Chapter 5
=-=- January 16, 2021.
Happy New Year everyone! When I started this fic, I never expected that it would get favorited by almost a hundred people, especially not in just four chapters. Thank you all for supporting my story!
This is going to be the event where 'Glace' drew the attention of General Ironwood, and Winter debriefs these events to team WRPA. For the record, I am not trying to be mysterious when it comes to the identity of the Winter Knight, in chapter one, yes, the whole chapter was supposed to be mysterious and intriguing, and in chapter three I was just having fun looking up ice wielders from other animes. Keep in mind that no one else in this universe actually know who he is yet, so I can't justify naming him before the other characters know who he is.
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Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Roosterteeth not me. Copy and paste
Chapter 5: The Ones who met a Legend
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A young woman sprints across the tundra carrying her child. Her long purple hair whips around in the wind and the right side of her head is wrapped in medical bandages and gauze, obscuring one of her brown eyes and her winter coat has a huge tear in it from when she was pulled from the crashed vehicle, but it doesn't stop her as she flees from the battlefield of dead and dying bandits, soldiers, grim, and civilians. The soldiers tasked with escorting the caravan are busy trying to repel the attackers, but with more than half of the ground transports destroyed, the civilians have become stranded on the battlefield. The panic sparked by civilians being stuck on a battlefield attracted the grimm at a much faster rate than they should have come. Even though a few huntsmen stayed back to guard them, there is no way the hunters can protect all of them.
Azula had realized this before it was too late, she grabbed her child and ran off into the storm, believing that if she could get away from the battlefield and away from the negativity, then they would be safer. The only grace she feels right now is that her little boy is unharmed.
"Mommy, I'm scared," the little boy whimpers,
"It's going to be ok honey, as long as we just keep going, we will be alright." Azula cooed, trying to be reassuring for her child.
She was mostly right, the grimm had been drawn to the greater source of negativity from the caravan than her and her son, but that would not last long. If the grimm are as savage as she heard, they would either kill everyone at the convoy or they would go after the most helpless of the group.
She keeps running and telling him not to look back, hoping to spare him the carnage and a horrible fate. The only thing that he would see if he looked back would be the slaughter of people they had been traveling with and burning wreckage of their transports. Just got to keep going. I have to get away. She runs into the storm to escape the carnage happening behind her. She runs till the sounds of gunfire and screams can barely be heard in the distance, and keeps going until her legs feel like they are going to give out. She is so exhausted that she does not hear the music, nor the shapes of the ruins around her. She only stops running when she runs into something, or rather, someone.
The injured woman falls into the snow and when she looks up, there is a tall man standing before them, who seemed unbothered by the cold. His hair and clothes are both covered in a layer of snow and ice, his clothing choice looks wrong considering that it is well into the negatives, a thin well-worn grey jacket, grey bracelets, blue jeans, and rugged looking shoes.
His outfit seemed more fitted for someone in a warmer climate, like Vale or Mistral, absolutely not the tundra that was Atlas, yet he seemed more concentrated on her. The most noticeable thing about him is his eyes or the lack of; his eyes are completely white, it looked like ice has completely coated over his eye sockets.
"Well, I don't often see people out here, and even when I do meet others, it's even more rare for them literally run into me." The Legend jests, until he notices the state they're in, the slashed clothes, the injuries, and completely exhausted.
"You're Glace aren't you, the wandering Legend?" asked the little boy. The boy did think that he was a little scary, mostly just because of the colorless eyes.
"That I am. What are you two doing out in the wastelands? I can see that you two really aren't prepared being out here." Glace questioned. The woman looked to be in her early 30s, while the kid was probably around eight.
"There are monsters are chasing us, help us!" The little boy shouted.
"Geo…" the woman gasped trying to get up only to collapse again.
"Sorry mommy. Excuse me Mr. Glace my name is Geo, would you please help us? My mom is hurt, and the monsters are chasing us and it's really cold." Geo repeated, in a more polite tone. The Winter Knight smiled down at him.
What a good kid. It was definitely not his manners that she was worried about. I need to get them out of the cold if soon, especially if they are being chased by grimm.
