Armistice Day: UK
At 11am on each Remembrance Sunday a two minute silence is observed at war memorials and other public spaces across the UK. The silence is meant as a tribute to those who lost their lives fighting for their country - but what is the significance of that date and time?
On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 the guns of Europe fell silent. After four years of bitter fighting, The Great War was finally over. The Armistice was signed at 5am in a railway carriage in the Forest of Compiegne, France on November 11, 1918. Six hours later, at 11am, the war ended.
The first Remembrance Day was conducted in 1919 throughout Britain and the Commonwealth. Originally called Armistice Day, it commemorated the end of hostilities the previous year. It came to symbolise the end of the war and provide an opportunity to remember those who had died.
In a letter published in the London Evening News on 8 May 1919, an Australian journalist, Edward George Honey, had proposed a respectful silence to remember those who had given their lives in the First World War. This was brought to the attention of King George V and on 7 November 1919, the King issued a proclamation which called for a two minute silence:
"All locomotion should cease, so that, in perfect stillness, the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the glorious dead."
After the end of the Second World War in 1945 Armistice Day became Remembrance Day to include all those who had fallen in the two World Wars and other conflicts.
Since 1919, on the second Sunday of November, otherwise known as Remembrance Sunday, a two minute silence has been observed at 11am at war memorials, cenotaphs, religious services and shopping centres throughout the country.
The Royal Family, along with leading politicians and religious leaders gather at The Cenotaph in Whitehall, London for a service and all branches of the civilian and military services are represented in ceremonies throughout Britain and the Commonwealth.
I hope we all participated in two minutes of silence to remember those who had risked their lives for their country during World War 1
Chapter 4: Initiation
The Wastelanders stood at the edge of Beacon Cliff admiring the view of the lush forest and valley beneath them. It was completely different to the dry, baron deserts of the Mojave Wasteland and definitely thousands of times better than what was now called 'The Divide'. Even Zion couldn't best what this place had to offer and it was one of the most, if not the most living place on Earth, covered with flowing water and plant life.
Of course, Six had heard of the humbled 'Oasis' in the remainders of DC, a place unusually covered in lush greenery that had once been a mine, but just became another part of the nuclear wasteland after the Great War.
Courier Six stood on the cliff with a Plasma Rifle holstered on his back, the Mysterious Magnum holstered on his waist with a few frag grenades and Chance's Knife in its sheathe on his chestplate, dressed in his usual Elite Riot Gear he had acquired in The Divide.
Joshua Graham stood beside Six in his usual apparel with Six's Survivalist Rifle holstered on his back and A Light In Shining Darkness holstered on his waist along with a few frag grenades.
Ulysses stood on the other side of Six with his usual duster and mask, Red Glare holstered on his back beside Old Glory and his Anti-Material Rifle, the high-powered rifle almost extending its barrel to the floor as it hung on Ulysses' back.
Professor Ozpin stood in front of them, accompanied by a woman who had introduced herself as Glynda Goodwitch.
Welcome, gentlemen, to your initiation," Ozpin spoke, "Your objective is simple, make your way to the northern end of the forest and retrieve a relic from the temple there. Return here with your relic to complete your initiation. We will be airdropping you in the forest seeing as you seem… unprepared for our usual delivery routine."
"Well," Six started, "No complaints here." The other Wastelanders nodded in agreement.
A pilot gave the Wastelanders a quick ride down to the base of the cliff in a transport called a 'Bullhead'. The Bullhead had a striking resemblance to a Vertibird, an Enclave air transport. The only large difference was that Vertibirds used rotor blades to sustain them in the air whilst Bullheads used a similar hovering system that was used in Mister Gutsy's to keep them afloat.
The Wastelanders weren't all too familiar with the Enclave, so they had no troubles boarding the Bullhead.
The ride lasted no more than three minutes and the pilot had graced them with his luck as they hopped off, "Good Luck!"
The trio found themselves in a small clearing when they had jumped off. Their weapons were drawn, ready to fire at anything that moved.
The Emerald Forest was the same luscious olive-green that it had been when the foreigners had arrived. The forest's thick canopy threw the forest floor into a thick darkness at places where not even a single crack of light broke through the canopy. Most of the forest was still dark, but not pitch black due to openings in the canopy.
