"Hey i have a question!"

"That's rare. You usually just sit and listen."

"Is that a problem?"

"Well I had begun to think that you weren't actually paying attention."

"Don't be a butt."

"Excuse me...??"

"A-anyway! The big four Affinitys, what do they... do exactly?"

"Are they not pretty self explanatory?"

"N-no like... can you give me an example?"

"Oh... very well I suppose. Let's start with-"

"Silver!"

"Of course... The Silver Affinity, or Technical Magic if you want it's proper title, allows the user to better utilise Enchantments, Curses, Rituals, and of course all of their subsidiaries."

"Like making magic items and structures and stuff. I know that, but like... what's the difference between someone with and without it?"

"Well, you yourself are a good example."

"What do you mean?'

"You walk around with multiple Legendary tier Magic items... have you ever even seen any other Legendary tier items?"

"I...! Huh... I... I guess not."

"Not to mention the Dragon Formula..."

"Ok I get it, I get it... what about Bronze?"

"The difference between a Summoner with and without Bronze eyes is similar to the difference between a Human monarch and Queen ant."

"Wha...?"

"I forget how young you are..."

"I'm twenty!!"

"And I'm-... you almost got me."

"Hehe."

"Getting back on topic. If you must have an example... imagine two scenarios, a summoner attempting to make a contract with a creature. Exaclty the same circumstances except one had Bronze eyes. Without the Affinity, the person might be able to convince a low Fae or some other weak creature to assist them without aid... but with Bronze eyes? Well, there have been reports of people recruiting Devils into their service without payment."

"Wow... how does that work...?"

"In the same way the type of magic simply speaks to the user of any given Affinity, allowing the user to simply understand them. A Bronze Affinity user will often find themselves incredibly talented when it comes to forging pacts and bargaining with creatures... also the eyes make summoning itself easier and less mana consuming."

"Speaking of mana-!"

"Yes, yes... Platinum eyes, like my own. Simply put it makes the user incredibly talented at manipulating mana. If we were to cast the same spell, even excluding our skill levels in the area, my spell would cost a fraction of the mana of your own."

"Awesome! So you can like... throw out heaps of high level spells constantly right?"

"No. That would be more akin to Gold eyes."

"What do you mean?"

"While the mana costs of my spells are incredibly low, no magic of any type speaks to me naturally well. Gold eyed individuals can find themselves able to use much higher level spells without the need of incantations or hand signs. Spells themselves simply speak to them... and it allows for the strongest variation of spellcasting."

"What's that?"

"There are three main types of spellcasters. The first are Wizards that fight using trickery, firing off low level spells without a care and combining their effects in order to achieve greater results. The second type are the Wizards who simply use all of the powerful spells only. The difference between them would be the difference between casting a large fireball, or somehow coating the field in an oil like substance and then using a small spark."

"And what about the third type? The one that needs Gold eyes?"

"Oh... that one? It's simple really... they use the trickery and spell combination of the first type, but with the enormous spells of the second."

Weiss Schnee

It didn't take a genius to realise this wasn't looking good.

Weiss had only caught brief glimpses of truly high tiered spells up until now, but the aura Carmine was giving off was something else entirely. Like the difference between a single powerful gust of wind, and staring down a tornado. People who simply could use high level spells were completely different from people who mainly used high level spells... Qrow, Pyrrha, even Nora as it seemed... they all used weapons mainly as far as Weiss could tell. Carmine however? She was a true Wizard.

The arena crackled with mana and rampart spells, the feeling coming from them all less a discernible list Weiss could read, and more like trying to follow each individual strand in a jacket from a distance. It was too much information to try and discern or understand all at once, and it felt random to look at... yet that randomness held an undercurrent, Weiss understood that it all had purpose and all fit together just as much as she understood that as far as her own magic capabilities were concerned... it was impossible.

"Ruby..."

