So, with my Sunday weekly story Arcanum finishing soon I am going to be thinking about whether this will change to the Sunday slot, and thus become a weekly update, or if I'll do another story entirely. I will hopefully be able to tell you before next chapter, but if not then just keep an eye out. If this doesn't update as normal, it may have already been done on a Sunday.

Chapter 3

The huntress wore a friendly smile, the same she had when surrounded by excited villagers in the inn. It was the perfect curve of her lips, the softness of her eyes and the way her head tilted just slightly to one side. She was pretty, he realised. No, beautiful. In a village where all the women were stocky and worn from hard work, her clear, smooth skin shone in the moonlight like a noble princess out one of his mom's fairy tales. It took him a few seconds too many to realise he was staring and tear his gaze away.

"Ah. Um. Sure."

Not his smoothest moment but it felt like everything was slipping away from him of late. Jaune supposed he ought to be grateful the woman was approaching him at all, what with his reputation, but the fact the other huntress had carved into his face dampened that somewhat.

"Thank you. I'm Pyrrha. Your name is… Jaune, right?"

"Yeah. Jaune Arc. I'm a huntsman." He realised the mistake and quickly said, "A hunter. I hunt animals."

"Plenty of people call hunters huntsmen." Her voice softly dispelled any notions of offence. It might be true that men could be called huntsmen, but no woman would dare call herself a huntress. Those were two very different things. "You must know a lot of the land surrounding here, the local terrain and the forests."

"I know more than most, my lady."

"Please, call me Pyrrha. And is that so?"

That didn't feel right at all. This was a huntress – one of the Goddess' chosen. He'd grown up on stories about them, always wanted to meet one. It was a shock to his system that one was actually talking to him. Am I dreaming? Is this all a fantasy?

"I don't mean to boast," he said, "but most of the others don't like to roam too far. There are wolves and bears out there, and trails that you can get lost on. Everyone knows the path to the river nearby, and a meadow next to it for foraging, but only my family knows beyond it. We're the only hunters in Ansel," he added, just in case that sounded too bold.

"It's a small place," she said, "I can well imagine there would only be yourselves. This would hardly be called a village in the eyes of the city."

"Really? It's all I ever grew up with and…" Jaune cringed. "Sorry, I-"

"It's fine." Another kindly smile. "I'm happy to talk. A lot of villages are larger than this, at least fifty houses and a few hundred people. Towns are larger, and you could fit ten thousand of your home in the city with room to spare. To be honest, most people would call Ansel an outpost. Maybe a commune or a hamlet."

Ten thousand times? The number was impossible to imagine. He'd grown up here, around twenty or less other families, twelve houses and an inn. Ansel was tight-knit for the most part, for the parts that didn't involve him, and everyone knew everyone else. How could you get to know over ten thousand people? He didn't think he'd ever remember all the names.

"Have you ever seen Grimm in the forests?" Pyrrha asked.

"What? Grimm!?" Jaune snapped out his thoughts with a startled gasp. "No – never! I mean, my dad showed me tracks once. They might have been from one. Or a big wolf. My dad has trained us and the militia against Grimm, too."

"Has he? Most normal people can't fight them. How do you train for it?"

"Spears. He has us train in groups, keeping apart, poking, never getting close."

"Ahhh." Pyrrha let out a quiet laugh. It was like wind across a lake. "That's probably the only way you could, other than javelins or arrows. He's clever to know that. How did he? Did he have experience with Grimm before?"

Jaune's first instinct was to scoff, and yet he found he couldn't. Dad wasn't exactly cagey about his past, but he hadn't ever brought it up either. He knew Nicholas hadn't been born in Ansel – that wasn't unusual. He wasn't sure his father had ever said where he was born however, or what he'd done. Jaune always assumed he was just a hunter there as well. That didn't quite explain why he knew how to use a spear and sword to spar with them, though.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Dad never brought it up."

"Then it's likely none of my business," Pyrrha said. "I was only curious. The main reason I came out, well, there are two. The first was to apologise for what Cinder did to you."

"Ah." Jaune's cheek twitched, the tell-tale tingle of pain a reminder of the cut. It had stopped bleeding now. "It's nothing. I mean, she gave me a silver for it." Rude or not, that was a generous trade.

Pyrrha smiled again. "I'm glad you understand that was an apology. Cinder is… not the best at talking to people." She laughed again. "She's one of the best huntresses there is, and she's focused on protecting people, but she isn't a people person if you know what I mean."

"Some people are like that, I guess."

