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Chapter 1: A Glint Within the Dark (Pt 1)

Salem. The name caused rooms to darken and the air to freeze. It brought children to tears and caused even the sternest of soldiers to quake and bear arms. Her name was synonymous with fear, with darkness, and with death.

She was not one to be trifled with and was a creature of cunning. Within her, there was no heart, for it had shriveled and bled dry long ago. There was no sacrifice she would not make to accomplish her goal—to destroy all light that touched their planet.

They knew her. Her drive, her willingness, her motivation. At least, they hoped they did. Therefore, when the witch disappeared, her presence leaving every shadow and her hoard of demons thinning, they knew something was wrong.

Oh, the media painted it as a success for mankind. That hunters and huntresses everywhere had finally dealt a lasting blow to Grimm through their united efforts. But Summer knew better. Ozpin knew better. If the Dark Queen had disappeared, it was for a reason. And both of them doubted it was a good one.

So, a plan was needed. They couldn't be caught unaware, not while Salem was biding her time. No, allow the civilians to celebrate, for the politicians to drink their Atlesian wine, and for the Faunus of Menagerie to indulge in their honeyed brews. They would prepare in the shadows for when the time of jubilation was overtaken by an age of mourning.

Ozpin would ready the troops, prepare the next generation of their protectors, and push to unite the kingdoms. And she? Well, Summer Rose would follow the trails left behind by Salem's soldiers. The silver-eyed huntress would stalk them as they stalked her kin, and she would discover what the witch was up to. Or die trying.

Sadly, for the huntress, the latter was looking more and more likely.

A maroon-haired huntress grasped at her shoulder in frustration. She felt around the joint, carefully prodding it, and wincing as pain blossomed forth once more. Still, Summer was diligent, and she continued to examine her injury.

"Dislocated."

It wasn't shattered, and for that, she thanked the twins. There wasn't an ally nor city within thousands of miles, and she doubted her enemies would provide her the lenience needed to heal. Quickly, the woman diagnosed her other debilitations. Her aura shield had been shattered, and she was down to perhaps 50% of her reserves.

Rest wouldn't be easy to come by, and neither would food. The Grimm had seen her, and so had Salem's scorpion-tailed lackey. They were likely hunting her by now unless whatever they were searching for was simply that much more important than slaying a silver-eyed warrior.

Seeing how she was still alive, that was likely. However, it just made her more intrigued and concerned about just what they were searching for.

With a sigh, she prepared herself for what was needed next. She cut off some excess leather from her stores and folded it before placing it between her teeth. Next, she covered her right palm in aura and steadied her breathing. With a grunt of agony, she felt her shoulder snap back into place, and her aura warm the injury as it assisted in its healing.

She removed the leather before placing it in her back pocket. She might need it again pretty soon. The dull ache of two cauterized bullet wounds prophesized an increased likelihood. The woman then grunted, sitting up as she covered herself with a cloak once more.

A sole silver eye peaked around the corner to witness a mass of Grimm bulldozing the forest before them. Large Nuckelaves snapped through trees big and small, Goliaths reduced boulders to rubble, and King Taijtu dug through the earth, creating a path for others. Summer had never witnessed so many Grimm together before, and she hoped that this would be the last time. But she wouldn't bet on it.

Their odd dredges of order and intelligence spoke of something leading them, likely a certain witch that despised Ozzy. Her eyes then caught something peculiar. Prior to hiding out, the Grimm had moved in a multitude of directions, large in number, of course, but never so condensed as they did now. What once was a wanton slew of destruction was now a controlled, dare she say methodical, march.

It seemed that whatever Salem desired, she had found some hint of its location. Well, all that was left for the huntress was to follow their direction and get there first. Summer felt her aura flash within, rose petals erupting from her form in a flurry of movement. And in the next instant, the huntress was gone, circling around the grim before making her way towards their current objective.

And as she sprinted, mud and grime gave away to marble. Verdant forests were replaced with pale trees dressed in veins and leaves of gold. Black pillars of an unknown stone stretched and clutched at the skies, odd amber runes drifting across their faces.

If Summer hadn't been invested in this endeavor before, she certainly was now. The trek to this continent had been a long and arduous one. She had been given a small boat that ran on dust, some weapons, rations, and means of contact, but they had all been broken or consumed as the mission stretched on. First a week, then a month, now two.

How long had it been since she last heard from her family? From that drunken old crow? From her husband, or even more importantly, her darling daughters? She wondered if they believed her dead now—if Ozzy had told them she had been MIA for nearly a month and a half.

