Update: A review on the scene with SAFR told me they were hostile far too quickly made me reread the conversation and made me realize they were right so I did my best to change it to make more sense. I can only hope it makes the scene better.
Howdy and welcome back to the Fallen and welcome to the longest chapter so far! Chapter II is now second place in length. Anyway, I'm happy with the chapter but I do feel as if some parts may be a bit wonky at least the dialogue-heavy bits and I would like some reviews on those to see if I'm crazy or not but otherwise I hope you enjoy.
-OtherwisR00K
The truck jostled as it moved over a large bump in the dirt road but Raven Branwen wasn't affected by it, she had long grown used to it since the tribe had obtained these old Mantel transports. The trucks were meant to take a beating and keep on moving, the grill of the truck had a ram built onto it to clear Grimm or obstacles in its path. It was the perfect vehicle to haul the spoils of a raid home.
But today it wasn't being used for that purpose and instead was filled with cargo meant for trading.
The Bandit Tribes of Anima had a code amongst themselves, not to fuck with each other or the whole would come down on them. It was meant to keep the tribes strong so the outsiders could be kicked to the curb. Specifically, the crime families of Mistral who had attempted to push in on the turf.
The Branwens were the top dog of the tribes and could get away with more than the other ones could but that didn't mean they left the code behind. Raven wasn't stupid, the tribe was strong as that was the mentality of the Branwen's, but even a strong person could eventually be overwhelmed by numbers.
The other Bandit Tribes had those numbers. The Branwens did not.
So here they were heading toward another tribe to trade extra food for money. Though Raven was admittedly wary of the tribe they were heading to, not because they were powerful or anything really special, she just felt something was off about them.
Her suspicions were raised at the moment because the tribe had been dark for the last couple of weeks before suddenly contacting the Branwens for a trade. They wanted food and were willing to give the Branwens the spoils of a raid they'd recently completed.
Now this usually wouldn't have raised her suspicions that much, tribes went radio silent on occasion. The problem was the rumors she'd been hearing from other tribes trading with the Branwens. The very tribe they were going to may have merged with another.
That was a very rare thing to happen within the bandit tribes. Each tribe had differences within their internal culture, the Branwens having a strength overall mentallity for example. One of the tribes was more militaristic and focused more on stability. Another preferred taking the people they pillaged, specifically women.
These cultures would clash against each other and cause tension, not enough to start a fight but enough to make the other more likely to avoid the other. Two tribes joining together meant they had similar cultures. Similar mentalities.
The last time something like this had happened she'd been a child within the tribe along with her brother. The tribes that joined together became a threat to the code and were destroyed, their resources being split between the victorious tribes.
In short, she didn't trust it. Raven had only agreed to the trade so she could get an idea of what was going on with the tribe and learn about their customs to see why they merged. For now, she'd just rest her head back on the leather seat-
"Aw shit."
-or not.
Raven opened an eye to look at the man driving the truck. A tall lean man with dirty blond hair and a poor attempt at a beard. This was Shay D. Mann, a young man who she'd been keeping an eye on since he fucked up on an earlier raid.
That didn't mean he was bad at what he did, he simply made a rookie mistake. You don't turn your eyes from the hostages as when in a time of extreme crisis people tend to get far more bold than one would think.
Raven leaned forward as the truck rumbled to a halt. Shay had noticed something, else he'd never have stopped the truck, especially when they were close to the tribe they were to trade with. She looked out the front window and immediately saw what made Shay bring the truck to a halt.
A large plume of gray smoke had darkened the otherwise clear sky.
Raven frowned, the smoke not being black meant whatever fire was its source had been snuffed out and it was simply the ash flowing up into the air. That also meant some time had passed since the fire had been extinguished or used up the fuel it had.
Raven got out of the truck, hopping off the small step that helped people up to the higher cab of the truck. She looked at the smoke cloud, it was too large to be a bonfire and far too large to be a simple fire. No, something large was burning and she had a feeling it was the camp.
"Well, shit that ain't good," A bandit, Azure, if Raven remembered right said. Raven turned to look at the approaching duo. They had been in that back and most likely got curious as to why they stopped.
"Nice job stating the obvious," the other one, Auburn, said.
Raven thought for a moment before looking back at the smoke, "I'm going to scout it out."
No one raised any objections, they knew better. Raven moved forward and leaped into the air and in a split second she was her namesake flying toward the source of the smoke. She avoided the plume and stayed on the edges of it, finally getting a glimpse of the camp.
The camp had been razed to the ground. The only thing she could get a glance at was the skeletal buildings burnt out.
Raven made one more pass before heading back to her group. She dived from the sky and suddenly she was free falling to the ground in her human form. She landed in front of the group of bandits and stood tall.
"The camp is destroyed," she relayed.
The group looked grim at the fact, "Think someone got too antsy with the merge?" Shay asked.
"Possible," Raven said, "but the whole place looked torched. I didn't see any vehicle tracks but I didn't get too close to the ground."
"Should we just go in?" Azure questioned.
"What if they're still here?" Auburn said, bringing up a rather good point. Raven was quiet for a moment.
"Then we kill them or interrogate them on why they did this," Raven said, deciding the course of action they would take. She looked toward Shay, "We're heading in."
Shay nodded before climbing back into the driver's seat. Azure and Auburn ran to the back getting back into the bed of the truck and Raven stepped onto the ladder but didn't get in, she grabbed a handle on the side of the truck and held on.
The truck rumbled forward and soon they came into view of the destroyed camp. The view from the air gave no credit for how destroyed this place was, Raven noticed many places where it looked like something had blown up and blackened metal shards sticking up from ash gave evidence of a dust tanker having once taken up residence there.
