Welcome to Amazonia
AN: Now it is time to shear with you all who "Her Grace" is.
And before you ask, yes, she is THE Galadriel of the story, but that isn't her name in this story, nor is she an Elf. Her Grace is something different…
Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and please tell me what you think.
It didn't take long for the group to reach the coast of Sanus and reach the docks. They booked passage on a fiery to Menagerie. Luckily they didn't encounter any further resistance or spies following them as they were sailing to Menagerie.
As they were sailing, Jaune pulled up the holo-map of the continent to go over the plan on where they were going once they make port. "Blake, if you would please."
Blake nodded as she zoomed in on the forest area of Menagerie, "Once we land on the shore, we will hike past the mountain walls of Menagerie and travel the deer path threw the Bloodwood forest."
"Bloodwood FOREST!?" Boromir exclaimed with both shock and confusion, "That forest is a death trap. There are forms of Grimm in there that nobody has ever seen before."
Nora then spoke up, "Oh, I've heard of that place. Grimm that attack travelers there and leave no survivors."
"No survivors? Where do you think the stories come from?" Yang asked with a chuckle.
Blake then pointed her finger into the hologram and guided a line that lead into a large mountain range that spanned for miles.
"What do you intend to find there?" Boromir asked with confusion, "That dead zone is a meat grinder for anyone who so much as walk into the tree line."
"The high and mighty Star Knight of Atlas, reduced to a paranoid little child." Blake smirked; she then cleared her throat and then spoke, "You'll know once we get there." She then looked to Jaune who had his arms crossed, "Trust me."
Jaune looked at the map and then to Blake, "We'll follow your lead."
"ARC!" Boromir spat.
"If you don't like it Boromir, you are free to stay in port! Like Headmaster Elrond said, you are not subjected to go any further than you can." Jaune said with a very serious tone.
Boromir sat down and huffed with anger, they wouldn't hear another word come from him the rest of the night.
Once they reached the docks several soldiers from both Vacuo and Atlas militaries greeted them. Back before the Battle for Beacon, the White Fang attempted a coup in Menagerie. After that, and the White Fang's involvement in the Battle of the Five Armies, the leaders of the four kingdoms felt that the "watch" over Menagerie has been lacking.
As a result, every 6 months two kingdoms send garrisons to Menagerie to stand guard, and then switch with the other two when their months are up: Atlas and Vacuo have this half of the year.
The fellowship tried to keep a low profile, trying to be hidden, even from the friendly soldiers. They left the capital city and made their way to the forest. As they were leaving, Jaune could see some Atlas troopers scraping through a marketer's stand, tearing it apart, saying that it is a "random check" and then just walked away once they were done.
As they left the city, Jaune couldn't help but voice his opinion of what he just saw, "It's harsh crap like that are the reason they attacked in the first place."
Blake couldn't help but agree with Jaune, Yang felt the same way, "I know… It sucks."
"It's necessary. If I remember correctly, during the coup, half of Menagerie's police force were White Fang. And until this continent can protect itself, we have to." Boromir said with an arrogant but irritated tone.
"They didn't ask you for help, you just rolled in with your tanks." Blake spat at the knight.
Boromir rolled his eyes, "Why are you defending them? Didn't the Fang attack your kingdom and attempt to wipe you its people?"
Blake rolled her eyes and kept walking. Boromir looked to Ren as they were walking, "What's eating her?"
Ren looked to the knight, "When it comes to how the military acts towards Faunus, it tends to get on her nerves."
"Ah, one of those apologists, eh." Boromir asks with curiosity.
Ren wanted to tell the truth, but he felt that it was Blake's reveal to share, not his. "I don't think that's the proper way to put it."
It didn't take long for the Fellowship to reach the entrance of Bloodwood Forest. The entrance had a sign that said 'Only Monsters Live Beyond These Woods'
Ruby looked at the trees and saw that some had red coloring on their barks, "Why is it called 'Bloodwood Forest' again?"
Jaune answers with the rumors he's heard, "It's said that the Grimm that live here are so ruthless and brutal, they slash the bodies of their victims to the point the only method of identifying the victim is by blood work, off a tree bark."
"Oh…" Ruby said with fear and sadness.
Boromir drew his sword, "Stay close together, and report any movement once we are inside… I still think this was a mistake."
Jaune drew his sword and formed his shield, "Well you're free to leave at any time."
Boromir rolled his eyes as they entered the forest. Boromir had his eyes on the higher branches, hoping to catch any possible flying or climbing Grimm before they drop down on them.
Jaune gripped his sword and shield tight as they moved along the path. Pyrrha had Milo converted into it's rifle mode.
As they walked along the path, Ruby walked up to a tall tree that had a deep read on its lower bark. She even saw claw marks on the tree, brushing her fingers down the claws. As her fingers ran along the cuts, she then turned her head to look to everyone and then found a man with a rifle pointing at her head. She yelped in shock and fear as she fell flat on her butt.
Everyone else turned to see Ruby on the ground and then several soldiers dropped down from the trees and others from behind large rocks. They were all Faunus, some with horns, ears and tails sticking out of their camo-armor.
"What the hell?! FANG!" Boromir shouted as he formed his shield and readied for battle.
The tension was then cut down fast as they stared to hear a familiar voice laughing in the distance. Jaune and Boromir looked ahead of them to see a fellow Star Knight walk up to them.
"I swear, Numenor breathed so loudly, we could have shot him at night and hit our target!" John smith said as he was laughing his lungs out. All the other soldiers lowered their rifles and started to laugh along with their commander. Their camo-armor powered down to allow their true colors to show, Sky Knights of Vacuo.
"JOHN!" Jaune said as he sheathed his sword and shield and hugged his old friend, "It's been too long!"
"Good to see you too, Jaune!" John said as he hugged Jaune back.
"How an immature man, such as yourself, ever became a Star Knight is beyond me, Smith…" Boromir said as he sheathed his sword and crossed his arms.
