RWBY: Prince of Rags

Chapter 2: In The Mirror

When the day finally arrived to go to Atlas Academy, I found that out of all the applicants that only thirty of us managed to get into the Specialist course. That isn't a blessing, not everyone makes it through the first year. It's more intense, more work than any of the other courses. Regular Huntsmen in comparison, have half the courses a Specialist does. The name is rather misleading too, as a Specialist learns about everything from engineering to medicine, from combat to diplomacy. Whether my semblance got me into this course or my results, that was yet to be seen.

What I did see from the airship, as it left Mantel, was the floating city of Atlas, which I had only seen the rock bottom of, in all of its spectacle. I was enchanted by the brightness it had, like a diamond peering from a rock, floating above the coal pile it once saw as its brother, but now lived in a different world. How lucky they are, to live in brightness even when the sun is above them, how lucky are those that don't even think about the cold that surrounds their diamond. My enchantment was broken when holograms appeared at the windows of the airship, holograms of Winter Schnee. There weren't any pleasantries, only commands for us to prepare for the landing and form our assigned groups.

Instructors stood evenly apart at the front of the entrance as we disembarked onto the landing pad. Everyone quickly fell into their lines as they were shouted at by one of the more intimidating instructors. I was grouped with Specialist Hemlock, who introduced himself as the Grimm Studies instructor. He stood with his back straight, his eyes watched us like a hawk, even with his back turned to us it still felt as if his eyes were drilling into us. The authority he gave off started to tell me what a Specialist really was, that is, they have the same mindset of an Atlesian, that they have authority over others.

Following him, the group learned about how our days were planned out, where the classes were, and what was expected of us. Anyone caught mindlessly admiring the surroundings, was quickly picked out and told to repeat what Hemlock had said. Failure came with pushups and a lecture on listening to superiors when they are speaking. That we shouldn't lose our focus as to why we are here. Not to sightsee, but to train. The tour ended in the dorm area, our assigned rooms were sent to our scrolls, and we were last told that we were to report to the amphitheater on time.

For the first year, teams aren't assigned, instead, they bunk five random students from the Specialist group into rather small living areas. For Huntsmen and everyone else, it's four. Other than that the conditions are the same, one bed and footlocker per student. Nothing more and nothing less. The showers, restrooms, and kitchen were in specific areas, there were no private bathrooms for first-years. Once the weak were weeded out, those that remained were assigned teams with those they seemed compatible with and were given better accommodations along with their official uniform. But if they started to slack off, you could bet that the whole team would be punished.

I didn't pay any mind to my bunkmates, while I introduced myself, I did so while unpacking what few things I brought and one of the kits given to us. Spare clothes, some Dust crystals, and basic class supplies. The bunkmates didn't really bother me, all four came from Atlas but were of no notable position. It seemed odd to bunk girls with guys, though that in its own way could be a test of both maturity and discipline. The two girls that got stuck with us didn't appear that social with each other. One didn't speak after introducing herself. Instead, she opted to do the same as me and get unpacking finished so we could make it to the amphitheater.

Out of all four major academies, Atlas is said to have the largest hall. An obvious thing since it is also the largest in terms of total space. Being the tallest building and the centerpiece of the floating city, it was only beat in appearance by Vale's Beacon Academy, which one could be forgiven for mistakenly thinking it was a castle pulled from a fairy tale. Back to reality, I gathered with the rest of the newcomers as told and waited for the announcements. Winter walked onto the stage and called for our attention, then introduced Ironwood, as she did, however, I could have sworn I saw her eyes analyze the students, searching for me.