Trailer I: The Sculptor



The ear-shattering cry of a Nevermore punctuated the baying of its Beowolf cousins, as a small pack of Grimm rushed through the grey forests of Patch. The day's last rays of dusky sunlight bounced off the avian monster's wings, as it guided the rampaging procession towards a small, crumbling watch-tower, nearly hanging off the ledge, where it stood isolated along a sea-side cliff. Watching from atop the tower as the Grimm approached, a young man sat with legs dangling off the tower's edge, and his right elbow reclining against the ground behind him; his left arm extended further, lending support to the large rifle, as his hazel-colored right eye peered through the scope. His right hand was at ease, one finger gently hovering over the trigger.

"We've got a small pack coming." he signaled, briefly looking away from the oncoming Grimm as he turned to face a group of others, five in total and all of his age, who were reclining against the various objects which lay scattered about the rooftop. "And this time, they brought a dinner guest."

The first of the group to stand was a sharp-faced girl with a long, green jacket and hair-obscuring hood, who walked over and knelt next to him. Her eyes emitted a bright, yellow glow, which quickly faded away as she replied. "That's not much of a Nevermore. You've ever seen one of those giant ones before? The damn things can shoot out feathers sharp enough to piece your Aura before you knew what hit you."

"On Patch?" he asked incredulously, provoking only a shrug from her. He turned back to his sights to monitor the oncoming horde, before adding, "Be serious, Arlette. There aren't going to be any giant Grimm around with Signal Academy so close. Remember the stories about six years ago, when the Professors cleared the island of Death Stalkers?"

"Clancey, there are Grimm bigger than that in the Emerald Forest, and that's sitting right next to Beacon. I don't think Grimm are even smart enough to plan out their neighbors, nor do I think they care. I'm not even sure if they do much planning or caring."

"So what? The Emerald Forest's a lot bigger than Patch is. It's hardly the same amount of ground to cover."

"Be that as it may, these are Hunter's in training we're talking about. If they're as effective at clearing Grimm as you think, they only excuse for having any there is if it was wanted. My sister hinted that Beacon uses the Emerald Forest as training, so do you really think the Headmaster would purposefully send students rushing to their deaths?"

"Probably. You know you're not going to win this one, right?"

"If you'd just quit being stubborn about these things, it would be a different story."

"Hey, kids," called a voice from behind; one of their fellow students, sitting on a heavy supply crate as he polished his already well-shined dagger. "Why don't you stop talking about the monsters and just take them out? Just remember to leave a few for the rest of us."

"Don't blame us if we don't. It's hardly our fault the rest of didn't bring your main weapons." Arlette replied, giving a slight smirk. "Seeing as this is our final mission at Signal, one would think getting in just a little practice would be useful. Wouldn't you?"

"Hey, you're the one who said it; there's not a Grimm on this island dangerous enough to warrant foldable frames. It's like you don't even want a challenge!"

"Hold up." Clancey said, as he stood up quickly. Unlike Arlette, who wore rather light attire, his equipment incorporated a blend of light clothing and armor plates; he wore a bronze cuirass over his red tunic, the color closely matching his hair, along with pauldrons and a pair of thick, white gloves. His most distinguishing feature was the cloak he wore, which matched his gloves in color; yet rather than allowing it to drape, he had wrapped it about his shoulder and torso, so as to cover his left arm with just enough slack to provide full mobility, whilst obscuring much of his torso.

"The Grimm are gone. Even the Nevermore. How does a Grimm that big just vanish? The trees aren't even that thick!"

At those words, the rest of the students began to stand up, walking over to the edge to join him and Arlette on watch. Sure enough, there were no signs of the Grimm. One of students began fidgeting, before saying, "I don't like this. There's no such thing as invisible monsters. Right?"

"Maybe they're hiding?" another suggested.

"Why would Grimm hide?" Clancey asked. "So they can ambush us? I've never heard of one being that smart. Though, if they did wish to do so, they'd be coming from..."