Even with the full scale of the Rose Dragon towering over the tiny figure of Carmine from such a distance, the Wizard still struck a more intimidating presence backlit by a storm and what appeared to be mountainous formations raising from behind her. Being a Pheonix gave her a primary mana pool just smaller than a Dragon's, and of course the Secondary pool from her title was about equal with Ruby and Weiss's own... that logically left Ruby with the edge in every category. Mana, physical strength, magic items, defense, speed... Ruby held the higher stat's in every category... baring the one that apparently mattered most. Experience.

"If this fight was happening... say, sixty years from now... I don't believe Carmine would be able to win... and yet..."

For once youth was a detriment.

And as much as Weiss wanted to place all the blame for how poor this situation looked for her wife onto that... she couldn't. In truth there was something else she had noticed lately... another thing that could be drastically affecting the state of the dynamic between them. Ruby's 'secret power' as she liked to call it... Pride. Weiss was no fool of course, even from the brief descriptions she'd gotten about it she could understand how potent and useful an ability it was. But no matter the circumstances, it was impossible to rush obtaining self confidence, Ruby may believe in herself artificially thanks to that power... but how was one supposed to measure how much confidence was right if they had rarely felt it?

Of course she'd noticed the signs... the difference in personality here and there, the way she talked or was much quicker to get aggressive... Weiss hadn't pointed it out yet because as selfish as it was of her, it made her feel safe. Especially surrounded by all these people she didn't trust. Knowing Ruby would always be able to simply act when necessary made Weiss feel her life... and more importantly the life she was carrying, safe.

"But that's a mistake... i miss the real you... the goofball... the silly girl I fell in love with..."

Growing and maturing was a natural part of life... but not this quickly. Not with the influence of some outside force. Ruby had chosen to use her power to make herself this way... and in a way...?

That was scarier to Weiss then when Rory had taken her over... at least that had a cure...

But if Ruby wanted to be someone else...? What cure was there for that?

Ruby Schnee

Mana.

That was the only way she could describe this sensation. She was surrounded on all sides by mana and spells that she couldn't read even if she had time. The aura coming off it all made her want to think about it, to try and attach a description or word to it all...

But the only thing she could think, was "Mana." It was like being at the bottom of the sea, drowning in an ocean too deep to see the light of the sun... and the only word coming to mind about your situation being "Water." She had to try her best to ignore the screaming of her soul, the feeling being akin to having someone scratch thousands of chalkboards all at once. Instead she could only rely on her normal senses... her eyes, her ears, her nose, her body. Doing so gave her a bit more information about the situation then simply "Mana", rather she could tell what some of the effects were.

The main spells already working their magic seemed to be some kind of terraforming based earth magic, and some mixture of water, lightning, and wind magic making up a privatised storm filling the arena. The very environment was her enemy now, if she tried to fly the winds would probably throw her back to the ground, and if she attempted to run, who's to say more of those spikes couldn't appear? Carmine had begun the countdown clock to the end of this fight, either one of her spells would hit directly or Ruby would land another hit. Of course, Ruby would have loved to counter with spells of her own, but in order to match the might of Carmine's spells she would need to use nearly ten times the mana. Her only magic option that could match Carmine's was her roar, but all that could do was buy her a few seconds at most.

"I can't just hide as rose petals either... I don't know if I'm immune to damage like that, and I'm not too keen on finding out."

While it was much easier to dodge attacks in that state, when the attacks were all around her, the defense of her scales was a much safer option. She focused her sight onto the wizard once more, her opponent steeled and wearing an expression of iron cast determination... she had begun taking this seriously, perhaps even unaware that this marked the near end of the fight.

"Hit me with your best shot, Ruby." Her voice was calm and lacked any of the previous Sass or jovial attitude that Carmine usually carried. It was an almost startling jump from how she previously talked to Ruby... to this. She opened her arms wide in an almost invitational fashion, and her spells went off all at once as she did.

