Ruby blinked. Then again. And again. She screwed up her eyes, pressing her eyelids together as tightly as her muscles would allow. Her world became a red twilight for three long seconds. She opened them.
It didn't get better. Nothing changed. None of the impossible apparitions disappeared. Ruby jumped up, spinning on the spot. Her eyes told her that she'd woken in the middle of a city. Her ears brought her conversations and shouts in a language she didn't recognise. Her nose wrinkled as the disgusting stench of refuse and filth reached her. Ruby pinched herself on the thigh. It hurt.
All her senses told her the same thing. She'd lost her mind. Completely. Utterly. It wasn't a dream. She started to hyperventilate. It was beyond her control. She stumbled backwards, her hand pressing against the wall that couldn't possibly be there. Her back scraped on impossible stone as she slid down to the ground. Her head dropped between her knees and her fingers entwined in her hair. She clenched her teeth together so hard it was painful, the muscles in her jaw tight with terror.
She was scared. So scared. She'd gone mad. Of her many problems, she'd believed that she'd overcome her mental issues. That she'd beaten them. Maybe not into submission, not completely, but she thought she'd at least managed to take control of them. Mastered them. Now they'd returned with a vengeance.
Her depression had been one thing. That lethargic pall had at one time come close to smothering her entirely. This though, this was different. She was hallucinating. Hallucinating with frightening clarity. The sounds, the smells, the feel, they all seemed so real, and they just couldn't be.
Her desire to unearth the truth about Ozpin, to rediscover history, had twisted her mind. She'd wanted it so much. Spent so much time fantasising about her latest goal. When she'd found the ruins, it had broken her.
She should have seen it coming. All the dreams she'd had. The gut feeling that had brought her halfway across a continent and kept her from going to see her sister. That wasn't normal. Or rational. The signs were obvious. She'd been going crazy for weeks. She wasn't even sure if the ruins were real anymore. They could have just been another phantasm.
Her head was spinning, pounding, her lungs burning. Panic ripped at her. She'd gone crazy. Had she even talked to Yang again? Or had she simply imagined that as well. It has seemed so real… but so did this. She squeezed her temples between her knees, pressing down as hard as she could, willing it all to disappear.
Something settled on her shoulders. A warm, comforting something. It wrapped around and embraced her. It was soft, and heavy, and so familiar. It was as if a cloak had been draped across her shoulders. The same cloak she'd once used to shield herself from the troubles of the world. The melody of a lullaby drifting through the still air brought tears to her eyes.
Suddenly she no longer cared if she was crazy, if it was all fake. Not when she could hear that lullaby again after so long. The lilting tones were so beautiful. They weren't even real words, just sounds. But they contained so much love. Concentrating on the harmony and nothing else, she began to bring her breathing into line. In for six, hold for eight, out for ten, and repeat.
She opened her eyes. She was still sitting on well-trodden dirt, buildings still rose up around her, but they no longer filled her with absolute dread. If she'd gone mad, she'd gone mad. She couldn't change it just by wishing.
What she could do was explore the depths of her insanity. Her mind had conjured up this vibrant city where nothing had been before. It was incredible, something few would ever be able to experience, even if it was just a fabrication.
With her mother's lullaby flowing around her and the phantom weight of a cloak settled on her shoulders, she was able to find the strength to stand up and walk into the city. Houses—or at least she guessed houses—bordered both sides of the slightly larger dirt road. Her boots splashed into a small stream; leaning down she immediately wished that she hadn't. The smell made her gag. If the city had a sewer system, it wasn't connected to this district. Scuffing her boots in the dirt, she moved on.
She was drawn to a proper cobble-paved road. She found people there, all wearing strange clothes. Most seemed to have singular strips of linen wrapped around their body, sometimes baring shoulder, sometimes covering themselves more completely. The colours were muted ̶ ̶ greys and browns ̶ ̶ a contrast to the brilliant blue of the sky.