He looked about the area below the tower, scanning the treeline. Finally, he pointed to three spots. "There, there, and there. Those are the best places to attack from, if they had any sense of strategy. But we're not talking about much more than animals."

"Yeah, animals with giant spikes on them." replied the frightened student. Arlette shook her head and glanced at him, before saying, "Calm down. It's said fear is what attracts."

"What do you mean, fear?" he said, with a nervous chuckle. "I'm not scared. I'm not every worried. I'm absolutely terrified! This is the first time I've seen a monster outside of the training grounds."

Clancey continued standing, and began to pace about with rifle in hand, returning to the scope occasionally in order to scan the treeline, and the forests beyond. He scowled, and began to tap his foot. Another student stepped from behind him, and extended a spyglass so he could stare out into the forest. After a moment, he pointed into the woods, and called out, "Hey! I think I saw something over there."

Sure enough, it was movement; and, to Clancey's surprise, it was movement in exactly one of the areas he indicated. The seconds began to drag by as he continued watching, the movements giving rise to the appearances of more and more Grimm, all hiding away in the three points he had noted; one rocky, the other two thick with foliage. Had he not thought to check the rocks, he doubted he would have even seen them there.

"Ooh... now that's unusual." he muttered. As he did so, the student with the spyglass put it away, replacing it's spot with a nasty looking battle-axe; Clancey held up his hand, signaling him to hold. "Never seen hungry Grimm waiting like this before. Especially not... no, that's ridiculous."

"Could they really be strategizing?" he thought to himself. "It's almost as if they're trying to lure us out. Trying to flank us? Next thing we know, they'll be talking; maybe even drawing weapons. Now wouldn't that be a sight to see?"

Arlette reached down and drew out a long, shining sword, which began the process of unfolding itself into the form of a stringless bow before she had even finished pulling it from the sheath. She reached down into a small satchel which rested at her hip, and withdrew from it a small pinch of dust. With that same hand, she made the motion of pulling back a bow string; as she did, the dust in her hand began to glow, causing both a string and a golden arrow to form into existence. "We have the defensive advantage," she said. "So let's put it to use."

Nodding, Clancey lifted up his rifle, before adding, "The rest of you, get ready. They're not going to stay put for long once they realize we're onto them."

Weapons were drawn quickly. The frightened student withdrew a spear, the spyglass carrier continued to heft his axe, the cocky one from before twirled a pair of daggers, and the fourth carried only a simple staff. Clancey nodded at Arlette, and took aim at his own targeted; a Beowolf, crawling between two rocks.

"Now!" he cried, and their shots were loosed; the Beowolf fell dead, a dust round shredding its face; not far off, a massive surge of electricity sent a cluster of three of them flying away, whilst triggering another to come racing out of the rocks. There was a shriek from somewhere the woods, which was all it took to send more Beowolves surging from the rocks; charging towards the tower.

Dust lit up the night sky as the pair kept firing; arrows formed of raw elemental power swept up whole clusters in one strike, while those who escaped destruction were quickly picked off by pinpoint rifle shots. As more of the pack came rushing from the woods, Clancey turned and pointed to the other students, saying, "Looks like it's your guys' turn to have fun."

The group nodded, before leaping off the tower's edge. The dagger-wielder was the first to land, as a white flash suddenly carried him directly out of the air and onto the back of one of the Grimm, his blades already embedded in its skull even before he finished materializing. The others chose their own patterns for reaching and dealing with their foes; a swipe of an axe decapitating two in one blow, a kick delivered by pole-vaulting off a spear in a Grimm's head, or a simple whirlwind of crippling blows from a quarterstaff.

"Arlette, target the woods." he said, pointing to the spot on the treeline where few of the suspected Grimm had emerged. She nodded, and fired two arrows in quick succession; the first, glowing red, set off a massive flash of fire which brought out both howls, and charging Grimm; before the flames could spread, a white arrow hit dead center, releasing a blast of wintery cold which froze over the trees, as well as a collection of frozen Grimm; not simply Beowolves, but an Ursa as well.

