Cargo Hold, Bullhead
Of all the things that you might have imagined happening if you found yourself on another planet, stepping into a skyship that more resembles a bizarrely shaped carriage with no horse or perhaps some bulbous metal bird was not one.
Within the 'bullhead' as it was called - though you're not certain if that is the name of this carriage or all such carriages, you found no comfort. A few tiny windows, a cramped space to sit away from the crates that were the carriage's primary cargo and the inescapable, unrelenting drone of the thing flying.
Add in the sickening sensation of vertigo and you doubt you'll ever enjoy flying like this. Not that you can spend the flight feeling sorry for yourself.
Once the bullhead took off you could see the tension lift from Amber's shoulders, a tension you'd only noticed because of how many others you've seen relax just like that when the crusade ended.
She's lying almost bonelessly on the other bench with Bella curled up next to her, leaving you sitting right next to Qrow. You aren't so close that you can smell the alcohol you're certain has soaked into his clothes but you can't ignore him either.
If you were feeling uncharitable you could tear his appearance to shreds - the tattered cloak that can't possibly keep him warm, the stubble of a man who can't commit to a beard or being clean shaven, the bizarrely long shirt that seems to have been sewn together from a vest and a waistcoat, the complete lack of armour - but you aren't going to do that.
The man may not look like a warrior, but he certainly fought like one. The grimm fell before him like wheat beneath a farmer's scythe and the assassins fled within ten seconds of his arrival. You can't criticise that kind of competence.
"So what's your story then? You just fell out of the sky and to help Amber out of the goodness of your heart?" He drawls at you with a smug grin.
"Basically." You say with a shrug. "Targeting a teleportation spell is like playing darts while drunk and blindfolded, except instead of darts you're throwing bricks. Landing within a hundred miles of your target is an achievement worth celebrating."
"Sure. You teleported in at random at just the right time to save her and look like a hero. Sounds a little too convenient to me." He says, taking a drink from his flask as you glare back at him.
You're not going to let someone who needed you to do their job for them talk down to you like that!
"I saw someone being assaulted by bandits, of course I stepped in. The real question is why I needed to - if you'd been there the only problem would have been me appearing out of nowhere and not knowing how to speak your language!"
"You're not saying you can't speak English in perfect English are you?" He asks skeptically. "Because I'm not nearly drunk enough to fall for something like that."
"Call it a divine blessing." You say dismissively. "Seriously, where were you. Because if you're dumb enough to use the person you're supposed to be protecting as bait then I should be trying to throw you out of this thing." You lean in close to get the message across.
"I'm quaking in my boots." He says as he leans back. "But you don't need to worry about that because that's not what I did. I just had a lot more to drink than I thought last night." He pauses and thinks for a moment as you continue to glare at him. Edrekk was right, alcoholics can't be trusted with anything.
"Though it's possible my drinks were spiked." He admits with a careless shrug. "If these guys knew where we were staying it'd be a pretty smart move to get me out of the way."
"Maybe next time just don't drink." You suggest. "Or have a second person with you for when you need to sleep. Somehow you're the worst bodyguard I've ever met and the only bodyguards I met were the ones dumb enough to let their charges into the Worldwound!" You jab at him for emphasis before realising the other issue here.
"Wait, why did you leave without him anyway? Why not just tie him to the back of the horse and let that wake him up?" You ask Amber. She sighs and gives Qrow a guilty look.
"Because I wanted to get out of there. Get some air and clear my head. Try and actually enjoy visiting home." She says.
"See. It was a series of harmless mistakes that some jerks decided to take advantage of. No harm, no foul." Qrow says. At this point you can't help but suspect that he's trying to convince himself that this wasn't his fault.
"But really, Shayla." He says, putting an odd emphasis on your name. "Where are you from? Menagerie? One of the independent towns of Anima?"
"I'm from the Sarkoris Scar. Right next to Mendev and Numeria." You say.
"Never heard of it." Is exactly what you expected Qrow to say.
"Of course you haven't. I'm from another planet and Sarkoris isn't what you'd call a tourist destination."
You see Qrow's eyes flick over to Amber and Bella before looking back at you.
