Miracles of Ancient Wonder [RWBY/Exalted]
- Thread starter Graveless
- Start date
-
- Tags
- exalted (white wolf) rwby
BlackThief12
I'm a fucking ninja
- Location
- Puerto Rico, Vega Baja
Requiem_Jeer
The Most High
The Spear is a constellation in The House of Battles. It represents skill and discipline in armed conflict. It is correlated with bravery, professionalism, training, taking initiative, lack of vision, tactics, skillfulness, and competition. It is associated with the Melee Ability.
The Scripture of the Maiden on the Shelf (Melee)
Once there was a maiden…
… who sat on a child's shelf and watched the whole world.
Her eyes were made of glass,
and their pupils were red.
Her mouth was sewn on.
For years and years, she did not move.
Then, when necessary, she was gone, and the head of that child with her.
"Survival is control," she said.
Once there was a maiden…
… who sat on a child's shelf and watched the whole world.
Her eyes were made of glass,
and their pupils were red.
Her mouth was sewn on.
For years and years, she did not move.
Then, when necessary, she was gone, and the head of that child with her.
"Survival is control," she said.
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BlackThief12
I'm a fucking ninja
- Location
- Puerto Rico, Vega Baja
The prophecy might foretold Ruby's battle against Cinder.
kinigget
Best Demon
- Location
- People's Republic of Portland
This can only mean good things
and now that I'm done freaking out about the potential for Kill Six Billion Demons shennanigans I'd like to say that this is an excellent story and that I never knew that RWBY could feel so much like Tokyo Ghoul
allow me to elaborate. See, everything I know about Exalted comes from four places: Keychain of Creation, Goblin Queen, Glorious Shotgun Princess, and now this. Of those four, only this and Keychain of Creation really make anything of the whole "Anathema" thing, and KoC only really does it in passing while here it's a major plot focus
I love how this aspect of the setting affects the story, though that's at least in part due to how much I love moral ambiguity that isn't bullshit or badly skewed.
It also seems like I managed to catch up just in time for the equivalent of the Volume 3 finale in terms of how much the focus of the story just changed
I am looking forward immensely to where the story goes from here
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- Location
- NOVA
Ouch, that really sucks.
It's been three years since my last campaign, which had to end in the middle of its second arc thanks to moving.
My problem now is, I have two ideas I really want to run, but I can't do it online thanks to system issues.
Yep, she hasn't lifted either yet.
There are a number of things that it could be referencing, it's why prophecies are such fun.
Thank you!
Keychain was one of the things that originally got me into Exalted in the first place, though I don't remember how I originally found it.
Spectrum
Tell me a secret~
- Location
- Behind you~
I take that back, I think I was being uncharitable to past campaigns in my head due to how unsatisfyingly they ended. My longest running one went I think 12 sessions or so, though at least a handful were solo/split party sessions I did nothing in (joys of online, so I at least could just not show up/do something else). My notes seem to indicate that I had managed to accrue a whopping grand total of 65XP on what appears to be a 1st Edition character.
Book 1 Chapter 8.6
- Location
- NOVA
Miracles of Ancient Wonder
~
Chapter 8.6
~~~
~
Chapter 8.6
~~~
A Curse of the Spear was held in Ruby's hand as she walked through the crowd of Hunters, unseen to all. With a touch, she attached the curse of cowardice against the Anathema to a man with a sniper-halberd. He was lazing about, eyes glazed over, thanks to the curse she'd placed on the investigation organization.
With her other hand, she placed a mirror of that one on a woman with a chain-axe. One by one, she went through them and made sure that they would falter in their horrific mission for the next month. Some had Auras which were too strong for her, but that was easily remedied by drawing on her own when she hummed a new curse into existence. This one would be of the Gauntlet and a mirror of the personal blessing that was resting above Crescent Rose.
With two more curses in place, she switched tactics. It wasn't enough to just stop them from doing bad things, she needed to encourage good ones too.
Ruby scanned the crowd, searching for someone who would fight against the system. Her eyes were drawn to a boy, probably a recent graduate. He was as out of it as the others, absentmindedly flipping a throwing knife.
As she started humming a blessing of the Lightning Bolt, one which would push him towards overthrowing those he disliked, her scroll vibrated. Ruby pulled it out, letting the half formed blessing unravel.
