SAPR

by Scipio Smith

After Action (New)

After Action

"You've been reading that thing almost non-stop since we got back from Mountain Glenn," Rainbow observed, and a glance across the dorm room showed that Ciel once again had her nose buried in the catechisms of the Lady of the North. Rainbow attempted a grin as she put the last of her neatly folded clothes into a hold-all. "The ending isn't going to change if you keep re-reading it."

Ciel looked up to deliver a rather withering glance out of her blue eyes, matching the frigidity of her tone. "I find the teachings of our Lady very comforting in times of trial."

Rainbow zipped up her hold-all and sat down on her bed. "Are we in a time of trial?"

"We are always in a time of trial," Ciel declared. She looked back down at her holy book. "For whenever there is light, there, too, shall ye find darkness; and evil shall walk the earth as long as thy descendants shall endure, and thou shalt never see the end of it."

"I guess she had a point about that," Rainbow muttered. She clasped her hands together. "Are you all packed and ready to move out?"

Ciel looked up at Rainbow Dash once more.

"It's my job to ask," Rainbow said.

"Is it also your assignment to underestimate me?"

"No," Rainbow said. "Just to ask."

Ciel sniffed. "All my gear is safely stowed."

"Except that book."

"Yes," Ciel admitted. "Except this book."

Rainbow was quiet for a moment. "I thought you knew it by heart."

"And I thought you were above inane conversation," Ciel replied.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. An indirect approach was not getting her very far. Okay then: straight at it, the Atlesian way. "It's got to you, hasn't it? What she said down there?"

"I have no idea what you-"

"Salem!" Rainbow yelled. "Down in Mountain Glenn. What she said, about the Lady in the North... about her dying at Salem's hands."

"At the hands of one of her servants," Ciel corrected her. "Some latter day Cinder Fall. God's intermediary upon the earth and the great enemy could not even be bothered to triumph over her in person, sending instead some cutthroat bitch to do the job."

Rainbow's eyebrows rose. "I don't think I've ever heard you swear before."

"You will not hear it again," Ciel said. "Forgive me, I am-"

"Rattled?"

"A little out of sorts," Ciel corrected.

Rainbow shrugged. "It doesn't bother me. Curse up a storm if you want to."

"No, thank you." Ciel murmured.

"I'm serious," Rainbow said. "Well, maybe not about the cursing, but about... Penny's not here right now; you can take your armour off."

"And what would that serve?"

"What good is pretending that it doesn't bother you when it does?" Rainbow asked. "I tried to pretend that the White Fang didn't scare me anymore, but the moment I found out about Blake, I lost it." She hesitated. "I don't want to see you lose it at the worst time, for your sake."

Ciel shut the book with an audible snap. "You speak of taking off my armour," she whispered, "but the truth is that Salem has shot a hole through my armour already. Duty is my shield, discipline my sword, but faith has always been my armour, but that faith... how can the Lady protect us when she could not protect herself? If God would not intervene on behalf of his beloved, his most faithful servant, then why should he protect any of us?" She shuddered. "When she spoke to me, I saw... I saw Atlas, and it was surrounded by dark clouds which moved as if they were alive. I saw the city burning and the Lady weeping upon her pedestal of stone. And above the clouds, I saw a golden light, and God in all his radiant majesty looking down upon our city... and he turned away, and the darkness consumed everything."

Rainbow crossed the distance between them, leaping over the intervening beds to kneel before Ciel and take her hands. "What she showed us is not prophecy," she said. "It doesn't have to come to pass, and it won't. We won't allow it."

"The two of us?" Ciel asked dubiously.

"All of us," Rainbow replied. "You, me, Applejack, Penny, Trixie, Starlight, Maud, Neon, Flint, everyone. Atlas will not fall while men defend it. What's that phrase, about four corners?"

"Come all four corners of the world in arms, and we will shock them," Ciel said. "We are a rather vain people, are we not?"

Rainbow grinned. "Confidence is sexy; it's why we're so popular."

Ciel snorted. Her face fell shortly after. "It feels less appropriate now than it did before."

"Because we've reached the end of vanity," Rainbow murmured.

"Even so," Ciel agreed, speaking softly. "If the Lady herself could not prevail, what chance do we have?"

Rainbow was silent for a moment. "Is it true?"