The truck rumbled through the ash-ridden ground before coming to a halt with a large burnt-out log cabin. Raven hopped down, the dust flying up as it was disturbed. She looked around at the destruction wondering if this may have been the work of-
"Oh shit!"
Raven turned and immediately had her hand on the handle of Omen. The sight that entered her vision however wasn't threatening and instead dread-inducing to most. Azure had stepped on a mound of ash and her foot broke through the ribcage of a charred skeleton.
Raven walked toward the skeleton noting that Auburn and Shay were closing in as well. The four bandits stood around the corpse, Shay casually wiping off the ash with his foot exposing more of the skeleton and large hole in its skull.
This one was killed instantly and Raven had a feeling if they looked around the whole site they'd find more skeletons. It gave Raven a thought, what if she was behind this? No that wouldn't make sense, she was much more sinister. She'd tear them apart from the inside-
Raven was snapped out of her thoughts by Auburn's voice, "Yo, I think I found something!" She turned to see Auburn wiping off ash from cellar doors attached to the foundation of the burnt building. Raven moved over to him and looked at the doors.
Azure decided to try and open it and the moment she touched the handle the doors fell inward. The two doors clanged loudly onto the concrete steps leading down to a seemingly lit cellar. The group looked down at the warmly lit staircase and could barely make out the crimson splatter at the bottom.
Azure went to move forward but Raven put her hand up, "Stay here. We don't know how large the cellar is and may get in each other's way." She walked to the step, "I want you all ready in case you hear fighting. If you do then I need Shay to start the truck and you two," she pointed at Azure and Auburn, "to be ready in case something or someone gets past me."
The three nod listening to her command and Raven nods, satisfied that they're listening to her. She turns back toward the steps and begins walking down. The stairwell was rather narrow and she wondered how large the cellar would be. She wasn't making shit up when she said that to the other three, it was a possible issue.
If she couldn't use Omen she'd have to make do with her fists. She flexed her fingers, one hand already resting on Omen as she finally made it to the bottom-
Her breath hitched at the sight.
It wasn't the blood or the corpses.
It wasn't the smell of the scene either.
It wasn't even the corpse on a table having its heart ripped out and placed within the corpse's hand.
It was the altar standing on the far end of the cellar with a symbol she'd been running from. Salem's symbol sat mockingly on the wall, carved in and filled with some purple substance. It sat there looking at her as if it was smirking in victory at having caught up to her.
Raven's mind goes into overdrive. Thoughts echo through her mind, memories of the reveal of Salem's nature.
"I'm afraid it is quite impossible, for Salem is unkillable."
Those words, from a man she'd trusted for years, shook her very world. It made her realize there was no point in this war, it would simply continue long after she was dead. The argument she had with her team afterward had made her realize Ozpin had his own strings and they had wrapped around each of her teammate's throats.
They wouldn't listen to her.
Summer believed she could still do something to combat Salem.
Qrow believed in Ozpin and would follow Summer to the end of Remnant.
Taiyang believed in all three and was easily swayed by others.
Raven refused to be anyone's sacrifice.
She left the next day, leaving behind a family, her daughter but it was better that way. Taiyang, Summer, and Qrow would have fought their way to Anima to find her if that were the case and Raven was fully aware that Yang was better left in that environment.
Raven's breathing began picking up. Her mind turned to the possibility that the other tribes could be infiltrated, there could be members of Salem's flock in her tribe. Her breathing got more ragged as she realized what Salem was doing.
She'd tear the tribes apart from the inside…
No
Raven clenched her fist as the dread and panic turned hot. Rage began pooling into her mind, she would not allow that witch to take her family again. The bandit tribe she'd come from and had returned to. She would rip the cancer out directly.
Raven grabbed Omen and switched the blade to a burn dust blade. She unsheated it and in one swift motion unleashed a wave of fire onto the remains of the flock within the cellar. The mark still mocked her but she would not allow it to win here.
Raven stomped back up the steps, Azure, Shay, and Auburn all backing up from their clearly fuming leader. Raven stepped away and closer to the truck before stopping and turning to them all.
"They had an infestation," Raven said, answering the question their faces were asking, "When we get back we are going to go through each of the tribe's tents."
"W-wait," Shay questioned, earning panicked looks from the group, Why?"
Raven looked at Shay, her red eyes burning into his own green eyes, "We may have infected among us as well and I plan to cut them out."
Raven stormed forward, her mind fully set on making sure Salem's wicked roots never took hold in her tribe.
-Six Months Later-
A bullhead sped through the air across Anima, having been in Mistral over an hour ago and now passing Oniyuri on a mad dash toward the latest dark settlement. For the last several months several settlements had gone dark, at first the Kingdom of Mistral didn't think much of it as settlements went dark all the time, it was just an unfortunate fact of life.
A few months ago things changed. A team of Huntsmen had barely gotten a signal for an SOS signal coming from a settlement before it went dark a few moments after the signal was sent. The team had sped over expecting Grimm or Bandits attacking but by the time they got there, all they found was fire.
The team had attempted to find survivors but all they found was corpses. Fires sometimes started during Grimm attacks and occasionally Bandits burned places to the ground just for cruelty's sake but this was different. The team had found evidence of dust going off in several places within the settlement as if bombs had been planted.
This caused the Kingdom to investigate and after sending out teams to the recently destroyed settlements and they found some rather grim evidence. Some of the settlements had in fact been destroyed by Grimm but in others, there was evidence of human destruction.
Bullet holes, destroyed buildings that have had chunks sliced off. The corpses found were in different states but they were either gunned down or had large slash wounds nearly bisecting some of them and even some found cut in half.
With all the evidence, it pointed to a group of people simply destroying settlements for no reason. This of course made the Mistral Council panic as if the general populus found this out negativity would spike and attract the Grimm.
