Third Person POVOzpin:"....Mr. Aurelius, I believe a formal discussion is on the top of the list of priorities before food. I promise you, once after we talk about your-"he cuts himself off for a bit as he received a small glare from the kids before continuing." -past, we can eat all the food you can." He said with a small amused smile.
Glynda unconsciously furrowed her brows, while Qrow and the kids let out worried sighs of their own. Aurum was the one with the most gloom on his face, as he looked down saddened and fearful.
Ozpin"s mouth twitched into a sad guilty frown.
Ozpin:" I"m sorry Aurum, but we need to know about what happened to you so we can a.s.sess on what possible actions we may take."
Aurum grimaced at the thought of telling his story, but he mysteriously felt that he could trust Ozpin. Nonetheless, he still had a small panic attack before he was trying to calm himself down.
Aurum:" I, I have a new family now. They will be here for me, they won"t hurt me. I need to be braver if I need to become a huntsman." He thought, as his eyes were filled with resolution.
Hook,line and sinker.
Ozpin looked on with a calming smirk, and Qrow knew this look. This is an unconscious habit of Ozpin whenever he manipulates someone with words. It irked Qrow, but he put up with it as he too is curious of how badly Aurum was mistreated. Ozpin, seeing how Aurum finally calmed himself, decided to try out his theory. He cleared his throat, before he spat out the words,
Ozpin:" Vires ex animo."
As if it was hardwired into them, the kids all answered like synchronized soldiers.
ASCA:" Gloriam spiritus."
Qrow, Arum and Glynda were shocked and confused, especially Aurum. He didn"t know how he knew those words, but as if by instinct, he knows it"s meaning. Honor the spirits. Meanwhile, the trio had cold sweat from their unconscious response. Seeing the kids" reaction, Ozpin let out a victorious smirk.
Ozpin:" I see. Well then, how about a little story time for all of you, before we proceed to discuss your past. I"m sure this will be very interesting."
He said while looking at Qrow, who nodded with understanding. Glynda was still confused while Aurum had sparkling eyes. It was his first time hearing a story without having the risk of getting stabbed up for eavesdropping on it. As for the trio, they just looked at each other before sighing, as if they surrendered from their inevitable fates.
Ozpin:" But before that, how about taking a seat?"
The others just realized that they were standing in front the elevator. Samson pushed Aurum"s wheelchair directly in front of Ozpin"s table. Qrow and Ariene sat on the chairs to Aurum"s left, while the twins sat on the right. Glynda went past them and stood still on Ozpin"s left.
Ozpin once again cleared his throat, before he started talking in a narrator"s voice.
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Third Person POV
Once upon a time, there was a small clan which is said to be located in the dragon-shaped continent north of Vacuo.
The clan was under the threat of grimm of all shapes and sizes, from the small beowolves, to the large behemoths. Day by day, the clan had to live a nomadic life around the outskirts of the continent. Living on collapsible huts made out of animal skin, as they ate foraged food and hunted game.
They had survived throughout the years using with no use of dust, only through crude weapons out of bones, stone and wood and their inherited semblance, the power to control the elements.
Although they can use nature to fight, it is limited in power compared to the maidens. But their abilities can only prolong their inevitable extinction. That is until they, by coincidence, saved a spirit from danger. This spirit was from the center of the continent, which is encompa.s.sed by a mysterious haze, capable of beguiling even the most intelligent of both grimm and man.
As a way of giving thanks, the spirit offered the clan protection, giving them the ease in life they longed for, as they finally settled down and made a village. In exchange for that protection, the clan had to offer tributes to an old mystical shrine deep into the central forest. The clan members can only traverse to the location with the aid of blue spiritual fire that light up their way to the location, which only those with souls can see. The shrine is said to be a gateway to another world, the world of the spirits. In there, spirits roam freely, in all shapes and sizes. It can be in the shape of birds, dogs, fishes, insects. Even man.