"I... I don't know," Ciel admitted. "I have been reading and re-reading, but... leaving aside the fact that the Lady never mentions Salem or our struggle except by opaque references that I am only now uncovering... it is a first-person account; obviously, it does not cover the circumstances of her death."

"What about her going to fight?" Rainbow asked.

Ciel shook her head. "No. Her last writings are concerned with harmonious relations amongst a community of believers and their relations with unbelievers. All that Salem said may be a pack of lies, but-"

"But you don't think she'd be that obvious," Rainbow said.

"Indeed," Ciel said quietly.

Rainbow got up. "Then I guess we'll just have to find out for ourselves, won't we?"

Ciel looked up at her. "'Find out for ourselves'?"

"Once Penny is better," Rainbow said. "We'll... research. Take a road trip to some holy sites. There has to be something somewhere, something to tell us what really happened."

Ciel frowned. "And if it really happened exactly as Salem said?"

"Then we'll find out what she died for," Rainbow declared. "Because I guarantee that it wasn't for nothing." She paused. "We can't kill Salem; we already knew that. The Lady probably knew it too. But we can stand between her and the people we care about, and I bet that if we look close enough, we'll find that's what the Lady did too."

Ciel was silent for a moment. "I hope you are correct," she murmured. "And I would gladly seek the truth with you, although I do not understand why you would seek it with me. It is not your faith."

"But it's yours, and you're on my team," Rainbow said. "And that means your problem is my problem."

"Then may the Lady guide our steps towards enlightenment," Ciel said. She smiled softly. "Thank you."

"All part of the service," Rainbow said. Her scroll buzzed. "Hold that thought," Rainbow said, as she answered it. "I've got to go," she announced. "The General wants to see me in his office, right now."

---

Rainbow Dash came to attention and saluted. "Cadet Leader Dash reporting as ordered, sir."

"At ease, Dash," General Ironwood commanded, returning the salute from behind his desk aboard the flagship. "And tell me what this is."

Rainbow looked at the scroll that the General had just picked up off his desk. She doubted that General Ironwood would appreciate being told that it was his scroll, so she focused on what was currently on the scroll. "That... that's my report on the operation in Mountain Glenn, sir."

"That's what it appeared to be," General Ironwood replied calmly. "I had to ask, since it's like no other report that you've ever prepared for me."

Rainbow swallowed. "Sir, I understand that this may seem-"

General Ironwood held up one hand to forestall her. "You'll get your chance to defend your position on all counts, but for now why don't we start at the top? Why does this report read like you're describing a defeat?"

"Because the victory was yours, sir, not ours," Rainbow replied. "We failed to complete our initial mission objectives: to forestall the White Fang threat to Vale, to kill or capture Cinder Fall, and to report timely intelligence on enemy dispositions and objectives. And on top of that, Penny was badly injured. Vale was saved thanks to your efforts, sir, but Mountain Glenn itself, we messed up."

General Ironwood was silent for a moment. "You're right; Cinder did escape," he said. "What could you have done to make sure you got her?"

"I... I don't know, sir."

"Consider this your homework: I want a revised mission plan detailing how you could have proceeded so as to accomplish all of the mission objectives."

"With hindsight, sir, or just with what we knew going in?"

General Ironwood pondered that. "Both," he said. "As I say, you're correct that Cinder escaped and that Penny was wounded. However, the only reason that we – myself, Ozpin, and the Valish authorities – were able to mount an effective response to the Breach was due to timely intelligence on enemy objectives, wouldn't you agree?"

Rainbow frowned. "Feels like we cut it fine, sir."

"If you could have done better, write it down for me," General Ironwood instructed her. "As the Last King of Vale said after the Battle of Four Sovereigns, ‘the only thing worse than a battle won is a battle lost.’ But a battle lost is worse. I know that the outcome of this operation wasn't perfect, and I won't say that you didn't make mistakes, but being too hard on yourself won't help you to do better next time. Take heart, Dash; you can't learn from your intakes unless you can recognise your successes too. Like rescuing two Atlesian citizens from captivity."

"Yes, sir. About that, sir, did Professor Goodwitch-?"

"Had some words to say on the subject, yes," General Ironwood replied. "Harsh words. Harsher than I think you deserve in the circumstances."

"Sir?"

"Civis Atlarum Sum, Dash," General Ironwood reminded her. "Glynda isn't one of us, for all her sterling qualities, so she doesn't understand that rescuing the two of them became a top priority the moment you found out they were being held captive, not because they were your friends but because they are Atlesian citizens.

