The pair slipped out in the dead of night, moving swiftly through the well-paved roads of the noble district. Large manors surrounded the main street, so they snuck through the side roads in an effort not to be seen by anyone who would recognize her. As they continued on, the mansions gradually decreased in size, demonstrating how the richer nobles lived higher up on the mountain.
Eventually, they stopped being mansions altogether. Gone were the smooth marble and limestone estates, replaced with large houses made of brick. They were in the artisan district, where most of the highly skilled craftsmen of Atlas lived. They weren't nobles, but they weren't poor enough to be down in Mantle. Weiss could see signs for blacksmiths, jewelers, clothiers, and any type of artisan she could think of. The district was aptly named, it seemed.
At last, they made their way into the merchant district. Ruby marveled at the beautiful wood and stone houses as they made their way through the cobblestone road. This was the link between Atlas and Mantle. Filled with merchants of any good imaginable, they constantly went back and forth between the artisan district above and the docks of Mantle below. She had to be careful here; Father owned a large merchant company, meaning she could be recognized.
Fortunately, no one stopped them. The bitter wind was cold, but Weiss didn't complain. She just pulled her coat tighter around her body and made her way to the main gate. She gave a nod to the sentries standing guard, pulling a few gold lien coins to pay the toll. They counted her money and nodded, opening the gate for her to pass into Mantle.
The toll was an ingenious idea by General Ironwood to tax the nobles and merchants who could afford to lose some of their coin without affecting the people of Mantle who had little reason to be in Atlas in the first place.
Making her way down the large staircase, she descended into the slums of Mantle. While they were technically two separate cities, their close proximity meant that everyone always grouped them together. Atlas was built at the top of a mountain that had its top half cut off, making a large flat area for the founders to build in.
Mantle, the former capital, was built at the bottom of the mountain. With Atlas so close by, most wealthy people in Mantle made their way up to Atlas to live there instead, giving Mantle a reputation for being a slum. There were few who lived in Mantle that could be considered rich, with the Poledina family and Robyn Hill being the only notable examples.
The grey stone and dark wood houses were tightly packed together, all in various states of disrepair ranging from some vines growing on their sides to missing large portions of their roofs. The roads twisted and turned, with the only notable exception being the main road, which went straight from the staircase to Atlas to the main gates.
There were many more people awake in Mantle, going in and out of bars, huddling around fires, or glaring out from alleyways. She shifted her coat to reveal her armor and rapier, causing a few to back away, sensing she wouldn't be an easy mark. She wasn't worried about them recognizing her, because they would never be able to tell her father. He would never listen to peasants she thought sarcastically.
Reaching the end of the road, she stepped into the gatehouse to request to be let out. A bored-looking sentry took one look at her before waving her through. It was reassuring to know the people of Atlas were safe from the Grimm under such vigilant watch. To be fair, the Grimm didn't exactly try to go through the gate, instead just bashing against the wall in hordes.
She made her way out into the tundra and opened up a map she had purchased in the merchant's district. It was a detailed map that showed many of the towns and villages of Atlas, including her destination. The map showed the ruin she needed to reach to the east, so she twirled her rapier and created a compass glyph.
The glyph looked like its namesake. It was a circle with four spokes emanating from the center, with the longest one pointing to the north. She oriented herself with the glyph and made her way out into the snow-filled plain.
The cold cut through her, but she kept going. She began to move magic throughout her body, the simple act of doing so both distracting her from the cold and warming her up. She had learned this trick from Winter as a way to warm yourself up without wasting too much aura. She would need to be able to fight, after all. They were in Grimm territory.
She could see several creatures of Grimm in the distance but didn't bother hiding. They couldn't see as far as she could, and would only detect her if she started thinking negatively.
"Wow. This is really empty," Ruby said, trying to strike up a conversation. Weiss smiled at the girl; she wasn't able to feel the cold or get tired, so this was just boring for her.
"Solitas is a very flat continent. With the exception of the mountains on the southern and western coast, the elevation changes very little," She explained, causing Ruby to nod in understanding.
"So like, how flat are we talking about?" She questioned.
"Were it not for the curvature of Remnant, you would be able to see Atlas from the edge of the northern coast," Weiss explained to the younger girl, causing her to let out an impressed whistle.
"What about the Grimm? How do people live far out into the tundra with no natural defenses?"
