Sienna Khan (Rewritten)
Sienna Khan
Gilda knelt upon the ground, her fingertips brushing against the grass beneath her as she turned her face downwards.
Thus bowed in supplication, she could not see the approach of the High Leader and her guards, but she could hear the heavy tread of those same guards as they approached the place where Gilda, and a few other chosen warriors of what remained of the White Fang’s Vale Chapter, waited to receive her.
Gilda could hardly believe it. Sienna Khan had come here? When Strongheart had run on ahead with the news that the High Leader had not just sent a new commander to take Adam’s place but had actually come herself Gilda, had boggled in disbelief. The High Leader had been a great warrior in younger days, but she rarely stirred from Menagerie these days; she commanded, she set the strategy of all the chapters across Remnant, but she no longer took the field.
But she had decided to come here, to Vale. That she had felt the need was probably not a ringing endorsement of the chapter, but Gilda couldn’t deny that they could probably use the leadership that only the High Leader could provide. Mountain Glenn had left them broken, they were few in number, and even fewer of that number were any good at all; of the recruits that they had raised prior to the Mountain Glenn operation, many of them had deserted — 'deserted' might be a bit of a harsh word; they had drifted home, but Gilda could hardly blame them for that. They had joined up because they had been promised victory, the fall of Vale and the rise of the faunus; instead, they had seen their comrades die at the hands of the grimm, and they had only survived through dumb luck.
It was at times like this that you found out who had the stomach for a hard fight, a drawn-out battle with no guarantee and little chance of victory at the end of it.
There were few enough of those left in the Vale Chapter, and even amongst them, morale was in the gutter.
Nobody knew what to do to turn this situation around, Gilda least of all. Sienna Khan could not have known about all of these problems when she had decided to come to Vale personally, but it was good that she had come.
Even if it was not good for Gilda personally, it was good for the White Fang, and that was more important.
Sienna Khan had requested — via Strongheart, sent back ahead with her initial orders — that the entire chapter, what was left of it, be mustered at Adam’s grave. Gilda had obliged, but she had taken Strongheart and a few others on just a little way ahead to meet the High Leader on the way.
And here she was, kneeling as she heard the thump of booted feet along the ground as Sienna and her guards approached.
The footsteps halted and fell silent. Sienna Khan’s own tread was light, and now that her guards had stopped, Gilda barely heard a thing as she saw the tips of the black boots appear in her field of vision.
“Lower your aura, Gilda Swiftwing.” The High Leader’s voice was cold.
Gilda didn’t hesitate, though she could guess what might come next. Discipline in the White Fang, such as it was, was maintained by means of harsh punishment, and failure was not indulged.
Gilda took a deep breath. “Yes, High Leader,” she said, and lowered her aura, dimming her inner light to the point where it was more a flickering candle than a roaring flame.
A flickering candle that offered no protection to the chain that coiled like a serpent around her neck and dragged her face-first onto and across the ground, making her squirm and wriggle like a fish on a hook as the metal links began to bite into her throat.
“How is it that you are still alive?” Sienna demanded, her voice still lacking any trace of warmth.
“High L—” Strongheart began.
“Silence!” Sienna snapped. “I was not addressing you.”
It was hard to speak with the chain crushing her windpipe, but Gilda tried to choke out, “A…Ada…Adam.”
“You have the gall to blame a martyr to our cause?” Sienna snapped. “To cast aspersions on a hero who, having given his life, cannot defend himself against your slanders? Is this how you excuse your incompetence?”
Gilda didn’t reply. She probably couldn’t have replied even if she’d wanted to. She squirmed and writhed like a worm, tugging ineffectually at the chain as the strength ebbed from her arms. She couldn’t see anything because of the spots that were rapidly proliferating in front of her eyes, blotting on the sky above her. Her lungs heaved in futile search for breath, her wings beat helplessly on the ground.
And then she was released from the chain. With one hand, Gilda clutched her raw neck as she lay, coughing and gagging and gasping for air, upon the grass now pressed flat beneath her thrashings.
As the spots began to clear from before her vision, she could see the High Leader glaring down at her.
“Have you anything to say in mitigation for your actions?” she demanded. “Why are you still alive?”
Gilda glanced away. Strongheart and the others were staring at Sienna Khan with no small degree of fear upon their faces. The High Leader’s own bodyguards stood impassive, their faces concealed beneath their masks and hoods.
Slowly, and somewhat unsteadily, Gilda picked herself up to her knees once again. “I survived because … because my captain ordered me to live on.”
Sienna was silent for a moment. “Then I suppose I must commend your obedience, in this case at least. It is a pity that you did not display that same loyalty to Adam always.”
Gilda closed her eyes. “Yes, High Leader.” Though my true failure was not being able to turn him away from the path that led to his end and our ruin.
“Adam was a great man, and a true hero to our cause,” Sienna declared. “His heart now resides in Menagerie, alongside the other relics of the martyrs who, like him, made the ultimate sacrifice in our struggle for freedom. Had you supported him instead of questioning him, undermining him, and by stealth declining to obey his orders, he might have made a better end.”
'Undermined'? How much did you tell them, Strongheart? What did you say? Gilda glanced at Strongheart, but alongside her panic, the buffalo faunus seemed confused.
“And yet,” Sienna continued, “I am not without mercy. You have served our cause with valour in the past and may yet do so again, and with your valour, you may once again prove that you are worthy of a place of honour in the White Fang.” She held out one striped hand. “Do you still hold the White Fang in your heart and yearn to set our people free from the oppression that the humans have visited upon us?”