"We fight against Salem under Ozpin's colours, but we are still Atlesian soldiers with responsibilities to keep the people of Atlas safe from harm, first and foremost." The General paused. "That being said, going off on your own was reckless."

"I didn't want to spook him into changing his mind, sir."

"I can't condone lying to Professor Goodwitch either," General Ironwood said pointedly. "What's your opinion of the relationship between Cinder Fall and Sunset Shimmer?"

Rainbow hesitated, thrown off initially by what seemed like a sudden change of subject. A moment's thought, however, revealed to her why General Ironwood had chosen to ask this now. She thought about it for a little longer. "It's a little weird, sir, I admit, but I'm not worried."

"No?"

"No, sir," Rainbow repeated. "But, Sunset... Sunset knows who her real friends are; she wouldn't pick Cinder over her team, or mine. Cinder, though... I think she'd do stuff for Sunset that she wouldn't do for anyone else."

"So you think this may work to our advantage?" General Ironwood asked.

"We did get a hostage back without a fight, sir."

"Hmm," General Ironwood murmured. "I can't say that I like it, but you may have a point."

"Thank you, sir."

"Just," General Ironwood added, "as you may have a point about my asking you to volunteer for this mission."

Rainbow winced. "I didn't mean to imply that... I meant no disrespect, sir; I just think that a Specialist detail should have been assigned to this mission instead of two first-year teams." Rainbow hesitated, wondering if she was about to go too far. "A point I think I raised before the mission, sir."

"Yes," General Ironwood admitted. "And do you remember my answer?"

"You said that Professor Ozpin didn't trust our Specialists," Rainbow replied. "You also said it didn't matter why he didn't, just that he didn't." She paused. "I'm not sure it matters either; you should have fought for it anyway, sir."

"You're being very bold today, Dash," General Ironwood murmured.

"That's what you keep me around for, sir," Rainbow said. "And you said it yourself, sir: we may fight Salem under Ozpin, but we're still Atlesian soldiers, and that means that you..."

The General waited a moment. When Rainbow did not continue, she prompted, "Go on."

"I may not be the best student, sir, but I wasn't sleeping during combat school history class," Rainbow began. "I remember that the Mantle armies in the Great War never fully enforced the rules on self-expression during the war, I know the generals turned a blind eye when regiments kept their Colours and their marching songs, and I know that when the King ordered them to start executing every prisoner they captured, they refused to do that either. They told the King to get his ass down there and do it himself if he wanted it done. He didn't have the guts. The point is, sir, that the military has never been afraid to go its own way when it was in the right."

"And that," General Ironwood said, "is precisely why I couldn't defy Ozpin in this."

Rainbow frowned. "Sir."

General Ironwood got up, turning away from Rainbow and walking to the window, looking out over Vale and all the gallant ships who kept her safe.

"As you rightly recall," General Ironwood said, clasping his hands together behind his back, "the Atlesian forces have a certain historical reputation, dating back to before the Great War. Those who don't see us as emotionless robots see a force that is uncompromisingly obedient to its own officers... and almost beyond the control of anyone else. I have to say that my holding two seats on the Council only adds to that impression of unaccountability. There are many, even in Atlas, who fear that the military is outside the control of the civilian authority."

"We couldn't be the kingdom's conscience if we weren't independent, sir."

"The Kingdom's conscience, Dash; is that what you think we are?"

"I think we could be, sir, if there was a need."

"Some would say that we are more keepers than conscience," General Ironwood declared. "Some even in Ozpin's inner circle. I am not... universally well-liked amongst that group, or well-respected. There are those who don't think that I should be a part of this struggle. Those voices will only grow more vocal and, I fear, more influential with Ozpin, if I am seen to act overtly against him."

"Politics," Rainbow growled.

"It gets everywhere," the General agreed, as though it were a persistent mould. "But I can do more good on the inside than frozen out, even if it means I have to pull in my horns from time to time."

"And that's why Ozpin doesn't trust Specialists, isn't it?" Rainbow guessed. "Because he can't control them."

"That, and he's not a fan of armies in general," said Ironwood. "And he'd prefer it if my students didn't end up in one. Let alone his students." The General fell silent. With one hand, he tugged awkwardly at the tie around his neck. "Dash," he began, sounding as awkward as he suddenly looked, "I don't really know how to... how was it? How was she?"

