Weiss Schnee
"At least one of them can write a decent report..."
Despite possessing the ability to sing her wife's praises for hours and hours on end until everyone on Remnant had gotten sick of it and then some... Weiss had to admit, Ruby still lacked in some pretty basic areas. Though, perhaps calling navigating council meetings and general politics wasn't basic for anyone besides the royal family. Which Ruby was a member of now, of course. Not that many people would consider her a Schnee in anything but name.
That rather short list included Weiss herself, and the reading through of this report while comparing it to some Ruby had written was simply further evidence of that fact in the Queen's mind.
Blake hadn't spared a single detail. From their meetings with Onyx, the stops they took while investigating - including the detail of Ruby's distant relative - all the way to what they found and did at the bottom of Amity's birthplace. Weiss was expecting a call any day now from the mayor of said town, but she doubted the 'mighty' lord Samuel would do anything more than complain about bloodshed in a place of peace.
Even given the focus of the meeting being on other parts of the mission, Weiss felt her brow furrow as she reminded herself of Ruby's actions down there.
"-The spatial Dust going missing is indeed a tragedy-" The first words she caught once her attention had returned to the others were of course the ramblings of someone who didn't understand what the contents of that vial could do. "-But the real loss is of the designs of the attack ship's weapons. If our enemy can recreate those designs-"
"They can." A much more pleasant voice to the Queen's ears, and of course, one who knew what they were talking about this time. "The weapons aren't magic items or weapons, rather, they're magic structures. You don't need an Affinity to replicate them." If anyone knew, it would be the Royal Wizard, of course.
Ruby's words rung in Saphron's ears and caught her attention, simply thanks to her reputation. While the Arc woman more than likely still didn't grasp the difference between a Magic item or structure, she knew Ruby did. "The Atlas ships have kept their weapons identical for decades now, is the design still that powerful?" She made sure to word her question in such a way that a simple yes or no answer would suffice... But, of course, Ruby wasn't that simple to get an answer out of.
"I'm not too sure. I've never gotten a close look at one, so I can't say for certain how strong they are... But, at bare minimum, they would be able to pierce the average Dragon's defences." Brows around the room raised at the term 'average' being used on Dragon's, so she clarified. "With my Magic items, I would be able to survive hits from those weapons."
"Could you not just make more of those items for the others-?"
"Moving on-!" While the Queen Consort looked confused at Glynda's sudden interrupting of Saphron's question, Weiss couldn't help but smile. "We have no way of tracking where they may have taken the weapons or Dust-"
"They went one of two ways." Now it was Weiss's turn to know what she was talking about. "Our enemy contains ways of travelling through great amounts of earth and water with ease, both methods would allow them to slip past the ships that were circling Vytal." Of course, if that were the case, it meant that Ruby and Blake had been way too close to coming face to face with either of them. "That man who appeared in Vacuo, Hazel, he could have allowed them to slip through the earth and travel under the sea floor."
"And how else would they have escaped?"
"Mistral is an afterthought in this war, save for three facts. The first is obviously Nora Valkyrie. Her power allowed her to keep up with Carmine in a fight, and if she's gotten stronger since then, it's possible only a Harbinger can beat her now." If even that. Weiss had no doubt that if she had used anything stronger than a basic cast to face Carmine's strongest spell, Nora would have won. "The second is their positioning. Thanks to the mist protecting them, Mistral can't be found."
Eyes turned to Ruby before she even began to speak. "I've looked into it, but without knowing the way the ritual works, our options to deal with it are limited. I do have an idea, but it's a major work in progress."
"And the third thing, your majesty?" Port spoke up once more.
"The only thing keeping Neptune Vasilias a relevant fighter. His ability to summon and command a decent portion of the High-Devil Dagon." Weiss's information on how strong High Devil's were was limited, and even further limited was her knowledge on how big a portion of it Neptune commanded... But from what quite a few people had told her about its battle with Jaune in the Vytal Festival, Qrow may have not made it to the final rounds if Jaune didn't have Holy magic.
"It has a bigger Mana pool than a Harbinger, and it's likely kept the proper Dagon's Penta-Affinity for Water..."
The only method they possessed to deal with such a creature was Holy Magic, which only Jaune and Pyrrha could use. Of course, Ozpin had shown the ability to use it before as well, but...
