A/N: A big thanks to Sai for writing his script here so I didn't have to watch and type from his video... Which, also, thanks for making the video as well. Be sure to subscribe to his channel, Sai Blade, if you haven't. He's the only reason we have lore videos on the monsters he's done so far. And he's gonna do Dodogama next!
"LEG-iana, huh? So, I'm guessing it has thunder thighs like Nora?" Yang asked with a smirk. Everyone thought for a moment, before realizing it was a leg pun.
"Yang, as your baby sister, PLEASE stop!" Ruby pleaded.
"And as your mother, I am ordering you to stop, young lady!" Summer declared, putting on her serious mom face and tone.
Yang shrank down at this, before pouting. "Killjoys." She huffed.
"Rage called it a frosty... Well, you know what he called it. So, I'm guessing it's an ice monster?" Pyrrha asked.
"Correct. Gold star, invincible girl." Katana told her.
"All of the ones he's done have been ice monsters so far. I guess he's a fan of ice, too?" Ren asked.
"Not particularly, but he does find the three he's done so far to be some of the most interesting ones. That and no one else has done them yet, so he figured he might as well." Katana explained.
"Well, at least he's taking initiative." Summer praised as Katana started the video.
Sai was seen riding a Kelbi through the Coral Highlands, admiring the beautiful scenery. "The beauty of nature is unpredictable and mystifying. Such is the case with the anomaly of an ecosystem known as the Coral Highlands: a beautiful, if paradoxical biome of a coral reef above the water, in fact in one of the highest points in all the new world as the name would imply. However, its beauty cannot hide its deadliness, much like the monster that is our current topic of discussion, the Frigid Fiend of the New World... the Legiana." Sai declared as a massive flying creature descended from the sky, saw him and immediately let out a piercing cry.
"The Highlands truly are a sight to behold." Weiss said admiringly.
"Ohh! And he's riding on a deer! That's so cute! I wanna do that!" Ruby squealed in joy.
"Those are Kelbi's. They're pretty timid, but they can fight back when they want. They'll resist a few times when you try to ride them." Razara warned.
Blake and Velvet immediately clutched their ears, falling to their sides and their heads into their lovers' laps. "Oh, god! It's another one with an ear-piercing roar!" Blake whined.
"Faunus with super hearing are gonna go deaf!" Velvet complained.
"Maybe it could make a nice suit." Coco said, both angry that its roar hurt Velvet and admiring the colors of its hide. "Speaking of suits, he sure dolled up for this mission." She said, noting the regal-looking suit he was wearing.
"The Demon Lord suit. It was a scary costume for Halloween time, but its also really strong armor, so it's not out of place to wear it around normally. He wanted to show off for this video and it lets him actually show a little of his demon side." Katana said, pointing out Sai's demonic left arm. Cinder shuddered at this, remembering the Grimm arm she would have gotten if Katana hadn't intervened.
Sai was then seen following the Legiana at a safe distance. "The solitary Apex of the Coral Highlands, Legiana is as aggressive and territorial as it is beautiful. It is easily the most hostile force found in the New World. And the room for argument with that is... Absolute Zero." He explained, before a clip of a boy and girl exaggeratedly laughing was shown.
Yang laughed at this. "Absolute Zero! That's a cold thing! Good one! And the clip of those two laughing makes it funnier!" She giggled.
"With how exaggerated it is, it's perfect!" Neo laughed as well.
"Ugh. I'm not liking this relationship, Neo. Blondie is totally ruining your sense of humor!" Roman told her, resulting in both girls simply sticking their tongues out at him.
"Those wings and sails... It's beautiful. Like something straight out of a work of art from Mistral." Summer said in awe, Glynda, Ilia, Winter, Weiss and Cinder nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, but according to Sai, the only thing colder than its ice power is its personality." Qrow said warily.
Sai was suddenly seen following a Tigrex in the Rotten Vale, the beast roaring at him, but not yet attacking. "Unlike most monsters, even the supposed psychopaths like Tigrex and Odogaron, who will give you a warning roar to GTFO before they try to kill you and attack only after you've failed to heed their warning to let them be, Legiana will attempt to un-alive you as soon as it spots you... after of course trying to detonate your eardrums with its piercing roar." Sai explained, as a Legiana spotted him and roared twice, causing him to cover his ears from its overpowering shrieks.
"For a monster to be more aggressive than those two... I didn't think it was possible." Winter said, shocked.
"And it's an ice monster, so it's probably gonna live close to Atlas! Sucks to be you guys!" Nora told them.
"Nora, that's rude." Ren scolded, before turning to the Atlesians. "You have my sympathies." He said with a bow of his head.
"Strange. I'm detecting differences in his voice." Penny noted.
