The Return of the Ancient( Warhammer X Rwby)

Chapter 5: Mistral

Author's note: Hello everyone, if you were re-reading the story for this chapter, you might have noticed that the Mistral accent is now fully gone and edited and the Mistral culture explanation has been changed. This is due to feedback and my own reflections that the accents I was writing were often getting in the way of a clear understanding of what the character is saying and not providing much worth in exchange. Thus accents, in all my stories, are being toned down a bit with more clear rules on how they work or if they are becoming more trouble than it is worth, like the Mistral Accent, removed.

Gaining entry through the gate proved to be significantly more arduous than one might have anticipated. Their objective was directed towards one of the lower 'hives' or districts, as Chris had called it. This area was encircled by a stone wall towering at an impressive height of eight meters. As it was constructed into the mountainside, the base of the wall exhibited a natural slope that became quite steep, thereby facilitating the warriors' ability to fire downwards with considerable ease; the steepness of the walls would render any ascent exceedingly challenging for any Grimm. However, the stonework was not executed with the precision typical of imperial design; rather, the stones had been roughly hewn in haste, more akin to cobblestones.

The gate itself was a remarkable feat of engineering, particularly considering their current technological capabilities. The mechanism by which the notable metallic gate was operated was decidedly motorised. With a height of three meters and a width of five meters, the gate bore numerous scratches and bite marks, a testament to previous Grimm assaults. The gatehouse maintained a traditional Asiatic architectural style similar to Nagoya; however, Rylanor swiftly discerned the presence of wide apertures upon it designed for heavy weaponry, albeit it was apparent that the upper section of the gatehouse had not been used or received any form of maintenance in sometime. The continuous flow of caravans entering and exiting the premises was truly astonishing. Among the predominantly Asiatic caravans, Rylanor noted several Anglo caravans and even one laden with metallic crates bearing a distinct Teuton-like symbol... the situation was growing increasingly perplexing. Moreover, it did not aid his cause that Rylanor had become the focal point of attention, as it was quite difficult to overlook the platinum-haired giant.

Thus as they got closer to the gate, Rylanor saw properly those who were the watchmen here and...it raised a lot of questions in regards to how weird the technological level is of this world. was made up of a pea jacket with five matte buttons, a straight collar and khaki cloth trousers. they also wore a service cap with a coloured band and blue piping, with a small Mistral crest on the service cap. At first glance, it would look like a uniform of the late first millennium, but what drew Rylanor's eye was the rifle. Clearly a bolt action rifle, which instead of wooden material, but bronze or bronze-like alloy, but the bayonet is more advanced than the gun. While the teeth of it were definitely weaker, the chain bayonet was made of a tough steel alloy, not ceramite, but impressive and again the Teuton-like symbol was there on the side of the chain bayonet. There were 5 of them, clearly not enough to even properly inspect the Caravans that were crossing this gate and were mostly just letting them through without hassle, only stopping an 1 or 2 if it looked 'suspicious'. Curiously, instead of being mostly asiatic, Rylanor spotted more that two of the guards were caucasian. So Mistral has a more diverse population. Rylanor wondered if he would be able to discern the origin point on Terra that the cultures he will see. It helps when interacting with them.

"What the hell is an Atlesian doing here? Especially on foot." As a man advanced through the caravan, an authoritative voice remarked, causing Rylanor to bend his neck to the source and to ponder the efficiency of the alloy utilised to craft these man's plate armour if it could stop bullets. The design of the aforementioned armour was reminiscent of Milanese plate armour, a quintessential example of full-plate homogeneous protection, enveloping nearly the entirety of its bearer's physique in substantial steel plates. A distinguishing characteristic of such armour is the rounded form of its principal components: a convex cuirass, broad and formidable pauldrons, and elbow caps. Adorning this ensemble was a green surcoat, emblazoned with two symbols: prominently displayed at the upper chest was a large open-handed mailed gauntlet, and beneath, a white emblem depicting two crossed axes over a laurel wreath. The man was grasping a poleaxe of metal, which seemed rather mundane at first glance. Nevertheless, Rylanor quickly realised that it incorporated a mechanised or foldable design, and he promptly ascertained which element might serve as the trigger, thereby transforming the poleaxe into a rifle. A similar conclusion could be drawn regarding the gauntlets; as the armoured man drew nearer, Rylanor's acute hearing picked up a notable clicking emanating from the gauntlets, suggesting that mechanisms were engaging and poised to spring into action, thus indicating that they, too, were weapons.