"And I will never understand how someone so uptight and snobby became a Knight." John says with his arms crossed.
Yang disarmed her weapons and spoke between them, "Hey, you two can compare dicks some other time, alright?"
They both looked at her with cold glares, cold enough that she started to regret her joke. John started to smile as he then turns to Jaune, "Her Grace has been waiting for you. Come on, we'll lead you to her."
John led them into a cave, as they were walking though, Jaune and Ruby were talking to John. "So Bloodwood is a ruse?" Jaune asked.
John shrugged, "Well, not all of it. A lot of humans have died here, but not by Grimm. Faunus have guarded this area from any who try to sneak into the city for decades."
Ruby then asked, "So the red coloring on the trees and claw marks were man made?"
"From what I'm told the claw marks were faked and the red tree bark is really paint. If someone were to die out there, it would have been form an arrow or a sniper in the trees." John stated from his knowledge in guerrilla warfare.
"You said they were guarding a city, what city?" Boromir asked.
Just then they reached a large doorway that was 10 feet tall. John nodded off to the guards next to the door and they flipped the large switches to open the doors. "The city with three names, the first being Lothloria. Humans once called it El Dorado, but the Faunus today call it Amazonia."
The doors opened enough o reveal thousands of large trees that stood tall and had buildings running up their bark. The trees were gigantic and appeared to stand as tall as CCT towers.
"By the gods…" Boromir said with a gasp.
"El Dorado? You mean the city of gold?" Nora asked, as the sight mesmerized her.
Weiss looked around, "I don't see why it was called that. I don't see any gold, only trees."
John laughed, "I said the same thing, until someone told me to look up." He said as he pointed to the light above them and the large trees.
"Is that a sunroof?" Ruby asked as she put her hand over her eyes to block out the bright light.
"Nope, that's the ceiling. Thousands of Golden Dust shards." John said with a smile.
"Gold Dust is just a legend, my grandfather proved that!" Weiss said with disbelief.
John turned to Weiss, "Indeed. And if Nicholas Schnee says something isn't real, everyone else would believe him. He found the city and discovered them to be real a long time ago and made a promise to her grace to keep it a secret, even to his family."
Weiss nodded in understanding, "Knowing my father, if he knew about this, he wouldn't hesitate to strip mine this place…"
John then walked out ahead of them, "This way, her grace is waiting for us."
The Fellowship followed John up to the largest tree that stood taller and was the widest in diameter. They walked along several bridges that lead them to the large building that was built into the tree; there was even a large entrance that could rival Beacon's front gate.
Once they reach the gate, they were surprised to find a man-sized falcon fly overhead and chirp at them. The falcon landed in front of the gate and began to change form into a more humanoid form.
"Forgive me for being late, I had other matters today that needed tending to." The man said as she bowed his head to the Fellowship, "Greetings all, to Amazonia. Here, all are species are welcome."
"You're a skin changer, like Beorn!" Ruby said with excitement in her eyes.
The man smiled, "Ha, you know that old bear?"
"He helped us in the Battle of the Five Armies." Jaune said with a bit of a smile.
The man smiled, "Heh, he never could shy away form a fight. Oh, where are my manners," he bowed again, "I am Diaval, the 'Wings of the Queen.'" (Like the Hand of the King in Game of Thrones)
The gate behind him opened and out came several armed guards and the lady of the castle. She walked down the steps wearing a brown dress that matched the tree bark around her. She held a long staff that reached up to her nose, the top of the staff had a rainbow colored Dust jewel. The parts of her that stood out the most were the fact that she had tall horns unlike any animal they knew of, and wings not matching any known bird.
"Allow me to introduce do you, the Lady of Light, the queen of the Faunus, her grace, Maleficent." Diaval said as he stepped aside to reveal her.
All the members of the Fellowship knelt down to her, although both Weiss and Blake had to pull Ruby down. Maleficent walked up to them and spoke, "Rise, my friends."
Everyone stood up and looked to the queen, Maleficent then looked to Blake with a sad look, "Blake, my dear, you are among family here. Please remove your bow."
Blake smiled to her queen as she unraveled her bow to reveal her ears, Boromir's eyes widened in shock, "She was a Faunus this whole time?"
"Is that a problem?" Weiss asked with a bit of anger in her tone.
Boromir looked to everyone else and saw that they all knew the truth but him. He knew that it would be best to drop the subject entirely. He then looked to the queen, "I wasn't aware the Faunus had a monarch. When did this come to be?"
Diaval answered for his queen, "Lady Maleficent has ruled as our queen for almost a century, as to why she has been kept a secret, given what you 9 saw in Menagerie on your way here, I'm sure you can understand why it is still a secret."
Almost everyone was surprised to hear Diaval say 'Almost a century,' Jaune couldn't help but ask, "A century? How could that be?"
Maleficent turned to knight with a smile, "As you can see I am not like traditional Faunus. I am one of the last in a line of 'cosmic' beings. Although I have more Faunus traits in my blood, I have retained the ability of a long lifespan."
A soldier walked up to Diaval and whispered something to him and then walked away, Diaval then cleared his throat, "Forgive me, my lady, but I have unfortunate news. It would appear that the enemy already knows we are here, so you cannot stay long."
"How unfortunate." Maleficent said with a bit of sadness in her tone. She then looked to the group, "If I remember correctly, Headmaster Elrond told me that 10 would be coming, and yet 9 stand before us?"
Diaval then noticed it too, "Yes, where is Ozpin? I was eager to speak with him."
Maleficent looked into Jaune's eyes as he turned away form her, and then she spoke what was in his thoughts, "Ozpin has fallen… He has been taken by darkness." Jaune looked at her with pure shock, she read his mind as fast as he could think it.
"He was taken by a Balrog… in the pits of Moria." Pyrrha stated.
Maleficent looked to Nora who appeared to be the most saddened, "Nothing is without purpose. What happened was not your fault, Lady Valkyrie, and I believe nobody else feels that it was either." Nora looked to her with her eyes dripping a few tears as she nodded in understanding.