The council went to Haven Academy's Headmaster, Leonardo Lionheart to deal with this crisis in the making. Leonardo had done as tasked and placed many Huntsmen teams on the case but unfortunately, the death continued. It was always spread out and seemingly skipping other settlements in their path so they had no idea where the culprits would appear.
The council continued putting pressure on Leo to catch these people so Leo had pulled his best team off a mission they'd accepted in Mantel and brought them home. Team SAFR had been placed on the case and they were currently holding on for dear life in the bullhead.
"Can you slow down, please!" Arrastra Skye yelled over the sound of the engines. Arrastra was the faunus leader of team SAFR, she was also unique among the faunus because instead of having a feature tacked on as so many usually do she had an entire limb that was an animals. Two blue serval cat legs which were currently straining to keep her standing.
"Is this guy trying to fuckin' kill us!" Asher Mora yelled as he was strapped to a seat. He looked rough and wouldn't look out of place in one of the bandit tribes of Anima. He was also Arrastra's partner, having known each other since before their student days in Haven.
"Ha ha! This ride is fantastic!" The only one enjoying the ride was Fenix Nemean. A large burly lion faunus but unlike Leonardo, Fenix had the ears of one. He was the team's muscle and bravest willing to dive into hell for any member of his team.
The last one was currently trying desperately not to throw up as he unfortunately suffered from airsickness. Pyke Rite was the heart of the team and the most accident-prone, he was also easily the savvy engineer of the group and partner to Fenix Nemean.
"D-do we have a-hurk-a plan?" Pyke grunted out.
"If we make it there alive, we crack skulls or get 'em dead! Bastards deserve it for the shit they've done!" Asher yelled.
"I concur!" Fenix yelled, "These villains have committed too heinous an atrocity to these people to go unpunished!"
"Hold your horses, fellas!" Arrastra yelled, "We don't have a clue how many there are! More importantly, we don't know how skilled they are! So to answer your question Pyke we're going to fight but we need to be smart and stick together, these aren't Grimm we'll be fighting! So no lone wolf crap got it!?"
She looked specifically at Asher when saying that last part. Asher had been known to go off on his own to kill Grimm. It usually wasn't much of an issue as Asher was tough in his own right but with the more powerful Grimm, it didn't really end well.
"Yeah, yeah I got it! Brothers." Asher mumbled that last bit and it was drowned out by the engine's roar.
The four sat in silence as the bullhead continued across the sky, with the occasional time Pyke very nearly threw up as the only sound besides the roaring engines. Eventually, the bullhead began slowing down and turned as the cockpit door slid open with the pilot leaning into view.
"We're here! You guys need to move because I can see smoke!" The pilot relayed as both doors in the cabin opened. The first thing everyone in the bullhead could smell was smoke and each of them looked out to see the smoke rising from the settlement though hidden by the treetops.
SAFR wastes no time and ready their weapons before leaping from the bullhead, free-falling to the ground beneath them. Arrastra used her weapon, a pick-axe/crossbow mecha shift weapon named Windlass. She loaded a wind dust bolt into the crossbow and waited until she was at the tree canopy where she fired and rode the windblast down to the forest floor running forward as soon as she landed.
As Asher fell he unsheathed his knives, Fortune's Fangs, and activated their shift by placing the handles together, one knife sinking into the handle to become a larger handle and the other knife's blade twisted into a more hooked shape. Asher angled his body so he was falling head first and as he broke through the tree canopy used the hook to latch onto a branch and swing himself forward before landing in a roll on the ground and rushing forward.
Fenix needed no such tricks and simply brought his shield from its resting spot on his back and put it forward, partially activating his semblance as he slammed into the ground. A moment later he was up and moving forward.
Pyke simply used his drill's powerful recoil and shot toward the ground every so often till he landed. He rushed forward as well, keeping pace with his team who'd landed close to him. SAFR rushed forward, sounds of combat emanating from beyond the brush.
Team SAFR burst through the brush ready to do battle with the people attacking the town.
Only to stare in surprise as they watched a man decapitate a Beowolf using a black sword with a red hexagonal pattern and fire a pistol at another charging Beowolf killing them with two quick shots.
The man is wearing a black leather coat with black pants wrapped with silver accents and metal-clad boots, he also has a silver case strapped to his back. He turned with the blade still in hand and the team got a view of the sleek armor beneath the coat which resembled the pants stylistically. The only thing off with the outfit was the red scarf dangling from his neck.
"Hmph, I'm assuming you're a Huntsmen team?" the man said, his voice rather uninterested. It irked Arrasatra to hear that in his voice.
"Yes," Arrastra said, "We came as quickly as we could when the settlement disappeared from the CCT network."
The man looked over at the settlement, it was damaged badly with several buildings looking as if they were about to collapse. He looked back at them, and even with his face shadowed by his hood she could tell he was giving a rather unimpressed stare, "You're late."
"Well," Arrastra began, "we came directly from Mistral and the pilot pushed the bullhead's engines hard. Either way, are there any survivors?"
The man looked over at a smaller building which looked roughed up but otherwise intact, "I came a little after the attack began. I know some died but everyone else got into the building over there."
Arrastra sighed at the information, she was glad some had survived but saddened all the same at the loss of life. They should've gotten here sooner.
"So, wait a fuckin' second," Asher spoke up, "This was a typical Grimm attack! Shit, that means there could be another settlement being attacked by those lunatics now!"
"Lunatics?" the man questioned.
"Right," Pyke began, "We were on standby for any settlements having gone dark. Recently a lot of them have been destroyed by a group, we're not sure why they are doing this but when it was discovered this wasn't being done by Grimm the Mistral Council wanted to catch the perpetrators."
The man looked away from them seemingly in thought before asking, "Has there been anything found at the settlements that were destroyed?"