"I doubt he could fight in his condition."
"That summon is indeed powerful, but I doubt it's actually as strong as one of the Harbingers." Oobleck speaking up was a surprise, even more so that he didn't start ranting. "High Devil's are incredibly cruel dealmakers, and Dagon would not have granted him anything more than the tiniest portion for anything less than his soul."
"I agree." Ruby's speaking up was unexpected, especially with that opinion. "Their contract, it's only a Binding Contract. If Dagon had given him a sizeable piece of itself, he would have used a Faustian Bargain." Curiosity and confusion mixed in the council room for a moment, and it was only after Weiss was brave enough to speak up did Ruby clarify. "A Binding Contract can be broken if either vessel containing the Contract is destroyed-" Or with the Abaddon Curse, Weiss knew that much. "But a Faustian Bargain involves rooting the deal in ambient Mana rather than a vessel. It can't be broken."
Weiss supposed for a moment that those kinds of deals were only used amongst Gods and High Devils... Well, only High Devils now.
"So, Dagon can be dealt with by either killing the summon, or slaying Neptune?" Port chose his words in such a way that made Weiss curious, but Ruby nodded.
"We have three ways of dealing with Dagon permanently then. If Pyrrha, Jaune, or Ruby manage to reach Neptune or even Dagon, they should be able to break the contract between them."
No. That was too simple. Weiss could realise that thanks to her admittedly limited experience with summoning, it was a stretch to assume that just because the Dagon portion died that the contract would be made void. But, given how High-Devils tended to make deals, it was probably true that once it was dead, Neptune wouldn't be able to summon it anymore.
"Ruby can break the contract using the Abaddon Curse... If we manage to slay Dagon, we could then offer the removal of his contract as a basis to negotiate Mistral's surrender."
With the Queen deep in thought, the meeting soon dissolved thanks to her lack of interest in it. Instead, Weiss focused on her thoughts and attempted to seize a strategy they could use to win this... and quickly, if she could help it. The plan or idea she needed to find was slippery, a thought that eluded her and refused to allow itself to be concentrated on. Weiss wanted to dive into her thoughts and wrestle a winning strategy out of her mind, but so far, no fruit were provided from that particular tree.
"We could crush Vacuo or Mistral with our full combined forces without issue... The challenge is finding their capitals in the first place. The Fleet, the Dragon's, the Harbingers... Vale and Atlas are the clear winners in this conflict."
Frustration replaced concentration as she bit her finger, trying her best to find a way out of this.
"What's the purpose of this war...? If I can figure out what they want, then I can figure out a way to abuse it..."
Neptune was a mystery as far as Weiss was concerned, she couldn't read the man whatsoever. His motivations besides his apparent disliking of Ruby and her actions were unclear at best... Vacuo however? Carmine? Somewhat clearer... But still fuzzy. Carmine was obviously in Cinder's pocket, her declaration of war right after Cinder lost Neo to Vale was too convenient to-
"... Neo...?"
Was it possible that she was why Cinder had reacted so quickly? Was this war just a desperate grab to try and get her back?
"Neo's augmentations have been undone... Is there something special about her? Assuming they want to turn her back into a Hydra... Well, that kind of Hydra. Why go through all this trouble to get her back if they could just do the same to someone else?"
And what use did they have planned for a soul farm in the first place?
"-Do you understand?"
"I think so..."
An almost smirk graced her expression as he spoke, clearly, the boy had no clue whatsoever. But being a good mother, Weiss wasn't going to call him out on it. "Do you want to take a break?" Directly, anyway.
His answer was plastered over his expression long before words formed from his mouth. Argus's mismatched eyes glimmered with a plea for a break, and his body practically shot forward towards her in what was clearly an attempt to beg. A hand raised between them and behind her palm she gave him a look that spoke of the unnecessary nature of going that far, she had offered it in the first place, after all.
Leaning back, the prince let out a breath of relief now that he had escaped his studies for a brief respite. Motherly instincts prevailed, and she was relieved for the boy despite the fact that she was personally tutoring him today. The instant he was allowed to rest, her mind stopped thinking of him as a student, and instead returned to viewing him as her child. It was interesting to see him like this, not because it was strange, rather it was a familiar sight. Ruby often acted the same way, getting so into and focusing on whatever work she was doing perfectly, then the second she was on break from it relaxing like it was the worst thing in the world to be doing. Weiss supposed she could relate to the concentration part of it, but her work wasn't usually so interesting that she could get as into it as Ruby could... and hopefully Argus too.