Summer didn't know what she should have expected. Something had covered this place, something old. It didn't allow communication with outsiders and was stalwart in its decision. She was all alone in this place, beautiful though it might be. Suddenly, she vaulted over a ledge and hid away within a dim alley created by two marble blocks.

Her back graced their smooth, engraved stone, and she could feel a slight hum and warmth that met her arrival. Once again, she poked her head out, surveying her surroundings and investigating what made her instincts roar in warning.

The answer to her question was as blunt and brazen as the large hammer that caved in the Deathstalker's skull. Before her was a skirmish in which the one-sided brutality matched that of a lasting war. Everywhere she looked, large suits of armor brought their weapons down upon the invading creatures of the night.

A large shriek pierced the area, causing the huntress to gaze upwards. It seems some form of harpoon or bastille had torn through the left side of a Nevermore, causing its form to erupt in a spray of dreary particles. She certainly didn't want to get hit by that.

No matter how many Grimm arrived, the knights never lost their advantage, constantly butchering the beasts with efficiency and strength rarely seen in the most seasoned of hunters. What stood out, even more was how… perfect they were. Their movements were too unified, rigid, and alien. They were inhuman, robotic even, to her trained, silver eyes.

Summer came to the startling realization that these were no humans, faunus or otherwise. If the golden runes that traced their bodies were anything to go off on, it was likely that they were a type of machine or magical golem. However, that led to another question. Who were their makers?

Her thoughts were disrupted when she nearly lost her footing. A sound then assaulted her ears, one that rumbled like thunder as the earth erupted within the existing battle. An even larger knight had descended from the heavens, a halberd within its hand splitting the earth upon its landing. The bastion let out a nerve-wracking roar as it spun its weapon forward, releasing crescents of golden energy that severed any it cut to ribbons.

It was upon that being's arrival that Summer decided she needed to press forward, and that stealth would be more important now than it ever had been before. The huntress slowly slid along the alabastrine wall until she found an opening. A quick surveyance later, she entered the dark corridor. Within the closed space, she found a menagerie of what seemed to be brass tools. Many were bent, discolored, or destroyed beyond use, but a few pieces of scrap, as well as a small knife, were salvageable.

With her new haul sorted and stored, she leapt through a window-like opening on the far side of the wall. The huntress's quest continued as she took in even more sights and quickly shoved anything of interest within her pockets or backpack. A small pang of grief filled her as she realized she was likely taking from a long-standing archaeological marvel, possibly even akin to desecrating a grave.

However, Summer quickly suppressed such thoughts. She would do and use anything that helped her survive and return to her family. Besides, these pieces could be preserved and studied. The last thing they needed was to hand Salem any other advantages she already didn't have.

So, the woman continued to advance, slipping past marble soldiers and their golden weapons. Observing as some platoons of the golems steadily made their way to battle, and others stood in their stations, weapons in hand. She also observed another thing.

That large harpoon she once saw wasn't a harpoon at all. No, it was instead an arrow the length of her body that one of the soldiers fired from their bows. Said soldiers were nigh 20 feet tall and carried weapons of similar size. Suddenly, Summer didn't feel quite as rushed as before. Salem certainly wasn't going to be breaking these defenses anytime soon, and she'd rather be safe than impaled.

Finally, the woman arrived to the center of the ancient city. At least, she believed it was the center. There was a large temple, likely elevated by hundreds of steps, that sat above every other building within the civilization. Upon each twenty or so steps, two Champions, something she had taken to calling the knights that rose over 20 feet, stood valiantly in waiting. A multitude of archers were posted at various elevations, and a golden light drifted upwards from the center of the structure.

If this highly protected building wasn't of worth, she'd eat her hood.

The question still lay, how did she reach the top without being spotted? The steps were a no go unless she wanted to be pierced or bisected. The sides were much too smooth to climb; she'd be more likely to fall to her death than make it to the top. There was only one way she could think of reaching the peak of the temple, but it'd use up a lot of what remained of her aura.

It was possible that she could use her semblance to leap upwards, right behind the archers located on the ledges that spilled out from the stairs. However, the moment she was detected, it was game over. Even then, how did the knights even detect intruders? Could they detect sound, or was it only sight? Hell, it could have been through some magical form of echolocation for all she knew.

Summer had been able to sneak around the others, but never at such close distances. If she judged this wrong, it had a high risk of being fatal. A loud roar nearly caused her eardrums to burst, shaking the ground to an even greater magnitude than the flying knight had.

