#you can tell because cinder takes his sword and he offers her the matching one

[shadydirt]

Okay, but can we talk about how wildly WRONG people are interpreting how Rhodes handled Cinder? 

Rhodes was a hunstman, who found young abused girl who wanted to take things into her own hands. He did everything in his power to help Cinder, he took her under his wing, spent his own time whenever he was around to train her to fight for good and was gonna help her get to an acadmy eventually, which was what she wanted. 

No, Rhodes did not kidnap a 10 year old, because dispite being a hunstman that is still illigal. No, he didn’t go to the police, because they were in Atlas, a place that makes shock collar necklaces likely intended for faunus slavery. 

Hell, even if what the Mademe was doing was illigal then what happens to Cinder? She was traficked into Atlas, meaning she has no ties there, so she’d likely be put into the foster system in a very cruel city where she’d probably have faced more abuse or at the fery least been mistreated for having truma from her youth. 

Even when Rhodes watched her kill her abusers, after their fight, he doesnt try to kill her, he goes to comfort her. Sure, he would’ve brought her to the police after that, but even after she stabbs him, his final act in life was to comfort her, to show her that even if she was damaged by so many there was still love in this world for her. 

Rhodes was never the bad guy, he was a good man trying to help a hurt girl. It really upsets me that people aren’t getting that.

[lore-of-the-silvereyes-rwby]

The Hero that was never meant to be

I’m going to ask you guys a quick question. Think back to the volume 2 season finale in 2014. Or before Salem's debut. Once all of the antagonists are defeated and you're now left asking; Who's going to be the next antagonist for the series?

Before we proceed with this inquiry let's take a look at what exactly distinguishes a hero, from a villain.

Hero/Villain/Anti;who knows?

Below are multiple examples/definitions and meanings of heroes and villains as well as their anti sub groups.

Hero

a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

the chief character in a book, play, or movie, who is typically identified with good qualities, and with whom the reader is expected to sympathize.

“a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his or her brave deeds and noble qualities." Heroes come in many forms in life, ranging from one's family and friends to athletes to movie stars. A person's heroes can change over time.

Villain

(in a film, novel, or play) a character whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot.

 a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel. 

a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot.

Anti-Hero

a central character in a story, movie, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes.

is 'a central character in a story, film, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes'. These missing attributes include idealism, courage, and morality. Anti-heroes can sometimes do the right thing, but it is usually because it serves their interests to do so.

Anti-Villain

is the opposite of an Anti-Hero — a character with heroic goals, personality traits, and/or virtues who is ultimately the villain. Their desired ends are mostly good, but their means of getting there range from evil to undesirable.

Now that we have some measure of clarity about this let's get to the point.  Basically Ironwood is a Anti-Villain character

If you think back to the things we have learned throughout the series, all the people we have met, you will find that all of Ironwood’s traits align better with Salem, Cinder, Jacques, and Adam.  All of them have this hunger for power and/or control, all of them are trying to protect themselves and increase their control.  

All of them use a level of manipulation and none of them really cared about the damage it would do to others.  Ironwood might be a little better because, at first, it was something he kind of thought about.  Kind of. He had trouble relating to the idea that protecting more was better than protecting less, and it seems that he had been struggling to find his heart since the beginning. 

Ironwood is a well intentioned and desperate man who wants to protect Atlas against Salem, but he can reach extreme means to do so. By the end of Volume 7, he's willing to abandon both Mantle to die and throw away humanity's best chance of survival by leaving Amity Tower; he also falls far enough to shoot a teenager for comparing him to Salem.

Going hand in hand with his Never My Fault tendencies. Ironwood hates anyone bringing up how his ways don't work, with extreme annoyance being the best reaction possible. It doesn't matter if someone is simply stating the objective tangible negatives of his actions, he will not hear it. He gets into a shouting match with Nora when she calls him out on how much damage he's doing to Mantle and only stops when she points out his proposed solution to deal with the current unrest (martial law) is just going to cause far worse problems if he goes through with it.

While he demands complete loyalty from others, Ironwood has repeatedly betrayed the trust of others in the name of the greater good. If someone is an obstacle to accomplishing what he believes is necessary, he will use political or even military power to enforce his will.

Ironwood has helped Ozpin fight Salem for years but they disagreed over the best way to defend Vale; Ironwood secretly convenes a meeting of the Vale and Atlesian councils to report Ozpin's behavior, resulting in Vale removing Ozpin from overseeing the Vytal Festival security in favor of Ironwood. Qrow later tells Ironwood that he has a strange idea of showing gratitude if he responds to Ozpin bringing him into the fight against Salem by betraying him. Even after being confronted, Ironwood insists that he had no other choice.

Ironwood spends most of Volume 7 promising that the Kingdom of Atlas is safe and that Mantle can count on him to protect them. However, when he discovers Salem is arriving in person to attack Atlas, he decides to abandon Mantle to the Grimm in favour of raising the floating city of Atlas higher in the atmosphere where the Grimm can't go. When Ruby tries warning her allies about Ironwood's plan, he disables her scroll, and has Teams RWBY, JNR, Oscar and Qrow arrested.

Ironwood's a man with good intentions, but he seems to believe the best way to handle any sort of situation is if he is in full control of it. This is seen as early as Volume 2, where he both brings a large fleet (composed mainly of machines) along with students for security and later has the Vale and Atlas Councils transfer security control of the Vytal Festival from Ozpin to himself. 

After the Fall of Beacon, James continues to tighten Atlas' defenses with a Dust embargo and closing of its borders, and by the time the heroes arrive in Mantle, there are broadcasts of the general practically saying that as long as they cooperate with his laws, he can and will keep them safe. 

As Salem's forces continue to sow discord and increase his paranoia, and when he discovers that Team RWBY has consistently hidden important information from him, Ironwood decides to invoke martial law and raise Atlas out of Salem's reach, under his control. When Ruby warns the others of his plans, he shuts off her call with his own Scroll.

Ironwood is noted for being a man who never gives up pursuing his vision of how people should be protected. When his attempts to convince Ozpin that they're on the wrong path fail, he convinces the Atlesian and Vale councils to override Ozpin's authority and give him direct control of protecting the Vytal Festival Tournament. 

In Volume 7, he is willing to pursue his goal of protecting the Kingdom of Atlas against Salem no matter how bad his public reputation becomes with the citizens.

To be clear Ironwood is an Anti- Villain type character in the RWBY story. He may have good intentions but it is unknown as to their extent of what they are. His methods to achieve those methods have only made things worse.

I couldn’t let you breath, cause I didn’t wanna Die

We all say we would die for something but do we actually mean it?

“I would die without regret I offer up my life”

It is hypothetical but not in the way you suggest. The difference between using would or will is not about whether the speaker is being disingenuous about their offer, it’s about whether the speaker knows if they are ever going to be in a position to fulfil their promise

It is hypothetical because the speaker does not know whether there will ever be a situation where they would be in a position to give their life to save you. If they were to use will, it implies they are anticipating that they will be in a position to give their life to save you 

When someone says “I would die for you if you need it,” is it just a hypothesis that's never going to happen,  the subject doesn’t want to die at all, otherwise they’ll use “will” instead of “would”?

Kill or be killed

All the weapons in rwby appeal to the audience as they have options when it comes to fighting. Ironwoods does not. His weapon is only designed to kill as a reflection of his inability to see reason. As opposed to other characters that show that when they kill it would be a last resort option.

(Think of the Jedi's preference for lightsabers instead of blasters)

Ironwood has a revolver  -  reliable, never jams. high attack power, similar to his mentality on robotics in general and how he values them focusing on the characteristics of the revolver is the important part, and you see it in another Atlesian character--Weiss Myrtenaster is a Rapier and a Revolver as well, and revolvers are still used nowadays because of their reliability. They'll never jam, and when it comes to a gun all that really matters is hitting the target on a pragmatic mindset at least, and ultimately in the show the weapons used by characters say a lot about them. For example;

Qrow has a scythe - not a weapon, a farmer's tool, alluding to the scarecrow. The actual weapon would be the sword mode, and is inspired by the grim reaper, who uses a scythe because he reaps souls like one would reap what was sown(or harvest)

Jaunes shield and sword are both offensive and defensive weapons which offers a variety of options as to handle conflict

Ozpin's cane symbolically conveys the message that it's okay to be weak and its normal to accept help and support from others

Yang's gauntlets are basically Bruise but don’t kill type weapon as such they give her  more control of the damage that is inflicted on her opponents

As ruby put it the Weapons in the show are an extension of the characters. The extent of Ironwoods weapon is that it conveys his blunt, and cold methods that he can’t or won’t embrace alternatives solutions or anyone else's ideas to problems

This can also be seen with his use of militarized Huntsmen and the use of mindless android soldiers. As I stated in I am power Ironwood’s personnel combat abilities are mediocre to non-existent with his true power stemming from the consent of the people to die for his cause instead of him since it's guaranteed that he will die instantly due to his lack of unique or special combat abilities. 

(Pretty self explanatory considering he had to sacrifice an arm to beat a nerd)

Fear of death is basic human instinct

Ironwood believes that he is this chosen savior and can’t die and he believes his life is more important than others and would instead sacrifice everyone else instead of him if it would mean victory

Now you're probably asking why does Ironwood not want to die when he said he would? As stated before he doesn’t trust anyone but himself to do the job right. His narcissism and ego prohibit him from trusting others and having faith that people besides him can win. 

This has been hinted as early as his debut in V2 where he asks Ozpin;

“Do you honestly believe that your children can win a war?”

Because of this and his Nihilism for rejecting the truth, he believes that he is the most important piece on the bored and everyone should listen and die for whatever he needs if it would mean victory

Ambitions and desires of a broken kingdom

A character without motivation is a really boring character as opposed to one who does. But to realize what their motivation is or what it is truly is another. Ironwood is no different but what exactly is his personal motivation that is unique to him one must wonder?

That's just it, he has no real personal motivation. Like what does he have to lose? What does he have to gain? What is so important that he is willing to go to such lengths that clash with the ideas of Ozpin and the heroes? To answer Atlas. After all, what is Ironwood without Atlas?

 It is important to know the effects of a characters home and origins to better understand a character's personality. Ironwood's plans have always been in line with Atlas, whose intentions are that of Ancient Mantle. Now what exactly are the intentions of the former capital that would live through Ironwood.

Atlas as I stated before is more or less a Technocratic Conservatives society led by Authoritative totalitarians with a focus of becoming an Extreme Militaristic Oligarchy that had originally started out as a Resource driven Empire out of necessity and without restriction 

To clarify, Ironwood is a byproduct, and enforcer of Mantle’s(later Atlas) Philosophical Ideology and Culture. The effects of one's origins can have a very lasting impact on one's life. Ironwood’s life has been heavily affected by his homeland to the point that he will die for it, and sacrifice whatever he deems necessary for it. 

Because of this Ironwoods alignment is that of Lawful Evil because of his Atlas ideology

A Lawful Evil character is an evil character who either tries to impose or uphold a lawful system on others without regard for their wishes, and/or adheres to a particular code. They believe in order, but mostly because they believe it is the best way of realizing their evil wishes.

In other words Ironwood will always be the loyal son of his Kingdom and will do anything to save it.

Now that clears his main motivation and the scale of what he is willing to do to achieve it but what motivates him personally?

Well that's just it there is none. His primary motivation is pretty shared by most of the heroes and main characters and as is the common clause of save the world stories everybody knows they can’t let that happen as peter quill would say;

“Why do you want to save the Galaxy?”

“Because I'm one of the idiots who lives in it.”

So with that in mind what's in it for him that he can’t lose or let the world be destroyed?

You overstepped your boundaries

To help understand his character it is important to understand what exactly his role in the plot was originally and how he ended up biting off more than he can chew when he broke away from it.

Essentially Ironwood was meant to be the overseer and guardian of the relic of creation as well as the trainer of the next generation of huntsman/huntresses. Meaning the only position of power that he should only have is Headmaster of Atlas academy. As I stated in I am machine Ironwood's heroism stems from a lack of trust and in doing so has burdened him with more responsibility than he can handle.

The catalyst 

All of the events and conflicts that plague remnant at the shows present can all be traced to Ironwood. An argument can be made for Salem but to me she seems more of an opportunist instead of an actual evil master mine. Being the opportunist she is she needs ammo for which she is otherwise incapable of making on her own. Thanks to Ironwood she has plenty of it to enact her plans and reach her goals 

Below is a list of events and conflicts as well as characters that have been affected by Ironwood

(Whether Directly or Indirectly)

The Schnee Dust Companies Immoral and shady practices

I know Jaques is mostly to blame for all of this but one must ask; Why didn’t anyone stop him before V7? 

It's already been established in the show that the S.D.C. and Atlas Military have a corporate alliance to mass produce Weapons and ammunition. The most prominent weapons to come out of this alliance was the paladin assault mechs. Now how important was this alliance to Ironwood?

In short, they are the best choice to provide for his needs for war. As long as he gets weapons and all that he needs to sustain a war he doesn't care what the giver has to do to meet his demand. As such Ironwood had enabled Jaques and allowed him to continue his immoral ways so long as he gets what he needs. On the other hand Jaques seems to be at least a decade older than Ironwood so there is a possibility that the corporate alliance has already been there long before Ironwood ever came to power.

But I ask again why didn’t Ironwood who was aligned with a man like Ozpin didn’t stop him? As the Volume 7 commentary stated Ironwood doesn’t care for Ozpin's rules and sees being efficient is more important than being morally good. Because of this Ironwood had been more focused on starting a war first and caring about people second thus he has only spread misery by enabling Jaques’s greed just to have his war. The crimes of the S.D.C. are also Ironwood’s 

The family strain of the Schnee family and Winters abandoning

While we’re still on the subject of the Schnee's let's talk about how essentially Ironwood made Winter the Blake to his Adam

As I stated before in “You had me with your words”  we don’t exactly know why Winter would be so loyal to Ironwood to the point of saying that her life doesn’t matter in V7 and why she would be so against her family to the point that she makes no effort to see Weiss, and Whitely included and only bothering to be apart of Weiss’s life only because she seems to be following the same path of defiance against their father. In other words she only chooses to interact with her sister only if she is rebelling against their father. If she is not, then Winter wants nothing to do with her. 

Now who or what exactly would cause Winter to have this unhealthy mindset in regards to her own personal existence and relationships?

The answer being Ironwood. 

If we were to consider Jaques words being serious than it is more than likely the truth. Ironwood did steal Winter, not just from her father but from the rest of her family. I don’t know what exactly Ironwood said or did to turn winter away from her family but it wasn’t out of the kindness of his heart. He did this  just to have a loyal subordinate with incredible power( her hereditary semblance) & status( her grandfather's legacy and accomplishments) just to give his power and status more legitimacy.

By doing so Ironwood made Winter  believe that her family as well as herself is beyond redemption due to the actions of her father thus leading her to abandon them and only believing Ironwood can redeem her hence why she values her life so little and is willing to die for whatever Ironwoods says.

I understand that winter joined the military to get away from her dad but she had options besides the military and like weiss she could have went to the other academies to get away from her dad but she didn't which i consider Winters greatest flaw is that she has no idea of an actual healthy relationship

The White Fang

This is also speculative but not unlikely as the show has clearly shown; Faunus and Atlas don’t mix. 

Same thing with the S.D.C. this can really be seen as indifference on Ironwood’s part and lack of care  but still Ironwood didn’t do anything to settle the racial inequality in Atlas even though he is allied in a secret circle that's supposed to keep the peace.

Especially when that inequality was being used to help legitimize a terrorist organization that can be used as a disposable army for Salem which it did.

Watts’s Defection & the P.E.N.N.Y. Project

Ironwood commissioned 5 scientists including Watts and Pietro to make Weapons for war.

Even though Watts is an egotistical bastard it really makes you wonder how someone as smart as him would work for a literal demon lady hell bent on conquest. The same can also be said about why he chose Penny instead of any other actual and practical projects ideal for war.

One thing to note is the possibility that Ironwood did not tell the 5 about the real reason as to why they’re making these weapons in the first place. For example would Pietro really want Penny the closest thing to an actual child that he may have had to be used as one of Ironwoods militarized assets?

We’ve seen what Pietro is like and that he really cares about Penny and if it were his choice Penny wouldn’t be in the situations that Ironwood would place her in. Ironwood had basically taken and drafted Penny without her or Pietro's consent and made her a tool for war and much more.

In semi canon sources(Amity Arena) the general consensus is that the Paladins were Watts’s idea and project. One of the misconceptions is that it was a contest for whose idea would be made but since we see both the Paladins being used and Penny that's not the case. All 5 projects were going to be used but only 1 would take top priority first before others and that project was Penny. 

This might actually explain why the paladins were ugly and incomplete in V2 as opposed to their slicker and finished versions in V3. The Penny project took both praise and priority first before the others. Once penny was finished the other projects would begin that may also explain why the Paladins weren’t first revealed until the events of V2 even though Pietro said that the commissions for the projects including the Paladins were almost a decade ago as of  V7 ep 7 

To Watts he felt insulted that his (to him) practical project was being postponed for a sad man's personal self indulgent pet project. This and due to not really knowing as to why these projects were going to be used for. Because of this and Ironwood’s lack of concern for people He had essentially driven Watts to Salem and made him one of her most valuable assets that she ever had. Salem herself even states that she should have employed his services years ago that alone tells us how valuable an asset Watts was and Ironwood discarded it. Which led to the fall of Beacon and the civil unrest in Mantle With Watts out of the way let's move to the next question

Why the Penny Project?

We all know at this point that Penny is the Pinochio for Pietro’s jopedo. So why would Ironwood approve a project that seems the least efficient and effective for war? There have been many theories as to why but two of them stand out the most; Potential vessel for the maiden powers and Espionage

It has been made clear that Ironwood has been readying for war against other people Salem specifically but how does one go about that? The first of which can be explained as Ironwood trying to make the ultimate artificial warrior with incredible power. As Ironwood has more faith in machines than people he would see Penny as the ultimate super soldier that he can use in his war

The second theory as to why he chose penny could be for spy and espionage purposes. As stated by cinder in volume 3 where this theory originates from; why would Atlas make a robot look like an innocent little girl? We know why Pietro made Penny look human but why would Ironwood go along with making a T800 complete with realistic skin and hair?  Besides Pietro there was no logical reason to make penny look as humanly as possible. Like the Terminators who were designed for infiltration and assassination missions and Ironwood being a paranoid individual who sees the world as one of two things; you’re either an asset or a threat / Penny or similar models would have been used to spy and eliminate potential threats in the other kingdoms. With the possibility as to what Ironwood would use penny for before her reveal in V3 clear let's move on to the last part of this bullet point

Why didn’t Ozpin know about Penny?

Prior to the truth of her origins being revealed via her death by Pyrah the only people who knew she was an android are cinder’s team, Ruby, Pietro, and Ironwood. The villains knew that truth after being fortunate enough to have Ironwoods scroll infected by the virus and Ruby found out by accident from penny. 

So officially the only people that were allowed to know the truth about Penny were Pietro and Ironwood. Winter and the Ace-opts don’t count as Volume 7 confirmed that they were brought into the fold after the fall of beacon along with penny so by the time of the fall of beacon they had no idea about salem or that was the sole purpose as to why penny was made.

 The same can be said for Watts too since Penny was still an idea being developed along with being assumed dead and not seen in atlas for years. Thus Watts never even knew what penny looked liked. Had he known i'm pretty sure he would’ve revealed that to Salem who would have given it to cinder for use in her mission. But as V3 shows Cinder finds out after getting access to Ironwood's personal scroll. Meaning that Ironwood kept Penny so secret that he never even bothered or considered to tell Ozpin.

