Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, Assassin's Creed, or The Gamer. The only thing I have even the most tenuous claim to ownership of is my Self Insert/Original Character.

[System Message]

"Speech"

~Scroll Text~

'Thoughts'

{Party Chat}

Lightning Trailer

- Somewhere on the grassy plains of Sanus -

Yahto's Theme: "Thunderbird" - Ryan Taubert

- August 25, 79 PVT (Post Vytal Treaty)-

In a small village surrounded by sturdy wood and concrete walls, a Golden Eagle faunus with black hair mixed with brown and gold feathers prepares for his coming-of-age ceremony. He dons his hide suit, as well as his rawhide-soled boots, and straps his tomahawk/submachine gun mechashift weapons to his waist. As he steps out of his tent, he sees his parents: his father, Lootah, a hawk faunus with black hair and reddish-brown feathers running down his arms and around his eyes, and his mother, Llinos, a finch faunus with green feathers in her black hair. Both were dressed in a similar fashion to their son.

"Yahto, you look so grown up. My baby boy finally becoming a man," Llinos says. "It seems like just yesterday you were a babe screaming in my arms."

"Don't forget about the time that he decided that it was too hot for clothes, and you had to chase him all through the camp trying to get him to put on underwear," Lootah humorously recounted.

"Yes, and you and the other hunters just sat there roaring with laughter instead of doing something useful and trying to catch him for me." She fires back with a huff.

"Mom! Dad! Seriously, guys, cut it out," Yahto cries out slightly desperately before regaining his composure. "I believe it is nearly time to go. We must not keep Yayauhqui waiting any longer than necessary. After all, as you taught me, it is a great offense to waste the medicine man's time."

"Don't worry, we still have some time before we have to go, but you do well to remember our teachings." His father replies, smiling proudly.

"Why are you looking so smug? I taught him manners and tradition. You were only in charge of making sure he could survive the wilds and the grimm within them," His mother shot back, though she too bore a proud smile.

"And seeing as he has returned from his wandering year, I have done a brilliant job of it." Lootah says his proud expression did not waver for an instant.

"Let's just go," Yahto says, seemingly giving up on his parents ceasing their embarrassing conversation in time for their departure.

With Yahto leading the way, the group of three travels to the oldest building in the village. It's a small, wooden structure made to look especially ancient when compared to the more modern structures that made up the rest of the village. As they draw up to the door, Lootah steps forward before knocking softly on the door and calling out

"Yayauhqui, we're here."

The door creaks open with the sound of rusty hinges to reveal a stooped old raven faunus with beady black eyes and a head of shiny feathers that, though black as the night, give off flashes of green, blue, and purple light as they glint in the light of the setting sun. He beckons the small family inside before shutting the door and having them sit down around the small fire in the center of the room.

"You're just in time," The medicine man's croaking voice broke the silence that had fallen over the room. "The ayahuasca has just finished brewing. And with my Semblance to help it along, you should have no problem contacting your patron and unlocking your Semblance."

"Patron?" Yahto inquires, perplexed by the old man's statement. "And what exactly is your Semblance? If you don't mind me asking."

"Ah yes, I suppose you would be curious about that. After all, we don't exactly talk about the patronage ritual now, do we?" The Elder gives off a cackling laugh at his own statement. "I'll start with your second question, as that is the simpler one to answer. My Semblance allows me to increase the effectiveness of medicines, or more accurately, trick your body into thinking the drug is stronger than it really is. Now the patronage ritual is a bit more complex. The world contains not just Man, Faunus, and Grimm but immortal Spirits that embody the forces of nature. Our tribe, for centuries, has unlocked our Semblances through the patronage ritual by communing with those Spirits. Many of these Spirits will have forms similar to those they give their patronage to. Such as The spirit of the trickster Raven that appeared to me or the spirit of Cetan the Hawk that appeared to your father and gave him his Semblance of The Navigator."

The boy turns to his father at this point, who answers the unasked question. "It aids me in the tracking of game and helps me always reach my destination with ease."