"Hmm. We're not all so unapproachable." Pyrrha raised her hand to his cheek. "May I…?"

Unsure and a little curious, he nodded his head. Pyrrha cupped her hand over the cut and closed her eyes. Her lips moved, as if she were murmuring something to herself. He felt a tingle, a surge and then a rush of something streaming into his skin.

He was clad in armour, striding forward with a giant blade. The monster before him, black of skin and covered in segmented white plates, roared its defiance and lunged forward.

He was on a horse. Leather creaked and chainmail rattled. He brought the lance up too late – wood shattered inside his chest and the world swung back, the sky reaching down toward him.

He was on tied to a stake, struggling. A woman tossed a burning torch down before his feet and the fire spread. Smoke clogged his lungs long before his legs began to crackle and burn.

"Ah!" Jaune yanked his face away and staggered back, his breath coming in great, heaving gulps. His body shook, eyes wide and near-bloodshot as his hand reached for something at his waist. Something that was not and never had been there. In its absence, he felt the overpowering urge to wrap his hands around the throat of the witch before him, to dig his thumbs into her windpipe and squeeze.

"Are you okay?" the woman asked. The haze faded, revealing red hair, green eyes and an expression so full of worry that Jaune wasn't sure what to do. "I'm sorry," she said, "I should have warned you what I was doing. I wanted to- no, that was inexcusable." She bowed low from her waist with a hand clasped to her breast. "You have my utmost apologies."

The fear that had been pounding through his system had begun to slow – he wasn't sure where it came from or why. "I…" He swallowed. "What did you do?"

"I used my aura – my magic – to heal you." His hand flew to his cheek. There was a line there still, thin and indented into his skin, but said skin had grown over and it was no longer sore. "It will still scar, I'm sorry for that, but healing the wounds we caused is the least I could do."

"Y…You can heal…?"

"Injuries only. Aura comes with many benefits, making us stronger and faster, hardier and more resilient. Pushed into others, it can improve natural healing but that's all. I sped up your natural healing. I couldn't regrow a limb as that would not happen on its own. I'm sorry again," she said, "I should have let you know. I'm used to people being aware of what we can do. It must have been a shock to feel it happening."

She didn't know. That, more than anything, finally let him wrest his wildly beating heart under control. Those visions – fantasies? Whatever they'd been, they had felt so real. So… so visceral. He thumbed at his chest where he could still feel the impact of the lance, a dull phantom ache. He swore he could still taste the smoke in his throat.

"It…" He swallowed. Better to let her believe it – if the people heard about this, he'd never live it down. Cursed child indeed. "It's fine. I was just… panicked… okay? Can you not tell anyone?"

"I won't. And you shouldn't feel ashamed, you're not the first to find our magics strange. It's different to see it and feel it happening to you. You should tell people I healed you, however. You wouldn't want any more rumours to your name."

That was just a little too pointed to ignore. Jaune could guess where she found out. "They told you, didn't they?"

"Your name came up in the inn. It couldn't not after what happened before. They told me a little about you, about how their parents warned them away." Pyrrha frowned. "That should stop now that Cinder vetted you."

"What exactly did she vet me for? She said I wasn't… possessed… did she really mean? By the Dark Lord?"

"You shouldn't worry about that, Jaune."

"Still, I was accused-"

"Wrongly," she said, and with more than a little heat. "The Dark Lord…" Pyrrha sighed. "You've heard the stories, I assume. How the Dark Lord Ozma sought to bring about the end of the world, serving two Greater Demons in their efforts to destroy Remnant. The Eternity Queen battled him and reigned victorious, but you cannot simply kill a god. Not like that. Though his body was destroyed, his spirit remains. It continues on after death, finding and infecting a new host, tainting their thoughts and taking over their bodies."

Jaune shuddered. He'd heard the stories of course but never in such detail. Was that really what they'd thought he was? I'm not a monster. I'm me. I'm just Jaune.

"The men he takes over are, themselves, victims. They rarely ask for it, though some certainly have tried to make use of his power for their own ends. Despots and tyrants, the vainglorious. The world is not ever truly free of the Dark Lord, which is why the Goddess created our order – the huntresses. Our task is to hunt down the reincarnations and capture them, and also to protect against the Grimm."

"What do you do when you catch them?" he asked.

"They are brought before the Eternity Queen and judged."

"Killed?"

"No." She shook her head. "As I said, killing the body only frees the spirit. It's best to keep the Dark Lord's host alive and in captivity, locked away so that the people are safe, but alive to keep the Dark Lord's spirit prisoner. The Eternity Queen watches over him, protecting us from his vile influence."