By the end of PVP Ironwood sounded like a terrified child who got caught while trying to explain to a pissed off Ozpin about Penny only to be coldly told in a threatening tone to use the army that he brought to clean up his mess or else. That alone is proof enough from Ironwood that he never told Ozpin about Penny and was scared of what Ozpin would do to him for catching him on his secrets and lies.

So why didn’t Ironwood tell Ozpin about Penny? Short answer Ozpin would never approve the use of Penny. It was already established in V3 ep 6 that Atlas has been doing unethical experiments with Aura. Ozpin and most of the inner circle don’t really approve of such practices but can tolerate it  and use it if they have to. But most likely not to the extent of using it to make artificial living beings just to be soldiers.

This would be a similar moral dilemma as the clone troopers from star wars who were bred and mass produced at an accelerated rate to fight  in a war that they didn’t even understand or have a choice to fight in with the mindset and innocents of a child. The Umbara arc from season 4 of the clone wars series perfectly depicts the unhealthy amount of abuse the clones faced and the length of being taken advantage they were forced to endure

Now apply that to an army of pennies with the same childlike innocence and naivety and sentience being deployed into combat without much preparation and are expected to die just to buy time for the real heroes to win.

Now who is more likely to use a clone army without concern for the morality and ethics about making it let alone not care for the well being of those clones

A key important factor to remember is that until V7’s end Ironwood was pro war as he thought he could win against Salem if he had the largest army at his disposal. Penny was no exception and Ironwood only saw her as a potential part needed for his war machine. Because of the war centric views of Volume 2 & 3 Ironwood and lack of concern for the safety of others Ironwood had set the stage perfectly for volume 3’s finale

The Fall of Beacon

The points above actually help validate and contribute to the Fall of Beacon, but it's true Beginning for its fall started when Ironwood arrived at Beacon in Volume 2. As stated by Oz in Ironwoods first appearance Headmasters don’t usually attend the vytal festival with their students. Given what we now know about the importance of the academies, Ironwood pretty much abandoned his post and risked the safety of the relic under his charge.

All in what appears to be an effort to make a power grab against Ozpin and promote Atlas.(That’s probably speculative but not far off the bat given Ironwoods doubts and actions by the end of V2).Ever since his debut Ironwood has always been a character that contradicts the main characters that are suppose to be the heroes

He seems to only believe the best way to handle any sort of situation is if he is in full control of it. This is seen as early as Volume 2, where he both brings a large fleet (composed mainly of machines) along with students for security. Ironwood has helped Ozpin fight Salem for years but they disagreed over the best way to defend Vale; Ironwood secretly convenes a meeting of the Vale and Atlesian councils to report Ozpin's behavior, resulting in Vale removing Ozpin from overseeing the Vytal Festival security in favor of Ironwood. 

 Volume 2 also has Ironwood reveal to Glynda that he thinks Ozpin is hiding something from them. Glynda points out that he's part of the inner circle that's hiding things from the rest of the world and that he needs to stop talking about trust and learn how to trust others. Ignoring her advice, he secretly collaborates with the Vale Council to strip Ozpin of his control over the Vytal Festival security, then tells Ozpin to trust him.

This also brought up the possibility that Ozpin would be removed as Headmaster of Beacon academy. Not only was Ironwood willing to depose the leader he was following from his position of power but also remove an important ally from safeguarding one of the most important and crucial places in all of the world that also holds probably the most important relic of all of them(The Crown of Choice)  

I already talked about how Penny’s secret had contributed to the fall so I’ll be talking about how Watts contributed to it since I forgot to include in the last bullet point. Its a very small Easter egg but on Cinders scroll as she was rigging the vytal tournament for CVFY’s match and discovering Penny’s android nature there is a small cursive W at the corner of her scroll. The small W that Watts uses as a holographic icon when he calls Leo in V5. RT has said that they had WTCH in their back pocket for years until they were revealed taking that into account it is clear that the virus that infected Beacons CCT Ironwoods scroll and forcing the droid army to commit order 66 was made by Watts.

The virus and the cyber warfare aside the next final contribution on Ironwood’s part was the imprisonment of Roman Torchwick

It's pretty much been clear that Torchwicks' imprisonment was an improvised plan on the villains part to get an inside man aboard a warship. Basically it was like Heath Ledger's joker in the dark knight; he wanted to get caught. Torchwick himself said that he is where he wants to be to Ironwood at the end of V2. As V3 showed Torchwick and Neo took over what can be assumed to be Ironwood’s personal flag ship and used it to destroy the rest of the air naval section that was brought for the Vytal security team. 

This could have been avoided had Torchwick not been released into Ironwood's custody or at the very least kept somewhere else that should he escape he couldn’t have done so much damage. The Airships aside it was also possible that Roman had used the onboard artillery on the city as well that means that innocent civilians weren’t just being mowed down by hacked robots but being carpet bombed as well increasing the death toll at the fall of Beacon.

The Dust embargo and closing of borders

Since the fall of Beacon Academy, Ironwood has become increasingly unstable and paranoid, making more and more ethically questionable decisions that he repeatedly justifies as the greater good; by his own admission, he will do anything it takes to stop Salem. 

This however does not fare well with the rest of Remnant though.

As Atlas is the primary location for most of Remnants Industry as well as having a monopoly on Dust; Remnant’s most crucial resource that everyone needs in order to survive, the other  kingdoms rely heavily on Atlas for technology, resources and weapons. By placing an embargo he has cut off everyone in the world from their most valued resource. Though he did this to stop the enemies chain of supply he is still letting people suffer and die by with-holding the one thing they need to live and survive. 

Which brings us to the borders

Though it could have eased tensions after the fall of Beacon it just lasted too long as well as the fact that Ironwood had essentially turned his back on the world and refused to help the other kingdoms in their time of need. In the CFVY book spin-off all of the Beacon students either went to Haven or Shade academy to finish their training. As well as the Vale refugees going to other kingdoms as well. But due to Atlas closing its borders none of the students or the people went to Atlas for help. Basically due to Ironwood’s orders the Kingdom of Atlas was forced to not help the other kingdoms when they needed it the most.

And it has only gotten worse due to the events at Mistral in V5 as not only are the students of both Beacon and Haven going to shade, putting a strain on the academy but leaving the entirety of the worlds largest kingdom unguarded and undefended as it now lacks able huntsmen to protect it due to Ironwood’s refusal to help 

It should also be noted that when Ironwood closed the borders he had failed to inform any off his subordinates of who can and can’t enter the kingdom especially in regards to allies like Glynda or Qrow who again are allies against Salem and Ironwood made little to no effort in keeping contact with the other Oz members. This is made evident in V6 when the Argus soldiers refused to believe Qrow about being an ally to Ironwood. you could say that he was waiting on the amity project to make contact with the other members but  he had to have realized that they needed to get into atlas at some-point. But did he make it easy for them or any other ally to reach him? No he did not. 

The Mistral Huntsmen Genocide and the Battle of Haven

Second verse, same as the first, he had put them in a hearse. Another example of Ironwood’s indifference and hypocrisy that led to the death of allies and innocent people.

Due to the events of the Fall and it being broadcasted the enormous state of panic had spread throughout all of the kingdoms. The negative emotions in mass had attracted the Grimm and caused much havoc and loss throughout all of them and the worst to suffer from this mass hysteria was most likely Mistral due to its larger population and territory.

In V5 Lionheart had confirmed that Mistral losses were heavy and many of the local huntsmen including the Professors from Haven were killed in the initial grimm invasion that plagued Mistral following the fall of Beacon. After the initial panic had settled down the Mistral council had been employing Huntsmen in mass and restricted their activity to crucial and vital missions in high profile areas to ensure the safety and stability of the Kingdom.

Now the real question comes in where was Atlas?

In the world of remnants shorts  its confirmed that Mantle and Mistral have an alliance that eventually carried into Atlas. With that being said, where was Mistral’s ally during the fall out and what were they doing. We know in V5 that all Military Assets were recalled within the month prior to the battle of Haven. I know that the kingdoms are weary of Atlas at this point but given the state of the world after the fall, Mistral needed all the help they could get. As such Mistral would have to call upon the old alliance and have them honor their word and offer aid. 

Or at the very least transfer some assets over to Mistral to use it as needed. We have the base in Argus sure but that was just a forward border control base  that didn’t really help anybody. Prior to the recalling Ironwood had Winter gather intel on potential activity that would lead to a second fall of a huntsmen academy and he chose to do nothing. This is further proof of his hypocrisy and arrogance. Ironwood at this point is reading the military for war and with holding aid and support that was actually needed. 

His V4 self is a stark contrast to his V2&3 self as that version of himself was willing to manipulate and intervene in the affairs of other nations under the assumption that the ends justify the means and would see himself above the rules so long as it's for the greater good and stop the threat before it can escalate. That was exactly what Ironwood did at the end of V2 by stealing power from Oz and tried to enforce his own set of rules if it would prevent a disaster.

Now why did Ironwood not do the same thing with Mistral and try to prevent the potential fall of its academy regardless of the bad publicity that it would warrant? It's already been said by Ironwood that he doesn’t trust Leo to handle the situation at Mistral and based his dissection to close the borders on Winters report and decided to prepare for an potential attack on Atlas rather than sending a small task force to handle the threat at Mistral. 

Taking into consideration his plan for Amity it's quite possible that he wanted Leo to fail and Mistral to be ready to eat from his palm. In other words unless there is something to gain and benefit from he’s not going to do it.

Ironwood all the way till he was told the truth about Salem in V7 had a War is the Answer mentality and was hoarding everything and anything that would help sustain a long campaign as well as increasing the size of that force with the intent that  that the large numbers were enough to intimidate Salem and her faction into surrendering and eventual destruction. The only problem is that the people he needs were born in a time of relative peace.

Because of the 80 year age of peace that followed the Great War the Modern world of Remnant has had zero to no conflicts as large or damaging since that one war. There were small conflicts sure like the faunus war, the White fang terrorist cell, and the criminal underworld but they weren’t that much or a threat or concern to a majority of remnant it wasn’t until the Fall of Beacon that the foundation of this peace was shaken so intensely that the cracks started to show but it was still together if only held by a thread.

With the Peace in mind and the peoples faith still with the huntsman as their distrust for Atlas Military lingers no one in the world of remnant outside of Atlas would have any motivation or desire to mobilize for war let alone a war for a foreign leader of a foreign land that has recently come under suspicion. Ironwood was never going to be able to unite the Kingdoms and mobilize their people for his war after the fall of Beacon with Atlas being painted as the bad guy. Unless the situation went from worst to extreme.

Like if another academy were to fall with the same or greater results like Beacon. Then maybe people all around the world would consider following Ironwood’s lead and wipe out the threat before things can get even worse.

Because of this Ironwood had allowed Mistral and possibly the other Kingdoms to exhaust themselves so much that they would be unprepared for the next major Grimm invasion should they come after the next major hysteria induced panic. Panic like Ironwood’s original plan to unite the world and tell them about Salem causing the kingdoms to fall into further disarray only to be saved by the flying grace of Ironwood and his Military. And the only repayment for his help is that you join his fight.

I know this is all speculative and you can say Lionheart was the one who was responsible for mistrals problems after the fall, but remember Leo was the only Faunus on the council of a racist kingdom and only had one seat over the huntsmen and can only give out and approve mission assignments that would get them killed thus he had no real authority or power in Mistral  besides siding with the majority and even if he tried to talk the council into refusing Ironwoods help their racism wouldn’t listen to Leo and they would do the opposite and call for aid. 

But again Ironwood prior to the fall was willing to stop the threat at its source regardless of politics. But after the fall he had put all of his focus on preparing for war instead of helping people that needed his help at that moment. This may be due to his semblance(still dumb BTW) but ultimately he was focusing on his own needs first than the needs of others. Because of this he had ignored the issues of Mistral and failed to see the truth of what Lionheart was doing and had allowed Most if not all of the well trained and experienced huntsmen of that kingdom to die leaving the kingdom defenseless and unprepared for any conflict that would come.

 Like the Battle for Haven for example. Had Ironwood not recalled everyone back and had Winter and whatever Atlas personal that were with her its quite possible that the battle may never had happen, the truth about leo would have been discovered sooner and the genocide of Mistrals huntsmen wouldn’t have been as bad had Ironwood actually chose to help, Instead he  started to fall back and focus on the Amity Project and Atlas instead of spending any resource outside of them, due to a narrow focus to and putting everything on it just so he can have his Victory.

The Civil unrest in Mantle

A loved and respected leader will die by the side of his people: A feared and hated one will die by their hand. Short term closing the borders cloud have helped ease tensions between Atlas and the rest of the world but long term it had made things worse

Due to the fall of Beacon it's quite possible the initial attacks that came after can explain why Mantle's defensive wall was so destroyed and ruined by the time of V7. That means that potentially for almost over a year that wall has had no repairs or maintenance  and has had the bare minimum leaving the citizens in a state of constant peril and danger since the fall of beacon

This is further made worse when Ironwood closed off the borders and cut off the chain of supplies and trade not only to Atlas but also to Mantle as well making the kingdom suffer more than it had to. As the original capital, the rise of Atlas reduced Mantle to a shadow of its former self. Streets are run-down, technology is old, security defenses haven't been updated in years, and smog from the mines hangs heavy over the city. People struggle to eke out an existence, depend on dangerous mines for work and experience regular Grimm attacks that the city increasingly struggles to repel. Meanwhile, Atlas hangs in the sky above their heads; a constant reminder of the wealthy elite that is failing to share the wealth that Mantle creates, and a target of Mantle's growing resentment and anger at having been left so far behind.

Ironwood who is again allied with and a member of a secret circle that is supposed to keep the peace and prevent any social unrest that can cause a conflict.  Thus he should have tried to ease the tensions and made the conditions of Mantle better in order to maintain peace. Now I know it's not solely Ironwood’s fault for the state that Mantle is in as he hasn’t been in a position of power for long but still he should have focused on the people instead of preparing for a war that may have never come. A stark contrast to Ozpin’s way of preserving peace and handling threats

Because of his narrow focus and indifference he made things worse as he was only focusing on potential threats that have yet to come instead of focusing on the issues and preventing them before they escalated. After the fall, the embargo and closing of Borders Ironwood concerned himself with preparations for an assumed winnable war instead of trying to restore peace and keep the people on his side. Which is ironic as he was doing this to rally a large force and stop the threat but did not consider that he may have been pushing away potential troops and allies that he would have needed. And only stoked the people's frustrations 

This is mostly due to Ironwood never giving an estimate of time for how long the embargo and the borders would last as well as not giving a clear and believable reason as to why he was doing all of this in the first place. I know he was going to tell Mantle and the world about Salem eventually and he did in V7 but that was only because he was forced to and used it to take out potential threats by baiting them. This is also added with the fact that he really didn’t have any solid proof that would make the people believe him about Salem as well. Due to the frustration of the people it would just sound like made up propaganda and Ironwood shifting blame onto a fake enemy to drive people's attention onto something else. And yes the people believed it but remember they were being evacuated so i don’t think they were buying Ironwood's statement but were just glad that they were being saved.

And in the end it doesn’t even matter as ultimately Ironwood caved in to fear and decided to leave Mantle for dead. Which could have been avoided had Ironwood focused his attention to the needs of people rather than the needs of war. One of the constant themes of the show is that victory is not in strength or in mass numbers but within the small and willing hearts of those that will fight no matter what.

In conclusion Ironwood had played a pivotal role in contributing to all of the conflicts that plague the world of Remnant at present, even if it were minor role he nonetheless helped set the stage for the villains and Salem   

The reason why I say that; as stated in earlier sections: Despite all of his talk about the greater good for the world he really means the greater good of Atlas and by extension himself. He is prioritizing his kingdom above all else at the expense of the other kingdoms and exploits of their people for his kingdom's own personal gain. As well as with holding beneficial technology that could actually benefit and improve the living conditions and way of life of the other kingdoms.

Ironwood’s inability to trust and have faith in people and others to keep the peace ultimately led to him intervening in affairs that he had no right to and with his own belief that his way is what is best had caused the Fall of Beacon and the events and conflicts before and after it.

It was over before it started

Now the Question must be asked what was Ironwood’s plan?

Ironwood throughout the series believed that he could win against Salem, and by the end of volume 7 he still believed that he could win, but in reality he had already lost the moment he tried to start a war.

To quote Ruby as she asked Ozpin: what was Ironwood’s plan to stop Salem if he ever had one to begin with? As far back as Volume 2 to Volume 7 Ironwood’s ideas and plans to handle Salem seemed to be; gather a large force, blitz run her stronghold, and destroy her with WMD’s. Most of his plans stem from an appeal to force and intimidation tactics via large numbers with heavy armament. In any other circumstances this could have worked had it been a different kind of villain that wasn’t immortal. As V6 has revealed Salem can’t die through traditional means such as modern warfare thus making Ironwood’s plans and solutions moot and pointless. Once he is told the truth in V7 he still continues down the same path of thinking that has not only failed but enabled the villains goals as well. So it must be asked why does Ironwood not see that his way is flawed and that he was never going to win if he continues down this path?

 Ironwood's numerous conflicts throughout the series occur because he feels he does not need to follow the standards he sets for others; He demands people trust him while showing them none in return. He forces others to sacrifice much for the cause while giving up very little in return. He insists on loyalty when he has turned on others solely because they disagreed with him.

As Volume 7 progresses, he becomes willing to commit increasingly dubious actions in order to oppose Salem. He starts off by imposing a military embargo on Mantle despite the economic hardships said embargo is causing for the civilians on the ground and diverting resources that Mantle needs to rebuild its infrastructure to build a comm tower at Amity Colosseum. By the end of the volume, he's degenerated into declaring full martial law, abandoning Mantle to die, and either attacking or having arrested anyone who opposes him.

Salem and her faction were a tumor that can only be handled with the surgical precision of a scalpel not with the bulk of a fleet or large armies. The Huntsmen were that scalpel and to be specific the Huntsmen that Oz had chosen as they were meant to protect all people and prevent conflicts without personal bias or desire. Ironwood only acted in the self interest of Atlas and the benefits that he would gain from it

Ozpin’s priority had always been the people, no matter where they came from. However, I think he was once in Ironwood’s shoes.  I am pretty sure he tried everything, including the same things Ironwood did, and saw it fail horribly. Ozpin or at least the soul, has had centuries to millennia's of experience in fighting Salem and managing the world. The delicacy of the human mind and heart are something he is well acquainted with, and I think he already knew what type of person Ironwood was, or at least was becoming.  Near as I can tell, the big reason he kept Ironwood on at this point was because Ironwood had the resources and technology he needed to keep his plan moving forward and wouldn’t relinquish them.

