The Warlock, the Witch, and the Empire

Chapter 14

Enroute to the Land of Darkness

The shuttle ride gave (Y/n) some time to think.

Ever since the attack on Haven Academy, things went haywire everywhere. The Kingdom of Mistral was in disarray from the chaos of what happened, with some of their own police and Huntsmen forces dead, and were quite demanding of answers. Miraculously, Lionheart managed to secure his survival by being useful enough to convince the kingdom's council of what (Y/n) wanted people to believe, by telling them that disgruntled Huntsmen and Huntresses tried to attack the Imperial forces touring the school and force them to leave so they could have their jobs back.

The attack was thwarted by Imperial security forces and some mercenaries they had on retainer called Mandalorians, along with some Huntsmen and Huntresses that weren't fooled by anarchists lies, and defeated many of the rebel's forces while sending the remaining few and their leaders running for the hills and forests, not bothering to chase after them.

Expectedly, not everyone believed Leo's lies, so thankfully the Warlock provided him with evidence he had his Storm Commandos plant around the main city, in the form of forged plans and contracts planted here and there to make it seem like the enemy was indeed planning such an attack. Painting Qrow Branwen as the main instigator of the attack, since it was unlikely that a mere farm boy that was newest reincarnation of the dead Ozpin would be believed to be the main leader of the rebels, the majority of the council and people were more inclined to believe Imperials stories, with only the few that were directly related to the deceased and/or defamed rebels unwilling to believe that their family and friends would do such a thing. And with all the commotion around, no one would suspect anything when Hazel, Mercury, and Emerald paid them a 'special' visit to silence their dissent.

Because of this, the Mistral Council was placing laws on Huntsmen and Huntress activities being controlled by Imperial overseers to make sure something of the like doesn't happen again. Thus, technically giving the Imperials control over an entire Huntsmen Academy and its warriors.

On another topic, the situation with Vernal was more interesting. Once it was proven that she had helped the Warlock kill Raven to take over the tribe, there was a massive uproar. Many loyal to Raven were unwilling to accept Vernal's claim to the mantle of leader of the tribe, though she immediately silenced them with her new Spring Maiden powers to showcase her new authority, killing the more hardcore ones, and beating up the ones that could be convinced otherwise. Once all was said and done, she made it clear that of their new employment as privateers for the Imperials and their operations, saying they were going to be joining the Mandalorians and become better than simple bandits (though it took some convincing for Solro to let them join and test themselves to increase their clans numbers). After some uncomfortable moving, the tribe was loaded up onto one of the transports the Imperials lent to the Mandos so they may be taken to Palavida and be put through the ringer of being Mandalorians, which Vernal herself was a bit excited for on a personal level. Ever since she learned about the Mandalorians and their tales of battle and prowess, along with their familial bonds and honorable ways, she had become more distinct in believing that she would like being a Mandalorian more than a bandit, and thanked the Warlock many times for the chance he gave her, vowing to not disappoint him with said chances.

Despite all the progress, not everything was black sun and dead flowers.

In the aftermath of the battle, (Y/n) had learned from Hazel that the farm boy with the cane was Ozma's newest reincarnation. Though he knew that the wizard would return after taking Vale from him, he didn't expect it to be for quite some time before he came back. This would need to be dealt with, for he had learned that this man was not one to underestimate. This meant that his plans needed to be rushed forward, as much as he didn't like it. Oz could use his influence that still remained a bit to get him and his allies into hiding from his own forces, meaning that any attempts to capture them would end in vain failure. There was also the chance he could return to Atlas and warn General Ironwood of the Warlock's true nature, ruining his main masterstroke plan: turning the most technologically advanced (In this planet's terms and view) kingdom against the wizard himself.