Penny: Ruby! Are you alright?
Ruby: Penny? You can remember me?
Penny: Absolutely! Why wouldn't I?
After a moment, another message came in.
Penny: Are you alright?
Penny remembered her and was worried. She probably should be.
Several of her classmates were running around, begging the Hunters to do something. Their cries for help fell on deaf ears.
Ruby: I'm fine.
Penny: That's good!
A hunter who had been leaning against a tree fell to the ground, glassy eyes passing over Ruby.
Penny: Father thinks an Anathema is attacking.
Ruby paused, halfway through typing a response. What would Penny think if she told her the truth? Would she think that Ruby was a monster or would she understand why it needed to happen?
"Why aren't you doing anything?" a girl with a sword-whip shouted at an older woman who'd slumped down next to her rocket-hammer. Meanwhile, one of Professor Goodwitch's senior assistants seemed to be trying to polish a hole in one of her demonstration plates.
What would Professor Goodwitch think about this? She was the one who said that you sometimes didn't have any good choices and had to do things you thought were bad.
What would lead to Penny turning against those who controlled her?
Ruby: He's right.
Penny: How do you know?
Ruby glanced at her own reflection. The mark was still there, but her glow had faded.
Ruby: I can see her.
Penny: !!!
Ruby: Don't worry, I'm safe. Where're you?
"Everyone, there's-" A Huntress ran into the crowd, brandishing a rifle. The curse ensnared her before the next words left her lips. As it wrapped around her body, the fire left her eyes. "Never mind."
That was how it went. As soon as one of the Hunters wanted to do their duty as investigators, they lost all will to act. Everyone in the kingdom of Vale would stop torturing and murdering innocent people.
Ruby sidestepped one of the teaching assistants charging with a stack of papers in hand. They trailed behind him as he continued, heedless of how much of his work would never make it to wherever he was bringing it. It was her second curse, placed on Beacon's staff, and had been much harder to perform despite affecting far fewer people.
Penny: Celik wants to get us out of here before the fighting starts.
Ruby took a deep breath. She didn't want Penny to get hurt, but she also needed to stop anyone from leaving Beacon. They'd called in a lot of older Hunters to go over how to kill Yang and many of them would probably want to do that if they weren't thinking of themselves as investigators.
Ruby: Where are you?
Penny: The hangar.
Ruby's hands shook as she held the scroll more tightly. That was where she'd planned to go next.
"Maybe I will see what Penny thinks about all this after all," Ruby mumbled, dropping her head. She formed the blessing in her offhand and tapped the boy who she'd caught sights of. If only she had the time to plan each of them out and make them work well together. There wouldn't need to be as much death and destruction if that was the case.
Ruby stepped away from him and continued on, slowly walking towards the hangar. With one hand, she began forming another simple curse; with the other, she began weaving Penny's blessing. She pushed more energy from her Aura into that one. Penny deserved something good.
A door burst open, slamming into the wall hard enough to make the windows rattle. Professor Goodwitch marched out of it with soot covering her shirt. A whirlwind of crystal fragments rotated around her, along with a flaming sword. The light of the flames passed through the crystals, forming shafts of blinding light in whatever direction Professor Goodwitch wasn't looking. It was an advanced defensive spell formation that she'd shown off in their class's battlefield sorcery demonstration.
"Professor!" Three students in their pajamas ran up to her. "What's happening?"
"We're under attack from an unknown source." Professor Goodwitch pressed on, eyes flicking across the grounds. She passed over Ruby once, before stopping. Her brow furrowed as she stared right at Ruby. "Miss Rose, are you ready for battle?"
"Who are you talking to?" The other students looked back and forth, eyes passing over Ruby without any reaction to her.
Ruby froze. How was this happening? Not only should she be stuck by the curse twice over, but also not able to see Ruby. That technique made her invisible to anyone who thought of themselves as better than her.
"Yeah," Ruby answered softly, listening to the different patterns rotating around Professor Goodwitch carefully. Both curses were still there, but they didn't seem to be doing anything. How? She shouldn't be able to act either as a Beacon Staff member or investigator!
"Please come with me. We'll need as much help as we can." She turned toward the main tower. "Ozpin is rallying everyone who can function in the main auditorium."