Maleficent then looked to everyone else, "Lately the world has started to see the signs of war, and first felt the taste of fear and doubt. Love has become blended with grief in the hearts of many that have suffered at the hands of Salem and her followers."
Maleficent then looked to Boromir, she could see the sadness in his eyes, it was almost as if he started to field sad just by looking at her. He had to look away or else succumb to sadness and almost sobbed in front of everyone.
"What will you do now, with Ozpin gone? What hope is there?" Diaval asks.
"The Quest stands on the edge of a knife, make one wrong step and you will fail." Maleficent then looks to Yang as she says, "But there is hope, so long as those who stand true hold their ground against the coming darkness."
Maleficent then gestured for them to enter her house, "Do not let this sadness dim your strength. Go now and rest… for you are weary with sorrow and much turmoil. Tonight you will find peace before you continue your journey."
In that same instant, Ruby could hear a voice in her head, Maleficent's voice, "Welcome, Ruby Rose… The girl who has seen the EYE!"
The Fellowship was welcome to stay in a sort of 'guest quarters' that had a large room full of beds for all of them. Some of them changed cloths to that were a lot more comfortable sleep attire. As some of them were getting comfy and falling asleep, Jaune stood by an open window with Pyrrha in a chair behind him.
The nighttime in Amazonia was beautiful, the golden Dust Shards changed color to resemble moonlight, most likely from a full moon. The light was soft enough for people to sleep, but bright enough for people to see around htem.
"Quite a sight to behold…" Pyrrha says with a bit of awe in her tone.
"No kidding…" Jaune said with a bit of a smile. "I remember hearing the old tales of El Dorado, 'The City of Gold'. I'm sure Ozpin would love it here…" His tone got lower as he spoke of Ozpin.
Boromir was the only one of the group who this didn't like it all that much, "I still don't see how none of us even knew about this? Who knows how old this city is, and none of our kingdoms knew about it?"
"Given what we saw when we entered Menagerie, you still ask that question?" Yang spat at Boromir.
"What does that supposed to mean?" Boromir asked with an angry glare.
Yang stood up from her bed, "Lets look at the facts, shall we: after an attempted coup by a small group of White Fang, Atlas demanded for a 'military police force' to stand guard over Menagerie. What exactly do you think would happen if the kingdoms knew that there has been an entire kingdom of Faunus living beneath their noses?"
Boromir pouted, "Point taken…"
"I imagine they wouldn't take it too well."
Everyone turned to the door and saw Diaval standing there with his hands behind his back. "Forgive the intrusion, Lady Maleficent requests to see you, Commander Arc."
Jaune looked to Pyrrha with a half smile, "Off to see the queen."
As Jaune made his way to the door he heard Yang say to him, "Try not to make a fool of yourself." Jaune smirked and waved her off as he followed Diaval down the hall.
As Jaune was walking with Diaval, he spoke up, "So how long have you been working under Her Grace?"
"Since I was a boy." Diaval said with a bit of comfort in his tone, "I imagine seeing someone like her was quite an eye opener."
Jaune couldn't help but agree, "I'll admit, the wings were a first for me."
"If I had a Lien for every time I heard that one…" Diaval said with a chuckle.
Diaval lead Jaune to the ground level, where they found Maleficent standing inside a garden full of daises, roses, and all other forms of flowers. There she was standing by a platform with a silver mirror. She looked up at them on the stairwell with a smile, "Thank you, Diaval. Please leave us."
Diaval bowed to her and then patted Jaune on the shoulder as he walked back up the stairs. Once they were alone, Maleficent took a large pitcher and dipped it into a small fountain of water that was behind her.
Jaune walked over to the mirror and saw the chrome bole with curiosity. "What is this?"
"One of the few gifts my grandfather gave me before he left this world…" Maleficent said as she walked up to the platform with the pitcher. She then pored water into the bole, "This mirror can show many things: past, present… and future. And on some rare occasions, they see what happened in though the eyes of others."
Jaune looked at Maleficent with a cautious look, "And you want me to look into this?"
Maleficent stopped poring and then looked to Jaune with a more empathetic look, "No. But it is something you have to see…"
"Why?" Jaune asked.
She set the pitcher down on the platform and looked Jaune in the eye, "It's been bothering you for almost two years… why can't you bring the wings out when you want. The only time they came out was in times of pure luck. And when you wanted them to come out the most, like in Moria, you couldn't."
Jaune's eyes widened, it was almost as if she had read into his mind. "I can understand your frustration. I would if I didn't understand why either. But you can find the source of what is holding you back, by looking into that mirror and seeing why."
Jaune started to walk up to the platform and place his hands on the sides; before he looked down at the mirror he looked at her with a cautions look. He then took a deep breath and then looked down into the mirror. One minute he was looking down at the mirror the next he found himself walking though what looked like a field of wheat.
He found himself wearing his Star Knight armor and his head felt odd. His head started to feel like it was tearing in two! He screamed as he collapsed to the ground, he yelled for something, anything, to make the pain stop. And just like that, it was gone. He stood up and he was different, he was taller but thinner. His armor was gone, and he was instead wearing some kind of leather shirt with linen underneath.
"Are you all right beloved?"
Jaune turned and saw...Salem. Only she was different, the red of her eyes was dimmer, there were no black veins growing out from her eyes, her skin wasn't quite so pale, and her hair was down. She looked... almost human.
"I'm...I'm fine."
He nearly panicked, that wasn't his voice. It sounded familiar, but it didn't sound like his. He then looked around and saw he was lying next to a large creek. He knew this creek very well, his father had brought him here he had told him this was where the Arcs brought their loves since his family had ruled Vale. This was where his father had proposed to his mother.
"Are you certain, Felix? You look pale…" Salem asked while cupping his cheek with her hand.
