"Your sword is very heavy, Mama."
"I know, Sweetheart."
"Why?"
"Because a King or Queen who is unfit for battle is unfit to rule."
"Why?"
"Because if we do not fight for our people and our loved ones, why should they fight for us?"
"But aren't we Blessed by the Gods?"
"We are, and because of that, it is our duty to protect and do what is best for our people."
"Is that why you and Daddy train together at night?"
"Er… Yes… Yes! That is why we 'train' together so much."
"Can I join? I promise to do my best!"
"Er… Sorry, Little Heart, but that type of training is VERY special. You can only do that training when your older. And with your Consort."
"What about the others?"
"What do you mean?"
"You and Daddy train with others sometimes…"
"Well… Sometimes Mommy needs a little help when Daddy is feeling extra strong."
"Oh, okay…"
"Mama?"
"Yes, Sweetness?"
"How will I know when I find my Consort?"
"You'll know when you see him, my little one. You'll know…"My mother's words echoed through my mind as I looked upon my rescuer Bathed in the light of the sun, it looked as though he bore a halo. A beautiful man, with hair spun from the finest gold stood. His eyes were of the purest sapphire, and his ivory skin rippled with a lordly strength.
This was him.
My future consort.
My Beloved.
(LINE BREAK - Sometime Earlier - Jaune's POV)
"He's getting away!"
"Get back here!"
"We'll make you feel REAL good!"
"IT TIME SNU-SNU!!!"
My lungs burned and my legs ached as I ran through the wintry forest away from my pursuers. Mamano. I wish it were Grimm.
Things had been going pretty well for the past two weeks of my journey and Spring was on its way, but then I had to go through a settlement that had a slight Grimm problem. And by slight, I mean a big ass nuckelavee. Unfortunately, my basic instincts kicked into high gear and I may or may not have ripped it in two.
Which garnered the attention of the local sheriff and her sisters. Amazonians. Freaking Amazonians!
I leapt over a gorge and fell through the thawing snowpile. The snow then collapsed in on itself as I heard the trio of thirsty muscular women trample by and their calling faded away as they got further away.
Whew. Lost them. Digging my way out of the snow, I found myself in a small cavern.
No. Scratch that… A long forgotten shrine…
At the far end of the chamber I saw a bas relief of what looked like a woman cradling the world. It was strange. This motherly woman felt incredibly familiar to me, as though I should know her. There was an inscription engraved beneath.
"GAEA, ALL-MOTHER, DAUGHTER OF THE GREAT LION, TO YOU WE OFFER THIS TRIBUTE FOR YOUR SHELTER AND CARE."
It was in ancient Valean. I only knew this because one of my sisters, Saphron, is an archeologist specializing in pre-Fraternian cultures. This is also why I can read it. I think…
And there, at the base of the relief and its stele, was a small altar. I felt compelled to approach it. Seemingly made of polished bronze, again, it was a small thing. It had an almost bowl shape and was covered in the ashes and dust of the ages.
This shrine must have predated the Church of the Brothers by a thousand years, at least! Man! What a find! Saphron would have a field day with this!
Still, now that I'm here… I think it would be appropriate to pay my respects to the forgotten Goddess seeing as her shrine saved me. But what to offer?
Approaching the altar, I couldn't shake this altogether different feeling. Usually, whenever I visit Lady Toko's shrine or our local temple to The Brothers, I get this sense of unease. As though I'm not welcome there. But in the case of our Ryu's shrine, that could be chalked up to the shirohebi attendants, since Lady Toko was always rather kind and welcoming.
As for the Fraternian temple, I have no idea. I just felt like I didn't belong. Like I was trespassing.
But here? At this shrine? I felt a certain warmth despite the cold outside. Like I was welcome. Wanted, even. It was surreal.
Rummaging through my pack, the only things of value I could spare were a few animal skins I had collected on my journey. Oh well, it would have to do.
"I don't know if you are out there, or if you can hear me," I began. "But I am sorry that I don't have much to give in thanks for your help. Please forgive and accept my humble offering…"
And with that, I laid the pelts down in the altar's basin.
"Thank you."
No sooner had I uttered my thanks and stepped back, than my offering disappeared in a flash of light.
"Woah!"
I did NOT see that coming. I guess Gaea liked my offering.
That was when there was a second flash of light at my feet. Looking down, I noticed that my old, worn-out, and ratty looking work clothes had been replaced with a pair of new black and metallic knee-high boots, new dark pants, a sleeveless black cuirass with a pauldron over my left shoulder and new fingerless gloves.
"Oh! Ummm… Thank you!" I was, understandably, a little shocked at the Goddess's generosity. Though I don't think I'm really equipped for the weather at the moment…
That was when a third flash of light appeared at the altar where I had previously laid my offering. The pelts were back. Well, the grizzly bear pelt was. But now, it was made into a sort of hooded cloak with clasp. The bear's head made up the hood, while its claws and a golden disc made its clasp. The disc was engraved with what appeared to be my family symbol over a mountain with a thunderbolt running through it. Cool.
Yep. Gaea definitely deserves more of a following.
"Thanks again! I'll be sure to tell others about you and send them your way!" I promised. "If that's okay…"
I looked around some more, searching for an exit after noticing the collapsed entrance. No getting out that way. The midday sun shining through the hole in the cavern's roof provided ample light for me to look around. Finally, I saw a gap in the wall large enough to squeeze through.
I also felt a breeze through it. My ticket out.
(Some time later…)
Upon exiting the underground shrine, I was met with the sight of a fight between a portly older man with an incredibly impractical looking blunderbuss-axe weapon and a massive, horned, bipedal, club-wielding Grimm. A Jotun.