"Yes, yes, a very useful semblance for one of our hunters to have, wouldn't you say?" The Elder continues, unfazed by the interruption. "And then there are those who have a much looser tie to their patron, like your mother and her patron, the Rainbird, who gave her her Semblance of Rainy Season. I'm sure you've seen her bring clouds to water the fields during the dry spells. There have even been cases, though rare, of a spirit appearing in a form fundamentally different from the one they give their patronage to. In fact, my mentor was a snake faunus whose patron was Camazotz, the bat spirit; his semblance allowed him to know how best to either prevent or accelerate the death of an individual. Which, as you might guess, made him quite effective as both a warrior and a medicine man."

"Now then, let us begin." The elder declares after a moment of seemingly being lost in his own thoughts. He hands the boy a cup of a steaming herbal mixture. "Drink, drink; it will taste better while it is warm."

As the boy drinks, the elder's Aura flares, and he begins chanting in an ancient language. The boy starts swaying in time with the chanting as the tincture has its effect.

- Yahto's POV -

The boy opens his eyes and sees a massive bank of dark, angry clouds beneath his feet. The boy panics momentarily at the thought that he might soon fall when suddenly a great bird bursts through the clouds to stop in front of him. As it flaps its mighty wings to stay aloft, Yahto sees lightning crackling between its feathers and down into the clouds from its wings and tail feathers.

