Winter Break 14

"Why, wouldn't magic be helpful against her?" Lance questioned with an annoyed tone.

"Lance, do you know how weak Aura was back then when the whole world had magic?" Ozpin questioned,

"No…"

 "Nonexistent. We did not use our souls to fight but magic. I'm sure you've found some mentions in your travels about the first to awaken their Aura."

"You're referring to Julius Arc's Last Will and Testament...Yes, I know he was the first human to unlock his Aura. According to the scripture I learned at Arcadia, it was through his uncovering the origins of the Faunus race that allowed him to understand his own soul. Is it true that all Faunus are descendants of the Light God's pure creations?" Lance asked.

Ozpin nodded his head, "You've learned more than I thought. Yes, it is true the Faunus were originally animals. The Grimm are all mockeries of the God of Light's earliest creations, that's why they come in the shapes of animals and magical beasts. Humans were born with both light and darkness in their souls and did not evolve like much of the other beings left on the planet. We were created in their image. After humanity was wiped out, animals took over the world. Those that had adopted the darkness were capable of evolving into a more humanoid form over time. You're ancestor studied their evolution, culture, partook in their living styles, and eventually unleashed his Aura to save a friend." 

"So it's true…but that means…" Lance scratched his chin, "Hold on…if that's true, why do the Grimm attack Faunus and not animals?" 

"It's because of the pact made by the two Brother Gods. The Grimm, no matter how old they get, can never shake off their maker's order. A Faunus is no longer the same species as an animal, so they don't fall under the wording of their commandment."

"Tell me, what did my old friend's message say in his will?" Ozpin said before he took a sip of his coffee.

"Honestly, I thought it was the ramblings of a senile man and the end of his life. Magic being real is one thing, but the fact that the Arc Clan founder is related to Salem kind of freaked me out. Oh, and can't forget that they were rulers during the age of gods and in charge of a sacred relic. He all mentioned a wizard by the name of Oz," Lance said shaking his head.

"Yes, back then I went by Ozlin(Merlin). Your ancestor was the first to unlock his Aura and the first who showed me that magic wasn't everything there was to humanity." Ozpin poked his glasses and smiled.

"I witnessed your ancestor awaken his Aura and slay an army of Grimm with a single stroke of his sword, saving a small village from destruction in the process. Impressed by the potential of Aura, I made a choice, the choice to fight. "

Ozpin looked pained, "I trained with Julius and attempted to fight against Salem. A foolish choice."

Ozpin sipped his coffee before returning to the story, "I fought alongside Julius Arc and our entire Army was destroyed by her and the Grimm. She made sure to keep me alive and forced me to watch as she killed the only friend I had in centuries." 

Ozpin shook his head with a shameful expression, "We lost the fight, but I managed to use the Relic of Choice to seal her in the Darklands by tricking her into agreeing. However, even without her Magic, Salem is far stronger than me and easily killed me." 

"What did you make her agree to?"

"That as long as the relics are sealed, she would not leave her castle…though, my wording was rather…deceptive."

"I see…so I'm assuming she killed you for tricking her,"

"Oh yes, cleaved my head from my shoulders. After reincarnating into a like-minded individual, I spent years, wallowing in the loss of Julius. I hid away the Relics and chose to become a simple farmer that wanted nothing more to hide away from the rest of the world." Ozpin took another sip.

"I worked on a farm and decided that I had enough. I just wanted to be left alone. However, slowly over time, I saw Aura Awakings beginning to happen on a massive scale. The remnants of Julius's knowledge paved the way for Humanity and Faunus kind. Armed with the power of their souls, they were able to fend off Grimm survive in this broken world." Ozpin's eyes started to look a bit brighter.

Ozpin looked up as if he were remembering something that hurt him deeply, "I cast away my Mana aside and placed them within four maidens. Should they ever need to use the relic someday, I made the key to obtaining them the Maidens themselves."

From that day fourth, I put all my hope and gave it everything I had into advancing Aura. I couldn't beat her, but maybe someone someday, a power granted by the fusion of two God's energies could. I put my hopes for the future back in the hands of those who live in it. My self-included of course."

"So what happened to everyone's magic?" Lance asked.

"It's still there, it's just that, Magic requires time and knowledge; knowledge given by the Gods I might add. I have tried to teach in the past, but it only resulted in Salem killing off the threat or the betrayal of those I taught and had to kill myself. Magic takes time to nurture, dozens of years of learning, and it must take shape in accordance to the users understanding. For instance, I taught Qrow and Raven magic as well, the spell they learned in a simple polymorph spell, but they are the ones who gave the magic shape. It took them four years just to get the basics down."

"Hmm, I see why it died out. Too much time for so little return…even if people have magic today, it can't be common to see them. I imagine there barely being triple digits," Lance thought out loud.

"Yes, magic is forgotten not gone."

Lance grinned, "Though, I gotta say, to bet on an unknown power that you weren't familiar with is a rather bold move."

