Hello to you few who read this story. I would like to thank you for taking time to read this. And I have some important information to give about this story that should make things more clear. So lets begin.
First off, the Voidtreaders chapter. Yes, this chapter is 100% homebrew. The Inquisition and the Imperium at large don't know a lot about this chapter. The Inquisition believes that they are a second founding chapter that they lost records of. A different, and somewhat heretical theory, is that the Voidtreaders are a successor to one of the lost legions. The cause of these two theories is the fact that the Voidtreaders do NOT worship the Emperor as a god, however they ALSO have members who DO worship him. To explain, the older members of the chapter do not worship the Emperor, they see him as a man with godly power, not a god with the form of a man. Many of the newer recruits of the chapter do worship the Emperor, but the vast majority do not. This is the primary reason that the Imperium is so slow to send any aid to the Voidtreaders.
Second, the fighting style of the Voidtreaders. The way the Voidtreaders fight is somewhat unique among space marine chapters. They don't have a single specific fighting style like every other chapter, they instead use a style that is much more similar to special forces units of our world. The best way to describe it would be flexible and tactical. Space marines of this chapter rarely ever fight alone and always use squad tactics, in addition they will do everything they can to minimize casualties among their brothers. The reason for this fighting style is simple, their replenishment rates.
Third, replenishment. The process of becoming a Voidtreader has a 5% higher death rate than other chapters, leading to much more initiates failing. To combat this the Voidtreaders have resorted to using tactics in combat that minimize the chances of losing a marine in combat. In addition they are known to use humans with minor augmentations as supporting troops for marines in larger battles. With the way that they fight marines also require longer training, thus leading to it taking longer to replace any losses.
Fourth, their views on non-humans. They are still 40K levels of xenophobic, just not as much as many other chapters. The Voidtreaders are much more likely to stop shooting at a Tau firewarrior so both of them can fire at a Tyranid swarm than other chapters. And for abhumans, they see them as a form of humanity. The Voidtreaders swore to protect humanity in all its forms, to them abhumans are another form of humanity and should not be seen as different. They will treat an ogryn and a normal human the same way unless given a reason not to.
Fifth, how Sydros will react to the things of RWBY. First, Penny. Sydros will be wary of her, but will not go full 'AI bad kill now'. This is because of the way Penny was made. In the show Penny was made via her father's aura, meaning that she is not an AI like how other sci-fi franchises depict it. To Sydros, she is basically a highly advanced machine spirit, seeing as she was created directly from a human soul. So for Penny Sydros will be wary of her at the beginning, but he will eventually warm up to her. Atlas drones however, not so much. It will be well established in this story that Sydros can and WILL destroy any drone that acts in a way that is threatening to a innocent human. And then the Faunus. As stated in the previous note, Sydros views abhumans as a form of humanity. He won't have a problem with the Faunus unless he is given a reason to, such as Adam. And on Adam, he will suffer in this fic because fuck Adam in particular. I imagine that chainswords hurt like hell to be cut by.
Finally, Sydros constantly talking about someones soul. All Voidtreaders have a unique ability that allows them to see a glimpse into someones soul. It is VERY dangerous due to how souls work in 40K, but it allows them to quickly find anyone who may be possessed. This ability usually needs a lot of concentration and time to do, but thanks to aura literally being a manifestation of your soul, it is much easier for Sydros to perform than back home. However, this ability needs a shit load of concentration, direct and prolonged eye contact with the target, and being within 100 feet of the target. In addition, this ability is only able to see a GLIMPSE, meaning its not the full soul. So it is possible for someone to hide what their soul truly looks like deep down and put up a 'fake' soul. Pretty much every one of Salem's goons can do this, mainly so we can actually get the story to progress and not have Sydros instant KO Cinder and the gang when he first sees them.
Other than that, enjoy your story. And one last thing, the relationship between Sydros and Feder. This relationship has a MAJOR role to play in this story, and will be mostly unknown. You will get flashbacks every now and then that will shed some light on the story, but you will learn the full extent somewhere around the volume 8 timeline. Maybe. Who knows?
When morning finally came Sydros was at the gate out of town.
"Sydros, here's the map. Its a bit outdated, but it will still point you in the right direction."
"My thanks Earl. How is the woman?"
"Shes fine Sydros, woke up this morning and wanted to see you before you left."
"Then by all means let her."
Sydros watched as a woman with bright silver eyes and red hair approached him. She had a look of awe, thankfulness, and some fear. But he did not mind. All he saw in her was the purity of her soul, an honest, kind soul that would not be out of place on one of his brothers. But her soul shined much more brightly than his brothers, and hopefully her soul stayed like that.