As the boy stares up at the Spirit, its beak opens, and it begins to speak in a voice of thunder and lightning and the storms they rage within. "̶̭̗͗̌Ỵ̴̗̬͐ā̴̭̈́̆ḧ̷́͜͠ͅṱ̷̡̳͗o̵̙͉͝,̸͕̚ ̵̹͖͋̚I̴̫̳͆̍͠ ̷͍̭̓͆a̴̬̍̿͋m̴̛͍͛͌ ̴̟͎͐͋͝t̷̢̥̿̂h̷̰̜̓͌͝ë̸̗́̈́ ̶̖̔̅T̶͚̭͓́̅͝ĥ̸͉͉̚u̷͕͈͆n̵̟̬̄̓d̵̲̺̏͝ẻ̶̪̪͔̆r̸̭̹̓b̷̪̃i̷̦͖̞̓̆̔r̶̩̒͝͠d̷͓̭̾͋.̸̙͇̕ ̵͔̟̒̇I̴͓̗̍͝f̴̰̪͂̈͘͜ ̶̫̳͑ͅỳ̷̤̌͑ò̷̼̑ũ̶̯ ̷̥́͐́a̴̯̜͋͛̈́c̴̡͛c̸̖͖͚͑͒e̵̹͕̲͗p̵͉̥̂̿t̷̢̓ ̶̠̈́̈́͜͠m̴̪͙̈́y̷͈͇̿͋ ̴̨͖̿̕p̷̫̻̋a̴̤̰̎͛͘ţ̴̳̘̐r̵̬͝ͅo̷̓͋́ͅn̶̫̫̋͂̆a̷̭̫̐͜͝g̵̳̤̫̍͋͛ë̶̢́͋͌͜,̵̭̈́̈́́ ̷͖̠͂̿͂y̷̜̜͇̾̃̕ō̴̥̝̿̊u̵̼̤͉̔̍̉r̶͈̖̣̊͂̈́ ̵͉̫̀̑Ś̷͇̙̭͛ẽ̷̢̬̺m̵̤̂̚b̵̨̗̻̀̀͘l̶̦̿á̷̻̭͇̄n̷̤̋͑c̸̬̭͔̑͛̿ë̶͚́ ̷̤͈̖̒w̷̹̙̙͛̏͗i̴̫͖͖͝l̵̏̃ͅl̷̨̩͙͂ ̴̌̕ͅĉ̷̻̙̑͝a̸̛̩̪͊͜r̴̢͍͍̋͠r̸̗̩̔̚ỵ̵̚ ̵̨̂m̴̞̪̈́̏y̶̭̠̑ ̸̫̦̑̇̎n̵̻͔̄̇͝ͅa̸͖̋̅m̶̱̗̞͐e̵̥͂̑̃.̷̩͛ ̸͓̃D̷͇̩̠̾̈o̴͇͚̦͌̐ ̵̛͙̖͔̾̅ỳ̵̙̞͍́ö̵̮͙̠u̵͚͌͘ ̷̩͎͎̆̏̌a̴̧̖͆͆̇ć̷̮͒c̶̣̽ë̸̦́͂͝p̶̧̹̭̑ẗ̶̼͙͉́̏͘,̵͈̖̏́͗ ̵̙̰͖͂k̸̨̬͖̍̄n̵̹̝͗ͅo̵̪̣̺̔̿w̴̤̘̍̏͛i̴̖̒̿͝ṅ̸̛̬͗g̶͓̳̙̍ ̵͔̫̑̿t̵̻͒̾̔h̷̻͙̪́à̷̖̹̖t̵̫͆͑͝ ̷̀̑̌͜i̶͈̻̍͌f̴̛͌͜͠ ̸̧̭̍͂y̷͇͇̕ó̵͔̀u̷̱̩̖͐̎̓ ̸̱̲͖̈́̽d̶̨͈̙̾̑ǫ̸͒,̷̣̼͘͝ ̵̨̫͉͛̍y̸͕̭̺͑o̶̬͖̿̄̚ǘ̶͔ṙ̴̻̝̫ ̶̼̀́l̵͈̠̣͐̆ĭ̵̧̫̕f̷̜̉́̆ḙ̷͈̀́ ̸̗̭̐w̵̬̬̥͒̈͘ȋ̵̦̙̲̇l̸̟͐̔ḽ̸͈̗̔̍͋ ̴̙̳̓̍b̸̨́̕é̶̳̝̱̀ ̷̪̦̍̄s̶̟̙̓̾͝i̶̳͆m̶͉̠̤͊͊p̵̬͎̐l̴͓̼̎͜ĕ̷̤̇̕ ̵̙̱͖́n̴̗̳̝̍̍o̶̡͚͒ ̸̣̙̐͋ḿ̵̳̈͐õ̴̖̍r̵̫̗̅̆͜e̸̞͈̱͂̋̐,̷̩͖͙̔͠ ̷̡̣̳͛͂̽t̷͇͔̭̽h̶̭̿o̶̻̻͊u̸̻͆́̈g̵̨͚̜̔͛h̵̡̘̬̀̈́ ̵̢̢̉̇͒t̵̤͖͙̄ḧ̵̘́͠ẻ̷͖̽ ̷̛̜͉̑́r̴̮͚͋̇è̷͈̋͗w̴̭͒ȧ̷͙̻̀̊r̷̼̱̆̉̉d̴̨̞̦̕͝ș̸̛̩ ̸͎̲͗̉w̴̪͙͐̈́̕i̷̠͊l̵̫̎l̷͕̆ ̴̘̤͛̊b̷͎͕͊e̴̡͍͗́͜ ̴̢̮͇̎͠a̶̫͗͑̀s̵̥̯͍͠ ̸̝̆͆͘g̵̮̮̕ṛ̷̕e̵̠̽̈́ȃ̷͍t̶̞̓ ̶͈̹̽ā̷̡̚ͅs̸̖̫̎̉̅ ̵̧̦̣̿̅͌t̸̟̟̬̍̂h̸͇̻̰͐̇ę̵͕̾̋͘ ̸̘͎̞͌ṯ̶͈̀̍͌ŕ̵̛̝i̸̬̋a̵̺͛l̸̝̉̐͊s̶͇̼̥̐?̶̭̆̋̔"

The boy goes to speak but hesitates a moment before finally answering with a sure voice. "I will accept your patronage. I have never desired to take the easy road in life. Why start now?"

