Chained in Servility

Chapter 1

This is a quick but very special thank you to timetravelingshark on Tumblr. They made a post about the Branwen tribe and its culture and they graciously allowed me to use it as the basis for my take on the tribe. There will be alterations and expansions since I do have my own ideas. Even so, I truly am grateful for the agreement!

The first couple of chapters will just be middling around to show some of the cultural concepts so the stuff with Beacon won't be immediate. I'm a worldbuilder, so showing off this sort of stuff is what I love. Plus, if anybody reads anything else with Raven, this will give some pretty big insight as to why she acts the way she does. I hope y'all can bear with me while I plod around for a couple of chapters. Needless to say, since this is a coherent culture and not just "hurr we b thugz," there will be little resembling canon here.

There will also be a lot to unpack due to how dense this is. You'll be able to find a short glossary at the end of the chapter of some of the specific terms that'll be used consistently.
There is a really lame action scene in here which I'll apologise for now. I am terrible at them. I'm a character/worldbuilding writer, not an action one, so hopefully, those aspects will make up for it.
Also, things showcased in this fic and Die are not meant to excuse any of Raven's canon actions; her behaviors are beyond problematic. These fics just drop hints to explain why she made the choices she did.
By the way, if you think you can figure out what I think Raven's Semblance means symbolically in regards to her personality, feel free to give your thoughts in the comments.
Anyway, onto the fic!
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Raven shielded her eyes with her hand, squinting a bit as she saw the smoke in the distance. The cold air carried the acrid scent to her throat and she shivered a bit before glancing at the ground, letting off a series of whistles.

It looks like the village of Shiro's under attack from Grimm. Can't say I'm surprised . The village had fallen on hard times over the past several active seasons, so the Grimm attack was inevitable. Even so, it didn't stop a rock from dropping into the pit of her stomach.

We need to get over there as quickly as possible. It'll be our last raid for the active season. Get down here now. She returned her father's whistle with an affirmative response before she slashed her sword in the air and opened a portal below her. She dropped through and appeared next to Fallon, getting a curse of surprise from her brother. She just grinned at him and he swatted her upside the head, getting Fallon to clear his throat. Raven straightened up and nodded as she gathered the reins in her hands, pulling herself into the saddle. With a small click, Dena took off at a trot while she followed behind her father, Qrow to her right.

Silence hung over the combat party and Fallon nodded Raven to the left a little further and she sucked in a breath. Head of the rescue party. Third time this season. But she was glad her father was trusting her. With her now of age and as the next chief, she needed to take on more responsibility during the active seasons. She wasn't about to let him down. Thankfully, she hadn't screwed up yet...

She looked at her half of the party and they nodded while Fallon took the other half through the forest. The village was still a quarter hour's ride away, so the raiding party had to be ready in case any Grimm were still in the area. Given how bad things had to be, she wouldn't be surprised if the Nuckelavee had made its presence known. She could only shiver at the thought and sent a prayer skyward that the despair hadn't been that bad. Even parties of eighty tribesmen had trouble with the hellish demon.

Over the next quarter hour, Raven maintained contact with her father through whistling and pulled in one last breath as she heard the sound of screams. Loud trumpets rang through the forest and she flinched, pulling her simple sword from its sheath. She turned toward the group and nodded. "Two Goliaths, probably around a hundred years old. It'll be tough, but we can take them. The hunting party should arrive in twenty minutes or so." SHe was thankful the two parties had split just a day prior. If she'd seen the smoke, then they would have too. THe last raid of the season would be too tempting to avoid.