Professor Goodwitch always used people's titles. Was this her acting as a Huntress then? Ruby supposed it could happen, but it didn't make any sense because the other two jobs should be more important and people can't just control their thoughts that way.
"She's gone crazy too, all of them have," one of the students whispered to the others.
Ruby sent a final message on her scroll and slipped it into her belt pouch.
Ruby: I'll talk to you later.
"Whoever's causing this is likely still on campus, lying in wait. If I'm correct, then we don't have much time before the Grimm arrive and they make their move." Professor Goodwitch looked to the sky. "There may be many varieties you've never heard of before."
"That would be bad." Ruby looked up as well. It was too dark to see anything approaching, but that was the biggest reason why Ruby needed to finish fast. If she dropped the curse on Beacon, then they'd be able to stop her before she finished. But, if she didn't, then everyone would be devoured. It also wouldn't make them really understand the power they were fighting against.
"You're one of the most talented mechanists that we have and don't seem to be affected by whatever spell has ensnared the others." She pointed at the building she just left. "I had to subdue the other technicians who were busy 'testing' the secondary generators and nearly broke them. If you could take a look, it would be appreciated."
Why wasn't she just telling Ruby to do something? She was a student here and Professor Goodwitch was one of the professors that they were supposed to listen to in a crisis. She should be commanding, not asking!
"Miss Rose?" Professor Goodwitch raised an eyebrow after a moment. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Ruby could say yes, she could just pretend to go along with the request, but that wouldn't make the fight that needed to occur happen. Professor Goodwitch had always tried to explain away just how horrible the things she allowed were. She needed to confront it. "And no, I won't help fix something that I broke."
Professor Goodwitch's eyes widened. "What?"
Ruby released her invisibility technique. The students surrounding them gasped.
"I'm doing something that should have happened a long time ago." Ruby placed a hand on Crescent Rose and pulsed her Aura, forcing her red light to glow brighter. "Ending the investigation and the Anathema hunts."
Professor Goodwitch glanced at the students and frowned. "I thought that you wanted to be a Huntress."
"I am a Huntress, a real Huntress," Ruby snarled. "Not someone who calls themselves that only to torture and murder people when no one's watching."
"No Huntress would do this." The shards violently spun, illuminating all of the people who were still disabled by the curse. "You've robbed them of their ability to function!"
"There are times when there are no good choices and you need to take the least bad option." Ruby threw her own words from so long ago back at her.
Professor Goodwitch glared at her. "There are many other choices that you can still make."
"None that would do what I want."
"And what is it that you want?"
"I want the people who are supposed to be heroes to act like it. I want our world to be safe and fixed." Ruby could taste it in the air now, the foul energy and decay. Compared to the sweet air of the city of the gods, it made her nauseous. It was also what she'd been missing this entire time, the source of the constant that she needed to insert into all of the astrological formulas. "And I want my sister back."
"And how will doing this help you achieve any of your goals?" She circled the shards slowly, making the others slowly step back.
"It'll stop you from killing her."
"Your sister is no more. The Anathema has-"
"That's a lie!" Ruby shouted, making Professor Goodwitch step back. She waved an arm to the crowd. "The Anathema aren't monsters and you're no Hero for killing them."
One by one, the scrolls came out, their cameras pointed at her.
Ruby turned, looking at the crowd. She made sure to keep Professor Goodwitch in sight the entire time. "You may not remember me, but I know all of you. We've eaten at the same lunch hall, learned how to fight, and slept through Professor Port's boring lectures."
The last one got a couple of chuckles.
"Like you, I thought that the Anathema were horrible demons that would kill us all. I thought that they would turn me into a slave with a word. And I was wrong.
"They're just people, our friends and family, and for all of these years they've"- she pointed to Professor Goodwitch -"been killing them for no good reason. Yes, the Anathema are stronger than the rest of us. Yes, they wield terrifying power. But so do we. Any one of us could kill hundreds of people who don't have their Auras unlocked."
The crowd muttered to themselves while she waited.
"Who is she?"
"She looks familiar, but…"
"Wait, isn't she that freshman? The one whose sister…"
Ruby dropped her head, but pushed more force into her voice with her Aura. "People have wondered where the Anathema come from, how they gained their power. I know the truth. It was forced on them by the gods in heaven, the very same gods who've abandoned us!"