The area around her grew darker as her eyes focused on the creature that had made itself known. Its wings were black as pitch, riddled with holes and tears that made it a wonder the beast could stay afloat. Its bust was dressed in pale plates of bone and a writhing red residue. Its mask glinted ominously, reflecting the dwindling dregs of the setting sun.

A shriek of fury resounded through the air once more, and Summer was forced to behold a horrid sight. A beast she had only heard of in tales—a Wyvern.

How had a Grimm as big as it arrived without warning? Where had it come from? Had Salem been hiding it, and did she have more? The witch was pulling out all the stops. For her to unveil such a threat, whatever lay within this temple promised to be of great worth and even greater power.

With that, Summer found her resolve. There was no running, not now. For the sake of mankind, for the sake of her family, she would ensure that Salem never stripped this place of whatever it was the witch desired.

Her eyes glanced back towards the temple, watching as the Champions armed with bows took aim before releasing a volley of brilliant projectiles towards the draconic Grimm. The bolts tore across the sky like lightning, erupting as they hit the beast's form, drawing cries of anger and pain from the monstrosity. If she had a chance to get up the temple, now was the time.

Petals swarmed her form once more, streaking across her body before bursting violently as she vaulted up the side of the pyramid. Her feet touched the grooves of the bleached stone as her eyes rapidly checked to see if she had been noticed. No, she was okay.

Another bound upwards caused the air around her to whistle and her stress to reach new heights. She was thankful that the sounds of battle had increased, or else she might have worried about being caught simply from that.

She landed, surveyed, and hurdled toward the sky once more. Then Summer repeated it, and then she did so again. She kept leaping, each one taking a chunk of her as she began to sweat and wheeze in exertion. 11 times she performed this maneuver until, finally, she reached her destination.

When she landed, she nearly collapsed in exertion until her instincts screamed once more, causing her to perform one last dash, this one angled to hide behind a column. The huntress's heart swelled within her chest as her eyes caught the amber glow of a Champion's visor flick to where she had landed. The light shone upon the reflective rock for what seemed to be hours before slowly returning to its previous focus.

Finally, Summer released a breath and clutched at her still throbbing heart. She hadn't felt this stressed since she asked Taiyang on their first date. The thought of her husband helped her heart calm until the rapid beating ebbed to a more manageable frequency.

She gulped a large breath of air and took stock of her aura once more. Damn, she was down to just under 20%. She had hoped that she would have been left with a bit more to work with, but it seemed that she'd have to make do.

The huntress rose and snuck towards the entrance that lay behind the two Champions before entering with nary a witness. There she felt a comforting warmth greet her earnestly, soaking her bones and wounds as she nearly began to relax. From the constant cold nights and being unable to use a fire lest she wished to be seen, this was a very welcoming change of pace.

She sat down and released a canteen before staring at it dubiously. The silver-eyed warrior wished she had a cup of warm milk instead, but her throat was too parched to care. The woman sipped slowly on the water she had boiled and filtered early in the day, now grateful that she had taken the chance to do so previously.

As she took a breather, her gaze was drawn to the large arch that led deeper into the temple. The entrance was ornate, accented with gilded leaves, and surrounded by torches that lit and heated the stone room. A glimpse of the risen moon could be seen from above, joined only by the beam of light that rose beside it. Two holes flowed what almost looked like molten gold into two paths along the floor—the lack of smell and heat bringing their makeup into question.

With a resigned groan, Summer Rose stood up and prepared herself. She checked her provisions and removed her weapon from her back. Its silver metal almost made it right at home with the marble city she currently resided in. The blade was well-cleaned and sharpened, but there were slight bulges in the metal that came with the extraneous use she was forced to put it through.

She'd have to fix it up. After all, she wanted to eventually pass it on to Ruby. Yep, she could already see the girl's face light up at the thought of wielding the same weapon she had idolized for so long. The huntress then mulled around in further thought. She'd have to figure out what weapon Yang would like. Perhaps gauntlets?

The woman chuckled at that. She could easily imagine Yang beating some bad guys up close and personal. With the weight on her shoulders lessened and her breath once again under her control, she stepped forward. The arches that she had admired passed over her head, and the golden glow that was ever present blazed across the walls and floor.

However, the thing that drew her gaze the most was the near 30-foot-tall behemoth of a knight that glared down at her through its burning visor. Even through the lack of eyes, she could feel its judgment and disdain for her intrusion.

"How long has it been? How long since another heretic dared attempt the King's treasure?"

She should have just stayed in the other room.