She grimaced. "The only settlements that stretch far out into the tundra are mining outposts. Most usually, they are owned by my father."
"Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to bring him up," Ruby apologized, making Weiss shake her head.
"You don't need to apologize. I'm just ashamed that he has dishonored my family name," She said to her companion. They continued to walk through the snow-covered tundra, Weiss's feet crunching through the snow and Ruby's simply walking on it as if it was dirt.
The snow was heavy, as the winter months were reaching their coldest during this time of year. During the summer, the snow would melt and reveal the shortgrass growing underneath, but for now, it was covered in a blanket of white.
Their footprints disappeared when the wind blew snow into them, hiding their path from any pursuers. With any luck, Father would think she boarded a ship or joined the military. What reason could she possibly have to go out into the harsh, unforgiving tundra?
She glanced at the map. There should be a small cave nearby where she could set up camp, but it was around a mile away from where she predicted she was. With a sigh, she rolled up the map, drew up another compass glyph to guide her, and made her way to the cave.
Large mountains toward just at the edge of her sight, growing more and more distant. Her destination was in the eastern mountains, around two days away from where she was now. Reaching the cave, she slipped inside.
It didn't go very far back, only about twenty feet. the ceiling sloped downwards from the entrance, around twelve feet tall at its highest and three at its lowest. It was no mansion, but it would protect her from the cold.
Finding a small pile of logs left by the cave's most recent visitor, she put a few of them in the back of the cave before igniting them with a small fire glyph. She set her rapier down and removed her metal gauntlets. She grabbed some dried jerky out of the satchel and took a swig from her waterskin. Her dinner wasn't extraordinary, but her company was.
"This is so cool!" Ruby squealed like a little girl. This was just like her stories, with the brave knight resting in a cave before entering some perilous dungeon. Weiss just rolled her eyes as she warmed herself by the fire.
"Ruby, calm down," She told the girl who was practically jumping up and down with excitement, "I need to get my rest for the walk tomorrow," At that, Ruby sat down and stopped bouncing, but she couldn't wipe the happy smile off her face. Not that Weiss wanted her to; seeing Ruby so happy was adorable.
"So, do you want me to keep watch?" Ruby asked, already knowing the answer. Weiss needed to sleep, Ruby didn't. It just made sense to have the tireless spirit keep an eye out for Grimm or bandits. If there was danger, she could scream and wake her up.
"That would be very appreciated," Weiss thanked her. Despite the logic of it, it was nice that Weiss didn't just tell her to do so. There was no reason not to, but it was nice nonetheless.
Weiss drifted off to sleep, her eyes closing and her breathing slowed. She could faintly hear Ruby humming over the howling wind, but she didn't mind the noise. It was soothing to her. Before falling into a blissful sleep, she realized something.
"This is the happiest I've been in a long time," She thought. Despite being in a freezing cave, huddled around a small campfire after eating bland rations, she was happy. Thanks to the distance between her old life and where she was now, that night she slept in the cave was the most comfortable sleep she had in years.
Ruby saw the sun creeping over the horizon and smiled. She was standing on top of the small hill that covered the cave, scouting to make sure Weiss was safe. The only Grimm she'd seen had been a pair of Ursai that passed by around a mile away from them. No bandits had been attracted to the smoke coming out of the cave. It was a boring night, but she'd happily take that over an exciting one if that meant Weiss was safe.
She jumped from her spot down into the cave below. Crouching once she hit the ground, she jogged up to Weiss. She opened her mouth to wake her up but paused. Weiss looked so peaceful, and she'd had a stressful night last night. She'd let her sleep for a little while more. After an hour had passed, she finally tried to wake Weiss up.
"Weiss, it's time to get up. We need to get going," She said, but Weiss just mumbled in her sleep. The sight made Ruby's heart melt. She didn't want to wake her up, but the fear of Weiss getting upset she hadn't been woken up outweighed that desire.
"Weiss!" She called out with more enthusiasm, but the heiress just rolled over. "Weiss, come on! Let's go!" She wanted nothing more than to gently shake her awake, but she couldn't.
"Weiss, look! It's Whitley being eaten by a Grimm!" She screamed, causing Weiss to shoot up.
"What? Where?" She asked groggily before noticing Ruby laughing. "Haha, very funny Ruby," She said without an ounce of humor in her voice. "What time is it?"
Ruby shrugged. "About an hour past sunrise, I guess."