"Mother, I wanted to ask you something." She couldn't help but smirk once more as he spoke, his words being clear and concise, and almost echoing in the nearby rows and rows of bookcases they sat next to. As usual, the library was empty besides them.
"Speak then." It had been long since she had broken Argus's habit of asking 'Can I ask you something?' and instead had gotten him to say that instead. The source of that habit, however, being Ruby, was someone who eluded Weiss's habit breaking tendencies.
As Light Blue eyes flickered back and forth at the surrounding library, she wasn't so taken in by the familiar room that she couldn't concentrate on her son. The boy looked nervous, like his question was one he expected to get himself in trouble... Yet he was clearly going to ask it anyway. "I heard some people talking the other day... What did mum do in the Vytal festival?"
Of all the talks Weiss was expecting to spawn off of her son's nervous disposition moments prior to his words, this had been the one she was praying for it not to be. For many reasons, the Queen of Vale didn't want to answer her son's question, the main reason being that it was a conversation for him and Ruby to have rather than him and herself… Well, she was telling herself that was the main reason. In truth, she just didn't want to have this discussion.
Looking over her son once again, Weiss recognised his fear, his nerves, the suspense he was being left in from her lack of an answer thus far... But what did he fear more, the answer, or her potential anger at him asking in the first place? Obviously, she wasn't going to get angry at him for asking it... But was it even right to give him an answer in the first place? That event wasn't something for everyone's ears... and especially not fit for a six-year-old to hear, regardless of how developed they actually were. She wouldn't tell this to a ten-year-old, either.
So, she answered his question with a question. "Why do you want to know? Depending on my answer, will how you see your mum change?" Perhaps more important information for her to know than his original question was for him to know.
Like the smart boy he was, he allowed himself to think on that for a moment... Even if Weiss could recognise the answer he immediately arrived at glinting in his eyes. "Maybe... but, I could never think less of mum. Or you." She gave him a pass on how much that last part sounded like an afterthought, after all, they weren't talking about her right now.
"Ruby made a mistake. She did something that many people were upset by." Weiss could have gone into details, she could have shared that perhaps Ruby had done the correct thing by trying to kill Carmine... But hindsight was twenty-twenty, and she wasn't going to hold that against Ruby still.
"Her lack of a follow-up and not telling us before Carmine left Vale though..."
It took all of her willpower to not grumble as that thought made its way through her head.
"Can you give me more details-?"
She plopped a hand on the boy's head, messing up his hair a bit, as she had seen Ruby do so many times before. "When you're older." Despite her usual amazing capabilities when it came to making deals and politics, her son was her weak spot. So, she was lucky that he took the deal.
Still, as her thoughts drifted to focus on Ruby, the things she had done in the past... The things she had done recently.
"Ruby needs to talk to someone... Anyone. And I'm not going to give her a choice about this."
'War room' was such a heavy name to bestow onto anything. It felt like the words soaked and burrowed into the very brick around them, that even long after this conflict ended, the name wouldn't leave. It couldn't be washed away, it couldn't be destroyed by magic. No, it would persist in their memories... Well, the memories of those that survived.
"But that's the point, isn't it? For as many of us as possible to make it through this."
Perhaps the War room would never return to being just the council chamber. But if that name persists, that meant that the people here and now would live to see after the war. Frankly, tainting these bricks with such a name was a worthwhile price, so long as the people Weiss cared about could live to complain about it. They would make it through this, they would suffer the consequences of the war after the fact... They would live.
The Queen had let her mind wander for too long, but she sat in the unique position in which no one could call her out on it. Still, once her attention returned to the others, words begun to be exchanged once more. "This is the final list?" A question spoken with equal parts uncertainty and doubt. In truth, Weiss agreed with the Lord Arc's hesitancy, but the sooner this list was complete, the better.
"Yes." Her decision wasn't one she held full confidence in, but she displayed full conviction in her choice regardless. Just because she held her anxieties, didn't mean the others needed to see them. "Seven members should be more than enough." It wasn't as if all of them would be needed at once, that was the hope, anyway.