Glace got down on a knee so that he was down on Geo's eye level. "Hello Geo, I am going to help you and your mom. I am going to make a castle to protect you and your mom, ok. We can make a spot to warm her up and I will deal with the monsters chasing you. How does that sound?" Glace offered,
The small child was visible shaking with fear that it could be seen even with the puffy green winter clothes, he and his mom were all alone and she had just collapsed from exhausted, even though her winter clothes had been badly torn, she still thought that running into a blizzard was a better option than staying.
"Please, just help my mom." The little boy begged, he was on the verge of tears, "sh-she's tired and hurt, a-and she carried me away from the monsters."
The legend looked at the boy, his heart ached. He gave the boy the warmest smile he could and nodded. He sat down on the ground and pulled out his flute. Glace closed his eyes, not that Geo could see, and concentrated on an image. A few moments passed, sounds of cracking ice, breaking and reforming echoed through the storm, the snow and ice seemed to be pulled from the surrounding area and formed into walls right before their eyes. Geo looked between the castle and the Legend in utter shock of what he was seeing.
It wasn't exactly a castle and more of a large fort, but Geo was still awestruck by it. The young boy heard Glace mutter to himself, "I thought I could have made it bigger" before he walked through the 'front gates' of the fort. The walls weren't anywhere close to as large or strong as the walls that were built around an actual settlement, but they would be hold out against a small grimm attack.
Glace wasted no more time, he picked up Azula in a bridal carry and started walking towards the fort. Azula blushed at how intimate and safe she felt while he was carrying her.
"Thank you." The purple haired woman in his arms leaned into him.
Glace looked back at Geo, "Come on kid, we need to get behind the walls, if you were running away from monsters, then they are probably still chasing you be coming."
Being reminded that they were still in danger snapped Geo out of his awe, he quickly follows Glace and enters the ice fortress.
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Glace gently set Azula down on an area clear of snow patch and then stomped his foot, curling the snow around them into walls around them but leaving a small, low opening, creating an igloo. He took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders and she quickly put it on. She was pleasantly surprised when feeling started returning to her numb body, the coat was really warm, good job at warming her. The coat hadn't been zipped up when he had been wearing it. Geo walked over and hugged his mother, she pulled him into the jacket.
She was curious, "How is this jacket already so warm?"
He chuckled at her confusion. "It has fire dust used for heating insulation, it feeds off a fraction of a person's aura to work, I've practically never used it because the cold doesn't affect me, but I keep it because it was a gift."
"That was very generous of that person to give something this nice as a gift."
He nodded, not willing to say any more about it.
He sets his bag down next to her and takes out a couple of dust crystals of varying sizes. He pockets a brown crystal as well as a yellow one and hands it to her a red one, "here, hang onto this until I take care of the grimm."
"Why are you giving me a dust crystal, and aren't the red ones unstable?" Azula asked with heavy concern.
"I'm giving this to you for worst case scenario, I wasn't with you so I have no idea the kinds of grimm that will be coming and once they show up, I can't prepare anymore." The Winter Knight explained, "And for the record, the fire dust crystals are as stable as all the others, they have the most dangerous reaction. And as long as you don't, you know, recklessly put aura into it or bash them into anything, they are safe."
Azula still gave him an apprehensive look with her one good eye while holding a fire dust crystal the size of her palm.
"Look Ms.-"
"Just call me Azula."
"Alright then, Azula, I swear to you that I will keep you and your son safe, but right now, I need his help to be a lookout for grimm."
Her lips tightened into a thin line, but she conceded. She was not comfortable with trusting his him even if he had a reputation of protecting people in the wastelands.
Glace looked at the boy in her arms. "Hey Geo, I need your help for a bit, you up for it."
"Sure thing, Mr. Glace. What are we going to do?"
"We're going to make this a game, we are going to play defend the castle. Alright? Now, I want you to hold onto this, this is my compass. What I am going to do is make a tower with you at the top, and when you see the monsters coming towards us, call out which direction that they are coming from and I will kill them."
"Ok." Geo took the compass and stepped onto the ice platform that was created for him.
"Hang tight, it will be a little scary, but your brave right?"
"Y-Yes." The boy announced, trying to be braver than he really was.
"Sorry what did you say kid?"
"I said I am a brave boy." Geo answered with more confidence this time.
"Good."