Those conversing were doing so in a strange language, one she didn't think she'd ever heard before. It grated against her ears. Stepping into the road, she wondered why she wasn't causing a commotion. Her clothes, her pack, Crescent Rose, surely they should have been enough to mark her as a stranger. Instead, no one even looked in her direction.
"Hey," Ruby said waving her hand towards the nearest person. The idea of starting up a conversation with a complete stranger still made her stomach flutter, but there wasn't really a choice. The man ignored her entirely. Walking straight past her with a bundle clutched to his chest.
Ruby stared at his departing back, not quite sure what to make of it. It had been rude in the extreme, but perhaps there was a cultural taboo against acknowledging her. She tried again, and again, and again. Not one person on the street stopped to help her. Frustrated, she stepped out directly into the path of the next person she saw, hands on her hips, her irritation drowning out any of her nerves.
The woman didn't lock eyes with her, didn't say anything, didn't even slow down at all. Ruby had to leap out of the way to avoid colliding and in doing so she put herself in someone else's path. They didn't slow down either. Ruby braced herself for an impact, her Aura flaring, but none came. The man passed straight through her as if she didn't exist.
Her mouth fell open. He looked so real. She could see every individual hair on the back of his head, the stains on his clothes, and the marks his sandals left in the dirt. Yet he'd walked straight through her as if he were a ghost. Or as if she were a ghost. Given that she was in his city, the latter was probably more apt.
Tentatively, she reached towards another person. There was no sensation of cold or chill, but her arm passed straight through his flesh. It would have been better if one or both of them had wobbled like a mirage. Instead her eyes told her he was solid, while her arm told her he most definitely was not.
The pressure of her insanity surged up again, and the lullaby swelled in response. She wasn't well. She really wasn't well. People weren't just there and not there. It didn't make sense. She could touch the walls, the floor, but not them. She didn't know what sort of rules her mind had concocted, but they weren't consistent. She almost broke down again, almost wanting to fall into a pit of fear and despair, but a singular fact held her fast.
The city was still around her. It would exist whether she acknowledged it or not. Whether she could interact with anyone or not. There was so much potential here. Insane or not, she believed there was a reason for her hallucinations. That they were somehow important.
So people couldn't see or interact with her. She could still see them, and, without them getting in her way, she could do whatever she wanted in the city. It was an idle daydream that many children had at one point or another. She was practically unstoppable.
Invigorated, she bounced off. Apart from the people and the houses on either side, there wasn't much to see in the street. In the distance a roar split the air. It was one that could only have come from many thousands of throats.
The sound led her down the street onto a great thoroughfare. The paved road stretched dozens of feet across, more than wide enough for an army to march down without breaking ranks. There were hundreds of people there. Some carrying their wares, others leading pack mules or even simple carts and wagons. Despite there being so many people, Ruby was easily able to look over their heads. She must have been the tallest person around.
The road was arrow straight. Ruby followed it ̶ ̶ and the general flow of people ̶ ̶ towards the middle of the city. The name of the settlement was still unknown to her. That in itself was strange. If she truly believed her fantasy had even a grain of truth, surely some legends of this great city should have remained. That is, unless the city and its people had existed so long ago that not only had the legend of it faded into myth but, as the centuries passed, even the myth had been forgotten.
There was another great roar, a cheer of people enjoying themselves, and this time Ruby was able to see where it emanated from. A building so large it made her pause. A building so large she couldn't believe that it had ever existed at this time. It dwarfed everything else in sight. Even the great temple of Calakmul would have fit inside it with room to spare.
Made of pale yellow stone, the great circular building was a marvel to behold. Countless numbers of supporting and decorative arches were built into its sides, while scores of flags fluttered from its top; it must have been at least five stories tall. She had a sneaking suspicion she knew what was inside, but she had to know for sure.
Ruby followed the crowd that was filtering in. If possible the innards of the structure were even more impressive. The stonework carved with vines formed tunnels and stairs that all led to one central location. She'd been right. It was an amphitheatre. One which was filled with thousands upon thousands of people enjoying a celebration. Drink flowed, food was passed around, and everyone faced inwards, towards the sand-covered pit in the middle.
