Swords of Intent (sequel to Rose of Titanium)

Chapter 6: Stories

POV: 3rd

Qrow had just finished explaining everything to the group. "Really? No questions?" He asked the kids.

"Of course we have questions, it's just... This is just... A lot to take in" Jaune replied before looking at the campfire that burned between the group.

Qrow sighed and leaned on his elbows a bit. "Sure, of course."

Ruby was the one to pipe up this time. "So these... Maidens, they're powerful fighters that don't need dust to use magic."

"Yeah" Qrow replied

"And there are four of them?" Nora asked

"Yup, always."

"Which means that whichever one of them dies the power transfers to someone, a female, that they care about?" Ren asked

"Whoever was in their thoughts last, important distinction" Qrow corrected. "Best option is someone we can trust, regardless their souls become... Combined in a way."

"So that's what would've happened to me?" Pyrrha asked. "The night the tower fell?"

Qrow looked into the fire. "The previous Fall Maiden, Autumn, had been attacked. She was young, inexperienced. Her assailant we now know as Cinder managed to steal some of her power, but not all of it. We were afraid that if we don't do something, the rest would go to her as well."

Rtas decided to be the one to ask the burning question. "So why was that person after Ruby?"

Qrow looked at them. "The trait of the silver eyes is a rare trait. Not many people know about the silver eyes, but those that do aren't very happy that one has surfaced. That's why I've been keeping an eye on you, wanted to make sure you were safe... All of you" he said as he looked at all the teens.

"Well then, why not just travel with us?" Ruby asked. "It seems that would've been way easier."

"Part of it is me." Everyone looked to Rtas as he spoke. "Your brother was a spartan, a soldier created to be the counter to nearly anything the Covenant could throw at them. They were highly skilled and efficient at what they do. The spartans had gained such a reputation that the Covenant started to call them demons, especially one certain spartan they called 'Master Chief'."

"Ruby's being hunted, the schools are being attacked, and for WHAT? What is the purpose with all of this? Would you just tell us what's going on?!" Jaune yelled as he ranted and eventually looked toward Qrow.

"Would you sit down? You're stressing me out kid" Qrow asked, Jaune did so. Qrow pulled out his flask and took a swig. "Not many people are super religious these days." He set it down next to him. "This world's been around long for a long time, long enough for people to create dozens of gods... But if you believe Ozpin, two of them are actually real. 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."

"Their ideals clashed" Rtas pointed out.

Qrow gave a nod in confirmation. "The older brother spent his days creating water, plants, and wildlife. At night his brother would wake to see the things the elder had made and become disgusted. To counteract his brothers actions the god of darkness brought fire, droughts, and famine. All he could do to rid Remnant of life, but life always returned. So one night, the younger brother went and made something, something that shared his innate desire to destroy anything and everything."

"The creatures of grimm" Ruby responded, being the one to point out the obvious this time.

Qrow continued on. "The older brother had enough. Knowing their feud couldn't go like this forever, he proposed they make one final creation together. Something they could both be proud of, their masterpiece. The younger brother agreed. This last great creation would be given the power to both create and destroy. It would be given the gift of knowledge to learn about itself and those around it. Most importantly it would be given the power to choose, the path of light or the path of darkness. That is how humanity came to be."

"But, what does that have to do with us?" Ren asked

"That's the kicker" Qrow replied. "You see the four gifts of mankind of creation, destruction, knowledge, and choice aren't just metaphorical. Each of them exists in a physical form, left behind by the gods before they abandoned Remnant. Each of them is extraordinarily powerful. If someone were to collect all four, they'd be able to change the world. That's exactly what the enemy wants. The huntsmen academies were created to train generation after generation of humanities protectors, but they also serve another purpose... Guarding the relics. Ozpins predecessor founded the schools, he built them around the relics to act as a fortress. Not only would they be easier to defend, but they'd also be constantly be surrounded by trained warriors. Hope was that hiding the relics would keep mankind from using them against itself, and of course keeping them out of HER reach." Being done with the little historic dump, Qrow looked up to everyone. "Sooo yeah, there's that."

"By her, you mean Salem?" Ruby asked

"That's right. Not much is known about her, quite frankly none of that matters. What matters is that now she wants the relics. If she gets them, it's not going to end well."

"Okay, so say we believe all of this. Why doesn't the world know?" Jaune asked

Rtas answered the question for Qrow. "Panic. In my dimension, there were seven planet sized rings called the Halo Array. They acted as Havens of life, yet they were weapons capable of wiping all life from the galaxy."

"Who built themb and for what purpose?" Ruby asked

"A race known as the Forerunners built them to starve the Flood, a parasite that had consumed all life in the galaxy. As a last resort the Halo Array was fired, killing off the Flood and giving the sentinels that tend to the Halos a chance to once again spread samples of life."

"They... Rebuilt from the ground up" Pyrrha simplified as she thought out loud.

"So, nobody where you're from knows about the Flood?" Ren asked

Rtas nodded. "Very few do. While my own thoughts aren't certain, I believe the war there started with the rings themselves. While the Covenants greatest scientists spent years on a single forerunner artifact, the humanity there was able to access it with a simple touch."

"Alright this is pretty interesting but we should head to bed" Qrow said as he stood and stretched. Everyone agreed and went to sleep.