And with that, the tower rose under Geo, it was less of a tower and more of a spire of ice with a slide. The tower was raised roughly 30 feet high. The slide looped around the pillar and when all the way to the bottom.
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After the tower was completed, he walked up a set of stairs so that he could be at the top of the wall and waited.
"It's good to see you helping others again." A voice said from next to him. "You know that it is bad for you to be alone."
A woman walked up behind him, her white cloak and jacket made her blend in very well to the area around her. Her hood was up which hid and kept the snow out of her hazel-colored hair. Despite her attire, she was not invisible in this environment, her tan complexion as well as her brown belt that doubled as armor for her midriff, pants and boots stood out in the white wasteland. With her cloak wrapped tightly around her, it mostly hid the red underside color of the cloak. She gave him a smile as she strolled to stand next to him, he smiled softly back.
"Same could be said for you Lavan, you always disappear when other people show up. If you traveled with us, it would change the story that the boy and his mom are going to tell." Glace countered, "It might also make it easier for me to travel."
"I won't if you are going to use it as an excuse to keep running away." Lavan crossed her arms, and gave him a mock frown, it was almost playful, but she did not let it take away from the seriousness of what she wanted to say. "And you know why I can't even if you won't admit it to yourself, you've spent far too long being away from people and your family. You need to go back."
"We've talked about this over the years, I don't know how to protect others from myself. Don't forget about the people who have come after me before, they are ruthless and cunning, I don't want them to target my family. My own happiness is not worth the risk. I have made the best choice that I can to stay away. I'll promise you as well, the same thing I promised that I will protect them until I can get them to the nearest settlement, but then I'm heading my own way."
"You've always been a stubborn boy. It has gotten you into as much trouble as it has gotten you out of it over the years." she smiles and gently caresses his cheek before she leaps off the wall and disappears from sight.
He sighs and then hears his grimm early alert system sound off.
"Hey Mr, I see some monsters. They are coming from the… West!" Geo yelled.
Makes sense, that would be the direction from where these two were running from.
He blew a few notes with his flute before putting it away. Normally he would to be reactionary, let the grimm come to him and kill them without wasting much energy and time. But this was one of more difficult situations where he was going to have to do this differently, he had people to protect, and waiting for the grimm would be a death sentence to the two who couldn't defend themselves.
The beasts of darkness always came after a tragedy and the three of them probably gave off more than enough negativity to attract them. They probably wouldn't have that much time for peace, it would become a cycle, he would kill them, they would be safe for a while, they would come again, and it would continue until he became exhausted and was killed or until he got them back to a settlement.
The wind picked up as he looked at the grimm. He was going to have to fight them differently now. Now he had people to protect, he couldn't just wait until the grimm were right on top of him to kill them, if he did that, then the woman and her child would be killed and it would be his fault that they died. He needed to be able to kill them while they were still at a distance. Unfortunately, on the continent of Solitas, grimm tended to be either very agile or very tough, this would not leave him with much time to come with a solution.
They were just black spots against the snow, that meant that he had a little bit of time to plan. He waited for the grimm to get close enough so he could see which kind they were. There were several Sabyrs and no others, they weren't the toughest or most dangerous, but they were the most aggressive around, the most dangerous would be the manticores, those things are freaking tough and they can fly. The most annoying would arguable be the ground dwellers and the Teryx, one is always hidden from you and waits to take you by surprise from underground, the other is smart enough to dive bomb you at the worst moments, as well as the fact that they are tougher and just as agile as Nevermores. Megoliath were usually not a problem because they were intelligent enough to stay away from settlements unless a hoard of grimm had amassed, and the amount of negativity became irresistible.
Glace considered them lucky, there weren't a many Sabyrs coming at them. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and began concentrate. This is not just for me, there are others who need me to defend them. He felt the power inside of him stir and respond. He smiled in understanding.
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Geo saw the Glace stare off into the distance, he put his hands on the ice ledge in front of him, and then raised them to the sky and waited for the grimm to run right into his trap. The kid it looked up and saw large chunks of ice floating in the sky. He didn't understand until he saw the Knight slam his hands down on the wall in front of him.
Gravity took control over the floating ice and it plummeted down. Grimm didn't realize they were charging into an avalanche. The grimm were crushed by boulders that were just as big as them. The Winter Knight was always thankful for small miracles, such as the single mindedness of the less intelligent grimm that were so focused on getting to the humans at the fortress that they didn't see floating ice.