In this village, lived a pair of brothers. Their names were Marcus and Lucius Aurelius. The both of them had lost their parents to a grimm attack outside of the spirit"s protection. The pair of brothers were polar opposites, Marcus being cold and calculating, while Lucius was softhearted and happy go lucky. Nonetheless, the pair stuck together like glue. But underneath the cold exterior, Marcus is a loving and doting brother.
Marcus made the decisions when it came to their needs, while Lucius was in charge of their entertainment. It wasn"t exactly easy for two kids to live in a tent by themselves, but they pulled through.
Every so often, the brothers would accompany the adults in their hunts for meat. At first, they accompanied them as porters, carrying their spoils back to the village. Occasionally, they would split with the group, having bouts of adventures of their own. Of course, that would"ve been a bad idea, considering they were just children.
But as it is, they were gifted with their usage of their semblance. Especially Marcus, to the point where he could see "moving" colors. The whole village treated them as their pride and joy. Lucius was even more proud of him, as a little brother who aspires to become as strong as his big brother. There wasn"t a shred of jealousy towards Marcus, only pure unadulterated admiration.
But on one faithful day, their lives changed. For better or for worse? it depends on how you see it.
As per usual, the brothers, now teenagers, walked away from their fellow huntsmen to hunt on their own. While they were walking, they spotted a pair of rabbits a few meters away from them. Marcus took a quick glimpse at Lucius, who nodded at him. They took out their bows and drew the string and took aim, as if there was an arrow there. Suddenly, their body"s glowed slightly with gold auras, encompa.s.sing even the bow. They concentrated, drew the elements of nature to do their bidding, as a faint light glowed and hardened into a thin green arrow.
They took aim at the rabbits, who were jumping around looking for food. As usual, they released the arrow in sync, as it found its way to their game with no sound and at the speed of a bullet.
Blood sprayed, as the arrows went through the bodies leaving behind 2cm holes, as the rabbits" bodies dropped cold without them ever knowing how they died. The pair high fived, as they neared their own catch of the day while taking out the bone knives fastened to their thighs by a strip of dried boar tendons.
As they were about to drain the blood of the corpses, they heard a sound of battle. Thinking that there was trouble back at the main group, they stuffed it into their makeshift bags without caring about getting the bag dirty before running to the sound"s direction.
A few seconds flew by as they used their semblance to increase their speed through pushing wind outwards from their soles, effectively giving a boost. Once they drew near, they heard the roars of grimm, both showing a vengeful and fearing tone.
They arrived at a clearing, to have a boarbatusk fly In between them, effectively giving them both a surprise. They now peered their gazes in front. The scene of several puddles of black dust and disintegrating bodies of spiritual beings greeted them, as two figures in the center of the death filled grounds fought continuously. They were so fast that the figures left after images and fought in a blur, to the untrained eyes. One was a variant of the beowolf with no name. It had more spikes than usual, especially on its hands, twice the size bigger, and also had a more human way of standing up despite its barbaric way of combat. It had injuries all over its body, some seems to have been because of being stabbed. Black smoke was continuously emitted in small portions on the wounds, futilely absorbing the "black" colors in the environment, trying to mend its wounds to no avail.
On the other side, they saw a deer, or an apparition shaped like a deer. It had silver eyes, long white antlers stained with black dust, and a gold body with no face. It faced the beowolf variant with hopelessness. it was about to keel over from the long battle it just experienced, but his eyes did not. It was filled with the resolve to not go down without a fight.
"Spirits!" the brothers thought.
They looked at each other with different looks, Marcus with unwillingness and Lucius with righteousness. Lucius rolled his eyes at Marcus and grabbed the knives and held one at each hand before rushing into battle to a.s.sist the deer. Marcus clicked his tongue in annoyance before grabbing the bow with his left hand and "drawing" a yellow arrow and released it at the beowolf.
The beowolf got distracted by the arrow as it dodged, allowing the deer apparition to stab it in the stomach. The variant roared with pain and swiped it"s claws at the retreating apparition, while Lucius slipped in with the a.s.sistance of the green colors, and miraculously managed to stab it in a wound and back away, allowing him to brush away the touch of death he felt when the variant swiped it"s other hand at him, only a few centimeters away from getting his face scratched off. The variant roared in a deep and hoa.r.s.e voice.