The old man was… Actually holding his own. He must be a Huntsman. Still, things weren't looking good for him. The human warrior was running out of steam and likely dealing with arthritis in his advanced age.
His backup wasn't looking so hot either. Five mamano and three men, two of the men were clearly dead while the third was currently leaning against a fallen tree. He was being tended to by one of the mamano, a unicorn. Three of the other mamano of various types had formed a defensive ring around their wounded comrade while the fourth was a cyclops with a sniper rifle taking potshots at the Jotun whenever it had the Huntsman cornered.
They wore the uniforms of a foreign force. Over yonder, I spied the wreckage of an elaborately made airship. These people must have been protecting someone of high importance. Three more individuals, all of them Anubis mamano, were trying to open up or guard a bent and sealed hatch. Whoever was being transported was likely still inside.
If this were something like a Beringel or a Squatch, it would have been long dead by now. But a Jotun was much more difficult. Not only do they have thicker hides, but they are smarter, faster, more heavily armored, and have a much faster healing rate. You need to destroy the central nerve in its brain or its heart to kill it, otherwise it'll simply regenerate.
Knowing they were all doomed if I didn't do something, I pulled out my bow and prepared to knock an arrow before I saw, to my dismay, that my bow had broken. Likely due to my earlier fall.
Swearing, I discarded the now defunct weapon and raced towards the battleground as fast as my legs could carry me. Which was quite fast, but unfortunately was not fast enough.
While the cyclops was reloading her rifle, the Jotun grabbed a boulder and hurled it right at her. In an instant, the poor woman was thrown onto her back with a several hundred pound stone replacing her head.
"No!" The Huntsman called out at the death of another ally.
"Bea!" One of the mamono, a werewolf, cried out.
Rushing past the corpse of one of the fallen, I saw his sword sticking out of the ground. I grabbed it as I dropped to my knees to slide underneath the massive Grimm and sliced the back of one of its knees, severing it in the process thanks to the last minute surge of Aura I put through the blade to increase its cutting power.
Eventually, the leg would grow back, if I had any intention of letting this thing live.
The Jotun howled in pain and rage before smacking me with its club, sending me into a large dead tree and knocking it over. I returned the favor by grabbing the trunk of the fallen tree and smashed it into Grimm, knocking it over.
Before it could recover, I had retrieved the sword I had dropped when I crashed into the tree I just used and had leapt on top of the creature's chest.
Looking it square in the eyes, I gathered my Aura and brought the sword tip down into the Jotun's heart. The red light faded from its eyes as it gave its last dying gasp before the disintegration process began.
It was over.
Turning my attention to the group of survivors, I saw the old Huntsman standing there looking gobsmacked at me.
"Hey, sorry I couldn't get here sooner…" I apologized while gesturing towards the fallen soldiers strewn about the place. "I'm Jaune Arc. Hunter and farmer."
The older man quickly shook his head to snap out of his daze.
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Arc, I am Professor Peter Port, Huntsman extraordinaire and one of the teachers at the prestigious Beacon Academy," the Huntsman introduced himself.
Oh wow, a Beacon Professor! Maybe he can help me get into the Academy. But that could wait. The survivors were my priority right now.
"What happened?" I asked.
The professor looked back at his allies and the wrecked airship, motioning me to come with him over to where the Anubis girls were frantically struggling to open the bent and damaged hatch. There were multiple glowing hieroglyphics all over. Defensive reinforcement spells. Damn. There really is a Pharaoh in there, huh?
"We were escorting Her Highness to Beacon Academy from her meeting with the SDC in Atlas," Professor Port explained.
Oh. Wow. Never thought I'd have a chance to meet royalty. Let's hope she's not the spoiled bitchy kind that thinks the world revolves around her…
"But then we were ambushed by some rogue orcs," the professor continued. "they fled the moment that Jotun came and made a snack out of their leader."
I winced at the sight of the discarded high orc that was missing the upper half of her torso along with her head, as indicated by Port. That definitely wasn't good for moral on either side.
Finally, we reached the wreckage.
"Any luck, ladies?" Professor Port asked.
"No good…" one of the Anubis muttered. "The inner emergency release is busted, and that Jotun packed a helluva wallop. So the defense charms kicked in. Without an advanced Mage, or the original inscriber, these seals are a bit too strong for us to dispel ourselves. Looks like we have nothing to do but wait for help to come in answer to the ship's distress signal… If only we had a dragon or hellhound here to break through…"
"Excuse me," I spoke up.
The three fluffy, tan, and exotic mamano turned to me. One gave a low whistle as she eyed my bare arms. I elected to ignore that bit.
"Would it be okay, if I tried?" I offered-slash-asked.
"I saw what you did to that Jotun, be my guest," an Anubis who was tinkering with her scroll said. "I've informed Her Highness to stand back. Don't want you hitting her by accident."
"Right." I nodded. "Thanks."
Placing a hand upon the structure, I mentally marked where I wanted to strike and took a deep breath. Then, I exhaled as I pulled my hand back in a fist.
There were gasps of shock and awe surrounding me. For in an instant, I was shoulder-deep in the metal barrier as the glowing hieroglyphs shattered and dispersed. That was a relief.
Extracting my arm, I stopped at the hand in order to grip the rim of the hole I had just literally punched in. Now, with both hands, I began peeling the metal back before wrenching it free to reveal the most beautiful woman I had ever seen…
AND SCENE!!!
There we go, looks like Jaune's getting a bit closer to his goal. And it looks like he may have just snagged himself a princess of sorts. I wonder who?
Care to make your predictions?
Ciao for now!