Pathfinder/RWBY: You Call That a God? A Summoner in Remnant Quest
- Thread starter shepsquared
- Start date
- Crossover
LordPanther14
The Definition of Insanity
- Location
- Land of the Free
[X] Try and summon a flying animal large enough to carry you safely to the ground
[X] Weiss Schnee
They're different in practically every way and yet both were being pushed to be future leaders. I think that's a good thread for them to build a friendship on and learn from each other.
[X] Weiss Schnee
They're different in practically every way and yet both were being pushed to be future leaders. I think that's a good thread for them to build a friendship on and learn from each other.
JmonsterNEO
Spouter of nonsense
- Location
- The quest forums
[X] Summon Drakōn and trust him to land safely
[X] Ilia Amiatola
Someone will have to keep an eye on her.
If the Wolf guy is based on Death from The Last Wish, I'm assuming that Niall is based off of Jiminy Cricket, not necessarily the same version from The Last Wish, but almost all of the characters in RWBY have fairy tale theming.
[X] Ilia Amiatola
Someone will have to keep an eye on her.
If the Wolf guy is based on Death from The Last Wish, I'm assuming that Niall is based off of Jiminy Cricket, not necessarily the same version from The Last Wish, but almost all of the characters in RWBY have fairy tale theming.
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shepsquared
Erratic Aussie
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
No, he's a snail actually. Because I was poking around on the wiki and saw that the Flash's mum was a snail when they did that corssover. Look up the Snail and the Rosebush if you want, but he's basically just there to be a background faunus because it made no sense for Velvet to show up. Jiminy Cricket faunus is an idea, but it'd require Niall to be a lot more interested in other people's affairs than he is.
Also Xanthe didn't immediately clock the antenna as snail antenna because snails are the concern of farmers, not her.
shepsquared
Erratic Aussie
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
Yeah, so a snail faunus would have weaponised antenna right? Or an iridescent shell that scatters magic. Very useful abilities for a huntsman to have.
[X] Use a Plant Dust Arrow to ensure a soft landing
[X] Ilia Amiatola
[X] Weiss Schnee
I feel like this landing strategy has the least chance of failing on us and blowing up in our faces because the rope can break and we can fail summons, but it's hard to screw up a bow shot. As for teammates, I put Ilia because I've almost never seen a fic with her, while Wiess would be fun for the drama of making her deal with our particular brand of weird.
[X] Ilia Amiatola
[X] Weiss Schnee
I feel like this landing strategy has the least chance of failing on us and blowing up in our faces because the rope can break and we can fail summons, but it's hard to screw up a bow shot. As for teammates, I put Ilia because I've almost never seen a fic with her, while Wiess would be fun for the drama of making her deal with our particular brand of weird.
shepsquared
Erratic Aussie
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
I don't know why Ilia gets underused in fanfics - she's the same age as Blake, went to a fancy Atlas prep school, is canonically into girls...
Perfect fodder for a ship fic with Weiss and if you're willing to pretend the prep school was a fancy combat school it's easy to get her at Beacon or Atlas.
That's why I thought of her when I pondered having an early infiltrator plot.
Probably shipping drama, but I never got too deep into that. The closest I come to any canon ship is Nuts & Dolts and well... rip.
I feel like Nora and, with dragging him behind, Ren would be more proactive about the whole magic thing and learning it.
I don't think we'd be shouting it from the rooftops or anything, but I feel like we're too passive for what the characters feel like they should be doing.
I don't think we'd be shouting it from the rooftops or anything, but I feel like we're too passive for what the characters feel like they should be doing.
shepsquared
Erratic Aussie
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
They will be, but it's literally been a week and they've been more focused on getting to Beacon. Ren is also bad at pushing someone to open up when they're in a bad place and he's assuming Xanthe is taking being cut off from her people and home worse than she is, while Nora hasn't quite gone 'wait, you can teach me magic?' because of the whole 'cultural assumptions of fantasy are more geared towards bloodlines' thing making her assume Xanthe only has magic because of Drakōn.
Xanthe also defaults to seeking independence when uncomfortable which has influenced the options available to you so far.
The next option with Nora will bring up magic and the possibility of adapting the adoption ritual to work for a sibling context, while I haven't pinned down Ren yet. Depends on if he ends up on your team.
But yeah, this probably should've come up sooner.
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[x] Try to summon a flying animal large to Cary you safely to the ground.
shepsquared
Erratic Aussie
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
In the future you should make sure to copy/paste the option you want to vote for because the tally goes by exact wording. I made sure your vote counted for a flier, but it isn't guaranteed that people will notice.
Ilia is thoroughly in the lead with Pyrrha just managing to pull ahead of Weiss and in a surprise upset the rope swing has been overtaken by an attempt at summoning a flying creature.
Leaving the vote open another 6-8 hours, so still time for that to change.
shepsquared
Erratic Aussie
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
Thanks for the vote, but you need to remove the space between the X and the ] for it to count.
I will still count it for this, but the tally program can't pick it up. Anyway...
Sorry for the delayed update. I got a bit blocked and then I went and caught covid, which has not made for a fun week. I'll post it when I can.
The Emerald Forest P1 - Partners
shepsquared
Erratic Aussie
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
You listen with one ear as the Professors repeat the rules of the Initiation. The random element of selecting your partner from those who land around you would be concerning if you had any preference, but more concerning is that they say nothing of how teams are formed beyond that - is it based on eye contact as well? How are they keeping people from lying about who they saw first?
You set aside your idle thoughts as you step onto the catapult and focus on the challenge ahead of you. A Landing Strategy is apparently a vital skill for a Huntress and you've had five minutes to figure one out. You'd considered tying rope to your arrows so you could latch onto tree branches and control your fall or summoning Drakōn to make it his problem, but you don't have time or the rope for more than two or three arrows and you already know what he'd say.