Ozpin nodded his head, "Thank you, time and time again, Remnant-Kind has always surprised me. The fact that you are still choosing to trust and work for me despite my…ex-wife's...ahem….problems, I greatly appreciate."

"S-o-o-o, about your ex..." Lance pointed his finger up.

"Nope! Not talking about that, enough of this subject. So, how is your family? Gwen and the kids doing alright?" Ozpin asked, earnestly hoping he wouldn't pry into his love life or lack thereof.

Lance smiled, "Yes, they are all healthy, strong, and talented."

"Have you discovered anything about Gwen's blessing yet?" Ozpin asked full of curiosity.

Lance shook his head, "No, however, I think I'm on to something. I found an old ruin with some legends etched into murals when I visited Vacuo recently."

"I always enjoyed those. Please elaborate," Ozpin said poking his glasses closer to his face.

"You ever hear of the Moon Goddess, Luna?" Lance asked as he stared at the broken moon in the sky.

"Hmm, yes, even in my youth as Ozma, I heard tales and rumors of such a being. Unfortunately, in all my years, I've never encountered any leads or hints to her existence being real. I even based the Maidens Blessings off of her legends," Ozpin said before taking a sip of his coffee.

Lance tilted his head, "Yeah, well, according to the Ruin-Divers of Vacuo, a broken shrine was discovered with depictions of her. I think, Gwen might be a descendant of hers."

"A descendant of a maiden or the goddess herself?" Ozpin questioned.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out," Lance replied as he got ready to end the call. 

Before he hung up, Lance turned to Ozpin and asked, "You know, I'm a bit curious, am I talking to Ozpin or Ozma?"

Ozpin sighed, "I am, Ozma, but I prefer Ozpin, to honor the memories of the body's original owner. You see, this body was a bit of a strange takeover. Normally I would share a body and only offer advice. However, this one was in a comatose state, his Aura zeroed-out, and his soul was already passed on by the time I possessed it. It's not the first time something like this is happened either. There have been a few lives where I'm the sole owner of the body."

"I see," Lance said as he placed his hand on his chin.

"Something the matter?" Ozpin asked.

"Doesn't this all feel weird to you? You are in a body that could be considered your own, and for the first time in 2000 years, Salem is making her big move. There must be something your future self hasn't told Jaune, the best plans are the ones not known by both ally and foe," Lance commented.

"I see, as usual, your insight really is something. Thank you, Lance, you have given me something to think about," Ozpin said as he took another sip from his mug.

Lance yawned and said, "Alright, I'm going to bed, make sure to have everything Jaune asked for. He'll be sending you the materials to build the Barrier technology. Make sure to make assembling and disassembling the device part of their curriculum."

Ozpin smiled before said, "I have to thank Glenda for doing the same, Jaune's blueprints of the device are quite detailed."

"Well, it helps if every hunter can set up a device to hide their emotions and presence from Grimm. I only wished I could have had one in my youth, missions would have been a lot easier, can't tell you how many nights of sleep I lost thinking a Grimm could barge through my campsite," Lance said as his finger hovered over the end call button.

"Goodnight, Lance, and do take care." Ozpin ended the call at the same time as Lance.

Ozpin then turned to the window of his tower and sighed as he looked over Vale, "I hope this works. It was hard enough getting James to agree to bring both Geminy Krick and Pietro Polendina with him, but putting them all in a room with Lance and Qrow..." 

Ozpin pinched the bridge of his nose, "Ha-a-h-h, this is going to be a pain."

The next morning was cold, quiet, and misty. The sun wasn't fully out, leaving the sky a dark grey-blue shade. 

Jaune woke up early and saw Ruby still sleeping in his arms. He then looked over at the clock and discovered it was already 6 in the morning.

The two had slept in the workshop all night. 

Jaune woke up an hour shy of a full night of rest and smiled as he brushed Ruby's hair out of her face.

Jaune slowly moved his arms off of her and managed to sneak out without waking Ruby up.

As he pulled up the covers back up, Ruby mumbled something while grabbing onto Jaune's wrist, "Cookies, Jaune!"

Jaune chuckled and kissed her on the forehead before he gently removed her hand and left to start his training regimen. 

After going through a hundred branches, he felt that his ability to control his Aura was starting to improve at a rapid pace.

Not wanting to lag behind on his physical training, Jaune dressed up in his light armor set and was about to go for a jog.

He started off with a warm up. A quick rep of stretching, hand stands to limber up his muscles, and a few yoga positions to warm his body up.

As he was midway through his routine, Jaune saw a certain red-headed Spartan doing the same near the empty fields behind the Arc household.

Jaune walked up to her and said, "Goodmorning Pyrrha!"

Pyrrha continued to stretch as if she couldn't hear him. It was clear that she was lost in thought. That was until the sound of Jaune's voice started to snap her from her daze.

"Hey! Pyrrha? Hello!" Jaune waved his hands in front of her face 

Pyrrha suddenly realized that Jaune was trying to get her attention and jumped up in surprise, "J..J...Jaune!! When did you get here?"