Ozpin worked hard to maintain the peace and goodwill of the people.  Ironwood, so far, has not.  Having robot sentries on every corner without the concept of morals and stopping trade for a kingdom that can not easily generate its own resources, as well as hoarding those resources and preventing necessary repairs and aid to those people–those actions all show that he is not keeping this important aspect of leadership. He is not making sure that the people are on his side so when he needs them because he does not consider their needs as important unless they are in line with his own

Even with the Knowledge of the truth of Salem’s immortality he is still sacrificing everyone and everything else for nothing just to keep up the illusion that he is the hero and to keep his source of power high in the clouds away from anyone who really needs it

I may have been a little harsh on Ironwood for his actions, especially V7 and I understand the circumstances that led to escalation by the end of the volume.  He was making dubious decisions but he was trying to do better, he listened at times and tried to show an extension of trust, the kids with giving them the lamp back, and later with Robyn at the dinner. These were due to the positive influences of Oz.  He just fell back to old habits hard and turned to extremes when it became clear he had non control of what was happening by V7 end. He was struggling with old habits and opening up and was doing better that first part of the night a prime example of what the creators meant if Ironwood had been more open and trusting of others but when everything went down he was pushed over the edge in the latter half of the night cementing his fall and decent into an antagonist further making the problem worse as he has always done. This is mostly due to his primary source of influence; Atlas (which we can agree has been the biggest source of conflict in the show so far) and probably his lack of understanding and planning for what comes after all is said and done.

What did you think would happen?

The question must be asked; What happens after Salem? The fandom has pretty much each their own idea of what might happen after Salem is finally defeated. But do the characters know what happens after the war especially Ironwood? As the end of the hero’s journey goes; Nothings the same after you become a hero. And given Ironwood’s behavior and actions before his fall in Gravity, Ironwood seemed to have ambitions and plans in the works for the long run after Salem was no longer a threat. As stated before in I am Machine no one is truly altruistic to the point that they do something that doesn’t benefit them. So what exactly did Ironwood want after Salem was gone to the point that most if not all his actions and decisions were in the effort to reach and make those plans come true?

As stated in Broken Kingdom Ironwood doesn’t really have any personal desires or motivations that aren’t related to Atlas or the Heroes common goal to stop Salem. As far as we can tell Ironwood has no current family members at present and there's very little that tells us that he has anything in mind outside of either Atlas or Salem ,so what does Ironwood have to gain from this conflict?

All hail the conquering Hero

Ironwood’s biggest issue is that he has to be the center of everything, that he has to be in control. First he’s going to try and gain control with his army, while trying to wrangle anyone else back under his control. Then, when it becomes clear that anyone who has a plan that better and could work, he’s going to get competitive, come up with new and crazy superweapons to throw against the enemy in an attempt to prove that he can defeat Salem before the heroes can gather allies from across Remnant. He believes that He is strong, that He is brave, that He doesn’t need to run to anybody for help! He believes that he is the hero and is letting his self entitlement cloud his mind and it has gotten the better of him

 An In-Universe example of this false belief comes from RWBY: Amity Arena as it  gives bios to every character in the game compiled by the In-Universe developers. While many try to be objective, the ones representative of the Atlas Elite tend to demonstrate a notable bias, most prevalent with the General's. His bio is very defensive of him, calling him the "hero of our time" and that he wears the burden of the world on his shoulders, talking him up as a Hero with Bad Publicity. The bio goes as followed;

General Ironwood. The hero of our time and Atlas' greatest protector. Under the general, we have advanced to incredible heights, discovered new technologies, and created the world's first artificial intelligence. Though horrifyingly revealed at Amity Arena, Penny is our proud foray into sentient AI, and Ada is the culmination of the machine learning we have long developed in our labs.

As reviled as he was for his misguided attempt to protect Vale, how can the world fault our General when the culprits are out there? How can the victims be blamed for the sins of the perpetrators? Is incompetence somehow a greater sin than premeditated evil? Our General may have failed to protect Beacon, but he's not the one that hacked our weapons into hurting the innocent.

Yet... he wears that burden on his shoulders like he is alone in the world...

Ozpin, missing. Lionheart, dead. Theodore, uncertain. We say Atlas is the greatest, the mightiest... the city in the clouds, but what is first place when there is no competition? Yet, our kingdom and our General... we're the best chance that humanity's got... which scares us to death.

Menagerie?

...what about it?

After reading that you can probably see through the propaganda, hypocrisy and ego that are written in the bio. A key factor to note is that this was possibly made after the main heroes arrived in Atlas and before the election night. And since there's been no contact or travel between the kingdoms and Ironwood was aware of Leo's status by worst case scenario  it tells us that the heroes have shared everything with Ironwood in regards to those events concerning Haven.

 Since Ironwood is looked up to as a god by his subordinates and since he was the one of the only few to have known about them as well as to have the status to make any key choices since the app is made by atlas scientists contracted to the military. Thus Ironwood had used it and the blind loyalty of his loyalists to make propaganda and shift the blame from himself to something else as well as try to emotionally manipulate the people by making them sympathize with him while ignoring the truth.

He is not Remnant's only hope nor is he the best choice.

This is another example of his never my fault montra and he does things right and its further shown in the bio as it not only continues to discredit the other Headmasters(I am well aware of leo) but ignores all the good and actual heroism of other people like the Faunus of Menagerie as they are to the primary reason as to why Haven didn’t become the next Beacon and as stated before in an earlier section the opportunity for the Battle of Haven was in a way created by Ironwood who had chosen to flee and protect his city instead of preventing an attack like he had originally intended with Vale.

It may also show how much Ironwood believes in his own hype as it does paint him as some sort of de facto king of Atlas. Again he views himself as the chosen savior of the chosen people and that it is his destiny to rule and change the world as he sees fit. Or as Watts puts it the Giant that stands above all

I’m the Captain now

I think it's safe to say that almost everything he does is a twisted version of Ozpin's ways as well as to place himself as Remnant's ultimate leader as he believes he is the one that can ensure a safe and secure world. Ever since his debut he has undermined everything that Ozpin has done and stood for because he believes his ways aren’t efficient ( Or beneficial) to him and has been systematically taking power and control away from him and placing himself as the new big good.

He wants to be the New warrior king and change the world as he sees fit as he only sees Ozpin as either a failure or a hindrance to him and his plans. Combine that with his Atlas ideology and a lot of things make sense. I mentioned in the False chosen one that Ironwood may have been influenced and tried to emulate the Warrior king as to better rise and gain power and correct the supposed mistakes of Ozpin. Even though that he has claimed to be doing it for the greater good of all of Remnant but  he really means only Atlas and himself

A world Reborn in my image

A major factor to consider is that Ironwood is a by-product of Atlas that was a by-product of Ancient Mantle. Ironwood is essentially a living mouthpiece for Atlas. He pretty much the living embodiment of the kingdom if it were a character. That's the sad truth of Ironwood is that he is simply an extension of this toxic environment and tricked into believing that its this ideal society when  in truth it never was.  In other words a legacy of tyranny lives on through Ironwood

We’re all aware of the origins of Atlas and its rise to prominent power. It started out as Mantle that began with a handful of people that prospered by adapting to the harsh conditions by making advanced technology faster than the rest of the world. It eventually formed a trade  alliance with Mistral trading tech for food. A grimm  incident occurs and Mantle thought being cold emotionless robots was a perfect solution. It tried to force its toxic ideology onto other civilizations and was met with mixed results. The Great war happens they lose and all of their resources are spent forcing it to rebuild its economy that eventually gives way to Atlas

Now how does this affect Ironwood?

Well Mantle through its alliance with ancient Mistral possibly adopted their ideals of imperialism and expansion as Mistral was the world's largest territorial economic empire of its time. When it comes to the rise of an empire and the type they are as well as their need for expansion it can be summed up to these 3 

Economic empire

Ideological empire

Territorial empire

Due to Mantle's lack of essential resources like food and energy, its early days were more or less focused on establishing a strong economic trade empire in order to get the essential supplies needed to sustain life in solitas. After its great depression period after the War the kingdom's economy began to grow at a rapid rate that by the time the kingdom shifted to Atlas it had Remnants largest economic empire.

This is also an important factor to consider since the sad truth of it all is that as long people can make a stable income and support themselves, they are more than likely to turn a blind eye to any shady or immoral activities so long as there's something to gain. What does this have to do with Ironwood you ask? Well as his bio card said Ironwood has pretty much been proclaimed as the kingdoms benefactor for its prosperity. This may have been due to his Corperate alliance with The Schnee’s since it was Mostly Nicolas and Jaques as far as we know being the most prominent reason as to why Atlas has prospered. 

When Ironwood formed that alliance with the SDC it gave him at least half of the power and influence of the company that was truly responsible for the kingdom's wealth and claiming it as his own. Once he had gotten some control over the economy it was time to move onto the next step and increase the empire from economic to Ideological or Political expansion.

Empires change and adapt in order to satisfies their needs now that Ironwood is the de facto head of that empire and given what we know about him and Atlas it is quite possible that he has been indoctrinated to have this desire to create an empire for Atlas as the politics and ideologies of its people have given it a false sense of entitlement and need to have everything under their control.

When looking at it from V1 to V3, it looks as if Ironwood was trying to occupy without resorting to force then you're left asking the real questions like "Why is ironwood selling the people of Vale on Atlas military Technology?" "Why is it that when a breach happens in vale, Atlas Bots rush in?" "Why did Ironwood make a power play to become the security of the Vytal Tournament?" It all seems to point to the same thing, Ironwood wanted control over Vale

A section of Lyrics from the song “When it Falls” may help reveal Ironwoods true intentions since his introduction and to be honest they seem relevant only to him and given his actions this is mostly likely the truth as they go like this; 

“They play the part of allies

Claiming peace their only goal

But once the fight for power starts

They'll eat each other whole

Their iron gloves point fingers

They'll wage a war of blame

And mankind will wilt in pain”

As of V7 aren’t those words mostly relevant to Ironwood? After all, what has he done recently? He claims to be an ally with intentions of peace but he’s really trying to control those who buy that lie and escalates the situation to the extreme for no logical reason other than to set the stage for the next part in relation to the lyrics.

After all is said and done the fight for power will start and he wants to win and consume everyone before they can consume him. And as things go wrong he points his metal hands blaming everyone but himself as he tries to gain control and power, the world suffers.

Ever since his debut he has been trying to amass  Political power which would lead to a territorial empire under Atlasian control. Playing into the theory that he does want to be a better version of Oz he wouldn’t make the same mistakes that he assumed the king  did by letting the kingdoms remain independent instead of being under the control of one.

A king has his reign and then he dies

To continue on with the theory that he is essentially a bastardized version of Oz, Ironwood may have been trying to find ways as to make himself immortal 

Another reason as to why he would see Ozpin as inferior is due to the fact that for all his power he can’t stop himself from dying, or at least maintain the same amount of world power and status from his last life. This may have given Ironwood ideas and ambitions to pursue any methods that may yield results that may make him a true immortal version of Oz hence why he most likely authorized the research and development of the aura transfer technology as a means to artificial reincarnate till proper immortality was achieved.

This could also be another reason as to why he may have chosen the Penny project. As it could lead to a way of extending his life as a means of transhumanism; immortality through technology

To reiterate Ironwood doesn’t trust anyone to do things right so he micromanages everyone under his control and makes them dependent on him. This is best seen with Winter and Clover as Winter would side with a madman as opposed to siding with her sister and clover’s inability to think for himself led to his death. 

Due to his lack of faith in people Ironwood makes them less independent and make them rely on him as  he may believe if everyone is dependent on him then the more control that he will have over them as to better determine who is a threat as the people he controls are more or less robots now without a conscious or sense individuality and are less likely to commit evil acts. Similar to ancient Mantle’s anti life policies before the war.

If he believes that to be the case and since he only trusts himself to see it through he’s going to try and find ways to make him live as long as possible until his methods become autonomous. Because of his lack of faith for others Ironwood doesn’t understand or refuses to understand the fact that he is going to die one day and everything that he has ever accomplished will be undone by the ultimate victor; TIME.

This is sadly the likely outcome as everything changes through the passage of time. As time moves so does the advancement of decay upon the world. Ironwood is already dying by aging and all that he has achieved will be undone or outdone by others that will come after him. The same thing can be said for everyone else in the show as they already lost. 

Ruby, Oz, Cinder, even Salem herself have already lost to time. Everything they have or will achieve will be undone as well and one day they will all die. It’s just a matter of how and when. 

To better explain let's take a look at Epsilon’s final speech from RVB season 13;

“There are so many stories where some brave hero decides to give their life to save the day, and because of their sacrifice, the good guys win, the survivors all cheer, and everybody lives happily ever after. But the hero... never gets to see that ending. They'll never know if their sacrifice actually made a difference. They'll never know if the day was really saved. In the end, they just have to have faith.”

Does Ironwood have faith in anyone that's not under his control? 

People only do wrong when the perceived benefits outweigh the cost in that moment. Ironwood doesn’t just see an opportunity to stop Salem he also sees an opportunity to bring the world under Atlasian control with him at the top. Since he has amassed so much power and authority he sees himself above the rules that everyone respects and follows. Because of this Ironwood tries to hold unto that power because without he is nothing and would become a lesser and weaker being which would be an affront to his perfectionist ideologies

If your nothing without it then you don’t deserve it

Take away Ruby’s Silver eyes and what is she? Someone that will continue to fight no matter what

Take away Atlas from Ironwood and what is he? Nothing but a broken man who had this coming for a long time.

As I stated in I am power Ironwood by himself has nothing to contribute to the fight against Salem. Let's face it the only thing that he had going for him was the fact that he lead the Military and as we later find out that Military isn’t going to be useful against Salem since the key concept of the show since V1 was that there is no victory in strength but in the simpler things in life that start with simple and honest souls. 

How does this concern Ironwood? 

Well that's just it Ironwood was never going to win with his methods and he was never going to get the benefits that he wanted if he followed someone else with theirs. Again Ironwood had plans and ambitions after Salem that saw him as the ruler of the world instead of her, and controlled it so that a threat like her or any threat to his power would never come again. This is probably what he thought would happen before being told of her immortality. 

Now with the knowledge that he can’t destroy her and that she’s coming he decides to cut his losses and settle with ruling the city instead and leave the rest of the world in her mercy instead of accepting the fact that he is wrong and relinquishing power to someone that can handle the situation better. Remnant doesn’t need Ironwood to survive. This is the biggest problem with Ironwood that he thinks he is the hero so long as he is in control of Atlas. Because without it he is truly nothing and has defined his whole existence around it. And will continue to make whatever plans to keep himself in power and is willing to pay the price at the expense of others.

“What if all the plans you made,

Were not worth the price they paid?

Even with the lives you stole,

Still no closer to your...

Goal.”

He never cooled the fire but he still incites the crowd for he can't see what he has  become a crown with no kingdom

Ironwood had only played to win and he would laugh at the ones who lose while millions are shouting out for him to stop but he Still lit the fuse

He says he wants to fight but Then he always runs because he doesn't want to die yet he Still shoots the loaded gun escalating things for the worse

His refusal to see the faults in his own actions. Ironwood continually defaults to and relies on methods and actions that have repeatedly been proven to not work because he refuses to see the error in using said methods to begin with.

This isn’t your story James

One of the important aspects to remember is that this isn’t Ironwood’s story. His entire character and story revolves around the main protagonists and how he interacts with them and more importantly what role he played in it. Ironwood started out as a side character that ended up getting a lot of focus because the story of  Team RWBY and the show in general is to show how the last generation can fail the next and how that generation has to learn and grow so it can avoid the mistakes of the past. 

Before we delve further into Ironwood’s true character in the show let us explore whether or not he was an antagonistic or protagonistic force in the story. Keep in mind these terms are different from hero and villain. Below are several definitions and meanings for the 2 narrative characters types;

Antagonist

a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary.

a person who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with another; opponent; adversary. the adversary of the hero or protagonist of a drama or other literary work

Protagonist

the leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text.

an advocate or champion of a particular cause or idea.

In modern literature, the protagonist drives the story forward by pursuing a goal. 

The protagonist of a story is sometimes called the main character. 

Since this is RWBY’s story and to an extent Oz’s, Ironwood(and Atlas to an extent) was always meant to be an antagonistic force in opposition to the show's true ideals of  heroism and saviors. 

The antagonist is the principal source of conflict for the protagonist. Often, the antagonist is a bad guy, a villain, but he doesn't necessarily have to be. He may just be someone who has a different agenda. Antagonists might be one person, a group, or even an animal.

Due to the beliefs that his methods are for the best even though they contradict the intentions that were thought to be shared by the heroes Ironwood was always going to become an Antagonist for the series at some point

Volume 7 slowly sees him fall into this, as his paranoia and determination to stop Salem cause him to perform increasingly questionable decisions for the greater good. While Qrow, Oscar, and Teams RWBY and JNPR support Ironwood, they increasingly debate the merit of doing so, given how concerned they're becoming with his behavior. When Cinder breaks into his office and plants a black queen, Ironwood sends Winter to forcefully take the Winter Maiden's powers, and he begins to question every decision he's made and speculate whether he's played right into Salem's hands. His confrontation with Team RWBY over their decision to leak intel to Robyn triggers the appearance of a Seer Grimm, forcing him into a verbal confrontation with Salem. With the discovery that the conflict with Watts and Tyrian distracted them from realizing they'd lost long-range sensors and that Salem is already on her way to Atlas, Ironwood snaps. He orders the arrest of Qrow, Oscar, and Teams RWBY and JNPR, and decides to abandon Mantle to die in an effort to prevent the two Relics and the Winter Maiden from falling into Salem's hands. Volume 7 ends with him and the protagonists actively opposed to each other, as his refusal to acknowledge that his methods are flawed and his opposition towards anyone who might stand in his way solidifies him as an antagonist.

The events of Volume 7 slowly but surely tear away at the positive aspects of his character as he succumbs to fear and paranoia, and questions whether Salem's strength comes from her ability to strip away her humanity. By the end of the volume, he has degenerated into a paranoid tyrant who abandons Mantle in favor of saving Atlas, is willing to kill a dying Winter Maiden to protect the Relics from Salem, and arrests the heroes for disagreeing with him. At the end of the volume, Oscar even points out that Ironwood's actions and current mentality make him no better than Salem.

 His character deconstructs the mindset of the Necessary Evil character archetype. He declares his willingness to sacrifice his reputation and humanity for the greater good by forcing others to sacrifice for his cause. Characters constantly question the morality of his choices and his own actions create consequences that later bite him in the ass. His lack of concern over his image and the negativity his actions generate serve only to assist Salem's plans and increasingly alienate him from the heroes. He appoints himself the judge of what counts as the "greater good", he neglects Mantle's security and makes it increasingly vulnerable to attack by viewing it as less important than Atlas. Oscar lampshades the deconstruction by pointing out that being willing to sacrifice all of Remnant just so "a few can live" is making him just as dangerous a threat as Salem.

In a way Salem and Ironwood are also foils to each other as they appear to be dark lords from their respective genres 

Ironwood being the syfy equivalent clad in white to convey the false message of order and peace while masking evil intentions and crimes 

Salem being the Fantasy equivalent clad in black to emanate a sense of Mystery and fear of the unknown while using it to her advantage

Discussed between Ironwood and Oscar. Ironwood spends Volume 7 utterly haunted by how Leo's fear of Salem destroyed him and endangered Mistral and Haven. He is so determined not to end up like Leo, that he doesn't realize what mistakes his own fear of Salem is causing. While Leo completely submitted to Salem and became her puppet, he has full self-awareness and knows exactly how far he's fallen and why. Ironwood cannot accept that he has any fear of Salem at all and interprets the problem as possessing "humanity". He believes Salem is a threat because she has none and speculates that the solution is to become the same. He becomes increasingly controlling over his kingdom and his allies; regardless of how much suffering his methods cause, he persists in believing it's for "the greater good". While Leo is willing to give up the Relic of Knowledge and his kingdom's Huntsmen, Ironwood is so determined to prevent Salem getting the Relics, his Huntsmen and the Winter Maiden, and thereby avoid Leo's mistakes, that he travels in the opposite direction, becoming a dangerous authoritarian instead of a spineless coward.