Variant:" HUMANS! DO NOT MEDDLE WITH OUR AFFAIRS!"
Apparition:" Please a.s.sist me, humans! The king is in danger!" It pleaded with a womanly voice.
Without at thought Lucius smiled and nodded at the deer, before pointing at the variant.
Lucius:" This isn"t the first time we"ve fought a demon variant like you, and this would also not be our last."
With that, he conjured a spear of earth and threw it at the variant.
It growled with annoyance, as it struck down the spear mid-flight, only for an arrow of fire to replace it. The arrow hit the variant squarely in the face, burning it. Marcus rapid fired his elemental arrows, which the variant responded to by dodging and weaving around the rain of arrows, as he clawed forward to Marcus.
Lucius intercepted, swinging his knives at the variant"s joints. The variant responded with furious swipes, as Lucius dodged and take strikes at the openings it gave. This only did some scratches, as the skin of the variant was hard. The deer sneaked behind the variant"s back and lunged at it with the horns heading for where it"s lungs would be. The variant sensed something with its instincts, and it managed to dodge roll sideways, leaving the apparition and Lucius to clash at each other by accident. This left them open, as the variant took its chance as it pressed forward with its arms wide open, ready to maul.
In the nick of time, Marcus intercepted the demon with his own set of bone knives, which broke at the pressure and sent him barreling towards the others. Lucius and the apparition backed away just in time for them to see Marcus fly and hit a tree with his back, his gold aura facing the brunt of the impact. Lucius readied his knives as he once again clashed with the variant. Marcus groggily stands up and readied his bow.
Marcus:" Stall him!"
He ordered, as multiple lights gathered and condensed into an arrow. Lucius nodded, as Marcus continued to charge his attack.
Lucius and the variant danced wildly, as they used their own weapons to clash while their feet were stepping on black dust. Lucius got few good hits to its body, in exchange for being damaged and dropping his aura to dangerous levels. The apparition didn"t just stand still, as it joined in on Lucius as they coordinated their attacks like they have been doing it for years.
The variant panicked, seeing the elements gathering and converging into Marcus" arrow. It dropped its defenses as it rushed at Marcus, slipping past the pair. Marcus" arrow shimmered in rainbow light, as it grew. The variant was only half-way to him, when he released the notch, as it flew forward to the variant.
The variant tried to dodge the arrow by dropping to the floor, but it curved down and hit it square in the back. The arrow exploded into different elements, as ice, stone, fire, lightning, wind, and water exploded inside and out of the body like beautiful fireworks.
The variant roared its last words.
Variant:" d.a.m.n YOU HUMANS! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS BY BLOOD!"
Marcus scoffed at this, before dropping to his knees as the golden aura film in his body broke. Lucius went to him panting, as he laughed victoriously. Marcus gave him an annoyed glare, but still let out some chuckles of his own.
Apparition:" Thank you, humans."
Apparition:" If I may ask, what did you mean when you told it that you have fought another of its kind?"
Lucius answered with a proud voice.
Lucius:" We saved another spirit from a demon variant like him on one of our hunts like this. It rewarded us by spitting some saliva on our eyes," He shrugged before continuing, " said it may help increase the potential of our semblances. Too bad it only worked on Marcus."
The apparition nodded with understanding. It was about to give another thanks, when a bad feeling surged within him.
Apparition: " The King!"
It panicked, as it shouted for the royal spirit.
Apparition:" Humans, if I may so be bold. May I request your a.s.sistance again?"
It pleaded with a bow.
The brothers looked at their sibling"s face, before nodding to each other before looking back at the deer.
M/L:" h.e.l.l no!"
The apparition was dumbfounded at their response. Knowing its reaction despite the facelessness, the brothers laughed. The apparition was once again bewildered when they rode his back.
Marcus:" Come on then, it"s faster this way."
The apparition nodded, before heading off to the direction he sensed where the king may be. The brothers were mystified because of their ride. The trees seem to have set aside, making a path for wherever the king is.