"Most of it is his voice recorded on his phone so he wouldn't be trying to read a script and play at the same time. But he lost a chunk of the recording and wound up reading a good chunk from the script while playing anyway. It was hilarious to watch. All that prep gone and he still had to do the one thing he was avoiding." Katana explained.
Sai and the girl the group had come to know as his Handler were on the very edge of the Coral Highlands borders. "And it is serious about its territory, which it guards and patrols mercilessly and relentlessly. The very first time my handler and I discovered the Coral Highlands, no sooner had we entered the very edge of what could be considered the territory of the Highlands, were we set upon by the Legiana and knocked all the way down into the Rotten Vale. THAT. HURT." Sai explained as his Handler excitedly rushed into the highlands as Sai scanned the area, only for him to notice the beast's form in the distance, hurrying to save his handler, but this only served to have them both knocked off the bit of reef they were standing on, plummeting far below into the Vale.
Everyone winced at this. "That's gotta hurt." Jaune said sympathetically.
"We know your brother's a demon, so he's resilient, but I'm amazed his Handler survived as well." Pyrrha said, impressed but still worried about the researcher girl.
"She's definitely tenacious. I'll give her that." Razara said.
"So that thing may as well be a flying version of Tyrian." Hazel stated, concerned for the people living near where the beasts would call home.
"No, that's Astalos, but it's pretty close, I guess." Tekko corrected.
Sai and his Handler were then seen on some kind of airship, along with a dignified-looking woman in beautiful purple robes with pointy ears. "In fact, the Legiana's aggression and territorial nature have made history in the New World and the creature will forever be known as the terror of the Third Fleet. 20 long years ago, in the early days of the Third Fleet, the Research Base just outside of the Coral Highlands was once a mighty flying airship, travelling all throughout the New World, researching the various ecosystems and the creatures that lived within them. However, one day, they made the mistake of flying to the Coral Highlands and invoked the wrath of a Legiana, who attacked and downed their airship, forever trapping them as the stationary Research Base we all know today." Sai explained as their airship flew into a large flock of small wingdrakes known as Raphinos, before Legiana suddenly appeared, flying in front of the airship, almost crashing into it, before snatching one of the Raphinos in its claws, flying around violently, threatening to hit the ship.
By now, they'd come to see this beast was fiercely territorial, but this new knowledge left them all shocked and greatly unsettled. "Downing an entire fleet... Just for venturing into the Highlands. These Legiana almost seem more devastating than Amatsu. At least it's appearances are rare, whereas Legiana seems liable to show up if whenever someone steps into what it considers to be its territory." Glynda said in concern.
"Indeed, they could be quite troublesome. On a more positive note, that means they'll be just as dangerous, possibly more so, to the Grimm that happen to wander through its territory." Ozpin pointed out.
"I wouldn't mind seeing a few ice sculptures of Ursai." Ilia agreed. Weiss smiled and used Myrtenaster to actually create an ice Ursai sculpture. "I was being cheeky, Schnee, it wasn't literal." She told her.
Sai was then seen standing in front of the Third Fleet Master, staring at her, presumably rather annoyed, but his helmet was currently on, so his expression was unreadable. "You'd think the Third Fleet Master, the woman who ordered the Research Base to fly through the Coral Highlands and getting it brought down in the first place, would probably remember- Oh, I don't know- THE THING THAT BROUGHT HER BASE DOWN IN THE FIRST PLACE!" He snapped as he began stomping on the ground in front of her.
"His little tantrum is unnecessary, but he's got a point. How do you forget something that knocked you out of the sky and left you stranded 20 years ago?" Cinder questioned.
"Hey, I'd be pissed, too, if you almost got me knocked out of the sky by something that already threw me off a cliff." Emerald said.
"Even if she didn't remember it herself, surely it would be an event they have on record." Penny agreed.
"At least I always told my subordinates everything they needed to know before we went somewhere dangerous." Adam declared.
Sai was then seen fighting against the Legiana. "As previously stated, Legiana is the apex predator of the Coral Highlands, bullying the smaller monsters such as Paolumu and Tzitzi Ya-Ku, making an easy meal out of Shamos and Raphinos alike and reigning mostly unchallenged, save for the occasional wandering Odogaron strolling into the Highlands, the rare invading Deviljho seeking to depose and eat the ruler of the highlands, or my Gajalaka friends helping me out when a Legiana wants some hunter for lunch." He stated as Legiana was seen fighting against an Odogaron and being restrained by a large group of grimalkynes as Sai... shot blue fireballs at it!?
Qrow whistled at this. "Taking on Odogaron, huh? So I guess it's not JUST a scream machine." Qrow said.
"And if it requires a Deviljho to take it down, it's doing something right for itself." Winter added.