Ironwood has made it clear that he will use whatever means necessary to defeat Salem. When Team RWBY calls out his decision to raise Atlas out of Salem's reach, he calmly says he's aware that he is essentially damning Mantle to her wrath. He later tells Oscar that he is done letting others' opinions hold him back from doing what he thinks is right. The boy warns him that he'd become as dangerous as Salem herself like that; the general simply nods to himself but doesn't deny it.

This is who he has always been. The only difference is the more desperate he becomes, the more extremes he goes to to maintain the illusion he is strong and in control of the situation.

During Ozpin's speech, notice how this unique line of dialogue is purposely inserted over Ironwood's last scene of  Volume 7.

“Or will the person staring back at you be the very thing you should have feared from the start? I suppose we all find out... sooner or later.”

As the other parts of the speech are relevant to the other characters shown in the montage This specific line cements the Truth of Ironwood's character being a threat that was planned for a very long time. Going with the show's themes of Grey morality and the balance of light and dark, we are to learn of the possibility that with the potential to do great good also comes with the potential to do great evil. 

As we were focused on the obvious threats in the show like the grimm, the white fang, Cinder, and Salem we are tricked to neglect the obvious signs of evil intent that are hidden and growing  among the heroes. The real monsters of the world aren’t the ones with fangs and red eyes hiding under your bed, No the real monsters of the world look just like you and me. After all if we assume everyone is like us then how can we tell who the real monsters are, that are hiding in plain sight. 

Ironwood’s evil nature and antagonism  was subtle and growing under the skewed perception that he was the hero and that he was right. But this comes down to the fact that he is only in it for himself and what he has to gain from it. 

I understand that James Ironwood was a tragic character even from his introduction, and the seeds for his volume 7 turn were planted in volume 2. I eventually recognized that RT was setting up this pivotal plot point way back in the day and now they are harvesting what they had sown.  

Ironwood didn’t snap when he found out RWBY lied to him. He was content, even after he defeated Watts. He snapped as soon as he saw Cinder’s present. The Queen piece. He unraveled immediately and, sure, the discovery of RWBY’s lies didn’t help,  but it wasn’t the cause for Ironwood’s descent.

 He genuinely means well in opposing Salem and her forces, but his severe paranoia complex, exacerbated by the stress of being one of the only ones in the know about Salem and having to explain his actions to the skeptical populace and council, cause his decisions to degenerate over time. By the end of Volume 7, he becomes willing to abandon everyone in Mantle to die, violently lashes out at anyone who opposes him, and manages to undo all of the hard work he's accomplished by second-guessing his own actions.

James Ironwood is undoubtedly a fascinating character that has this certain appeal to most people. I  can understand Ironwood's viewpoint but it is not the same as forgiving or condoning as good. Sure, I thought him intervening in affairs that he had no right to was a skewed perception, but I understood where he was coming from. I thought him ignoring the concerns and advice of people was reckless, but I also kind of understood  his limitations and his upbringing. But in all honesty I was neutral about Ironwood ever since he debuted and didn’t think he had much to contribute to the story besides being the guy with an army along with the pride and arrogance that comes with.

Because of that Ironwood was always an antagonistic force in RWBY with ideals and plans that contradict the established ideals and motivations that are already shared with the world of Remnant. He just simply couldn’t fit in and when he tried he didn’t like it. When he tried to change it and take charge he only made things worse. Ironwood had potential to be good and a proper hero due the influence of Oz but his pride and ego that he got from Atlas got the better of him and now the show's true heroes will have to fix the problems that he has caused.

Summary

[iturbide]

Can I have some Headcanons on Claude's parents? Like how did his father ask his mom to marry him (or how did his mom ask?)

OHOHOHO MY TIME HAS COME

So I actually have an extremely elaborate history planned out for Claude’s parents, which I have been hiding in the wings for months because this is the kind of thing I think about in my downtime.  So just be warned that this is long and, like most of my headcanons for the game, takes nothing from Cindered Shadows into account (though I will grudgingly use the names that it lays out).

[[MORE]]

Tiana von Riegan was never a proper noblewoman.  She was certainly beautiful and stately, tall and elegant and poised, with quick wits and ample intelligence...but it was all offset by a razor-sharp tongue and a ferocity few hardened warriors could match.  She and Judith von Daphnel were a well-matched pair, and spent the better part of their time together causing trouble of some sort until they ended up called to the Locket to help repel Almyran invaders.

Back before the Gonerils had troops enough to defend the Locket full-time (and had Holst as their star general), Alliance members would send small detachments of soldiers or hired mercenaries to help out with the fort’s defenses.  Tiana and Judith made a point of always going together, so when one got the call the other invariably came with her.  And oh, they were forces to be reckoned with, both of them: Judith may have earned the moniker ‘The Hero of Daphnel,’ but Tiana was no slouch herself -- and as an aspiring Great Knight, she had no trouble fighting back the Almyrans heckling their border.

It was in one of those skirmishes that she met the man who would eventually become her husband, though she had no idea about that at the time.  He was just another Almyran, at first sight -- but unlike the others that she’d faced down, in that battle and all those before, he didn’t retreat when she bested him...because for the first time, she met a fighter she couldn’t best.  They were evenly matched on the field, meeting one another’s blows with blocks and parries and ripostes, but neither one ever managed to gain the upper hand.  And when both sides retreated, she wondered if she’d face him again, because that was a fight she wouldn’t be forgetting any time soon.

As luck would have it, they kept running into each other on the field in the months to come.  Some days she almost thought she had him -- and some days, she almost feared he had her.  But they never managed to claim victory, and they both always walked away alive, if somewhat worse for the wear.  She started looking forward to seeing him, and moving to engage him when she happened to glimpse him out there -- and, maybe it was her imagination, but she thought she saw him searching for her, too, and grinning when he caught sight of her in the crush of skirmishing forces.

And then, one evening while she was on watch atop the fort, she saw a lone man slip out of the trees near the Locket.  Understandably, she took up her arms, ready to sound an alarm...but before she could, the man pulled out a white flag and raised it over his head in a gesture of truce.  It got her attention, to be sure...so she slipped down to investigate.  And who should it be but her Almyran rival, holding a wineskin and tucking his white silk sash back into his belt as he bowed and invited her to celebrate their hard-fought battle.  It...seemed kind of weird to her, but he took the first swig without hesitation, so she hesitantly joined him.

He introduced himself simply as Kemal, and she returned the gesture with just her first name.  They just...talked.  For quite a while, sharing that wineskin until it ran dry, and then a while after that before parting ways.  And then, after the next engagement, she ended up watching the trees just in case he came back for another ‘post-battle celebration.’

He did.

Over the course of the next year or so, they met dozens of times in the late evening.  They shared bits of their history and heritage and language (Kemal’s very stilted Fodlan started getting more natural the more they met, and she started picking up some Almyran curses and signs in turn).  Tiana found out that these assumed ‘raids’ were, at worst, skirmishes and training exercises for Almyran fighters, or sometimes hunting parties mistaken for fighters, since the pass itself had once been Almyran territory and a fertile hunting ground that helped supply nearby settlements.  And sometimes they even talked about their friends and families: Tiana groused about her overbearing father and older brother and told all kinds of stories of her exploits with Judith, while Kemal laughed about his own younger brother and how both he and Nader had to keep the boy from rushing headling into battle to prove himself a warrior. 

It was good for what felt like a long time.

But then it ended.

The Twisted had been working on experiments to control Demonic Beasts for a long time, and began their test runs around this period; in years ahead, these experiments would give rise to the plot that killed Tiana’s brother and that Count Gloucester used to prey upon Riegan merchants...but in these early tests, the control methods were still hypothetical at best.  But they approached the commanders stationed at the Locket, offering them a Demonic Beast to lay waste to the Almyran raiders that continued to threaten their borders.  It sounded rather too good to be true, but they desperately wanted to put an end to the fighting once and for all -- so they accepted. 

They never saw it coming.  The Demonic Beast entered the field as intended -- but it very swiftly went berserk, attacking both the Almyrans and Alliance fighters in a rampage before escaping into the forests.  Tiana ended up concussed and generally worse from the wear, though she could still stand and walk (and counted her blessings for that fact)...but not everyone was so lucky: as she searched the field, she found Kemal huddled on the ground, his dominant arm a bloody, unsalvageable mess, doing his best to rouse a young man -- his brother -- who even she could tell would never wake again (but then, Kemal was suffering a combination of concussion, shock, and denial).

Tiana’s not a healer.  She never had been.  But she did her best to at least slow the bleeding, and stayed with him until Almyran reinforcements showed up -- and who should appear first but Nadar, who freaked out as soon as he realized what was going on because A) Kemal, who was in fact an Almyran prince, looked to be at death's door; B) his brother had already walked through it, and C) there was a Fodlan warrior there who, for all he knew, was about to send Kemal through next.  But Tiana backed off when he came rushing up and made no move to either stop him from taking Kemal or cause any harm to anyone, even warning Judith off when she came hurrying up to help her friend in what appeared to be a brewing fight...though, in his delirium and panic, Kemal begged Tiana not to leave him even as Nader tried to haul him away.

Kemal and Tiana both had been very secretive about their meetings.  Judith had certainly teased Tiana about her ‘admirer,’ and both Nader and his brother had mercilessly ribbed Kemal about his ‘secret love’ that he’s gone out to woo so frequently -- but no one expected that their admirers were across that border.  Until that moment, no one knew.  But the cat couldn’t go back into the bag after that.

Understandably, both of them ended up getting the third degree from their friends once they’re better on the mend.  Judith was surprisingly supportive of Tiana once she got the full explanation of everything she’d found out over the past year, but Kemal was dealing with a lot on every front: on top the physical loss of his arm, something that many imagined would preclude him from ever taking the throne (since no one imagined he would be able to fulfill the Rite of Challenge with such a severe handicap), he also lost his younger brother, not to a warrior’s death but to a horrific accident.  But eventually, when he was better on the mend (physically, at least, if not emotionally), Kemal made his way back to the Locket for what he imagined would be his final time, intending to say goodbye to Tiana, since he didn’t imagine he would be able to meet her again, given the circumstances...and in response, she more or less said “fuck that -- pull yourself together! ...and if you can’t do it alone, then I’ll help.”

It was, more or less, a proposal.  Kemal couldn’t mistake it for anything else.

They agreed to meet in a month at the usual time, in that familiar place outside the Locket.  They parted ways, with Kemal returning to Almyra to keep working at his recovery, while Tiana immediately sent word to her father of her intention to marry Kemal -- something her father expressly forbade in his return missive before starting to seek out potential bachelors among the Alliance nobility that might be able to rein Tiana in.  Not that she was going to let that stop her: she told Judith her intentions, got her best friend’s blessing, and on the appointed evening she headed out to meet Kemal, fully intent on going with him to Almyra.

(Kemal jokingly asked her when she arrived if he should carry her off over his shoulder to make it seem like a plausible kidnapping, to which she replied that she’d like to see him try -- and as a former archery star and capable lancer, he did not disappoint and quite cheerfully carried her off.)

Tiana was completely true to her word and stuck with him through his recovery, emotional and physical both; by the time he could start writing legibly again, both were dead set on the marriage.  Unfortunately, Kemal’s father was less than thrilled, given Almyrans’ general feelings about the people of Fodlan -- but, as he reminded his son, the Rite of Challenge still applied: if he could best his father in combat, he could have whatever he asked.  So Kemal leveled the challenge, selecting a light-weight sword for his weapon of choice.  No one actually expected much, least of all the King of Almyra -- but unbeknownst to them, Kemal had been putting a lot of effort into blade training once he was well enough on the mend: in very short order, he managed to disarm his father and force him to concede defeat.

What did he ask for?

His father’s blessing to marry Tiana.

The King, understandably, was quite shocked, because he’d expected that Kemal would demand the throne (as is traditional when the Rite of Challenge is laid before the king -- not to mention the fact that he wouldn’t require a blessing if he were ruler).  When he said so, though, Kemal only shook his head, remarking that he didn’t want to win the throne so easily: this was his father’s one and only warning not to underestimate him when he does come for the crown.

Kemal and Tiana married shortly after, and in the coming year Kemal did in fact level a true King’s Challenge at his father -- but though it was indeed a harder fight, Kemal still emerged victorious and took the throne of Almyra with his beloved queen -- and his father lived a very long life, with many of his later years spent doting on his adorable if incredibly mischievous grandson.

And there I have now written a small novel regarding Claude’s parents thank you for getting this far you deserve a prize.

[whitleyschn33]

What if Whitley is secretly just a fusion of Allister and Bede from Pokémon sword and shield? XD on a more serious note what if Whitley had a froslass that his mother gave him?

Are you a psychic? 

Because a couple days before I got this ask (which was weeks ago, I know, and I’m very sorry, things have been insane), I started a new Nuzlocke run of Pokemon Shield, and for kicks and giggles because of the “Whitley the Pokemon Trainer” stuff that’s been going around, I made my avatar Whitley, and of course started trying to figure out how a RWBY/Shield AU would work out.

I realized halfway through my plotting that Whitley honestly does fit Bede more than who I cast him as, but a) I wanted him to start at the same place the player does, and b) it’s my AU, so who cares?

Whitley is the younger brother of the current champion, Weiss Schnee, who became champion 2/3 years ago after leaving home to complete the Gym Challenge. Winter, the eldest Schnee sister, left home nearly a decade ago, and wound up as Galar’s Ice Gym Leader. Whitley has remained behind with their mother in their estate outside Postwick.

Willow is neglectful, an alcoholic that spends more time than not drunk in her rooms. Jacques, an abusive jackass and also a business partner of Chairwoman Salem, usually works from home, but during the lead-up and during challenge season, moves to an apartment in Wyndon to focus on the extra work sent his way. This is Whitley’s favorite time of the year, as it gives him the most freedom to leave the estate and go into the nearby towns of Postwick and Wedgehurst.

Oscar Pine and Ruby Rose are the closest things to friends Whitley has, who he visits when he gets the chance to escape his house. 

Oscar is Ruby’s cousin - her mother, Summer Rose, is Oscar’s aunt, who Oscar came to live with after his parents were killed in a freak train accident when he was fairly young. Oscar helps Summer with the Budew and Wooloo they breed, farming flowers and wool and selling both in Wedgehurst.

Ruby is the granddaughter of noted Pokemon Professor, Professor Ozpin, and currently works as his assistant while she tries to figure out what she wants to do with her life. Ruby was one of the four rookie challengers that made it into the finals of the Gym Challenge season that saw Weiss become champion, despite being two years younger, but lost against her sister in an early bracket.

Ruby’s half-sister Yang is Galar’s Fighting Gym Leader, taking the role on after making it fairly far in the finals of the gym challenge. 

Whitley and Oscar often hang around the Pokemon Lab with Ruby, taking advantage of all the interesting tech and books, as well as the comforting atmosphere. Professor Ozpin works from home a majority of the time, but comes by often enough to recognize Whitley as his grandchildren’s friend and pick up enough hints about his home life.

Close to the beginning of the new Gym Challenge season (called GCS from here on out), Ozpin invites the three of them to his home on Route 2, Ruby guiding them with her Yamper Zwei for protection.

Once there, Ozpin offers to sponsor both Oscar and Whitley in this year’s GCS, and give both of them a starting Pokemon. Oscar’s thrilled, having wanted to venture out into Galar for a while now to learn more, but Whitley is far less so, hesitant to leave his mother alone and terrified of his father’s reaction if/when he found out.

Ozpin assures him there’s no pressure - the Pokemon is his regardless of whether or not he chooses to take on the challenge, so he should just focus on getting to know his chosen Pokemon before deciding.

Oscar lets him go first, since this will be Whitley’s first Pokemon, while he’s had his own Wooloo before.

Whitley considers the Sobble for the matching aesthetics, but realizes he’s probably isn’t patient enough to deal with the constant crying. He settles for Grookey, having at least had a bit of experience with grass-types from visiting Oscar’s Budews. Oscar takes the Sobble.

A small barbecue/party is held at Ozpin’s place, then everyone heads back to Postwick. Whitley takes the Grookey home, and despite being perpetually drunk or hungover, even Willow can’t miss her son bringing home a Pokemon. Reluctantly, Whitley tells her about the professor’s offer, and Willow goes quiet, wandering off to think and leaving Whitley to bond with his Grookey. (In my playthrough, I got a female Grookey I named Rhya - what do you all think Whitley would name his?)

Nearly a week later, the night before Whitley’s heading out to give his answer to the professor, Willow comes to him to give him her blessing and supplies - a mix of her own, Winter’s, and Weiss’ - in the form of a map, money, a hat, a Bag (a case that acts like a Box, but for items rather than Pokemon), camping supplies, etc. Whitley’s understandably shocked by all this, and it certainly throws him for a loop on what he’s going to do next.

The next morning, Oscar, Ruby, and he head over to Ozpin’s place. At Ozpin’s request, he and Oscar have a battle that Whitley manages to win. Hopped up on that and spurred on by his mother’s blessing (and some not-so-subtle comments on wanting/needing a rival from Oscar), he accepts the recommendation, agreeing to accompany Oscar as they attempt the GC.

Whitley returns home briefly to pack and say goodbye to his mother, and gets one final gift - an Egg his mother found a while back, presumably from her Froslass and a random Pokemon that had been passing through the Slumbering Weald. (For your headcanon, anon~)

What happens next... would require me finishing my playthrough, and honestly a Nuzlocke probably isn’t the best way to determine what Pokemon Whitley would choose. I may go through again as a non-Nuzlocke, looking at what Pokemon are available that I think would suit Whitley and try to make a team for him. I’ve got plenty of time now.

Miscellaneous 

Gym Leaders: 

Milo is replaced with Taiyang, who, when not involved with the GCS, focuses on teaching new trainers, recommending the best of the crop to the Gym Challenge.

Nessa is replaced with Ren - a calm trainer whose Pokemon can flow like water around obstacles, or slam into opponents like a wave.

Kabu is replaced with Qrow - a trainer from an older generation trying to improve himself.

Allister is replaced with Neo - a silent Trainer that can disappear seemingly without a trace, known for her Pokemon’s ability to seemingly dodge any hit.

Opal is replaced by Maria - an older woman that seems to have secrets, searching for an apprentice to soon become the new Fairy Gym Leader. Upon meeting Ruby, who shows up to cheer on Oscar and Whitley at their matches, drags her off to convince her to be the next Fairy Gym Leader, muttering something about “having the eyes for it.”

Like said above, Melony is replaced by Winter, who got the job nearly a decade ago. Known for her powerful attacks and well-disciplined Pokemon, even her multiple type disadvantages don’t seem to turn the tides. 

Piers is replaced with Blake - a Trainer specializing in dark types that refuses to use Dynamax, concerned about the effects it may have on the Pokemon that use it constantly. She made it to the finals of the GC, but ultimately fell near the end. 

Raihan is replaced by Pyrrha - the near-unbeatable crown jewel of the Gym Challenge, the last obstacle before the finals, and the reason so few challengers make it to them. A prodigy of a trainer that took the position at 14, and has come extremely close to dethroning Weiss multiple times during her reign as champion

Others

Jaune is a Normal-type Gym Leader that just took over this year.

Nora is the Electric Gym Leader, nicknamed “the Hammer” for her tendency to oneshot opposing Pokemon with powerful Thunderbolts and Discharges.

Sun takes Marnie’s place - not Blake’s sibling, but someone that cares for her deeply, and does his best to help spread word of her cause by fighting in the Gym Challenge without Dynamax like she did.

