RWBY: Silver Eyes on the Mountains

Roaring Forward

It was not easy for the town of Patch, and its connected roadside towns to get over what had happened to them. However, with Azura's liberation from their proverbial shackles, it was as if a weight had been lifted. Over the coming weeks, wagons pulled by great horses and oxen from the lowlands began to make the climb up to the towns, breathing new life back into them. Grimm and monsters were kept at bay by the soldiers wielding fire and steel. Buildings long since abandoned could be reclaimed and rebuilt. People even began planning for a better planting season the next year, and to plow up new cropland.

Ruby, however, was not feeling relieved. Instead, she was feeling hot, bothered, and incredibly sweaty. Patch's immense size compared to other towns in the region was not merely due to geography allowing for a larger town. The rulers before the Golden Nobles used the great canvas at the roof of the world to make titanic terraces into the sheer sides of the mountain. Every year, the winter snowfall would melt and flow through these great and intricate works to bring fertility and life to the crops they planted, of which there were many. Since the Golden Noble's rise, however, they had since been abandoned and taken over by weeds. Weeds that have since turned into a veritable jungle that Ruby had to clear with a scythe.

"Balam? Explain to me how this is training?" Ruby asked as she wiped the sweat off her brow.

"Training always begins with honing the body, Lady Ruby. To hone ye into a blade capable of cutting down any and all threats to those thou doth hold dear, thine body must first be forged into the shape of said blade." Balam explained to her.

"And that's done through cutting down weeds, how exactly?" Ruby asked, raising a not convinced eyebrow.

"Ye would be surprised, Lady Ruby. Manual labor is the best kind of exercise for training every muscle in the body." Balam told her.

"That's easy to say when you don't have to do it." Ruby quipped before gripping the scythe handle again.

"If this one physically aided thou, then ye would lose out on valuable training that would allow thee to more easily wield my power safely." Balam pointed out.

Ruby groaned audibly at that. She knew he was right. But she also despised the fact that he was right. He was starting to sound like her dad.

Near the edge of the village as Ruby began to get back to her cutting, was the rest of her family conversing with Azura. Ruby could not exactly hear what they were saying, but a loud laugh from Yang made it clear that they were having a fun time.

"I must admit, Azura. I never expected anyone in my lifetime to ever have the ambition to reopen the terraces." Tai said as they all began to walk down the path towards Ruby.

"I do not see why. There is so much potential here for development and growth for your town, its economy, and the land. It would be a shame to let it all go to waste." Azura replied with a shrug.

"Besides, it gives Ruby a good chance to get out in the sun, Dad. She was getting pretty pale under that hood." Yang said chipperly.

Azura grinned a bit. "One could say she was becoming a pale imitation of herself." he replied playfully.

Yang could not help but let out a belly laugh at that. "Oh, that's a good one! I gotta remember that one!" she cackled to herself.

Taiyang chuckled at the pun. "The exercise will be good for her, especially since we will need a lot more people to own, work and harvest all these terraces. And that's not including their repair and maintenance going forward." he explained, fighting through his chuckle.

"Worry not. Back home, the instructors and martial prowess teachers of my clan used to put us through this sort of exercise all the time as part of our physical conditioning, endurance, and stamina training. My men will be more than happy to assist where needed." Azura told the older of the two blondes.

"Why don't you send a letter back home and get help from your clan? If they got all this power, then, surely, they could deal with the Golden Nobles quickly." Yang asked.

"Because I am in a self-imposed exile due to our lands no longer having enough space to support our numbers. Besides, even if I got the letter out, they would not arrive before the Golden Nobles noticed our presence here. The most they could do is arrive in time as a cavalry of reinforcements to aid us should a large battle break out." Azura explained.

"Like one of those big battle scenes in fairy tales and legends?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly. I can still pen a letter, but it will take time for it to arrive and a reply to make it back. We will need to be patient and not make any large moves while we wait for reinforcements." Azura explained, snapping his fingers for one of his men to approach. "Soldier! Get my quill and a parchment scroll!"

"Yes sir!" The soldier said with a bow of his head and rushed off.

"If I may be so bold, I may have a potential short-term solution." Tai offered, causing Azura's eyebrow to raise.

"I am listening, Sir Xiao Long." Azura replied, waiting to hear this potential solution.

"Your clan produces many such exiled folk such as yourself. If they are of a similar character to you, then, if you put out a call to arms far and wide for such folk, it could help bolster our ranks in the meantime." Tai explained, which caught Azura off guard with his suggestion.

"That could potentially work. At the minimum, it would allow us to bolster our ranks enough to make headway while we wait for a reply." Azura noted, a smile on his face.

"Wow, Dad. I didn't think you could come up with clever ideas on the fly like that…" Yang said in shock.

"I have my moments." Taiyang replied with a smile of his own.

"Are any of you three gonna come down and help me!?!?!?" Came the shriek from Ruby below.

"You are doing fine, Lady Ruby! Keep up the excellent work!" Azura called down to her.

"My everything burns!!!" Ruby groaned as she slowly scythed away at the thick weeds before her.

