RWBY: The Resonant Rōnin (Discontinued)

Chapter 38: A Much Needed Talk

M/N P.O.V.

Around a campfire, Ruby, Pyrrha, Coco, Cinder, Nora, Neo, Qrow, and I sit on logs positioned in a square. Qrow has just finished telling the story of the Maidens

There is silence and Qrow takes a swig from his flask. He has a bandage wrapped around his abdomen over his clothing. I do as well.

"Really? No questions?" Coco looks down.

"Of course we have questions. This is just... a lot to take in." Qrow sighs.

"Sure, of course." Ruby looks up at Qrow.

"So these... Maidens... They're powerful fighters that don't need Dust to use magic." I nod.

"Yeah." Nora tilts her head.

"And there are four of them?" Qrow nods.

"Yup. Always." Coco looks down.

"Which means that, whenever one of them dies, the power transfers to someone - a female - that they cared about?" Pyrrha shakes her head.

"Whoever was in their thoughts last. Important distinction." Qrow nods with a sigh.

"Best option is someone we can trust. Regardless, their souls become combined, in a way. The previous Fall Maiden, Amber, had been attacked. She was young, inexperienced. And her assailant, who we now know was Cinder," Cinder looks down and sheds a tear. "... somehow managed to steal some of her power, but not all of it. We were afraid that if we didn't do something, the rest would go to her as well. Now, since Cinder doesn't have the powers anymore, we don't know where it's gone."

Ruby asks, "That guy, Tyrian- why was he after me?" I sigh.

"Well, you definitely painted a target on your back after Beacon. I told you having silver eyes is a rare trait. And the fact that you have them and pulled that stunt seems to have alarmed and upset some very powerful people. Not many people know about the silver eyes. Those that do aren't very happy that one has surfaced. That's why Qrow and I have been keeping an eye on you in order to make sure you were safe. All of you."

"Well, then, why not just travel with us? It seems like that would've been way easier." Coco takes off her sunglasses.

"What is all of this? Ruby is being hunted, the schools are being attacked, all for what? What is the point of all of this? Can you tell us what's going on?"

Qrow stares at her, then slouches over with a sigh.

"Would you relax? You're stressin' me out, 'kid." Coco sits back down on her log and crosses her arms. Qrow starts to take another swig, but changes his mind before the flask reaches his lips. "Not many people are super religious these days."

Qrow caps and sets the flask down.

"This world's been around for a long time, long enough that people have created dozens of gods. But if you believe Ozpin, two of them are actually real." I nod and look at the fire.

"They were two brothers. The older sibling, the God of Light, found joy in creating forces of life. Meanwhile, the younger brother, the God of Darkness, spent his time creating forces of destruction. As you can imagine, they both had pretty different ideas about how things should go. The older one would spend his days creating water, plants, wildlife. And at night, his brother would wake to see all the things that the elder had made and become disgusted. To counteract his brother's creations, the God of Darkness brought drought, fire, famine, all he could do to rid Remnant of life. Life always returned. So one night, the younger brother went and made something - something that shared his innate desire to destroy anything and everything."