December, 73AW:.
Hello Neighbour!
As usual, Epsilon Heights will be hosting a little get together to celebrate Year's End, and to watch the various firework displays. Food and hot drinks will be provided. Also as usual, there is to be no alcohol.
- Winston
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April, 74AW.
It had been barely a week after her seventeenth birthday when she had packed her bags and left the only home she'd ever known, but in Saphron Arc's opinion it was worth it. Argus was a damn pleasant place to live and work. High standard of living, a decent enough living wage even working part-time so she could attend university (although that could be down to her being employed by Kruger-Caldari), and despite only having lived there for barely two months, she'd already grown fond of the slight salty tang of sea air.
Argus was known for a number of things. It was home to the Headquarters of her employers, Kruger-Caldari Technologies & Telecommunications as well as their main development and production facilities. Panacea International had its Mistralli Headquarters in the City, and the main feeder school for the Pellan Coast (Sanctum Academy) was located within the city's famed and 'impregnable' walls. Clymene Base, Atlas' biggest military complex outside of Solitas was also located in the city, out on an island from which it took its name in the bay.
And then there was the University of Pella. The only remaining institution in any of the five Pellan cities from before Imperial Mistral (under the Gens Sima) finally permanently conquered the cities of the Pellan Coast some two hundred years prior to the Great War. If you believed its own boasting, it was the finest place of learning in the world, with a campus that rivaled Sanctum in size and a curriculum that put even the Universities in the Capitals of the world to shame.
Was it any wonder that she'd chosen to go here to study law, rather than stay in Vale?
But it was neither lectures nor work that called her out into the city today. Every two weeks, she would drive into the city and go on a 'supply run' for food, fuel and anything else she needed for the next fortnight or so. However on this occasion, she had to swing by the University to swap some books, and it was for this reason alone that she found herself surrounded by a crowd of protesting students. Most of them were wearing some sort of face mask, and more than a few held up signs. In the corner of each was a symbol consisting of five blue stars, arranged in the way the five Pellan cities were on the map, and were surrounded by a ring of chains (again in blue) that were shattering from the bottom. Beneath that, in a bold black script were the words:
'FREE CITIES MOVEMENT'
She had known that the people of the Pellan Coast were pretty distinct from the Mistralli heartland, at least on a cultural level, and a decent chunk of the population would vote to go independent of Mistral should they ever get the chance. Not that the central government would ever let them have said vote, of course, which only led to the resentment for any past grievances to grow and fester. The Brothers knew that there had been some degree of frigidness towards her and her Valean heritage for the first few weeks, the memory of Oswald the Last 'selling' his wartime ally back to Mistral still stung even now, nearly three-quarters of a century later.
So it was with unashamed curiosity that she got out of her car and went to investigate, and was soon surrounded by people. Vale very rarely had protests, Domremy had even less. Indeed, she could only remember one protest happening in her home and that was over mining or working conditions…not something as internationally important as this..
"What are you doing?"
Saphron paused, and turned around to face the person that was addressing her. The woman in question had short black hair and dark eyes and bright red glasses. The lower half of her face was covered by a plaid scarf.
"I-"
"Did you forget the instructions? Keep your face covered!" The woman continued. "Do you want the Security Bureau coming after you?"
"I'm just here to swap some books around!" Saphron protested. "I wasn't even aware that this was going on!"
"Oh.." The woman paused, and Saphron could tell that she was probably smiling beneath her mask. "Do you want to join in?"
That question startled her. She was quite clearly not of Pellan heritage. But if she was honest, she had a thing for women with glasses..and there was something about the mood in the air, so she gave a very firm and not at all bewildered:
"...Sure?"
"Good. We're glad you have you." She clapped Saphron on the shoulder, and started to lead her to the edges of the crowd. "Let's just get you something for your face and a sign and we'll get you started."
"Sounds like a plan to me!" "I'm Saphron, by the way."
"Terra." She replied with a grin, "Terra Cotta. Nice to meet you."
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May 21st, 74AW
It was frankly a strange sight to see.
My desk is empty, the shelves empty, the Vacuan Miniature Cactus I had by my window was in the box currently sitting on the back seat of my car. My clearance had been changed from that of a Military Officer to that of an Academy Teacher and I had already handed over my authorization pass. Admittedly, I'd been given one for Academy staff straight after, but the previous pass had barely left my person in the near decade I'd had it.
My colleagues had brought me gifts, as was the unofficial tradition. Most gave me books, some of them were actually quite old and rare. One gave me an old world map dating from pre-Great war. Glover had given me a very expensive bottle of Vacuan tequila. But my favorite gift by far was a t-shirt with the words "I got lost in a ruin, and all I found was an awesome daughter" displayed upon it.