Instead you'll summon a giant beast to carry you to safety. Preferably an eagle or pteranodon but if they prove to be beyond you a flying squirrel or fly should suffice. Technically you've never managed to summon anything larger than a young wolf, but you have faith in your abilities.
And in the worst case scenario you'll do what Rolan always told you - tuck into a ball, roll sideways and pray. That was advice about riding Drakōn of course, but it should still apply.
You're launched into the air just as an unfortunate blonde man realises what's happening. From the sounds of it he's even less prepared than you. Hopefully he's a quick thinker.
The wind rushes past as you fly through the air, stealing away the sound of everything but your own laugh as you spin. You've broken free from the grip of gravity and even knowing it will end in 'Terminal Velocity', the sheer rush is almost as exhilarating as the first time you rode Drakōn into battle.
As gravity takes hold of you once more you close your eyes and reach out to the forest below you. It's just as full of life as you expected and it's difficult to find the spirit you need. There are countless trees, animals and other beings within and you need one to respond. Just one bird to hear your call.
A brief feeling of confusion rapidly overwhelmed by determined purpose answers you, taking the form of a wolf sized Barn Owl that emerges from your summoning circle and grabs your shoulders with a triumphant screech.
The bird isn't strong enough to carry you while flying, but it's more than strong enough to turn your fall into a glide.
You silently direct it towards a clearing as you look around, seeing Nora sitting on her hammer and Ren utterly focused on his target before locking your gaze on the blonde boy from earlier. He doesn't seem to have come up with a landing strategy and has instead been screaming the entire time.
You use the few seconds before the trees block your vision to nock an arrow and carefully aim, loosing it with confidence that it'll stop his fall. What happens next is up to him.
You release your summoning spell once you're only a few dozen feet above the ground, letting the spirit return to its nocturnal schedule as you drop the far more manageable distance and land with a roll.
You take a moment to relish your success before pulling out your horn, the trumpeting of a mammoth echoing through the forest to let Ren and Nora where you are.
Not that you intend to stay here.
Almost immediately your horn is answered by the howling of wolves and you grin as you listen, taking note of which of the seven were closest.
"Skode, witness my hunt." You pray before readying yourself for battle.
The first two wolves come from the east, leaping out of the foliage with a terrifying speed. They're strong and unsubtle, having abandoned stealth in favour of speed and are met by a pair of arrows, loosed at the same time.
"That's two." You note with pride. It takes a third arrow to secure the second kill and you can't help but tsk at your sloppy aim. A lesser hunter would relax, but you know how wolves hunt.
Five more reveal themselves almost simultaneously, having taken the time to surround you while the first two distracted you. The Beowolves attack just as you expected, two advancing from opposing sides in an attempt to divide your attention.
You pin one's foot to the ground before ducking under the lunge of the wolf behind you, turning and shooting it in the throat at point-blank range. As a third lunges at you from your left you jump, kicking off of its shoulders and taking aim at the incoming fourth wolf as you vault off of the third.
A claw scrapes across your shoulder as you land, the fifth wolf making itself known. You snarl in its face and smack it with your bow, forcing it back with two more blows.
The fourth wolf hits the ground as you take aim at the fifth in front of you, turning just before you loose and nailing the first wolf in the chest as it tries to sneak up on you.
"And three makes five." You say, turning back to the fifth wolf as it advances, stepping away to keep the third in your peripheral vision.
You don't have the time to line up another twin shot, so you instead bury two arrows in the chest of the fifth wolf and dodge the wild swipes of the third.
Once more you're forced to use your bow as a club to give yourself space but at least you get to stab it and feel the fight leave its body as the beast collapses.
This is why you fight from Drakōn's back when on the front lines. Not only is it more impressive, effective and fun but you broke your last bow on an abrikandilu's horns because of this.
You watch the wolves start to dissolve into smoke and smile when you're certain they're all dead. You can get behind a foe that disposes of their own corpse instead of forcing you to worry about further taint. There's isn't even any blood for you to clean off of your dagger.
It only takes a few moments for you to manifest Drakōn and climb into the saddle, but it's long enough that for you to question your next move.
Do you continue to blow your horn and wait for Nora to find you? You know she'd prefer Ren but meeting up with the two of them was sort of the plan. Plus you'd get to keep luring in Grimm to kill and you're not sure how many need to die for the jerk to be humbled.
Or you could forge a path north and embrace the odd rules of Beacon. Let chance decide who your partner would be and prove yourself by finding the relic.The Grimm will find you either way.
"There is a spell known as 'Feather Fall' that I have mentioned before." Drakōn begins.
"I don't want to talk about this." You say.
"Feather Fall, Air Bubble, Heal, Tame, Mending, Purify Food and Drink. Simple spells that can easily save your life. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, you know this." He continues.
"I already know two of those spells, I just didn't think Feather Fall was a priority." You say defensively. "I only have so much time to dedicate to learning magic, and now I have even less. I need to focus on the spells most useful to my daily life."
"Everyone learns magic at their own pace and I have let you determine yours. But I will not be silent and allow you to repeat the mistakes of the past. I have seen too many die because they thought there would always be more time." Drakōn says.
"Right now I can't even cast most of the spells I know. Remember what Maria said?" You say quietly, contemplating exactly what you're going to have to go without. You can't even risk a Heal without drawing attention.
"Then you should work on your summoning spells. After you learn Feather Fall." Drakōn points out. "As Ren said, flying Grimm are something you must be prepared for. You never know when they'll sink an airship or use their flight against you."
"We'll see." You say, kicking at the stirrups. "Let's go find this relic first."
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Weiss Schnee strode through the forest with purpose. She knew exactly what she was doing - her partner would be Pyrrha Nikos, the best possible fighter at Beacon. Together they'd be the strongest pair and once she's made the leader of their team they'd dominate the Academy.
