Author's note:

Apologies for the delay on this one, guys. Job training for a significant career shift had to take priority, and I simply refuse to rush something out that isn't ready. I noticed some typos and grammatical errors in previous chapters and to me, there's absolutely no excuse for those. Just because it's a fanfic doesn't mean it shouldn't be a quality product, and that's exactly what you guys deserve.

Beacon Academy

Tuesday, August 20th

It was almost noon by the time Lorasson made his way to the auditorium. Adjusting to his new living quarters hadn't left him much time to study the map of the campus that Glynda had left him. Ozpin's commencement speech to the new first-year students had already started by the time he arrived. The throng of students filled the space, though his height allowed him to see Ozpin clearly.

"...all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

Glynda spoke up as Ozpin exited the stage, "You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

Something about Ozpin had seemed off, somehow. As if his mind had been elsewhere during the brief speech. Questions for later, he thought. He spotted the girls in the crowd, and made his way towards them.

"How goes it?"

They turned to greet the familiar voice. Yang spoke first, "You didn't miss much, just touring the campus, signing up for classes, and whatever that was," she gestured towards the stage before looking him up and down, "Like the new threads! Where'd you get them?"

"They were already in my closet. I suppose if I'm going to be spending time here, I may as well dress like your people do."

Yang nodded, and Ruby shifted uncomfortably on her feet.

He looked at her, "Something troubles you?"

She nodded slightly, and Yang spoke for her, "She had a bit of a...run-in with the 'Ice Queen' over there," and she pointed at another student, clad in a dress white as snow with long hair to match. A noble, he could tell from the way she carried herself.

"It's fine," Ruby finally spoke, "We just got off on the wrong foot, and…"

"And?"

"...And she wants me to never speak to her again…"

"What happened?" he narrowed his eyes.

"You sneezed…and exploded?" He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah..."

"How precisely did you manage that?"

"I'm allergic!" She said defensively.

He shrugged his shoulders. You've seen stranger things in your day, after all. "What's this 'initiation' Goodwitch spoke of?"

They looked at each other. Yang spoke, "Supposedly, it changes every year. They won't tell us until tomorrow."

He narrowed his eyes and considered. He could see the logic of it, like teaching a child to swim by throwing them into a pond. But something about it gnawed at him, and he found that he wasn't keen on the idea of the girls going into harm's way without him. He briefly considered trying to accompany them, recalling the promise he'd made to their father, but he decided against it. This was to be their trial, and any interference on his behalf would likely be to their detriment.

"I understand," he finally said, and turned to Yang, "Before I take my leave, there's one thing I need your help with."

She raised an eyebrow, the obvious question written on her face.

"The clothes I brought are in dire need of laundering. Where can I have that done here?"

Back at Lorasson's apartment, Ruby pressed several buttons on one of the small, white machines, tucked away in a small alcove. As the machine began to hum, she talked him through the next steps of the process.

"Do you need me to write any of this down in case you forget?"

He chuckled lightly, "I'm not senile yet, child. In fact, I'm not that much older than your father."

She gave him a look, "What were you two talking about, before we left?"

"He asked me to keep an eye on you two. Make sure you keep your noses clean."

She cocked her head, "Why would he ask you that? Yang and I can take care of ourselves."

He sighed, "When you have children of your own, you'll come to understand."

"You have kids?"

Second time you've spilled that one, you damned dotard. He turned and sat on the living room couch. He patted the seat next to him, and Ruby sat as well. He waited a long moment, before taking a deep breath.

"After I finished out my term of service during the war, I still wanted to fight. The Dominion was still waging war against the Redguards in Hammerfell, so I lent my sword to the cause. I arrived in Sentinel a year after the war's end. It was there that I met Saadana." He looked wistfully ahead.

"Four years we fought, side-by-side. She was what's called a 'Sword-singer,' part of an order of warriors who dedicate themselves to mastery of the blade."

"What do you mean, 'was?'" her brows were tightly knit, like she knew what was coming.

"We were wed for seven years after the Dominion was pushed out of the region. We'd settled down in Craglorn. A house and a farm, both of us taking on occasional mercenary work. Though, I started taking on more work when Baranir was born."

He was silent for a while. The pain was etched on his face now.

"I came home one day, after a contract. When Baranir didn't come running, I knew something was wrong. I counted ten corpses outside the house. Orcs, from a band called the 'Osh Ornim.' For a moment, I thought she'd managed to drive the bastards off. But, when I went inside…" he trailed off.