It was hard to keep working all shift, knowing that it was the end. But I was ever a professional, and worked right up until I was meant to. Then, over the course of less than an hour, I cleared out my office.
Now, with everything in my car aside from myself, I took one last look at my office before turning off the light. I went from office to office, bidding my colleagues goodbye.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
And then, I arrived at Glover's office. He was reaching the point when he would be retiring, and he had confessed to us that unless he was explicitly asked to stay on, he would be doing so within the year.
And so, as he did with everyone that left the Archives, Captain Royce Glover stood up from his desk, and slowly walked me to the doors. We talked, and we joked. We reminisced and we remembered.
Then we reached the doors, and he shook my hand.
"It's been a pleasure having you with us, Casper. I look forward to working with you further in your new role, Professor." Glover said, before cracking a grin. "You might want to invest in a pair of plain glasses though, to make yourself look smarter. Almost like you know what you're talking about."
And with a laugh and my head held high, I walked out of the Archives for the last time as an Archivist.
___________________________
June 6th 74AW:
Cinder
Wishing you a Happy Eleventh Birthday
-Dad.
_______________________________
September 74AW:
I took a deep breath as I looked around my classroom one last time before my first class started. I'd been undergoing training pretty much the day I'd accepted Ironwood's offer, and it slowly dawned on me that my role was more akin to a University Lecturer rather than an actual teacher, which suited me fine. Giving lectures and answering questions and marking work was probably far easier than the work of actual teachers.
I'd opted to wear as my 'professor' uniform a white shirt and black tie, a green waistcoat and trousers, what I would once have called brown Oxford shoes polished to perfection, and as Glover had suggested, a pair of plain glass glasses.
Nodding to myself, I opened the door to my classroom and ushered my students in, directing them to take a seat but to try and keep to their teams. All of them were of course in the Academy uniform, consisting of white long-sleeved shirts with gray pocket-vest jackets on top. These were accompanied by a dark-gray tie and long white trousers. Unlike in what little I could recall from the single split second they were shown in canon, all students wore trousers and black boots. It was the first year class, and I actually recognised some of them. Most of the Happy Huntresses were in the room, but quite obviously the standout was Winter fucking Schnee.
Who I had last seen on screen battered and bleeding after a fight with BitchFall herself.
But what happened after that was a mystery to me. Because my knowledge runs out at the end of volume seven. Right after Ironwood decided to go Dictator-Mode. That was, understandably, something I would seek to prevent. Both because it would irrevocably damage the reputation of my new homeland and likely rip the nation apart, but also because I liked Ironwood. I knew him now, and knew that he was at his heart a good man. He had a son now too, a son that was my daughters best friend.
"Good morning, students." I began, and waited for their response of 'Good Morning Sir!' before I continued. "I am Casper Schwartz, The Professor of History here at Atlas Academy. It is my first year in this role after eight years in the Military Archives, so this will be a learning experience for us all, I suppose. You may address me as Professor or Sir, whichever you are more comfortable with."
I allowed a few moments for my introduction to sink in, before I continued."You may have noticed that you each have a sheet of paper on your desk. What it is is almost certainly the most useful bit of paper you've ever had in your life. It's the step-by-step guide to writing a report to the Atlesian Military Standard. Commit it to memory, because you'll be referring to it a lot...if you don't want the Archives after your asses. Just follow it and make their lives and yours so much easier. I want you all to just give it a quick read through now, and then we'll begin the lesson proper.."
Because if there was one think that drove us mad, it was people not following the fucking standard.
After a few minutes, a couple of the students raised their hands to ask questions. The youngest person in the room, Flannery Lebeau of Team AALM (Almond) asked if they were expected to write to the standard even in the field, and gave a simple nod when I informed her that yes that was indeed the expectation. Winter of all people asked if the students had to handwrite any reports, and was clearly fighting back elation when I answered that it was the standard not to.
A few more students asked questions as they grew more confident, but soon enough no more hands came up. It was time to move things along.
"Alright then!" I clapped my hands together and smiled. "Let's begin with some introductions."
_______________________________
December, 74AW:.
Hello Neighbour!
As usual, Epsilon Heights will be hosting a little get together to celebrate Year's End, and to watch the various firework displays. Food and hot drinks will be provided. Also as usual, there is to be no alcohol.
- Winston
_______________________________
June 6th 75AW:
Cinder
Wishing you a Happy Twelfth Birthday
-Dad.
_______________________________
July, 75AW.
BREAKING NEWS!
ABSINTHE ARNOLD RESIGNS AS HEADMISTRESS!
GENERAL IRONWOOD TO APPOINT SUCCESSOR.
_______________________________
August, 75AW.