Rainbow swallowed. "I suppose we have to talk about this, sir."

"You can hardly expect me to ignore it, Dash."

"No, sir," Rainbow murmured. "Have you ever met her?"

"No."

"Lucky you, sir."

General Ironwood frowned. "That bad?"

"Pretty bad, sir, yes," Rainbow admitted. "She... she got inside our heads somehow, it was like she knew our worst fears, knew exactly what to say to ... everyone took it pretty hard, sir."

The General winced. "I'm sorry for putting you in that position," he said. "You understand that you can't talk to a counsellor about this, or to your friends, but my door is open if you want to talk about it."

"Thank you, sir, but right now, I'm more worried about Ciel and Penny," Rainbow replied. It was a generous offer of the General to make, but compared to what Ciel and Penny had been hit with, her own visions felt rather trivial by comparison. Besides, it felt a little late for her, all things considered. "They both got hit pretty hard, and with Penny, it's combined with her injuries... I'm worried they've both been knocked sideways a little."

"So what are you going to do about it?" General Ironwood asked.

"Ciel... Salem got to her through her faith; I'm hoping to help her prove that either Salem was lying or at least not giving all the context. Hopefully, that will help. Penny... I haven't quite figured that out, sir, but I will."

General Ironwood nodded. "And Miss Belladonna?"

Rainbow frowned. "It wasn't Salem thet hit her hardest, sir, or at least, I don't think it was. It was the death of all the White Fang down in the tunnel. Thank you, sir, for releasing her from our service."

"I'm a man of my word, and Miss Belladonna has more than held up her end of the bargain. I'm a little surprised you pushed for it, though. I thought you wanted her to come to Atlas."

"I do, sir, but I want her to want it, and not because she's chained to it or because I keep pushing her that way. I was... I was using Blake as a crutch, putting all my hopes on her so I didn't have to improve. I won't be doing that any more, sir. I'll shape up, and Blake can make her own decision."

General Ironwood said, "I haven't noticed any particular areas in need of improving."

"That doesn't mean they aren't there, sir."

"No," General Ironwood allowed. "Alright then, I look forward to a change in you, Dash. It would be nice to be pleasantly surprised for once. Although I am a little concerned about Miss Belladonna. Who's going to help her work through all this?"

"I... I'll make sure that Team Sapphire keeps an eye on her, sir; I'm sure they'll be happy to do it." Rainbow hesitated momentarily. "General... about Blake, but sort of not, do you ever worry that... do you ever worry that the White Fang have a point about us?"

"I can't say that I do," replied the General. "Unlike the White Fang, we don't attack civilian targets."

"No, sir, but we do leave people behind," Rainbow said. "We race ahead and the faunus – some of the faunus, anyway – get left in the dust. Or, I don't know, it's more of a feeling than a thought; I'm sorry to bother you with it, sir."

"Atlas isn't perfect, Dash; it can always be made better," General Ironwood reminded her. "And if you think you have a way to do that, then by all means, let the world know. But first, I want you to work up that revised mission plan."

"Yes, sir."

"That's all; dismissed."

After her meeting with the General, Rainbow returned to Beacon, and with all her packing done for their imminent departure, she sought out the library.

It was pretty empty, what with the semester having officially finished a few days ago. School was breaking up, some students were going home for the break before the tournament kicked off, and those that were sticking around at Beacon didn't have any assignments due. No one had any reason to haunt the libraries right now.

So it was a good thing that Rainbow wasn't looking for a student.

She found the man she was looking for coming out of one of the back rooms with a stack of books in his arms. He reversed out slowly, his back to Rainbow Dash.

"Yo, bookstore guy."

The big faunus put down the stack of books and turned to face Dash with a mildly baleful look in his dark eyes. "That's Mister Bookstore Guy to you, kid. Or you can just call me Tukson."

"Rainbow Dash," Rainbow introduced herself.

"Appropriate," Tukson observed. "So, you're Blake's handler."

"I'm Blake's friend," Rainbow corrected.

"As I understand it, she was running from you just before that mess at the docks."

Rainbow squirmed. "Yeah, well... a lot's happened since then."

"Yeah, I guess it has," Tukson admitted wistfully. He sighed. "I guess I should be thanking you. Now that the White Fang has been taken care of and Adam's dead, I can finally go back to my store."

