation and destruction. Salem prayed that they would see the injustice that had befallen her love and make things right." Two orbs one of pure light and the other of pure darkness flew above Snowla's head briefly before coming down and meddling into one as the mist took her away. This time to the stairway that led to a large fountain, small gifts and offerings laid on the stone steps alongside golden leaves and a small alter. "The domain of Light was a revered place." Salem offered a bouquet of reddish pink flowers to the steps before walking up them. "It was here the elder brother lived beside his fountain of creation and life. And it was here where mankind would fall into ruin." Atop the large staircase stood a massive fountain with a tree with golden leaves. A sudden gentle wind blew in causing the leaves to blow towards the water as a light shone on the water, before a set of horns poked out from the clear waters revealing the god of light himself. He calmly walked across the water towards Salem, who fell to her knees begging the god to return her lover. The god of light understood the young woman's pain and loss but had to refuse her request knowing it would upset the balance that he and his younger brother had established. So, She went to the other brother. "The god of darkness, no one dared to enter his domain as men knew what monsters emerged from his blackened pools of malice. And so you must understand the dark lord's surprise when he found a lone woman kneeling before him. She told him of her plight, being careful to not mention his older brother. Believing she came to him first, and pleased by this, he said he'd grant the request. Outstretching his hand the god of darkness brought Ozma back to life, though the knight was rather frightened at this as he kept asking where he was and how he was alive. Soon the god of light arrived. And he was not pleased to find his younger brother had brought the fallen knight back to life, deeming that his brother was not creating at all, before outstretching a hand towards Ozma, as a orange light engulfed his body as he disappeared like leaves against a gentle breeze. Salem was distraught at this begging for Ozma to be returned to her. The god of darkness was angered by his elder brothers disrespect and brought the knight back a second time. The two brothers began to argue over the rules they made together, but as the god of darkness spoke his human form began to convulse and twitch in unnatural ways as he took on the shape of a large western dragon roaring in anger as several beowolves charged the god of light with the intent to strike him down. But the god of light put a stop to their attack, destroying them with a blast of pure light as he took on the form of a chinese dragon. He began to explain how he and his brother had their differences but had no intention of controlling his younger brother alongside of how Salem came to his domain first before seeking he god of darkness out. Realizing this the god of darkness apologized to his elder and turned his attention to Salem and Ozma before unleashing purple fire from his open jaws, engulfing the pair of them but Salem survived whilst her lover did not. The young woman was furious claiming that the brothers were monsters as she began to use lighting magic in a fit of anger. Seeing that the child was behaving foolishly the god of light flew towards her and when Salem opened her eyes she found herself falling, she let out a scream of fright as she landed in the god of light's fountain, after coughing up a bit of water she looked up to see the two brothers standing before her. They explained how the god of light made her immortal and how she could not rest or be with her beloved so long as this world turned she would walk its face until she learned the meaning and importance of life and death, before they disappeared and took Salem out of the god of light's domain and into a open but dead looking field. "Salem was a prisoner once again, her fruitless attempts to reunite with Ozma soon became nothing more than acts of defiance and spite towards the gods. But perhaps the gods were not as powerful as they seemed. She lied to them, turned them against each other, they… were fallible. If she were to turn humanity against light and darkness she could get rid of her curse or at the very least she could make them both suffer." Jinn narrated as the mist caused the world to change showing Salem speaking with different kings and queens, as she wove a tale of how she stole immortality from the gods and welcomed any of the ruler's best knights to try and strike her down. "With the kingdoms rulers in awe she pulled them deeper into her scheme. She painted them pictures of a time where they no longer had to watch their loved ones wither and die when they could claim the powers of their creators for themselves and in turn perfect there own desires. All they needed to do was destroy their old masters." Several armies rushed the god of light's domain as the golden dragon flew out from his fountain. "The gods had hoped that Salem would have learned from her eternal curse...and she did. She learned that the hearts of man are easily swayed." The god of light asked the massive army who had led them all down this path, as they began to step aside whilst the leader of this crusade walked forward. Salem. The god of darkness was angered at the sight of the same hard headed child he and his brother punished and roared but to his surprise Salem alongside her army began to attack the gods, using every bit of magic they had at their disposal. The god of darkness raised a claw to shield himself as all of the magic collected into a single purple orb of dark energy. Everyone was shocked at this as the god of darkness began to regret ever giving humanity magic if they would use it