"I question some of these candidates." All eyes turned to the large Scrying Orb in the centre of the table. Unlike Weiss, the King of Atlas held enough power that he didn't worry about showing hesitancy or weakness. Or perhaps her brother was just more straight-forward than she was. "If we could discuss this further-"
"I assume you speak of Onyx Malachite and Gray Daichi?" Both names that its unlikely many people at all had heard of, so she could understand his worry. Trusting Onyx was a surprise, but Ruby had sung his praises enough to make Weiss relent. The other man, however, Gray, he was more of an enigma at first. Velvet had looked through many a Hunter to find anyone she could recommend for the Drake Squad, but only two names had stuck. Fox Allistar, and Yatsuhashi Daichi. Surprisingly, both of them had refused positions on the squad, but Yatsuhashi had provided a different name for recommendation. His half-brother, Gray.
The brothers were mysteries to Weiss, but both Coco and Velvet had attested to trusting Yatsuhashi with their lives, and if he trusted his life with his brother...? Well, the logic made sense, but Weiss still had her doubts.
Looking at his file again, all of them strewn about in many different copies across the table in front of each council member, she was struck by how similar Gray looked to his brother. While the Hunter of the two had Giant's blood, Gray was a Faunas. Looking at him again, Weiss couldn't help but sigh. Surely, she thought, her reasoning for doubting Gray must be due to some inbuilt discrimination she still held towards Faunas. She had resisted most of her father's teachings, but some of that had likely broken through.
Yes, that must be it.
"I believe the both of them will make excellent entries to the Drake Squad, as well as the rest of these individuals." Even given the power difference between her brother and herself, she was the one between them who got the final say in this matter. Simply thanks to her wife being the only one who could actually give the go ahead for any of the Drake Squad. "I have already come up with a priority list for them."
"Explain."
"Most situations won't call for more than one or two Dragon's, so the question of who we turn first should already be prepared. My list of priority, from first to last, is Serena Schnee, Velvet Scarlatina, Coco Adel, Robyn Hill, Gray Daichi, Onyx Malachite, and Blake Xiao Long." Even given her decision to trust those two, they were still put towards the end of that list.
"May I ask-" Whitley jumped at the opportunity to further his own goal... But frankly, Weiss was done resisting at this point.
"Serena Schnee is first because in the event we require her aid as a Dragon, she will remain one permanently." Blake was last on the list for that exact same reason. Her decision to sacrifice her heritage that meant so much to her was not one Weiss took lightly, and one she would only make her sister-in-law see through if absolutely necessary.
Her brother smiled through the call, his expression one of relief and gratitude. It was almost enough for Weiss to think it was worth it, handing Atlas another Dragon... Especially one with a Hybrid Affinity.
"It'll be fine."
For now, anyway. So long as this war continued, and likely for long after it, Atlas would remain Vale's ally.
Life would return to peace, once all this was over.
Ruby Schnee
"You know... This isn't what I thought Weiss had in mind when she said I had to go to... 'counselling'." Her words were met with a light chuckle as the blond sat opposite her, the two couches separated by a small coffee table.
"Well, I'm no phycologist. But I believe her majesty is looking for immediate results rather than long term goals. That can come after the war." A rare smile treated her face, one which Ruby returned. "Right now, a friend to talk to might just be enough."
"Glynda, I don't even know what we're going to talk about." Ruby leaned back, trying to relax and pretend this was nothing more than just a talk between friends... and not essentially a bootlegged therapy session.
"Whatever plagues your mind." The Rose Dragon was quick to realise that her supposed 'therapist' also had no idea how to handle this, and was just simply doing her best to follow the Queen's orders.
"Least I can do is make it easy for her..."
The second Ruby moved to speak, she realised that Weiss had likely realised Ruby would think that and open up immediately to Glynda. "I guess... There are some things that I think about like that..." An understatement to be sure, but Glynda waited for her to continue. "The things I've done, the things I think I can do... Rory, Cinder, Carmine, Emerald... all of it is just... a lot." When it rains it pours, and Ruby was prepared to let it all out. "But, above all of that... I don't know what my goal is."
Perhaps the thing that worried her the most, and the thing that Glynda focused on. "Can you elaborate?"