"Looks like there may be more than we expected." she said, her eyes once more emitting a golden glow as she spoke to Clancey; as he turned to her, he noted, not for the first time, the golden feathers which seemed to trail off behind her as her semblance was active. "Should we join in on the fun below?"

"Of course." he replied, his rifle unfolding into the form of a long claymore. "After you?"

"I wouldn't impose." she replied. "Besides, you're far less useless down there."

Giving a quick laugh, Clancey nodded, and jumped off the rooftop. His initial target was a large Ursa which had now joined in from the woods; with ricasso in one hand and hilt in the other, his blade was primed to deal a single, penetrating blow to the beast. So focused was he on that objective that he failed to hear Arlette cry, "Look out!" as, from the side, the missing Nevermore slammed into him, knocking him off of his path and sending him falling.

Immediately upon striking the ground, Clancey dived into a roll and stood up quickly. He was a good distance from the other students, and in the current lighting, all he could see was the flashes of light from the tower above. That, and the Nevermore, which had now turned back around, and came flying at him once more.

With a grin, he unfolded his weapon into a third form; that of a long, two-pronged spear. While one of the blades initially appeared thin, it was rapidly brought to completion, as a green energy blade ran alongside it. Pulling back, as with a javelin, he shot the blade forward; the energy blade exploded into a burst of green dust, creating a small whirlwind and launching the spear forwards. As he failed to let go, the weapon carried him along for the ride.

The Nevermore swerved as he shot towards it, but Clancey was ready; twisting his body, he managed to redirect the self-propelled spear, causing it to drive itself downwards, and into the Grimm's back. The monster shrieked as the blade penetrated it's armor-like feathers, but proved far too large to be defeated with a single thrust.

The beast began jerking with wild abandon, attempting to sweep by the tower in its attempts to dislodge the unwelcome rider. Gripping his spear as tightly as he could, Clancey ducked past the incoming barrier; as the bird continued on, he shouted to Arlette, "Cover the others! I've got this one!"

Having said that, Clancey flicked upon the action of his weapon, ejecting a single round into his hand. Quickly, he ran it across the part of the spear blade which still stuck out from the Nevermore, revealing the dust within; however, in the dark, he could not identify the color. Grinding it up quickly in his gloved hand, he hoped for the best, and threw the cloud of dust upwards.

The thunderclap which followed was preceded by a sudden bolt of lightning, which struck down from the skies, and struck the tip of the spear. Electricity ran through both Clancey and the Nevermore, causing the bird to twist in mid-air and crash-land, digging a small trench as it skidded through the soft dirt. Clancey was sent flying, and hit the ground rather unceremoniously.

It took a few moments for him to come back to his senses; when he finally did, he found himself crawling on the ground, his weapon a few yards off, and with the Nevermore slowly recovering. Behind him was the edge of the cliff, which had very nearly gone tumbling off of. He stood up quickly, grabbed his spear, and collapsed it back into claymore form. As the beast stood, he charged forwards, pulling his blade back and downwards quickly with his right arm, whilst grasping the ricasso with his left; he thrust the blade upwards, and into the massive Grimm.

Not intending to go down so easily, the Nevermore lunged forwards, its wings beating as it attempted to take off. But Clancey moved to quickly, and his blade connected, penetrating upwards through the bottom of the bird's skull, and all of the way through its head. Yet slaying the beast was not enough to stop momentum from carrying it forwards. Realizing his proximity to the cliff, Clancey anticipated what was coming next. He braced himself, and easing the Grimm into him, and closed his eyes. Together, the two went tumbling off the edge; a red glow formed around him, leaving the crimson, flowing mane of a lion trailing behind.

