Ch. 27 Storytime with Jaune
"So let me get this straight, you went to the teachers for help and the headmaster just… handed you an antique collection of stories he had on hand?"
Ren was visibly surprised. Though considering that he normally didn't show much emotion, it was more accurate to say he was flabbergasted.
Or he showed more emotion than normal, because this was connected to Nora, Jaune couldn't quite tell.
"I think he was just trying to get rid of me honestly. He seemed really busy. Still it's not like I went to the headmaster first, doctor Oobleck sent me. So maybe Ozpin already had an idea of what I was looking for?"
"Okay, I guess that makes sense? So what have you found?"
"A few things, but relevant to Nora? One story in particular. Do you know the story of "The last huntsman?" The notes say it was originally called "The Tale of the last of the Einherjar" and it mentions Valkyries."
"And you think Nora is their descendant?"
"There's a good chance she is, Valkyrie isn't exactly a common name and aura follows bloodlines. There's no way to tell for certain, but things in the story line up pretty well."
=O=O=O=
Long before the age of dust, legends spoke of a place up in the clouds. A place safe from Grimm, protected by those who have fallen in battle and been saved.
This is a story of one such man. A man who was saved from the brink of death. A man who stood against an ancient evil. A man who took a stand for Valhalla.
This is the story of the last huntsman of Valhalla (Note: originally "tale of the last of the Einherjar").
The story starts, as many things do, quite ordinarily. In a settlement no different from any other. Hidden from monsters of the world.
Our hero wasn't born a hero, he was a hunter, responsible for feeding the people of his home. He wielded his spear against the wildlife, not the demons, for he knew he would surely meet his end, should he try.
One winter, after a meagre harvest, he set out to hunt. He paid no heed to the snow, for his family was hungry and he had an obligation to provide for them.
He hunted for several days in the baren snow covered woods when he finally stumbled upon tracks.
This was no animal of prey, they were bear tracks. He cared not for what a bear was doing awake in the winter. It was large. A bear of this size could feed the entire settlement. He had to hunt.
He tracked the beast down to a clearing, but when he did he was met with a grisly sight. Three young women with fiery red hair were fighting the beast, but this was no bear.
Hide darker than the darkest nightmares, face of off-white bone… and glowing eyes red like blood.
This was a monster. And to face a monster is to face certain death.
Yet the women showed no fear. Whether it was bravery or ignorance, the hunter did not know, but when the beast struck one down and was about to deal a finishing blow, the hunter brandished his spear.
It was a foolish endeavour, for he was certain he had just sealed his fate. He fought shortly yet valiantly and when the beast dealt a fatal injury, in his last thoughts he offered a prayer wishing that his family didn't starve.
As his sight faded, his mind was graced by a heavenly song.
"Nam in transitu immortalitatem consequimur. Per hoc exemplum virtutis et gloriae efficiamur, supra omnia emergentes, infiniti in spatio et morte non vincti. Tuam animam libero et per humerum meum te protego."
(Note: Despite the oldest recovered version of this story being in old mantle, this part of the text consistently appears untranslated from its ancient Valean iteration. It appears to be one of the oldest mentions of Aura unlocked by another person through a chant.)
When the hunter next awoke, he was greeted by all three of the women. It had only been a few days and his injuries were gone, yet the women still offered to help him back to his home.
Although the hunter didn't want to return empty handed from his hunt, believing himself to be far too weak to return on his own and fearful of the monsters that may yet lurk in the forest, he agreed.
He came to know the three and found they were sisters, trained from birth to be warriors that could stand against the demons. Yet the journey felt short, shorter than it should have. The man was filled with energy, an unfamiliar flame flowed through his veins and fatigue was denied its hold.
But all was not well, for when he layed his eyes on his home he found naught but death. The monsters had found his home and his family was gone.
Sorrow gripped the hunter's heart. He cursed fate and cursed his misguided prayer.
It was then that the three women offered him to go with them instead. To a place high above the clouds, a place where those who had greeted death once became huntsmen (NOTE: original "Einherjar"), their home, a place called Valhalla.
The man followed the women, but the way was arduous. While his soul now burned bright enough to see, the path was filled with difficulties. The women showed no sign of struggle, but neither did they help. They were patient and knew that the hunter needed to walk the path with his own might.
By the time they reached the bastion in the clouds, the hunter was no more, in his place stood a huntsman (Note: originally "Einheri").
He lived a long life in Valhalla and stood with his fellows in its defence. It had become his home, where he settled with one of the sisters.
Yet disaster struck once more.
The souls that resided in Valhalla shone brighter than any other and this awoke something old beneath the mountains. It was older than the mountains and older than humanity. It was a serpent born in the image of dragons and all it knew was hunger. It has been called many things.
World Eater
Mantle Serpent (NOTE: "Midgard Serpent")
Ouroboros
But the people of Valhalla called it Jörmungandr. (NOTE: while the prefix "Jörmun" generally means big or vast, the word "gandr" has many meanings, notably snake, river, staff and bind.)
The huntresses and huntsmen of Valhalla stood their ground in protection of their home.
But the serpent was unending.
The hunter who once fell to an Ursa stood as an example of tenacity and determination.
But the serpent was unending.
As his fellows fell in battle the hunter stood, as the last of the men.
Next to him stood the three who once saved him from death, by igniting his soul.
And he commanded the huntresses away from Valhalla.
"I'll face the serpent alone. Go! Go to Mantle! Protect what yet remains."
(Note: While "huntresses" is a common modern translation, the original refers specifically to "female heavenly warriors", or "Valkyries" in the original old mantle text. "Mantle" similarly is a common modern translation of the word "Midgard" despite it technically referring to Remnant as a whole rather than just the continent of Mantle)
But the serpent was unending.