Not that it was hard for Ruby to comply with that request, after all, how difficult was it to say 'I have no dream'? "When I was younger, my dream was to find the Dragon Formula. My goal, my ambition, what my life was working towards... It was an impossible goal, one that should have taken me most of my life. Instead, I accomplished it before I was twenty, and my reward was an eternal life after the fact. Even more time to have no dream." Apparently it was very difficult.
"Ruby, you're an adult. Perhaps it's rude of me to say, but most people would say that dreams are for children." While a part of Ruby desperately wanted to refute that, the majority of her knew that Glynda wasn't done. "Now, obviously, ambitions and goals are things that all adults can have. In fact, it's probably better to have them than not. But at a certain point, you have to accept that your life is about more than just a single goal."
"But shouldn't I have-"
"Ruby." The Queen Consort wasn't interrupted by a yell or even a normal volume, instead, Glynda spoke calmly, with a gentle smile Ruby could only compare to how her mother used to look at her. "Your inability to find a goal, perhaps that doesn't speak to a problem with you. Have you considered the possibility that you already have everything you want?" A loving family, the funding to do whatever research she wanted, an eternal life and an accomplished dream... Ruby was faced with the question now of what could she possibly want on top of all of that?
"... Am I just... being greedy...?"
Ambitions, pride, goals, who says she needs them? Perhaps this was her goal, her desire. Any living thing got to decide for themselves what they wanted in their life, and if Ruby already had all she wanted, then that just meant that her goal now was to keep it all.
"My ambition is just the continuation of the status quo...?"
The goal to keep the current situation how it was because it gave her all she wanted... Perhaps Ruby was becoming a decent politician after all.
"You're right." A smile stretched across her face as her mind flickered with thoughts of her own stupidity for not seeing it sooner, yet once again, Glynda threw a wrench into that.
"No, Ruby, I'm not. Maybe for now I am, but just because I've given you a new perspective doesn't mean it won't change." A desperate attempt from the witch to throw a bucket of cold water over the Dragon before she got carried away... and she was probably right anyway. Just because Ruby had all she wanted now didn't mean that wouldn't change in the future. "Now, how about we talk more on some other issues plaguing you."
"This definitely isn't a therapy session, even I know Glynda couldn't pull that off."
But maybe all she had needed was to have this talk with a friend.
Ruby had to hand it to Weiss, her plans always seemed to work.
"Not like I doubted that anyway."
A chuckle echoed through the empty hall as she moved, heading to no particular destination at the moment. Ruby felt odd, like she was lighter? Talking had helped, and even though Glynda had told her not to latch onto that idea for a motivation... How could she not? Persistence, perseverance, things would continue how they were, Ruby would make sure of it. She'd keep her family, her loved ones, this situation, and anything that threatened it was something she would have to handle.
Which, for now of course, included the war.
"Not that I can do much about that myself."
Now with a destination in mind, she decided to at least try and help that situation as much as possible. With a shifted course, her movements through the endless halls took her straight to the war room, a place she had visited often when it had still been the council chamber. Though, maybe 'often' was being generous.
Silver eyes flickered over the doors as her steps approached the room. No doubt the people inside - or at least Weiss - would have heard her approach thanks to her boots rather than a more reasonable choice of footwear for a Queen, but the admittedly impressive magics interwoven with the room prevented any sound from entering or leaving when it was activated. Still, looking over the door, Ruby couldn't help but chuckle along with her thoughts as she opened the doors that should have been heavy.
"I should redo these enchantments at some point."
"-And you're sure?"
"Of course I'm sure!"
"Can we all just calm down!?"
"Oh, Ruby?" The Queen as well as all others with raised voices immediately paused at the Queen Consorts entrance... Or, perhaps in this room, it would be better for her to be referred to as the Royal Wizard. "We weren't expecting you-"
"I came on my own, is it such a surprise that I want to help?" With a smile that would hopefully convey that she meant it, Ruby finished entering the room and made sure the doors clicked shut behind her. "What's going on?" The air in the room was tense to put it lightly, on call on both the big Scrying Orb in the centre of the table as well as a smaller one next to it, were General Ironwood and the King of Atlas.
"We've received a report-" Unlike the other two, Weiss wasted no time in answering Ruby's question as she moved to the table and took her seat at the Queen's side. "-Scouts have spotted squadrons from Vacuo, they appear to be marching on the border."