Chairman Rose is replaced by Salem - rather than trying to solve the potential energy crisis, she simply wants to destroy the world and remake it in her own image. Cinder replaces Oleana, pulling the strings to set everything in place for Salem’s plan.

Emerald and Mercury are Bede’s substitutes - kids Salem and Cinder fund on the off-chance of being useful for dirty work.

Team Yell does not exist.

And holy shit, this has gotten long, so I’m gonna stop here before I start just flat out writing fanfiction.

But, uh.... yeah, I can very much see Whitley being a part of the Galar region! A Froslass would be a good aesthetic addition to his team - perhaps a companion rather than a competitive Pokemon, since they have so many type weaknesses.

Thank you for this ask! I thoroughly enjoyed my excuse to ramble about an AU that’s been knocking around my head for a while (and can probably be prodded into doing so again). 

Have a wonderful day/evening, and stay safe!

[gweniala]

Ertanians

Finally, behold! The product of this year’s winter school: a fanfiction introducing four new characters to my already bursting cast, coming as a direct sequel to The Dam. It comes complete with character designs because I came up with the fanfic as I was designing the characters.

Disclaimer: This fic is dark. As in, grim dark. A lot of babies die in great pains, there’s mutilation, character death and angst all around.

------

Nike spends a good while puzzling over where he has seen Svea before he realises it’s not the woman he finds familiar; it’s her sword.

It’s a day like any other on the road: the sun is hot, the beer is watered, the innkeeper is greedy and the lunch guests are yelling and pawing at the poor waitress like all of the above was her fault. Some three hundred years ago, Nike would have told them to stop and happily got in a fist fight over it. But those days are gone. Now that he travels alone, he has to watch his back and pick his battles. A knife in the gut could actually be a problem for him nowadays, not to mention losing a limb. Oh how the mighty have fallen…

Nike’s musings are interrupted when, much to Nike’s surprise, someone else stands up to the common injustice. From the corner of the room a hooded woman grows: “Leave the girl alone.”

The rest of the guests look over but that’s about it. The waitress retreats to the kitchen, but soon enough she’s bringing another round of watered beer. When she bends over to collect the empty glasses, one of the guests grabs her ass and squeezes as if to prove a point. At that, the woman stands up and walks over to him. She leans down and tells him something in a quiet voice. The guest, a burly blue Ynt who barely fits onto his chair, sneers at her in response.

“Piss off,” he says. “I’m not gonna hit a girl.”

“Oh, it’s that old song again…” the woman says. “What, you’re afraid the girl might hit back?” When this doesn’t earn her response, she straightens and says: “Sure, have it your way. Let today be the day you ran from being challenged by a girl. I guess it can’t be helped. You do look like you can barely hold the spoon. Don’t let your mother see you this way, it would break her heart.” She laughs at him from beneath the hood.

The Ynt strikes the table. “Very well, outside it is!” he barks and gets up.

The woman chuckles and exits the inn first. As she’s walking past Nike, she lifts her cape to check on a sword strapped to her side. Nike can’t see under her hood, but he gets the feeling that he knows her from somewhere.

Outside the Ynt tries to talk the woman out of fighting him. When she doesn’t budge, he says that a true Ynt always fights with a spear and to the death. She says that’s alright with her; she’s armed, too. It’s plain as day that the Ynt just wants to go back inside and finish his lunch. Groping a waitress is a terribly trivial matter to die over. But this woman keeps goading him as if she had a death wish and he can’t let her trample all over his pride. So, after considerable stalling, he finally brandishes his spear and tells her to defend herself.

The moment she draws her sword, Nike recognises the flame-shaped guard and it dawns on him why he finds her so familiar. With a dramatic flare she tears her cape off, and he already knows that he’ll see black goggles and a red-eyed snake underneath. And his anticipation is proven right for the third time when her sword bursts into flame.

“En garde, little bug!” the woman shouts. “I am Svea, daughter of Stein and Kafendre, the Guardian of Fire, and you really should have left that girl alone!”

The Ynt screeches with terror. Dropping his spear, he opens his wing-case and he’s in the air before you can say “cinder”. Svea bursts out laughing. She jabs her burning sword into the ground and leans against it, cackling merrily.

“Gets them every time!” she says. “Hey, little bug! Come back! I know your folk is afraid of fire. I wasn’t going to hurt you. You still have a soup to finish.”

When the blue Ynt isn’t coming back, she sighs and flicks the flames off her sword. “Move along now,” she tells the spectators and she goes to pick her cape up from the dusty ground.

It takes Svea a while to come back inside the inn. Nike is wondering if she has gone after the Ynt when she enters, cape bundled under her arm, frowning like a storm. She plops down on her seat and glares at her beer. The waitress scurries to her side; the two whisper until Svea’s frown eases and she passes the bundled cape to the waitress.

Nike smiles to himself, picks his glass up and walks over to Svea’s table.

“You tore the buckle off, didn’t you?” he says. “I’m Nike, son of free will. Mind if I sit here?”

Svea grunts. She doesn’t offer him a chair but she doesn’t tell him to beat it either, so Nike takes his chances and sits. “Was it that obvious?” Svea asks begrudgingly.

“Not really. I just used to be big on capes myself,” Nike says. “I know what happens when you rip it off like that.”

“Hm,” Svea says. She shifts uncomfortably. “Do you want something?”

“I just wanted to ask how Razi’s doing.”

Svea’s entire demeanour changes. She perks up. Her snake – her familiar – fixates its gaze firmly on Nike. “You’ve met Razi?” she says. “Where? And when?”

“Uh, about two years ago. Far away from here, I don’t remember what the world was called.”

A relieved smile spreads across Svea’s face. “She’s okay… that’s good to hear. How did she look? Does she still carry that menhir around?”

“She looked fine, and yes, she does,” Nike says, somewhat taken aback. “You’re her sister, right? Just how long haven’t you seen her?”

“For nine years!” Svea says. “It’s been such a long time. I expected we would cross roads more often, you know? But either the universe is really big, or…” She breaks off, then continues. “The five of us were supposed to meet up five years ago. But when I got there, the place literally didn’t exist anymore and I couldn’t find anyone… Luckily, Aini planned for two meetings! So I’m heading there right now and I really hope they’re gonna be there.”

“Can I come along with you?”

Svea gives him a surprised look. She coughs, sits back and the friendly spell fades. “Why?” she asks cautiously.

Nike shrugs. “I’d just like to see Razi again.”

Svea looks him up and down a few times. Finally she asks: “How did you meet her?”

“On the road,” Nike says. “She saved a village from being flooded.”

Svea appears thoughtful, then she shrugs her shoulders and says: “Do you have a horse?”

“No, but I can run like one.”

She smiles. “We’ll see about that.”

Svea’s horse is a chestnut morgan and, naturally, it leaves Nike in the dust. The hoophead is afraid the Fire Guardian might leave him behind, but he finds her waiting at the first crossroad not twenty kilometres from the inn.

“I thought you’d give up,” she says simply and hops up into the saddle. “Try to keep up. We’ve got a long way ahead of us.”

It takes them over three weeks to reach the designated meeting spot. During that time, Nike learns almost nothing about Svea. The woman isn’t a talker; she rides and eats in silence, sleeps alone and never parts with her sword. He can tell, however, that she’s very excited to reunite with her family. So he puts in that little extra effort and runs faster than he usually would. Slowly it wears on him. But he can still match the morgan’s speed, granted that Svea doesn’t drive it like crazy.

They’re travelling across a wide grassy plane when Svea stops and points toward the horizon.

“See that tree? That’s where we’re meeting!” she says. “I’ll race you there!”

She pays no heed to Nike’s protests; she spurs her morgan and leaves the hoophead in the dust again. Nike sighs and continues running at his somewhat-higher-than-usual speed. He isn’t going to bust a nut over being impatient.

Svea doesn’t reach the tree before him anyway. He meets her about two thirds of the way as she’s leading her morgan by the bridle. The horse is soaked with sweat, its legs shaking and mouth frothing. Nike falls into step beside them and he can’t deny himself the pleasure of saying: “And that’s why you don’t sprint unless you have to.”

The tree is taller than Nike expected. Huge and ancient, it towers over a small inn. Svea barely wastes time tying her exhausted morgan to a pole before she barges inside. Nike ties the horse properly, though he expects that it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and follows Svea inside.

Immediately he spots a bundle of people with snakes and goggles who are hugging each other and laughing happily. Razi’s there, with her menhir leaning against the wall. Nike counts five goggled people in total and concludes that Svea was the last to arrive.

“You’re late!” Razi says as if on cue. “I’ve already been here for two weeks. Where have you been?”

“It’s not my fault,” Svea says and points at Nike. “He slowed me down.”

Razi glances at him and she smiles widely. “Nike! It’s good to see you.” She makes her way toward him, extending her hand.

“It’s good to see you, too,” Nike says, shaking her hand. To his surprise, Razi clasps the back of his neck and pulls him down toward her. By all means it looks like she’s going to kiss him, but she just bumps her goggles against his eyes. When she pulls away and sees his expression, she starts and chuckles in embarrassment.

“Oh! Sorry, force of habit,” she says, stepping back.

“Hold on,” Svea calls from the huddle and her tone is nothing but jealous. “I was told you’ve met. How close are the two of you exactly?”

“None of your business, sister,” Razi says. “Come here guys, I’ll introduce you.”

Razi’s remaining siblings are a young woman who’s missing half of her limbs, an energetic man who carries her on his hip and a serious man with a sweet smile. Nike forgets immediately who is who, but it doesn’t really matter. He’s offered a spot crammed between Razi and one of her brothers, which suits him just fine. The five Guardians chat as if they didn’t have a care in the world. The taciturn Svea suddenly spins tales like a master storyteller, Razi and her crippled sister banter good-naturedly, and Nike is pretty sure both of the brothers are flirting with him. At some point there’s a hand on his thigh; it’s gone before he can take a look who it belongs to.

As alcohol levels rise, the conversation turns from hard-to-follow to downright confusing. Not only doesn’t Nike know half the terms (why do they keep calling Razi a tyrant?), he also has serious trouble reading the mood. He knows that the eyes in their heads are blind and he should make eye contact with the serpentine familiars instead. But the snake faces seem stony to him. If they emote, he can’t read them. Plus it’s so strange to have the voice coming from another place than below the eyes…

When the five Guardians decide to go outside and have a free-for-all, it comes as a relief more than anything. One of the two brothers lingers behind, fishing for something in his bag.

“Ah, there we go,” he says and pulls out a small book bound between two slates of stone. He offers it to Nike. “If you get bored of watching us goof off, read this.”

“What is it?”

“The history of our world. I copied it from our Wall of Records. Have you read the Wall lately?”

Nike shakes his head.

The man clicks his tongue. “You need to know your history if you want to navigate the future,” he says. “Especially if you’re after Razi.” And he gives him a searching look.

Nike shrugs. “I’ll read it.”

“Do that.”

Nike settles on a bench outside the inn, overlooking the sea of grass which is tinted golden by the drooping sun. In the distance, the five Guardians are preparing for their free-for-all. Nike can see Svea’s burning sword on the ground level and two figures darting about up in the air. He opens the stone-bound book and begins reading.

The history of Ertan (excerpt from the Wall of Records)

The first generation of fifth-age Guardians was born on the planet Ertan.

Ertan was one of the thousands of worlds created by Arven, and perhaps it was because of the creator’s renowned rush that its inhabitants suffered from an inborn, incurable disease. As soon as the eyes of their newborns were exposed to the planet’s atmosphere, they became inflamed and they would fester painfully until the baby went completely blind. The first Ertanians fervently searched for a way to reverse or prevent the process, but it was an impossible task. Some parents fell into despair. They smothered their wailing babies, saying that swift death was a fate better than a lifetime of agony.

But two doctors rose against this dreadful practice. They were a husband and wife, a surgeon called Briar and a physiotherapist called Tyra. They advocated that parents shouldn’t smother their children, but rather provide them as test subject to their experimental research. In response Briar and Tyra were called monsters and their house was tagged with paint and rotten eggs. But in the end, most parents found it easier to entrust their doomed offsprings to the two doctors than to commit an unforgivable sin. And so the Haven, the ghastly research facility, was created.

Few knew what kind of research was conducted in the Haven. Few wanted to know. Over the next three years, sixty-eight babies were taken inside its walls never to be seen again. Briar and Tyra assured everybody that they were working on a cure for the disease, but when a mass grave was found in their backyard, they were nearly lynched by a terrified crowd. Briar, who protected his wife, almost succumbed to his wounds after he got her to safety. Only Tyra’s warm, soft hands saved his life. The two doctors never left the Haven afterward. Ertanians hoped that they would starve to death, but those hopes fell flat. Lights came alive in the Haven’s windows year after year, and the wind carried ungodly screams which made one’s blood freeze.

But, truthfully, the households which had children were no better off. No one could ease the intolerable suffering which the disease brought to infants. Few parents had the strength to go on day after day, swamped with the smell, gore and perpetual screaming. If a woman became pregnant, she would be berated: why did she bring children into this world? It was her fault for not staying clean! It was a better fate for the people of Ertan to disappear from the face of their planet quietly and peacefully.

The public opinion was as split as ever as the people of Ertan argued endlessly. They had been given life by Arven; they shouldn’t waste it simply because it was hard and painful! But in spite of that reassurance, hundreds of pregnant women were abandoned when their time of strife drew near. Such poor lasses couldn’t bear the thought of facing their future alone. They would go into the woods and return some time later, childless. There were no questions asked, but many suspected the truth. The lonely mothers-to-be sought the Haven and gave birth there, leaving the newborn child in the care of Briar and Tyra. Out of all the grim options they had, it seemed like the best. At the very least it gave them hope that their sacrifice contributed to something larger than themselves. In a world which was dying, hope for a better future was their only comfort.

Eventually the lands surrounding the Haven were abandoned and nothing was heard from Briar and Tyra for forty years. The Haven was forgotten while a new, decimated generation of Ertanians grew to adulthood. They were used to living in darkness and constant, head-splitting pain. Those who couldn’t shoulder it went mad or killed themselves. The original generation of Ertanians watched them struggle and they knew it was only a matter of time before death claimed the people of Ertan.

That was when the lost children returned.

There were about a hundred of them, people of all ages between five and forty. They were a strange-looking group. All of them had linen bandages wrapped around their heads, impregnated with something oily which smelled of fish. What was even stranger, each carried an erdack viper curled atop their shoulders.

When they reached the first settlement, its few inhabitants hid in their houses and watched them suspiciously. Eventually an old man, once created by Arven to be a soldier, stepped forward to speak:

“Who are you, viper-bearers?”

A woman, the oldest among the bunch, answered him:

“We are the children of Briar and Tyra. Our honoured parents have died and we have decided to leave our home. Don’t be scared! We bring joyful news. Mother and father have found a way to fight back pain and turn destiny. They have returned our sight.”

The old soldier sneered at her. “Well then, tell me, viper-bearer. How many fingers am I holding up?”

The viper resting on the woman’s shoulder raised its head and looked straight at the old man. After a tense moment, the woman said: “You do not have any fingers left to hold up.”

“She can see!” the old man cried out. “Who are you?”

The woman smiled and said: “We are the children you have once lost. Will you give us food and shelter?”

The lost children were immediately taken in. To the raring Ertanians they spoke of the wondrous result of their parents’ research. Through heart-wrenching trial and error Briar and Tyra had learned to implant a young erdack viper into a newborn child’s body so that it became an additional limb. The viper’s spinal cord was connected to the child’s at the back of the child’s neck, so the child could see everything the viper saw, smell everything the viper smelled and feel everything the viper felt. They called their fifth limb a familiar, and through its clear red eyes they had regained sight. They held they key to Ertan’s future, for Briar and Tyra had taught them everything they knew. The two cursed doctors had made sure to pass their blood-stained redemption on.

The lost children immediately set to work. They found all women in the neighbourhood who were delivering soon and split up into groups of two which attended each of them. The lost children who had learned from Briar had nimble, strong hands that never shook. The ones who had learned from Tyra had warm, soft hands that took pain away. When a woman’s time was nearing, the two children would find an erdack viper’s nest and collect its eggs. As soon as the woman went into labour, the eggs were placed under a hot lamp. The one that hatched just before the baby was born was selected to become the familiar.

As soon as the baby slid out of the womb, his or her bright blue eyes dimmed and the baby began crying with pain which would eventually turn into burning agony. But before that could come to pass, a child of Tyra wrapped clean linen cloth soaked with painkilling oil around the child’s head. This eased the pain and lulled the newborn to fall asleep on the mother’s belly. Then the child of Briar cut the newborn’s back open and connected its spinal chord to the viper’s. After the wounds were sewn shut, the child of Tyra taught the parents how to exercise with their child so that the familiar’s attachment succeeded. Six weeks later, it was decided whether the child would live or die. Half of the operations failed; the children first became paralysed from the neck down and then their hearts stopped beating. The infants who survived were blessed by the following words before the lost children moved on to another expecting mother:

“In the name of Patrick, Gloria, Neve, Maki, Callum, Undi, Chelsea, Rowan, Lawrence, Zakariya, Jerry, Maddie, Robbie, Carlan, Marshall, April, Sharon, Josh, Caleb, Farmer, Abby, Tabitha, Katherine, Keller, Kian, Aliyah, Harta, Herbert, Jose, Fiona, Hason, Dewey, Tommy, Felix, Carolie, Willard, Marie, Connor, Megan, Saman, Hanson, Frost, Isabelle, Iqra, Arjun, Isaiah, Fella, Yusuf, Ronan, Anna, Olive, Ruby, Kieron, House, Renee, Melody, Kyle, Weeks, Andrew, Dominica, Lorenzo, Polly, Connie, Rich, Jac, Kaitlyn, Hassan, Rachael, Edgar, Lachlan, Bella, Eve, Helena, Amaan, Stephen, Hanna, Sam, Diana, Hano, Sana, Scarlett, Austin, Jenna, Omar, Ibrahim, Vanessa, Eden, Maximilian, Sloan, Claoud, Hafsa, Khadija, Jane, Curtis, Dein, Louise, Edrei, Tristan, Amy, Ashley, Craig, Ismail, Kye, Hampton, Aiden, Theresa, Rebekah, Gray, Ellie-May, Alpha, Mathew, Edda, Lois, Owain, Yasin, Annath, Sara, Seth, Hannah, Heather, Bettar, Jack, Ray, Ted, Homer, Jimmy, Otto, Clara, Ellis, Will, Andre, Luke, Kane, Harmony, Tanisha, Frazer, Jay, Alannah, Martin, Courtney, Geron, Annie, Daniel, Aadam, Adil, Louisa, Reynolds, Rhonda, Reuben, Autumn, Carl, Sophia, Zara, Orla, Louis, Ricky, Jonathan, Carrie, Angus, Darcie, Euan, Elohi, Mohamed, Muhammad, Julian, Adam, Tilly, Walters, Dean, Robert, Droa, Jodie, Maryam, Donald, Sabrina, Olivia, Veronica, Allen, Natalia, Calvin, Troy, Charles, Mooney, Elizabeth, Chris, Harrell, Lily, Phoebe, Aron, Freya, Katie, Sienna, May, David, Jesse, Rowe, Summer, Montgomery, Tallulah, Hermione, Amira, Josie, Meghan, Kaitlin, Ebony, Kira, Joel, Kirby, Alfie, Lacey, Herman, Simpson, Betty, Dale, Zach, Christine, Phillip, Daniella, Matteo, Warren, Umar, Max, Kitty, Gethin, Shawn, Georgie, Bonnie, Jasper, Harold, Ash, Kathleen, Rita, Morgan, Abida, Benjamin, Zack, Sadie, Jean, Byron, Savannah, Joshua, Carver, Frankie, Catherine, Erica, Mccarty, Roman, Cerys, Paula, Alexander, Gary, Solomon, Haleema, Joe, Elve, Maxwell, Myers, Steven, Carmen, Morse, Chavez, Neal, Robin, Harriet, Lee, Evangeline, Elsa, Nadia, Jake, Lena, Rhea, Fleur, Anastasia, Lucia, Lucas, Marvin, Porter, Alvarado, Nina, Mark, Harriy, Sana, Clay, Rafael, Owen, Leonie, Patricia, Lauren, Scott, Harris, Estrada, Jessie, Keith, Chloe, Henry, Hellon, Alicia, Linda, Vincent, Aaliyah, Sarah, Evan, Jeremy, Mitchell, Russell, Baldwin, Tianna, Willie, Jeffrey, Mariam, Kenneth, Leonard, Fred, Eva, Nora, Kyran, Keira, Alice, Holly, Musa, Naomi, Zoe, Everett, Feli, Tanya, David, Roy, Francis, Lindsey, Moha, Alyssa, Ronald, Beleth, Frederick, Dennis, Boyer, Tia, Stella, Natasha, Vaughn, Rangel, Ernest, Alec, Adrian, Carlos, Ciara, Dominic, Zak, William, Libby, Freddy, Claudia, Jenson, Molly, Christina, Farhan, Jack, Leroy, George, Vincent, Margie, Ellie, Oliver, Hussain, Conner, Dalton, Terry, Hasan, Edoni, Nannie, Jacob, Rhys, Aisha, Susan, Yahya, Hashim, Charlotte, Tyler, Potts, Ebomui, Cooper, Iona, Cox, Cara, Noah, Bethany, Rosa, Faye, Eleanor, Monica, Irene, Theo, Aoife, Stefan, Maxim, Vang, Hatfield, Jim, Kayleigh, Jason, Elias, Malaki, Trasta, Nicolas, Ciaran, Hartfa, Aaron, Ralph, Haroon, Abellia, Velaz, Eddie, Poppy, Penelope, Gerald, Erika, Peari, Connolly, Abdul, Calum, Stanley, Aliya, Higgi, Hamma, Ibra, Grover, Tony, Samuel, Lloyd, Aysha, Zachary, Bernard and Gemma, blessed be thy eyes. May you live happily.”