"No," Fenix spoke up, "These foul villains have covered their tracks well. The only thing left behind is the dust residue they used to set the fires and the corpses of the poor souls in their path."
"So nothing."
Arrastra spoke up this time, "Not nothing, we know they have to be a group as there was evidence of the people fighting back but, otherwise yeah nothing. Not even a connecting thread to the settlements but we will find them and stop them."
The man hummed, "Good luck with that."
"Thanks," Pyke spoke, grateful for the man's words.
"Do you know where the CCT relay is, Pyke here," Arrasata gestured toward him, "might be able to get it working if it's not too damaged."
"I don't live here but if I had to guess," He looked off to his left and SAFR's heads followed to see a tower riddled with holes that looked like Nevermore feathers. It seemed the man had taken out a few Nevermore as well.
"There's something else I wish to ask," Fenix began, "Who are you?"
"Nobody special, I was just nearby and heard screams. I came to find the place under attack. I neutralized the threat and you all came along."
"Hmm, that doesn't explain why you helped them. You don't seem like a Huntsman."
"The Grimm were in my way."
"T-thats it?" Pyke asked, shocked at the answer. The rest of SAFR was of a similar state of mind at the answer.
"I helped, didn't I?" The man said, "Not everyone has the best intentions when helping others."
"We know that, sir, it's just…we weren't you to be um, upfront about it." She said, she was put off by the by the man's answer as well but kept it to herself.
"Hmph, lying has no use here. Besides I highly doubt every Huntsman helps people out of moral obligation."
"It would have been far more noble if that were the case," Fenix says, he wasn't thrilled at meeting this man.
"Tsk, noble. That word has no right to be in my vicinity," the man brushes past them walking off down the path the settlement was built around.
"Hey! You can't just leave, you have to help with the report!" Arrastra shouted, surprised at the man just walking off.
"I'm not a Huntsman, I have no reason to do so. You should help the people still alive, they need you more than my side of a report." The man says as he continues walking.
"Look," Arrastra follows him, "That doesn't matter, we need the details of what happened and you are the only one here-"
"I'm going to stop you right there," he didn't stop walking, just talked back at them as he continued on his way, "I do not care for your report and I certainly don't care about official procedures. I do not care for your superiors and I believe you have far more better things you could be doing than hounding me. There are still survivors in that building who need your aid so go help them instead of bothering me."
Fenix begins to move forward, opening his mouth to say something but is stopped by Arrastra, "What? He's being incredibly disrespectful and refuses to cooperate."
"I'm aware, Fenix, honestly I want nothing more than to introduce his teeth to Windlass but he has a point. The survivors are more important than him."
Pyke was surprised at the words, "That seems a bit off, your usually much more uncaring of peoples words toward you."
Arrastra sighs, "Yeah, I know. I'm not sure why but his words annoyed me more than they should have."
"Well he did have a point," Asher says, his gaze burning into the retreating man's back, "The survivors are far more important than that jackass."
SAFR watched as the man walked down the dirt road for a moment before heading toward the shelter. They had more important things to deal with than some rude man even if did save the settlment.
-One Month Later-
Earl Bross was a good scout, he was raised in the Anima wilderness by bandits and was well attuned to their culture. It helped in his line of work being an operative for the Spiders, an organization that specialized in information brokering. They were run by Lil' Miss Malachite who was a ruthless woman, with rumors about her having her husband killed for doing something minor.
Anyway, Earl was good at what he did and currently, he was camped out on a small plateau overlooking a gorge with a settlement nestled into it. He was here in hopes of bagging information on one of two objectives, either would work for him.
One was a group of people having gone across Anima torching random settlements in no real pattern, Mistral was keeping the situation on the down low but Lil' Miss' contacts in the council had given her the information. Some people had already offered lien to get some info on this group, mostly huntsmen and huntresses who wanted to hunt them down.
The other was a more interesting one. Some caravans that headed into Mistral told stories of a hero out in the wilds of Anima saving settlements for nothing and leaving without a word to the people there, the only name given to this savior was The Black Swordsman.
Intel Earl had acquired in his search for the man suggested the Black Swordsman first appeared in a dock town called Hoana Lu. Apparently, this man fought off an army of Grimm single-handedly and then just left. Earl was skeptical of some of the details and knew stories like this tended to be embellished, it was more likely he did have help.
Lil' Miss wanted intel on both of these things. She dealt in information and didn't like not knowing something that could net her some lien so she sent him out and for the last few months he'd been tracking both groups and to his frustration, he couldn't pinpoint them.
Both seemed to be fans of the mysterious bullshit schtick and covered their tracks very well. He'd visited the destroyed settlements and scoured them to find nothing that would lead him to the group. He'd visited the settlements that were saved by the Black Swordsman and all that could be given was a general description but no idea who he is or where he went.
This forced Earl to do some thinking and dot-connecting. He was fully aware that the two would go to a settlement to destroy it or save it from Grimm. He knew the group was random in the settlements they destroyed and the Black Swordsman wasn't predictable unless you knew where he was.
So he needed to scout out settlements.
He decided to look for somewhat isolated settlements, one that took a little more effort to get to. Earl figured it would be a good target for the group and could possibly act as a separate route for the Black Swordsman to take.
This brought him back to the plateau he was currently camping on. It was an outcropping on the rock wall above the settlement, it was a good vantage point and he had to thank his semblance for getting up there. His semblance wasn't anything truly special, it just allowed him to scale walls as if he were walking normally but it came in handy.
So far nothing had happened within the settlement. They all just did their chores, went to a church that was embedded in the mountain, and went to their homes. Nothing really interesting besides the religion of the place which seemed to rule every waking moment of their life.