Four years of success would prove to her father that she knew what she was doing and leave her poised to fix all his mistakes while following in Winter's footsteps.
All she had to do was avoid being saddled with any bumbling idiots like Ruby or that Jaune boy, or the uncouth giant or that angry Blake girl and she'd be set.
Pyrrha Nikos also moved through the forest with purpose. Miló had definitely saved Jaune from a painful landing but she wasn't sure she could trust him to handle himself. He needed help.
The fact that he was one of the few people she'd spoken to that she'd be happy to partner with had nothing to do with it. She just needed to reclaim her weapon and make sure he was okay. That doing so would let her avoid being partnered up with any fangirls was just a side benefit.
At least that's what she told herself.
So when the two stepped into the same clearing and locked eyes, Weiss was too busy celebrating to notice the disappointment in Pyrrha's eyes.
"Pyrrha!" She calls out in delight. "Excellent. We'll make a perfect team."
"That'll be wonderful." Pyrrha says with the same smile she wears on every poster and cereal box.
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Nora leaps from tree to tree with a rare level of urgency and care.
She'd watched Ren the entire time they'd flown through the air, made sure she landed nearby. All she had to do was find him and everything would be perfect.
She circles around several students and keeps going without them spotting her. Until the tree she's aiming for falls, torn apart when someone an Ursa flew through it.
"What? You want some too?" She hears someone yell.
Nora lands on the Ursa as it tries to stand, crushing it with Magnhild. One pull of the trigger is all she'll need to get her momentum back.
But she can't help looking up and grinning when she sees Yang tearing into another Ursa, her hair burning and eyes red as she obliterates it with a flurry of powerful punches.
"Blow them to shreds!" She cheers, prompting Yang to turn around, clearly expecting more of a fight.
"Hey! Nora right? Guess we're partners." She calls out, the anger quickly vanishing from her face and stance once she sees whats happening.
"Yeah." Nora agrees, realising what she's done. She looked at Yang's eyes, which means Yang is her partner. And someone else is going to be Ren's partner. If they're not partners they probably won't be on the same team. They'd grow apart over the years, Ren would fall in love with some other girl, probably his partner, and Xanthe would stop talking to her when she didn't need her anymore. And she'd be too hung up on Ren so her team would abandon her. She'd be all alone.
"Are you okay?" Yang asks, stepping towards her.
"I'm fine!" Nora declares, grinning as she twirls her hammer and finishes off the Ursa shes standing on with an explosive strike. "Lets go find another one of these. I haven't shown you how I wrestle bears!"
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Things had not gone how Jaune had expected them to.
OK sure, he'd gotten into Beacon without any trouble. But despite his best efforts none of the girls he'd talked to had been interested and he'd been caught off guard by this 'Landing Strategy' stuff.
Fortunately he hadn't broken his arms trying to tank everything with his shield, but things weren't much better.
Someone, or several someones, had taken pity on him. He was pinned to a tree by a spear and arrow that had broken his fall and trapped him at the same time.
No matter how much he squirmed they weren't moving - and he'd squirmed pretty hard.
Now he was just waiting for someone to come and get him down. Hopefully it wouldn't be one of the teachers, telling he'd failed. Then again, that'd be better then a Grimm.
But that couldn't happen. They wouldn't let a Grimm eat him just because someone else got him stuck. Sure they'd said that they'd be on their own in the forest but they sure didn't mean it...
Right?
He didn't need to worry about the gunshots and explosions that constantly echoed through the forest, or the howling of wolves and the toppling of trees.
He wasn't in any real danger.
Even that creepy whistling wasn't anything to worry about.
Even if it was getting closer.
And he still couldn't even get the spear to wiggle. Even when he wrapped his legs around it as well as his arms.
"You okay up there amigo?" Someone calls up to him.
Jaune looks down cautiously, seeing the giant man grinning at his plight.
Grey hair, red eyes, a thin wispy goatee, dark clothes under a black poncho, a giant sword on his back and of course the dog ears standing up on his head made one hell of an intimidating impression.
"Yeah, I'm just... Hanging around." Jaune says, as confidently as he can manage.
"I'll leave you to it then. Adios." The faunus says, turning to leave with a chuckle.
"Wait, come back! Please get me down from here!" Jaune calls out, feeling utterly helpless when the faunus vanishes.
Only for the tree to shake as the man appears on a branch next to him.
"Of course I will." He says with an even wider grin. "You're a little jumpy, aren't you. Like a rabbit."
Jaune shifts, acutely aware of the logo hidden beneath his breastplate.
"I just don't like heights." He lies.
"Of course." The faunus says with a wink, pulling the spear and arrow from the tree with ease, letting Jaune drop to the ground. "I'm Lobo by the way."
"Jaune Arc. Short, sweet. The ladies" Jaune begins as he hauls himself up, flinching and stopping when the spear and arrow are dropped at his feet. "Oh forget it."
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'Gotta find Yang.' Ruby thinks to herself as she darts through the forest.
She'd lost track of her sister in the air and couldn't help but run through her potential partners.
Xanthe was nice. She didn't know much about dust sure, but she obviously knew what she was doing. Even if she was a little intimidating and didn't name her bow. Which was really weird.
There was also Blake - she was super cool. Calm and mysterious and she liked books! But she was hard to talk to, even if she didn't like Weiss either.
Weiss was probably the worst case scenario. Mean, angry and self-important. Ruby really didn't want to spend the next four years getting yelled at for no good reason.
Ren and Nora had been nice enough, even if Ren hadn't said much Nora had talked enough for both of them. But she was kind of easily distracted. And very focused on Ren.
'Who else is there?' Ruby wonders just before jumping through a bush and crashing into someone, petals and leaves flying everywhere.
She immediately darts backwards, her eyes locked on the ground. Literally running into someone wasn't a good way to make friends.