"She was shielding him. Nine crossbow bolts in her back. He'd caught one in the shoulder, bled to death."

There were tears in her eyes now, he could see. He continued.

"Burying them was the hardest thing I've ever done. Killing the ones who took them from me was easy."

"What did you do when you found them?"

He remembered entering the stronghold and slaughtering every living thing in it. He remembered waiting for any wayward bands to return. Burning the bodies to ash, so that the stench of rot wouldn't alarm the returning raiders. Then, it had been a simple matter of waiting for them to set off the traps. Tripwires, hidden pits of spikes, and flame runes. Picking off the tired and frightened stragglers had been trivial. He'd piled the marauders' heads just outside the camp's threshold, leaving his wife's sword sticking out of the ground in front of the grisly display.

He gave her a hard look. "They won't be sending out any more bands of raiders."

She began to speak, and he held up a hand, "I don't want your pity. I don't want to hear your apologies, or how I should have acted differently. What I want is for you to understand."

"What, Harald? Understand what?"

"That whatever we do for the love of family, to protect our own, is done with good reason. That why we do anything is what matters most in the end."

She considered, "I...think I get it."

He put a hand on her shoulder, "You will, before long."

After Ruby had taken her leave, Lorasson pondered about what to do with the rest of his day. With the laundering being seen to by the small machines, he finally had time to explore the rest of the campus. Donning his satchel and strapping Kinzon to his waist, he set about his latest expedition. He knew that Saadana wouldn't want him moping about, wallowing in his freshly unearthed sorrow. As he wandered the vast campus, he allowed his mind to do the same. He'd learned long ago that simply locking away their memories did not allow the wound of their passing to heal, but rather caused it to fester. He promised himself that he wouldn't allow their faces to fade from his memory, or to chase them away when they came to him, unbidden in dreams. Those memories are all that's left, when the bastards have taken everything else.

He had completed a full circuit around the campus when he eventually stopped near the landing pads. He found a bench and sat, pulling out his pipe as he did so. He sat there, puffing away and taking in the scenery, before he was approached by a young man. The lad was tall, fair-haired, and strapping, and could easily pass for a Nord. But his countenance belied his otherwise fair appearance. He seemed crestfallen and nervous, like a child caught stealing from an offering bowl. Lorasson caught the lad's gaze and gestured to the bench seat next to him. He stood and shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"Uh...hi. I'm...not sure they allow smoking here," he stammered.

"I'll put it out if I'm asked. What is your name?"

"Jaune. Jaune Arc."

"Then I say well-met, Jaune Arc, for our mutual friend," he stood and shook the shaggy-haired youth's hand, "Harald Lorasson."

"Oh! You're the one Ruby mentioned," he looked up at the taller man, a sense of awe visible on his face. Ruby had assured Lorasson that she hadn't divulged anything of great import or secrecy, but even so…

"What precisely did she tell you about me?"

"Just that you're...not from around here…" his eyes shifted nervously, from side to side. Lorasson gave him a piercing stare, and the boy cracked almost immediately, "A-And that you can do magic…"

Lorasson took a deep breath, and puffed on his pipe. It would seem that the cat was at least some way out of the bag, now. He turned away from the lad, and looked off into the horizon.

"I trust that you haven't made this known to anyone else?"

"Um, no, sir. I...haven't talked to anyone else. Not really, anyway."

Lorasson said nothing, and the resultant silence was broken by approaching footsteps, then a voice behind them.

"There you are. The headmaster's been asking after you."

He turned to see Glynda Goodwitch looking at him impatiently.

He rose to his feet, and snuffed out his pipe, irked at the amount of tobacco he'd just wasted. He replaced the pipe in his satchel, and nodded to Jaune, who returned the gesture.

"Let's not keep him waiting any longer."

Ozpin's office was a sight to behold. Beacon Tower itself was impressive enough, and the ornate clockwork was a fitting crown jewel. Lorasson took in the space as Ozpin poured coffee for him and his guest.

"You can leave us, Glynda."

Reluctantly, she nodded and gave them the room. Ozpin faced the window overlooking the campus, and glanced over his shoulder.

"So, what do you think of my school?"

"Most impressive, if I say nothing else of it."

The professor seemed satisfied with his answer.

"Glynda tells me that a certain someone has...disclosed things that we wanted to remain under wraps."

"Partly so, yes. Ruby told this Jaune Arc that I was capable of using magic. Nothing more."