It was then that it hit Jaune; he was in Felix's past. Looking at the world though his eyes. "This must have been when he first fell for Salem… When he fell under her spell." He then looked down at his hand and saw the Arkenstone, as whole as it was when he first saw it.
"What would you do if asked something of you, beloved?" Salem asked with a more seductive tone.
Jaune felt like he was more of a 'passenger' than a 'driver' in this situation, everything that was happening around him was out of his control.
"Anything." He said with an enchanted tone.
"Anything?"
"I would burn cities for you if that's what you wanted, my love..."
Salem gave him another sweet smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Then she leaned down and kissed his body very passionately. Jaune wanted this to stop so he shut his eyes tight until what he didn't feel Salem on him anymore.
Jaune opened his eyes again to see that the scene had changed. He was sitting on a Vale's throne staring down at a blonde woman who was looking at him with horror, fear, betrayal, pity, hatred and heartbreak. He could feel a great feeling of rage and hate was welling up inside his chest, a lot like when he almost killed Ruby.
"Brother...What has she done to you?" The woman asked in horror.
"What she has done to me 'Dear Sister'" he mocked "is given me power, a power greater than yours is or ever will be. A power that will always be mine, unlike the ones you stole from me!"
"Stole?! Felix, I was born with this power! I've stolen nothing from you!"
"IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MINE!" He roared leaping off his throne. "I AM THE ELDEST MALE ARC, I AM THE KING OF VALE! THE POWER OF THE STAR KNIGHT SHOULD BE MINE!" He marched down the steps to the throne and down to his sister, Joan. "But instead, it chose you, my Dear Little Sister. Perhaps it will see that it chose wrong after I rip the power out of your arrogant corpse!"
Joan backed away her eyes wide with fear. She could see what the stone was doing to him but nobody did a thing. Joan did what any Star Knight should do in this situation: expose him. "You're mad, you don't deserve to be a Star Knight, you don't even deserve to be a King! You're letting the gift she gave you corrupt your mind and tear our once great family to pieces!"
Felix backhanded slapped Joan hard enough that she actualy backed up, his eyes widened with anger as he shouted, "So that's it! So you want my throne? Well, you will never get it!I FORBID YOU OR ANY OTHER MEMBERS OF YOUR BLOODLINE FROM EVER OBTAINING THE THRONE OF VALE!" Felix's started to sound like Smaug's again, only this time it was coming from a human body.
Jaune couldn't watch this anymore, seeing his family's exile from the throne in person was too much for him to see. He shut his eyes, hoping the scene would change again, and it did.
Jaune opened his eyes this time he was sitting with his backed hunched against a wall with Grimm surrounding him. Above him, there was a man with a black cloak made out of shadows and had a blue buzz cut.
Kneeling before him, he saw Salem brushing her hand across his cheek. She looked as scary and corrupted as he remembered form his terrible visions thanks to the Arkenstone. She looked like she had just finished saying something, Jaune felt his mouth open and heard his father voice speak out of his mouth, "I would rather die...Than live forever as your puppet!"
Salem stood up she looked disappointed if anything else. she turned and walked away, as she did so she turned and said over her shoulder:
"That's too bad, I'll just have to make due with your son."
Salem walked past the man in the cloak as he formed a pitchfork out of the shadows and drove it into his chest. Before the blade came down, Jaune heard a voice, his father voice, "Goodbye."
And just like that, every thing changed, he was wearing his armor again and he was surrounded by complete darkness suddenly he could hear Salem's voice echoing in the void.
"I see a great battle, many banners many flags" the armor Jaune was wearing started to change, it turned from white into a mix of black and silver. "No...Jaune!" whispered in horror as he stared at his armor. "All fighting each other. Thousands will perish."
The armor started to change, the shoulder guards sharpened into spikes, a cape grew from the back. "Please, No..." Jaune whispered as his armor continued to change. "Your 'Smaller Soul' will be extinguished, and in the end..." A large sword formed in his hand. "Please, God! NOOOO-" Jaune Scream was cut short as a helmet slammed down onto his head. Then he stood tall proud with his new terrifying armor (AN: It's the armor similar to Sauron's from the prologue sequence)
Jaune found himself standing proud and bloodthirsty. He was a Nazgul. "No…"
"I will have a new Black Night to add to my collection." As he kneeled before his mistress along with his brother and sister Nazgul, Salem placed her hand on his shoulder and said, "You have served me well my Lord of The Nazgul... my Witch King of Remnant."
"NOOOOOO!"
Jaune was then pulled away from the platform so hard he almost fell on his back. Luckily for him, there was someone there to catch him. Jaune looked up to see Pyrrha holding him and helping him to stand upright.
"Are you ok?" Pyrrha asks with complete worry in her tone.
"Here, sit down, you'll feel better in a minute." Maleficent said as she guided the disoriented Jaune to a bench next to the fountain.
Jaune took a few breaths and was given a cup of water by Maleficent. After taking a few sips he looks up at her and started piecing some things together, "What did any of that have to do with my powers? That was a nightmare!"
"You saw what was keeping you from reaching your full potential," Maleficent said whit a stern tone. She could understand his anger and horror, but he was being disrespectful to a queen in her home.
"What did you see?" Pyrrha asked with confusion.
Jaune stood up and walked around as he talked, "I saw Smaug… Felix… The Mad King before and when he went crazy and exiled my family from the throne." Jaune said with anger, "I watched it as if I were him. And then I saw my father die, and then something I've never seen before…" Jaune then stood up and looked at Maleficent, "What was that last image I saw… Salem said I was a Nazgul, WHY?!"
"You saw a possibility that is still open to you if you allow it to." Maleficent said with that same stern voice. "For years you have allowed your self hatred for what you did under the influence of the Arkenstone. Your regret on the choices you made while under its influence, you let it haunt you to this day…"
Pyrrha could understand what she was talking about; Jaune couldn't reach his full potential because his depression and anger from what he did in the past still held him back. "Jaune, you have to forgive yourself…"
Jaune turned away from them both, he didn't want to because he didn't think he deserved forgiveness for a long time. Out of nowhere something clicked for Jaune, "Her voice… And her face…" Jaune turned to Maleficent, "Why does Salem look and sound like you?"
