A Headmaster's Eccentricity
"Glynda," the old man sighed as he rubbed his spectacles on his robe. "Tell me, again, why am I not allowed to go to that coffee store at this hour?"
"Sir," Glynda began irately. "It's 10 p.m. And that 'coffee store' is called a café!"
"Ah yes, fancy naming schemes," the old man chuckled as he placed his spectacles back onto his wrinkly yet enthusiastic face. "It appears they are 'closed' at the moment. Oh, how unfortunate! To deny such an old man of his own patronage," he said, glancing at the clock beside him. "Though, in this case, I'd be able to save more money, no?"
"With all due respect, sir, but shops at this time are meant to be closed!" she retaliated, her veins in the midst of popping.
The old man stroked his beard as he contemplated for an answer. Then, with a snap of his fingers, he smiled. "Then, if all stores are closed at this hour, why not close the clubs? Are they more important than a good and hearty meal?"
Glynda, bless her soul, rubbed her tired eyes at the man in front of her. "Sir, whatever happens in the club is none of our business."
"So it would seem, though I find it unfair that the clubs are open at this hour and not the restaurants," the old man pouted, his hands resting lightly on the table.
"Sir please," Glynda, as if begging the old man to cease, spoke with little to no patience. "It's 10 in the evening. I should've been asleep by now. May I please return to my quarters and rest?"
"My dear Glynda, I've never even summoned you," the old man said as he stood up and walked towards the window. "I, for sure, thought you wanted to work anyway. You may rest, my friend."
Glynda growled before turning away. "Thank you, sir," she forcefully said. The man merely chuckled. "Perhaps it would be best if you were allowed a break tomorrow, no?"
Glynda Goodwitch never took a bribe in her whole life. Glynda Goodwitch never shirked on her duties as deputy headmistress. Glynda Goodwitch was a strong-willed woman.
And Glynda Goodwitch capitulated as she turned towards the headmaster of the academy. "And what, pray tell, are you suggesting, Headmaster Thalion?"
Headmaster Thalion merely chuckled as he glided softly towards her, his cobalt blue robes fluttering behind him, his gentle smile reassuring her that nothing was wrong.
"You deserve a break, my friend," he said, placing his hand on her head. "A good rest from your work. Your students as well. You have done so much for this school as it is. You are allowed to have a few days of vacation, should you want it."
"Besides, enrollment is about to end. I, along with the others, shall handle the workload."
Glynda Goodwitch did not favor emotions. Glynda Goodwitch was a very strict and stoic person. Glynda Goodwitch does not squeal like a little girl.
And Glynda Goodwitch smiled happily as she nodded, walking towards the elevator with a pip in her step.
Headmaster Thalion smiled at the event. As the elevator doors closed, Thalion looked at the clock and sighed. Channeling etherea around him, he silently mumbled something as glyphs of pure white rotated around him.
A few seconds passed, and the glyphs wore off. "Interesting," he said as he walked towards a cabinet. The opening of said cabinet revealed none other than a fine wooden staff with a gem encased in roots at the very top of the staff. The gem was, for all intents and purposes, unlike any other gem. Its glow varied from white to red, from the blue tint of the sky to the calm orange of the sunset.
It was beautiful as it was serene, but most importantly, it held a power no longer remembered. Magic.
With a chuckle, Thalion grasped the staff with his right hand as he pulled a pointed hat out of thin air. Resting lightly atop his head was a steel blue hat with a brown belt and a silver buckle with a crescent moon insignia.
"Off, I must be," he declared, his staff glowing blue as a glyph appeared underneath him. "To find yet another anomaly," he sang as he disappeared with a flicker of white light.
Chapter 1: All Things Have a Beginning
In the alleyways of the calm and quiet streets of Vale popped an old man with a wizard hat and a wooden staff.
"Not the first time I've teleported near a dumpster," Thalion said to himself as he patted the dumpster, snapping his fingers as trash began to levitate all around him and tossing themselves inside.
Smiling, he mumbled a bit to himself as a faint orange glow surrounded him. "There," he said as he walked towards the streetlights. "I should no longer be noticed by the people."
Looking left, then right, he crossed the streets as he walked at a measured pace, his hands gripping something as a small, dark portal appeared in front of him. Reaching out, he grabbed a satchel from the void as the swirling portal of darkness closed.
Checking the contents of the satchel, he sighed as he wore the old thing. "A few potions left," he muttered as he walked and walked towards the north.
Upon reaching a wall, he tapped a certain brick four times as the bricks parted away from each other. On the other side of the wall was a city unlike anyone had ever seen.