"I see. I'll have a talk with Miss Rose, and reiterate that discretion is of paramount importance here."

"She's not a good liar."

"And hopefully, she'll never need to be."

"When will it stop? The lies, shielding the truth that the three of us decided was too dangerous?"

Ozpin sighed heavily, "I don't know. This break in reality you've described ostensibly happens in our future, correct? I have a number of talents, but foresight isn't one of them."

"That sort of magic is rare, even where I come from. I don't possess it," he narrowed his eyes. "But what I do have is enough sense to tell when someone is holding out on information."

Ozpin turned, his full attention now on Lorasson. The professor's calm brown eyes met the Nord's piercing blue. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"There is one I haven't told you about. She has some part to play yet, but what it is exactly, I can't know."

"Tell me everything. And don't you leave a damn thing out."

It had been the better part of an hour by the time Ozpin had finished his tale. The story of his immortality, of his ruinous relationship with the one called "Salem," and how the two of them had shaped over a thousand years of Remnant's history. The two men sat silent, like chess players contemplating the next move.

"Salem," Ozpin broke the silence, "Do you think she might be working on Mephala's behalf?

"She seems the most likely one, yes. She seeks her own end, and Daedra often seek out those in desperate need. Her desperation and power would make Salem an ideal champion."

Ozpin nodded, "I fear her search for the relics has gotten more desperate with each passing year. Soon enough, she's going to cast subtlety by the wayside. She's not without allies, and her command of the Grimm means that she can call upon a functionally infinite supply of soldiers."

"Hiding those relics away will only forestall them for so long. And I agree, sooner or later, she'll cast aside the dagger, and the hammer strokes will fall, and fall hard. Make no mistake, the board is set, and the pieces are moving."

Ozpin tented his hands in front of his face, "Gather what information you can, and report your suspicions to me first. I trust that what was discussed here will remain in this office?"

Lorasson rose to his feet, "We're in uncharted waters, Professor. I'll keep your secrets for now, but what's done in the dark can't remain there forever."

The Emerald Forest

Wednesday, August 21st

Lorasson had risen early, before dawn. The initiation trial was to begin later that morning, and he intended to be there to see Ruby and Yang off. Still, he had to remind himself of his place here, and so he met with the other professors at the edge of the cliff, and kept a respectful distance from the students. It was Ozpin who spoke to the gathered prospects.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest. Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates...today."

This prompted excited murmurs from the students.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years. After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."

Lorasson narrowed his eyes at the professor, and gauged the reactions of the students. Many had taken on a more serious countenance, and he could see fear in a number of them.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

No intelligent queries arose from the students as they took their positions on their platforms. One by one, they were launched through the air, having been advised to plan their own "landing strategies." Anger began to swell in the Nord's heart as he approached Ozpin, still gazing off into the distance as the last of the students was hurled off the cliff.

"You would just leave them to die there?" his tone was harsh and indignant. "You know full well that some of them haven't the slightest idea what they're doing."

Ozpin kept his gaze on the forest below, "We can't hold their hands at every turn. They have to learn to fend for themselves and rely on their teammates."

"And how do you expect them to learn if their first mistake becomes their last?"

Ozpin offered no response to this. For his part, Lorasson stepped away, letting his anger cool before he said something he might later regret.

The trial was expected to last most of the day, and so chairs were brought out, along with several sets of "binoculars," a sort of truncated spyglass. The chairs were gathered around an array of screens, larger versions of the Scrolls that were so common here. These showed moving pictures of the forest, courtesy of a large array of cameras that had been placed there for the purposes of monitoring the trial. Glynda Goodwitch had been tasked with monitoring the formation of partnerships as they were observed. Lorasson had been intently watching when a small commotion formed to his right.

"Why, that's one of the biggest Nevermores I've seen in quite some time!" Professor Port pointed to a massive, birdlike shape in the distance. Lorasson was at his side in an instant, and took the binoculars that were offered to him. The immense, raven-like Grimm was soaring over the treetops. Amid the mass of black feathers, something else caught the Nord's eye. A familiar red cape was fluttering among the dark plumage.

Without conscious thought, he went back to his chair and picked up his helmet from the grass where he'd left it. After strapping Ritevice to his back, he donned the battered helm before making his way to the cliff's edge. A voice called after him.

"What precisely are you doing?"

He turned, Glynda Goodwitch was casting daggers at him as the rest of the professors watched intently, all on their feet now.

"Perhaps you and yours can't intervene, but I'm not one of you, am I? One of two that I swore to keep safe is now in mortal danger, and I intend to keep my promise."