The atmosphere buzzed, and Ruby knew just where the inspiration for this fiction was from. For a moment she was back in Vale ̶ ̶ back before her world had fallen apart ̶ ̶ walking out into the middle of the main arena for her first fight in the tournament. The similarities were eerie. The crowd, the sandy expanse, even the curtained area for what must have been VIP seating.
Well aware that no one could see her, Ruby took a place right on the edge of the pit as the wooden gates below her opened. The crowd went wild. Men marched out. Men carrying an assortment of weapons and baring a lot of skin. They stopped in the middle of the arena, raised their blades towards the curtained area, and shouted something in unison. The cheers of the crowd only grew louder as they separated into a rough circle, all facing each other, bringing their weapons to bear.
Trumpets blared, fighting against the cacophony, but the men heard. They charged in. There wasn't much skill on offer, at least not to her eyes. If she was down there she could have beaten them all handily. If they had Semblances they didn't use them. Instead they just hacked at each other, swinging wildly as if they had barely held a sword before this point. Half the attacks missed entirely, others were blocked, and a few bounced off Auras.
It was a melee, complete chaos. If it had happened in the Vytal tournament, the fight would have been panned worldwide. As it was the crowd lapped it up. Not all of the men had run in though. Some with more armour than the rest waited on the side, biding their time.
In an instant, they moved together. One with an axe corralled a man towards another with a net and a trident. Their victim recognised the trap too late. The mesh wrapping around his weapon and his arms, he tumbled to the ground entirely enshrouded. Thousands of throats roared, and the trident speared home.
It wasn't a final hit to lower the person's Aura though, the three harsh prongs passed into flesh and came out dripping red. The fighter jerked his weapon free and held the trident above his head in victory. Acid surged into Ruby's throat. It was all she could do not to throw up at the sight before her. She turned away. She had to.
Fighting as a sport she could understand. She loved watching the bouts. Killing for sport, taking the most precious of gifts for entertainment, was abhorrent to her. A child, a boy barely ten years old screamed, an exultant mask on his face. A child watching murder.
Time passed and cultures changed. Life hadn't always had the value it now held, especially to her, but even thinking that at one point people had cheered for scenes like this made her want to throw up. And they'd been cheering since she'd woken. How many people had lost their lives? No wonder they barely looked trained. No skilled fighter would willingly enter that slaughter.
She wouldn't. Not for any prize. In her life she'd killed two people. By all accounts, two evil people. She'd made a conscious decision. Numerous people had told her she shouldn't feel bad, absolved her of blame. It didn't matter. She still hated that she'd been forced into the act that had sullied her very soul.
If she could have she would have rushed down there and stopped the barbarity at the heart of this civilization. But she couldn't. She could no more affect this than pull the moon back over the horizon. Bereft of choice, and with the sound of cheers and mortal screams ringing in her ears, she ran from the amphitheatre. Outside, in the midst of all those still winding their way towards the slaughter, she fought with her stomach. She didn't know why her mind had concocted this scene, but she wished it away with all her might. Her wishes were for nought. She could only act with her body. Put distance between her and the vulgarity.
She ran on towards the centre of the city. The road rose up towards the peak of the tallest hill. The buildings around her grew more elaborate—made of better-quality materials—and so did the people. Though there were many who looked just the same as before, there were others dressed in colourful swathes of material. Some were even being carried by teams of servants or slaves. The rich always existed where there were poor.
The road came to an end at the hill's summit and opened into a plaza. After the grandiosity of the inner city, Ruby had expected a palace or something equally ostentatious. Instead a modest building sat before her. It might have been made of sparkling marble decorated with twisting patterns, but it was small. There were less people here, some selling food, but most talking in hushed tones. Even the children were behaved. A small boy licked his hand and smoothed down his hair before going inside.
Ruby followed him. The room was dimly lit by torches burning on the walls. Women and girls in pure white robes greeted the guests, removing their sandals and washing their feet. Ruby recognised their type. This was a place of worship, and they were priestesses.