A moment flew by, when they finally arrived at their location. There, they saw a deer apparition much bigger than the one they were riding on. The deer looked like it went through h.e.l.l, as it had many wounds on its whole body. It had its even longer horns stuck in the chest of a humanoid grimm, which disintegrated into oblivion slowly.
Once it finished, the king collapsed to its wounds, leaking out wheat-like dust. The deer transformed, into a more human look. It was naked, with the mouth the only recognition of being human besides the limbs.
Apparition:" Father!" it cried, before nearing the Spirit King.
The king looked at the arriving spirit with intrigue in its eyes at its back, specifically to the two children riding on it.
Spirit King:" This is quite amusing, my daughter. Did you not like the sight of humans?"
The apparition was sulking, as it rebuked with tears. It transformed into a woman, wearing a white toga. The woman had beautiful flowing blonde hair and light-yellow eyes reminiscent of wheat. The brothers were dumbfounded at the beauty of the spirit, especially Lucius.
Apparition:" Father! T-this is not the time for jests."
The king chuckled slightly, before moving his gaze to the children who dismounted from his daughter"s back. He saw Marcus" potential, as someone who can use magic.
SK:" Have a contract with me, child." He said, staring at Marcus.
The apparition was surprised, while the kids were confused at the statement.
SK:" I"ll give you more power than you would ever have, and the everlasting friendship of the spirits. This may be pa.s.sed on to your descendants and your brother also. All I ask is for you to bond your soul with me."
Apparition:" Father! Don"t be—"
SK:" Freya, this is the only way I can survive. Even without this battle, I would have died later on. As you know, my power is getting weaker and weaker. A contract with the humans would be beneficial not only to me, but for the whole of Asgard."
Marcus looked at his brother. He noticed the sparkling eyes of Lucius, who nodded crazily. Knowing this power would help him to protect the whole clan, especially Lucius. He weighed between the pros and cons of the contract, and found it to be mostly pros. So, he accepted the offer of the king.
The king let out a human smile, on its barely noticeable lips as it mumbled out words.
Suddenly, the colors Marcus have been seeing for a while now, have suddenly begun materializing. The colors turned into small sprites, colored with their respective elements. The sprites laughed joyously, as they circled the pair. Freya and Lucius backed away from the lights, as they marveled at the sight.
SK:" My dear elements of nature, I humbly ask for you to be witnesses to this contract. I, the Spirit King of Yggdrasil, ask thee, Marcus Aurelius, magician of the Aurelius clan, do you vow to protect the spirts and your clan from the demons?"
Marcus was surprised that the king knew his name but was even more shocked when information suddenly popped up into his mind on what to do.
Marcus:" I, Marcus Aurelius, magician of the Aurelius clan, vow to protect the spirits and my clan. In exchange for the binding of our souls, I ask thee, Spirit King of Yggdrasil, do you vow to uphold the laws of the spirits, and bind the contract through our souls?"
The Spirit King smiled,
SK:" I, as the king of Yggdrasil, do solemnly swear, to uphold the contract and give strength to you, and to your clan."
Marcus:" Very well"
Then, they spun around to face the elementals,
SK/M:" In accordance with the laws of the spirits, our souls shall be bound to each other. We shall protect the world from the demons, to give peace to our subjects."
After the statement, they were once again face to face before continuing,
SK:" As King,"
Marcus:" As a magician,"
SK/M:" Let us protect each other, as friends, as companions, as family."
They then made a symbol of the broken moon at their left chest,
SK/M:" Gloria ad magia/spirituum."
A magic circle then spread out underneath them, changing colors constantly. It enveloped the both of them, as they felt a connection deep within their souls.
Before long, the light faded, revealing a middle-aged man with long blonde hair and magnificent beard wearing a Greek toga. The man smiled at the young boy before him, who had a new lengthened hair and eyes that both became golden colored.
Lucius was shocked at his brother"s new appearance, but at the same time he felt something tug at his soul. His own hair and eyes turned gold, the same as his brothers".
Looking at each other"s new looks, they let out a laugh as they ridiculed each other.