The storm settled into a typhoon ready to spew out a tornado or two, the wind enough to rip trees from the ground or rend skin from bone. Ruby was forced to keep her wings tight to her body to prevent them from catching a gust and carrying her up into the storm, but the ground wasnt a welcoming place to be either. Large spikes that would be enough to cleave an Ursa in half shot from the ground, multiple shots of pain ran through Ruby's sides as the earth magic stabbed into her body, but a glance to her side showed they had stopped much earlier then expected. The large spikes kept from pushing into her body further then her scales, most likely thanks to the anti-magic running through her body cutting it off... terraforming magic was a much different kind of spell then just straight earth based attacks

As if on cue when she believed things couldn't get any worse, the roar of thunder filled her ears and her body collapsed onto the ground as she was struck from above, the lightning was like an explosion from above, the electricity luckily failing to move into her body... once again most likely thanks to her newest magic item, which she was loving more and more with each passing second.

The spells didn't stop however, they kept pummelling Ruby from all directions, rain froze into spikes of ice that failed to pierce her scales as they collided with her back, lightning struck every few seconds or so, spikes from below tried every angle possible to get more then an inch through her defense, and more 'small' tornadoes then she could count blocked her escape from all sides baring the one that led straight to Carmine... like an invitation.

A welcoming gate, like the wizard was calling Ruby to enter the realm of the strongest along with her and the Harbingers... the Dragon felt so close to reaching it... like with just a single push she could tear her way through these spells and arrive at the other side an equal to the remaining contenders in the festival. With just one push... that's all it would take. But her body couldn't lift from the ground, her wings would fail to carry her through those winds, her legs unable to keep her standing for more then a second under these conditions. None of Carmine's spells were doing much damage, Ruby's defense was unbreakable for most people in her full form, and her magic items only made that ten times worse... but a single rock bashed against a wall enough times would bring it down... and there was a lot more then just one 'rock' hitting her over and over again.

One push... one leap... one more charge of power and she could stand tall even if she lost the fight in the end. No matter what anyone said at the end of the fight, so long as she reached Carmine and even attempted one more attack... she would be on a level high enough to be called her equal. Carmine believed Ruby could do it, that's why she had set the stage so beautifully. Ruby believed she could do it, how could she not? Was this not her moment to triumph? This was her chance to prove what she was capable of, in front of all the kingdoms, in front of all her enemies that may be watching... in front of her family.

Everyone believed she could do it.

She just couldn't.

After what felt like hours of agony, the barrier finally activated. Her wounds healed under its light, after what was only probably ten minutes, Ruby's scales had been shredded. Her strongest defense sanded down by constant attacks and damage and leaving the mighty Rose Dragon resembling a fish being prepared for cooking. Only after the damage was repaired did she strike any amount of the intimidating presence she had earlier... but how much could she be feared after all of that? What enemy would be too scared of her to touch her family now? Who would respect her after watching that?

She shrunk back to her base form slowly, refusing to leave her spot laying on the ground as the barrier disappeared... simply needing a minute. She wasn't hurt too bad, the barrier had simply activated because the ritual had recognised she was going to die if it kept up for too long. But her body, mind, and soul still felt beaten. Her pride in shambles, and only the Dragon's Pride still somewhat keeping her optimistic... her usage of that ability was strange. She didn't have it turned on to make her overconfident or snarky or anything, rather she had used it to change her personality in a few ways... all good changes she was sure. No one would miss her dumb magic rants or her weird habits. She had used it to overcome her awkwardness as well, so even though she hadn't been comfortable with it before, she had managed to satisfy her wife a few months earlier... though once the baby bump fully set in the Queen had pretty much forbidden sex altogether, which had confused Ruby a bit... even moreso because she believed Weiss had wanted to do it anyway, and it wasn't like Ruby was without her desires.

Though, she had taken care of that, with Pride she could change any facet of her personality that she wanted. Weiss didn't want to do it? No problem, just turn off the horny!

Thinking about this was helping her cope with the loss...

Even without her enhanced hearing she was sure she'd be able to hear Carmine approach, her shoes practically slamming onto the ground with rage as she stomped up to the still on the ground Dragon.

"You dead? I don't want to start a war." The snark was back, but Ruby had already guessed it would be...

"I'm still alive Carmine."