Earl had already been here for a few days and had planned to leave for another location if nothing happened in a week. He was fully aware of how bad this plan was but he had no other alternative. He had no info, no references to where his targets hung out, nada. This was the best he could do.
He'd persevere, he had to. Lil' Miss wasn't known for taking failure very well, she did have an image to uphold, and any dumbass under her was usually corrected quickly or never seen again. Earl would rather camp out here just to get the information Lil' Miss wanted than go back to her empty-handed.
Earl had gotten up early this morning, about the same time the settlement began to wake. The hours passed and he had watched as the people of the settlement went about as they usually did, though a small change in the pattern was an old carriage being wheeled up to the church where large barrels were given to, what he assumed was, a priest and taken inside. Besides that nothing had occurred.
It was nearing dusk now and the whole village was inside the church, that was the typical thing that happened at this time of day. He never did find out what the religion they practiced was, the only possible answer is a sigel above the church carved into a rock, some eye with an odd compass look. It felt familiar but he dismissed it as not being important.
He sighed as he realized nothing was going to happen today either-
Shink
-Earl's eyes darted up at the sound. Similar to the sound of a pickaxe hitting a rock but piercing it instead of cracking it open. He looked across the gorge and on the other side he noticed movement on the wall. The sun had positioned itself to where the gorge wall was shadowed and he couldn't make it out.
The figure was moving across the wall, occasionally stopping for some reason and then moving again. They got to a point and then stopped. Earl could still make them out though, a shadow sitting on the wall.
Why did they stop though?
Suddenly it began moving again, but much faster. It moved to the point parallel to Earl's position and then the figure leaped right at him.
Earl stumbled backward pulling his revolver and attempted to aim but the figure threw something and a chain with a nail at the end wrapped around his wrist. The figure pulled and Earl was dragged forward just as the figure reached the spot and lashed out with their hand.
Earl was lifted off the ground by the collar of his shirt as the figure brought a pistol to Earl's head, "Are you with the settlement?" the man spoke, his voice cold and baritone. Earl knew immediately this man was fully willing to kill him with no problems.
"N-no," Earl said, he cursed himself in his head for stuttering, "What? Is it special or somethin'?"
The man looked back toward the edge and Earl decided to commit the man's appearance to memory. White hair, golden eyes, tan skin, black leather coat, red scarf, black and silver under armor with pants and boots of a similar design making it look as though it was a single article and a silver case sat on his back.
Why was this description familiar?
"No," the man said, "It's not that special. It's just a repulsive thing."
The man turned his head back to Earl and he could make out teal lines glowing on the man's face that weren't there a moment ago. Suddenly as if the lines correlated white light began appearing from spots on the cliff opposite them and then-
BOOM
The cliff collapsed! The loose chunks of rocks and boulders fell to the settlement beneath the two. The settlement was buried under the rock so quickly it took a moment for it to register in Earl's mind. Then it clicked.
He remembered the description he was given for the Black Swordsman. The man holding him up by the collar matched the description down to the silver accents of the armor under the coat. Then Earl thought about the destroyed settlements and how they were destroyed with explosions.
The Black Swordsman and the conceived group were one and the same. It was all one person.
"What is your affiliation?"
Earl registered what the Black Swordsman had asked and he clammed up. Lil' Miss was not someone you ratted out to, nor did you tell people you were a part of the spiders. It had been beaten into him what would happen if this rule was broken.
It seemed the Black Swordsman noticed and was about to speak when his golden eyes looked at Earl's shoulder. He was looking at the dagger he's sheathed there for easier access, in fact, that was what he was banking on using against the Black Swordsman. It seemed he'd noticed it-
"Spiders, huh."
The words made a pit open in Earl's stomach. The Black Swordsman raises the pistol, and Earl's life flashes before his eyes.
"Thanks for the tip."
Two shots. The first broke the aura. The second burrowed into Earl's skull, killing him instantly.
-Two Weeks Later-
"-see that you do," a council member said before the transmission cut off and Leonardo was left alone in his office. He'd been called for a council meeting and had accepted it from his personal computer within his office. Though it was less of a meeting and more of a brutal tongue-lashing that lasted nearly an hour.
Oh, it had all the normal things the council complained about but it was mostly about his 'incompetence' with capturing the terrorist group that has been destroying settlements. Another had been found about a few days ago which had been buried under several tons of rock. GRRN had been on sight and informed him of the 'tragedy'.
Leonardo growled and was very tempted to slam his fist into his desk but refrained from doing so, instead he sighed and rubbed his face. He despised the council of Mistral with a passion. Racism toward the faunus in this Kingdom was a well-known fact and segregation even still existed here. The council themselves had been trying to get rid of Leo for years, trying to get him to lash out and use that to get him out and put a like-minded human in the position.
Leo had told Ozpin of these problems, the old man had been sympathetic and had done his best to keep the Mistral council off Leo's back but there was only so much Ozpin could do even with his political power.
Leo wished things were different and that things in Mistral were more like Vale when it came to the faunus but he has faced this treatment his whole life. He was thankful for the people that supported him and because of that support he would grit his teeth and bear the brunt of it.
The children of the Academy had to be taught and he refused to break under the pressure. The children needed him to be strong, Ozpin needed him to be strong. He would admit that sometimes the pressure got to him and he took time to himself whenever possible to get his head on straight.
He couldn't fall. Haven had to stand protected.
A ping came from his computer, knocking Leo out of his thoughts. He looked at the screen to see it was a call request from Ozpin. Leo quickly accepted and suddenly the screen showed the ancient man with a light smile.
"Hello Leo," Ozpin said.
"Hello Ozpin, I'm assuming this isn't a social call," Leonardo said.
Ozpin sighed, "Unfortunately not, old friend, it's about our Wildcard."