"Praise be unto her," Jaune said automatically.

"Praise be unto her," Pyrrha echoed. "The last Dark Lord died after seventy years in imprisonment. He died seventeen years ago."

Seventeen years. His own age. Jaune licked his lips but refused to believe it – he wasn't some maniacal demon god. He wouldn't have put up with the village's nonsense for so long if he was. They're just nightmares. Everyone has nightmares. It's normal. The huntress said I wasn't possessed.

"So, you're looking for his host now?"

"A little of that. We're also looking for increased Grimm presence, since that tends to denote where he can be found. They are drawn to people with aura – and the Dark Lord's host is the only man on Remnant who has it."

Jaune's eyes widened. "Is that what she cut me for?"

"Yes. Cinder was testing to see if you had aura and if it would protect you or speed your healing. If you were Ozma's reincarnation, you would have surely sought to learn and use your aura by now."

That made sense. If it was as powerful a weapon as he'd heard about the huntresses, letting you use magic, then surely the Dark Lord would want to get started on that as soon as possible. "Couldn't she have just cut my finger then?"

"Giving you warning would have defeated the point. Aura can be turned on and off at will." Pyrrha held up her hand, made it glow and then let it fade again. "The Dark Lord would have let the blade cut him if it meant hiding from us, but if she made the attack real, if you thought you were in real danger…"

"He would have protected himself," Jaune finished. Pyrrha nodded. "I get it. She had to make it look real, like my life was in danger, and if I'd been able to block it-"

"With aura, then yes, we would have taken you away. Had you blocked it with your arm, we'd have been mightily impressed but it's not the same thing," she added with another laugh.

He'd had no aura. He didn't even know what aura was before she told him. Jaune let out a long breath and felt his spirits rise. He'd honestly thought for a second – well, that would show him to borrow worry unnecessarily. It was stupid to have even entertained the idea. Him, a Dark Lord? Ha. Dark Lord of poor sleeping habits maybe.

"We weren't overly convinced anyway," Pyrrha continued. "Though a lot of hosts can stay sane for a long time, the Dark Lord's mind is inhuman. You've probably heard of his hosts going mad and causing chaos and destruction. That's what normally happens if they go too long without being captured. If the last lord had died a year ago, we might have believed you to be possessed, but seventeen years is a long time to hold onto your sanity."

"I get it." Now that he was sure himself he was fine, he was able to relax and ask, "Do you tell every random village boy all this?"

Pyrrha laughed again. "Only the ones I feel guilty over my partner attacking without warning." Her smile became a little lopsided. "I wanted to make sure you understood why we did what we did, so that my apology carried more weight."

That was fair – generous even. They were huntresses; they didn't have to explain anything. If they ordered him beaten, the villagers would have started gathering birch branches for it. This, then, was nothing more than kindness, a gesture unneeded but very much appreciated. "Thank you for explaining. I'll make sure my family understands."

"I told your sisters already, and within hearing of several others. I hope the news spreads and spares you any ill-will."

"If it helps my reputation I'll consider that a bonus."

"Ha. Well, there's something else that might," she said. "Another reason for my searching you out. You said you know the land better than most. Cinder and I have been tasked with exploring a cave not too far from here. It is where one of the prior Dark Lords attempted to hide away. Do you know your way to the hills nearby?"

"The footsteps?" he asked. It was the local name given to a range of hills that had formed flat-topped, not unlike steps. They weren't far away at all, and the river that fed not too far from Ansel came from them. The farmers irrigated it to gain access to the fertile soil washed down from those same hills. "I've been there a couple of times. Dad always warned us away from the caves, said there could be bears hibernating inside."

"But you know where they are and could lead us there?"

"Yeah, no problem. They're not ten minutes' trek cross the river."

"Would you be willing to guide us then?" she asked. "You would be well protected with two huntresses at your side. We only wish to visit the caves and check on them, then we will escort you back here and depart. You would be paid another silver for your trouble."

"I'll do it!"

They could have offered him dirt and he would have accepted. An adventure – an honest to goodness adventure. With two huntresses no less. It didn't matter how much the adults didn't trust him, the girls would flock to hear him tell the story of this. Who else in Ansel could say they'd been on a journey with a huntress, let alone two? His parents might flip, but you couldn't be safer than escorted by a pair of huntresses, and it wasn't like he hadn't been to the footsteps before. Now that he knew for sure this Dark Lord business was nothing to do with him, there was no reason to worry.