The lost children spread their craft and hope among the people of Ertan like wildfire. A decade later, there wasn’t a child who didn’t receive a familiar at birth. It was unfortunate that adults and older children couldn’t undergo the operation. Their nervous systems were already set in stone so they would never learn how to use the familiar. But even they benefited from the painkilling oil Tyra had invented, which was now brewed by the gallons. As new generations of surgeons and physiotherapists were trained, the death toll of the familiar implantation decreased until, two hundred years later, it was nearly zero. Briar and Tyra’s blood-curdling research had saved the people of Ertan from extinction.

The Haven stands to this day, as if the ground refused to take it. It is haunted by the endless suffering and deepest pains of the 433 children who died at the hands of Briar and Tyra before their research was complete. Their names are still recited six weeks after every familiar implantation. It’s a chore more than anything, but Briar’s and Tyra’s followers (now called simply briars and tyras) insist on it. During their medical training they are taught to always honour the sacrifice, and so they recite “the four hundred names” in spite of the annoyed and bored parents. Every now and then Ertanians try to abolish the tradition of the four hundred names, but they are never successful. After all, briars and tyras hold a large political power, since every Ertanian needs their medical attention lest the dark age resume.

Now a few days into the fifth age, an Ertanian woman called Kafendre fell gravely sick. She had always been healthy and strong, but the illness tore at her body like a savage animal. Her skin lost all colour and her voice turned raspy. On the third night, Kafendre took her final breath in her husband’s arms and fell still. The man, called Stein, began mourning. But in a minute he felt her stir again.

“I’m sorry,” Kafendre said with a faint smile, “I must have fallen asleep.” Stein embraced her and thanked Quater for the miracle, his tears of sorrow turning into tears of happiness.

Kafendre’s state began improving until, a month later, she was as healthy as a fiddle. Another three months passed and she told her husband that she was with a child.

They named their first daughter Raznedeadra, Razi for short. Giving her such a long unpronounceable name was Stein’s idea. His family had a long-standing tradition of embarrassing their children by ridiculous names; Stein’s full name was Steinelwardumrist. Since he couldn’t get back at his father, he vented his frustration by insisting Raznedeadra was a wonderful name, and thus perpetuated his family’s tradition.

As every Ertanian child, Razi received a familiar at birth. She fumbled with the dark purplish viper at first, but as every child, before long she learned to move it just as well as her arms and legs. On her third birthday, she got her first goggles. Airtight, black and sleek, they had been invented some fifty years prior to replace the traditional linen bandages. They had since become an irreplaceable accessory for all but the most old-fashioned Ertanians. Their inside was filled to the brim with painkilling oil (much improved since the times of Briar and Tyra). They allowed no air in, which eased the inflammation, and they protected the “other eyes” from mechanical harm. Razi wore her goggles proudly and never took them off.

Half a year later, Razi got an even greater gift – a sister called Sveasilovudie, Svea for short. Stein and Kafendre immediately noticed that their two daughters had something in common. Razi had a spiral-shaped birthmark on the top of her left hand. Stein and Kafendre had dismissed it as a strange coincidence, but now Svea had a birthmark on the same place as well, only of a different shape. The concerned parents sought the advice of Ertanian elders. Thus they learned that their children sported the ancient symbols of earth and fire. It was quite possible, the elders said, that Razi and Svea would grow up to become the Guardians of Earth and Fire. To that Stein and Kafendre replied that both of their daughters were completely normal children. But the elders warned them that even though their powers hadn’t manifested yet, they could come to light any day. The two of them should be ready. There was no telling what would happen.

Razi grew to love Svea fiercely, and though she was still a wee girl herself, she always wanted to take care of her. One day Kafendre left the little Svea in Razi’s care while she went outside to hang the laundry. She was nearly done when she heard screams from the house. She rushed back and found Razi cradling her sister, rocking her back and forth.

“Mama!” Razi cried out when she saw Kafendre. “Svea messed up her bandages. Help me, she’s crying so much…”

Kafendre stopped only to stroke the back of Razi’s neck and then ran off to get fresh bandages and painkilling oil. When she returned, she was surprised that Svea was crying much softer than before. She prepared everything for the redressing and braced herself before she took the creased bandages off as quickly as she could. She was prepared for blood-curdling screams when the air touched Svea’s other eyes. But the baby didn’t wail half as loudly as she should have. While Razi was holding Svea up, Kafendre wrapped new bandages around Svea’s little head and wondered at this stroke of good luck. Then she noticed that something else was off. Razi’s eyes – the eyes of her familiar – weren’t red. They were as green as emeralds.

When Kafendre finished redressing Svea’s other eyes, Razi lay her little sister down carefully and curled up around her. “I’m so tired, mama,” she said before she fell swiftly asleep.

Kafendre was perplexed by this episode. She told everything to Stein in the evening and they both decided to wait until Razi woke up from her deep slumber. When she finally stirred and opened her eyes, they asked:

“What did you do, little girl? What happened with Svea?”

Razi replied: “I just wanted her to stop crying… Where is she? Is she okay? I have to see her…” She wouldn’t calm down until she made sure Svea was alright. Then she put her tiny finger to her tiny lips and said: “Mama? How is your back?”

“Like always,” Kafendre said. “It hurts but it’s nothing bad.”

“Let me have a look,” Razi insisted.

Kafendre smiled and sat on the bed. Razi climbed up behind her and ran her tiny hands along her mama’s hurting back. She blinked a few times… and her eyes turned green again.

“I can help you,” she said. “Hold still.”

Kafendre felt a strange warmth permeating her stiff muscles, like she was sitting with her back to the fire. Her back pains, which had started back when she was bearing Razi, began melting away. She sighed with relief. A few minutes later she felt better than she had in years. Finally Razi yawned and crawled onto her lap.

“I’m tired,” she said, curled up and fell asleep again.

That was when Stein and Kafendre came to believe that their children would truly grow up to become the Guardians.

As time went on, both Razi and Svea became quite the handfuls. Razi was bossy and overprotective while Svea was moody and defiant. Soon after finding her talent for healing, Razi discovered her ability of telekinesis as well. Nothing was safe from her grasp. Often she would steal cookies hidden in the topmost shelves. Even more often she would drop things and break them, so she was soon forbidden her to use telekinesis inside the house. This, of course, didn’t stop Razi, who always knew better. Secretly she began teaching her sister to use her fire powers as well. But when they set the bedsheets on fire and Svea began crying with terror instead of dousing it, even Razi had to admit that everything had its time.

“Mama, when will you give us more brothers and sisters?” Razi would ask Kafendre every once in a while. “There’s supposed to be five of us.” She counted on her fingers: “Earth, fire, water, air and invisible forces.”

And Kafendre would smile and stroke Razi’s head. “One day, little earthling.”

Razi learned the sad truth when a tyra visited the house and she overheard his conversation with Kafendre. The illness which had once nearly slain Kafendre hadn’t disappeared from her body. It seemed like it never would. It lurked in her muscles and internal organs, waiting for its opportunity. It was too risky for her to have any more children, the tyra said, and Kafendre nodded sadly.

Hearing this, the seven-year-old Razi’s heart filled with compassion and defiance. She wouldn’t let fate toy with her family like that! There were always five Guardians, one for each element, and this incarnation would be no different!

At the dinner, Razi announced: “Mama, papa, I want to become a tyra.”

Stein chuckled and patted the back of Razi’s neck. “You have to finish school first.”

“No, I don’t. I’ll become a tyra instead so that I can help mama have more babies,” Razi said with a conviction only a child can muster. Stein and Kafendre looked at each other. Then Kafendre smiled.

“You will make for a wonderful tyra, Razi,” she said. “You have the warmest, softest hands I have ever known.”

Thus Razi’s tyra education began. While Svea dilly-dallied about, picking fights and burning everyone but herself, her older sister studied diligently. Every Friday evening she would come home from cram school and give her mother a relaxing massage. Her eyes sparkled green as she healed all that she could. Afterward she would slump and sleep for most of Saturday. But her hard work paid off. Year after year, Kafendre felt herself grow stronger. And on Razi’s tenth birthday, Kafendre whispered to her that she would have another sibling.

Kafendre nearly miscarried thrice but Razi saved her every time. Despite her slim age, she was becoming the family’s tyra and one of the town’s most renown citizens. Her hands were the softest and the warmest, but her will was iron and her word was law. It was thanks to her tireless efforts that eventually Kafendre gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Stein named him Itsellenisaan, Itsel for short.

Itsel was still tiny when Kafendre’s belly swelled again and a mere year and a day later, another boy followed suit. This one was named Insattamirko, Insa for short. Itsel and Insa grew inseparable. They shared everything, from clothes and food to first words. They would fight just as often as get along swell, and it was in those fights that they first called upon their elemental powers. As their birthmarks had already betrayed, Itsel was the Guardian of Air and Insa was the Guardian of Water. Itsel, being the older one, always had a bit of an upper hand, but Insa was a slippery thing (literally). They were best friends from the time they could crawl.

Seeing that Kafendre had her hands full with the two boys, Razi stopped asking for her fifth sibling for a time. But when Itsel and Insa began attending pre-school (together in the same class, because Itsel wouldn’t leave Insa’s side), she began suspecting that despite her selfless help her mother wasn’t keen on bearing the last Guardian. Another year trickled past and Razi confronted her mother angrily. She had to deliver the Guardian of Invisible Forces! What Razi didn’t expect was that Kafendre would burst out angrily:

“Insolent girl! That is no way to speak to your mother! It isn’t my duty to give you another sibling, and it isn’t your right to demand one. I never wanted to have so many children. Your father and I barely earn enough to feed the four of you. You will not ask me to bend to your every whim, not in such a tone!”

Stunned and on the verge of tears, Razi ran away. She returned very late, and found Kafendre awake with worry in the kitchen.

“Mum,” Razi said, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know we were falling on hard times. I can get a part-time job to help you and dad out. I’m not a full tyra yet, but I’m sure people will find my healing useful.”

Kafendre embraced her daughter and said: “Your healing demands you give a part of yourself. Don’t sell it to strangers. I’m sorry for shouting at you. You don’t have to get a job, love. Just focus on school and be patient. I don’t know when I’ll be ready to give you your last sibling. But when I am, you’ll know it first.”

When Razi turned fourteen, she was faced with a difficult choice. As a gifted tyra student and an emerging celebrity, she was offered a scholarship at the Haven Medical School. Located near the ruins of the ancient Haven, it was the most prestigious school of Ertan. It was also quite literally on the other end of the world. If Razi accepted the scholarship, she would have to leave her mother behind, and she just didn’t know how well Kafendre would hold up without her regular healing. In the end, however, she decided that her family was strong enough to get by without her. Seen off by half of her hometown, Razi got on a train and left.

Without Razi’s stern leadership, things got a little wilder in Stein and Kafendre’s household. Svea had always had a thing for protecting the weak and unfortunate, but usually she only targeted bullies. Now she managed to get involved with an actual crime syndicate, and on one of her vigilante escapades she got in way over head. She would have been hurt badly if she didn’t suddenly conjure a fiery sword out of thin air. Both she and the boys thought that the sword was madly cool; Stein and Kafendre disagreed. What was worse, Svea then took it into her head to become a swordswoman. Her parents betrayed her from such a career, arguing that she was still bad at controlling her fire powers and she was likely to hurt someone. But Svea scoffed at that sentiment. She needed to learn fighting precisely so that she would get better at controlling her fire! And thus her noble quests added another crease to her parents’ foreheads.

On the next autumn, just as Razi’s third year at the Haven Medical began, Kafendre fell ill. Stein recognised the symptoms right away – it was the same sudden illness that had nearly killed her once. Doctors couldn’t help her then and they couldn’t help her now either. A letter was sent to Razi immediately, but it was a lost cause; there was no way she would arrive in time. The illness progressed just as quickly and violently as the first time. On the morning of the second day, the six-year-old Itsel disobeyed his parents and took to the air. He commanded the winds to carry him to Razi’s school, fast like an arrow. He got lost, however, and he could find his way neither to the school nor home.

On the third night, Kafendre took her final breath in her husband’s arms and fell still. Stein, Svea and Insa began mourning. But in a minute, the fiery Svea raised her head.

“What’s this?” she said. “Who is this?”

There was no response. Stein was about to chide his daughter for being disrespectful at her mother’s deathbed when Insa said: “I can feel him, too. Who are you, stranger? Why have you come?”

“That’s no stranger,” Svea said in awe. “That is Quater himself.”

And then, for the second time in his life, Stein felt his wife’s dead body stir in his arms. Kafendre opened her eyes and said: “Oh dear… did I fall asleep again?”

By the time the terrified Razi arrived, Kafendre was well on her way to recovery. Razi tended to her first. After she slept it off, she took Svea along on a journey to find the lost Itsel. The three siblings returned a few weeks later. Svea refused to dismiss her sword from then on, and instead she took it with her everywhere she went.

In the safety of her home, Razi broke down. The worst had come to pass – her mother had nearly died and Itsel had gone through his own fair share of hardships. All because Razi had left her family. She swore that she would never leave them again. Even without finishing her studies, she had enough experience to find a job as a tyra apprentice. It would mean throwing away all of her effort until now, but she couldn’t bear the thought that Kafendre’s brush with death was her fault. Her family tried to talk her out of it, but Razi knew better… like she always did.

When Razi discovered not three months later that Kafendre was with a child, she couldn’t help but recall the circumstances of her own birth. She spoke of it to no one, but a dark suspicion took root in her heart.

Kafendre’s fifth and last child was a strong girl. Stein named her Aintdonnensali, Aini for short. Aini was everyone’s darling, Itsel and Insa’s most of all. The boys loved playing with her and took her along almost everywhere they went. Things were really looking up for a change. But then another disaster struck.

While Itsel, Insa and Aini were playing hide-and-seek in the woods, a hungry beast came upon them. It sneaked up on the five-year-old Aini and leaped, sinking its fangs into her familiar. Aini cried out in shock and pain. The best snapped its jaws and broke the viper’s neck. Aini’s world went dark and she nearly fainted. But Ertanians were taught to weather pain from early childhood. Aini’s element called to her; sparks danced along her arms as she was preparing for the beast’s next strike. She heard it coming and assumed it would go for the neck again. But she was wrong. In the next second, Aini was on the ground and the beast was chewing on her legs as if they were bubblegum.

Overcoming faintness once again, Aini concentrated all of her will to hurt in her hands and fumbled about. But be it her inexperience or confusion, she only managed to jolt the beast and make it angry. The next thing she knew, her left arm was being shredded by the beast’s claws. Her familiar followed suit, ripped out at the base of her neck. Her consciousness fading, Aini knew that her last remaining right hand had to kill now. She didn’t realise that her brothers had heard her fighting and were coming to the rescue. Blinded by pain, she didn’t see Itsel blow the beast away with a powerful gust of air. She didn’t see Insa run toward her and take her outstretched hand. All she saw as the built-up electricity discharged into her brother was white light. Then she finally passed out.

Itsel cried out in horror when Insa crumpled to the ground. He turned away from the toppled beast and dashed to his siblings. While he was trying to rouse his brother, the beast shook its head and got to its feet again. Then it charged at the meddling boy.

Itsel thrust his arms forward, trying to blow the beast back again. But the beast dug its claws into the ground and advanced despite the howling gale. Itsel shoved the wind harder, but his heart was wavering with fear for his brother and sister. The beast swept its sharp claws and carved up both his forearms. As his left wrist was nearly taken off, Itsel realised that the beast could slay him there and then. And if he fell, there would be no one left to save Insa and Aini.

The courage to defy death brings terrible strength. The next thing Itsel knew, trees were breaking under the gale’s might. The beast flew up into the air; it lolled and turned jerking its legs uselessly. With a vengeful shout, Itsel sent it plummeting down on one of the broken trunks. The splintered wood pierced the beast. It convulsed and screeched but it couldn’t wrench itself free. As soon as Itsel saw that it wasn’t going anywhere anymore, he stilled the tempest and rushed back to his siblings.

“Aini, Insa!” he called, but he got no response. He lulled the winds around him to a complete still and listened close. Neither of his siblings were breathing. “No…” he sobbed. “No! I have to get Razi!”

A pair of wings sprouted from his shoulder blades and he sprang into the air. Faster than a hawk, he made his way toward the doctor’s office where Razi worked. He found her and the doctor taking a break under a spruce tree.

“Razi!” he shouted. “You have to come with me! Aini and Insa are dying!”

Razi leapt to her feet. “Where?”

“Wait, take me with you!” the doctor said, but Itsel had already gripped Razi’s arms, swept his wings and risen into the air.

When the two Guardians arrived at the site of carnage, Razi immediately set to work. She instructed Itsel to press Insa’s chest hard and regularly while she attended the mangled Aini. After a while the smitten Insa stirred and coughed, but Aini remained motionless. Razi wiped her brow and took her shirt off, wrapping Aini in it.

“Itsel, take her to the doctor’s office,” she said, exhausted. “I can’t do any more.”