"G̷̠̯͝ǒ̷̳̀o̸̳͈̼͋͘d̸̦̿,̶͉̪̽ ̸̨̫̎g̸͙̺̅̾͑͜o̴̙̓͠͠ô̴̺̺̣̅d̵̮̞́̇̕;̴̹̜̠͂͋̚ ̵̙̑I̷͇͆̿ ̵̨͖̳́h̴͍̥̎́͘a̵͉̞̒̆v̷̪̩̄̏͂e̸̠͊͊ ̶̭̗̯̑̆͝č̷̫͜ͅh̶̻̥̍͊o̴͔̻͆̐̇ŝ̶̬̘̫e̸̳̣͌̚͜n̶̯̭͕̔ ̵̱͕͐̚w̶͚̙̗̉ȩ̸̼͌l̵͈̠̐͐̋l̸̦̺̱̾̽,̸͖͗̚ ̷͉͖̂͛͝i̶͇̪̊̒͊t̵͖̄ ̴̲̕ṡ̵͕̅e̵̲̅͗̒è̷̩́m̷̹̋͝s̷͚͚̾̕.̶̗̈͗ ̵͍͌̚T̷̠̿h̶͚̭̒͐o̵̤̯͖͊u̷̖̓g̷̰̿h̴̳̀̇ ̷͙̍͝y̵͔̼͑̾ó̸͉̉̚ú̷̘r̷̬̈́̔͛ ̵̟̿̑s̴̟͎̫̀u̴̜͉͊́c̴͍̠͑͗̊ć̸̠̺̤͂e̵̟̥͆s̵̫̥͛̑͂s̵̫̾̚͝ ̴̦͋̓͠ò̵̡͎͑r̸̝̠̤͋͐ ̷̧̹̿̊͌f̵̞̻̲̎̍̌ã̵̺͍̚į̷̖̇͠ļ̴͉̙͐ư̵͙͙̮r̵̼͛̈́e̸͎̮̒͝ ̶͎͋̉͘ẘ̸̝̬́ͅi̶̦̝̋̅l̸̠̀ḽ̸̑͛̕ ̵̣̇͒̽b̴̢͑̽̍ë̶̠̪̿ ̴̼̤́e̷̘͗ͅṅ̸̙̞̗͗̍t̷̜̳̓͜ȋ̷̡̱͐ͅŕ̷͔̟͋e̵̫̟̗͛l̶͇͐ỹ̶̢̮͕͆ ̶̯̺̭͑͌ū̶̜͕̉͠p̵̜͍̩̒͗̊ ̶̫̹͌̈́ț̸̻̒o̴̡͙̰͌́͆ ̸͇͕̓̏͜y̵̦̯̎̽ỏ̵̗̥̀u̸͈͈͂̅̈,̸̘͓̌̀" The Spirit remarks. "̵̦̬̎Y̸̩̱͌̿a̷͔͈͘h̵͔̏͑t̵̗̘̐̃͜o̷̧̧̞͝,̷͓̋̾́ͅ ̷̨͉̱͗̑̑y̷͓̑͊͆ő̴͍̈̓u̶̠̬̔͜ ̸̡́̇͆w̵̲͎͎̓͆i̷̥̊̐͑l̴̻͓̬̔͗l̷̙̀̑ ̴̫̠̗͆͐̕b̴̛͖̈́̒ë̶̡́͊̔ ̵͈̮͂̐o̶̗̒̀̕ň̷̬̞̽͠ē̵͍͒ ̴̲̼̱̏͋ŏ̶͉̰̥̅̕f̵̺̪̌͑͝ ̷̣͓̃̇m̵̹̽͂y̵̲̾̚ ̵̰̭̟̾͝͝ḽ̶̂̃̚͜ͅì̸͔͉̈́̆g̴̬̫̓̂h̴̠̀t̶͖̩͆̅n̶͉̖͝ͅi̷̮͠n̴̬͍̍g̶̢̀̕͜ ̴̡̀b̷̯͚̆ó̵̮͋̕ľ̴̞̖̼́̈t̵̛͇̩͋͆s̵̨̢̙̾̀͘.