The boy cheered from the tower, but the Legend called out to him; "Stay focused kid, I need you to keep looking, you have the better view from up there." Geo did refocus and spotted more black dots in the distance,
"I see more of them! And they are coming from the left, I mean South!" he called out.
The legend jogged over to the south wall and stared at the approaching grimm.
As the grimm got closer, it became clear that it was not Sabyrs, "Hey Mr. Glace, what are those? They don't look like first ones I saw."
"Got that right kid, those are called Gigawolves, basically they are Beowolves that have adapted to live in this hellish cold. Tch, it also means that they are tougher." He grumbled
Like the Megoliath, and the Sabyrs. Even the same species of grimm are more dangerous if they are found in Solitas than if they are found anywhere else on Remnant. The Winter Knight raised his arms up again to chest level this time, but what happened was different this time, no ice formed overhead, and he looked like he was trying to raise his arms with weights tied to them.
The sound of cracking and breaking echoed loudly throughout the valley as a huge area of the landscape itself had been shifted, it was now a field of spikes. The change happened in an instant and the Gigawolves never saw what killed them, they were lifted off the ground as they were impales from underneath by ice spikes. The quickly dissolved into ash after dying.
"That was AWESOME!" Geo shouted and then he saw the Legend slump over with labored breathing, "Hey, Mr. Glace. Are you alright?"
He called out in between breaths. "I'm good. Never did that. Before. It took. A lot out. Of me. See anymore?"
"No, I don't see anymore."
Glace waited til he caught his breath before speaking again, "Let's wait a little longer and then you can come down from there."
They waited for a few more minutes, but no new grimm showed up.
"I still don't see anymore. Hey Mister, can I get down now? It's really high and windy up here." Geo called out.
The Winter Knight chuckled, "Yeah, you can come on down now."
The boy laughed as he went down the spiraling slide.
He climbs down off the walls, walks over and crawls into the igloo to where the woman was, "Hey, it's safe now, are you ok?"
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The three sat in an igloo around a small flame for a bit, then the Winter Knight unfolded a map of Solitas.
"Do you know which settlement you were headed to before you chose to literally run into me?" Glace, he spread out a map of Solitas in front of all of them.
Aluza blushes and points to one of the more northern settlements, "The convoy we joined was headed to Edoras, you know the lake town settlement on the Northwest coast of the Great Lake?"
Glace nods, "Yeah, I've been there once or twice, the city's design is very much suited for defense against grimm, but it makes the layout of the rest of the city very interesting and unique."
"You've actually been in the city?"
"Yeah, I stayed there for a few days. You should remember, I've been wandering for the last 10 years, I have traveled through a lot of places."
Azula continues, "Anyways… when the convoy was attacked, the area we were traveling through was very rugged uneven, there was also a few feet of fresh snow so our vehicles were slowed. They used their heaviest weapons to hit the armored transports first and managed to disable most of them, I think that they believed that the supplies and equipment were in the armored transports."
It was a logical deduction on her part, but what was interesting about how she described the raid itself. It seemed like the bandits carried out their ambush well, but they chose the wrong targets. It also sounded like Atlas was either trying to start another major settlement or was evacuating large groups of people from an overrun settlement. The latter was more likely considering the lack of aircraft escorts.
If the bandits had hit the transports carrying the supplies, the rest of the convoy would have most likely kept moving, the soldiers would have engaged in a firefight, but only until the civilians were safely out of harm's way and then would have retreated. The Kingdom of Atlas put the protection of civilian life as one of its highest priorities and considering that it had the lowest population of the four kingdoms it was a necessary measure. While the other three Kingdoms would allow for settlements to exist without any ties to the capital, the Atlasean government kept ties with every settlement.
The policy that had been implemented a few years after the Great War 80 years ago: in a convoy that is transporting supplies, people, and military personnel, the heaviest armored land transports were designated to be used by the civilians who lack the capabilities to defend themselves. That way the civilians would have the highest chance of survival until the rest of the convoy could respond and stop the threat.