She felt as if her very presence profaned the sanctity of the temple. Despite the absurdity of it, Ruby removed her own boots and socks, splashing her soles with water from the fountain. The music that had been playing in the back of her mind hummed in resonance to her decision.
Once clean, the worshipers passed through a door. The room beyond was bright, painfully so. In the middle, a plinth carved from the finest marble stood; upon it the largest White Dust crystal she'd ever seen rested in all its glory.
It wasn't cut like the ones she was familiar with. It wasn't a neat diamond shape. Instead it was a hunk, bristling with jagged edges and rounded protrusions. Its outer edges might have been dark, but its innards projected power. It hummed with it. The very air hummed with it. No wonder it had been worshipped.
"It's pretty, isn't it?" The voice came from right next to her ear.
Ruby jumped about a foot in the air, an undignified shriek shattering the reverent silence.
Long dark hair framed a face that was almost ageless. The woman could have said she was anywhere between twenty and fifty and Ruby would have believed her. Apart from the eyes. There was an undefinable weight behind them. Dressed in the white robes of the other priestesses, she blended with the rest of the people in the room. With one notable exception, of course. She was staring right at Ruby.
"You… you can see me?"
The woman smiled at her reaction. A smile full of empathy and compassion. One that could ease even the sharpest of pain from a skinned knee. "I can see a beautiful young woman." Her voice was soft and warm.
For some reason the unearned compliment made her blush. "You obviously can't then."
"Nonsense child. Beauty, true beauty, comes from the soul. You would be beautiful even if you were hideous, which rest assured you are not." There was a peculiarity in the way she spoke, as if she chose each and every one of her words carefully.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Aurora. I have been looking forward to having this conversation."
"You have?" For some reason Aurora seemed to be a separate entity from the rest of the fictional world, and it wasn't just because she was the only one among thousands who could see her. Aurora seemed more substantial. More real.
"I have been watching you for quite some time."
"You have?" Ruby repeated.
"You are quite the remarkable young woman. To discover all that you have, and on your own."
Ruby bit her lower lip. The pair of them stood in a bubble of tranquillity as others moved unseeingly around them. Aurora could only be talking about her expeditions, but in that case there was no way she could have known.
"Just who are you? Really?" Aurora must have been a manifestation of her mind, somehow separate from the rest of her hallucinations.
"That is an interesting question, but I think the first that needs to be answered is, where are we?"
"Umm…" Ruby knew where, but hesitated to give voice to her delusions and say it. "In my head."
Dimples grew on Aurora's cheeks as she tried not to laugh. "Technically, that would be part true. Though trust me, you aren't mad. That deduction was unfortunate, but not unexpected. We didn't wish to cause you any distress. Rest assured, I'm not a figment of your imagination. I'm as real as you are."
"I'm not crazy?"
"No." White teeth showed as Aurora grinned. "Though, of course, if you truly were then that is what I would say. You will have to trust me here. All this," she gestured around at the temple, "and the fact that we are talking to each other, is due to the unique abilities of one of my oldest friends. You are currently asleep."
"But…" It couldn't be a dream. It was too vivid. She pinched herself again. It hurt again.
Aurora smiled. She reached forward and the softness of her fingers brushed against Ruby's skin. The touch was so real. "It's a special dream. You will wake unharmed and remember everything. So, with that out the way, where do you think we are?"
Ruby looked around. She wanted to believe, she really did. If it was all just someone's Semblance ̶ ̶ rather than her insanity ̶ ̶ that was causing this, it would be a great weight off her mind. "A city?"
Aurora clasped her hands in front of her. "That's a start. The ruins you found, those scant few bricks and pieces of stone are the age-forgotten remnants of that which is all around you. A city, yes. The first city. The first time humanity put down roots and established true civilization. The first time that we were no longer prey for the Grimm. All because of that," she nodded towards the crystal of Dust. "All because of the Aether."
"How do you know this?"