"Are you okay?" She asks, half cringing as she slowly looks up, seeing jeans, a blonde furred tail and... tanned abs? "Sun?" She asks, quickly looking at his face. "Sun!" She yells thoroughly relieved.
"Ruby!" He yells back. "Where 's the fire?"
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Silently Ren fought the King Taijitu. The double headed snake was swift and agile, more so than he'd expected.
But he could handle it. The problem was the second on that had showed up.
An open palm strike and a pulse of his aura sends one black head reeling back, giving him just enough space to turn and grab the fangs of another head, firing into the gaping maw with his other hand.
It had little effect and he was forced to let the snake push him backwards, but he easily made the momentum and jumped on the head that was lunging towards him.
A few swipes with Stormflower were all he could afford as the other Taijitu lunged in again, the two snakes easily coordinating and avoiding getting tangled in each other's coils.
Until he struck again, a deliberate twist of his aura sending the two crashing into each other and a nearby boulder.
He flourished Stormflower once more, about to open fire, but holds back.
As the snakes twist together, hiding which head belonged to which snake as they approached him once more, one white head went stiff.
The sudden halt rapidly spread through the snake's body, hampering the other Taijitu and giving him the opening he needed to step close and stab both of Stormflower's blades into the still withing black head.
Both Taijitu turn to smoke quickly, leaving Ren staring at his unseen helper - Blake Belladonna. He'd heard her reluctantly talking to some other students, but she looked different now.
Even though the Grimm were dead, her stance was nothing but tension, ready for something to lunge at her from the shadows.
Or maybe ready for him to lunge at her.
She wasn't Nora. But what was done was done. He'd have to make the best of it.
So he smiled and introduced himself, pretending he hadn't noticed how she was standing.
And to her credit, Blake smiled at him. It took her a moment to relax, but she did relax.
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As Drakōn strides through the forest you take the chance to pick off a few more Grimm.
Disappointingly only two attack - a pair of weird stubby lizard things, as if someone had cut off Drakōn's arms and half of his legs. They didn't put up much of a fight either.
Still, it was something. The only other real sign of life you've seen so far is a butterfly with iridescent purple wings, orange eye spots and white markings.
"We are never lost following butterflies." Drakōn points out as the two of you watch it fly away.
"I know." You agree. It's a common Desnan saying, a reminder that the goddesses' guidance can be found everywhere, if you take the time to look.
Drakōn follows the butterfly's path and though it vanishes into the forest you are soon rewarded.
In a shadowed clearing strewn with shattered tree limbs and slowly disintegrating pieces of Grimm, you see the final movements of battle.
A metallic whip wrapped around a large, bony bear, lightning dancing along it and burning through the Grimm's coat.
Holding the whip is Ilia, her expression utterly savage as she relishes the Grimm's suffering.
You wait until the lightning ceases and the Grimm falls to speak.
"Nice work." You call out, sliding off of Drakōn. "Very flashy."
Ilia turns and glares at you for a moment, her eyes and freckles quickly fading from red back to gray and brown. Odd.
"Thanks." She says after a moment, her eyes flicking between you and Drakōn.
"Greetings Ilia." He says, lowering his head in a half-nod half-bow.
"This is Drakōn. He's my, ah," You pause, figuring out the right word to use. God is out and partner definitely doesn't fit. "Eidolon. My Semblance lets me summon him."
"You may think of me as an extension of her will to survive." Drakōn adds.
"Hi." Ilia says, still on guard.
"Is that a chain sword?" You ask, nodding at her weapon.
"A sword-whip." Ilia says, pressing a button and causing the whip to retract and become a pointy rapier-like blade. Very different from the longsword-like blades favoured in Nirmathas and Molthune.
"A weapon with plenty of reach for fighting up close. And I dominate at range." You say with a smile, brushing your hand across your bow. "So. Do you want to ride my dinosaur?"
Ilia blinks at you, as if she still wasn't sure Drakōn is real. You can see her eyes flick from the sigil on your cheek to the one on Drakōn's as she thinks, before she smiles.
"Let's ride." She says.
"Great!" You say, leaping onto Drakōn's back. "Feel free to use the stirrups, they don't do anything unless you need to stand up. There are no reins for a reason. If Drakōn needs to run make sure you grip with your legs and grab me or the horns, whichever is in front of you." You quickly explain.
"I can forgive a clumsy strike, but do not let your whip entangle my legs." Drakōn continues. "And please don't pluck my feathers."
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As you and Ilia seek a relic in the forest, which path do you take?
[ ] Ancient Ruins - This was a town once. Amid the broken buildings and faded paths lingers a spirit.
[ ] Foreboding Cavern - You can't tell if this is man-made or not. But someone hid and sealed something in here.
[ ] Hidden River - The scent of water is unmistakable. This river was buried for a reason.
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A/N: I'm finally back. Covid didn't just knock for a loop, it left me struggling to remember what my plans were. Probably because I spent my spare time figuring out Rimworld instead of working on this. I also lost a draft, which was lucky for you because I know one of the rolls in it was a critical failure, but can't remember this.
I got a few new ideas from Pathfinder's new item focused book but I'm left wishing the big book of Elemental stuff would release sooner.
So yeah, extra length update. You know all the pairs, bonuses will go to whoever first:
-Figures out your team and my planned name for it
-Figures out the other two teams and their planned name
-Anyone who comes up with a better idea than I was thinking.
These bonuses will be available until Initiation ends, which should be 2-3 updates.
As always, ask me any questions you may have.
You set aside your idle thoughts as you step onto the catapult and focus on the challenge ahead of you. A Landing Strategy is apparently a vital skill for a Huntress and you've had five minutes to figure one out. You'd considered tying rope to your arrows so you could latch onto tree branches and control your fall or summoning Drakōn to make it his problem, but you don't have time or the rope for more than two or three arrows and you already know what he'd say.