Maleficent gave a look of her own shame. She walked over to the bench and sat down where Jaune sat before. "Salem and I shared the same parents… a long time ago that used to mean more." She then looked to them both and continued, "Salem is my twin sister."
Jaune and Pyrrha stood there in complete shock and fear. They were standing with someone who was related to the Queen of the Grimm.
"'The Children of Sauron', some would call us, 'One born of Light, the other of Darkness'." Maleficent said with a slight chuckle but a bit of sadness in her tone.
"You were the one of light, I would guess?" Pyrrha asked.
Maleficent nodded, "For centuries we were family. But when our father passed beyond this world she changed."
Jaune looked at the way she was talking about her, there was more to this. Unless it was something simple. "This is what it's all about, isn't it? You and her. This war, the ring; she started all of this to get to you."
Maleficent smirked, "You are just as smart as your father," She then takes a small glance at Pyrrha with a bit of a chuckle, "And almost as clueless at times."
Pyrrha couldn't help but smile as Jaune blushed and turned his head. Maleficent looked at them both, she couldn't help but chuckle at them. Jaune looked back to her and gave a curios look, "What is it?"
"I see a bond between you two. A bond as strong as the one my parents had." She looked to them both back and forth, she could see that they didn't think much of her words, "Do not take this lightly… You two will need each other in the battles to come."
Jaune wanted to talk more about Salem, "So this whole war is about the two of you? Why?"
Maleficnet sighed, "It is something called, 'The Great Game'."
"What's that?" Pyrrha asked with complete confusion.
Maleficent motioned for them to come to the mirror; there she used her rainbow jewel to project a 'hologram' like image out of the mirror. The images shown were in solid colors. (She is showing her own "World of Remnant" to them)
"By now I am sure you two have heard the story of how the world came to be; two gods came to this world, one of light, Valar, and the other of darkness, Morgoth, they were brothers in arms. They in tern created humanity and the four relics."
"Well, they may have been brothers, but there were times that they played a Great Game. A war. Every time they played the Light god won, but every time he won, he would not finish off his brother of Darkness. After centuries of fighting, there came a time where the Valar decided to expel the Morgoth from Remnant entirely. But before he could, Morgoth had already produced an heir to continue his work as he was gone."
"That was when Sauron was born. At the same time, Valar had a child of his own come into the world, a daughter named Midori. For years they crossed paths, but they never played the game. As a result, Remnant saw peace for over 5 thousand years, but at a cost; Salem and I ended up taking their place as the 'players' of either side of the board. And when both died of 'old age' we attained our places on the board, the rest, as they say, is history."
"Why didn't they play?" Jaune asked.
Maleficent ended the projection and gave a rather sad look on her face, "Sauron was the one who didn't want to play. He chose a different path."
"Sauron? The Prince of Darkness, the one who helped create the Grimm, chose a path that ended in peace?" Jaune asked with complete denial.
Maleficent then gave him a look that would make even Weiss sweat bullets, "Sauron had a choice, either fight Midori, or marry her. He chose the latter."
Jaune lowered his head, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to offend you." Sauron wasn't just a monster in Remnant's history; he was her father.
Maleficent relaxed her face, "No, it is something I have made peace with a long time ago…"
Pyrrha could read the atmosphere, now would be a good time to change the subject. "So after seeing what caused his power to be locked, can he now use my wings?"
Maleficent shook her head; she then looked to Jaune, "No. Your anger and self-doubt still lock it away… But even if you remove them tomorrow, you can't simply think them to appear."
"Then how does he get them out?" Pyrrha asks.
Maleficent walks over to the mirror and waves her hand over it, then the mirror started to show the times Jaune had his wings out in combat, "There were times, in battle, that you were able to set aside your shame and bring them out. Tell me, Jaune, what were you thinking of when they came out?" She and Pyrrha looked to him after she asked the question.
Jaune thought hard, "I was… Well, at the Spire I needed more power to beat Cinder."
"That may have been what you were thinking initially, but that's why you didn't get them at the beginning of the battle. But something changed in your mind, what was it?" Maleficent asked with a more serious tone.
Jaune thought deeper, "I… wanted to protect the others. I knew that if Cinder had beaten me, she would have gone after everyone else."
"And it was in that moment that you weren't thinking of dying in that battle, you were thinking of fighting for your fiends."
"What does that have to do with it?" Jaune asked with a clueless look.
"Everything!" Maleficent said with a bit of a loud tone. "Just like at Weathertop, you weren't thinking of yourself, you were thinking about your friend's safety."
"How does that bring out the wings?" Pyrrha asks.
"The wings only come out for a noble cause. Not for power's sake, not for envy, not for wrath," Maleficent stated. "They only come out when someone wants to use them for a just cause. What is more just than wanting to protect those you love?"
Jaune looked to Pyrrha, for a minute there he could have sworn he saw a proud smile on her lips. Jaune then turned back to the Queen, "So… I have to want to protect people in order to get the wings out?"
"Not 'want'… 'need'. The need for protecting others is a more noble cause than wanting to die in a glories battle." Maleficent said as she showed some of the past Zeniths of the forgotten history, "Isildur may have failed in the end, but he cared deeply for his family and home, and the Ring turned that against him."
Maleficent then lifted the bole off the platform and pored the water into the grass, "If you two would be so kind, please ask Ms. Rose to come down and see me. There is something she needs to see as much as you did."
Jaune and Pyrrha bowed her just before they reached the stairs, but before they could start up the stairs they heard her ask something of them, "Also, I would deeply appreciate if you keep my family heritage to yourselves for the time being."
On their way up, Jaune and Pyrrha talked and agreed to keep Maleficent's heritage with Salem to themselves. If the others find out, especially Boromir, things could go wrong in the city.