It drew another gasp from the crowd, and a pulse from the curse around the professor. She tried to step forward, but the strands of Fate ensnared her and robbed her of her energy. A moment later, she was back to normal.
"I was chosen by the goddess Mars, the Maiden of Battles." Ruby looked up again, swiping her bangs to the side so that the sigil was obvious. "She never asked me if I wanted that responsibility; she just gave it to me and told me that I was supposed to abandon you like she did. But I didn't, I came back because you deserve to know the truth!"
Again she pointed to the professor. "Not only the truth that they've hidden from all of you, but also the horrible truth that no one else could tell you."
The scared, disbelieving eyes were all on her.
"Despite what the world thinks, they're not just teachers and headmasters. The leaders of our schools have been lying to us about the dangers they use us to fight against." Ruby released the power of a blessing she'd made for herself. Her voice rang out loud and clear, forcing many of them to step back. "The Anathema aren't demons. They're our friends and family. They had no choice about what happened to them, about the power forced on them by the other gods. And all this time the people who should be protecting us, should be teaching us, knew. They've been deceiving us and murdering Heroes who had no choice about what they became."
What felt like hundreds of eyes looked from Ruby to Professor Goodwitch. Once more, the curse stopped her from responding.
"If it takes this many Hunters"- Ruby waved an arm at all of the people still slumped over -"to kill two teenage girls, then what do you think those girls could do against the Grimm? We already know that certain types of energy are more effective against them. Someone blessed by the Sun or the Moon would tear through more than anyone could imagine. We could push past the walls and take back our world!"
The source of familiar Auras greeted her. Ruby's eyes met Jaune's, Ren's, and Nora's in order. The fear that surrounded them was almost visible.
'I'm sorry.' Ruby mouthed the words at her friends. This wouldn't be easy for them; it would probably give Nora nightmares for weeks. They might hate her for doing it, but the seeds needed to be planted.
"Many Anathema apologists have claimed that the gods spoke to them, claimed that the Anathema should be saved because they were chosen by the gods." Professor Goodwitch found her voice again.
"You can ask Uncle Qrow whenever he gets back. He saw everything." Ruby crossed her arms. "So did Weiss… and Pyrrha. They'll back me up."
Nora clapped her hands over her mouth.
"I'm sure we'll have a great deal to talk about." Professor Goodwitch moved a finger and pushed her glasses up with her Semblance. "But that doesn't change the fact that you need to stop whatever it is you've done."
"No." Ruby shook her head. "I'm not going to let them kill people ever again."
"Ruby, please see reason. Even if there might be Anathema who could be trusted, there are far more who will destroy the world that you wish to save," she pleaded. "Don't do this."
Ruby tensed her muscles and settled into her knees. This was the conflict that Mars had told her about, the fight she needed to cause. Somehow, she had the feeling that no matter what she'd chosen, it would further Mars' plan. But at least this was something that needed to happen anyway. "Weiss couldn't convince me to stop; why do you think you'd be able to?"
Professor Goodwitch took a deep breath. "Will it end if you were rendered unconscious?"
"No, it won't stop until I allow it to."
"I see." Her Aura began swirling around her. "That is most unfortunate."
"That's it then? You're just going to kill me?"
"You set yourself upon this path, despite knowing where it would lead." She closed her eyes and sighed. "It didn't have to be like this."
"No, you could have done what's right." Ruby unfolded Crescent Rose. "You could've helped me earlier, before this had to happen."
"You held the potential to become the greatest Huntress of your generation. You would have become a beacon of light in the darkness that surrounds us."
"I never wanted to be the greatest Huntress; I just wanted to help people."
"You still can do that." She commanded, "Release the spell that you placed on Beacon."
Ruby held the barrel of her weapon behind her. "No."
"Then so be it." The shards pulled closer to her and formed a blinding wall of light. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as the Anathema woman's spell.
Professor Goodwitch, the combat teacher, was arguably the best fighter at Beacon. Defeating her would show to the rest of the campus how serious Ruby was and how much more could be done. It would serve as an example, just like Weiss beating team CRDL had. She was blessed by Mars. Weiss, Blake, and Yang were all supposed to be stronger than her, so if she could take Goodwitch's best attacks, that should prove her point.