Typically in Atlas, the cargo transports are the lightest armored because supplies are considered replaceable whereas people are not, the armor on vehicles carrying huntsmen and soldiers varied, but they were usually in the fastest vehicle in convoy so that they can respond to any approaching threat and avoid being hit.
"By targeting and disabled most of the civilian transports and stranding us, it forced the huntsmen and soldiers to go after the bandits to stop them so they wouldn't kill more of us, but it was already too late. The panic attracted the grimm, and since there was already so much negativity among the people, the grimm were close by." She started to shake, recalling what had happened, "and now we are stranded out here and I -"
Glace reached out and took her hand, his hands were warm, and his grip felt comforting.
"You survived a hellish situation and found me. Don't forget that I promised to protect you both, and that means that I am not going to let you die out here."
His promise seemed to calm the anxious purple-haired woman.
"The closest settlement is Edoras, which I'm guessing you two were already headed. It's a few days walk but we can make it."
"Can't we just go back to the others?" Geo whined.
"It's very dangerous to head back that way and they're probably already gone." Azula reasoned.
"The area is probably still crawling with grimm. I wouldn't go back there even if there was a guarantee of a working vehicle." The Legend agreed.
They went over what options they could think of in making a plan, until Glace pointed out a fatal problem.
"Your own clothes have some large tears in them, wow, I think it is by your sheer will that you got as far as you did. But without winter gear or aura, you won't make it back to another settlement. I only have one coat and not enough fire dust left to last the three days it will take to walk to Edoras and I refuse to watch one of you freeze to death."
"If it's that bad, what are you planning on doing?"
"The only thing I can do, I am going to unlock both your auras, it will help to protect you from the cold as well as from getting hurt in the future."
"What do you mean? And what does aura do?" Geo asked. He wasn't old enough to have been taught about the properties and laws of aura just yet, but now seemed like as good a time as any.
"I am going to give you your own personal shield that will always protect you." Winter Knight simplified.
"That sounds awesome! Where did you learn to do that?" The little boy practically bubbled with excitement,
"I had a dear friend who taught me about aura and unlocked mine. She told me that she believed that; 'aura is the manifestation of our soul. It protects us, it empowers us and does so much more'."
"That was beautiful, your friend sounds wise, is she a huntress?" Azula reflected.
"Yes, she was." He let it sink in for a moment. "My friend looked for the good in any situation and person, but she never let it cloud her reality. I wish I could be more like her, but I just can't see things the same way."
"Mr. Glace, how are you going to give me my shield?" Geo asked.
Glace looked between mother and son, "from what she taught me about aura, what I need to do is use my aura or my personal shield, as the bridge that will then unlock your aura."
"That sounds AWESOME!" Geo looked ecstatic, but his mother looked more apprehensive.
"Isn't it dangerous? Didn't you say that it is the reason you are wandering out here by yourself?"
Her son immediately got defensive instead of the Legend, "No way. There is no way something so cool could make someone want to be alone."
Glace smiled at the boy, young kids were so innocent that they didn't see the bad until it hit them in the face, and Geo wasn't any different.
"No, as far as my friend and I know, there is no danger in unlocking someone's aura, it is the extra abilities that comes afterwards that can make things difficult. And when it comes to those, it depends on what you are."
"Extra abilities? Like when you created constructs out of ice to shield us from the storm and grimm?"
He doesn't say anything for a bit and stares into the small flame and added a pinch of dust to the fire. Geo and Azula were both interested in what he by having an extra ability with aura, they waited patiently for the legend to continue, and eventually he did. "The extra ability is called a Semblance, it is the physical manifestation of who you are. Some people can heal others without touching them, and others can create unbreakable shields as protection, some people can inspire people to blindly follow them, and some people are the incarnation of a natural disaster. You just don't know what you are until it is revealed."
"If the risk is so high, why are you suggesting this for my son?" Azula asked, what he said did make her uneasy.
"Honestly, the idea of unlocking both your auras is the last resort option, but that's kind of where we are at." He scratched the back of his neck. "None of us have scrolls so we can't call for help, we have a limited supply of food, an even more limited supply of dust for heat, and to top off our situation, Azula, your winter clothes are basically for modesty know."
She looked down, he was right, if they stayed here they would either freeze or starve.
"Alright then." Azula said softly, "but I want you to unlock mine first."
