The Clans
War leaves scars. Some wars leave few scars, some leave many; some scars cut deep and leave lasting marks, some only scratch the skin. The Great War that ravaged Remnant left its scars. Some, like the huntsman academies, were good and helped bring the world into a new and brighter age; But others, like the Seven Clans, only served as reminders that the darkness wasn't entirely gone.
During the war the clan leaders and been called War Lords with the clan members serving as their armies. Their techniques and fighting style was unmatched by even the strongest warriors of the kingdoms. They profited from the fighting and bloodshed; small towns and villages hiring them to kill Grimm or other small towns and villages. The clans' strength came from their fighting style, preferring their own aura as opposed to the more widely accepted dust. They developed aura techniques so advanced and powerful some called it magic and in a way, they were right. Each clan specialized in a different style but each style was far beyond what the kingdoms were capable of. When the war ended the clans faced a problem; their techniques were thousands of years old, perfected by generations of clan fighters and forgers. They saw how quickly the kingdoms were pushing the war behind them and knew that forgetting the war was the first step toward repeating the centuries of blood and death. So they hid themselves from the new world and became Its shadow- the scar that would remind them of the darkness they were so eager to forget. Their numbers dwindled but their power didn't. But it seemed that not everything is meant to be remembered as decades after the war ended, the clans were wiped out due to a combined attack by all four kingdoms in a show of unity and comradery. Or at least, that's the official story.
Before you learn the truth about how the Seven Clans fell you need to know how the clans worked. The clans used to be a family business but when the war ended very few family members remained. Seven brothers, sisters, and cousins remained to lead a new generation of warriors in the ways of aura and battle. As was clan custom the Seven each chose three titles to serve as generals; the first title took the name of his/her clan's most valued trait (ie. ''the Honor of the First'' ''the Strength of the Fourth'' etc.) and was usually chosen to be the next leader, the second title used to protect their clan from other war lords but after the war served to protect the clans from the kingdoms and any other human threat; finally there were the third titles , nicknamed "Grimm Lords" by their peers, they were the most ferocious warrior of their clan trained specifically for the purpose of defeating elder grimm [author's note: I'm using the term "elder grimm" to refer to grimm like the dragon from vol 3]. These warriors served directly under the leaders and also worked as an internal police force to ensure the clans' secrets never fell into the wrong hands. The clans were a family of outcasts and runaways; they were loyal to the death and incredibly devoted to their purpose as warriors, assassins, and shadows. At least, most of them were.
The youngest of the Seven leaders, leader of the seventh, grew power-hungry and decided to get rid of the other leaders and their followers and start a new clan with himself as the only leader. He sent an anonymous message to the four kingdoms saying that he was an informant for the clans who wanted to turn his life around but the clans were threatening his children leaving him helpless. Along with his pathetic sob story he included the exact location of the clans' base as well as a date when claimed he would poison the Seven leaders, making them unable to fight. Under normal circumstances the kingdoms would have disregarded this Intel as some sort of joke due to its suspicious nature. But the Seventh had planned this just right; the clans had been a serious danger to the peace for decades and with the recent discovery/destruction of the Mantle labor camp, the kingdoms were cocky and itching for some more good publicity. The plans were made. On the day of the attack, the Seventh as well as the other leaders were scheduled for training and went out into the jungle. . . . alone. The Seventh had with him his weapon, which he had modified for a very special occasion. However his First Title, The Knowledge of the Seventh, had caught onto his plan and quickly went to warn the leaders. When he realized they had already left he turned to the other titles for help. He informed them that his mentor had betrayed his kin and that the kingdoms were set to strike that day
The attack was led by the Atlas military with troops from the other kingdoms providing support and reinforcements. There was even a handful of huntsman and Huntresses who joined the fight against the Clans. The kingdoms had a force of over five thousand; the Clans had one hundred and seventeen. The battle lasted for fifteen days and was fought on the harshest of terrain. The clans had the home field advantage and their incredible aura techniques. The kingdoms had the superior numbers and their highly advanced weapons. The Grimm came on the first night, drawn by the grief and anger of battle. The morning of the third day kingdom personnel caused a mass rockslide, killing any remaining clan forces. After six hours of fighting off the grimm, the kingdoms of Remnant declared the Seven Clans destroyed and seven hundred and thirty-two soldiers got to return home and celebrate with family and friends.
But four remained. Four title holders, who had spent the last seventy-two hours fighting bath man and grimm in the harsh jungle, who had depleted every last drop of their aura, who had barely survived remained at the site of the rockslide. There were some at the bottom who were still alive but who were slowly succumbing to their injuries. These who suffered were given an honorable and quick death by the Tittle holders. Two hundred and thirteen graves were dug out. Some contained only pieces and others remained empty save for a weapon or headstone. Two hundred and seventeen warriors and fought a battle for three days straight. Four survivors walked away, into the world whey had sworn to become the shadows of. Only one thought lingered on their minds- the Seventh leader was alive and they were going to find him and they were going to kill him.