"I'm glad. Cinder will be pleased as well." Pyrrha drew out another silver coin and pressed it into his palm. "Here, for tomorrow. If you could meet us an hour after the sun rises, we will head out. We will travel on foot. Rest assured we'll make sure you don't run into any trouble. Wolves and bears are no problem for us."

"I'll be there!" he promised. "You won't regret this, I promise."

/-/

"You did what!?" Nicholas roared.

The huntress had told him he needn't worry for bears or wolves, but he might have forgotten the more immediate concern – informing his parents. Juniper had only sighed and shook her head as if she expected no better, but his father… Nicholas was not a happy man.

"It's only to show them the way," Jaune said. "I'll not be in any danger more than what I am when we go hunting. And look-" He set the coin down on the table. "Think of everything we can buy with this!"

"I don't give a rat's arse about coin, Jaune!" Nicholas said, slamming his fist on the table. "I told you to stay out of their sight. Out of trouble. I can't blame you being ratted out by that filth, Tulle, but I thought I raised you smarter than to blindly accept something like this."

"But-"

"But nothing! I've dealt with their kind before – they're trouble, Jaune. Big trouble. Huntresses may think they know best, and they may have our interests at heart, but there isn't a village alive that doesn't struggle with Grimm once they turn up. They're a menace."

Grimm were drawn to aura according to Pyrrha. But that wasn't their fault. It wasn't like they were intentionally causing problems. He would have said that if he thought his father would hear it.

"You're scaring him, Nicholas." his mother said. "Jaune was just being polite, and really, what was he supposed to say to them? No? They need a guide. You know full well any of the girls would have leapt at the chance."

"They better not," he growled.

His sisters all protested their innocence and claimed – lying through their teeth – that they would have known better and would have turned it down. As if. His sisters had been the first to run over and talk to Pyrrha. They'd have killed for the chance.

"What's the big deal?" Jaune asked. "They tested me and said I was fine. They're huntresses. If there are Grimm around then I'm probably safer with them than here. They're heroes."

Nicholas puffed up, and for a moment Jaune thought his father might strike him. He never had outside of sparring, not in seventeen years, but he looked angry enough in that instant for Jaune to doubt a whole life's worth of experience. The fear must have shown on his face because Nicholas suddenly broke eye contact, looked away and forced himself to unclench his muscles.

"You wouldn't understand," he said, voice soft but dangerously firm. "You can't understand, and if I have my way you'll never have to. The world isn't black and white. It's not a fairy tale." He took a deep breath and let it go. "You can't turn the job down now, but I will go in your place. I'll take them to the footsteps and back."

That wasn't fair. This was his chance to see the huntresses in action; they'd sought him out for it. He wanted to spend more time with Pyrrha, see how they fought and have his adventure, even if it was a small, safe one not even a mile out from the village.

Dad is worrying over nothing. I'd barely be out the village and we go that way all the time. It made him think that Pyrrha might have been onto something with his dad having a history before Ansel, something involving Grimm and not a happy one. Jaune understood that he was worried as any father should be, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

"Dad, I-"

"No." Nicholas shook his head. "My mind is made up and as long as you live under my roof, you'll listen to me. You can keep the coin – I don't care for their money." Jaune's head fell, and his hands balled angrily on his knees. Nicholas would not be swayed, however. "When did they say to meet? When are they headed out?"

"Noon." Jaune lied. He'd pay for this, he knew. He'd be in a world of trouble. "They said they'd head out at noon." He stood and pushed away from the table, stomping his way to the ladder leading up to the second floor. "I'm going to bed."

"Jaune-" Nicholas called.

"Let him." Juniper said, catching her husband's arm. Jaune heard her voice even as he climbed up and out of sight. "You can't expect him to be happy if you're going to run roughshod over him. You'd better apologise tomorrow, Nicky."

"It's for his own good."

"I don't care. Nor will he. You will apologise for shouting at him."

"Ahhh." He sighed loudly and relented just as quickly. "I will, I will. After these huntresses are gone. The village will be a safer place once life has returned to normal. Jaune will understand that. He's a smart kid."

/-/

The house was still quiet as the sun crept over the trees and buildings and through the window Jaune had intentionally left open. The rest of the family continued to slumber, as did most of the village, sleeping off their hangovers from the night before. His father wouldn't rise for another three hours at least, and then he would ready a pack for the journey. He might skip that if he realised Jaune was missing, but by then it would be too late.