Instead you'll summon a giant beast to carry you to safety. Preferably an eagle or pteranodon but if they prove to be beyond you a flying squirrel or fly should suffice. Technically you've never managed to summon anything larger than a young wolf, but you have faith in your abilities.
And in the worst case scenario you'll do what Rolan always told you - tuck into a ball, roll sideways and pray. That was advice about riding Drakōn of course, but it should still apply.
You're launched into the air just as an unfortunate blonde man realises what's happening. From the sounds of it he's even less prepared than you. Hopefully he's a quick thinker.
The wind rushes past as you fly through the air, stealing away the sound of everything but your own laugh as you spin. You've broken free from the grip of gravity and even knowing it will end in 'Terminal Velocity', the sheer rush is almost as exhilarating as the first time you rode Drakōn into battle.
As gravity takes hold of you once more you close your eyes and reach out to the forest below you. It's just as full of life as you expected and it's difficult to find the spirit you need. There are countless trees, animals and other beings within and you need one to respond. Just one bird to hear your call.
A brief feeling of confusion rapidly overwhelmed by determined purpose answers you, taking the form of a wolf sized Barn Owl that emerges from your summoning circle and grabs your shoulders with a triumphant screech.
The bird isn't strong enough to carry you while flying, but it's more than strong enough to turn your fall into a glide.
You silently direct it towards a clearing as you look around, seeing Nora sitting on her hammer and Ren utterly focused on his target before locking your gaze on the blonde boy from earlier. He doesn't seem to have come up with a landing strategy and has instead been screaming the entire time.
You use the few seconds before the trees block your vision to nock an arrow and carefully aim, loosing it with confidence that it'll stop his fall. What happens next is up to him.
You release your summoning spell once you're only a few dozen feet above the ground, letting the spirit return to its nocturnal schedule as you drop the far more manageable distance and land with a roll.
You take a moment to relish your success before pulling out your horn, the trumpeting of a mammoth echoing through the forest to let Ren and Nora where you are.
Not that you intend to stay here.
Almost immediately your horn is answered by the howling of wolves and you grin as you listen, taking note of which of the seven were closest.
"Skode, witness my hunt." You pray before readying yourself for battle.
The first two wolves come from the east, leaping out of the foliage with a terrifying speed. They're strong and unsubtle, having abandoned stealth in favour of speed and are met by a pair of arrows, loosed at the same time.
"That's two." You note with pride. It takes a third arrow to secure the second kill and you can't help but tsk at your sloppy aim. A lesser hunter would relax, but you know how wolves hunt.
Five more reveal themselves almost simultaneously, having taken the time to surround you while the first two distracted you. The Beowolves attack just as you expected, two advancing from opposing sides in an attempt to divide your attention.
You pin one's foot to the ground before ducking under the lunge of the wolf behind you, turning and shooting it in the throat at point-blank range. As a third lunges at you from your left you jump, kicking off of its shoulders and taking aim at the incoming fourth wolf as you vault off of the third.
A claw scrapes across your shoulder as you land, the fifth wolf making itself known. You snarl in its face and smack it with your bow, forcing it back with two more blows.
The fourth wolf hits the ground as you take aim at the fifth in front of you, turning just before you loose and nailing the first wolf in the chest as it tries to sneak up on you.
"And three makes five." You say, turning back to the fifth wolf as it advances, stepping away to keep the third in your peripheral vision.
You don't have the time to line up another twin shot, so you instead bury two arrows in the chest of the fifth wolf and dodge the wild swipes of the third.
Once more you're forced to use your bow as a club to give yourself space but at least you get to stab it and feel the fight leave its body as the beast collapses.
This is why you fight from Drakōn's back when on the front lines. Not only is it more impressive, effective and fun but you broke your last bow on an abrikandilu's horns because of this.
You watch the wolves start to dissolve into smoke and smile when you're certain they're all dead. You can get behind a foe that disposes of their own corpse instead of forcing you to worry about further taint. There's isn't even any blood for you to clean off of your dagger.
It only takes a few moments for you to manifest Drakōn and climb into the saddle, but it's long enough that for you to question your next move.
Do you continue to blow your horn and wait for Nora to find you? You know she'd prefer Ren but meeting up with the two of them was sort of the plan. Plus you'd get to keep luring in Grimm to kill and you're not sure how many need to die for the jerk to be humbled.
Or you could forge a path north and embrace the odd rules of Beacon. Let chance decide who your partner would be and prove yourself by finding the relic.The Grimm will find you either way.
"There is a spell known as 'Feather Fall' that I have mentioned before." Drakōn begins.
"I don't want to talk about this." You say.
"Feather Fall, Air Bubble, Heal, Tame, Mending, Purify Food and Drink. Simple spells that can easily save your life. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, you know this." He continues.
"I already know two of those spells, I just didn't think Feather Fall was a priority." You say defensively. "I only have so much time to dedicate to learning magic, and now I have even less. I need to focus on the spells most useful to my daily life."
"Everyone learns magic at their own pace and I have let you determine yours. But I will not be silent and allow you to repeat the mistakes of the past. I have seen too many die because they thought there would always be more time." Drakōn says.
"Right now I can't even cast most of the spells I know. Remember what Maria said?" You say quietly, contemplating exactly what you're going to have to go without. You can't even risk a Heal without drawing attention.
"Then you should work on your summoning spells. After you learn Feather Fall." Drakōn points out. "As Ren said, flying Grimm are something you must be prepared for. You never know when they'll sink an airship or use their flight against you."
"We'll see." You say, kicking at the stirrups. "Let's go find this relic first."
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Weiss Schnee strode through the forest with purpose. She knew exactly what she was doing - her partner would be Pyrrha Nikos, the best possible fighter at Beacon. Together they'd be the strongest pair and once she's made the leader of their team they'd dominate the Academy.