"You're saying that you're an alien." He says disbelievingly.
You smile back at him, waiting for him to continue.
"Then what brings an alien to Remnant - you planning to do some probing?" He asks suggestively for reasons you cannot fathom.
"A friend asked me to do them a favour so I hopped over to the ethereal and flew right here/" You respond, pulling back before he can do anything weird. You're not exactly telling the truth but Qrow isn't exactly making you want to go into too much detail.
"So flying through space is something you just do?" Qrow asks.
"I doubt it, all the interplanetary travel I've heard of involved powerful teleportation magic. I travelled over to what you could call the dimension of ghosts and dreams and flew through it, which was a lot easier than going through space." You say, guessing Qrow won't know anymore about planar travel than Amber did.
"Your wings must be real tired after a long haul flight like that. You're not worried they might fall off?" Qrow asks.
"Gravity is subjective in the ethereal, so it was more like carefully controlled falling. So no, the only tiring thing I did was picking up your slack." You fire back.
"Heh. Maybe you should have some of this - celebrate your victory." He says, holding out his flask. You glare as you push it away - even if you hadn't grown up with Edrekk you wouldn't accept the cheap whiskey you can smell in there.
"Seriously though - let's say I believe you. You're some kind of angel alien from another world, just stopping by to help out. Where'd you learn to wield that hammer then? Should I be expecting a whole flight of angels with hammers to stop by if I need help?" Qrow asks mockingly.
"First, I'm not an angel. I'm just descended from one." You say, interjecting with a raised finger. "I'm an aasimar. And except for that one place in Tian Xia, aasimar don't have aasimar kids. So you'll basically never see a group of us fighting for anything." You raise a second finger to flip him off.
"My teachers were an elf that's at least seven centuries old who I'm pretty sure only started using a glaive so she'd always have a walking stick without looking weak, and a dwarf who complains that my hammer is impractical for smithing." You continue, not bothering to raise a third finger.
"So both of your teachers were shorter than my niece?" Qrow asks, grinning at the image. "You must do great when you're only knee high to your enemy."
"Well dwarves are only short when compared to humans and elves tend to be taller, so yes I've trained to fight giants." You explain in the most condescending tone you can manage.
"Is that how you got those scars then?" Qrow asks, waving at your neck. You can't help but raise your hand to touch the three thin lines he's talking about.
"That was fighting a babau, a demon born from the soul of a murderer. They like to make your death as slow, bloody and painful as possible - so when someone speared his tail to the ground I crushed his horn thing then pulped his head." You say, smiling at the memory. It was the first time Talaith fought a demon and didn't panic.
"You fight a lot of demons where you come from?" Qrow asks, less mockery in his voice now.
"I was a crusader in the Worldwound. Demons and cultists were most of what I fought." You say with a shrug.
"How old were you when you joined the crusade? I didn't think to ask before." Amber asks, having sat up at some point.
"I was 14, 15? I don't remember what I said my birthday was but Edrekk says it was wrong. A year and a half later we'd marched to Threshold and sealed the Worldwound." You say - as far as Edrekk was concerned your birthday was when he gave you and Talaith your daggers and you don't have a good reason to argue.
Amber and Qrow both fall silent after that, leaving you to fight a yawn. A glance out the window reveals an unfamiliar night sky and vast stretches of farmland.
"How long until we get wherever we're going anyway?" You ask.
"Beacon. It's a school for huntsmen." Amber says.
"Because you need the highest of educations to follow a deer's tracks with a bow and arrow." You can't help but say, grinning as you do.
"Huntsmen aren't hunters, they train to fight the grimm." Amber explains.
"So they're adventurers, like the Pathfinder Society? Just without the archaeology I'm guessing." You ask. You're pretty sure a better description for Qrow would be one of the itinerant knight orders but you refuse to equate him to them.
"Wait, why are we heading to a school? You made it sound like you had private tutors or something."
"Because Beacon is a converted fortress from before the Great War and all the teachers are huntsmen. It's one of the safest places in Vale." Amber explains.
"Plus we're going to be meeting with the headmaster to figure out what to do with you." Qrow interjects.
You suppress the urge to ask why Amber didn't just go to this super safe school. Qrow obviously isn't in charge and doesn't know how much you know about Amber. Which you're not sure if you should keep secret, but if Amber wasn't allowed to tell you, you won't be turning her in.
An hour passes in a mostly comfortable silence, Bella and Amber playing together while you stare out the window. Eventually Qrow says you're getting close and you see a truly spectacular sight.
Stretching out below is a vast forest that gives way to farmland and small clusters of buildings. Beyond that is a gigantic wall that stretches across the horizon with dozens of towers rising up from behind it. As the bullhead turns you see a distant fortress on a cliff, a single tower rising from its curved walls.
"That's a city?" You ask incredulously.
"Yeah, that's Vale. Biggest city on the continent." Qrow confirms.
"It must be bigger than Absalom." You say, thinking of the trade capital of the Inner Sea that's apparently home to over a million people. Vale looks like what might happen if Absalom covered the entire island of Kortos.
We'll be there in twenty minutes." Qrow says. "Anything you want to do before meeting Oz, do it now."
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Beacon Academy
After getting the soot off of Bella and Amber and removing your bandages so Bella could fix up your wounds you find you have little worth changing about your appearance.
You could take off your armour to look less ready for trouble, but then you'd have to deal with the extra bulk in your pack not fitting with your wings. You could just glamour it to look like clothing, but you can't decide if that'd count as polite or trying to hide something on a world without magic.
You could also clip your spellbook to your belt like Fethrymil does, make a statement about your mastery of magic and your confidence, but you're not sure that'd translate. Plus the book is too heavy to ever be comfortable like that.
You settle on putting on your scarf and letting Bella ride along inside it. That says you're being more casual right? And it says you're a wizard because you have a familiar and maybe something about trust? This nonsense is why you avoid nobles.
You follow Qrow and Amber off of the bullhead, quietly praying you don't need to ride another one anytime soon as you approach the fortress. You landed within its walls and Qrow is headed straight for the giant tower.
You can see glowing green orbs studded across the top of the tower, accompanied by vast clockwork mechanisms. You can't imagine what they're for since you can't see any clock but maybe they just trigger a bell for the school - you think that's how schools work at least.
Once you walk into the surprisingly isolated base of the tower you're joined by a blonde woman you can't help but assume is a spellcaster - maybe it's the odd design of her cloak, or the wand on her belt. Or maybe it's the way she sizes you up and clearly finds you lacking, exactly how Fethrymil always does.
She starts quietly talking to Qrow, pulling ahead and leaving you and Amber alone.
"Should I be worried here? Because this all feels a little grander than anything I've been personally involved with before?" You ask, your voice just above a whisper.
"Ozpin is a bit mysterious but you can trust him. He just doesn't have a lot of people he can trust." Amber answers, matching you for volume.
"Should I tell him I know about your magic powers and how those guys were trying to kill you for them? Or should I keep quiet about that?" You ask. You can't tell how serious a secret Amber's magic is meant to be. You're pretty sure they won't be doing anything drastic to keep you silent, but they might be willing to punish Amber for giving it away.
"That doesn't matter. Just tell him the truth about everything. If he decides he doesn't believe you it won't matter that I do." Amber says, keeping her eyes on the blonde lady.
"At least you believe me. I might start feeling foolish if I can't convince someone." You say with a smile.
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Ozpin's Office, Beacon Academy
The inside of the tower is as impressively confusing as the outside - a ceiling of green glass, huge clockwork mechanisms in the wall, a clock themed window that must confuse people, a few pillars, an oddly phallic chair at a bean shaped desk and little other furniture in the huge circular room.
Seated at the chair is a white haired human in black, wearing a green scarf surprisingly similar to yours. He smiles as you enter, taking a long sip from a thermos before standing.
"Welcome back Amber. When Qrow said you'd vanished I feared the worst." He says softly as he walks around the desk and towards the two of you. Qrow and the woman have hung back as you match Amber's positioning.
"And of course. Shayla Barakiel." He says as he looks at you, his brown eyes meeting yours. A shiver runs down your spine as you look back, everyone else in the room fading away.
There's a presence to Ozpin that you've felt before - from Fethrymil and Hengrei, from the Riftwarden Aravashnial, from the druids who taught you geomancy. He's a powerful spellcaster, shouldering a burden so great you can't even begin to guess at its scale. And you know he can feel you, the candle to his star.
"You have an angel's wings." You frown but don't correct him. You get the feeling a lot of people are going to be making that mistake here.
"Thank you for your help. But I must ask - what brings you here?" He asks. Bella pokes her head out of your scarf and catches his gaze as you start to explain, repeating everything you've said to Amber and Qrow.
Where you're from, how you got here, why you came. When he prompts you to continue you tell him about the fight with the assassins - the ambush, the invisibility, the glass and the bug in the glove.
Amber chimes in here, filling the details of the fight you missed. How the green assassin's firearms had blades attached and her status as the least skilled of the three.
Together you tell him how they weren't prepared for anyone else to show up, how your shocking grasp spell caught the grey one off guard and how they were prepared for Amber's magic. He says little as you talk, letting you and Amber control the story.
The only thing you leave out is the details of your mission - telling Amber felt fine but trusting another three people with the details feels wrong. Maybe once you've had a better chance to figure it out on your own you'll tell more people.
Eventually you finish talking about the beowolves and smoke, leaving him to raise an eyebrow as he focuses on you.
"That's quite a tale." He says eventually, looking away from you to the woman and Qrow. You fight the urge to sigh and relax when he does, instead looking at Amber, who looks calm.
"You truly believe that both you and Amber can wield magic?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.
"I know exactly what I'm capable of. Don't insult me or my teacher by implying otherwise." You respond immediately.
"And of course I know Amber can use magic. She might not have cast any spells I recognised, but the somatic components and the lightshow were unmistakable."
"You're certain that she wasn't simply using the dust in her staff?" He continues, unmoved by your reaction.
"I don't know what dust is, but I can tell the difference between someone forcing the activation of a wand compared to properly using it. And I felt Amber's magic. It flowed from an internal source like mine does, not an external one like her staff." You say, getting more irritated at Ozpin's refusal to listen.
"Perhaps you are telling the truth." He admits, his eyes flicking down to Bella then to where Qrow and the woman are standing.
"But I think we have to test your honesty." He steps closer to you and holds out his hand.
"Do you want me to cast a spell on you? Because I don't really have any friendly spells prepared." You ask, surprised by the sudden shift in approach and mentally reviewing your prepared spells.
Prestidigitation was harmless but might be dismissed as trickery. Gale Blast was an option if you sacrifice the paperwork on the desk, Mage Armour would look identical to their aura but your best option was Mirror Image. Flashy, obvious and harmless.
"That would help, but I think the first test should be a simple checking of your aura. If you're telling the truth then it should be inactive, or possibly active in a very different fashion to how we use ours." He explains.
"And if I'm lying it'll feel like everyone else's." You finish the sentence, nodding as you do. It makes sense as a simple test, one you imagine must be hard to fool. You step forward to take his hand, asking another question as you do.
"Can anyone do that? Feel another's aura with a touch?"
"It is a technique that anyone could learn but few bother." He answers before focusing on you. A faint ring of green light forms around his hand as you feel something reaching out to you.
It isn't quite like anything you've felt before. It's a little like the creeping dread and sense of being trapped a kalvakus* engenders and a little like the frightening presence of a dragon, but too gentle and soothing to be either.
It's a lot more like Fethrymil's Mind Reading spell but feels less direct. A lot harder to resist, but it isn't touching your mind at all.
"Interesting." Ozpin comments after a while. He's scrutinising Bella as he holds your hand, either blind to the irritated twitch of your wings or uncaring.
"You would seem to be telling the truth." He says eventually. "Your soul holds magic within it as I'd expect, but it somehow didn't activate your aura, something I thought was impossible. It's also joined with your familiar's…" He releases your hand and walks away, gazing out the weird giant window.
'Great, you believe me. So I'm going to need you to tell me why you thought sending a neophyte caster away without teaching her how to properly use her magic." You say, stepping forwards and glaring at Ozpin.
"Sharing the guidance of the past, telling her the heights that she'll reach with work - that's a sacred duty and abdicating it to someone who can't use magic is inexcusable." You say, echoing Fethrymil's rant when the priests first delivered you and Talaith to her quarters.
"I promise you I made the best decisions possible for Amber's safety and education. Her control has grown in leaps and bounds-" Ozpin begins to say but you cut him off.
"Actually I'd say she has control issues. Calling down bolts of lightning and merging fireballs together looks impressive but it's inefficient. Hells the time it takes her to call on her magic leaves her wide open." You say harshly.
"It'd work brilliantly if she was working in a team with someone to keep the enemy occupied and someone to watch her back but from what she said she's training alone. Now maybe you're too busy to personally teach her. That just means you should find a teacher - hunt down a druid in the wilds and force him to stop running around as a bear, awaken an arboreal archive** from its slumber, beg one of those mountaintop hermits to guide her if you must. Magic is as dangerous as it is powerful and without someone to teach her to hear the world she'll never master any aspect of primal magic." You waver your arms for emphasis, pointing to the crimson forest barely visible through the window.
"And if you really can't find anyone to teach her, leave it to me. I won't be as good as someone with the same kind of magic as her, but I know the theory." You finish and grin with all confidence you can muster, only just now noticing your halo blazing around your head.
"Maybe that would be for the best." Ozpin says, having turned to face you partway through your rant. "But first I must tell you why I haven't been able to find a teacher for Amber."
"It sounds like Golarion is a world full of magic, full of people who've learned to control it. But Remnant isn't so fortunate. The only magic to be found lies in ancient artefacts and four maidens." Ozpin says.
"Long ago an ageing hermit shut himself away from the world. But in the course of a year he was visited by four sisters, who reminded him of all the kindness and wonder of the world. He bestowed his magic on them, made them the embodiment of the seasons they were named for." He may be looking at Amber but his gaze is distant as he talks, his mind elsewhere.
"The four maidens accomplished much with their power, spreading the fruits of their gifts far and wide. But when one maiden died another would be selected to inherit her powers. And when people realised they could do so by being the one who killed a maiden." Ozpin pauses and looks directly at you.
"You can imagine what followed."
"Four people in the world inheriting magic, and you." You say, considering his words. "So the hermit was either a god or your predecessor."
"In a sense." He says. "We let the maidens be forgotten by most of Remnant, but there are still those who seek to claim their powers for their own gain. The Maiden of Winter is old and too infirm to travel. The Maiden of Spring went missing years ago. The only Maiden who could properly teach Amber is the Maiden of Summer and she's always busy."
'A useful excuse' is your immediate thought, one you avoid saying out loud. The idea that so few people on the planet could wield magic is impossible, but you look at Amber and the others and they to believe it.
"But how is that possible?" You ask, choosing to focus on the biggest problem. "There's magic in this world just like Golarion - how could you develop flying machines and massive cities without anyone noticing the ghosts and spirits and everything else that fills the world."
"If those things exist then they are long since hidden and forgotten." Ozpin answers.
You don't believe him but there's not much point arguing with him when he believes his own words.
You dismiss him and turn to Amber.
"I know it might not sound like it from what I said, but you do get a choice here. If you don't want me to teach you magic we just have to go find the Winter Maiden, get her to share her wisdom before she dies." You say, only now thinking about what you've offered to do.
Amber smiles at you, looking impressed? Maybe thankful? For the offer or for standing up to Ozpin you're not sure.
"I'd be happy to learn from you." She says.
"Great. And you can teach me about this aura stuff. And the constellations. Can't forget that." You say with a grin.
"I think for now you should both stay here." Ozpin says. "We can use the empty dorms for now, say we're preparing for the Vytal Festival earlier than normal. Hopefully we can capture those responsible for this assault quickly."
You nod and listen as he gives a few instructions to the blonde woman - to Glynda - before dismissing you and Amber while he gives Qrow a proper tongue lashing.
As you follow Glynda through the school you loom at the sky and frown at how few stars you can see. You can't imagine how that's possible, but its a question for later. Right now you need to rest.
Tomorrow you can demand access to the library.
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* A kalvakus is also known as a slavery demon. Capable of enslaving the soul of a mortal and damning them to the Abyss unless the demon dies before them.
** Arboreals, sometimes known as ents, are intelligent treefolk so long lived that they consider elves to be fleeting.
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Here ends Session 1, Angelic Arrival.
You have earned 1400XP and unlocked the Aura Ability (starts at Untrained).
The only restriction on spending experience at this stage is that you cannot increase an Ability's rank by more than one, except for aura. You can raise aura to the skilled rank, representing natural talent on behalf of both you and Amber.
You have also gained access to Beacon's Library, allowing you to study the assorted lore of Remnant and improve the scope of your secondary skills or unlock additional skills.
You will also be voting on how you approach teaching Amber about her magic.
This vote will cover roughly a month of time. This vote will be done by plan and I'm putting up a moratorium so I can update the rules for aura and magic before you start voting.
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Non plan vote:
Roughly how tall is Shayla?
[ ] Shorter than Weiss in heels. Taller than Weiss without them.
[ ] About average height for her age
[ ] Tall, but not taller than Ozpin
[ ] Almost as tall as that Tian kid with the giant greatsword.
How will you spend your experience?
[ ] Experience Expenditure:
-[ ] Write In
\Which three topics will you focus on from Beacon's Library?
[ ] Study Session:
-[ ] Dust & Weapons
Dust seems to be an integral part of how the technology of Remnant functions, especially for weapons.
-[ ] Aura & Semblances
You heard Amber's explanation but you need to know more. Maybe you can even start trying to figure out your own Semblance?
-[ ] History of Remnant
Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Those who do learn from it are forced to teach it. You're not going to let your own ignorance trip you up.
-[ ] Myths of Remnant
Ozpin said magic was restricted to the Maidens and himself. You don't believe him - myths, legends and fairy tales are probably the best place to start proving him wrong.
-[ ] Religions of Remnant
Maybe the god who gave you your mission is primarily worshipped on Remnant, it'd explain why they needed Pulura to speak to you. Even if they aren't it's important to know which gods are paying attention to what.
-[ ] The Night Sky
Pulura teaches the faithful to learn and pass down the stories of the stars and constellations to educate, inspire and ensure travel is possible. Your duty here is clear, and it's the best way for Pulura to guide you.
What do you focus on to teach Amber?
[ ] Teaching:
-[ ] Listening to the Land
The only primal magic you know is geomancy and to learn geomancy you have to learn to hear the heartbeat of the world.
-[ ] Practical Exercises
Amber already knows how to access and wield her magic. What she needs is more experience using it - she needs to be faster, better at ignoring distractions. Capable of just flying away at least.
-[ ] Theoretical Foundations
The four essences and the four traditions that come from them. How to recognise magical effects and identify mystical phenomena.
Sample Plan:
[ ] Plan Martial Excellence and Ancient Tradition
-[ ] Experience Expenditure
--[ ] Increase Aura to Skilled (-300XP)
--[ ] Increase Geomancy to Skilled (-200XP)
--[ ] Increase Martial Combat to Veteran (-800XP)
--[ ] Bank 100XP in Bella (-100XP)
-[ ] Study Session
--[ ] Aura & Semblances
--[ ] The Night Sky
--[ ] Dust & Weapons
-[ ] Teaching:
--[ ] Listening to the Land
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Alright. Next update is the start of Session 2. Like I said, expect an update for aura on your character sheet as well as an info post for Magic Mechanics (there's an early version of this in the mechanics post but I've already changed a bit).
Canon is thoroughly derailed in the big picture, though it's conceivable that infiltration could still happen through Leo (I'm assuming he only turned coat recently).
You've encountered one of the greatest sins against Pulura possible - light pollution.
You can assume Shayla reads the official version of the Four Seasons story even if you don't vote for the Myths of Remnant option. It sounded abbreviated to her and she tends to trust books a little more than people.
Hit me with any questions you have or anything I might have missed.
I originally intended to have a vote between the Bullhead and Ozpin, but couldn't think of a good way to write an 'answer nothing' or 'lie' option while Shayla isn't good enough at lying to get away with half truths. So I ended up combining it with the next update.