"Think about who you have been fixated on." For the first time Aurora turned away. Her eyes settled on the young boy in dirt-stained clothes that Ruby had seen outside, and an equally young girl in immaculate white. "It's amazing that no matter how many countless years pass, some memories never fade."
"What?" Ruby peered closer, it was just a boy in old dirty clothes. The person she'd been fixated on. "That's… it can't be."
The boy produced a small cake from underneath his tunic. The girl turned her head, her cheeks glowing pink in the light from the Aether. She took the boy's other hand and, with the patter of playful feet, led him off at a run.
"He always used to bring me treats whenever he came to the city. Sweet meats or pastries. I shouldn't have had them, I wasn't allowed. We both risked being thrashed if we were discovered, him more so than me. We thought we were so brave, so clever. Now I see how the sisters turned a blind eye." Aurora smiled as she took in the scene.
Ruby stared at Aurora with freshly opened eyes. "You're one of them." She backed away reflexively. Her hand settling on Crescent Rose in her belt. She'd had an awfully long time to imagine what would happen if Ozpin caught up with her. If he worked out just how close she was to exposing him. He might not have found her out, but, if Cinder was anything to go by, his peers were just as dangerous.
A joyous laugh rang out. "One of them," she stressed the word. "How ominous. How frightening. A tale to scare the children around the campfire. Come everyone, listen to the tale of us and them." She laughed again, before becoming aware of Ruby's animosity to being made a mockery of. "Child, I jest. I swear that I am not here to hurt you. If I was, I wouldn't be telling you all of this." She gestured openly at the room. "As a girl I was a priestess in this very temple. As a boy, Ozpin used to visit me. I am indeed one of them, if that is what you wish to call us."
Ruby wasn't entirely convinced. It was a sign of just how much pressure she'd lived under for the past two years that even someone as seemingly trustworthy as Aurora could not lower her guard. It might have been paranoid, but it was also smart.
"So what do I call you?"
Aurora didn't seem concerned by her stand-off attitude, continuing to face her with a warm smile. "We've had many names over the centuries, but we usually refer to our collective by the first. We are the Pantheon."
"Just how many of you are there?" Ruby had started off just thinking it was Ozpin and Cinder, but then Yang had told her there were more. It was apparent that she'd been chasing an organisation she'd completely underestimated in scope.
"We number seven. You know Ozpin and myself, obviously. I believe you are aware of Cinder, as she has named herself now. There are others. I hope that you will agree to meet some of them soon, but first there is a reason why we have shown you all this. This city. The Aether. Do you know the reason why civilization can be allowed to exist?"
The change in topic was abrupt, almost deliberate. Ruby shook her head. It sounded like a philosophical question. She'd always hated those.
"It can only exist through force of arms. This city was a bastion of culture. Music, art, theatre, thrived here. They were allowed to thrive because we, the people who lived here, were stronger than those who didn't. We were the first to develop Auras, some even developed Semblances. It made us unmatched in warfare. For the first time in history, we did not have to live nomadically. We could fight the Grimm on our terms and drive them back. For the first time in history, we were no longer the prey of the monsters in the night.
"And civilization was allowed to exist, because a hundred years before this point, a tribe saw the tear of a goddess fall from the sky. They followed it, right to this very hilltop. They swore to protect it. So did their descendants, and their descendants. In return it made them strong. A temple was constructed around it. Priests and priestesses spent their lives in silent contemplation of the miracle. It was what had been ordained for me.
"This city flourished, but further afield, tribes continued to fall to the Grimm. The world was not safe, nor was it won. It wouldn't be until all could experience the same miracle.
"As a priestess I knew more than most. I knew tales that were not meant for the majority ears, and I knew what was right. There were those who shared my dream. It was fate which brought us together. Even now I'm sure of it. Seven individuals. Each somehow born with a fledgling Semblance when only the minority were. Combined we could make the impossible reality."
"What did you do?" Ruby breathed.
"What did we do? We shattered the moon."
A/N: So this was a pretty weird chapter, but I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading and please leave a review.