Four years of success would prove to her father that she knew what she was doing and leave her poised to fix all his mistakes while following in Winter's footsteps.
All she had to do was avoid being saddled with any bumbling idiots like Ruby or that Jaune boy, or the uncouth giant or that angry Blake girl and she'd be set.
Pyrrha Nikos also moved through the forest with purpose. Miló had definitely saved Jaune from a painful landing but she wasn't sure she could trust him to handle himself. He needed help.
The fact that he was one of the few people she'd spoken to that she'd be happy to partner with had nothing to do with it. She just needed to reclaim her weapon and make sure he was okay. That doing so would let her avoid being partnered up with any fangirls was just a side benefit.
At least that's what she told herself.
So when the two stepped into the same clearing and locked eyes, Weiss was too busy celebrating to notice the disappointment in Pyrrha's eyes.
"Pyrrha!" She calls out in delight. "Excellent. We'll make a perfect team."
"That'll be wonderful." Pyrrha says with the same smile she wears on every poster and cereal box.
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Nora leaps from tree to tree with a rare level of urgency and care.
She'd watched Ren the entire time they'd flown through the air, made sure she landed nearby. All she had to do was find him and everything would be perfect.
She circles around several students and keeps going without them spotting her. Until the tree she's aiming for falls, torn apart when someone an Ursa flew through it.
"What? You want some too?" She hears someone yell.
Nora lands on the Ursa as it tries to stand, crushing it with Magnhild. One pull of the trigger is all she'll need to get her momentum back.
But she can't help looking up and grinning when she sees Yang tearing into another Ursa, her hair burning and eyes red as she obliterates it with a flurry of powerful punches.
"Blow them to shreds!" She cheers, prompting Yang to turn around, clearly expecting more of a fight.
"Hey! Nora right? Guess we're partners." She calls out, the anger quickly vanishing from her face and stance once she sees whats happening.
"Yeah." Nora agrees, realising what she's done. She looked at Yang's eyes, which means Yang is her partner. And someone else is going to be Ren's partner. If they're not partners they probably won't be on the same team. They'd grow apart over the years, Ren would fall in love with some other girl, probably his partner, and Xanthe would stop talking to her when she didn't need her anymore. And she'd be too hung up on Ren so her team would abandon her. She'd be all alone.
"Are you okay?" Yang asks, stepping towards her.
"I'm fine!" Nora declares, grinning as she twirls her hammer and finishes off the Ursa shes standing on with an explosive strike. "Lets go find another one of these. I haven't shown you how I wrestle bears!"
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Things had not gone how Jaune had expected them to.
OK sure, he'd gotten into Beacon without any trouble. But despite his best efforts none of the girls he'd talked to had been interested and he'd been caught off guard by this 'Landing Strategy' stuff.
Fortunately he hadn't broken his arms trying to tank everything with his shield, but things weren't much better.
Someone, or several someones, had taken pity on him. He was pinned to a tree by a spear and arrow that had broken his fall and trapped him at the same time.
No matter how much he squirmed they weren't moving - and he'd squirmed pretty hard.
Now he was just waiting for someone to come and get him down. Hopefully it wouldn't be one of the teachers, telling he'd failed. Then again, that'd be better then a Grimm.
But that couldn't happen. They wouldn't let a Grimm eat him just because someone else got him stuck. Sure they'd said that they'd be on their own in the forest but they sure didn't mean it...
Right?
He didn't need to worry about the gunshots and explosions that constantly echoed through the forest, or the howling of wolves and the toppling of trees.
He wasn't in any real danger.
Even that creepy whistling wasn't anything to worry about.
Even if it was getting closer.
And he still couldn't even get the spear to wiggle. Even when he wrapped his legs around it as well as his arms.
"You okay up there amigo?" Someone calls up to him.
Jaune looks down cautiously, seeing the giant man grinning at his plight.
Grey hair, red eyes, a thin wispy goatee, dark clothes under a black poncho, a giant sword on his back and of course the dog ears standing up on his head made one hell of an intimidating impression.
"Yeah, I'm just... Hanging around." Jaune says, as confidently as he can manage.
"I'll leave you to it then. Adios." The faunus says, turning to leave with a chuckle.
"Wait, come back! Please get me down from here!" Jaune calls out, feeling utterly helpless when the faunus vanishes.
Only for the tree to shake as the man appears on a branch next to him.
"Of course I will." He says with an even wider grin. "You're a little jumpy, aren't you. Like a rabbit."
Jaune shifts, acutely aware of the logo hidden beneath his breastplate.
"I just don't like heights." He lies.
"Of course." The faunus says with a wink, pulling the spear and arrow from the tree with ease, letting Jaune drop to the ground. "I'm Lobo by the way."
"Jaune Arc. Short, sweet. The ladies" Jaune begins as he hauls himself up, flinching and stopping when the spear and arrow are dropped at his feet. "Oh forget it."
----------------------------------
'Gotta find Yang.' Ruby thinks to herself as she darts through the forest.
She'd lost track of her sister in the air and couldn't help but run through her potential partners.
Xanthe was nice. She didn't know much about dust sure, but she obviously knew what she was doing. Even if she was a little intimidating and didn't name her bow. Which was really weird.
There was also Blake - she was super cool. Calm and mysterious and she liked books! But she was hard to talk to, even if she didn't like Weiss either.
Weiss was probably the worst case scenario. Mean, angry and self-important. Ruby really didn't want to spend the next four years getting yelled at for no good reason.
Ren and Nora had been nice enough, even if Ren hadn't said much Nora had talked enough for both of them. But she was kind of easily distracted. And very focused on Ren.
'Who else is there?' Ruby wonders just before jumping through a bush and crashing into someone, petals and leaves flying everywhere.
She immediately darts backwards, her eyes locked on the ground. Literally running into someone wasn't a good way to make friends.