Both Aini and Insa survived the incident, but with dire consequences. The town’s briars had to amputate both of Aini’s legs, one above the knee, one below it, her left arm above the elbow and her familiar entirely. Insa was treated with severe lightning burns all along his right hand and forearm; the meandering scar never faded and he lost most sensitivity in the hand. Itsel didn’t escape unscathed either. The gashes in his forearms, aggravated by carrying both Razi and Aini, healed into broad angry scars. But neither of the brothers complained. It was Aini they worried about.

After the little girl woke up, she spent most of her time lying motionless. She would get up for food and drink, physical needs and rehabilitative exercises, but other than that she had lost all interest in the world around her. One evening Razi told her:

“Aini? I know that everything looks dark to you right now. But you have to go on. It isn’t over yet. After you heal, we can fit you with prosthetics. I don’t know if anyone will give you a new familiar, but if any briar will, I’ll find them. You can still lead a great life. So don’t give up.”

Turning her head toward her sister’s voice, Aini smiled and said: “I haven’t given up. I’m just looking at all these things. I didn’t notice them before. They’re so beautiful, you wouldn’t believe.”

“How?” Razi asked. “Your eyes are gone.”

Aini shrugged. “I don’t know. But they are all around me. I can see you, too. Faintly… but I can.”

As Razi promised, after a time Aini was given prosthetics. She didn’t like them; she said they were hard and made her clumsy. Whenever she could, she would take them off and ask her family to carry her around instead. Razi didn’t like to see it and Stein, Kafendre and Svea were usually busy, but Itsel and Insa obliged happily. They took Aini along to school, brought her to her private lessons and took care of everything she needed. It was little trouble; Aini was always quiet and calm, strangely mature for her age just like Razi had once been. Before Itsel and Insa knew it, Aini had become their leader despite her age and state. She had a way about her, like she could see more than others. She never got another familiar, but it was like she didn’t need one in the first place.

In time Razi noticed a curious thing. Aini was slowly taking the reigns over her family from her hands. Even the fiery Svea was accommodating Aini’s whims, even though she usually deferred to no one but Razi. Presently the oldest and the youngest sisters began butting heads. At first Razi couldn’t believe she actually had to fight for authority with a mere child. Aini was just eight! But there was no way around it. Aini was an alpha and as the Guardian of Invisible Forces, she asked for her rightful position as the leader of the Guardians.

The two sisters’ rivalry grew into an animosity that no one was happy about. The family, and by extension the entire town, became polarised. Some supported Razi, a well-known tyra with the warmest, softest hands you have ever seen. But those who met Aini, perched proudly atop Itsel or Insa’s shoulders, couldn’t help but be swayed by her charm. Where Razi was strict, Aini was opportunistic. Where Razi offered a second chance, Aini made a deterrent example. Where Razi went alone, Aini moved in a group.

One winter Sunday at breakfast, Aini said: “Razi, will you carry me to Quater’s shrine?”

Razi frowned and replied: “I’ll go there with you, but only if you walk on your own two feet.”

Aini sighed. “Very well. If I slip on the ice, will you catch me?”

“I will.”

When they reached Quater’s shrine, Aini sat in the snow and unfastened her prosthetic legs.

“Why have we come here?” Razi asked.

“You always say that I’m just a little girl,” Aini said, looking up to the bleak sky. “I want to show you why that isn’t true. Let’s wait here. He promised that he would come today.”

They waited together, among the bare trees, by the quiet shrine. When they grew cold, Aini fastened her legs on and they played catch. It was nice, just the two of them. It was like they could get along if they had nothing to fight over.

After a time Aini raised her head. “He’s here.”

Razi looked around. “Who?”

“You’ll see.”

It took a few seconds before Razi gasped and looked to the shrine. “No.”

“Oh yes.” Aini walked toward the shrine and bowed. “Hello, creator. Thank you for coming here on my behalf.”

A distant thought, like the sun’s warm rays, touched Razi’s consciousness. Hello. Welcome. It was wordless and indistinct, and yet so majestic that Razi sank to her knees at once.

“Quater,” she whispered. The warm thought lingered for a while more, then disappeared. And yet, Quater’s presence didn’t fade. Both the sisters gazed at the shrine, Razi disbelieving, Aini thoughtful.

“He says we were supposed to be born together,” Aini said. “When mother first became pregnant. She had twins, me and you.”

“What happened to you?” Razi asked, tongue leaden.

Aini shrugged. “You’re the doctor. You should know.”

Razi looked down.

“He’s also angry with us,” Aini said. “We have lingered at the same spot for too long. The only one who has done any good in the world was Svea, and she was always scolded for it.”

“I have done some good in the world!” Razi said. “I’m a tyra. My hands take pain away.”

Aini cocked her head to the side, as if listening, and said, as if repeating: “You aren’t a tyra. You haven’t even finished high school. And you have only ever healed mother, father and the four of us. The good you have spread was that of your own hands, not that of your element.”

“You know that’s complicated!” Razi said. “I’m still banned by the city council from doing any construction works because I’d rob people of their jobs. And don’t you remember what happened when Itsel and Insa tried to control the weather? Svea’s element is simply good for nothing but punishment, fire is that way!”

“You’re right, our hands are tied while we remain here,” Aini said. “That’s exactly why we should leave this place and help people elsewhere. Quater created us to protect his creation. We have to fulfil his intent.”

“And leave our home?” Razi asked, pale.

“No,” Aini said. “Leave Ertan.”

Razi stared at the shrine, wordless. “No,” she uttered finally. “If I leave Ertan, mother will…”

“You don’t know that,” Aini said. “And even if you did, there’s nothing you can do about it. We were meant to help all of Quater’s people. We always were. There’s nothing you can do. It’s our destiny.”

Razi shook her head silently. Aini turned her back to the shrine and went to hug her.

“We don’t have to go today,” she said. “Or tomorrow. There are still things we need to finish here. I have to learn to walk properly and Itsel and Insa should finish school.” She smiled. “The same goes for you, actually. Quater wishes that you become a real tyra. That scholarship had better still be valid.”

Razi sobbed into her sister’s embrace. “Aini, I don’t know if I can do it.”

“That’s why you have me,” Aini said. “Trust me. I can see where this road goes. It’s long and winding, but everything will turn out for the best in the end.”

And thus the long fight was finally over. Aini, by then ten years old, became the Guardian leader and spokesperson while Razi left for Haven Medical to finish her studies. A year and a half later Razi, Itsel and Insa graduated. On the day of Razi’s 30th birthday, the five Guardians said goodbye to their parents and left Ertan.

Nike leans back against the bench and stares at the red sky for a long time.

The sun has long set when the Guardians return to the inn. The little Aini (not so little anymore, Nike thinks) is riding atop her brother’s shoulders. Nike checks the man’s arms and finds an angry meandering scar extending from the fingertips up to the elbow. That’s… Insa, then. The one who had given him the book. Itsel and Razi are carrying Svea between them. The Fire Guardian trips and curses; it seems like she can’t put weight on one of her legs. She collapses on a chair, leans back and groans. Wordlessly Nike passes her his glass of beer. She says thanks and drinks thirstily.

“What happened?” Nike asks.

“What does it look like?” Razi retorts. “She sprained her ankle! Where is the… oh nevermind, I’ll do it myself. Here, bite into this.” She hands Svea a roll of bandage. “Itsel, Insa, hold her. Svea, are you ready? Okay, one, two, three.”

There’s a dull crack and Svea grunts and pales. She doesn’t cry out or whimper, however. She just starts taking deep breaths.

“Good, that was the worst of it,” Razi says, palpating the swollen ankle. “Give me a moment to bandage your foot and I’ll heal you right afterward.”

While Razi’s working, Aini scoots closer to Nike. She nods toward the stone-bound book on the table before him. “I see Insa’s taken some liberties,” she says quietly so the others don’t overhear. “What do you think of our people’s history?”

“It’s gruesome,” Nike says.

“It is,” Aini agrees. “And what do you think of our history?”

“The five of you? I don’t know what to think. I barely know any of you.” Nike pauses. “Is everything in here true?”

Aini shrugs. “It’s the Wall of Records. It doesn’t lie.”

“So you nearly killed Insa once?”

“I did.”

“And you can speak to Quater?”

“I can. Funny you should ask in that order.”

“And your mother died twice?”

There’s a noticeable pause before Aini says: “She did. But let me ask you something in return. Why did Insa give you this book?”

“He said I should know your history if I’m after Razi,” Nike says. He looks over at the Earth Guardian. She doesn’t seem to hear them, being utterly focused on healing Svea’s ankle.

“I see,” Aini says. She raises her voice back to normal level and says: “Insa. Why did you give Nike that book?”

Insa shrugs. “I thought he might get bored.”

Nike can practically hear Aini rolling her eyes when she says: “Sure, so you let him read the four hundred names. Don’t lie to me, Insa. Why did you give him the book?”

Everyone looks at Insa at that. The Water Guardian seems to shrink under their stares. “I… ugh, fine! It’s because I know who Nike is. Alright? I read about him on the Wall of Records. It didn’t seem fair that I know everything about him and he doesn’t know anything about us. So I thought I might level the ground.”

“Oh,” Aini says with interest and turns to back Nike. “So you also enjoy the privilege of having your most personal secrets divulged by the Wall?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Nike says. “I haven’t read it in a long time.”

“Which section are in?” Itsel asks.

Nike plays with his glass and suddenly he’s tempted to lie. He doesn’t care for the drama his answer will elicit. He doesn’t care for what Insa has read about him on the Wall. He just wants to be Nike, son of free will, unburdened by whatever he was once created to be… and whom he lost along the way.

Then he laughs at himself, and he says: “Hoborg’s section. I’m from the Neverhood.”

The five Guardians fall silent.

“Insa,” Aini says finally. “I’ll ask one more time. Why did you give Nike that book?”

Insa sighs. “Because he knew the previous generation, let their names rot forever. I wanted to make it clear that we aren’t like them.”

To Nike’s surprise, Aini laughs. She’s got a nice laugh, like jingle bells. “That’s why?” she asks. “Silly Insa! Of course he knows we aren’t like them! You’d have to be stupid to think we are anything like the Neverhood generation. I made very sure of that.”

“I don’t know,” Razi pipes up, looking up from her work on Svea’s ankle. “When I met Nike for the first time, he asked if I remembered anything from my previous life.”

“And?” Aini says.

“I yelled at him.”

“As you should have,” Aini nods. “Very well, let’s put this behind us! Insa, is there anything we should know from Nike’s history?”

Before Nike can stop Insa, the man nods vigorously and says: “Yes. Who is Klogg, really?”

Nike draws a blank for a second. “Why do you ask?” he says finally.

“Because it’s Klogg who destroyed the Emperor, and no one knows how! The Wall says you and Klogg travelled the universe together for centuries. I can’t believe I came upon a Neverhoodian of all people. How old are you? I wouldn’t guess more than thirty, but that’s the thing with you immortals…”

“Excuse my brother,” Itsel says, grabbing Insa by the familiar and tugging him backward, “he’s a total historian geek and he pops a boner whenever he gets wind of new info.”

“No, I don’t-”

“Yeeaah no, I can see what’s happening under the table.”

Aini rolls her eyes. “Boys,” she tells Nike with a smile.

Over the brothers’ bickering Razi asks: “How old are you?”

“Something over 1100,” Nike says. “Closer to 1200 probably.”

Razi whistles. “I can see why you’d lose count at that point.”

Eventually Aini tells Itsel and Insa to take it outside, which they do. When Razi finishes healing Svea, the two sisters bide Aini and Nike good night and they go up the stairs. The innkeeper stops by the table a few minutes later.

“You two should go to sleep, too,” he says. “It’s getting late and tomorrow is another day.” “I’m waiting for my brothers to come back,” Aini says. “Nike?”

“Do you have a free room?” Nike asks.

The innkeeper shakes his head. “I’m afraid this is a tiny establishment. I have two rooms, and they’re taken by your friends. But if you can make do with just a bed, there are six beds and five Guardian so there should still be one left. Let’s see… if the ladies sleep in one room, there should be a free bed in the gentlemen’s room.”

Aini snickers. “Gentlemen,” she repeats.

“That’s fine,” Nike says. “I’ll sleep outside.”

“As you like it.”

When the innkeeper leaves, Aini asks: “Don’t you want to sleep together with Razi? I was actually sleeping with Itsel and Insa. You can have the bed in the ladies room, no problem.”

Nike huffs. “Why do you all keep insisting that Razi and I have something going on? Seriously, we met once. For a day.”

“Ah yes, so she says, too,” Aini says. “But we all saw how she greeted you.” She pats the back of her neck. “You wouldn’t know, but this is a special place to us Ertanians. If you took someone’s familiar and jerked real hard, you could rip it right out. I should know,” she says dryly, running her hand over her bare throat. “People get very anxious when a stranger touches their familiar. And the greeting Razi used, you know…” She indicates pulling someone close and bumping foreheads with them. “…it’s pretty much only for family and lovers. So we all assumed that you and Razi had something going on and met more than once.”

“Huh,” Nike says. “I wonder why she did that. We really are just friends.”

“Maybe she was excited from meeting Svea.”

“Maybe.”

It’s then that Itsel and Insa burst back inside. They are covered in brown and green stains as if they have been wrestling in the grass.

“Okay, here’s the deal!” Itsel says.

“We can’t agree on who should have you,” Insa follows up. “And I’m done arguing with this airhead. Nike, who would you rather spend the night with? Pick me and I’ll show you the most skilled tongue on all of Ertan.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Itsel says. “He’d just ask you boring history questions all night! Spend the night with me and we’ll soar the sky! Literally if you want.”

Nike draws a blank once again. Aini snickers into her palm next to him. When she notices Nike’s indignant look, she waves her hand and says: “Don’t mind me. They’re just that way. Well? Which one would you pick?”

“Yes, which one?” Itsel says.

“Neither?” Nike says.

“Dammit!” Itsel says. “It’s like Razi said, he’s a faithful one.”

“I thought he would at least hesitate,” Insa says sadly. “So who’s the girl? Or guy. Or bug. Or whatever you’re choosing over me, Itsel and Razi.”

Nike lifts his hand up. “That must be a misunderstanding. I don’t have anyone.” In his mind, he adds: for the first time in 700 years.

The boys goggle at him. Then they turn to each other.

“He’s single!”

“Yeah I heard him. Are you up to raising the stakes?”

“Hell yeah!”

They turn back to Nike and Itsel says: “Let me rephrase the question. Which one of us will you sleep with tonight?”

“How about both?” Aini suggests. “You’re all going to share the same room anyway.” When Nike gives her a perplexed look, she doesn’t even blush. “What? I grew up with the two of them. This isn’t any worse than half of their ideas.”

Itsel and Insa seem equally perplexed by her suggestion.

“Dude, is that even legal?” Insa asks.

Itsel grins. “Do I hear a forfeit?”

“Hell no. I’m up for it if you are. Not like I’ll see anything new anyway.”

“Yeah. And then Nike can decide which one he liked better!”

The two turn to Nike, awaiting the verdict. The hoophead pinches his forehead.

“What if I’m too tired to sleep with either of you?”

Immediately Insa replies: “Then I call bullshit, because you’re a Neverhoodian. You’re immortal and live forever, a few weeks of fast travel can’t be anything to you.”

Nike smirks at that. “I’m not what I used to be.” He considers their proposal. It’s true that it has been a long time…

“Just so we’re clear,” Aini says, interrupting his thoughts. “They will take no for an answer. They’re powerful things, but they’re professionals. They won’t force themselves on you. They’re just excited that they can fight over something again.”

“What? No!” Itsel says. “Nononono, Nike – it’s just that you’re really hot!”

“You’re so big,” Insa says dreamily. “I can’t help but wonder what else is big.”

Nike has to laugh at that. “You guys know nothing of Neverhoodian bodies, don’t you?”

“No, unfortunately,” Insa says. “The Wall isn’t very informative on that topic.”

“You might be surprised.”

“Are you saying you’ve decided?”

“Yeah, I guess I have,” Nike says, a little surprised at himself. “What the heck. You’re pretty cute. And I don’t want to make this the day I declined a threesome with two Guardians. Especially if one of them promises the most skilled tongue on all of Ertan.”

“Haha, you’re gonna get it,” Insa says, eyes lighting up.

Itsel, on the other hand, crosses his arms. “Insa,” he mopes, “he called us cute!”

“He’s fifty times older than us,” Insa tells his brother. “I think he has a right to call us cute.”

“Wait, doesn’t that make him too old for us? What was the rule, divided by two plus seven?”

“Do I hear a forfeit?”

“You wish!”

The four of them ascend the stairs to the upper floor. Quietly Insa opens the ladies’ room and sets Aini down on the bed. She whispers something to him; Insa smiles and nods. Gently he closes the door again.

“She says we should keep it down, else Razi might come in and tuck us in.”

When Nike wakes up on the following morning, it’s late. It’s late as in, it isn’t morning anymore. He finds a tray with a sweet bun and inconsolably cold coffee next to his bed. There’s a note saying: “Hope we didn’t destroy you too much… I+I” There’s a picture of a rainy cloud next to their initials that has Nike smile. He stretches out and finds that yes, they did destroy him. Utterly and lovably. He’s going to be sore for the entire day, but he supposes it was worth it.

When he comes downstairs, he finds Razi leafing through Insa’s stone book.

“Where is everyone?” Nike asks and sits down gingerly. Razi looks him up and down, her eyes stopping at his middle, and it has him wonder just how much she knows about last night.

“They went for a walk,” she says. “I can’t imagine where. There’s nothing but grass around here.”

“Why didn’t you go with them?”

“Frankly, because Itsel and Insa asked me to stay behind and make sure you were okay.” She shrugs. “But also because I wanted to talk to you.” She reaches out and cups the back of his neck. Comforting heat starts spilling down Nike’s spine as her eyes turn green. He leans on the table and slumps over.

“What did you want to talk about?” he asks.

She doesn’t answer for a while. The heat swirls around Nike’s body. “Mum is dead,” she says finally. “Aini told us in the morning. I thought you should know.”

Nike reaches over and takes her hand. “I’m sorry,” he says.

Razi squeezes back and heaves a deep sigh. “I knew it would happen. It was just a matter of when and… how much it would hurt.” She falls silent. Her familiar turns toward the book and its head moves from side to side lightly. A wry smile twists Razi’s lips. “She spoke of it to no one,” she reads, “but a dark suspicion took root in her heart. Hah, even the stupid Wall knows. You know what? I’ll – I’ll say it. The Wall is probably writing out my thoughts as we speak anyway. I might as well say it out loud.” She sits up straighter. “Quater let mum die because she’s fulfilled what he wanted from her,” she says in a loud, shaky voice. “No more miracles. Just death. I can’t believe… I can’t believe the total dickhead of a child I used to be. I can’t believe all the things I told her, and how she would always smile…”

Gently Nike shrugs off Razi’s hand and embraces her instead. Razi hides in his arms and draws a sob. She fights her tears all the way, crying more with her breath than her eyes. Tentatively Nike rests his palm on the nape of her neck; she stiffens at first, but then she sags against him again. Her familiar slithers on top of his hand, its red eyes open, dry and unblinking.

“Sorry,” Razi says finally, pushing herself upright. “You got the brunt of it. I just can’t cry in front of my family.”

“We’re even now,” Nike says.

Razi smiles faintly as she recalls their first encounter. “True.”

They sit in silence for a while. Then Razi clears her throat and cups the back of Nike’s neck again. “Anyway,” she says as her eyes turn green once more, “that’s not what I wanted to talk about. Back when we first met, you asked me to come to the Neverhood with you. I was wondering if the offer still stands.”