against him and his brother as he crushed the orb in his claw causing a massive wave of destruction began to spread across the world until not a single human was left except for Salem. The god of light explained how the planet they created was a beautiful experiment but it was now a remnant of what it once was and how he and his brother would learn from their failure and hoped Salem would learn from hers before leaving. Seeing that the child was still demanding things from her creators the god of darkness flew into the sky and into the heavens above, shattering the moon in the process. "Once again Salem was alone. She cursed the gods, she cursed the universe she cursed everything but herself, she wandered the face of the planet waiting for a death that would never come only until fate brought her back to the land of darkness. This was it. It had to be it. The brothers grimm. The pools of black that continued to give rise to horrific nightmares. If the fountain of life could make her immortal surely the pools of grimm would finally take it away but she was wrong. This force of pure destruction could not destroy a being of infinite light instead it created a being of light with the desire for destruction. And in time she would find her adversary." The mist began to change once again and Snowla found herself in the white void like in the beginning, only Ozma was there looking around in confusion until the god of light called his name. He turned around to see the large chinese dragon transform back into a human with dragon horns. Ozma asked where he was, and the od of light explained how they were between realms and how a tragedy had befallen his home at the hands of the god of darkness and how they chose to leave this world but gave Ozma a chance to return to his world again. The god of light continued to explain how mankind was no more but his world remained and how with time man would walk its face again however the world would be a fraction of what it used to be. The god of light proceeded to make four relics, a staff, a sword, a lanter and a crown. The relics of creation, destruction, knowledge and choice. He explained that if the four relics were brought together that he and his brother would return but humanity would be judged, if humanity had learned to live in harmony with each other and set their differences aside then they would stay but if not then they would be found irredeemable and the world would be wiped from existence. Ozma was told that he would reincarnate but in a way that he would never be alone and how he would be given the task to keep the relics safe to which Ozma agreed full heartedly. "And so… Ozma was reborn." A tan skinned young man with white hair stabbed a beowolf with his pitchfork as his town went up into flames, people running away from the fire screaming in terror. He looked on puzzled, when he heard someone screaming nearby and saw a man was being attacked by a beowolf as he tried to fight it off and failed. The young man's brown eyes glowed gold for an instant as a determined look replaced his fearful expression as he ran towards the grimm picking up the sword the other man had dropped and slashed the beast a few times before stabbing it in the chest. The other man was happy to be alive and asked for the name of his rescuer but the young farmhand simply tossed the sword away, looking at his hands in shock. "Ozma had found himself in a world completely unfamiliar to him, cities looked different, creatures known as the faunus bore claws and fangs and were locked in cages. And without the blessing of the gods no one could perform magic like they were once able to. No one but himself and a woman known as the witch." Ozma stood outside an old, broken down cottage in the middle of the forest. "During his years of travel he had heard the same frightened whispers spoke of a terrible sorceress who commanded dark powers among the wild beasts and monsters. Ozma was convinced that this witch was Salem and decided he needed to see what she had become." The door to the old cottage opened revealing none other than Salem herself. "Call it magic or call it something stronger but in that moment the two knew exactly who it was that stood before them… As Salem and Ozma recounted the events which had brought them back together, each withheld parts of their story. Salem fearin Ozma would reject her blamed the world on the gods and Ozma still unsure of where the trust lay kept his task and the relics a secret. Though time past and all seemed well, Ozma's conversation with the gold og light still lingered in his mind, he had found happiness but humanity seemed more divided than ever before." Salem and Ozma relaxed in the kitchen each nursing a cup of tea whilst discussing how the world was literally godless now and how the humans had no one to guide them. She suggested that they become the gods of this world and how their powers surpassed all others, how there souls transcended death and how they could mold the lands into whatever they wished and create a paradise that the old god could not. :The hearts of men are easily swayed." A giant nevermore descended upon a small village as people ran away in terror, but as the giant bird circled the town's old ruins it was stopped mid flight and bound itself with its wings so tight that it disappeared quickly as Salem and Ozma rose into the air, hand in hand over the townspeople who quickly bowed to them. The mist soon created two statues of the pair. "The two amassed a following and that following grew into a prosperous kingdom and at the head of the kingdom blossomed… a family."
A/N: Hi everyone ^^ I hope your all enjoying Lioness of Lore so far. This chapter is probably the longest one I have ever done. I hope you all enjoy it. Please Read, Review and I will see you all in Part 2. Bye!