"ummm... I just wanted to say thank you for saving me." the woman shakily said.
"It was no problem. My duty is to defend humanity in all its forms. Something many from my home have long forgotten is their duty. So there is no need to thank me, I am doing my duty."
"Still! I wanted to thank you. Thanks to you I can go home and see my little girl, thank you."
"Where is your home?"
"Patch island, its near Vale."
"Then if you do not mind, I would like to travel with you. I myself am heading to Vale, and traveling long distances is always better with company."
The woman looked stunned for a moment. She seemed to be thinking, very hard. It took several minutes, but she had her answer.
"I would like that."
Sydros smiled. He was glad that she agreed. Not that he would have been distraught if she didn't, but he was just glad to be traveling with someone other than his brothers for once. Sydros always wanted to know how normal humans acted, yet he could never see it. This would be a new experience for him, one he would not soon forget.
"Thank you for accepting. My name is Sydros, what is yours?"
"My name is Feder Rose."
Many years later
Sydros was looking out from Beacon tower into Vale. The city had grown from when he first arrived all those years ago, but it was still beautiful despite the passage of time. Looking back to his desk he had quite a bit of work to deal with before the new year started at Beacon. It was taxing to many, which is why despite this being the job of the deputy headmaster he as the combat teacher was doing it. His mental fortitude was enough to ensure that there was no repeat of the incident.
"Sydros, I have one more student that is to be added to the initiation roster." Ozpin's voice came over his scroll.
"And who is this last minute addition Oz?"
"A 15 year old girl of incredible skill."
"Tell me Oz, is it Ruby? I know you have had your eye on her for some time, but you know our agreement about those with silver eyes."
"I remember the agreement Sydros, I shall abide by the agreement. But her eyes are not the only reason I am admitting her 2 years early. I'll send you the video, it should demonstrate her skills."
"Very well Oz. I shall meet her personally should she pass initiation."
"She will."
"You put much faith in her Ozpin. Do remember that she is still 15." Sydros said before he ended the call.
Ozpin. Sydros did admit that the man had drive and resolve, but his methods left a bit to be desired. Sydros understood why he took the actions he did. Ozpin was still too soft on his approach in Sydros's mind however. A war of shadows only leaves more to come to light when the shadows are broken. Sometimes its better to end a shadow war before it reaches the stage its at now.
"Ruby Rose."
Opening the file on her, Sydros looked through her records at Signal academy. They were impressive to say the least, Ruby seemed to have skill rivaling that of students 2 years her senior. She did have very many..childlike tendencies, but she was still 15. Its to be expected at her age, and those tendencies were nothing that could not be ironed out at Beacon.
Sydros began to feel a smile come over him. Perhaps Ruby would surpass her mother in terms of skill. And maybe, with Sydros's training, she may even surpass Feder. If she did, then she had a chance to change the world.
"Summer, your daughter is beginning her initiation. I hope that she succeeds. This world needs more warriors like you Summer. I hope, her soul is like yours. And I pray that her soul is like Feder's."
Standing up and walking to the window Sydros began to watch over Vale once again.
"Feder, I shall keep my promise. Your family shall live to see the end of this conflict, I shall do whatever is necessary. I promised you both that, and I intend to keep that promise."
Things were not going well for Ruby. First Yang ditched her, then she accidentally knocked over some crabby girls luggage, and now she was getting yelled at.
"You imbecile, do you have any idea what you could have done?" the girl yelled at Ruby, getting louder.
"I said I was sorry princess!"
Before anyone could respond, Ruby, the crabby girl, and a black haired girl who seemed to appear from thin air heard a booming voice.
"Silence!"
As the three girls stopped talking and turned their heads, they saw a massive man approaching. Watching as a man standing over 7 feet tall was walking towards them. And he looked angry.
"You three, what has happened here to cause this altercation." the man said, in a voice that demanded an answer.
Weiss couldn't believe her luck. It was horrible. First some idiot causes a dust explosion after running into her luggage, then she gets the attention of a member of Beacon's staff. And not just any member, but SYDROS, the most well known Huntsman in history. On her first day!
"I am still waiting for an explanation as to how this occurred." Sydros said calmly.
"Sir, this dolt here ran int-"
"Schnee, that is not what happened."
That confused Weiss. That was what happened? Why did he say that?
"Miss Rose did not run into you, you ran into her. She was standing in her current position when your cart hit her. You then shook a improperly secured Dust vial in her face, which led to the explosion, am I correct?"
Ah right, Sydros was known for being able to notice things.
"Sir, if she hadn't knocked over my luggage that vial wo-"
"Schnee." Sydros said with a much angrier tone. "Miss Rose did not run into your luggage. What I am asking is HOW did you start the altercation, not how the explosion happened."