"Then let's get going," She said, picking up Myrtenaster and sliding her gauntlets back on. She adjusted her fur cloak and fixed the veil that covered her shoulder blades. Grabbing her satchel, she strode out of the cave, Ruby right beside her.
They walked for hours, talking about the most mundane of things to pass the time. Ruby asked her favorite type of Grimm. Weiss told her she was fond of dead Grimm. Weiss asked Ruby her's and caused the girl to go on a ten-minute rant about why Beowolves were so much fun to fight.
The happy chatter broke the silence of the tundra as they made their way through it. Stopping only briefly for quick meals, they continued towards the mountains. They walked until the sun was getting low in the sky, and Weiss's feet were killing her. She voiced this complaint and Ruby just laughed.
"Just push some magic into them to help them heal," She offered her advice, and Weiss just blinked in surprise. That wasn't a bad idea. She pushed her magic into the soles of her feet and felt a warmth spread through them, the muscles being healed with the additional flow of magic.
"Ruby, how much do you know about magic?" She asked, curious to know how Ruby knew what to do to help her aching feet. That hadn't been something she learned in a textbook; she had sounded like she'd been in the exact same position before."
"Well, I know the four different types of magic. There's enhancement, inherent, glyph, and enchantment. The four types of magic." Ruby rattled off the list and elaborated on them with a happy expression on her face. Weiss smirked to herself. Of course she knew the basics.
Enhancement magic involved using one's aura and natural magical energy to bolster their physical abilities. Filling muscles with aura, channeling it through weapons, heightening one's strength or speed. These were all some of the basic techniques that involved enhancement magic. More advanced practitioners of it could accomplish almost superhuman feats of strength such as cleaving through boulders or leaping high into the air.
Inherent magic involved using one's aura to alter the world around them. Creating fireballs, forming shields, healing injuries, and almost anything else one could imagine could be accomplished with inherent magic. Its greatest strengths were the level of control a mage had over their spells and the speed at which they could use them. Of course, it came with a crippling weakness. Since using it required aura to act as fuel, it burned through one's reserves faster than any other type. So while mages could fling spells back and forth in high-speed duels, they had to keep a closer eye than most on their aura levels.
Because of the level of control one had when using inherent magic, it was able to do a variety of things. Skilled mages could weave together complex spells from their own aura to accomplish a variety of tasks. Some fields of magic, such as illusions, necromancy, or healing almost exclusively used inherent magic. The level of control needed to stitch wounds or craft hallucinations meant they couldn't be done by a glyph. There were a few glyphs or enchanted objects that could get the job done, but it wasn't practical.
Glyphs were Weiss's preferred type of magic, but she could use the other two kinds as well. Using glyphs involved creating a complex web of magic, usually in the form of a circle with an intricate design in the middle. The glyph would, once activated with a small amount of aura, absorb magic from the surrounding atmosphere. While inherent magic was free-flowing, glyphs were strict. A glyph did exactly what it was made to do, no more and no less.
Glyphs could be drawn in a number of ways. Weiss liked using a small amount of aura to trace them in the air with her sword, but she knew that some people liked to used Dust-infused chalk or other magically conductive substances to create theirs. Some even carved them into things than filled the carvings with raw Dust to bolster the power of the glyph. There were even rumors that ancient people used to use blood to draw glyphs. The only requirement for what a glyph was drawn from was that it was magically conductive.
The final type of magic was the most unique. Enchantment magic was the art of imbuing objects with magic upon their creation. Swords, armors, candles, quills, and just about anything else could be enchanted. Anyone with even the most basic knowledge of how to control their own aura could theoretically activate an enchanted object, but creating them was a different story. Enchanting an object required both knowledge of how to craft the object and how to shape the enchantments to accomplish a task.
What an object was made from also had an impact on whether it was able to be enchanted. For something to be imbued with magic, it had to be magically conductive. Aura and Dust were the most magically conductive substances on account of being magic, but it wasn't possible to craft something with them. Organic material was rather conductive, as were precious metals such as gold or silver. Man-made or earthen materials such as iron, steel, or rock were rather poor conductors of magic.
Silver was the most commonly used metal for enchanting. It wasn't nearly as rare as gold and could be enchanted to be harder than steel or softer than silk depending on what was needed. Weiss's rapier, Myrtenaster, held a variety of enchantments, ranging from simple ones that hardened the metal and sharpened the blade to complex ones that allowed her to channel Dust through her hollow blade.