Floating lanterns were littered in every corner as strange creatures walked and slithered in every direction. It was a city within a city—a city of creatures—unknown to the men and faunus of Remnant, at least at the current age. The surrounding houses themselves were a testament to their survival. Ancient architecture with pointed rooves and newer paint, with some houses connected to one another via bridges and hanging ropes.
Just as he continued to walk, a young girl with green feathers on her arms bumped into him. "Oof," she cried out. She had talons for feet, much like those of a bird, and a few feathers at the top of her head. She was wearing a cyan blouse to fit the massive wings on her arm.
When she saw who she bumped into, she beamed and hugged the old man. "Thalion!" she cried out, ignoring her friends behind her.
Thalion laughed heartily as he hugged the young harpy back. "Oh, Eri, it's good to see you!" he said, almost dropping his staff in the process. "Have you been good, my dear?"
"Yup! I helped my mommy with the chores at home!" she chirped. He ruffled her hair as he looked at the group of children. "And how are all of you?"
The group of children beamed at the question, with answers ranging from "doing good" to "awesome" in a span of a few seconds. Thalion rolled his eyes playfully as he stood to his full height. "You all be good now," he said, waving a hand towards the group of young children.
"Bye, Thalion!" they echoed in unison as they continued to play tag.
"Now then, if I were an anomaly, where would I be?"
Suddenly, a loud scream echoed around the street as the phantom lanterns flickered for a moment. "I guess there it is," he said dryly as he ran towards the scream. Terrified, the people ran, slithered, and flew back towards their houses as some grabbed their children and doused the lights.
The shadow moved fast as it chased a girl with red scales, her lower half resembling that of a snake's. The lamia slithered as fast as she could, only to trip as she forced herself to move faster than any lamia could've moved in a desperate state of survival. Petrified, she pleaded weakly as she wept. In her desperation, she threw away the bread that she carried in the hopes of slowing down the shadow, but to no avail.
She didn't want to die, nor did she want to leave her only child behind. She sobbed as she stared down at the shadow's claws—huge and made of nothing but pure darkness—mere inches away from her face. Awaiting the pain, she clutched her tail and covered her eyes, screaming, waiting for death's arrival.
But it never came. Risking a glimpse, she noticed a staff at the tips of the shadow's claws, preventing it from killing her in one fell swoop.
"It would be wise if you were to leave the vicinity, miss," the old man said, smiling at her. Nodding fervently, she slithered away in the hopes of finding safety. She'd have to thank the elderly gentleman later.
"Unwise of you to hunt down these people, Shadow of Azron!" Thalion bellowed as a dome of light surrounded him, knocking the shadow towards an empty street.
He noticed that some were watching, not out of malice but out of fear and worry.
The shadow roared as it leapt from rooftop to rooftop, attempting to daze him with fast movements and illusions. Thalion scoffed at the shadow's antics, forcing it to come back down towards the ground. He shot wisps of flame, enough to provide light, being careful not to set the buildings around him ablaze.
He continued the barrage of flames, pestering the shadow beast enough for it to land on the floor. Smirking, Thalion stabbed the staff on the ground as he reached out for the runes on his satchel. Quickly tossing the runes in the air, the shadow beast lunged at him, only to be tethered by silver chains emanating from the ground.
It howled angrily at Thalion, furiously trying its best to cut down the chains of magic.
"In Arga'Noth, on the first age of dawn," Thalion chanted as he walked towards the shadow beast; the runes floating beside him started glowing a brilliant and majestic blue and violet. "In Septima's Maw of the first age of change, by the decree of light and darkness, in my absolute power, I cast unto thee: judgement!"
Great magic flowed around the area as the light shone as bright as the sun. The shadow beast trembled as the light grew brighter and the magic grew heavier. The wind bellowed as the swirled around; like a hurricane, it shredded through the shadow beast's defenses.
"I banish thee upon this realm! May your soul be sealed within!"
An angry howl followed as warmth and darkness collided with each other.
And all became silent as everyone watched in trepidation. Fear engrossed heavily upon those who witnessed such a horrible creature.
With a whistle, Thalion walked forward and picked up what looked like an amulet of sorts. Golden was the jewelry as he weighed it with his hands. The amulet was a cursed item, born of hatred and crafted with the soul of one of Azron's followers. He shook his head morosely as he stashed the amulet in his satchel.
"It is safe now," he called out. "You are free to continue your daily activities."
It goes to show how often this kind of thing happens when only a few people thanked him as the others continued on as if nothing happened.
To his surprise, however, the lamia came back and hugged him… tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she wept with joy as she continued to crush his bones with affection and gratitude.
"You're… wel…come," he said, patting the back of the crying woman.
"If I… My daughter… I-I couldn't…" she spoke pitifully as she sniffed.
"Rest easy miss," Thalion said after taking a deep breath. "Rare is it to find something so vile in this place."