"You could ruin the dynamics of these partnerships, the whole point of this initiation!"

"Perhaps. Though I'd wager it's a small price to pay, given the alternative."

Ozpin looked at him impassively, and Glynda visibly tensed, putting away her Scroll and taking her riding crop in one hand. Lorasson turned his back on them all the same, stepping on one of the sprung tiles.

"Do you really think you can stop me?" He closed his eyes and centered himself, and soon enough he was launched through the air, into the unknown.

He flew a considerably shorter distance than the lighter students had, though he wagered that he would land better than some. His lips formed the words as the ground rushed to meet him.

"FEIM!"

His body shimmered, and his meeting with the forest floor was like that of a falling leaf. He looked up, through a clearing in the trees, and caught a fleeting glimpse of his quarry. He took up a quick and steady stride, and formed more words yet when he saw a clear path through the emerald pines.

"WULD NA KEST!"

His thu'um carried him no short distance in a mere second. He looked up, and saw that he had actually outstripped the Nevermore's winding path. It had not flown in a straight line as it tried to shed its unwanted passengers. Keeping his eyes skyward, he tracked it, following the glimpses of it he caught through the forest canopy. As he tracked the massive Grimm, he could see a red shape fall from its back as he neared a large clearing. Keeping his eyes locked on the falling form, he failed to notice a second body flying towards the trees to meet her.

The protection rune he'd carefully aimed at Ruby's expected point of impact proved to be for naught, as Jaune Arc's trajectory intercepted hers, and carried them both into the branches of a nearby tree. Looking up at the improbable sight, his ears registered behind him the noise of a creature crashing through the underbrush. Wheeling around to face the threat, he saw a large Grimm enter the clearing, one of the first-year students atop its broad shoulders, whooping loudly in exuberance. A few moments later, the beast slumped to the ground, dead.

"Awww, broken." A young man clad in green caught up to her, panting heavily.

"Nora, please, don't ever do that again."

In the ruined temple in the center of the clearing, Yang stood, accompanied by another first-year, dark of hair, and clad in black and white.

"Harald? What are you doing here?" She wore a bewildered expression.

"Keeping a promise I made to a friend," he gestured towards the girl standing next to her, "Care to introduce me to yours?"

She was cut short by an ungodly screech from another patch of woods to Lorasson's left. Another girl, clad in red and bronze, was sprinting into the clearing towards the temple. Hot on her heels was another massive Grimm, this one bearing resemblance to an overgrown scorpion. Lorasson glanced back at Ruby, who had now jumped down from the tree that Jaune Arc was still dangling from.

The black-haired girl spoke, "Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?"

The name was appropriately ominous, though the Nord failed to see how anything that large could effectively stalk anything. No matter, both it and that damned bird will die soon enough.

"Um...Yang?" Ruby pointed skyward. He joined the gathered students in looking up at the spectacle. The girl in white was dangling from one of the Nevermore's talons.

"I said jump…" Ruby shrugged.

The girl in black looked at her, "She's gonna fall."

Ruby was dismissive, "She'll be fine!"

The young man in green shook his head, "She's falling."

Without a word, Lorasson stepped forward and cast another protection rune at the ground. This had been another spell taught to him by Neloth, who'd made a point of requiring the Nord to master it before he learned levitation. For his part, Lorasson had not been expecting Jaune to leap from one of the outstretched tree branches in an effort to catch the falling girl. As for the lad, it was rather apparent that he'd been expecting a much harder landing than what greeted him, visibly wincing while he gently floated to the ground inside the circle, the girl in his arms like a bride at a wedding.

"Put. Me. Down," she said through gritted teeth.

Rather reluctantly, he complied, the girl marching away and making a show of dusting herself off. A few moments later, the girl in bronze was thrown to the ground at the group's feet.

"Great, the gang's all here!" Yang piped up, "Now we can die together!"

"Not if I can help it," Ruby said before charging at the Death Stalker.

"Ruby, wait!" Yang called after her sister.

Lorasson drew Ritevice from the scabbard on his back, "She'll be alright," he made his way towards the fight, before turning back around and pointing at the gathered first-years, "You and Jaune I know, but the rest of you, I do not."

Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, Blake Belladonna, and Weiss Schnee all introduced themselves.

"Well met, all of you. Let's take the fight to these bastards, shall we?"

"Wait," Weiss stopped him, "Who are you to them, their bodyguard?" It was clear to him that she was referring to Ruby and Yang.