"What's your favorite type of magic?" The white-haired girl asked suddenly, to which Ruby put a hand on her chin and pondered the question.
"Hmm. I'd have to say enchantments. It's cool that anyone can use an enchanted weapon and not just powerful mages," She replied before giving Weiss a sheepish look. "Sorry. Glyphs are awesome, but enchantments are just so much cooler."
Weiss sniffed and turned her nose up. "Hmph. as if I'd get offended by something so trivial," She declared, even though a slight feeling of disappointment settled over her. For some reason she didn't know, she wanted Ruby to think she was cool. It made no sense given that she could perform all types of magic but enchanting, and even then she could use enchanted objects with ease. She just wanted Ruby to think her favorite type of magic was the coolest.
"Were you able to use any types of magic?" Weiss questioned, receiving a nod in response.
"Yup. I couldn't do anything like what you can do with your glyphs or your inherent magic, but I could use enhancement magic, and I was pretty good at enchanting things. I made both my own and Yang's weapons," Ruby bragged with a bashful smile.
Weiss couldn't help but be impressed by that. Enhancement type magic was the most common, but enchanting was arguably the rarest. "Why did you learn enchantment magic? It's not exactly common, nor would I describe it as a particularly necessary trait for a knight to have."
Ruby just shrugged in response with a slightly embarrassed look on her face. "I guess..." She began to say before sighing. "I guess I learned it because of my mom. I remember her reading me all kinds of stories about brave knights and skilled warriors, but the parts that always stood out to me the most were the weapons they used. I wanted to be able to create weapons like the one's from her stories, so I learned how to."
"Well, consider me impressed. I hadn't expected you to be so knowledgeable about the subject. I've met self-proclaimed 'mages' who couldn't have given so thoroughly of an explanation," Weiss praised. A number of scholars within her family's employ fancied themselves wizards, but Weiss knew they were just novices at the arcane arts.
Ruby laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck, cheeks slightly tinged at the praise. "Thanks. I guess I just learned them all because I wanted to be a knight. It was important that I knew all about them, so me and my sister studied as much as we could," She deflected.
"Well, I think you'll make a great knight," She declared matter-of-factly, as if there was no doubt in Weiss's mind that they would succeed. And that was because there wasn't. She had to believe that she could bring Ruby back. If she didn't have that hope, then she had nothing
They could see it in the distance. Nestled into a mountain, the high walls of the fortress went about a hundred feet straight up. The curved rampart formed a half-circle, with the mountain at its back. The walls were smooth, like they had been carved from one giant rock. But despite its high walls, the large iron gate was lying on the floor, ripped off of its hinged.
They had arrived at the ancient fortress mentioned in the tome. There, they hoped to find a clue as to what to do next. Weiss turned to look at Ruby, who stared back at her. They nodded to each other and stepped through the ruined gate.
The ancient courtyard formed a half-circle, and a derelict fountain sat in the middle. Piles of rubble that had fallen from the walls when this fortress fell to the Grimm adorned the courtyard.
A growl from behind one of the piles of rubble caused them both to turn to face it. A Beowolf jumped atop the pile, and another crawled out from behind it. Their burning red eyes glared at Weiss with malice.
"Weiss, look out!" Ruby screamed suddenly. Trusting Ruby, she jumped away just in time to see a Beowolf swipe at the spot she had just been. She drew her sword and began to draw a glyph, but the one atop the rubble leapt at her.
She rolled to the side and slashed at the Grimm's exposed flank, but the creature just tried to swipe at her with its claws. She danced away from it, but the third Grimm joined the fight by charging at her and trying to bite her. Her sword flashed out and left a large gash on its torso as she dodged its attack.
The first Grimm swiped at her again, but she just jumped backwards. Twisting her blade in a circle, she drew a glyph with some of her aura and activated it, sending a bolt of fire crashing into the beast's armored head. A small explosion cracked the bone plate around its eyes, and she lunged forward, thrusting her sword through its skull.
"On your left!" Ruby called out, She jerked to the right to avoid the charging Grimm. Myrternaster slashed at its arm three times, but she had to dodge its backhand before landing a killing blow.
She focused her aura into her legs and rolled under a swipe from one of the Beowolves. She drove her sword through its throat and began to twist her wrist in a circle, causing the creature to let out a choked growl before it began to dissolve into black smoke.