"Are you okay?" She asks, half cringing as she slowly looks up, seeing jeans, a blonde furred tail and... tanned abs? "Sun?" She asks, quickly looking at his face. "Sun!" She yells thoroughly relieved.
"Ruby!" He yells back. "Where 's the fire?"
----------------------------------
Silently Ren fought the King Taijitu. The double headed snake was swift and agile, more so than he'd expected.
But he could handle it. The problem was the second on that had showed up.
An open palm strike and a pulse of his aura sends one black head reeling back, giving him just enough space to turn and grab the fangs of another head, firing into the gaping maw with his other hand.
It had little effect and he was forced to let the snake push him backwards, but he easily made the momentum and jumped on the head that was lunging towards him.
A few swipes with Stormflower were all he could afford as the other Taijitu lunged in again, the two snakes easily coordinating and avoiding getting tangled in each other's coils.
Until he struck again, a deliberate twist of his aura sending the two crashing into each other and a nearby boulder.
He flourished Stormflower once more, about to open fire, but holds back.
As the snakes twist together, hiding which head belonged to which snake as they approached him once more, one white head went stiff.
The sudden halt rapidly spread through the snake's body, hampering the other Taijitu and giving him the opening he needed to step close and stab both of Stormflower's blades into the still withing black head.
Both Taijitu turn to smoke quickly, leaving Ren staring at his unseen helper - Blake Belladonna. He'd heard her reluctantly talking to some other students, but she looked different now.
Even though the Grimm were dead, her stance was nothing but tension, ready for something to lunge at her from the shadows.
Or maybe ready for him to lunge at her.
She wasn't Nora. But what was done was done. He'd have to make the best of it.
So he smiled and introduced himself, pretending he hadn't noticed how she was standing.
And to her credit, Blake smiled at him. It took her a moment to relax, but she did relax.
----------------------------------
As Drakōn strides through the forest you take the chance to pick off a few more Grimm.
Disappointingly only two attack - a pair of weird stubby lizard things, as if someone had cut off Drakōn's arms and half of his legs. They didn't put up much of a fight either.
Still, it was something. The only other real sign of life you've seen so far is a butterfly with iridescent purple wings, orange eye spots and white markings.
"We are never lost following butterflies." Drakōn points out as the two of you watch it fly away.
"I know." You agree. It's a common Desnan saying, a reminder that the goddesses' guidance can be found everywhere, if you take the time to look.
Drakōn follows the butterfly's path and though it vanishes into the forest you are soon rewarded.
In a shadowed clearing strewn with shattered tree limbs and slowly disintegrating pieces of Grimm, you see the final movements of battle.
A metallic whip wrapped around a large, bony bear, lightning dancing along it and burning through the Grimm's coat.
Holding the whip is Ilia, her expression utterly savage as she relishes the Grimm's suffering.
You wait until the lightning ceases and the Grimm falls to speak.
"Nice work." You call out, sliding off of Drakōn. "Very flashy."
Ilia turns and glares at you for a moment, her eyes and freckles quickly fading from red back to gray and brown. Odd.
"Thanks." She says after a moment, her eyes flicking between you and Drakōn.
"Greetings Ilia." He says, lowering his head in a half-nod half-bow.
"This is Drakōn. He's my, ah," You pause, figuring out the right word to use. God is out and partner definitely doesn't fit. "Eidolon. My Semblance lets me summon him."
"You may think of me as an extension of her will to survive." Drakōn adds.
"Hi." Ilia says, still on guard.
"Is that a chain sword?" You ask, nodding at her weapon.
"A sword-whip." Ilia says, pressing a button and causing the whip to retract and become a pointy rapier-like blade. Very different from the longsword-like blades favoured in Nirmathas and Molthune.
"A weapon with plenty of reach for fighting up close. And I dominate at range." You say with a smile, brushing your hand across your bow. "So. Do you want to ride my dinosaur?"
Ilia blinks at you, as if she still wasn't sure Drakōn is real. You can see her eyes flick from the sigil on your cheek to the one on Drakōn's as she thinks, before she smiles.
"Let's ride." She says.
"Great!" You say, leaping onto Drakōn's back. "Feel free to use the stirrups, they don't do anything unless you need to stand up. There are no reins for a reason. If Drakōn needs to run make sure you grip with your legs and grab me or the horns, whichever is in front of you." You quickly explain.
"I can forgive a clumsy strike, but do not let your whip entangle my legs." Drakōn continues. "And please don't pluck my feathers."
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Landing Strategy
Raw DCs: 40/90
Bonuses: + 10 (Summoner) + 15 (Charisma) - 10 (High Pressure) - 5 (Pushing the Limit) = 10 (+8 to roll, -2 to DCs)
True DCs: 38/88
Roll: 1d100 + 8 = 59 + 8 = 67. Success
Wolf Pack
Raw DC: 50
Bonuses: + 15 (Archer) + 5 (Confidence) - 5 (Outnumbered) = 15 (+12 to roll, -3 to DCs)
True DC: 47
Roll: 1d100 + 12 = 62 + 12 = 74. Success
Spotting Spots
Raw DCs: 40/80
Bonuses: + 10 (Perception) + 10 (Two Sets of Eyes) = 20 (+16 to roll, -4 to DCs)
True DCs: 36/76
Roll: 1d100 + 16 = 36 + 16 = 52. Success
Raw DCs: 40/90
Bonuses: + 10 (Summoner) + 15 (Charisma) - 10 (High Pressure) - 5 (Pushing the Limit) = 10 (+8 to roll, -2 to DCs)
True DCs: 38/88
Roll: 1d100 + 8 = 59 + 8 = 67. Success
Wolf Pack
Raw DC: 50
Bonuses: + 15 (Archer) + 5 (Confidence) - 5 (Outnumbered) = 15 (+12 to roll, -3 to DCs)
True DC: 47
Roll: 1d100 + 12 = 62 + 12 = 74. Success
Spotting Spots
Raw DCs: 40/80
Bonuses: + 10 (Perception) + 10 (Two Sets of Eyes) = 20 (+16 to roll, -4 to DCs)
True DCs: 36/76
Roll: 1d100 + 16 = 36 + 16 = 52. Success
As you and Ilia seek a relic in the forest, which path do you take?