Elph sat at her desk, Hans was standing behind her. The two of them were watching the broadcast that had taken over every channel, an elder grimm had emerged in Vale and the Atlesian knights had turned on the huntsmen. She saw the Grimm head for Beacon academy and soon after the feed was cut, the CCT tower must have fallen. She reached under her desk and flipped the switch that connected her house to the backup network Pierre had given her access to. The Northstar emblem appeared on her screen with a box for her to enter a key code. She entered the code and the emblem vanished, replaced with her normal desktop. "What do we do." Asked Hans in that chilling voice of his. Very calmly Elph answered, "We call the others." And picked up her scroll. She sent a message the only two people who had access to the second Network and then placed her hands on the top of her desk. Hans two placed a hand on and the two connected to the Northstar Network's neural interface. They appeared as two green figures in a pitch black room; Elph being a much lighter shade than Hans's deep evergreen. A few seconds later they were joined by a red figure and a golden figure. "Are you alight?" Elph asked the golden one. "I'm fine. I've got a bunker under my shop for situations like this."[author's note: the gold figure speak with a somewhat cockney British accent] He replied. "Will you be leaving Vale?" the red asked him. "oh c'mon Jared you know me better than that. It'll take more than a few little beowulves to scare me off." The gold replied, "Besides we've got more pressing issues at the moment". He turned towards Elph. "Pierre is right, this incident is going to lead to mass chaos and distrust among the kingdoms. Especially towards Atlas." She said, "Now is the perfect time to look for him." "Should we take care of the elder Grimm?" Jared asked. "No need, I was watching the tournament and noticed that one of the competitors had silver eyes. If not her than one of the seasonal maidens will take out the Elder, Beacon's headmaster is an important member of their little circle." Elph responded. Pierre spoke up "That broadcast wasn't a coincidence, someone planned this". "Do you think it's him?" Hand asked. "Unlikely." Jared said, "The Seventh is many things but he's not insane; He wouldn't release an Elder grimm and then have some girl make a speech about it. Besides, the broadcast seemed to point fingers at professor Ozpin and the Seventh has no reason to go after him." "Someone else is playing this game" Pierre said "Someone who had a lot of time to think this through." "None of this matters" Elph stated. The others turned to look at her. She looked back at them. "The White Fang were involved. Do you think this might be connected to what Beta and Eugene asked about a few months ago?" she asked them. Pierre responded, "I found a name to match our lady in red, Cinder Fall. She and two others attacked the Fall maiden a while back, stole a fraction of her power. The guy is Mercury Black, Marcus's son and a high-level assassin. The green-haired one is Emerald Sustri, a former street thief form Mistral. They posed as Haven students to get into the tournament and coerced Roman Torchwick and his partner to aid them in their little escapade." "What matters" Elph said "is that the kingdoms are distracted. Now is the time for him to start planning and setting up without being noticed. This also means that now is our best chance to find him before he causes another massacre." "Elph's right." Jared said, "He won't make a move until he gets to be the only one in the spotlight. He'll use this chaos as a time to plan and prepare for his big comeback." They were all quiet for a few seconds. Then Pierre spoke, "If he is going to make a comeback he'll need manpower and weapons. I'll keep a lookout for any suspicious activity on that front. Although, it will be tricky with the CCT down." "You'll manage." Jared said, "In the meantime I'll look for him on the financial front, see if any new players have appeared on the scene trying to get as much money as they can as quick as possible. He can't expect to hire an army without any money." "Good," said Elph "even without the CCT my influence is still strong. If he does anything on this continent I'll be the first to know." She took a deep breath and looked at the three of them. "We are nearing the endgame. He will wait until the kingdoms are united again, cleaning up the ashes and reopening their schools, before makes his play. We must not let our guard down and let him know we're onto him or he might attack the kingdoms sooner or go underground again. As long as we act cautiously and have patience we can find him and take him down without the kingdoms ever noticing." They nodded in agreement.
Pierre was the first to leave with Jared following soon after. Elph and Hans left the interface and took their hands off the desk. "What now" he asked her. "Now we continue with business as usual." Hans nodded and left the office. Elph turned her chair around to face the large window that covered the wall. On one hand she rested her chin, he other rested upon the hilt of her sword. A storm was brewing over the rocky forest and she listened to the distant rumbling of thunder. As lightning flashes over the trees she couldn't help but smile. Patience she told herself. She wasn't the girl she had been six years ago; now she was twenty-one, a full-fledged adult. She had already dug enough graves to many lifetimes but she could easily dig one more. Elph thought about the Seventh, about plunging her sword through his heart, about ripping his head off, about holding his head under water, about burning him alive. Another flash of lightning cracked through the sky and Elph Westwood smiled. She felt the hilt of her sword; it had bees six years since she had last unsheathed it but her skills had only improved. Every day she had trained with the techniques her master had taught her, both with her blade and her aura. Patience she told herself. She waved her fingers slightly. The stone floor rippled slightly and three thin black tendrils drifted up and formed a small table. The tea set she kept on her desk floated over; the saucer and cup sat on the newly-formed table as the teapot filled the cup then returned to the desk. Elph picked up the cup and took a sip. In a way, people were right when they called the clans' techniques magic, they certainly looked the part. Elph gazed at the storm as it grew stronger and fiercer. They were nearing the endgame. Once this fire died down and kingdoms were working together to sweep away the ashes he would make his move. Once he made his move they would make theirs. Jared would channel his darkness, Pierre would use his weapon instead of enhance it, Hans would show his scar, and Elph would unsheathe her sword after six long years. Enjoy this fire while it lasts she thought to the kingdoms. Because once the flames die out the ashes will be blown away and cover the ground. She smiled and took another sip. Soon she thought after six years of hiding in the light the shadows will rise once more. A bright flash of lightning illuminated the room and for just one split second, one could have seen a green hand clutching the hilt of a sword.
It's true. After six long years of waiting; the shadows will rise.