He paused and considered his answer. Then, half-grinning, he remembered the small patch of aster he'd helped Taiyang plant the day before he'd left.

"Their gardener."

Ruby hadn't stayed engaged with the Death Stalker for long. Realizing how little her weapon was doing to it, she beat a hasty retreat, both it and the Nevermore now on her tail. Yang had joined Lorasson in running towards the two beasts, the rest having hesitated. As the younger of the two sisters retreated, the Nevermore struck, its feathers falling like a rain of arrows. One of them caught the girl's cape, pinning her to the ground. The Death Stalker was upon her now, its massive golden stinger stabbing down toward her. Lorasson kept going, his armored bulk knocking the hollow quills aside.

"WULD!"

He braced himself as he threw up a ward to catch the blow. The first of two surprises came when the barbed stinger stopped short of the magical shield. The second was when he noticed the wall of ice that encircled them. It was then that he heard a familiar voice.

"You are so childish."

Weiss Schnee had managed to conjure a sizable quantity of ice, blocking the Death Stalker's attack and freezing it in place, the overgrown beast visibly struggling against its frozen bonds. She then launched into a rather impressive tirade of insults directed at the younger girl. No time for this.

"Enough of that!" he cut her off, before pointing back towards the temple, "Go grab your relics and get out of here, before that thing breaks loose," he cocked his head in the direction of the still-frozen Death Stalker. He kept his eye on the Nevermore as the students each grabbed a large chess piece from the stone plinths.

As the Nevermore circled back, the gathered group made their way towards a larger set of ruins overlooking a massive gully. The Nevermore was waiting for them, perched on a high tower. The Death Stalker wasn't far behind. It started as the overgrown scorpion burst through the treeline, forcing them to retreat towards the bridge.

"Use the columns for cover!" Lorasson shouted, prompted by memories of a score of dragons fought. He pointed at Ruby, "Find a way to pin the bird down and hit it with everything you have!"

Lie Ren wheeled around to face the Death Stalker, "Nora! Distract it!"

She did so, sprinting across the beast's path and narrowly dodging a rain of quills from the Nevermore. Lorasson cast a fire rune in front of the Death Stalker as it bore down on the ginger-haired girl. The rune exploded, sending the beast reeling back.

"Now! Kill it!" the Nord urged.

Nora's companions seized on the opportunity, falling on the stunned Grimm like a thunderbolt. Ren and Nora harassed it from the sides while Pyrrha and Jaune attacked from the front, making use of their shields to beat back the beast's claws.

"Don't let it recover! Keep at it!" He rushed in, seeking an opening. Before long, the two shield-bearers gave him one. He lunged, hard and fast, plunging Ritevice into one of the beast's glowing red eyes. The blade went in up to the hilt, and the monster screeched in agony. As he pushed off and withdrew the blade, the Death Stalker reeled backwards, stumbling, as if it had been totally blinded. As it lowered its claws from its face, Lorasson could see why the blow had been so effective. A brilliant, white gout of ethereal flame blazed from the wound. A realization struck him as he glanced down at the sword in his hands. Ritevice had been a paladin's sword, and so had been enchanted to be especially deadly to the undead. And to Daedra, he recalled. Imbued with the light of Stendarr, the blade would set such beings to burning, causing terrible pain.

The creature was almost pitiful now, half-dead as it was from the furious assault of the fledgling Huntsmen and Huntresses. Its once-proud golden stinger was now hanging from its tail by a thread. At Jaune's prompting, Pyrrha hurled her shield at the beast's wounded tail, the sharpened edge slicing the barbed tip clean off. The stinger embedded itself in its back, and at another command from Jaune, Nora launched herself into the air to strike the fatal blow. The stinger was hammered into its body like a terrible nail, and the loathsome creature finally met its end. As it crumbled into black dust, Lorasson shifted his gaze to the other group's battle with the Nevermore.

To the Nord's eye, they seemed to work together seamlessly, playing off of each other's abilities as if they'd fought together for years. The fight was a spectacle like he'd never seen. Yang and Blake harassed the Nevermore, forcing it down so that Weiss could trap it. Its tail frozen in place, the massive bird was helpless as Ruby, aided by Weiss's glyphs, rushed in and dragged the beast up the cliffside by its neck, finally rending its head from its shoulders with a terrific stroke of the scythe. Her companions looked on as she stood victorious atop the sheer, granite face. As the nine rejoined, Yang finally spoke.

"Well...that was a thing."