His eyes opened once more, and he reached out to the dying Nevermore as it began trailing away into black mist. Upon making contact with his hand, that mist shifted to a radiant white hue; where once there had been a dying Nevermore, there was now a shimmering white eagle, which snatched him in its talons, and safely return him to the edge of the cliff.

That same red mane continued to surround him as he looked across the battlefield. A pair of Beowolves came rushing for him as he stood, recovering. With a quick motion of his hand, he directed the eagle towards them. It collided with the two, striking them both dead as it shattered into streams of fading light.

His aura returning, Clancey, now prepared, took his weapon in hand, and advanced towards the battlefield, to join the rest of the students as they mopped up the remaining Grimm.

"What do you mean, Mistral?"

The battle was over. Grimm lay dead, scattered across the base of the tower; their bodies steadily dissolving into nothingness. Two of the students lay injured on the ground, while a third had been knocked out cold by an Ursa. Clancey, though mostly unharmed, was completely exhausted as he asked that question; and while visibly the best off of the group, Arlette nevertheless appeared far from fine as she answered it.

"It's not something which I have much of a say in." she replied. "It was my family's decision. With groups like the White Fang becoming so active here in Vale over the last year, they've decided it was best if..."

Clancey simply nodded, sitting himself down on the decomposing form of a Beowolf. "... if you weren't here? I understand."

"For all we know, it could be years." she said, giving a shrug. "Honestly, even with some of the violence, it's been mostly humans. I can't imagine Faunus rights groups ever posing a danger. It's not like they're going to start raiding shops or robbing trains; a few muggings is the most I'd expect. And from what I heard, Atlas has received the worst of problems anyways."

"If it makes you even the least bit safer, it's worth it." he replied, after giving it a few moments. "Besides, Haven's a fine academy. Heck, you'll probably have a shot at top in class there, eh?"

"Hah hah. Very, very, funny." she replied, rolling her eyes. "Sanctum's not much different than Signal, so I can't imagine the environment at Haven will be too different from Beacon... just with less friends around, I suppose."

"There's always a chance we'll meet up at a tournament or something." he said. "Then it'll be just like the old times again." With that, he sighed, and stood up, so as to look off into the forests.

She reached behind her hood, and gave a quick yank, before pulling out a long, brownish feather. She opened his hand and placed the feather within, before closing it. "For friends left behind."

They stood for a while longer, watching as the shattered moon rose in the western skies, and showered Patch in a cascade of pale light. The group spent the rest of the evening tossing Grimm corpses off of the ledge, before finally returning to the tower and setting up watch for the night. When dawn came, they returned to Signal Academy for the last time.

Finish: The Sculptor

Next Up: The Painter

A/N (EDITED IN): I think it's appropriate, three trailers in that, I explain something. I started writing this story back in late December, as an attempt to work on my writing. This was when Trailer 1 was initially made, and the initial story plans were drafted. I've done fanfiction before, on other websites and under different names; however, it was years ago, and I never finished my main projects. Despite having the four trailers made fairly early on, I was held off from posting out of fear of not completing whatever I was working on. However, after the passing of Monty Oum, I made the decision that I would see this one through, and do it until the end. Fear should never be something to stop you from doing what you love.



I've been releasing the trailers as I've had time to proofread them. At this moment (having just posted Trailer 3), number 4 is fully proofread, and Chapter 1 is complete; it is also significantly better written, in my opinion, than the trailers. Because of this, I've attempted the same thing as the main show; you can start reading at Chapter 1 without needing the trailers, though certain things will not be explained. Also, because I have a distaste for written descriptions of characters, the Trailers will probably be the only place that the main four are ever described in full.

To put out some of my plans before-hand: The goal is a four-year plan, covering the leads through their four years at Beacon Academy; the year after that would be the start of RWBY itself. The process of Initiation and the school setting means there will be some overlap, especially for the first few chapters. Over the time of writing this fanfic, I hope to set a very distinct identity for both the story, and for the characters themselves.

Thank you for reading, and I look forward to writing for you!