Chapter Text

The Legacy Of Longtooth

Written by Col. Cyril Leen, Professor Emeritus, Atlesian History, University of Atlas

Approved by Inspector #25 - W. Schnee

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Difficulties in the cultivation of civilisation arose early in Remnant’s history. For as long as mankind has been recording their history, it has involved strife with the Grimm and all that entails. Fighting is to be expected, but what of the more mundane tasks required for early civilisation to blossom? More specifically -- in a world constantly under threat from the supernatural, protected only by whatever they could make for themselves, how did mankind manage to found the large urban centres and concentrated populations that any kind of complex production chain requires?

Part of the issue focuses around the uncomfortable truth that large amounts of humans often attract large amounts of Grimm. A high population density leads to an increased concentration of human malice and negative emotion, leading to worse Grimm attacks, which leads to more fear, which leads to blame, which leads to more malice, ad infinitum. When this cycle is common knowledge, people would only congregate in great numbers if there was either an internal or external pressure demanding it -- the motivations must outweigh the risks. Scholars in the past have speculated that such motivations could have been:

1) an easily exploitable and/or necessary resource;

2) a greater chance at security -- with numbers logically comes strength;

3) fear.

When Haakon "Longtooth" Fang established "The Great City" around the Dust mines of the White Spine Mountains, and then made emigration a capital offense, his citizens had all 3 motivations.

Known for being a brutal warlord, having forced people at swordpoint to move into his new metropolis, Haakon was unquestionably also an intelligent one. Many before me -- and I often find myself agreeing with them -- have proclaimed him as honourable as he was merciless. Famed historian of the time, Catullus of the Peak, who spent a length of time in Haakon’s court, readily claimed that if the warlord wanted something done, he was almost certainly prepared to do it himself, and would see it to completion. Apart from the painful deaths that awaited those who tried to leave, Catullus, among others, is quick to defend the city’s modernity and sustainability. Research was encouraged, disease control protocols and a near-modern sewer system (the first of its kind in Remnant) were established, a strong conscript (later volunteer) military to man the walls and fight the grimm was levied, and a reasonably fair legal code established.

[[Of course it should be noted that such historians were paid by Haakon in the first place to record these events, and any unsatisfactory propaganda was quickly squashed. Indeed, no adverse records at all are extant, which in and of itself is questionable. ]] (redacted to public -- military clearance levels 4 and above necessary to view- Civilian clearance SECRET - ATLAS - EYES ONLY)

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While historians, ethicists, and Grimmologists continue to debate to this day whether Haakon's innovations in civil administration were effective in reducing the amount of Grimm attracted to the city, The Army of the Spine was undoubtedly powerful, and remained so after his death. It is a matter of record that with their protection, the amount of Dust produced by the mines vastly outstripped what was needed for the military, and enabled its use in production outside of purely military matters.

The first Dust-fueled blast furnace was a crude thing, and it did not survive its 5th use. However, it served its purpose as a stepping stone to greater innovation, and Longtooth City soon was producing enough metal for shipbuilding. This allowed trade to finally flow to other nascent nations, such as Red Mountain Vale, where the Ozpin clan had established a school of warriors on the eaves of the Forever Fall and Emerald Forests. [[Here it should be recorded that such exploration was also a remarkable projection of power and influence across the map, resulting in the establishment of Longtooth’s image as a bastion of military strength, who quickly quelled any resistance to trade with the sword - or threat of the same.]] (redacted to public -- military clearance levels 4 and above necessary to view - Civilian clearance NIL). The Ozpins are another of those great historical names, much like the royal line of Longtooth, and [[despite their reputation for dark sorcery among the farmers of the Vale]] (redacted to public --military clearance level 8 necessary to view-- Civilian Clearance COTBR) , had attracted great renown as fighters of Grimm, and their school had many students. To this day, the school, now known as Beacon Academy, has always had a member of the Ozpin family as headmaster.