Leo leaned back into his seat, a frown adorning his face, "Yes, I'm sure you know already but he's hit another settlement."
"Yes, I had heard."
"I was able to get GRRN there before anyone else, they dealt with any evidence of the cult that could be found."
GRRN was a team that had recently graduated and Leo had decided to bring them into the fold. The team had shown to be far more nimble and flexible than the other team of their year and Leo had been in need of more scouts.
He'd approached them after their graduation and introduced them to Ozpin who then introduced them to his circle. They'd been a great addition ever since.
"Good work, Leo."
"Yes, though they have made complaints at how much work they've had to do," Leo says, "We severely underestimated the competence of this Wildcard."
"It does seem that way, yes. It admittedly makes me disappointed at how many people have fallen under Salem's thrall." Ozpin says.
"The council is livid with the 'group' evading my grasp."
Ozpin looked regretful as Leo said that, "I do apologize again-"
"Please don't," Leo said, raising a hand to stop Ozpin's apology, "You've apologized many times for it already. I was aware of what this position would require and I was aware of the adversity I would face while doing so."
"Yes, but still-"
"But nothing, Oz. I wouldn't trade my position for anything else, I'm needed here just as the other Headmasters are. Besides, it is fun to watch the council squirm at times like these."
"Hmph, yes I suppose that is worth it." Ozpin says amused, "Still, I do wonder how the Wildcard is finding these thralls so easily."
"He most likely found information within the camps the council doesn't notice but our Wildcard has gone after more than just settlements, bandit tribes have been destroyed as well."
"Hmm, have the Spiders any info on our Wildcard?"
"No, I sent one of my scouts to Lil' Miss' bar but he was told that no information was known."
"He hides his tracks very well," Ozpin said.
Leo nodded in agreement, "GRRN is only able to keep up due to them always being on the move. He's been slowly making his way to Mistral."
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Besides that, how will you continue to string the council along?"
"By doing what I've been doing."
"The safest answer," Ozpin admits, "Well I wish you luck, old friend."
"Thank you Ozpin," the screen cut off and Leonardo sat alone again. He shook his head and went to his files. He had paperwork to do.
-Two Months Later-
"How are things over there?" Salem asked over the other end of the Seer Grimm's connection.
"It goes well," Vermillion Raddock said, "We tracked the path of the Rogue Piece as best we could. The other sites have been destroyed, Mistress, this is the last site on Anima besides our stronghold in Mistral."
"Then you would do well to defend it with your lives. What are the fortifications being used?"
"We already have a few hundred Grimm around the perimeter, they are constantly moving in a circle around Judian, and on the chance he gets past those we have Huntsman-trained individuals on the wall. We even decided to repurpose the Grimm sensors for any motion a few miles out. Judian is also directly in the center of a valley with only grass for about three miles. He won't get past us Mistress," Vermillion explained.
"See that he doesn't. We have underestimated this Rogue Piece on the board and I do not intend on losing to such a piece. You have your mission and you have my support."
"Thank you, My Mistress. If I may ask, what do we know of this Rogue?"
"You may, and as bothersome as it is, we know nothing about them besides their gender and appearance. Arthur was rather vexed by the lack of information, having locked himself in his lab to work on his project in frustration."
"Hmph, something the great Arthur Watts cannot find," Vermilion would admit he didn't like Watts. He was a pompous jackass who Vermillion could break like a twig in anything that wasn't related to technology.
"Yes, but this also affects you as you will not know what to expect."
"Hmm, I can make assumptions."
"Assumptions destroy empires, Vermillion," Salem's tone quieted Vermillion, "Assumptions have brought great men and women to their knees. Do not assume anything." Salem's visage within the Seer disappeared, indicating Salem was done speaking. The Seer floated up into the rafters of the building blending in with the shadows.
Vermillion watches the spot the Seer disappeared to for a moment before turning around and walking out of the room. He continued walking until he pushed open the doors leading from the clocktower out into the courtyard leading to the rest of Judian.
Vermillion walked forward, his body on autopilot while his mind was thinking. He was fully aware of the Rogue that had been killing Salem's flock for a few months and had been trying to track him down to no avail. He'd wanted to intercept him at the other sites but was told not to and instead to head here.
He never questioned Salem, never wavered in his loyalty but he'd admit in the privacy of his own mind to feeling a little frustration at his Mistress for that order. He'd wanted to hunt the Rogue down and fight him. Vermillion was a battle junkie.
In any fight he's been in, if it was entertaining or got his blood pumping, he'd purposefully lead the fight on. This has never been a problem before, Salem had always catered to his need for a good fight and even encouraged it but this was different.
Salem had wanted him and the people he was with to hunker down and wait. That was usually no problem but he was told to set up defenses. Defenses! He was all the defense this place of worship needed!
Vermillion was a fighter, a fighter bred in the Vacuan underground rings. He lived for the fight, he was raised to fight. He was willfully slaved by the Crown to fight! When Salem came along and tore down the Crown to make way for her followers he'd joined without hesitation when she promised fights. He hadn't regretted it and wouldn't now.
It vexed him to add defenses when he could just wait in the field for this Rogue to show up. He'd do as his Mistress asked but he wouldn't be disappointed if they got through. He'd love it if they did and he had a feeling they would.
He'd heard of what this man had done and who he'd gotten through in those sites. The Rogue had torn through Huntsman-level combatants and even some that were trained by Vermillion and he still killed them. The bodies were too mutilated or burned for him to know what wound had killed them but he knew they had gone down fighting. Any student of his had to, it was beaten into them.
The thought of a fight with this man made him giddy but he composed himself as best he could as he walked past a group of Salem's flock and his brothers in arms walked past. He was very thankful to his Boarbatusk Grimm mask which Salem had given to him as he knew he wouldn't be able to hide his manic grin.