The group encountered a few dozen Grimm, most were Beowolves with the exception of a couple Ursai, but all were dropped by the Survivalist's Rifle in Joshua Graham's hands, the few who got too close were instantly liquefied by the green gaze of Six's Plasma Rifle whilst Ulysses held Red Glare at the ready.
Six, Graham and Ulysses made it to the northern end of the forest in a matter of minutes, each one accustomed to traveling fast, resulting in a much shorter travel time. They came upon a clearing inhabited by what seemed to be the remains of an ancient temple.
The group approached the temple wearily, guns raised and eyes on alert, scanning every single leaf, stone or piece of dirt for traps, suspicious activity or movement of any kind. Their time in the wastes had taught them that just about anything could lurk around the corner, whether it be a Legion child looking to blow you to bits or a Deathclaw waiting to tear you open and feed your guts to its young.
As they neared the temple, Six started to remember the temple.
"Hey, this is the same temple we passed yesterday, there's even a chess piece here!" He exclaimed
"Think it's the relic?" asked Joshua
"Gotta be," Six said, picking up the chess piece that sat atop a stone podium, much like the others were the previous day, "It's the only thing here."
"We should get back then." Ulysses suggested, they all agreed.
Meanwhile: Beacon Academy Auditorium:
"Yang, why do you think we're all in here?" Ruby asked her sister as more students filed into the auditorium, followed by a few teachers.
"I dunno sis." Was Yang's reply
"Whatever it is, I hope it's worthwhile, we're missing valuable learning time because of this!" Weiss moaned as she sat down next to her partner, followed by Blake who took a seat next to her partner.
The team waited for a couple more minutes as more students filed into the auditorium. The large screen that was once darkened and lifeless had now flickered to life and was projecting the image of three figures in a forest, each dressed in outlandish clothes and armor.
The first of the three individuals was dressed in some sort of heavily armoured duster, armoured plating tied to his body with straps of some kind. His head was covered by a strange helmet with glowing red eyes. The man's armor was unlike anything the students had ever seen before. In his hands was a strange contraption of wires and awkward pieces of metal that looked like it had been thrown together in a few minutes using the frame of a gun to structure it on. Attached to the man's chestplate, along with various types of ammunition, was a sheathed knife. A holstered pistol hung off his hip.
The second individual's head and arms were completely concealed by bandages. His torso was covered by a shirt and a bulletproof vest. Old tattered jeans covered the length of his legs. In his hands was an old looking rifle with wooden grips on the barrel and handle, a wooden stock on the back with the word 'Arrêt' painstakingly scratched into the wood. On his hip was a pistol holster, currently occupied by a fancy looking pistol. A few hand-held explosives were also attached to the man's belt.
The final man was dressed in a sleeveless duster, armor lining the insides as well as his torso beneath his clothing. His mouth was covered by, what looked like, some sort of gas mask or breathing mask. His black hair was styled into dreadlocks and his skin was a darker tone than what most Beacon students were used to seeing. On the back of the man's duster was an unfamiliar symbol or emblem: A star in the center of a blue circle, which, in turn, was lined with several smaller stars on the inner lines of the circle. Five red lines ran the rest of the length down the man's duster, each connected to the circle. Resting on his shoulder was a device that replicated a rocket launcher, bearing the same emblem that the figure had on his back. He supported the rocket launcher with both his hands. On his back was a sniper rifle that nearly stretched his entire body length. Next to it was a long staff that stretched slightly longer than the sniper, a golden eagle perched atop. A small SMG sat on the back of his waist accompanied by a few explosives, some cylindrical, some that resembled a pineapple.
The students (and a few teachers) were completely dumbfounded when they saw the attire and weaponry. They looked like they came from an entirely different world. Each of the figures' armor and weapon choices were completely unseen in Remnant and looked as if they had been thrown together by a scavenger who got their hands on some slightly valuable equipment. All of their equipment looked as if it had been through hell, coated with scratches, dirt and dents.
"Holy crap! That guy is fucking decked!" Yang marvelled at the third figure's impressive stock of weaponry whilst Ruby practically fainted at the sight of the outlandish weaponry. Blake looked impressed and Weiss had her usual scowl covering her face.
The first and second figures took point whilst the third figure followed behind, rockets at the ready. Their first Grimm encounter was with a few stray Beowolves that were delivered two bullets each by the second man's rifle. The group kicked the bodies, confirming the Grimm's death, before venturing deeper into the forest.