It would also mean that any repairs would take longer while she recovered and delay the Hunt for Yang even more.
<"O' winds of calamity,"> Professor Goodwitch chanted in the language of the gods as she gathered energy.
"Wait… How do you know that language?" Ruby gasped. Professor Goodwitch's pronunciation inflection was all wrong, but her words still made sense.
<"Descend from on high and unleash your raucous warning upon my foes."> The energy formed a sphere of deafening power in front of her mouth. <"Howl!">
The hair on Ruby's neck stood on end as the air around her electrified.
On second thought, maybe acting like Yang and just taking the hit was a bad idea.
Ruby stepped between the strings of the world as a hammer from the heavens smashing into the ground. A vortex of heavy sound shattered the tiles, turning them to dust.
She reappeared in the middle of the cloud, unaffected by the blast. A wave of fear erupted from the crowd, but Ruby couldn't care about that right now, because another spell was on the Professor's lips.
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Sandy River DL
(Verified Destroyer Leader)
- Location
- Lake Michigan
- Pronouns
- Her/She
Well, there goes that world order. And soon lots of things shall be on fire.
Ivan the Not-so-Terrible
AH MEW CHEEKI BREEKI I V DAMKE
- Location
- Mikonyan’s USSR
Goodwitch has Sorcery? This is gonna be fun.
- Location
- Somewhere!
- Pronouns
- She/Her
So from studying the ruins and things? I thought for sorcery you needed a pretty involved ritual to unlock it, and then also the language, though.
Spectrum
Tell me a secret~
- Location
- Behind you~
Happy Friday!
No excerpt by excerpt reaction this time, but...
(good job highlighting how horrifying all the second order effects of the effect are that Ruby is still rationalizing away)
And well Ruby, at least her chant wasn't <"Darkness beyond twilight, Crimson beyond blood that flows...">
No excerpt by excerpt reaction this time, but...
(good job highlighting how horrifying all the second order effects of the effect are that Ruby is still rationalizing away)
(Is this what hubris sounds like? I think it is.)
And well Ruby, at least her chant wasn't <"Darkness beyond twilight, Crimson beyond blood that flows...">
- Location
- NYC
A couple of typos:
'smashed' I think
'blast'
azoicennead
Overly-Affectionate Zombie Squad
- Pronouns
- He/They
Nope.
At least... Not in the sense you're thinking. In the 2e, what you actually need to do to unlock sorcery is go through the five trials.
The first is humility, to recognize your failings. The second is tutelage, to have a source for your knowledge. The third is a journey, to understand the importance of moments. The fourth is fear, to recognize and master your darkest fear. The fifth is sacrifice, to give up something that holds you back.
In 3e, I don't know of any specific requirements, and I don't know if 1e had the same trials or something else.
Of course not. That would be Solar level.
<"Darkness beyond blackest pitch"> of course, being a botched Miracle Shell.
- Location
- Somewhere!
- Pronouns
- She/Her
That's what I'm thinking of? I thought you had to know you were doing the trials, and so you'd have to have some idea of how they worked before you could start. Or can that just be things in your life?
azoicennead
Overly-Affectionate Zombie Squad
- Pronouns
- He/They
They can just be part of your life, and don't need to be in a specific order.
By the nature of their training, most Hunters have probably finished the first and third trials, and a significant portion have probably also finished the fourth and fifth.
Also, there was once a working - granted, one that may not be canon, but given Goodwitch I have no reason to believe otherwise - that guaranteed, for all time, that all who wished to learn Sorcery - even those who didn't even know it existed, but wished for the power to warp the world - would find it. Would find a tutor, and teachings, without fail.
It was called the Salinan Working, and while it was well-intentioned, it was... not very well thought out. Like many things the Exalts did.
It was called the Salinan Working, and while it was well-intentioned, it was... not very well thought out. Like many things the Exalts did.
kinigget
Best Demon
- Location
- People's Republic of Portland
As much as I admire Ruby's conviction, she's showing a remarkable lack of consideration for consequences. Changing the world order isn't something that just happens, and most of what she's managed to do right now is paint a target on her own back
I can see Weiss having to make a choice in the near future, and one with no good options
I can see Weiss having to make a choice in the near future, and one with no good options
Mother Nyx
Mother of Elpis
- Location
- The Kei Klub
- Pronouns
- She/Her
What it comes down to is the realization that right and wrong is a human concept, that does not exactly work. There is always going to be consequences for change. Sometimes to make something better a group has to suffer, and there is no way around that.