Vermillion continued his walk fantasizing about their fight, so engrossed in his fantasy he hadn't noticed the group he just passed had vanished.
Vermillion finally made it to the wall that surrounded the Judian, he walked up the stairs to a watchtower. Upon making it up there the one manning the station silently nodded toward Vermillion who nodded back while moving directly beside him and watching the Grimm continue to circle.
"I'm assuming nothing has happened," Vermillion says.
"No, the Grimm has shown no signs of detection and the alarm system hasn't shown any movement." The spotter replied.
Vermillion sighed, "So nothin' great."
The spotter looked over at Vermillion, "May I ask something, brother?"
"Go ahead."
"You seem eager for this heretic to appear."
"Aren't you? A chance to show your goddess your devotion and you ain't eager?"
"No, its not that," the spotter replied quickly, "Its how you seem eager. Like a, uh, boxer ready to tear into his opponent."
"Well, I was a ring fighter before our goddess found me."
"Ahh, that explains it."
"So, yeah I'm eager. Between you and me I'm hoping this guy gets past the Grimm so me and him can have a brawl."
The spotter was quiet though Vermillion could spot the small frown on the man's face.
"Ohh, don't be like that. The heretic will still die, brutally if that's what Salem calls for but I just want a chance to fight him-"
BOOOMMM
The tower shook as an explosion ripped through the quiet of the night. The two immediately turn around and both can see the clock tower erupting in flames, the explosion having destroyed the back of the building.
Vermillion moved forward, leaning on the rail as he watched the impossible sight. The spotter already yelling into the radio but Vermillion had tuned it out. His mind on how this had happened-
BOOOM
Another explosion but instead of just the bright orange ball a hue of purple showed it face within the inferno. A fire dust and gravity dust mixture most likely as the fire wasn't moving from its spot having been rooted to the building and completely destroying it.
More explosions went off with varying degrees of effects. All the while Vermillion was watching, his mind racing. How? The Grimm hadn't even reacted! Who!? HOW!?
Vermillion's mind went red with the possibilities as he watched Judian burn. He was enraged at someone sneaking around him, he hated people who did that. It's why he never really liked Watts, the man never went out to fight on the front lines. Did that make him hypocritical? Perhaps but he didn't care.
Vermillion's eyes darted around, attempting to find something-there!
Vermillion spotted a figure standing in the courtyard. The flames made it hard to see the man fully but Vermillion knew. The man stood unmarred by the fires and explosions standing in that courtyard. Tall and unbothered. A challenge.
Vermillion leaped, ignoring the spotter he left behind in his jump. The man wanted a challenge and Vermillion would respond in kind. He unhooked his weapon, a flail attached to a chain he named Faiths Chain, and flung it forward. The chain expanded until it hooked around a support beam and he used the momentum to swing himself forward.
Vermillion landed directly across from his challenger and stood ready to do battle. His opponent however simply watched him, Vermillion took in his appearance as the two stood. White hair, golden eyes, tan skin, black coat, red scarf, black and silver combat gear underneath the coat, and a case strapped to his back.
Though before Vermillion would move to strike he had questions, "How'd you get past the Grimm?"
His opponent didn't answer.
"Do you really think you'll last long poking this Ursa? Salem's force will rain down on you and anyone you care about."
His opponent didn't answer.
"Tsk, do you even know what you are facing?"
"A group of misguided individuals who have sunken so far into depravity, insanity, or poverty that the only way you could be fixed was by a monster's hand," his opponent finally said.
Vermillion saw red once more. He roared out a battle cry and made to blitz his opponent. He'd show him who he was! He'd destroy him and parade his corpse through Evernight Castle! He'd-
Shick!
Vermillion froze. His mind needed a moment to process what had just happened and how fast it happened. He looked down and saw a blood-red spear piercing through his gut, his aura hadn't stopped it at all.
Vermillion had prided himself on his aura. He had an unusually large quantity of it meaning he could take more punishment than most. He was no Hazel Rainhart but he was no slouch either and even then it took more than one strike to destroy someone's aura and even then unless you were Callows it should never be capable of piercing it. So why?
Vermillion fell to his knees, his hands wrapped around the impossibility that had pierced him so easily. Barely registering the metallic boot falls coming closer to him.
"You seem to be under a misconception," the man said, getting Vermillion's waning attention, "You see this town as a battlefield. Where your brothers and sisters may die in a blaze of glory. They will die but not in glory."
The man kneeled in front of Vermillion, golden eyes piercing the mask's darkened holes, "This place is an execution chamber," in one swift movement he pulled the spear from Vermillion's gut and readied it in a thrusting position, "and I'm not your opponent I'm your executioner."
Vermillion's last sight on Remnant was the tip of the blood-red spear heading directly toward his eye.
-Evernight Castle-
Salem's visage was that of serenity as she sat on her throne, her face blank and her eyes closed. That was the outside however inside she was feeling admittedly frustrated at the situation she'd been presented with not even an hour ago. She'd lost her connection to the Seer within the Judian settlement not forty minutes after her conversation with Vermillion.
She wouldn't even bother with the idea he may have survived. Salem was well aware of this Rogue's methods and how far he'd go with them, destroying entire settlements even in the public eye. Even Ozma wouldn't be so bold as to expose her existence or even her cults with these stunts.
Salem momentarily pondered if Ozma was using this man to his advantage then mentally scoffed already knowing the answer. Ozma was probably allowing this to slow her efforts down and as much as it frustrated her she could not say it wasn't.
Anima had meant to be a staging ground. The plan wouldn't have been in effect for more than a decade as she needed more time and resources dedicated to Cinder's growth and her eventual rise as a Maiden. Salem would've used this as a springboard into taking Haven, whether or not they could get the Spring Maiden didn't matter, having control over the Relic of Knowledge's vault would've been a boon to her goal.