Jaune and Pyrrha entered the room, while Jaune walked over to Ruby, Pyrrha sat on her bed. "Her grace would like to speak with you now," Jaune said in a formal tone for the fun of it.
Ruby didn't look like she was all that overjoyed to go see her, so Jaune tried to ease her, "She just wants to talk… and show you something that may be helpful to you."
Ruby nodded in understanding. She stood up from her bed and walked down the hallway to meet her. "Hopefully she won't do that 'spooky mind reading thing'."
Jaune wanted to see the view from the window again; he quickly found that he wasn't alone in admiring the view. Boromir walked up to him and leaned against the wall adjacent to Jaune, "You should get some rest, Arc. You'll need it."
"You should too." Jaune said.
"I can't… I… I heard her voice inside my head." Boromir said with an uneasy voice. Jaune looked to him in confusion, he knew that she could read minds but speak into them is something new to him.
"She spoke of my father and the fall of Atlas… And despite that she said, 'Even now there is hope left'." Boromir said with his voice mixing of both anxiety and anger, "But I can't see it."
Jaune rested his hand on Boromir's shoulder, "The hope is with us, Boromir. We are here now to ensure that all our kingdoms remain safe from Salem and her minions…" Jaune then gripped his shoulder tighter, "Our chances of succeeding are higher than most would believe."
"How is that?" Boromir asked, sounding unconvinced.
"Because there are two Star Knights in this fellowship, instead of one." Jaune said with a smirk. He quickly saw a smile creep up Boromir's face too.
Ruby walked down the steps to find Maleficent tending to the garden by poring water from the vase over the flowerbeds. She looked behind her to find Ruby standing there; she quickly bowed down but was stopped when Maleficent held her hand out, "You don't have to do that, Ms. Rose. We are friends here."
Maleficent gestured her to come over to the platform with the mirror, "Will you look into the mirror?"
"What will I see?" Ruby asked with caution in her tone.
"Only what you must… Your Star Knight friend looked into it not too long ago." Maleficent said. "He found it to be very… informative. I believe you could benefit from it as well." She pored the water into the mirror, and took a few steps back as Ruby looked into it.
Ruby saw a swampy area; there she saw a green, frog-like creature crawling in the mud. Its eyes were blue and it kept muttering the same words, "Precious" and "Rose".
"What is that?" Ruby said as she backed away from the mirror.
"It's Gollum." Maleficent said with a calm tone.
"Gollum? He escaped the prisons of Barad Dur?" Ruby asked with shock.
"Escaped? Or set lose?" Maleficent said with an ominous tone. "He will always be drawn to it, never be rid of his need for it. He hates and loves the Ring, as he hates and loves himself. Sméagol's life is a sad story…"
Ruby looked to Maleficent in confusion. Her grace elaborated, "Sméagol was his name before the Ring took his mind. He was a Frog-Faunus, once."
"It's a pity my mother didn't kill him when she had the chance." Ruby said as she looked at the gross monster.
"Pity? It was pity that stopped your mother from finishing him." Maleficent said, almost as if she saw the whole thing. Ruby at her in confusion at first but started to understand her wisdom as she spoke, "There are many who live that deserve death, and there are plenty of those who have died that deserve life, Ruby. Don't be too eager to deal out death and judgment on a whim. Even the smartest people of this world can't see all ends. There are many parts to play in this war, and I believe that Sméagol will have one someday; whether it will be good or evil, we will soon find out."
Ruby looked down again at the mirror, thinking she would see Golem again, but this time it was different. This time she saw Patch; she saw her house and her family there.
Everything was peaceful. Then things started to change, a shadow covered over the land, Grimm started attacking some of the villages on the island. Beacon Academy was on fire; Grimm and other monsters that almost looked human were attacking the city of Vale.
As Ruby watched she looked in horror at everyone she knew, everyone she loved, being taken as prisoners. She could see the soldiers that were above them, some of them were Faunus that carried the brand of the White Fang. Others were more of those humanoid monsters. She then saw Patch barren and dead, the grass was burned and all the trees were gone.
Then out of nowhere Ruby saw the Eye of Sauron, and in the center of the 'pupil' she saw Salem standing there. She held her hand out to Ruby from the mirror, just as Ruby's necklace came out form under her shirt and revealed the ring above the mirror.
Just then Ruby felt a hand pull her away from the platform. She looked up and saw Maleficent standing there with a very blank face. She then looked down at Ruby's chest and directly at the ring, "I would keep that hidden, if I were you."
Ruby backed away from the platform and sat down on a bench that was behind her. "I know what you saw… I've seen it in the mirror before…" Maleficent said with a very serious tone.
What happened next gave Ruby a chill down her spine, she heard Maleficent talk in her mind again, "It is what will happen if you fail… The Fellowship is falling apart, it's already happening. He will try to take the Ring. You know whom I am referring to… But it won't end with him; one by one, it will take them all."
"If you ask it of me…" Ruby said in her mind, "I will give it to you…" Ruby pulled the ring off her neck and held it out to her.
"Just like that? You offer it to me without hesitation?" Maleficent asks with shock in her voice. She slowly walked over to Ruby with her right hand held out to the ring, "I would be lying if I said that I did not desire such power… Instead of a Shadow Maiden you would have a QUEEN…"
She held her hands out and wide with her wings fully open, a light shined from her back and outward, creating a shadow over her face as her eyes glowed bright enough to aluminate her face. "NOT DARK BUT BEAUTIFUL AND TERRIBLE AS THE DAWN! TREACHEROUS AS THE SEA! STRONGER THAN THE FOUNDATIONS OF REMNANT! ALL WILL LOVE ME AND DISPAIR!"
As quickly as it came, her light and darkness disappeared entirely and she reverted back to her normal self, as far as normal concerns her. Ruby closed her hand over the ring tightly as she backed away from Maleficent.