Weiss still couldn't understand, why was Sydros angry at her? That girl, Rose, was the one who caused this by not properly handling Dust. So why was Sydros angry at her?
"I see, you don't understand."
"Huh?"
"Schnee, you are not prepared to be a Huntress."
THAT got a reaction. An angry one.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN! I HAVE TRAINED MY ENTIRE LIFE FOR THIS. WHO ARE YO-"
"Schnee, you are not ready because you are still thinking like the heiress to the SDC. You are still thinking that you are superior because you were given everything. You are not, if I had to say. You are less prepared than everyone else. You will NEED to understand that here, at Beacon, you are not the heiress, you are not special, you will get no special treatment. Here, you will be treated the same as everyone else, here you will need to EARN your status. If you can not understand that, then leave now."
With those words said, Sydros turned and left, leaving the three girls dumbfounded.
Weiss Schnee was worse than he expected. Sydros had hoped that her sister could have gotten rid of that sort of attitude, but it appears that Jacques had gotten worse. He really needed to do something about that man soon. Sydros agreed that the current White Fang was dangerous, but Jacques was reacting far too harshly. Now if only Ironwood would actually allow him to take action. Sadly, Ironwood was not keen on someone that was not part of Atlas try to interfere.
"UNCLE SYDROS!"
Sydros stopped walking and quickly spun around, only to get hit dead center by a red blur.
"Hello Ruby." Sydros said.
"I made it in uncle! I got in two years early!"
"I know you did Ruby, and I'm happy for you. Your skills during the fight with Torchwick were impressive. You have grown quite a bit since I last saw you."
Ruby was beaming with happiness at that comment, but it quickly became somewhat muted.
"Do you think Ozpin only let me in because of my eyes?"
"That was one of his reasons yes, but he let you in because of your skill. The agreement I made with him still stands, and he will not break it."
Ruby once again lit up with happiness at those words. And it didn't take long for her to introduce Sydros to a new friend of hers, Jaune Arc.
It took some time, but eventually Sydros managed to get Ruby to stop showing off Crescent Rose and actually go to the amphitheater.
Sydros was back in Ozpin's office. It taken some time to get the new students settled in the auditorium for the night, and then Sydros had to oversee them for some time before he was summoned by Ozpin.
"Sydros, does Miss Rose know about her eyes?"
"She does Ozpin. It was one of the first things I told her about."
"First?" Glynda asked.
"Yes. Both Ruby and Yang know about your war and about Salem."
Those words set both Glynda and Ozpin off. Glynda looking shocked while Ozpin's face contorted into one of anger.
"And why would you tell them about her?"
"Their mother was lost to Salem. And I made a promise to Summer to protect her children. But I know that I can not be with them at all times, so I made sure they knew about their enemy. If they know about their enemy they can prepare to face them, they can prepare counters and contingencies."
Ozpin sighed. This was not what he wanted to hear, but he had to know what Sydros had told them.
"How much do they know?"
"Everything, they know of the maidens, of Salem. Of you. I am working alongside you Ozpin, not with you. I will NOT break the promise I made to Summer. And I WILL NEVER break the one I made to Feder. Ruby and Yang each took the information they learned and used it to find ways to better themselves."
"Very well then. Sydros, I am upset that you would tell them and not inform me, but I understand your reasons. Just, don't tell anyone else."
"I will not, and you need not worry about Ruby or Yang telling anyone they don't trust with their lives."
'BIRDIE NOOOOOOO!" Sydros heard Ruby scream as she was thrown into the forest. Honestly, he found Ozpin's method of spreading potential students out for initiation to be quite effective and amusing, if outlandish. Yet he could not deny the effectiveness of the method.
"It appears that Qrow's semblance has hit him again, poor man." Sydros heard Glynda say. Turning back to the camera he saw Qrow fall from the sky.
"It appears so." was Ozpins reply.
"Ozpin, I believe that this initiation will be one to be remembered."
"And what makes you saw that Sydros?"
"A feeling, we have quite the list of potential students don't you think? The Schnee heiress, an ex-Fang member, the champion of Mistral, and a determined, if untrained, man. Not to mention Ruby and Yang. You did remember to clear the forest of high-profile Grimm before initiation, right?"
"I did, in fact Qrow had just finished the last high profile when Miss Rose hit him."
"I see. I shall be on standby to intervene."
"Why?"
"My instincts are telling me something is different this year, I do not know what."
Ozpin's face turned into that of concern as Sydros walked to the parked Bullheads.