Now that plan was scrapped. Salem had to change the Academy to attack and she was thankful to have three other possibilities, she had not been checkmated yet. Even then Cinder was still growing and once she got a Maiden's abilities it'd be an overall positive.
But this still needed correcting. Salem had underestimated this interloper even if she was positive Vermillion would stand a chance. He'd interfered with her plans far more than she liked and so far she hasn't been able to sow anything because Ozma's circle was keeping a lid on the information.
An idea came to her, one that would certainly cause some seeds of unrest. She smiled and opened her eyes, "My Knights," The knights within the hall kneeled as she spoke, "I require Arthur, please go fetch him for me."
A knight nodded and moved to the door exiting.
Salem didn't have to wait long as a couple of minutes later Arthur Watts walked into the room with a small frown. He must've been in the middle of working on his project, she could understand that but she was in need of him at the moment.
"You called?" Arthur greeted.
"Yes, Arthur, I'm in need of your expertise at the moment."
"Oh, and what is it you need of me?"
"To sow some distrust. I need you to head to Mistral and be a whistleblower I believe is the term."
"Hmm, what of?"
"I'm sure you're fully aware of our rogue element and so I wish for you to make the public of Mistral aware of their activities."
"I can do that, though I don't need to be in Mistral physically to do so."
"I'm aware but I am also in need of someone to get more information on our rogue element and I know he is heading there now."
"I'm assuming Vermillion has failed then?"
"Yes, he has failed."
"I wondered how long it would take for that to happen. His bravado and need to be in a fight has always been a problem. How do you wish for me to provoke them?"
"You will not. You are far too important a piece to lose and so I will be sending a squire out with you."
"A squire?" Arthur looked to the Knights within the hall and then back to her, "And why not a fully-fledged knight?"
"To gauge our opponent's strength and to see if our squire is ready to become one of my Knights. Typically the test is something different but I believe this will suffice while killing two birds with one stone."
"When do you wish for me to leave?"
"As soon as possible. I will provide an airship for you to head there in the morning but you have until the end of the week to prepare." Salem was willing to give Arthur time as she wasn't foolish. This interloper was very capable and Salem would not send Arthur to his death.
"As you wish," Arthur bowed with a flourish before leaving the room.
Salem smiled and looked to one of the Knights, "Please have your squire ready for departure."
The Knight nodded and marched out to inform their squire of their mission. Salem leaned back into her throne, her mind going over the possibilities and whether the squire would succeed. Even if they didn't she would still get what she wanted either way.
ITS DONEEEEEEE! Anyway, I do hope you enjoyed this, and if anything was weird or if I made any mistakes I would like reviews on that so I could fix it. Anyway as I said last chapter this was a chapter free of Shirou's POV and filled with others as well as kipping forward leaps in time which is something I had warned about in Chapter II. The reason why I did this specifically is because I know I would have drawn it out if I decided to add every single time Shirou dealt with a cult-controlled settlement.
Now onto the POVs and the first is Raven Branwen. She was an important person to introduce early on so I could show the headspace she's in currently and her attitude toward Salem and Ozpin's war. She and STRQ were in the know about Salem's immortality and that scared her and gave her this feeling of futility as 'if Salem's immortal then what's the point?' this is why she left. Being confronted with the war again made her terrified and then angry and I'm hoping she didn't feel too OOC as I only intended to change things I thought would change if Ozpin had been upfront about things.
Then we got SAFR which is a team from the Grimm Campaign which is a D&D campaign with constraints on Remnant. First things first is I've never watched the series as I only used the characters because I didn't want to make an entire team of OCs if there was a team I could use, now I'm pretty sure I aged them up considering how far back in the past we currently are. I have no real idea as to how they actually do things and all I know is what I've read on the wiki and even then I was only reading up on what they could do and their weapons so if they're your favorite characters please don't hang me from the rafters. They may pop up again in the future I'm not sure.
Earl Bross is an OC who's name came from a color generator who I used to foreshadow a future thing Shirou will have to deal with when he gets to Mistral and its also to show how Shirou is gaining a reputation as both a killer and a savior but he's connected to two different things and no one realizes it. The Black Swordsman is the best I could come up with as the Black Huntsman just sounds kinda racist.
Now we have Leonardo who I'm doing differently and keeping him in Ozpin's circle as I feel if Ozpin had been upfront on everything Leo would never have done what he did in canon. He had blamed Ozpin for not supporting him and I showed that Ozpin has done his best but considering Mistral's racism I felt it'd be good to at least show it. The reason I'm doing Leo differently is because I want all the Headmasters on one side instead of having a turncoat.
Then we got Vermillion who falls under the same boat as SAFR and is from the Grimm Campaign. He was under Salem as well so I just used him for the final settlement Shirou deals with. Also, Judian is the place from Ruby's Character Trailer as I felt that place could be used as a pretty good stronghold and the settlement, as far as I know, was never named so I just used Judian which is Chinese for Stronghold. Also, the red spear used is not Gae Bolg it's Gae Dearg which can cut through magic as if it weren't there so I felt it could do the same for aura. With Vermillion's death, I'd wanted to show that this Shirou isn't playing fair and even without the heavy-hitting Noble Phantasms that EMIYA has can still cause damage using other things.
Then we get Salem again. She's still unaware of who Shirou is and has been underestimating him so she's going to rectify that by using a squire. The squire is not a full and as such isn't as powerful but they are still pretty deadly in their own right considering the training for a knight which you all got a glimpse of with Cinder. Arthur Watts is being sent to Mistral to cause problems and a squire is being sent to test Shirou for the squire's own test.
Ahh, next chapters gonna be fun and we'll be in Mistral!