"Will you?" Rainbow asked.

"Maybe," Tukson said. "This place, well, it really does have every book under the sun. Every book published in Vale, anyway. I feel as though I could spend a lifetime going through the stacks and still not find every hidden treasure here. But... it's my store. I created it, I built it up. Getting chased out of it was bad enough, but never going back? I don't know; that's not a step I could take lightly. Fortunately, it doesn't seem as though Professor Ozpin is in a rush to kick me out, so I still have time to consider it."

Rainbow folded her arms. "You said that you ought to thank me. I'm guessing that means that you don't actually want to thank me."

"A lot of faunus are dead, from what I understand," Tukson said. "I don't expect Vale to mourn their deaths, but I don't have to rejoice at them."

Rainbow didn't respond to that; it was a fair enough point, and not one that she wanted to discuss further. "Have you spoken to Blake lately?"

"No," Tukson replied. "Why? Is she okay?"

Not really, honestly, but if Blake hadn't sought out Tukson's counsel, then Rainbow wasn't going to share her state. Well, maybe she would, but not right now. "I'm not here to talk about Blake. I was hoping... I was hoping that we could talk about you."

"Me?" Tukson said. "Why do... why?"

"Because the only person I know who used to be in the White Fang is Blake, and the only person I know who is in the White Fang would be too busy crowing to tell me anything useful. Plus, I didn’t give her my number," Rainbow added. "But I know you used to be in the Wjite Fang too."

"That was a while ago, kid, like I told the cops-"

"This isn't about intel," Rainbow assured him. "I just... I want to know why you joined the White Fang."

Tukson's eyes narrowed. "And why would you want to know that?"

"Because..." Rainbow bowed her head a little. "Do you think it's possible that things could improve enough that people wouldn't want to join the White Fang? And if so, wouldn't we need to know the reasons why if we wanted to stop them?"

Tukson took a few moments to respond. "Well, okay," he said heavily. "Why don't we both take a seat? It'll be easier that way."

They sat down at one of the many empty tables in the library, facing one another across the desk as though they were about to work on a term paper together.

Rainbow leaned forwards as she waited for Tukson to speak.

At last, he did so, although as he spoke, he would not meet Rainbow's eyes. "The first thing you have to bear in mind is that the White Fang I joined doesn't exist anymore," he said. "It got replaced by something different, which kept the name and not much else."

"But people still have the same reasons for joining, right?" Rainbow said. "I mean, I know that some of them are psychos, but not all of them."

"No," Tukson agreed. "Not all of them. That's why I can't help but feel sorry for all the ones who died down there in that tunnel: because they weren't all psychotic killers; in fact, I bet most of them were just people who, in a different life, could have been productive citizens."

"In another life?" Rainbow asked. "Or in a better world?"

Tukson said, "Whatever changes are made now, even if they were made today, it would still be too late to draw back some of those that are on the violent path. Reforms, however necessary, can't erase the memory of past injustices, insults, abuses. And for some, those memories will be too much to bear, too much to shrug off. For some, violence will be the only response still."

"Some," Rainbow said. "But not all? And besides, I'm more interested in whether we can break the chain for any new faunus. The fact that... my first friend has joined the White Fang. That... I don't know if I can say how that feels, but... what's done is done. If that's how she wants it, then fine. But if I can stop more Gildas from joining the White Fang, then... that's not bad, right?"

"Not bad at all," Tukson agreed. "If you can pull it off. There are a lot of reasons people join the White Fang."

"Such as?" Rainbow demanded. "Come on, what's your story?"

"I," Tukson began, then paused. "I was Sienna Khan's Teaching Assistant."

Rainbow's eyes widened. "You were what?"

"Sienna Khan's TA, at Mistral University," Tukson repeated. "I covered some of her classes, assisted in her research, and prepared my doctoral thesis on Ares Claudandus."

"The faunus general from the revolution, right?" Rainbow said.

Tukson nodded. "Impressive. Not many people remember the name."

"Yeah, well, I'm not many people," Rainbow said casually.

She thought it best not to mention that the plume of his hat was said to possess magical protective qualities. Although, with what she knew now, it might actually be true.