Mercury Ironwood loved the summer.
No school, no schoolwork. Time with Dad. Time to enjoy himself. And time to explore the city with his friend. Whether it was running around the park or enjoying soda and hotdogs as they headed home.
But today, he could clearly tell that something was up with Cinder Schwartz. She had an unusually serious expression on her face. So they found a bench in the park, and he simply let her get her thoughts in order.
"Have I told you how Dad found me?" She eventually asked.
"I don't think so."
"There is a temple on the other side of the White Sea. Dad got sent there as the Archivist for the mission, and I think your Dad was the Lieutenant that was running it. The temple apparently had properties that warded off the Grimm, and the military wanted to see if it could be replicated. Dad was exploring the place and had to go off on his own, and ended up being the one that found the main altar room. And on the grand altar, he found me." Cinder paused, and Mercury frowned as he watched the usually ever present smile on his friend's face faded away. "They think that my Mo-...that the woman that gave birth to me just sat me down on the altar and left me as an offering for the temple's deity."
"Dad took me in when we got to Atlas, and the rest is history." Cinder smiled a weak smile. "He adopted me as soon as he could, and I am proud to be his daughter…but.."
"..But you always wonder why she abandoned you?"
"...Exactly,"
Mercury didn't know what to say to that.
"..I want to see the world." His friend suddenly declared, neatly avoiding the need for him to figure out what to say. "I want to explore the forgotten places of Remnant, and put them back on the map! I want to go to the tiny settlements and help them thrive and grow! I want to reclaim this world from the Grimm!"
"I'm gonna be a Huntress!"
At that declaration, Mercury could only nod. It did make the most sense after all. The Military was probably the easiest way to do that. Although he supposed that being an actual Huntress rather than a Specialist would afford Cinder more freedom. And he liked the sound of that word. Freedom.
"Do you have my back Merc?" Cinder asked him. His first and closest friend was looking at him with such hope, such enthusiasm and conviction in her eyes..that there was really only one answer he could give.
"Only if you've got mine, Cin."
And with little more than a fist bump, their path in life was decided.
_______________________________
September, 75AW.
BREAKING NEWS!
IRONWOOD APPOINTS SION GREYMOON AS INTERIM HEADMASTER OF ATLAS ACADEMY.
______________________
November, 75AW.
It was, in some ways, the day she had dreaded.
Ghira had continued in his overly pacifistic ways, and next to nothing had changed. Sure, Atlas had given some concessions following the hijacking of the Audumla, but that was not down to his methods. It was Atlas covering its ass and trying to dig themselves out of a hole that traitors had dug for them.
And the less said about his response, or rather his lack of response, to Trifa Aprisum's murder the better.
So it was that Sienna Khan had come to this point in the road. The day she had dreaded, but a day she knew was necessary. And she was not alone.
Taran Aprisum had been easy to convince. It had felt wrong to take advantage of his grief for his murdered niece, but if it allowed the Fang to gain the equality humanity owed them, it was a wrong she could live with. Icarus Halcyon however, would have to be watched. Sienna knew how much he had suffered at the hands of the SDC, and lost more than most. But the Vulture Faunus had grown extreme in his opinions, and it was his strength and raw power alone that led her to recruit him.
She had called a meeting at the Chieftain's house, and a great many of her colleagues were there. Ghira had sent Kali and little Blake away, not that they were in any danger. But the sheer fact that he clearly didn't trust her not to harm his family wounded her deeply. But she soldiered on anyway.
The argument went back and forth, Ghira's placating tone clashing with her realistic view on things. A war of words playing out before the assembled members of the White Fang. But eventually, Sienna had had enough. They were just talking in circles, Ghira kept his head buried in the sand. Kept denying the obvious. Kept blindly clinging to hope. Kept to his personal pacifistic ideals no matter how many of their people continued to suffer because of it.
"The peaceful path is never wrong, Sienna."
"The peaceful path can only work if you are capable of great violence. If you are not capable of violence, You're not peaceful, You're harmless." Sienna told him, "And Ghira, I hate to tell you this…but with you in charge of the Fang, we are harmless. And I'm sorry, but I refuse to be that anymore."
She turned on her heel, and made for the door.
"If anyone else refuses to be harmless anymore, follow me. The rest of you? Stay out of the way." And without another word, Sienna Khan strode out of the Chieftain's house.
She never saw Ghira's heart sink as most of the room followed along after her. She couldn't bring herself to look her old friend in the eye.
_______________________________
December, 75AW:.
Hello Neighbour!
As usual, Epsilon Heights will be hosting a little get together to celebrate Year's End, and to watch the various firework displays. Food and hot drinks will be provided. Also as usual, there is to be no alcohol.
- Winston