When the Longtooth Navy made contact with the school and the city that had been built on the mesa around it, it was with overtures of trade. Dust and iron for food. Historical accounts differ wildly on just how much Dust was actually traded (from nearly nothing to a mountain of Burn crystals the likes of which we see only in contemporary times) and how necessary the importation of food was into The Great City, [[one Mistrali historian in particular, whose name has been lost and is only known as “Cassandra”, claims that trade from the beginning was a pretense for humanitarian aid, and actually Longtooth’s infrastructure was failing to the extent that the people suffered from famine and even cannibalism-- though given she says her father had been one of Haakon’s last personal executions, her impartiality is suspect at best]] (redacted to public -- military clearance levels 5 and above necessary to view - Civilian clearance NIL) but perhaps the most vital factor that arose from this mass exodus was the exchange of ideas. The farmers, woodsmen and Huntsfolk of Vale met the miners, soldiers and sailors of Longtooth for the first time, and curiosity abounded.

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For the first time in recorded history, going outside the walls was no longer a predominant method of suicide and instead had become a means of enterprise. Of course, traveling by sea presented its own cavalcade of dangers, but it was now known to be possible, and the leaders of the Kingdoms could turn their eyes to expansion. The highly skilled Huntsmen of the schools -- the founding of which are to be discussed in a separate paper -- could now seek out places suitable for settlement, and Dust-fueled locomotives could move materials and personnel en masse to expand the territory protected by the Walls. The average person within the kingdoms could now say with some confidence that they were safe. For all that the threat of Grimm would never truly fade from the minds of the public. Moreover with the balm of safety, huntsmen grew increasingly complacent as the years wore on and the Grimm menace seemed to fade.

However the Vacuo Incursion of 1097 changed that. A large number of sinkholes on the outskirts of the capital allowed hundreds of Grimm to wreak havoc in the Middle and Outer Districts of the city. The Faunus Communes, long restricted by societal pressure to ghettos along the walls, suffered greatly, but were still, as usual, blamed. [[The history of Faunus as scapegoats for everyday ills was already long established by this time. For further reference see Child Mortality, Eclipses, and Clogged Sewers: Exercises in Terror by Prof. Basil Belladonna, which details the mass lynchings of Faunus for invented crimes]] (redacted to public -- military clearance levels 6 and above necessary to view - Civilian clearance NIL).

While modern historical research has deduced that the likely cause of the sinkholes was a failure on the part of municipal government in building sewers that were up to code, the powers-that-be were quick to deflect blame onto their usual scapegoats, the Faunus. However, despite assurances from Faunus-friendly/neutral members of the Vacuan Council that whatever problems came as a result would die down as they had before, the Faunus were soon forced out of the city. At which point one of them reportedly said to her fellows, "Why don't we force our way back in?"

Thus began the Faunus Rebellion. [[This is not to be confused with the Faunus Rights Revolution of recent years, that ended the confinement of the Faunus to Menagerie. After all, “It’s only a revolution if you win.”]] (redacted to public -- military clearance level 3 or above necessary to view-- Civilian clearance SECRET) News of this rebellion resulted in several uprisings across the Kingdoms, including in Mantle. Though Haakon's legacy of brutality had long served the rulers of Longtooth City well in suppressing unrest, in this instance, the Faunus insurgents [[(who had taken the name White Fang in honor to their leader’s claimed ancestor, Haakon himself- though any speculation that Haakon Fang was, in fact, a Faunus is hotly denied by the official Atlesian archives) ]] (redacted to public -- military clearance level 7 or above necessary to view -- Civilian clearance TOP SECRET - ATLAS/VALE/MISTRAL - EYES ONLY) were so zealous that through mass guerilla warfare they managed to topple the government of the time, resulting in a power vacuum which allowed the military to take control. This faction and its descendants have remained in power to the modern day, and form the current governing body of what was renamed Atlas. This party then sentenced the entirety of its Faunus population (including the insurgents that allowed them to take power) to exile on the prison island, Menagerie, an example soon followed by the other Kingdoms of the time. [[Those not sentenced to exile were instead forced into mines, where most of the Atlesian Faunus population remains to this day]] (redacted to public -- military clearance level 6 or above necessary to view -- Civilian clearance SECRET)

Haakon Fang’s historical legacy after this point falls outside of the scope of this report, and will be detailed elsewhere.

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Inspector’s Notes: Col. Leen was very careful about his censoring, and only required one further redaction. It stands to reason that Haakon’s fame being co-opted by the original White Fang should not be known to the public. I have made the appropriate changes to rhetoric where necessary. All clearances have been verified and approved by Atlas Information Command (AIC). No further action required.

*Verification Code Received: Confirm Spec. Schnee, Winter*

*Confirmed*

*Signing off*