The Winter Knight knelt in front of her. "This may be a little awkward, and I have to put my hands on you to do this, but please bear with me for a moment." He put the palm of his left hand on the center of her chest, above her breasts and his right hand rested on the temple on the left side of her head. His body shined with a bright white aura as he spoke, and a pulse spread through his hands and poured into her, she could feel his aura connect with something deep within her, he was gentle, and the sound of his voice called out to her.
"For it is in solitude that we achieve sanctuary. Through this we unshackle our burdens from others and protect them. Infinite in selflessness and bound by love, I release your soul, and by my exile, forget thee."
His words were powerful and sad, and at the same time Azula felt them give her warmth and push away her fear. She looked at herself to see the glow emanating from her body was different than his, hers looked to be a light blue colored aura. She felt energized and actual felt warm.
She looked back at the Legend. "So when will I get my sem-blance and know what I will be?"
"I don't know, I didn't get mine right, but let's not worry about that for now. How are you feeling?
"I feel good, and I still feel like me thank you."
"If you weren't too badly hurt, your aura will heal whatever injury you got earlier and then you won't need the bandages."
"I think it was just a cut, but I am not entirely sure."
She gingerly touches the bandages and motions for Geo to come over, and for Glace to proceed.
He repeated the process with Geo, only this time purple aura emanated from the boy. The look on his face told her that he experienced the same awe that she felt.
"Having aura does not make you invincible, it will protect you from a lot, but there is a limit to how much it can do." He warned, his hand subconsciously raised to the scar on his neck.
"I can't thank you enough, but what happens to us now, when we get back, I know there are laws about having our aura unlocked?"
"I really don't know, I'm sure that there are places that can teach you what to do if you aren't like me."
"Like what? Selfless, kindhearted, caring?" Azula challenged
"Dangerous and uncontrollable! I can end a settlement just by being there! I tried for years to get control over power, but it's impossible to contain a force of nature, I just want to stop hurting people." Glace shouted back. He took a moment to calm down, they didn't deserve to be yelled at.
"I'm sorry, but no matter what you may think of me, it doesn't change that I hurt people whenever they get too close or stay too long."
The mood grew somber, the purple haired mother did not know how to respond to him, so she stayed silent.
"Look, just get some sleep for now, you'll need to be well rested for when we set off tomorrow."
He unstrapped his weatherproof sleeping bag from his large travel pack and unrolled it for them. "Only got one, so you two are going to have to share this until you get to safety."
He pulled out a blanket rolled into it and went to sleep.
The mother and son slipped into the sleep bag and also drifted off to sleep.
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The Winter Knight handed them an MRE packet for breakfast, it wasn't a good meal, but it was packed with double (sometimes triple depending on the meal) the calories that they needed for the day.
"These are gross!" the boy complained.
Glace chuckled, "You are right about that, but you need to eat, we have a long journey ahead of us."
Geo shook his head, "I think I'd rather starve."
"Geo, you need to eat, if you don't then you will be too tired to walk to Edoras, we can't carry you all the way to city, we can't distract Glace since he is going to be protecting us." His mother encouraged
Geo cheeks puffed out as he pouted.
Azula saw Glace give her a wink. Wait, he winked at her? When did his eyes go back to normal? She stared at him, the ice still clung to his hair hiding the color, but his eyes. His eyes were a beautiful sapphire blue, they were like a sea of emotions when she looked at them.
"How about this, you eat these meal packets for the next two or so days that you're stuck out here with me, and the first meal you have when you get back to civilization will be paid for by me. You can have whatever you want."
Geo brightened at that and finished his MRE, but he still made faces the entire time. After Geo was finished, the Winter Knight declared that it was time to go. And with that, the three left the protection of the ice fort and headed northbound.
Azula noticed that the ice reformed over his eyes like goggle lenses and as they traveled, the snow seemed to be packed down only in front of them as they walked, almost like the trail was being made in front of them. The two aura protected civilians made sure to stay close to Glace as he walked, it just felt like the space around him was warmer, maybe it's part of his semblance, he hasn't told us all that much about himself, but then again, who would just tell a stranger their deepest secret.
It took two full days of walking for the city of Edoras to finally be in sight. The journey was anything but uneventful, they were constantly plagued by grimm attacks. Each time grimm would appeared, Glace would immediately manipulate the ice and snow around them to erect walls and rows of spike traps similar to what he did the first time before killing them.