Marcus:" You look refreshing, brother. Better than ever before!"
Lucius:" ha ha, I look gorgeous with this hair! Now I have something I"m better at, I"m more handsome!"
Marcus rolled his eyes as he stifled a laughter from his brother"s narcissism.
The Spirit King also gave out a laugh as Freya looked away with a blush and mumbled.
Freya:" Humanity and it"s vanity."
The comment didn"t go unnoticed, as Marcus roared with laughter even more. Lucius blushed at the comment as he tried to defend himself. Freya didn"t budge, as she ignored his rambles.
Marcus and the king looked at the scene with warm smiles.
SK:" I see my daughter has found someone she fancies. I guess we should plan for the we—"
Without warning, Freya charged at her father and tackled him down to the ground. Marcus was dumbfounded and Lucius blushed madly at the king"s words.
Freya:" Whatever are you talking about father dear?" She smiled widely.
To the king, this smile was very threatening. Only women could do such a thing to a man.
........
After that fiasco, the father-daughter duo fixed themselves, before a portal opened up behind them. The portal showed a forest much more beautiful than the one they are on.
SK:" Again, thank you for saving me and my daughter from our deaths. Goodbye children, you can visit us through the shrine where you offer the tributes. We will call you to arms when the time comes. Until then, live stronger my friends."
The Spirit King gave a bow before going in the portal. Freya stayed for a while, staring at Lucius.
Marcus grinned, as Freya told Lucius,
Freya:" I"m sorry about my comment to you. I-I would like it i-if you could visit me someday. I would like to have your company, Lucius."
Lucius once again blushed, as Marcus stifled his building up laughter. Freya quickly followed her father, and once she went in, the portal closed. Lucius stood there a bit sad, before his brother nudged him.
Marcus:" Come on, brother. Let"s return to the village. Don"t worry, we"ll visit them soon."
Lucius nodded, as they began their journey back to their village.
.......
Once the pair of brothers returned to their village, they spread the word about what happened to them. The whole village was elated, as they all made a feast later in the evening.
They demonstrated their new-found powers, as it got stronger, as well as having the ability to summon a spirit to contract. Marcus had 2 other spirits bonded with his soul, both became his treasured companions along with his brother. Lucius had an even more surprising spirit companion. Once he went through the ceremony of summoning the spirit, what came out of the portal was Freya herself. Marcus was laughing out loudly as bot Lucius and Freya panicked. His brother summoned 2 other spirits, but 1 was actually a horse with wings, and the other was an eagle.
Together with their new companions, they journeyed outside of the continent, after pa.s.sing on the knowledge and blessing to their tribe. Only the brothers could summon 3 spirits, as the others could only summon 1.
The brothers went travelling all around the world saving lives, finding love, and slaying grimm and demons that were present around Remnant. After a few years of adventuring, they went back to their tribe, which thrived even more than before.
The citizens of the kingdoms of Vale, Vacuo, and Atlas often visited the continent, as they now formed a new kingdom. The kingdom of Aurelius, the country of magic. The brothers were welcomed dearly by their tribe, as the king willingly pa.s.sed down the throne to Marcus.
But, one day, the kingdom suddenly vanished. Leaving behind ruins, as the whole kingdom were suddenly swarmed with grimm. Rumors told that the residents of the kingdom now lived at the world of the spirits, Yggdrasil, at the lead of the brothers. As time flew by, the name of the Aurelius family slowly got removed from the annals of history. Neither hide nor hair were left behind, as the search for the Aurelius kingdom"s residents had borne no fruit. Until now, that is.
........
Ozpin:" And so, that marks the end of the story. That was exciting wasn"t it, Mr. Aurelius?"
Qrow and Glynda were surprised at the revelation. The kids just sighed, as their covers were blown. While Aurum only tilted his head and said,
Aurum:" Glowing animals change to humans? Are they ff"fawnas"?"
Ozpin and the kids let out chuckles at that, as Qrow and Glynda processed the world secret-type information they just received. Especially since the apparent survivor of the legend is at their very eyes.
.......