"I'm sorry…" She said as her legs began to quake and she fell to her knees. She looked up to see that Ruby was terrified of her. "You must understand… Sauron created that Ring of power to grant the user ABSOLUTE power over life and death… and it corrupts even the most humble of beings. He divided it into two halves for a reason."
"Two halves?" Ruby asks in confusion.
Maleficent then held up her left hand, "This is Nenya, The Ring of Light. This was the Ring my father gave to me, the other half was given to Salem… My sister."
Ruby's eyes widened, "S-sister?" But as she realized how different she was compared to Salem, she quickly relaxed, "I imagine that… you two are polar opposites?"
"Indeed," Maleficent said with a smile. Ruby walked over to her and helped her to stand, but Maleficent saw sadness fill Ruby's eyes as she stood up.
"I wish the Ring had never come to me… I wish that none of this happened at all…" Ruby said with bitterness in her voice, she sounded like she was about to cry.
Maleficent rested her hand on Ruby's shoulder, "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." Maleficent held her other hand out and called her staff to her, once it landed in her hand she placed the rainbow jewel into the mirror again and projected something new. "There are other forces at work in the world aside those that are evil." This time she projected Summer Rose and her team, "Your mother was meant to find the Ring…"
Ruby's eyes started to tear up as she saw her mother in the projection. It had been so long since she's seen her face. The images then changed to Ruby's days in Beacon, her time with her friends, the Company forming for the first time at Patch and then ended with her finding the Ring in the jewelry box, "You were also meant to find it, and that shouldn't be taken as a discouraging thought." Maleficent said as she looked to Ruby with a proud smile.
Ruby smiled back at her and gave her hug that Maleficent almost didn't expect. She quickly returned the hug in kind.
As they let go, Ruby backed away from Maleficent, "I know what I have to do… In order to fulfill this mission… But I'm afraid to do it."
Maleficent looked Ruby in the eye, "Even the smallest soul can change the course of the future. You did it once before, I have hope that you can do it again."
Although Ruby did not fully understand what she meant, she felt thankful that she said it.
Meanwhile in the once beautiful academy of Haven, Saruman and Locus were in the Headmaster's office.
"Do you know how the first Orcs came to be?" Saruman asks Locus.
"No." Locus asked with no idea.
"They were Faunus once. They were corrupted, mutilated and tortured into the beasts we see today. Beasts almost worse than Grimm, because they see carnage as sport." Saruman says with disgust in his tone. "But now we have something better."
Saruman was walking over to his desk and opened a cabinet. There he pulled out a bottle of booze and two glasses. "You know what this is?"
Locus shrugged his shoulders, "No clue."
"Mistral Whisky, almost a century old." Saruman said as he opened the bottle, smelled the cork and then pored it into the two glasses, "I only drink this for special occasions."
"What is it this time?" Locus asked as he walked over to the desk.
"The success of breeding the 'perfect solder'." Saruman said as he handed Locus the glass, "Before I turned over the Relic of Knowledge to Salem, I asked it a few questions, one of them on how to make the beast soldier."
"What did it say?" Locus asked with a skeptical tone.
Saruman whistled and his first Uruk, Alpha, walked in. Saruman picked up his glass and walked around it as he explained, "It didn't tell me in so many words, but it did give me a list of 'ingredients': While Faunus are superior to the average human when it comes to their sensory perception, humans have a stronger body build by far. The Faunus blood allows them to have that enhanced perception and intelligence. The Grimm tar provides the body with flesh and enhanced muscles, also giving the bones more strength. And the chemicals Dr. Watts was able to produce from Dr. Merlot's lab is just more icing on the cake."
Saruman walked back up to Locus and they tapped their glasses together with pride and drank the whisky, Locus smirked, "Incredible… You said they have intelligence? How much?"
"They can think enough for themselves to have a 'chain of command'. Meaning if any leaders were to die, they can still fight with someone else leading." Saruman then pointed to Locus' wrist, "But you'll find that they will follow your orders, so long as you wear that control band you made."
"Good." Locus said as he walked over to the Uruk, he then turned to Saruman, "Can they talk?"
Saruman smiled as he walked up to Alpha and spoke to it, "Whom do you serve, Alpha?"
Alpha growled as it spoke, "Saruman…"
Morning came fast for the Fellowship, they all woke up and packed quickly for their trip. Most of the crew gathered their things and took it down to the docks while everyone else was still packing.
As Jaune was looking though his things, he saw that his backpack had a hole in one of the zipper pockets. He peaked his fingers into the hole and felt that the ring box was empty. "Shit!"
Pyrrha, Nora, Ren and Blake all looked to Jaune and saw that he was upset. Pyrrha spoke up first, "You ok?"
Jaune looked to Pyrrha with a slightly panicked look, "Yeah I'm fine." He then looked to the others and then back to her, "Hey, could you go ask how much the boat can carry so I know how much food and ammo we can bring with us. I'll be down in a minute to help with the sorting."
Pyrrha gave a bit of a confused, "Ok…" Pyrrha walked out of the room and headed to the docks.
Jaune then clenched his fists and kicked his bed so hard it almost flipped, "I lost it. I lost the ring!"
"I thought Ruby had the Ring?" Nora asked with a bit of confusion.
"No not that ring, my ring. The one I was going to give to Pyrrha." Jaune said with frustration.
Nora was about to explode with joy but was stopped when Ren grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth, "Nora, no. This has to be a secret!"
Nora calmed down enough for Ren to let her go and not have any outbursts; Blake couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. She'd be lying if she weren't as surprised and excited.
Ren walked up to him and rested his hand on his shoulder, "I'm sure if you get another, she will love it."
"I know… I bout that one to match her colors…" Jaune said in a sad tone.
It didn't take long for them to cheer Jaune up enough to get him down at the docks for their send off. But before they could sail, Lady Maleficent herself saw to it to see them off.
The group was given several bags of bullets and food rations. Jaune pulled out one of the bags of food and found a strip of flat bread, "What's this?"