"Aww, it's cute that all those little kitties helping him out." Ruby gushed.
"Is he shooting fireballs!?" Nora said in awe.
"Oh, yeah. Some people in our world can do that with what we call ki or chi, which is basically our version of aura. You guys could maybe try, but it'd probably cost some of your aura each time you used it." Katana explained.
"But how does the Legiana rule the Highlands with such efficiency? Well, it has powerful legs, allowing it to easily push itself high enough into the air to fly from the ground, deliver vicious strikes with its massive claws, which are also dexterous and powerful allowing it to throw medium-sized Wyverns like the Paolumu, or even pick up and drop much larger monster, such as the Barioth. And while it certainly is capable of flying by the standard flapping of its wings, Legiana is an absolute master of catching the constantly rising air currents of the Coral Highlands with its large leaf-shaped wings and the additional sail-like fins on its tail. It is the Wind Drifting Wyvern and can easily stay aloft with little to no wing movement. It flies with extreme precision and agility, easily changing direction to cut off a fleeing enemy, or even performing an aileron roll as it flies towards its enemies to ram into it with its light framed, but sizeable body." Sai explained, dodging several attacks from the beast and running to and up a wall, jumping off and slashing down the monster's back.
"Using the wind and thermals to keep itself in the air. Impressive. Some of the best flying animals on Remnant use that tactic, too." Emerald noted.
It does look pretty majestic when it flies like that and its not always shrieking." Blake admitted.
"And its skill at gliding through the air and changing direction while holding the current under its wings is amazing." Pyrrha praised.
"This wyvern could easily out maneuver our top pilots!" James said in shock.
"They are even such capable flyers that they are said to rule the skies, just like Rathalos. In other news, I'm petitioning the Guild to have that title taken from Rathalos, as Legiana now makes three flying monsters that can contend with Rathalos for the title and two more that can beat it that can't even fly." Sai declared as a he continued to battle the Wind Drifting Wyvern while a notice at the bottom of the screen listed at least 5 monsters that could beat Rathalos while it was still in the air.
"When he puts it like that, yeah. Rathalos really doesn't sound that impressive." Jaune admitted.
"Well, we haven't seen everything it can do yet, so it may be too early to say such a thing." Ozpin told him.
"Yeah. Even if it has to share the title, 'Ruler of the Skies' is still quite the title." Summer admitted.
"Until you start calling him 'Co-Ruler of the Skies'." Yang laughed.
"But all of that pales in comparison to the beast's ultimate weapon. Legiana is a powerful wielder of the ice element. However, it has developed a unique way of using the cold to its advantage, not just simple bursts of frigid air, mounds of snow that may encase a hunter or become an frozen tornado or beams of frozen liquid from the mouth. No, inside Legiana's body lies an organ known as a Cryo Sac, depending on the age and power of the Legiana, while on the Legiana's head, chest, wings and tail can be found what are known as 'blue secretory glands', which connect to the organ in question and secrete a liquid, which Legiana flings outward with flaps of its wings, or movements from its tail, the liquid reacting with the moisture in the air to create ice, which quickly spreads in large paths and patches, simultaneously knocking away and freezing enemies and prey alike, leaving them frozen stiff and out of stamina, now at the mercy of Legiana and its claws. And as the Third Fleet will confirm, it has no mercy." Sai declared menacingly as the fight continued.
"So, there is the ice, finally. And I'll admit. It uses it quite well." Glynda said.
"Fascinating. Spreading a rapidly freezing liquid to create ice over a large area. It's quite similar to my method. It really keeps opponents on their toes... Which they eventually slip off of because they have no finesse on the ice." Weiss declared proudly.
"No finesse, but way more modesty." Neo taunted. "Still that's cool. It can spread ice from so many different places than just its mouth." She said in awe.
"Yeah. It's kind of scary how powerful it is." Velvet said, clearly intimidated.
"You understandably may be intimidated by this beast, but worry not. Everything has a weakness and Legiana is no exception. Surprisingly, while still effective, the fire element is the second most effective against this beast, with thunder being the chief damaging element. Also, when poisoned, Legiana is unable to secrete the liquid that allows it to create ice, giving you a window of opportunity to fight back without fear of being frozen. And, should you damage its tail sail... that's fun to say- anyway! One the sail is damaged, Legiana will not be able to use it to send ice at you with its backflips and tail-related moves." Sai informed of the beast's weakness while managing to bring the beast to its side.
"It's understandable that poison would hinder many of these creatures and affect their ability to perform, but it's amazing how it actively prevents them from using certain functions of their body." Penny said.
"At least there are ways to stop it from throwing ice liquid everywhere. Just too bad you have to break its tail sail to do it." Ruby said sadly, before perking up. "Hey, he's right! That is fun to say!" She giggled.