"Anyway, he was my field of study," Tukson said. "Sienna Khan was, and probably still is, the most accomplished scholar of the post-revolutionary period living. She's written a biography of Claudandus and was very generous with access to her research material, even as she encouraged me to challenge her interpretations in my thesis. Sienna had taken the same view as many at the time, that he sold out and set the stage for the humans to play divide and rule and reverse the outcome of the war. I planned to be more sympathetic. I think Ares was genuinely trying to build an egalitarian society where faunus and humans were equal, and if he sometimes seemed to be favouring the humans... that was pragmatism, not an abandonment of his ideals."

"I'm guessing things didn't work out that way," Rainbow said.

Tukson sighed. "The thing about studying the history of our people at that level is that it really brings home how much of it really sucks. Did you know that after the counter-revolution, the ex-slaves had to pay reparations? Mistral compensated the slave owners for the loss of their property following the Great War, and for twenty years, faunus were taxed higher than humans to pay that money back. What about reparations to the slaves and the descendants of the slaves to compensate them for the hundreds of years of unpaid labour that was forced out of them under threats of violence and death? And it became so easy to connect those historic injustices to present day problems of low income, low home ownership, tenuous employment. Not that anyone wanted to hear about those connections. What Sienna was teaching didn't fit the narrative of glorious Mistral, ancient and honourable. She was warned by the faculty about inserting too much polemic into her writing, campaigners alleged that she was teaching human students to hate themselves and their race, the Council brought in laws restricting how faunus history could be taught-"

"And was she?" Rainbow asked.

"Was she what?"

"Was she teaching the human students to hate themselves?" Rainbow explained. "I mean, we are talking about Sienna Khan."

"She wasn't the same person then, and no," Tukson insisted. "She was just trying to open their eyes to the truth. But people didn't want to hear the truth; they just wanted us to be grateful that things were better than they had been in the past, as though we should be grateful that we weren't slaves any more. Sienna decided that she couldn't be complicit in that any more, she couldn't record the problems of the past while ignoring the problems of the present. And I went with her. I wasn't going to stay on at the university without her.

"Sienna Khan was welcomed into the high echelons of the White Fang immediately. The Belladonnas were trying to restore the movement after it had atrophied years before, and they were grateful for the support of a heavyweight intellectual with a public profile. That's how I met Blake's parents: Sienna was good enough to keep me by her side for a while." Tukson stopped. "That doesn't really help, does it?"

"It's... kind of specific," Rainbow said.

"I probably should have warned you about that," Tukson conceded. "And even some of the problems I mentioned are more specific to Mistral than Atlas, but... wait here a second; I might have something that will help you more."

He got up and disappeared into the back, leaving Rainbow to sit drumming her fingers on the table as she waited.

Although it didn't help, if what Tukson said about the history lessons was true, it was kind of worrying. Was there stuff she didn't know not because she hadn't been paying attention but because no one was supposed to know? Had things been changed, made to seem different than they really were? Surely not; Atlas was not Mistral; they didn't need to massage their history as a salve to their national ego because the future belonged to them, and they were racing towards it. But, if it was happening, how would she know? Would anyone know, even Twilight?

Blake would know, if anyone did, but Rainbow was loath to bring it up to her, partly because she had enough going on and partly because she... Well, kind of like those Mistralians who had campaigned against Sienna Khan, Rainbow didn't want to damage Blake's perception of Atlas.

Damaging her own perception was bad enough.

Tukson returned and set down in front of Rainbow Dash a book with a faded cover depicting a lion faunus mounted upon a white horse. The faunus wore a blue jacket and a bright red cape that streamed out behind him as his galloping mount bore him along. In his hat was set an enormous white plume, bent back by the air resistance.

The book was titled: A Very God of War: A Life of Ares Claudandus.

It was by Sienna Khan.

Rainbow looked up at Tukson incredulously.

"Like I said, no one's bettered her scholarship since," Tukson explained, "and if you really want to build an equal society, then you could do a lot worse than read about the last guy who tried."

Rainbow reached out gingerly, as though even touching a book written by Sienna Khan would infect her with White Fang-ness. Her fingers brushed against the faded cover. Nothing happened; she didn't feel anything except, well, a book cover.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to take this? I'm going back to Atlas-"

"Don't worry, that's not a library book; that's my own copy," Tukson explained. "Call it a thank you, for all that you've done for Blake."

Comments

[Aemon Targaryen]

"That, and he's not a fan of armies in general," said Ironwood. "And he'd prefer it if my students didn't end up in one. Let alone his students." The General fell silent. With one hand, he tugged awkwardly at the tie around his neck. "Dash," he began, sounding as awkward as he suddenly looked, "I don't really know how to... how was it? How was she?"