"Oh good. Then I can kill you later." Ruby wasnt too sure if it was ok for her to just say that to the Queen Consort of Vale... "What the hell was that, Red."

Ruby nearly chuckled as she spoke, and she slowly raised her head to look Carmine in the eyes. "What can I say? You're stronger then me."

Apparently that hadn't been the right thing to say. If looks could kill, Ruby was sure that the barrier would be covering her again. "You're a disgrace of a Dragon."

Another chuckle from said 'disgrace'. "What do you know about Drag-"

"I'm sure Rory would have made for a better opponent." The words were spoken with so much intent. The clear meaning behind them confused Ruby for a moment... what did that mean...?

Her eyes searched for meaning behind Carmine's gaze... something... anything... how did she know Rory...? Sure, Carmine was old enough to have been around back then but...

"I never saw her in his memories... maybe... she's in the last one...?"

But what were the chances of that?

All questions she had to ponder as the Pheonix turned and started to step away... Ruby needed answers, she didnt need to think, she needed to just know.

Luckily, she had just the tool to help with that.

She threw caution to the wind and turned Pride on full blast, practically begging it for answers before her mind calmed as it worked its magic... and she thought through the facts.

"Its highly unlikely that she knew Rory back when he was alive... afterall, why would she go to Atlas? She couldn't have known he'd taken me over either, it's publicly known that I was mind controlled, but how and by who is only known to a few people... all of who I trust."

Which left one option... she knew about Rory controlling Ruby, because someone she didn't trust had told her.

Cinder's group, or one of the higher up White-Fang members... maybe Famine himself had told her. But if that was the case then she must be working with them, and that means-

"Carmine is my enemy."

Enemies could only be permanently dealt with in one way.

She was about ten metres from Ruby now, still with her back turned... perfect. Ruby sent a small pulse of mana into the ground, not enough for someone inexperienced to recognise, but even with Carmine's experience, that was to do with the opposite field relevant to Ruby's own. Afterall, Ruby had spent many a day in the last few months studying the arenas magic circle. It's workings, it's triggers, it's positioning relative to the arena... and of course, as it was the most obvious target for sabotage... how to turn it off.

Carmine had turned at the mana pulse, but Ruby had transformed into her half state before the Wizards gaze was set on her. She let out a sigh as Ruby crouched and glared at her, simply resting a hand on her hip and shaking her head.

"Really? You're gonna do this? I knew you were weak... but trying to attack me just because you lost..." She cocked her hip to the side and stood without a guard. "Whatever, I don't feel like entertaining this childishness. If i dont defend the barrier will protect me, so give me your best shot, Red. If you manage to break the barrier i might actually change my mind about you."

"Oh perfect... she's an idiot."

Ruby rocketed forward as a cloud of rose petals, she ignored everything else as she settled infront of her opponent and changed into her full form once again mid-flight. She let out a bellowing roar filled with more mana then she had ever attempted to imbue into the spell, enough to daze and confuse anyone watching... now that the screens and outer barrier had been disabled as well. Carmine was left worse off, her brain unable to handle the sudden noise and especially the surprise of the spell actually landing against her... but the seed of doubt had been sown by all the previous festivals she'd been in. Carmine had never seen the barrier not protect someone, why would it stop now?

Ruby watched that confusion play out in the Wizards eyes as she set her maw around the woman's lower body. Her teeth digging through her mid-section like a hot knife through butter, blood and whatever else rested inside the Pheonix's body poured like a spilled meal into the Dragon's mouth as she raised her victim high into the air, thrashing her head to the to the side and clamping her jaw down fully as she did. She glared at Carmine's barely still alive upper half soar through the air and land not far from her onto the arena floor. The Dragon opened her mouth once again and let the rest of the woman's body fall to the ground in a bloody mess.

Her mind echoed the words same words she said when she found out Neo had been freed as she slowly stalked her way over to the panicking Wizard, Carmine barely managing to hold on to life as her much lower mana pool tried to slowly restore her missing half.

"Just try and hurt my family you bitch."