"That is good! Work through the pain! Embrace the burn! It will make you stronger!!" Azura called down.

"I'm starting to wonder if you're a genius or just insane." Yang said with a smirk.

Azura smirked back. "Dear Lady Xiao Long, why can't it be both? Normality is overrated." he replied.

As the three made their way down to Ruby, another member of Azura's entourage was feeling the burn. Kenshi sat at a desk in the open air as he tried to make sense of the records and paperwork both past and present. He was not feeling the physical burn like Ruby was, but more of a mental one.

"My mind is going to melt at this rate… Soldier, get me another pot of coffee stat!" Kenshi snapped at one of his men.

The soldier crossed his arms over his chest in an x as a salute. "Yes, Lord Kenshi! At once!" the soldier replied, leaving to get the coffee.

"I should be out late killing monsters… not up early doing paperwork…" Kenshi grumbled as he filed away a ledger. It was at that point one of their officers walked up. "Ah, good day Shugo. What do you have to report on the perimeter patrols?"

"Nothing to report now, Lord Kenshi. Outside of the usual Grimm coming down from the mountain occasionally, all is quiet." Shugo told the warrior lord.

"Have you contacted our road crews? I'd like a progress report on that at some point." Kenshi asked, annoyance dripping from his grimacing maw.

"I have. They have made excellent progress on clearing the roads. All of them should be open and travel through them running smoothly by the end of the week, provided nothing unexpected occurs." Shugo explained.

"Good. Once we find a suitable quarry, we can begin upgrading the roads and building new ones to the more remote villages we have contacted. Any word on the scouting progress on that?" Kenshi asked, his mood softening a bit.

"We have uncovered several potential options that will require inspection from qualified stonemasons." Shugo informed him.

"It's a good thing we haven't gotten everything out from the lowlands just yet. Right then, send a letter down there to get the search out. No point trying to do anything with that yet until we get a professional to look at it. Better to do it right the first time and all that." Kenshi said, turning his focus back to the deceased forest before him.

Like the other soldier before him, Shugo crossed his arms in an x over his chest in a salute. "Yes, Lord Kenshi!" he replied, turning and leaving.

"Now where the fuck is my coffee…" Kenshi grumbled to himself.

Back with Ruby

By the time Tai, Yang, and Azura reached the terrace Ruby was on, she was in rough shape. She was on her back, panting and sweating profusely, everything burning from the strain of her muscles.

"You okay, sis? You look like you've seen better days." Yang asked her out of concern.

"I feel like a house was dropped on me…!!" Ruby groaned in pain and exhaustion.

"You'll be pleased to know, Lady Rose, that you don't look like a house had mystically dropped on you." Azura politely answered her with a smile.

"I…! hate…! you…!" Ruby groaned in frustration.

"Not only are your looks still intact, but you have done better at this level of training than anyone I have ever seen. For that, I believe that you deserve a break." Azura said with a warm grin.

"Wait… where's Zwei?" Tai asked, looking around.

The group of four soon heard a slobbering, deep panting noise matched by the pitter patter of little feet. They all looked as the black and white pup happily skipped his little legs along the ground, tiny tail wagging as he went. Soon he made it over, walking past the others over towards Ruby. Then he began to happily lick her forehead, wagging his tail even faster.

"Thanks, Zwei…" Ruby tiredly said.

"I'll get you some water, Rubes. We can't change you into a warrior instead of a pale imitation of yourself if you don't stay hydrated." Yang quipped, snickering as Azura and Taiyang chuckled.

"I hate you." Ruby groaned.

"We both know that's not true." Yang replied with a grin.

"Also, bring some tea and refreshments for Lady Rose as well, Yang." Azura added, turning to let her know.

"On it!" Yang replied before dashing off.

Yang did not get far before they all heard a shriek that pierced the heavens. Soon they began to feel an icy sting in the air as the wind began to churn and whip its way past them. All of them intuitively knew that such air came from the mountains, having felt such chills in the long winter months. But it was far too early in the year for that. But as the wind began to build in speed and power, Azura's eyes widened in horror. As if a ghost had conjured itself before him.

"I only know of one non-deity creature capable of producing that phenomenon. But what is one of those… things doing here…?" He said ominously.

"It's not an Elemental?" Ruby asked, slowly getting back to her feet.

Azura looked at her seriously. "No. It's an Elemental Grimm…" he told the three that were present now.

"I thought those things were myths?" Yang asked, confused by what he was saying.

"Oh, they are very real. And I know of only one that could produce this much force to blow this much frigid air down from the mountain…" Azura told them, trying desperately to remain calm.

"Let's get up towards town to get a look." Tai said firmly, putting his hand on Azura's shoulder to try to calm him.

Rushing up the stone path through the gates, they saw far in the distance a great dust cloud. At such a distance, all who had combat experience knew it could only be a great horde of Grimm barreling down towards them. Yet, even at such an incredible distance, the keenest eyes saw something whipping and whirling the dust kicked up. Flying high above the horde was a great bird Grimm, with wings that practically consumed the mountains behind it. Yet, in Azura's mind, it now for certain could only be one thing…

"That's a Xianyiang…" He let out fearfully.