"Well, if it starts cooling things down, we'll just have to heat things up!" Yang declared.
"But this is not the end of Legiana's story. Shortly after the defeat of Xeno'Jiiva and the conclusion of the Elder Crossing investigation, Legiana were soon spotted in the temperate, warm and sunny Ancient Forest, a far cry from their normal home of the rather brisk Coral Highlands. Upon further investigation, the Legiana were seen flying out to sea, apparently being lured by a strange song, which would later be discovered as the vibrations of Shara Ishvalda's wings, which were destroying mountains! As well as to escape the fury of a Velkhana. This lead to the discovery of the frozen new landmass now known as the Hoarfrost Reach. Eventually, it was discovered that the Legiana were not lured by a song, nor chased away by a predatory Elder Dragon. Not, it was revealed that they came to this new icy landmass to breed and even returning to have and raise their young." Sai explained as a flock of Legiana were indeed shown flying out to see, while also trying to dodge an attack from what they knew was Velkhana.
"Did he say a monster was bringing down mountains?!" Ironwood asked in shock.
"Shara Ishvalda. I'll talk to Sai about doing one for him... eventually." Katana explained.
"I'd like to see baby Legiana's! They'd be so cute!" Nora squealed excitedly.
"As longs as their baby roars aren't as bad as the big ones." Blake said with a groan.
Sai was then seen fighting a Legiana in the Hoarfrost Reach. "However, this new land came with many new problems, such as powerful new enemies like the Barioth, or most of the monsters being immune to ice from living in a tundra." He explained as he was doing a decent job of dodging the beast's attacks and landing several of his own.
"So what I'm hearing is, it's a weakling in it's original habitat. And is only the top predator in the Coral Highlands because the monsters there have no immunity to its ice powers?" Adam asked, a bit disappointed.
"So, it's basically a normal fish in a tiny pond." Emerald stated.
"Yeah, that sounds about right." Coco agreed.
"He said that thing could lift a Barioth. It's still powerful, but if everything's immune to its main strategy, then it needs a better one. Nothing wrong with that." Hazel told them.
"And more new armor. Quite elegant as well. You weren't lying when you said he wanted to show off.
Katana's eye twitched slightly at the sight of this new armor. "The Rimeguard armor. Strong and very resistant to ice... Because its made from Velkhana." She said in annoyance.
"Thus, Legiana had to adapt. They became more social creatures and started living in vast flocks. And for some, they went further beyond, becoming their only known Variant, the Shrieking Legiana." He explained as he now faced a new, larger Legiana with black coloration instead of blue and was encrusted with spiky ice. "Their control of ice grew, reaching similar levels to that of Frostfang Barioth and Velkhana... which somehow involves ice becoming sticky and freezing people to the ground... Yeah, don't ask me how that works. They even adding a weaker version of Velkhana's ice armor to their repertoire. They are also known to be far more sociable than normal Legiana and will even assist them in facing off threats such as unfortunate solo hunters." He explained as now both versions of the beast attacked him.
"One of those things seems bad enough, but fighting two of them, one even stronger than the other? Sounds like a nightmare." Summer said.
"Definitely. I'd probably have to use all my fire to take on both of them at once." Cinder agreed.
"I just wish there were better ways of driving off monsters you don't want around other than dung pods." Nora said, everyone gagging at the thought.
"Still, if they're ever attacking a village or city and we have to fight them both, we'll do it. Because that's what it means to be Huntsmen and Huntresses. And it would be just one more step on the journey to becoming the greatest of Huntsmen and Huntresses we could be." Pyrrha declared, changing everyone's fear to determination.
"Jeez. That thing makes you look warm and cuddly, Ice Queen." Qrow said to Winter with a smirk.
"Keep it up and you'll find I can match or even exceed its aggression!" Winter snapped at him.
"Still, it's crazy to think something that pretty and dainty-looking is one of the apexes of the New World." Summer said, impressed by essentially everything it could do.
"Yeah, I think I've seen enough beautiful monsters that want to kill me as soon as they look at me." Yang said.
"Maybe we should stop looking to the apexes and Elder Dragons, then. Perhaps we should return to the lower levels of the food chain, like Arzuros and the other bear beasts." Weiss suggested.
"Or maybe more of those Brute Wyverns? They look the most like dinosaurs, so I think they're the coolest." Jaune explained, laying down on top of Guillotine's head and neck.
"I think there are a few of those left. And one in particular that lines up pretty well with both of your requests: a Brute Wyvern on the lower end of the food chain. But be warned, this is a messy one. Prepare yourselves for... Barroth." Katana declared.
The ice demon's daughters looked at each other and smirked. "Jumping Jaggis! It's a Barroth!" They yelled together, then laughed.