[ ] Ancient Ruins - This was a town once. Amid the broken buildings and faded paths lingers a spirit.
[ ] Foreboding Cavern - You can't tell if this is man-made or not. But someone hid and sealed something in here.
[ ] Hidden River - The scent of water is unmistakable. This river was buried for a reason.
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A/N: I'm finally back. Covid didn't just knock for a loop, it left me struggling to remember what my plans were. Probably because I spent my spare time figuring out Rimworld instead of working on this. I also lost a draft, which was lucky for you because I know one of the rolls in it was a critical failure, but can't remember this.
I got a few new ideas from Pathfinder's new item focused book but I'm left wishing the big book of Elemental stuff would release sooner.
So yeah, extra length update. You know all the pairs, bonuses will go to whoever first:
-Figures out your team and my planned name for it
-Figures out the other two teams and their planned name
-Anyone who comes up with a better idea than I was thinking.
These bonuses will be available until Initiation ends, which should be 2-3 updates.
As always, ask me any questions you may have.
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TennoTurian
Full of Quest Ideas but lack the drive to do most
- Location
- Under the floorboards
Glad to see you're feeling better dude!
Also, here's hoping we get Yang and Nora on the team, a summoner and a ranged fighter could really use some up close brawlers like Yang and heavy hitters like Nora to keep the heat off of them.
And heck, why not, relics in a ruin is a classic!
[X] Ancient Ruins - This was a town once. Amid the broken buildings and faded paths lingers a spirit.
Also, here's hoping we get Yang and Nora on the team, a summoner and a ranged fighter could really use some up close brawlers like Yang and heavy hitters like Nora to keep the heat off of them.
And heck, why not, relics in a ruin is a classic!
[X] Ancient Ruins - This was a town once. Amid the broken buildings and faded paths lingers a spirit.
- Location
- Florida
[X] Ancient Ruins - This was a town once. Amid the broken buildings and faded paths lingers a spirit.
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Best guess
Blake Belladonna and Lie Ren, Yang Xia Long and Nora Valkyrie Team BVYL (Bevil) Leader Lie Ren
Pyhra Nikos and Weiss Shcnee, Ruby Rose and Sun Wukong Team SSRP (Slurp) Leader Ruby Rose
Ilia and Xanthe Valkyrie, Jaune Arc and Lobo Team Avil (Anvil) Leader Xanthe
[X] Ancient Ruins - This was a town once. Amid the broken buildings and faded paths lingers a spirit.
Blake Belladonna and Lie Ren, Yang Xia Long and Nora Valkyrie Team BVYL (Bevil) Leader Lie Ren
Pyhra Nikos and Weiss Shcnee, Ruby Rose and Sun Wukong Team SSRP (Slurp) Leader Ruby Rose
Ilia and Xanthe Valkyrie, Jaune Arc and Lobo Team Avil (Anvil) Leader Xanthe
[X] Ancient Ruins - This was a town once. Amid the broken buildings and faded paths lingers a spirit.
mynameisyouQQQ
Miss Brightside
- Location
- A Hell of my own making
- Pronouns
- She/They
[X] Hidden River - The scent of water is unmistakable. This river was buried for a reason.
- Location
- Denial
- Pronouns
- She/Her
You Monster! How could you do this to poor Pyrrha? I think she'd prefer the cannon route where she dies.
- Location
- At the end of the world
[X] Foreboding Cavern - You can't tell if this is man-made or not. But someone hid and sealed something in here.
I take it this is cavern with deathstalker, though maybe there is something useful as well? Let's see
Also Xanthe and Illia, Nora and Yang, Lobo and Jaune, Pyrrha and Weiss, Ruby and Sun, Ren and Blake. 6 pairs, 3 teams in total.
Let's see - Pyrrha still needs her weapon returned so she have chances of meeting Jaune and Lobo. If they make team with Jaune as leader I could think of only one team name - ANLS (Anglerfish or Angels)
Xanthe, Ruby and Sun - three leaders in one team sounds like too much so I presume they would be in different teams. Moreover after Xanthe blew her horn I presume at least 1 Ren's or Nora's pair would come to her. Most likely Blake and Ren as better trackers. Though maybe Yang and Nora. And I can only think of name with second pair XXNA which translates as Xiaotingia - prehistoric feathered dinosaur, but I like to read it as Xena (with obvious reference).
And third team - Ruby, Sun, Ren and Blake is easy after that - RSBR (Raspberry).
I take it this is cavern with deathstalker, though maybe there is something useful as well? Let's see
Also Xanthe and Illia, Nora and Yang, Lobo and Jaune, Pyrrha and Weiss, Ruby and Sun, Ren and Blake. 6 pairs, 3 teams in total.
Let's see - Pyrrha still needs her weapon returned so she have chances of meeting Jaune and Lobo. If they make team with Jaune as leader I could think of only one team name - ANLS (Anglerfish or Angels)
Xanthe, Ruby and Sun - three leaders in one team sounds like too much so I presume they would be in different teams. Moreover after Xanthe blew her horn I presume at least 1 Ren's or Nora's pair would come to her. Most likely Blake and Ren as better trackers. Though maybe Yang and Nora. And I can only think of name with second pair XXNA which translates as Xiaotingia - prehistoric feathered dinosaur, but I like to read it as Xena (with obvious reference).
And third team - Ruby, Sun, Ren and Blake is easy after that - RSBR (Raspberry).