̸̤̝̰̐̈́̏ ̶̡͎̘̎̉̐C̶̛̱͆ä̵͈̯̲́́r̷̛̗͇̓͋͜r̷̢̛͔͌y̴̝̐̿í̴̡͍̝͘n̵̢̍͊g̶͉͊̍̎ ̷̰̲̈̀͝o̸̙̥̯͑́ů̷̲̤ẗ̴͍́͠ ̷̤͕̱̂͐͝m̷̗̓̓y̶̫͓̟͌́̚ ̸͔̙̳͠ẅ̷̧͕͍́ĩ̴̠̝̹ĺ̴̞l̶͕̀͘ ̶̡̪̱́͌͊t̷̟͈̀͜ọ̴͍̥̏ ̴̻̀̃̾ḑ̷̨̥͐ë̷̘͋s̶̞̼͕̊͌ṯ̴̹̀r̵̩̩͛̄̅͜o̷̫̰̠̿y̸̡̲̪̔̓̓ ̷͖͈̰̓̊ẗ̶̪̮̘́̓͑h̶̼̗͉́͂e̶͐͆̒͜ ̴̞̬̌̀c̸̦̍͝ŕ̸͇̿e̴̢͎͑͜a̷̛̹̗̓̚t̸̲̝̝̒̐ư̵̧̥̜̒͠r̴̬͓͕̄̋̂e̸̙̲̦̒s̸͍̾̿̐ ̵̧̼̇ö̴̞̥f̵̫̼́̓͝ ̷͕́d̵̙͗a̴̟͖͚̎͆̅r̷͍̗̐k̸̩̽ń̴͈̻̌̍e̴̥̭̿s̵̡̰͖̈́s̷̠̈́̏̈.̴̝́͂̃ ̸̱̀̄Ÿ̸̥̙͍́̊́o̵͇͔̱͆́͊ú̸͙̫ͅ ̴̡̹̬̒̀ẅ̶͖́i̴̧̝̓l̸̝͒̇̔l̵̝̟͖̄͌͝ ̸̮̙̏b̸͇̟̾͠e̴̝̊͠͝ ̵̦̀͛̇a̴̪͖̅̏̅ ̸̢͉̈h̸͍̪̅̈́̃ǘ̶̺̂͝n̸̞̑ț̶̥̓͆s̶̞̮̠̏̃͝m̸̞̺̳̿͐ą̶͓͐̀̕ṉ̴̮̉̈́.̵̞͕̤̍̽̈́ ̶̙͎͐̊͜S̷̼͎̓͋è̴̞̱ĕ̶͖k̵̟̦̟͊͌͠ ̸̢̈́ỏ̸̯u̴̯̅͋t̶̢̀ ̶̨̺͍̈́̄̕ţ̷̖͌͑h̶̛͙̣̠̽e̸̙̫̿ ̴̢̎͘o̸̡͖̍͘͜l̵̫̆̂̇ď̷̠̃ ̷̗͖̊̓m̶͙̼͝ą̵̖̕n̸͙͍͑̔̈́ ̴̙̝̈́i̶̜̓̏n̷̛̺̟ ̶̳̪̍t̸͖͈̮͆h̶͓͕̐͜͝e̶͎͎̿̓͝ ̵͓͋͆̋t̶͖̖͐̍͘o̷͔̦̍̕͝ͅw̵̱̋̌͝e̶͓̪̐͛͌ͅr̴̘̫̯̒ ̵̧̫̘̐̚a̶͚̦̺͛t̷̹̼̑̑ ̵͍̯̀̀Ḅ̷̖͂̚͝e̷̝̘̭̾̏̄a̸̛̖͑̄c̸̨̥̹̓̒̓ǒ̷̡͠n̵̞͓͖̚"