"Duck!" She threw herself to the floor at the sound of the ghost's voice calling out, leading the final Grimm to soar over her. It tried to lunge at her again, but she dodged to the right and twisted her blade, sending the enchanted silver through the monster's muscular neck, decapitating it. The creature began to disappear, and Weiss looked around.
She didn't see any other Grimm in the courtyard, but she wouldn't drop her guard. A large tunnel opposite the main gate led into the mountain, leading to a series of similar tunnels that extended through the mountain, leading up to the towering walls. She made her way into the tunnel, marveling at the intricately carved arch that held it up.
Her thoughts were cut off by a roar as a large, bear-like creature barreled down the hallway from the darkness. The tunnel wasn't wide enough to fight an Ursa effectively, so she retreated back to the courtyard with the Grimm right on her tail. She slid across the ground under a swipe from its paw before twisting her body acrobatically to get up and face the creature in one smooth motion.
Its bone plating and thick layers of muscle meant attacking the Ursa on its back wouldn't be a good idea. It was thankfully just an Ursa Minor, but she still knew that it wouldn't be smart to potentially get her sword stuck in its back.
She leapt back and drew a glyph with the tip of her sword. The glow from the tip left behind a white circle that she quickly drew a series of lines that formed a glyph. She quickly drew another layer to her glyph in order to make it continuous. Drawing another glyph behind this one, she activated both with a tap of her sword, sending a continuous jet of flame pushed by the wind glyph she formed behind it. The entire process took her three seconds.
The intense heat burned at the Ursa, which roared in pain yet continued its charge. She grit her teeth and dodged to the side, making it hit the pile of rubble that had been behind her. It shook its head and faced her, its bone mask covered in a large burn mark. She dodged its swing and backflipped away from it when it slammed its paws down.
She formed another glyph with Myrternaster before adding another layer to increase its power. She slammed her hand into the glyph, turning it light blue. Several doven shards of ice flew out and struck the monster, piercing its sides and causing the wounds to emit black smoke. But the creature wasn't dead yet; It reared up on its legs and roared before swiping at her again.
Weiss pushed one of the yellow crystals in Myrternaster's hilt down, causing the etchings in her blade to fill with yellow dust. Activating it with her magic, her blade crackled with electricity.
She pushed magic into her legs and arms, leaping forward and slashing the creature's stomach several times. Her enchanted blade was only empowered by the dust, and her use of enhancement magic meant that her blade sliced through the Ursa like a hot knife through butter.
The Grimm let out one last roar before fading away, and Weiss once again made her way through to tunnel. She used her innate magic to create a small flame in her right hand to provide her light. She combed through the winding hallways, climbed twisting staircases, and crawled over piles of rubble. All the while fighting weak Grimm like Beowolves and Usai.
She spent hours exploring every inch of the fortress, finding nothing as she climbed higher and higher. She used the tight hallways to her advantage, using her rapier to stab the Grimm who couldn't attack due to the restricting size of the hallway. She saved as much of her magic as she could, not wanting to run out of it.
Eventually, she made her way to a large open circular room. She estimated that she was around two-thirds of the way up the fortress. She just knew there had to be something that would help them in their goal. She hadn't found anything yet, but she refused to give up hope.
Deciding to take a rest in the large room, she sat down against a pile of rubble near the entrance. She needed to recover as much aura as she could; it wouldn't be good if she was low on it and had to fight something stronger than a Beowolf or Ursa. Ruby floated over to her, her face in a worried smile before her eyes widened.
"Weiss look out!" She screamed, reaching her hand out towards her friend. Trusting Ruby, she threw herself forward. Weiss twisted her head in the air and saw a massive silver blade coming right at her.
I wanted to take a brief moment of my time to share a revelation I have had with anyone who is reading this. It is really boring writing a fight with an Ursa or Beowolves. They only swipe and bite at you, and I can only write different variations of them doing that so many times before it gets repetitive. They aren't intelligent enough to use strategy, and they aren't really strong enough to require much strategy to beat. Other Grimm have unique features that make writing them interesting. But common pack Grimm like Beowolves are really only fun if its' an Alpha or an entire pack, and even then that's more to show how tough the characters are. This sucks, because I really like these two types of Grimm, but I just can't stand writing them. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one should be out tomorrow, but it might be a bit longer.