Because, Ruby is right, the current system is horrible and it does not work. It needs to be changed.
But no one was ever going to be willing to change it, not matter how long she worked at it, no matter how many people she convinced. Remember, the entire system is set up for that exact purpose.
So, here is the situation, in their effort to 'save lives' they have damned an entire group of people.
And, in an effort to do right and save the lives that were damned, she has consigned people to death as well.
Because without a doubt there will be so called Anathema who abuse their power, not that they should represent the whole of them, but it is the same way that there are undoubtedly Hunters who abuse theirs.
This all is going to come down to a case of shonen manga levels of might makes right, you all realize this?
Because, Ruby is right, the current system is horrible and it does not work. It needs to be changed.
But no one was ever going to be willing to change it, not matter how long she worked at it, no matter how many people she convinced. Remember, the entire system is set up for that exact purpose.
So, here is the situation, in their effort to 'save lives' they have damned an entire group of people.
And, in an effort to do right and save the lives that were damned, she has consigned people to death as well.
Because without a doubt there will be so called Anathema who abuse their power, not that they should represent the whole of them, but it is the same way that there are undoubtedly Hunters who abuse theirs.
This all is going to come down to a case of shonen manga levels of might makes right, you all realize this?
- Location
- Chicago
I agree with most of the above, and want to add my own spin on Lazyminx's words:
The outcome of this plot could come down to an exercise of "Might makes Right" Shonen power levels...but that would ultimately lead to a repeat of the cycle of Usurpation...and I think Graveless has something else in mind.
An interesting theme of the Exalted setting, I feel, is that power levels and "Excellence" alone won't solve everything. The history of the First Age, Second Age and Age of Sorrows is filled with famous Exalted rulers who've amassed great power and hardened their hearts to do what's necessary, but ultimately failed to change the world for the better. All their power level grinding and harsh choices for the "Greater Good" simply fertilized the soil for the Great Curse to take root.
It's only with the coming of the Exalted PCs...or the cast of RWBY, in this case, that positive change becomes possible. It's the ability to distinguish truth from lies, imagine new possibilities, and make wise choices that causes a Chosen stand out as a hero among heroes.*
To paraphrase a quote from a great Exalted crossover fanfic: "Good and Evil are relative. Kindness and Cruelty are not."
*Of course, Team RWBY has a ways to go before they get here.
The outcome of this plot could come down to an exercise of "Might makes Right" Shonen power levels...but that would ultimately lead to a repeat of the cycle of Usurpation...and I think Graveless has something else in mind.
An interesting theme of the Exalted setting, I feel, is that power levels and "Excellence" alone won't solve everything. The history of the First Age, Second Age and Age of Sorrows is filled with famous Exalted rulers who've amassed great power and hardened their hearts to do what's necessary, but ultimately failed to change the world for the better. All their power level grinding and harsh choices for the "Greater Good" simply fertilized the soil for the Great Curse to take root.
It's only with the coming of the Exalted PCs...or the cast of RWBY, in this case, that positive change becomes possible. It's the ability to distinguish truth from lies, imagine new possibilities, and make wise choices that causes a Chosen stand out as a hero among heroes.*
To paraphrase a quote from a great Exalted crossover fanfic: "Good and Evil are relative. Kindness and Cruelty are not."
*Of course, Team RWBY has a ways to go before they get here.
- Location
- italy bologna
I don't think i read that from what fanfic come from?
- Location
- Chicago
The First Iteration of "Glorious Shotgun Princess", spoken by Autocthonion as he explains why he created the Exaltations to overthrow his fellow Primordials...
BlackThief12
I'm a fucking ninja
- Location
- Puerto Rico, Vega Baja
It was a glorious fic that I have ever read.
BlackThief12
I'm a fucking ninja
- Location
- Puerto Rico, Vega Baja
You know... You guys has to stop and ask yourself one thing that is more important:
How did Glynda and Ozpin remember who Ruby is?
How did Glynda and Ozpin remember who Ruby is?