Surprised, Nike says: “I thought you didn’t want to go.”

“I’ve changed my mind. I’ve been wondering if I could learn anything about healing there. Maybe immortal bodies just work differently. Plus,” she says and smiles, “who doesn’t want to see the neighbourhood that lasts forever? It’s said that a swig from the Neverhood fountain will cure any illness.”

Nike chuckles. “They say that?”

“And more,” Razi assures him. “Will you take me there?”

Nike stares at his hands. To return to the Neverhood? So quickly after he left? And with a Guardian of Earth to boot? What would Klogg say to that? What would happen if Razi saw what remained of the Garden? Would she… Would she remember anything?

“Nike,” Razi says, squeezing the nape of his neck very gently. Her hands really are soft and warm.

Nike wipes at his eyes. He doesn’t have the privilege of having no tears to cry. “Are you sure?” he asks. “Everyone who still remembers Arig will probably ask you about him.”

Razi sighs. “I expect as much,” she says. “It’s fine. It’s worth the chance to learn something new. I just don’t want to squander this opportunity. I didn’t think I’d run into you again. I’ve been scolding myself for the past two years for letting you go.”

Nike is silent for a while before he asks: “How long do Ertanians live?”

“About a hundred years. Why?”

He stares at his hands: exactly the same as when he first saw them, over a millennium ago.

“I didn’t think I’d meet you again either,” he says.

He thinks how his hands will be exactly the same a hundred years later, when Razi is long dead and another Guardian of Earth is born, and suddenly he feels very old.

[stardust-and-blades]

I rewatched RWBY and decided rewriting it klance version would spread the pain bc if I had to go through it so do the rest of you Pyrrha: Keith Jaune: Lance Cinder: Lotor Ruby: Allura (bc she tote would have silver eye powers) (I switch out “maiden” for “Knight” simply bc the lore states men can’t be maidens and since Lotor is the antagonist I made an adjustment to fit the lore)

---------

He didn’t want to do it. He didn’t want to leave a distressed, confused Lance behind, his stance screaming to follow Keith rather than turn around to the bigger fight at hand. But what could he do besides the right thing? Besides put his all into delaying the inevitable. At least give enough time for the survivors of beacon to escape. For Lance to make it home in one piece. Even as they were running out of the building, leaving Alfor to fend off against Lotor Keith knew he was no match to whatever Lotor had become. After taking in the Fall Knight’s he became indescribably powerful. Enough so to beat the headmaster, using his stolen power to continue the Grimm attack and wreak death and violence on the rest of the world. 

He couldn’t stand on the sidelines. Not after being exposed to the existence of the knights and now Alfor’s most likely death. 

If Lotor made it to the top of the tower, that means Alfor is dead. And they in turn will be dead if someone doesn’t go up and ceases his bloodshed. 

Keith did not make his way in the top ranks of Beacon just to watch behind glass, knowing he could intervene. Knowing he could do what it takes to save the people he loves.

Even if it costs him his life.

"Alfor...” Lance whispers, watching up at what used to be the headmaster’s tower, shock and fear laced in his tone. “He...”

“He’s gone.” Keith finishes, morose. “Whatever Lotor is, whatever power he stole, it was enough to beat Alfor.”

Lance frowns. “Keith, What the hell is Lotor? What did Alfor mean by Fall Knight? There is no one on the planet with that power. And the only time we have heard of the Knights is in fairy tales--”

“That’s because it isn’t a fairy tale.” Keith says, looking at his device to summon his empty weapon carrier. “What you saw was someone who forcefully stole a power that is bigger than our aura. Something larger than the age old, lost ability of Dust.”

“Woah woah woah,” Lance waves his hands in the air. “You’re telling me HE can use DUST? Who made themself a Knight?”

Keith clenches his jaw, thinking back on the arrow lodged into the previous Fall Knight’s chest, their eyes wide and unseeing as their life force was drained to the last drop. Their body slumped, and while Keith prayed they would take a breath and hold the potential to beat Lotor, his hope dwindled as the body cooled. 

“He didn’t make himself anything. He killed for it.” And he will kill again if nothing is done.

Lance focuses his gaze up, the sound of Lotor traveling to the top reverberating off the walls, a warning of the abilities he now wields. He killed for it. Destroyed the school and a life for what does not belong to him. The Grimm invading what is left of the school’s barriers, the murder of a fellow student, the carnage he inflicted upon innocent students and faculty, a trail of blood left behind their soaked footsteps. No one capable of so much disregard to the lives at stake should not be left with the storm roiling in their tainted veins. 

“We need to get help.” Lance states, looking at Keith. “If Alfor was aware of the Knight’s existence, Coran may know someone who can rival their power.”

Keith doesn’t look at him. “There already is.”

“Great, then lets go find Coran so he can retrieve them.”

“It’s...Coran can’t do anything.”

Lance, confused by Keith’s contradicting words, turns his full attention to him. Keith is a few feet away, his eyes dull and void, a statue staring at the scenery displayed before them, frozen in time and thought. His indigo eyes, so bright and practically like starlight in a sea of black, is snuffed out by a force Lance cannot decipher. There is something Keith isn’t telling him. An emotion that goes beyond mourning Alfor and Beacon; a certain tilt of his brows that indicate Keith has a plan burrowing in the deepest part of his mind. It has only been present when Keith was talking to him a week ago, asking strange questions.

Asking Lance if he would still see him as a friend if he wasn’t the same person Lance knew; if his soul changed. It was a strange question to ask Lance. One he did not fully comprehend, for how can a soul change when the person obviously knows who they are?

He spoke as if he was going to be experimented on.

As if--

It hits Lance like a ton of bricks.

“No, no, no,” Lance shoves his body in front of Keith, getting very up close and personal with the surprised boy. “I know what you’re thinking, mullet. And you are not going to face Lotor.”

“Lance--”

“Did you not see how he came out of the fight unchanged?” Lance yells, motioning with one arm up towards the heavens. “He beat Alfor, a PROFESSIONAL HUNTER. Someone better than Allura, better than you.”

“Lance,” Keith whispers. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Obviously you don’t! You saw how powerful he is, you can’t go up there!”

“That isn’t for you to decide.”

“UM, yeah, it is as your friend who doesn’t want to add another number to the body count!” He took another step towards Keith, close enough he can smell the soot lingering on his hair from the two abandoning the fight for safety earlier. “We are leaving for actual help and that is final.”

Keith has been avoiding Lance’s look, not wishing to be pulled by those mesmerizing azures. He didn’t want to give in to his pained heart, afraid he would back out of his decision. But if he were to go through with it and Lance ended up right, he wants to have one last moment with Lance. One last look at the person he held most dear to him, even if he isn’t fully aware of just how much in those moments. Keith is about to sacrifice everything for the greater good, the least he could give himself is one last gift; one single second of pure love and unlatch those chains and shackles he had locked around his beating heart. 

His pulse quickens, but he does not back down. He can already hear the empty locker nearing their destination, the hum of gears and fire being the only sound permeating the atmosphere if one listens carefully. He doesn’t have much time, internally saying sorry to Lance.

So he lifts his head to the boy opposite of him, the one he butted heads with their first semester. The goofy yet determined boy Keith trained, remembering their long night of sparring and wrestling to aid Lance in improving his sword mastery. The beautiful man he danced with at the ball, spinning him around among lights mirroring snow’s tears and a star’s explosion, leaving Keith breathless. The person who accepted Keith for who he is, looking past his elite history and deeming him not as some untouchable God, but just a student trying to get by and make a difference. Just like him.

Slowly, Keith gives him a sad smile and, with one swift movement, takes him by his shoulders and kisses him. It is not hard nor desperate, but a soft caress of his lips, a taste of what he can offer. Of what he could have offered, if worst comes to shove. Keith closes his eyes, basking in the gentleness as Lance--surprised but not disgusted--kisses him back. It is a small push, but enough to satisfy Keith. 

They stay like that until the locker lands, that being Keith’s cue to let go and embrace his warrior status. His armored hand, lightly holding Lance to him, tightens and flings him in the locker. The boy’s eyes widen in shock, Keith forcing himself to shut and lock the metal container as soon as Lance is starstruck. 

Lance bangs on the locker, his lithe frame throwing itself against the lock. 

“What the--Keith!” He bangs again, frantically staring at Keith through the slits. “Keith don’t do this! Please don’t--”

“I’m so sorry,” Keith says, hushed and aching on the inside. His fingers are cold as they input the location for the locker to fly to, the stinging in his eyes growing almost unbearable. “Protect the others.”

He stands back, the fuel for the locker revving itself up again.

Lance continues to bang on the locker, cursing and screaming for Keith to stop.

“Keith I’m begging you, don’t do this!”

Keith just gazes up at him, the words on his lips dying as Lance registers what he is saying by a single, last look.

I love you. Goodbye.

And as Keith turns away and marches to the tower before him, the screams of Lance rings in his ears, his breaking heart stabbing Keith with its shards. 

-------------------

“Lance, what is it? Where are you?” Allura asks, seeing her communicator go off and display Lance’s icon. Relief floods her, happy to see he is alright. Most likely Keith too, since they went off together. 

“There is a cargo ship--”

“Allura you need to stop him!” Lance yells through the communicator, Allura frowning in confusion.

“Wait, Lance what do you mean? Who are you talking about?”

“Keith! It’s Keith! He--fucking shit--he is going to the tower to face Lotor. He doesn’t stand a chance, you need to stop him!”

The cool wave of calm freezes, ice crackling its way into her body. Keith. Lotor. The tower. No, this cannot be. Keith is an exceptional fighter, but Lotor is a whole different level. He hurt her friends--most likely hurt her father--all without breaking a sweat. What the hell is he thinking.

Shiro, who is next to her during this conversation, widens his eyes. “What?”

Allura puts on her best warrior voice, ignoring the horrible dread plaguing her mind. “Lance, I hear you. But where are you? Are you alright?”

“DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME!” Lance screams at the top of his lungs. “Go get Keith before he gets himself killed!”

Allura heard a hitch in his voice, a sob etching its way into existence before Lance lets out a frustrated scream and the connection goes dead. Allura yells Lance’s name, but already knows she has lost contact.

Now she must hurry, before it is too late.

--------------------

Keith couldn’t move. His vision is blurry, his body aching and his aura depleted into nothing. He gasped for air, the pain in his calve excruciating. His shield missed Lotor’s arrow, its dust form activating and went right through Keith’s attempt at blocking the attack. His body couldn’t handle more damage. His aura, always thriving because he was careful in its use, can no longer help him in stopping Lotor.

He met his match, and there is nothing Keith can do about it.

Lotor, bathing in his victory, smiles to himself and forms a bow and arrow, taking aim at Keith’s heart.

“Any last words, Champion?”

Keith doesn’t know why, but the words came out without a thought. He levels his eyes with navy blue, glaring up at the threatening figure in defiance. Though he may be  dead man, he knows one thing: fate does not favor the wicked.

“Tell me. Do you believe in destiny?”

Lotor grew serious.

“Yes.”

With that, he lets go of his prepped arrow, the sharp, minuscule dagger piercing Keith’s chest. Keith’s eyes grew big, the ache bursting into white hot agony as his insides are engrossed in unseen fire. He gasps and tries to form words, tries to yell out curses—anything really—but all he can utter is a choke before he gives in to his fatal wound, his vision dissolving into darkness. He is so far gone he cannot even feel his body be dissolved into dust, Lotor’s hand a kiss of death as he slowly scatters to the wind.

His last thought is of Lance, and how he will never be able to dance with him again.

[yangxiaolonging]

Iokheaira: Part 1

(Hark, a Vagrant! #328)

It was going to take the continuation of my favorite fic of all time to revitalize my love of STRQ. we in it now boiz

Go read Iokheaira!!! If you haven’t read the original fic Akrasaia go read that too! @romanimp​ and @theivorytowercrumbles (sorry, for some reason I can’t @ you, Ivory :C )

It’s got everything: bloodthirsty fairies, swords, gay rwbies, sharp teeth, claws, creative application of the seelie court, and courtly intrigue. I even recommend this fic to my friends who’ve never been in to RWBY just because this is just such solid writing and I would kill for an original universe series by the Bear Senate.

ANYWAYS PART 1 LETS GET NASTY

this is a wonderfully long chapter so I’m going to at least try to keep this vaguely succinct 

It starts with the trash bird twins and I’m in love. We never get to see Qrow and Raven as a team in the show, just them being the bitter husks left behind by bad decisions and tragedy. Raven and Qrow were a Team since they were children and seeing them fight together and banter is nice, even if it’s Branwen quality interactions.

Qrow held up the mask, his fingers hooked around the first cusp of bone. It had always looked like a pair of bird's wings to Raven's eye, each skeletal layer flaring outward, yet wholly joined to itself. The red paint marking it was in dire need of repair, but the helmet beneath had survived untold generations, passed through the Wild Hunt with each death of the wearer.

aaaahhhh

Through a veil of bone, everything looked like prey.

aaaaAAHHH

Raven used the edge of her sword to pry it from the snow, spying polished links of gold woven together with feathers of black glass looped between the chain. She carefully transferred the bracelet into her gloved hand, looking for any sign of decay, but it merely seemed to be part of a matched set absent its twin.

AAAAAHHHH

"A trophy." Raven remarked, although the gallows humor didn't lift the pressure now crushing its way through her chest. "Maybe I should give it to the girl she left behind."

AAAAAAAHHHH

And if I hadn’t thought I was fucked to begin with, I sure knew then. It’s always delicious piecing together bits and scraps of information given between two different sources in the same canon. The liberties Roman and Ivory take with existing lore is always so good.  (listen. read akrasaia if you haven’t. do it. do it now. i linked it at the top of the post.)

Poor Amber gets wanged in every universe she’s put in. RIP. 

I love how despite the Wild Hunt being sort of the gray area between the Courts, Raven has always been a very intense and black and white person. 

Pushing at her knees, Raven stood. When she spoke she raised her voice somewhat so that those other members of the Hunt could hear. “Corruption is the Hunt’s prerogative. The Courts are none of our concern.”

Qrow rolled his eyes in reply. “Oh, sure. And if you just so happen to do their dirty work along the way, all’s the better.”

Behind the mask, Raven’s eyes flashed, and she rounded on him. “If I had wanted to kill the King's daughter before his own Court in royal assembly, I would have had every right!”

With a laugh, Qrow shook his head, hands on hips, his enormous scythe slung across his back. “See -- that’s just your problem. With you, it’s always the word of the law, never the spirit.”

Raven scoffed. She rested her hand upon the pommel of her sword at her hip. “The spirit of the law is for humans and philosophers. It means nothing, and you know it.”

At that, Raven paused, holding the mask between her hands. The Hunt, the casteless, the nameless, forsaken of the Courts, those who walk between worlds, those who slay transgressors from the path of nature by removing themselves from the cycle, entire.

:’))))) I love her sfm.......

Shout out to Cythera “how much can I fuck with this terrifying dark haired woman” Adel. 

Dropping to her knees, the fae shrugged the stag to the ground in order to lay it at Raven’s feet. For a moment she remained there, gathering her strength before using the stag’s antlers to push herself upright once more. The two stood close enough that Raven could cleave a sword through her heart without a second thought. Releasing a long, suppressed breath, Raven finally uncurled her fist from her sword, but her stance remained tense, on edge. Defiance reigned in the fae’s eyes, and for a brief moment Raven felt unmasked before her.

Cinder is too gay and too powerful and that’s the theme of all seelie au writing. 

In a smooth motion, Raven stepped over the stag, moving close and lowering her voice. “It would seem I know you after all.”

...

Dipping her fingers into a pouch strung along the belt at her waist, Raven retrieved the chain’s twin and held it up for Cinder to see.

Amber eyes widened. Cinder’s hand darted up to snatch the trinket from Raven’s grasp, but she pulled her own hand back with a finger raised in warning. Lip curling in a snarl, Cinder hissed, “That belongs to me.”

“Is that so?” Raven cocked her head. “The way I see it, a prey’s trophy belongs to no one but the hunter.”

Cinder’s face went through a range of emotions, shifting from dawning horror, to sorrow, to flinty resolve, then settling on an ardent fury.

Raven hummed a contemplative note at the back of her throat. “Ah, yes. I can see the resemblance, now.”

I know for a Fact that Ivory is waging a shadow campaign to make everyone ship Cinder/Raven. (spoilers: they succeeded and I ship it)

Anyways, time to jump into the most wonderful time of the year: Beltane.

"Who says that it's my first?" The girl was riled now, and hastened her step so she could dart in front of Raven, walking backwards across the bridge like it was no trouble at all. "I won't run if you bare your teeth, stranger."

The hint of amusement Raven took from the exchange twisted into a darker hunger, and she shuddered with it. Swift as a shadow, she pinned the other faerie to the side of the bridge, nearly bowing her over the rail that guarded the edge. Her mask was a mere centimeter from the girl's face, close enough for the next shocked, ragged breath to warm the outline of painted bone.

"Tell me your name," Raven growled.

"V-Vernal," she choked back, fear outpacing the need in her veins as the strength pinning her in place became apparent.

"Vernal," Raven repeated, rolling the name over her tongue like a bite of fresh meat, "Go find some beautiful girl who looks at you like the sun and stars. Come near me again and I'll eat you to the marrow."

me: 

With the sun soon to fall, Summer had surrendered her regalia to the chest at the foot of her bed, crown and cloak locked away in a bed of red velvet. Without them, her black dress was a dark column in the center of the room, severed only by the pale, waxen lacing woven beneath Summer's ribs. If not for the centuries she had already ruled, Raven would scarcely be able to guess the Queen's age, for those who sat upon the rosewood throne were unburdened by time, immune to the withering whisper of the seasons that followed.

THERE SHE IS IT IS HER IT IS MY DARLING IT IS MY QUEEN SOUND THE TRUMPETS ITS MY GIRL ITS SUMMER

Summer Rose took One look at Raven and immediately decided she needed to fuck her/fuck with her in any way possible and if that doesn’t make her a national treasure and hero I don’t know what does.

I’m already copy-pasting huge chunks of text so I’ll spare everyone me just showing the entire Summer/Raven interaction save for this bc in this house we ship Nevermore and tasty tasty writing.

"May I offer a parting gift, then?" The distance they shared was closed with one careful step, and Summer's dress was a whisper of cloth away from making the two of them touch. "To ease your travel."

She hungered. It felt like such a primal, animal admission, that something as simple as touch could render her a beast. Raven nodded before she could stop herself, and bit back a sound when Summer's fingers slipped beneath the edge of her mask, drawing it up and away. Her eyes recoiled from the light, their red long lost to pulsing black, but then Summer's hands were cupping her jaw, drawing her down to a warm and yielding mouth.

The kiss stung like a brand, searing through Raven's body until she was forced to pull away, her restraint twisted taut to one singular, quivering thread. One more touch, even Summer's breath against her skin, and it would snap.

"Blessed Beltane, your majesty," Raven gasped, then pulled her mask back down as if it would strip her of temptation.

It was back in the dancing circle that she spied Glynda, locked in arms with Taiyang, a prince known more for who he bedded than his bloodline. Summerborn he was, but clearly not to the Grand Seneschal's taste, for Glynda suddenly shoved him back so hard that he had to break his fall on emerald-streaked marble.

It’s okay Taiyang, you’re a good good boy. 

...he welcomed her, he welcomed everything.

There’s something so sad about the closing scene. Raven is a wildfire, her story is always of her trying and eventually failing to keep her destruction minimal. She doesn’t need a semblance of bad luck to be a harbinger of misfortune.