Azula constantly apologized for being the source of attracting the grimm, but Glace refused to let her apologize stating that grimm attacks on him were normal and then he would continue on.
Not to mention that even though Geo was an energetic eight year old, he did not have the stamina to travel all day, so Azula and Glace would switch off carrying the exhausted boy.
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"I can see barely Edoras, it's now at most a half a day away." The Winter Knight announced. The purple haired mother hugged him and thanking him all the more.
"I will stay with you until we get close enough that where one of the city's border patrols will find you and bring you in."
"Are you sure that you can't come with us? We didn't have to walk in a storm to get here, if anything it was clear." She offers
"Give it a couple of days and it will change." Glace replied sadly. "It will be less time now that it's already fall."
He carefully adjusted the sleeping boy on his back.
"If you were so dangerous, you would never have offered to carry my son and I would have never let you." She pointed out, "you keep claiming to be so dangerous, but you have been our guardian haven't done anything to harm us since we met you, and we were complete strangers to you."
"Just because someone does the right thing and has no intentions of cause harm doesn't mean they're harmless," he countered, "do you think that huntsmen are harmless? They do the right thing by killing grimm and taking down criminals."
He didn't wait for an answer to his rhetorical question, "The difference between me them and them is that they have restraint and control. I barely have restraint, but I what I don't have that I desperately need is control and I have a decade of trying to show that I don't have that."
"Just think about this, you are not the only person alive who has dangerous semblances and abilities, there have to be others out there, and perhaps one of them can help you if you let them." The purple haired woman said quietly before looking back at the city in the distance.
"I told you—"
"I am not arguing with you, I am just asking you to think about it."
"Let's keep going, we are not close enough to be safe." He continued walking and he couldn't help but think about it. If she is right, then maybe, just maybe I could… No, they would have to come and find me, who would be crazy enough to do that?
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Edoras was a settlement built on a mountain. The town hall as well as other government buildings were all built at the top of a small mountain. With housing and markets and industrial buildings could be seen from a distance spanning down the slopes of the mountain. The purpose of this location was purely for the defense against grimm raids.
They walked for a few more hours before the Winter Knight stopped and claimed they were close enough. He handed her a couple hundred lien. "I won't be needed this anytime soon, but you can use it to buy that meal that I promised the little guy."
Azula objected to this right away. "You can't just give me this money, you saved us, if anything we should be paying you."
"Yes I can, and I am because I did make a promise remember and something that has stuck with me through my time in the wilderness is that I still really hate the idea of breaking a promise."
Azula gave in, but she still had to ask him, "Are you sure that you can't come with us? It's not right for anyone to have be alone for their entire life."
Glace shook his head, "I am not going to argue with you about this, I think you are right, but I also think that I am an exception."
"If you won't stay where will you go?"
"For now, East." It was obvious that he didn't actually have a destination planned.
As they parted ways, she looked back to her child now resting on her back and couldn't help but wonder who the Winter Knight was or what caused him to be alone, but her maternal instincts told Azula that he was both younger than she first thought and that he was suffering. He was good at suppressing his pain, but sooner or later it would all come out and when it did, and then he would become the monster he was afraid of being.
The Winter Knight was right, a patrol of Atlesean soldiers found her not long after they part and brought her into the city. She did not know who would listen to her and take her story seriously about being rescued by the Legendary Winter Knight, but surely someone would believe her, and hopefully the one who would listen would be someone who could help the Winter Knight before it was too late.
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Author's Note:
When I was writing about what the Winter Knight Glace was wearing while he was in Remnant artic, it gave me chills and I put on a sweatshirt until I finished that part. RT doesn't have any landmarks that give any measurable distances for the canon or they don't make any sense, because of that, I have made measurements that have made sense to me, hope that is acceptable to everyone. What do you think of Glace's mantra? As aura is a reflection of the soul and I think that a person's life experience really does influence that reflection. I'll give the 'big' (sarcastic) reveal of the identity of the Winter Knight in next couple chapters.
I'm sorry everyone, this the first time I was able to post a chapter since last year.
Yes I made a new year's joke, sue me.
Next chapter: Into the Tundra.