Armies and Huntsmans/Huntresses are necessary to fight the Grimms, but giving control of the huntsmans and huntresses to the Army ? Or the opposate ? This is sheer madness.

Tukson sighed. "The thing about studying the history of our people at that level is that it really brings home how much of it really sucks. Did you know that after the counter-revolution, the ex-slaves had to pay reparations? Mistral compensated the slave owners for the loss of their property following the Great War, and for twenty years, faunus were taxed higher than humans to pay that money back. What about reparations to the slaves and the descendants of the slaves to compensate them for the hundreds of years of unpaid labour that was forced out of them under threats of violence and death? And it became so easy to connect those historic injustices to present day problems of low income, low home ownership, tenuous employment. Not that anyone wanted to hear about those connections. What Sienna was teaching didn't fit the narrative of glorious Mistral, ancient and honourable. She was warned by the faculty about inserting too much polemic into her writing, campaigners alleged that she was teaching human students to hate themselves and their race, the Council brought in laws restricting how faunus history could be taught-"

They are the same scum than the Fucking békés (for those who don't know, the békés are the white-supremacist aristocracy of the french carribean, the heirs of their slave-owning ancestors' views and power, the Big Whites of Haiti were the same thing).

"It's... kind of specific," Rainbow said.

I don't get it.

Although it didn't help, if what Tukson said about the history lessons was true, it was kind of worrying. Was there stuff she didn't know not because she hadn't been paying attention but because no one was supposed to know? Had things been changed, made to seem different than they really were? Surely not; Atlas was not Mistral; they didn't need to massage their history as a salve to their national ego because the future belonged to them, and they were racing towards it. But, if it was happening, how would she know? Would anyone know, even Twilight?

If a comparison was made, Mistral would be Britain without the campaign to abolish world wide slavery of the 19th century and Atlas is the US, so Atlas is not better.

Really, the whole thing is sad, it would had been nice to see a middle way between Ghira and Sienna's way.

[AdverseFlower95]

11098360
The "it's... kind of specific," line is reference to how Sienna's and Tukson's experience joining the White Fang seem extremely atypical compared to how most Faunus would have joined the White Fang. Most White Fang members didn't join because they were trying to teach Critical Race Theory.

[Mastermind4892]

There is a saying in Critical Thinking classes: “Witness begets witness.” When one person beholds a truth, others still will learn it.

[Lancerguy]

"You've been reading that thing almost non-stop since we got back from Mountain Glenn," Rainbow observed, and a glance across the dorm room showed that Ciel once again had her nose buried in the catechisms of the Lady of the North. Rainbow attempted a grin as she put the last of her neatly folded clothes into a hold-all. "The ending isn't going to change if you keep re-reading it."

I think catechism is the wrong word here. It implies a set of rules and teachings based on beliefs, not beliefs themselves. Catechisms are not the word of God (or the Lady in this case) but human (usually priests/bishops/etc.) interpretation of scripture and why a certain church believes what it does. IMO, the Epistles, which have already been established as part of the holy canon, would have worked much better based on Ciel's talk with Rainbow that followed.
Otherwise, a philosophy and historiographic chapter, so naturally it is now one of my favorites

[Raul]

"At the hands of one of her servants," Ciel corrected her. "Some latter day Cinder Fall. God's intermediary upon the earth and the great enemy could not even be bothered to triumph over her in person, sending instead some cutthroat bitch to do the job."

DAMN! That… that surprised me as much as much as Mercury’s Death. I could feel the contempt

"I may not be the best student, sir, but I wasn't sleeping during combat school history class," Rainbow began. "I remember that the Mantle armies in the Great War never fully enforced the rules on self-expression during the war, I know the generals turned a blind eye when regiments kept their Colours and their marching songs, and I know that when the King ordered them to start executing every prisoner they captured, they refused to do that either. They told the King to get his ass down there and do it himself if he wanted it done. He didn't have the guts. The point is, sir, that the military has never been afraid to go its own way when it was in the right."

That… that hit hard. I like this paragraph.

And FUCK ME! God the commentary on Racism is so accurate it hurts! That people don’t know why Haiti is the way it is now, that people don’t realize how the commentary that happens near everywhere today is downright insulting!! Oh… it hurts…