"Allegedly." Ironwood was clearly doubtful, but the Schnee siblings had him outnumbered in that regard.
"More importantly than that-" As evident by the fact that Weiss continued without acknowledging his interruption. "We have detected an incredibly large Mana source in the nearby ocean. Something powerful is lurking in the waters right next to Vale's capital, and our assumption is-"
"Dagon." Ruby finished Weiss's thought, and the Queen nodded as if to tell her she was correct. "We could handle one or the other, but both at once is tricky-" Ruby mumbled, looking down at the table while trying to work through this while the others talked... Or, she thought they were talking. "Jaune and Pyrrha could both beat Dagon one on one, so they'll have to stay here. Qrow can't handle Vacuo's troops because he needs to be on constant lookout for Hazel to try and take him out... That leaves only really the remaining Hunters and whatever Dragon's we can spare for Vacuo's army..." There was the Atlas fleet as well, but... "If they pull all of our forces to those two fronts, they might have a plan in place to seize Atlas's capital and take the Dust Spike for themselves with it undefended... Either that or they have a way of detonating the whole thing at once..." Ruby wasn't actually sure how much damage that would do.
"They wouldn't do that-" But apparently Ironwood did. Ruby's eyes flicked up and to the others as she realised they had all been listening to her words. "It was worked out centuries ago. The Dust Spike completely detonating would scorch the whole of Remnant, no kingdom would survive." Perhaps it was arrogant of Ruby to think this, but she knew they wouldn't do that so long as it put her in danger.
"They don't have the last Phrase of the Dragon Formula yet..."
Currently, that was something only Ruby held, they wouldn't kill her until they had it.
"I guess that makes my life a pretty big bargaining chip..."
Though, that wasn't a thought process Ruby wanted to entertain, and certainly not one Weiss wanted to hear. "Have they reached the border yet?"
"No. They'll likely arrive in two days." Weiss was quick to answer any and all of Ruby's questions in such a way that she didn't have to ask follow-up questions, honestly, the more Ruby saw of Weiss like this, the more pride she felt in how good her wife was at it.
"Then we just need to hold them off from getting there. The forces we can spare besides the Harbingers, the fleet, and the Hero are more than enough to keep them from reaching the border for a long time." A plan formed in her head, and for once she felt confident about her ability to operate in this council.
Though, Ironwood still needed convincing. "And what would we use this time to do?"
"The Border barriers. They wrap around the entire country and only have ritual circles over the land. If I can rewire that section of the barrier, I can stop them from coming in that way." It would be time-consuming and very difficult, and it would be an upgrade only designed to last a few years... But it would be enough to stop them from using an army on them.
"How long would it take to upgrade the whole line of rituals that stretch across that landmass? Ruby, that's a distance that spans from sea to sea." Whitley was technically right, but it was actually the thinnest part of Vale's side of the continent. Still, it would definitely take a long time.
If she had to do it alone. "I only need to do the first few sections myself and then put the finishing touches on once it's done, the rest can be done by anyone once I've made a detailed list of instructions." That would drastically reduce the time it took, and if Ruby worked well enough, they could even use golems to do it instead of troops. It would cut the process down from years to months, and easily grant them more time than it took.
The only one who needed no convincing was sitting right next to Ruby, and as their eyes met, Ruby found only confidence and trust behind those Light Blue orbs. The war proper had just begun, and it seemed that the Queen was grateful that Ruby was ready to help.
But a sinking feeling kicked in as Weiss turned to the council and laid out their plans proper, making Ruby's ideas official.
"That was an idea, sure... but was it a good one?"
Ruby lacked in experience with this kind of thing, and Weiss's trust in her could certainly backfire if Ruby was wrong. If Ruby had overlooked something, if she had failed to account for something... Then whatever mistake they were about to walk into would be her fault.
"No, it's fine."
She didn't want to only be confident when using Pride, Ruby wanted to be the best version of herself. She trusted Weiss, and she trusted that Weiss wouldn't allow her feelings to get in the way of agreeing with her.
No one else had spoken up, this would be fine. This was the right thing to do.
Everything was going to be ok.
"... Right...?"
29th Day, Fourth Strike, 2115 PE