As the Spirit finishes speaking, one of its lightning bolts strikes the boy and his world turns black once more.

- General POV -

The boy opens his eyes once more to see the beady black eyes of the Elder staring directly back at him.

"Well Young Man," The Elder begins, "What has been revealed to you?"

The Young Man, still slightly dazed by the vision he had just witnessed, manages only the quite eloquent utterment of, "Wuh?"

"Your patron, Yahto, and your semblance," The Mother murmurs soothingly, noticing her son's disorientation.

"Oh, right," The Young Man mumbles, shaking the last of the fog from his mind. "The answer is the same for both, Thunderbird. They said that I would be one of their thunderbolts, destroying the creatures of darkness as a huntsman. They also mentioned something about an old man in a tower at Beacon. Does that last bit mean something to any of you?"

He glances up and sees a shocked expression on the Elder's face.

"That would explain the eyes and the hair," The Elder mutters, seemingly to himself. "After all this time, a new thunderbolt has been chosen from our clan. Hmm… hmm… It seems, Young Man, that your life will be one led apart from the clan for some years to come. Yes, so it seems. The Old Man in the Tower can really only mean one thing, especially if they're at Beacon. Professor Ozpin, it seems we will finally have a use for this after all."

The Elder draws from a chest a metal tablet with an image of two twin axes engraved on its surface. Faded green paint can be seen within the grooves that make up the axes.

"We haven't needed to use one of these in quite some time." The Elder states as he hands it to Yahto. "Bring that to Beacon and it will get you into Initiation; now passing that as well as your classes will be up to you, but that will get your foot in the door, so to speak. You'll need some Lien in order to get a scroll and other necessities once you get to Vale, but the rest will be up to you. Good luck on your journey; the Grimm can be very aggressive between here and Vale, so you would do well to be on your way soon. We don't want to be battling winter along with the Grimm, now do we?"

"How do I find Vale? And what was that about my eyes and hair?" Yahto asked The Elder and his parents.

"For your first question, that tablet opens up into a map of the best route for you to take. And as for your second question, best take a look for yourself." The Elder replies while handing the Young Man a small hand mirror.

As Yahto reaches for the mirror, he notices black marks of branching lightning contrasting with his sun-kissed skin. He rolls up both his sleeves and sees the markings covering both of his forearms. He takes the mirror and looks at his hair and eyes. His eyes, once black like most of the people in his tribe, are now streaked with blue lightning patterns, and his hair now has streaks of blue in it that seem to crackle slightly.

"Whoa, that's kinda awesome." Yahto mutters, admiring the changes wrought by the spirit of the Thunderbird, before shaking himself out of his temporary daze and turning back to the Elder. "When do you think I should leave?"

"Within the week to be safe." The Elder replies succinctly. "Term doesn't Start 'til April, but it's better to get to Vale before the snow sets in, and you'll be able to catch up on any subjects we don't teach here."

"He will be ready to leave in four days," Lootah states before turning to address his son. "We will give you what Lien we can spare and enough provisions to tide you over any desolate areas."

"The spring trade caravans can bring us any letters you write, so don't forget to keep in touch." Llinos instructs her son.

"Of course, mother," the Young Man replies. "I will go and begin my preparations for the journey."

Oh, Leave your jacket in my room, and I'll bead on your patron's symbol." the Mother offers.

Thank you, Mother, I will do that." Yahto replies before hurrying off to start his preparations for the long journey.

- Four days later -

The young man takes one last look at his home before setting off into the wilds with nothing but his pack and his weapons.

"Beacon, here I come," He mutters softly as he sets off on the journey that will change his life forever.

AN: If I offended anyone, I apologize. This was not truly meant to be a direct analog to Native American culture but merely a more spiritually focused people within the world of Remnant. The most prominent thing that comes to mind for me when I think of spiritually focused people is Native American tribal culture, so that was the main influence, but this was not intended to be offensive in any way. If I have put anything in here that any individual or group would find racist, please let me know, and I will do my best to change it within the bounds of the story. But be aware that some of these things were my attempts to establish a background culture for this village. Though they may have been influenced by stereotypes or glimmers of culture, Constructive Reviews are always welcome.