"THAT. WAS. AMAZING!" Ruby shouted after killing the massive Nevermore. Her fellow students were walking back to Beacon after completing the initiation, and Ruby had never been more excited. The crabby girl from yesterday, her name was Weiss, had been amazed by her fighting skills! Ruby would make sure to thank uncle Sydros when she saw him again. Yang did amazing as well! Everyone did amazing!
"I can't believe we killed a elder Nevermore! That has to be the largest Grimm killed this initiation."
"I think it was sis, Beacon leaves 2 elder Grimm for each initiation to challenge potential students. And we killed both of them!"
"I.. Ruby. I'm sorry that I doubted yo-"
"SSSSSH!"
Ruby's command made everyone silent. Quickly getting low she crept forward, Crescent Rose at the ready. She heard a Grimm, and she was going to kill it.
Ruby quickly found where the Grimm was hiding, and prepared a killing strike.
Then, she burst into the bushes to attack.
Only to get thrown back into the group and have her aura shatter like glass.
"Ruby?"
"Sis?"
"R-run! YANG TAKE EVERYONE AND RUN!"
"Ruby whats going o-"
Yang saw it. Everyone saw it. A humanoid Grimm. It looked like a human, but stood 6.5 feet tall, and had massive arms and legs. Its body built like a brick wall, and in its hand, it carried a massive sword.
"RAVAGER! RUN FOR IT!"
Weiss wasn't scared. No. she was TERRIFIED. There was a Oum dammed RAVAGER chasing them. Ravagers were one of the worst Grimm to fight. They moved like a human did, they fought with weapons, and even the youngest had some form of limited intelligence. It was said that Ravagers only started appearing once Sydros appeared, almost as if they came into existence to fight him. Weiss knew she couldn't fight it. It had taken 8 of them to kill an elder Deathstalker and elder Nevermore. Ravagers took nearly 10 fully trained huntsmen to kill, for the youngest ones. So she ran, she ran in fear. And she prayed that someone would help.
"FOUL BEAST! YOU SHALL PERISH HERE AND NOW!"
Weiss heard a distorted voice come from above her, and she recognized it. It was him. It was the Voidtreader. It was Sydros. The strongest huntsman. The one man army. The angel of death. Weiss's prayers had been answered. And the answer came in the form of an angel.
Sydros was enraged. Salem DARED to send a Ravager to the Emerald Forest? She didn't know Ruby was here. But if this Ravager escaped then she would. Sydros could not allow that, not yet. And so he once again went into combat. Gone was the happy, encouraging man who played and lost games like tag or hide and seek with children, gone was the man who sheltered orphans from the rain, gone was the man who always helped those in need.
Now the only man standing here was one of death. One who would kill any in his way. And the Grimm knew it. It knew that Sydros was the target. And it was ready, or so it thought.
"Deamon, you have made your final mistake. You have trespassed on ground not open to you. And for that, you shall die here and now by my blade."
In an instant Sydros was attacking the Grimm, it barely had time to raise it's sword to block Sydros's attack. His left hand shot out at speeds that would seem a blur to the human eye, and struck the beast in the face, launching it back nearly 30 feet. Yet the beast stood up and charged him, with impressive speed for one so young.
Yet that speed was not enough. In an instant Sydros had activated his power sword and swung, cleaving the right arm of the beast off. And causing it to screech in pain. Quickly capitalizing on the beasts cease of movement Sydros swung again, and this time he cut the tip of the beasts sword off. But then the beast reacted, it jumped back, out of his reach.
Yet it did not attack again, instead it charged past him, leaving a cloud of smoke around him to obscure his vision. The beast had gone for the students. For Ruby.
His anger reached a breaking point. And Sydros reached his left hand down to this hip.
BANG
Then all was silent.
Ruby was in pain. Her body ached. It turned out that getting hit by a 50-pound sword being swung by a Grimm that can bend steel with its bare hands HURT. Her aura took the brunt of the damage, but it shattered on impact and she felt it when her back hit that tree. But she knew that everything would be fine. Uncle Sydros was here, he would kill it.
Then she saw the Grimm charge her, and before she could react the sound of a bolt being fired rang through the air. And the Grimm was no more. Its chest had been turned into a gaping hole, but it didn't stop. The momentum it had gained kept the body moving forward despite the Grimm itself being dead. Ruby braced for the impact.
Then she felt the wind blow through her hair. When she opened her eyes, Sydros was looking at her. His helmet on, the red eyes staring into her soul, but she was at ease. In fact she was happy to see that helmet. That helmet was her uncles, that was the helmet of her friend, her family.
"T-thank you uncle."
"Rest now Ruby, your body is wounded. I shall ensure you make in to Beacon. You need not worry any longer, I shall watch over you. I shall protect you."
And Ruby smiled, before she drifted into unconsciousness.