She nodded as she gave him one last hug before slithering away.
Sensing no other danger, Thalion walked back towards the gateway and tapped four times on the wall. The cold breeze of the night touched his skin as he sighed deeply. More and more cases of artifacts from a bygone age are appearing in different locations, with some being manifested by those crazy enough to look through the annals of history buried deep in the crypts of old lore. Shrugging, he was about to cast his teleportation spell, only to feel a set of avian eyes behind him.
"You may come out, Qrow," he said, a twinkle in his eye. "I could've used your help a while ago."
The crow hovered as he transformed to a man, landing somewhat gracefully. "You know I would've," Qrow said as he walked towards him. "But I'd have to deal with them again."
Thalion stroked his beard as he thought long and hard. "Ah, are you, perhaps, avoiding a certain bar?"
"Erk," Qrow sputtered as he flinched. "It isn't nice to avoid your debts, you know," Thalion softly chided as Qrow rolled his eyes.
"Gee, thanks dad," Qrow said, placing his hands in his pockets. Qrow was, for lack of a better word, a haggard man with a brutal job.
"I see you've yet to find the Summer Maiden?"
"That obvious, huh?" Qrow spoke softly as he grabbed his flask and drank from it. "I was so close to finding her here in Vale, Thal," he squinted as he pinched. "This close to bringing her back."
"And I appreciate your work, my friend," Thalion said, patting his back for comfort. "If it helps, I know for a fact that she is somewhere in Mistral now."
"Ugh, too far away," Qrow annoyingly took a sip once more. "Why the hell did you even make the maidens again?"
"To share the knowledge of magic once more," he sighed, a hint of sadness present in his voice. "Unfortunately, the original hosts had other plans. From then on, the Maidens' powers fluctuated from host to host. All we can ever do now is teach them how to use their magic in the hopes of a better tomorrow."
"Why not just teach magic to everyone then?" Qrow queried, a hint of tiredness in his voice. "Or just take away their powers?
Thalion chuckled. "You'd have to blame the council for that. After demonstrating magic a few decades ago, the council still doesn't want to approve the notion of everyone learning magic."
Thalion was miffed when the council did that, but he obliged. After all, the council agreed to the formation of the Hunstman Academies. "They said, and still to this day, that it will hinder the academies and the tradition of the free peoples," he paused as a hummingbird flew towards them and chirped.
Thalion mumbled something so quiet that not even Qrow heard it. After he finished, the hummingbird buzzed away in the direction they came from. He continued with a sigh, as if nothing had ever happened. "That said tradition was important for everyone, not even knowing that aura came from the first steps of learning magic."
Qrow huffed as they continued to walk. "Would be a lot easier to handle the damn Grimm if they allowed it," he quipped, a bit bitter with the council's terrible decision.
He winked at Qrow as he grinned widely. "Worry not, my friend. In a few months before the enrollments finish, they will allow magic once more."
"Hooray," Qrow slowly clapped, though he chuckled at the notion of newer students struggling to comprehend that magic was, in fact, real.
"As to why I am not taking away such power from the maidens," Thalion said, humming as he looked at the streetlights. They were warm and cozy, the lights flickering as an invitation to rest. "I fear it would do more harm to them; their soul, at least."
Qrow nodded along as he stared at the moon. It was silent as they walked towards a fountain. A few people were walking by and enjoying their stroll. "I believe," Thalion said as he stroked his beard lightly. "This is where we'll part ways for now. This old man requires his beauty sleep, after all."
Qrow merely chuckled at his friend's antics. It had been a while since he saw him face-to-face, without the need for a carrier crow. Or an owl. Or whatever bird decided to land at his windows at the time.
"Rest lightly, Qrow," he said as a few leaves drifted along the cold and humid air. "You have done a lot." He really needed some rest after such a disappointment.
And the old man vanished with nary a trace.
Qrow smiled as he shook his head. Tonight, well, it was definitely an eventful night.
Greetings! Also, I hope you all had a wonderful holidays!
This, for whatever reason, popped up suddenly while I was cooking for the holidays and decided to give it a go. It's more of an experiment, really (which is something I usually do).
As you can see, the story's something more akin to fantasy/RWBY. For those who are about to ask, yes, Ozpin isn't here, or well, he won't be the main focus. There would be glimpses of who Ozma was, but that would be it. This is more akin to an alternate reality on the basis of "what if another person was revived instead," and quite frankly, I wanted to see what would happen if an actual wizard of their time was revived instead of someone close to Salem (though what would happen, I won't tell :D).
Anyways, that's about it. Welcome to the first chapter of this story! Please enjoy your stay! I'd be honored to have feedbacks, both good and bad, so that I know what to fix, what to do with my writing, and how I could overcome complications.