Their second Grimm encounter was with an entire pack of Beowolves, their numbers reaching into the twenties. The second man took out at least ten before the Beowolves were within striking distance, although those that were fortunate enough to get so close were instantly melted by the first man's weapon. His rugged rifle fired green blobs that killed Beowolves with ease, even passing through its target and going on to make its mark in a tree or another Grimm. Some of the Beowolves that were hit were liquefied in contact with the glowing green orb. The third man mowed down a couple Beowolves that got too close with his SMG. The figures reloaded their respective weapons and continued onward, moving at jogging speeds, even with their weaponry and armor weighing them down.
Ruby and Yang gawked at the sight of the first figure's weapon, Ruby actually fainting but was quickly awoken by the sound of more gunshots. Blake was busy trying to figure out how the man's gun had turned a Beowolf into a pile of green goo so quickly and easily. Weiss was paying minute, although some, attention to the live video feed, also trying to comprehend the logic of the first figure's weapon.
The auditorium was filled with the occasional 'woot!'s and cheers and the odd chorus of 'OH MY GOD!'s when the three men would use their weapons (mostly just the first one). There would even be the occasional scream from Ruby and a couple other weapon geeks in the school. Although their current display of weaponry was already impressive, every single student and teacher in the room awaited the use of the third figure's rocket launcher.
The trio eventually came across the temple and conversed a short while. To the students, each of their voices sounded AWESOME! The first's voice was slightly muffled and had an almost robotic tone to it, probably a feature of his helmet. The second's voice was also muffled but sounded like the voice of wisdom. His voice was the complete opposite to the violence they were currently displaying. The third and final figure had the voice that sent shivers down your spine as it narrated your favourite horror story or gave you a lethal dose of facts and knowledge.
After a few seconds of talking, the first figure scooped up the only chess piece there (black king) and a wave of green covered it before it vanished into thin air, not a trace of it remaining. A slight aura of fear crossed over the auditorium, but was quickly engulfed by a large wave of confusion. Even the teachers were dumbfounded by this simple feat. Even Ozpin and Goodwitch were questioning where these men had come from.
Ozpin had simply assumed that they were just wanderers who had found their way to Beacon by mistake. He had also assumed that they hadn't been well educated since they had inquired about Grimm and what they were as soon as he had mentioned it. Deep down, he knew there was something off about these people, but he just didn't quite know what that something was. What he witnessed on the large screen in front of him only solidified his concerns and prompted him to ask even more questions than he had originally intended to when he got the chance.
The three set to journey back to the cliff but were stopped by distinct movement and loud rustling in the treeline they were heading for. Without further warning, a Deathstalker burst through the treeline, toppling trees and snapping its claws together looking to make a meal out of the mysterious trio.
The first one shouted, "RADSCORPION!" and the third one raised and aimed his rocket launcher, but was stopped by the first figure.
"This has punched through everything else here; I don't see why it won't melt through this ugly bastard." He raised his rifle and fired, the green blobs flying towards the Deathstalker. The large Grimm's armor strained against the green substance as it struggled to resist against the foreign weaponry. In the end, the green projectiles managed to melt through the armor, but that only enraged the massive Grimm as it charged forth.
The first figure now gave the ok for the third to use his rocket launcher. He raised the large firearm and took aim down the rectangular sight, aiming it dead center of the Deathstalker, where the green substance had managed to penetrate the armor. He fired three times.
Three red circular projectiles shot through the air on a course for the Deathstalker. Upon contact, they erupted into a beautiful display of swirling redness, each one slowing the Deathstalker's advance until the third stopped the large scorpion-like creature dead in its tracks. The Deathstalker lay lifeless, only managing to cover half the distance between the treeline and its would-be dinner.
The third figure didn't bother reloading his rocket launcher after the encounter.
The auditorium fell under a deadly silence after they witnessed the Deathstalker being silenced by the mysterious trio, just short of ten seconds.
"Did I say Radscorpion?" asked the first figure, "I meant Deathstalker…"
"Doesn't matter, old habits." Said the second.
The third remained silent as they retraced their steps to the cliffs, only encountering a couple Ursai and Beowolves on the way. The first one had shouted "YAO GUAI!" when they first encountered an Ursa, but once again corrected his naming error as he did with the Deathstalker.
Needless to say, these bizarre fighters would have a good amount of questions to answer…
Yay fighting...