The floorboards creaked with every step he took, and he dreaded every sound. Trying to sneak only seemed to make it louder. He reached the ladder and slid down with a quiet thump, skipping the creaky rungs, then crept over to the front door where his thick, woollen boots and cloak were hung up off the floor. Tugging them on and tightening his cloak about his shoulders, he picked up his bow and short spear, strapped both to his back and leaned his shoulder against the door, opening it slowly and quietly with his weight.

It was cold out – damp, too. The sun had only just risen, and the autumn air was crisp enough to make it clear winter wasn't far around the corner. The ground was padded stiff and hard underfoot, and Jaune closed the door quietly before walking a little more confidently away from his home. With any luck, mom would rise first but assume he was sleeping in, either in protest for his father's actions or just because he was tired and needed his rest. He was sure she wouldn't think to check until long after they were gone.

Padding down the packed-earth path to the centre of the village, he was surprised to see the two huntresses already up and about. Sadly, Pyrrha was tending to their two horses, or checking to make sure their stableboy had done a good job, which meant it was the far sharper and more intimidating Cinder who saw and greeted him.

"You are the boy Pyrrha has paid to guide us to the caves?"

"Y…Yes. I'm Jaune."

"I am aware. We did meet yesterday." Her eyes roamed to his scar and she said, "That has healed well. Quickly, too."

"Oh. Pyrrha used her magic on it."

"Did she? Would that she had told me." The woman breathed out. She was equally as attractive as Pyrrha, maybe even more so. Her eyes were an exotic golden colour, and her hair was black as a raven's feathers. The light tinkle of her chainmail echoed whenever she moved, sounding almost like light rainfall. "How well do you know the area?"

"I hunt out there for deer. Only my family roams that far."

"That far," she scoffed. "Not even a mile."

He winced. A mile probably wasn't much at all by the standards of a huntress, but it was a lot for them. Merchants travelled as far, and sometimes someone from the village would go out to sell their surplus food, but those would be week-long trips involving wagons and horses. Most of the inhabitants of Ansel had never really seen anywhere outside their village, though their families might have originally come from others.

"You'll have to do," Cinder said. "It is enough you know the path. We will not be riding, so you will walk with Pyrrha and I for your own safety. Do not stray from us and do not chatter unnecessarily. This is important business in the name of the Eternity Queen. Do you understand?"

He did and nodded. This was to find out if the Dark Lord had come near to Ansel, which he very much doubted because that was the kind of thing they'd have heard about it, but he could understand the logic in checking each of the Dark Lord's prior haunts, if only to narrow down the places he could be. Better to be safe than sorry.

And here I am in the middle of it. This is amazing. I can actually say I helped the huntresses in their battle against the Dark Lord. Even in his head it sounded incredible. Enough so to remove any fear of what his dad would say or do once he found out he'd been tricked.

Speaking of. "I'm ready to go now if you are," he offered. The sooner they were gone, the less chance of his father waking up. "The waters tend to be lower in the morning, so we'll have an easier time crossing the river. If… If that's acceptable to you, I mean. I don't mean to rush."

"The sooner we are done here, the sooner we can leave." Cinder said. She raised her voice and called out, "Pyrrha. Come. Your guide is here, and we leave now. Let our mounts be, they will be happy to have the day's rest."

"Yes Cinder." Pyrrha paused to rub the nose of her horse before hurrying over. He noticed she'd attached a small, round shield to her back and a sword at her waist. The lance had remained by her saddlebags, useless off horseback. She smiled on seeing him, her eyes crinkling happily and one hand raising. "Hello Jaune. You're here earlier than expected."

"Ah, well." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I was eager to get started…? This is important business after all. Got to stop the Dark Lord."

Cinder rolled her eyes, likely at the idea some country bumpkin would have anything to offer in that department, but Pyrrha let loose a rich peal of laughter and smiled brighter still. "True. True. Well, I'm ready as well. Shall we be off, Cinder?"

"You're the guide, boy," Cinder said, pushing her bow against his back, giving him a nudge toward the open gates of Ansel and the farmland and wilderness that lay beyond. In the not-too-far distance, the footsteps rose above the trees, stubby hills that dominated the landscape. "Lead on. We shall follow."

I'm wanting to go with a bit of a slow start for this story. A lot of my recent ones have been in medias res but I wanted to deliver a little more world building here before it starts out. Jaune being very reckless here, but to be honest when is he not? Joining Beacon was about as dumb, and for pretty much the same motivations.

Next Chapter: 8th February

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur