Pathfinder/RWBY: You Call That a God? A Summoner in Remnant Quest

When he'd founded the Huntsman Academies eighty years ago, the Last King of Vale hadn't had the time to oversee their construction, organisation or first classes. All he'd had the time to do was choose the perfect site for each academy and make sure someone who shared his vision was in charge.

And now that he was Headmaster of Beacon he couldn't help but hate the Clock Tower that housed his office. It removed him from his students lives and positioned him as a voyeur, gazing down on their lives from an eternally superior vantage point. And worst of all was the constant ticking of the clock's gears, reminding him of every second he was forced to waste in pursuit of his true goal instead of focusing on being the best teacher for his students.

The commanding view of the Emerald Forest and Cerulean River it granted him was small comfort, but on nights like tonight it sufficed. The few dim lights he could see still shining in the Ballroom reassured him that everything was on track for tomorrow's Initiation, that soon a new term would begin and there would be a new class of students, there to learn so they could claim their shining futures.

More soldiers for the eternal war.

But as much fun it had been to discuss the students with his staff when planning out the Initiation and potential teams, there were greater concerns haunting his mind.

Barely more than a week ago poor Amber had almost been killed in a deadly ambush. And mere hours later there had been some sort of assault on the Vault, far too soon for whoever had attacked Amber to reach Vale unnoticed.

Fortunately he'd been at the Vault's entrance to see the assault begin, making preparations for Amber's care.

The portal that allowed entrance had roiled like the sea in a storm, burning with black fire as something tried to pass through the protections he'd created without the Fall Maiden. He'd thought it was impossible, yet it seemed that the protections were mere minutes from failing, collapsing the pocket dimension and forcing the Relic of Choice into reality.

Perhaps he could force the lock in a similar manner, if he had weeks to prepare and hours to work. The same could be said for Salem of course, but he'd know if she was in Vale.

Fortunately the Vault hadn't been penetrated, the assault ceasing as abruptly as it had begun.

Then as he'd worked to help Amber and reinforce the Vault he'd heard of identical, simultaneous assaults on the other Vaults.

They'd all failed but the fact that it had almost happened was terrifying. The Summer and Spring Maidens were still missing, so he couldn't be sure the Relics of Destruction or Knowledge were safe without dedicating several months to the endeavor, but James had been able to tell him that the Relic of Creation was safe, as was Fria.

He'd spent the last week contacting everyone he trusted, asking for anything they could give him. He'd combed through the last year's worth of mission reports, looking for anything he might have missed. He'd amassed crank calls, rumours and paranoid ramblings from every corner of the globe.

All of it desperately looking for an answer. Desperately hoping that Salem hadn't discovered some ancient magical secret he'd never been privy too, that there was no mysterious magical artifact in the hands of someone with no clue of what it could do.

That the Brother Gods hadn't tried to return and failed because of the protections on the Vaults.

And he had nothing to show for it.

Yes, he'd dispatched Qrow to investigate Amber's mysterious assailants - that at least had to be Salem's work. Hopefully they'd be able to figure out what had been done to her with more information.

Now he was considering the unspeakable. He'd been sent countless rumours and tales of bizarrely bestial faunus and odd talking monsters from the frontier towns of Sanus and Anima. He'd dispatched several Huntsmen to investigate, but the most reliable reports had come from settlements and mines that had been attacked by the White Fang or otherwise had them pass through.

He didn't have any sources in the extremist organisation, finding those who trusted and listened to him weren't inclined to such indiscriminately violent methods. But there were several among his new students who might be able to help him.

But he couldn't afford to ask them. Any chance he had of repeating the relative success of Qrow and Raven's time at the academy hinged on them thinking they'd fooled him. Hopefully the rumours were nothing more than a regrettable increase in rural racism and paranoia.

Hopefully Qrow or one of his other agents would find something he could act on. Until then, he could focus on his role as Beaocn's Headmaster - guiding the next generation of Huntsmen and guarding the Fall Maiden and the Relic of Choice.

After a night of pleasant and quickly fading dreams you're woken by the warmth of the sun. You stretch and brush off the morning dew and take a look at your companion's still sleeping forms, briefly pondering whether to wake them up.

Before you reach a decision the calm is ruined by the shrill chiming of an unfamiliar song. Pyrrha immediately wakes up with a yawn and smile, while Yang grumbles and rolls over. You're only a little surprised when the source of the irritating music is a Scroll that Pyrrha produces and silences before beaming at you.

"Good morning." She says.

"Good morning." You echo, your own smile falling away as you wake up and start to feel nervous.

Unsure of what to say you turn and look into the Ballroom, seeing Nora already awake and looking around.

"You ready to meet my sister, or should I go?" You ask as Nora spots you and turns to wake up Ren.

"I don't mind." Pyrrha says before reconsidering. "Unless you don't want me to meet her."

"She's a morning person. I'm not sure if you are." You say, looking at Yang.

"I always wake up early so I can get a workout in before facing the day." Pyrrha says cheerfully. "But maybe we should head inside instead of waking up Yang."

"Nora woke up her sister too, so I don't think it'll make much difference." You say, looking back into the Ballroom. Ruby is significantly sleepier than Ren or Nora but she's moving towards you.

Introducing Pyrrha to the others goes smoothly, though they all clearly recognise her name. Nora enthusiastically greets her before returning to the primary topic of how exciting it is to be at Beacon, Ren just gives her a friendly nod and Ruby seems to forget about Pyrrha a few moments after Yang gives her a hug good morning.

For her part Yang wakes up fairly quickly, but Ruby doesn't seem quite awake until you're all eating breakfast and she gets to drink some coffee. You try the bitter drink again and follow Ruby's lead, pouring an absurd amount of sugar into the mug.

It barely even tastes of coffee this time.

You find yourselves scattering as you head into the locker room, leaving you with just Nora and Ren.

"Oh, we should have a signal! You know, for when we're in the forest and looking for each other. That way we're guaranteed to be on the same team!" Nora suggests excitedly.

"Just keep an ear out for Drakōn's roar." You suggest.

"No, it needs to be a secret signal." Nora points out. "Otherwise everyone will go looking for the dinosaur."

"Or they'll try to avoid the angry predator." You say, not sure if that would be true for Huntsmen.

"We'll call that plan B. Ren, can you imitate a sloth?"

Ren gives Nora a small smile before responding, already having retrieved his weapons.

"Nora, I don't think sloths make a lot of noise." He says.

"That makes it a perfect signal!" Nora decides.

"I don't even know what a sloth is." You point out.

"Fine, just hoot once like a barn owl and twice like a screech owl, I know you can do that." Nora decides.

"They're the same owl." You point out, before deciding to let the whole thing go. "Just listen for my horn. It sounds like a mammoth, or a wolf." You say before turning to your locker.

You need to get ready.

Vale is a lot warmer in the spring than the Thunder Steppe, so you dress light. A sleeveless tunic to show off your muscles, shorts and your riding boots are the beginning, along with your quivers, dagger and bow. No glove or tabs needed, nor will you be tying your hair back. They'd be unnecessary crutches.

You add the feathered earrings, piercings and wooden pendant that mark you as a God Caller, your father's bracelet and finally the little pots of paint.

Fortunately you don't need to ask for Ren or Nora's help, as every locker has a mirror within. A week ago that would have been a pointless display of wealth, but it seems to be normal here.

The bright red lines of a warrior complete your look, and leave you ready to demonstrate your skill as a Huntress and as a leader.

"Looking fierce." Nora says appreciatively when you close your locker.

"I'm feeling fierce. Want me to paint you too?" You ask, looking at your pots. "I'm pretty sure one of these came out more pink than red."

"Definitely!" Nora says, leaning forwards with a grin. You make do your best to keep the lines straight, but she doesn't manage to stay still or quiet. It still looks good, but the heart you'd drawn on her is a little smudged.

"Oh Ren, you should get some paint too. Look like a real fearsome huntsman!" Nora suggests.

Ren turns and takes the too of you in, taking a moment to properly consider the idea.

"I think I look fierce enough already." He says, the picture of calm.

"Fine, miss out." Nora says.

Now ready for battle you look around the locker room, full of students coming and going.

Just a little bit down from you is a short woman with a ponytail, tan skin and a lot of freckles. She's obviously struggling with anger and you can see why. Just behind her is a tall man in silver and gold armour loudly mocking a shorter man with an odd pair of antenna, dark brown armour with red trim, and light brown hair.

It's only a matter of minutes before the woman gets violent. And as much as you'd love to see that, you should probably step in and sort this out without shedding anyone's blood.

"I don't understand why they're letting you even try. It's a waste of everyone's time." The tall man says, tugging on the faunus' antenna. "Seriously, you'll never keep up with me."

"Why not try keeping up with me?" You challenge walking towards him with a confident smirk. "A vainglorious fool like yourself, I know I'll kill more Grimm than you."

"Seriously?" The man asks, turning and snorting when he gets a look at you. "You think you're better than me? I was the best fighter at Pharos."

"I know I'm better then you. I'm just offering you the rare chance to prove me wrong." You retort.

"Fine. I'll crush you and if you actually manage to make it into Beacon, you'll be doing my homework for a week." The man declares.

"And when I win you'll shut up and keep your head down." You say, stepping forwards and smirking when he instinctively steps back.

The idiot turns and leaves as your show him the only fingers you'll need to crush him, stained red by your paint.

"Thanks." The faunus says to you when you turn to look at him.

"Always happy to puncture an ego like that. Gives me something to do." You say with a smile. "I'm Xanthe Valkyrie."

"Niall Rhodes." He says, giving you a brief smile before turning to leave.

"Most people wouldn't stick up for a faunus like that."

You turn to look at the brown haired woman and shrug.

"No one should be allowed to talk like that because someone isn't human." You say. "Besides, it isn't about Niall being a faunus, it's about the other guy being an arrogant ass. We're all following the same path, we're all going to have to live with each other for the next four years. Better to pluck the idiot's feathers now rather than later." You explain.

"You should've punched him." She says with a scowl.

"If you want to punch him, go ahead. I'll be happy to watch." You say.

The woman clearly considers it for a moment before sighing and shaking her head.

"It's not the best look for the first day." She decides. "I'm Ilia."

"Besides, the person who really should've punched him was Niall." You point out. "He was the one being tormented."

"Far too many fau - people don't know how to help themselves. The only thing thugs like that listen to is violence." Ilia laments.

"That's why Huntresses exist. To help people fight monsters wherever they're found." You point out.

Ilia gives you a determined nod before heading off.

"So what next?" You ask Ren as you return to him and Nora.

"We head to our assigned spot so we can be launched into the forest." Nora says. "They'll tell us what we do after that once we're out there."

"Great." You say, memorising your assigned spot. Just after Nora. "Wait, what do you mean 'launch'?"

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You're about to be catapulted into the Emerald Forest. What is your landing strategy?
[ ] Summon Drakōn and trust him to land safely
[ ] Tie rope to an arrow and use it to swing to safety
[ ] Try and summon a flying animal large enough to carry you safely to the gorund
[ ] Use a Plant Dust Arrow to ensure a soft landing
[ ] Write In

Choose your Partner:
[ ] Ilia Amiatola
[ ] Pyrrha Nikos
[ ] Weiss Schnee
[ ] Yang Xiao Long

A/N: You'll get to choose your partner, but not your team.