It is said that perhaps Valhalla never fell. That perhaps the man still fights in that place in the clouds.
The serpent is unending.
But perhaps so is human determination.
(Note: This ending of the story is notably less popular in its modern iterations, as most versions omit mentioning the serpent as unending, electing instead to alter the story so that the Einheri either sacrifices himself to end the serpent or wins outright. However those endings are only present in modern translations and have not appeared in the old mantle texts.)
=O=O=O=
As Jaune looked up from the book he noted a few people joined their little circle in the library. It wasn't that surprising, nobody was actually studying right now and the few people using the library were mostly playing the board games the library lent out.
Of course Jaune barely recognised any of them. There were a few people whose faces he had seen in class but didn't remember the name of.
But next to his team there sat two people he was familiar with, Blake and Weiss.
"That's all for today folks. You can go back to your board games now."
The small crowd filled with hushed conversation for a time before they all dispersed.
As Jaune waited for the quiet to return, Blake approached him with a small smile on her face.
"I've read the story a few times, but never the annotated version. You make a good storyteller."
"Thanks, I used to read stories to my younger sisters when I was a kid. Barely knew how to read back then, but the older ones dumped the responsibility on me the moment I could."
"So, what prompted this little impromptu storytelling session?"
"Oh, Blake, I don't think we should pry. I may have a pretty good idea, but…"
"It's alright Weiss. Blake's a friend too, I don't mind."
Weiss started explaining before she was interrupted by a smiling Nora. It wasn't one of her usual smiles, this one was softer somehow, less intense.
"Well since Nora doesn't mind. This is a part of an effort to find out about Nora's ancestry."
"And you went with fairy tales?"
"It wasn't our first choice, but when we exhausted other avenues, we asked doctor Oobleck for help. The book is actually the headmaster's."
"So you think the Valkyries…"
"Were the origin of Nora's ancestry? There's a good chance they are. Actually, provided they are, there's a chance that she's descended from the last Einheri as well."
"And that's because?"
"Well the story said he settled down with one of them, but that's just conjecture. Though the Valkyries were described as having fiery red hair, so that's a point in the right direction."
"Look guys, it doesn't really matter."
They all turned to Nora in various states of shock.
"As nice as it is to know I may be descended from those Valkyries, it makes me far happier that you all went out of your way to figure this out for me. You know someone recently pointed out to me that you guys are like a real family to me and that means so much more than some old story."
Ren's heart nearly stopped when he saw her genuine smile. He'd only seen Nora this happy a few times before, but every time he did he fell for her all over again.
He was so out of it, that when the remaining four took some distance from the sitting pair, he didn't react when Nora leaned into him and closed her eyes as she entangled her fingers in his.
=O=O=O=
Team SWNY all sat in a transport back to Beacon. They had a good time at the club, though some more so than others. Yang had a blast, after Junior calmed the initial situation down and she explained things to him she just danced, drank and had fun, despite the Malachite twins sending her dirty looks. As far as she was concerned they were just sore losers.
Sky and Pyrrha had a slightly different experience. Sky, as it turned out, had an abysmally low tolerance to alcohol. So despite only having a few beers he ended up quite sick. Luckily for him, once he was done with his impromptu affair with the toilet, he sat in a relatively quiet corner of the club while Pyrrha looked after him.
Pyrrha didn't mind all that much. She didn't really feel like drinking too much so Sky proved to be a convenient excuse to hide in a corner, not drink and more importantly not be recognised as a celebrity.
Still she thought the night was alright, she enjoyed people watching and drunk people make for adequate entertainment. But in the end she ended up mostly watching the other guy on her team and the dark haired, green eyed girl he danced with.
Speaking of Cardin, he interrupted the quiet ride with a confused exclamation.
"Wait, what the fuck is this?"
"It's a selfie Cardin. What you never seen one?"
"Shut up Yang… when did she take this? I don't remember giving her my scroll."
"Wait, she took this on your scroll?"
"...it's… what? When did she do this?"
"Oooh, she gave you her number? You go dude! Does your girl have a name?"
"Dunow, the contact info is all emojis."
"Eh, it was good while it lasted, but there's obviously something wrong with her. You should let her go."
"I swear Xiao-Long, shut up before you dig yourself any deeper."
"What did I say?"
"Yang, I think the girl was deaf."
"Just mute actually. Wait, how did you know Pyrrha?"
"Saw you two using sign language."
"Wow Car, you know sign?"
"Don't call me Car you're already on thin ice Yang. And yeah, I know just a little bit. Knew someone with a similar condition as a kid."
"Knew?"
"...she died in a house fire along with her whole family."
"Shit, I'm sorry."
"It's fine… we barely knew each other and it's been a long time ago."
"...still I stand by my opinion, emojis are a horrible scourge on the digital space!"
Cardin sighed. He could recognise an attempt at lightening the mood when he saw one.
"...I hate you Yang."
"Love ya too Car."
Cardin didn't respond to the nickname. He had bigger issues on his mind. Such as how the hell did the girl manage to snap a selfie with him, on his scroll, without him noticing. Or how did she put in her contact on his scroll at the same time. And what was her name?!
Though probably the most important dilemma, one that he already knew would haunt him for the foreseeable future. Should he text her?
=O=O=O=
Author's note:
Okay, so I know I teased the relationship between Neo and Cardin last time, but trust me, you haven't seen anything yet.
As for the story as a whole? Well things are kicking off and the festival is around the corner.
On a personal note, I've been roped into working this past weekend. Maintaintanance work has to be done when noone else is actually working and as a consequence I'm damn tired (since I got no rest over the weekend, duh) and still trying to get rid of all the blue paint, there are specks all over my arms and I'm not a fan of drenching myself in paint thinner.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and are looking forward to the next chapter: Ch. 28 Is this a date?