Blake looked at the bread with her eyes widened with shock, "Lembas bread! It's bread that was baked using enchanted water." She walked over to Jaune, picked off a piece of it and ate it, "Just a small bite from that bread can fill the stomach for a day."
After hearing this, Ren looked to Nora with a half smile, "How many have you eaten already?"
Nora looked to him. "About 6 slices…" She then belched quietly.
The workers were kind enough to pack everything into the boat as Lady Maleficent gave each of the group gifts to help their journey. As she personally handed each of the Fellowship their gifts, she described their capabilities.
Maleficent looked to Ren first, "Lie Ren, I give you the 'Incense of Serenity'. They will give you, and all those who breathe the fumes, peace of mind." Ren took the large tube of incense and bowed his head with deep respect.
Next was Blake, "Ms. Belladonna, I give you the 'Blade of Asclepius'. It is a blade that has seen battle in the past, and its fate is now intertwined with yours." Maleficent handed her a short leaf dagger with a black blade, the blade had a snake engraved on one side. Blake took the blade, bowed her head, sheathed it and placed it behind her waist. Maleficent then held out a necklace from under cloak to her, the necklace had the head of a black cat with a white pearl on it's forehead. "Your mother asked me to give you this before you left, it brought her luck in the past, may it give you the same."
Next came Yang, "I have enchanted rope, made from the vines of these trees, and were grown with enchanted waters."
As she handed Yang the rope, Yang looked at the rope and then back to Maleficent, "Don't suppose you have any more of those special daggers?" Maleficent smiled as she moved on.
Maleficent walked up to Boromir next, she handed off a belt with a silver and blue belt buckle. "For you, Boromir Numenor, I have the Stärke Belt." As he held the belt, Maleficent could see the turmoil in his face, she rested a hand on his shoulder as a means to ease his fears. "I can understand your frustration and fear, Sir Numenor, but you must find strength beyond the physical. You must find strength for those you fight for. Remember that always."
Next was Weiss, "Ms. Schnee, I have for you a silver dust shard." Maleficent could see the excitement and surprise glow in her eyes, "As I am sure you know the legend behind it, but you must be carful, it takes its toll on the user if used too long." Despite her joy over the shard, Weiss still felt scared about their mission overall, "Do not worry, Ms. Schnee, your courage will return soon enough."
Instead of walking up to one of them, Maleficent walked up to both Jaune and Pyrrha. "I have nothing grater to give, than the gift you to share… but perhaps I can strengthen it." She handed them both two bracelets; one was white with a black stone on the top and the other was black with a white stone. "These are the Bands of Pisces. So long as you two wear these bands, one will find the other, anywhere." She looked at them both with a smile, "You two have a bond that I haven't seen since my parents… I pray that your future will be a bright one."
Before moving on, Maleficent looked to Jaune one last time, "There is a choice yet before you, Jaune. To rise above the height of all your fathers since the days of the First Four Stars… Or to fall into darkness as the world around us diminishes."
(AN: The First Four Stars she is referring to are the first Star Knights.)
Maleficent walked up to Nora next, "I'm sorry to say, Ms. Valkyrie, but I could not think of anything to give you that you may need. Is there anything that you would want?"
Nora looked to her with a bit of a nervous smile, "Nothing that would be too much for you to give… Well, there is something… but it's stupid, you don't have to…"
Lastly, Maleficent walked up to Ruby and held out a leather pouch, Ruby held it in her hand and felt a clean cut crystal, "Ms. Rose, I give you a shard of our kingdom's light. This Dust Shard will shine a path though any darkness you may come across."
Everyone bowed their heads to Maleficent as they finished loading their stuff onto the boat, meanwhile Jaune, Boromir and John Smith were conversing over what the Fellowship was going to do next.
"This boat is fast enough to take you to the coast in a day and a half. Once at the coast I recommend you sail along it until you reach the statue of Leonidas, form there you should have a safe route thought Mistral." John said with a more or less hopeful tone.
"What will you be up to in the meantime?" Jaune asked.
"Until her grace says otherwise, my place is here." John said as he took both their shoulders and held htem in to speak quietly, "There's something else, I didn't want Ruby to hear it."
"What is it?" Boromir asked.
"The Grimm are becoming more organized in Mistral, packs on patrol and heavy beasts attacking coastal villages. And I have received word that Saruman is making some kind of monster mutant cocktail that are more dangerous than Grimm." John says with a bit of worry in his tone, he could see his friends were starting to get nervous as well, "Whatever Saruman is cooking up in Haven, I wouldn't put it past him if he sends a few dozen your direction once you make landfall."
"Thanks John. We'll keep an eye out for htem." Jaune said as he patted him on the shoulder.
"Good luck you two, we're all counting on you." John said as he walked off the dock.
Jaune and Boromir then walked onto the boat and made ready to set sail. They untied the boat's lines to the dock and started the engine. Everyone waved off to the crowd that said goodbye. As Blake was tying her bow over her ears, she gave her queen one last wave before they entered the tunnel that lead to the coast of Menagerie.
Their boat had been sailing for no more than two hours, Nora was holding the gift Maleficent gave her and was marveling over it. "Form this point on, I will never call anything a better gift than the one she gave me…"
"What did she end up giving you Nora?" Yang asked curiously.
"I asked her for two of her feathers from her wings. I wanted to place them on my helmet's wings to make it more unique. She gave me four feathers…" Nora said as she held out her helmet to reveal the new line of feathers on both sides. "From now on, this will be the Valkyrie Family's heirloom."
Ren smiled as he patted Nora on the head with love. Nora smiled as she placed it on to show everyone.
AN: The credit for Jaune's Mirror vision goes to Flash600
Basic ingredients to an Uruk Hai: The skeleton of Humans + blood of Faunus + Grimm tar + and the chemicals that Dr. Merlot created = A BIG problem!
I am sorry it took so long, but now that School is starting for me, it will be a bit longer until my next one. I'm sorry, but School has to come first weather I like it or not.
Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter, and as always ARKOS!