RWBY: Grimoire

Chapter One: Ruby Rose

Rwby Grim(oire), Volume one: A Rose so Red

Chapter One: Ruby Rose

Once upon a time, there was a world of magic. A world of infinite possibilities. Mankind was free to learn and grow and create. But among them, were those who wished to destroy.

The Wicked ones.

The Wicked would use their talents to wreak havoc across the globe, until Gods themselves were said to split the land into pieces.

But even long after their time on the world had passed, the Wicked left mankind with lasting gifts.

The Grim.

"She's not answering..."

Pacing the floor of her bedroom, Ruby Rose swatched herself in a large blanket, making her figure resemble a wandering ghost.

The hour was late, long after the sun had set, but just before the light of sunrise. The wooden boards beneath her feet let out a loud squeak. She jumped in surprise before remembering she was alone, and there was no one to disturb in the rooms below.

Now a teen, she had been deemed old enough to stay home alone. Her father, Taiyang, was once an esteemed hunter. That night was off on another job, sending him miles away from their little cottage at the edge of the woods.

Left to fend for herself, Ruby spent her days tinkering with their home security, modifying her homemade weapon and awaiting letters from her older sister, Yang, who had gone off to learn at one of the great academies.

But a letter had not arrived from Yang in a fortnight, and Ruby was beginning to worry what fate had befallen her sister.

"Maybe she's just sick. Or studying really hard or..." She had to laugh at that last idea. "Yeah right. Yang can't hold onto a book for longer than five minutes."

The first week that no letter had come, Ruby had decided to listen to her father and wait. But when he left for several days to deal with an infestation, her worry intensified, and she began planning her trip to find her sister.

"Two weeks."

Ruby heaved a heavy sigh, stopping her pacing.

Her gaze went to the small mirror above her workbench. Cracked and lightly scorched, it still held her reflection.

"You promised that if Yang didn't answer, you would go find her yourself."

Even with the dim light provided by the crystal lantern atop her nightstand, there was no missing the resolve in her reflection's eyes.

"You're going. At dawn."

She's gazed at her reflection for a moment longer. While her silver eyes were full of determination, her shoulders slumped. "But let's get some more sleep first."

True to her word, Ruby awoke in the wee hours of dawn. After pumping some water from the well out back with the new mechanism she had created, she washed up, put on her travel attire, and packed up her rucksack. With her custom-made scythe in its holster at her back she paused in the doorframe. Resting on a hook was a long scarlet cape--one she was rarely seen without.

Her mother's cloak.

A relic from her mother's upbringing in the advanced city of Atlas, the cape caused particles of light to scatter like petals when in use. The strange enchantment had fascinated Ruby when she was a child, causing her parents to get it to her at a young age. One of the relics of lost magic.