“I do,” Gilda whispered.
“Then fight for our race and earn your redemption for your past failures.”
Gilda leaned forward and kissed Sienna’s outstretched hand. “Thank you, High Leader.”
“Rise,” Sienna said, and Gilda and all the rest rose from their knees.
The leader of the White Fang was tall enough, if dwarfed in size by the spear-wielding guards who ranged around her in two columns, but she had a presence about her that far outstretched her height. As she stood, surrounded by faunus taller than she was, nevertheless, she seemed the largest person present and none felt as though they were looking down upon her.
“Pitch our camp here for now,” Sienna commanded two of her guards, who hastened to obey her, before she returned her attention to Gilda. “Is … is Adam buried near here?”
Gilda bowed her head. “He is.”
“And are your forces assembled there?”
“What remains of them,” Gilda said.
Sienna nodded gravely. “Take me to them.”
Gilda bowed her head a second time. “Follow me,” she said as she turned to lead the way. Strongheart fell in beside her as she began to walk, and she heard the tramp of Sienna’s guards following behind.
“I didn’t say things like that about you,” Strongheart murmured. “I told her the truth, but … I didn’t say that you—”
“That was the truth,” Gilda said. “I didn’t have Adam’s back up to the hilt the way I should have.”
“It wouldn’t have made any difference,” Strongheart whispered. “I get that now. We didn’t lose because you didn’t like Cinder.”
“I know,” Gilda said softly.
“Then why doesn’t the High Leader see that? I tried to tell her.”
“It’s not our place to question the High Leader,” Gilda hissed out of the side of her mouth. “Don’t worry about it, okay? I’ll be fine.”
Strongheart frowned. “You didn’t deserve that.”
Gilda couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “We’re in the White Fang, kid; none of us are here because we’ve gotten what we deserved.”
They brought Sienna Khan and all her train to the hillside beneath which they had laid Adam to rest. Neither coyotes nor foxes nor the Atlesian military had disturbed the place, which lay as it had done when they had interred him here. His sword, the only marker of the place, still lay thrust into the ground, the red blade gleaming in the sunlight.
It was at the sword that Sienna Khan stared, as she stood at the bottom of the hillside. She didn’t look towards the assembled faunus of the Vale chapter, gathered in untidy ranks awaiting her. Her attention was wholly fixed upon the sword, and on the dead hero who lay beneath.
“You have carved not a line, nor raised a stone,” she murmured. “But left him alone with his glory … and his blade. Considering the manner of his life … I cannot say that it is inappropriate. You have honoured him as best you can, but more than that, you honoured him as befits the man he was: a warrior first and foremost, one who always put the needs of our people before his pride.”
Her guards and attendants remained behind, joining Gilda and Strongheart and the survivors of the Vale chapter as the High Leader ascended the hill alone, climbing to the top as the breeze tugged at the hem of her red cape. She climbed until she had reached the grave, and Gilda watched as she reached out and placed one hand upon the tip of the sword. There she stood a moment, her head bowed, and as the sunlight fell full upon her, it cast her in silhouette beside the sword.
It almost seemed as though she was talking to Adam, communing with his indomitable spirit.
Only after she had lingered thus awhile did Sienna Khan turn to face the diminished, ragged, and bedraggled force gathered below her. They were a modest group, all that remained of a hidden army that had once ranged all across Vale and thrown a kingdom into terror with their presence. Now, the meanest Atlesian corporal’s guard could have rounded them all up, if the Atlesians had known that they were here. Once, not so long ago, they had dreamed of overthrowing Vale itself and throwing one quarter of Remnant into chaos and ruin; now, they were themselves in ruins, and their courage burned so low that a stiff wind could have made cowards of them all. Gilda could feel it all around her, the malaise that it had been beyond her powers to cure, the loss of belief in themselves, in victory, the loss of faith that she could not restore. As they stood before the High Leader, their faces devoid of masks, showing their true selves before her, Gilda had to believe that Sienna Khan could perceive it as well as she could.
“Adam is dead,” she declared, “and in him has perished a hero of our glorious cause. A cause that is built on sacrifices and stained with the tears that have been shed over them: Ares Claudandus, dying cold and hungry in a dungeon cell; Antoninus, put up against a wall and shot; Boukman, charging into the teeth of the oppressors’ fire with a warcry on his lips … and now, Adam Taurus, cut down by she whom he … trusted most of all. Now, he has gone to join the revered martyrs of our cause, and in their noble company, he shall not feel ashamed. He takes his place in the hall of heroes, feasting and drinking with our god, and he has left it to we who remain to continue the great task to which he dedicated and, ultimately, gave his life, his soul, and everything he had besides.
“His grave is scarcely marked,” she said, “and it is well that it was not dedicated, for how could we, the living, dedicate anything to the man who dedicated himself with such valour to our benefit? Rather, it is for us to dedicate ourselves to the great struggle that remains before us, the struggle that will continue until the humans accept us without condition for who we are and what we are, and all the prejudice and suffering that we endure has finally been driven entirely from the world.
“All that we ask, all that we have ever asked, is for freedom! Freedom from hate, freedom from judgement, freedom from want, freedom from hopelessness! We long for it, we yearn for it, and I see in your eyes that the same craving for freedom that burns like an inferno within my breast burns within all of you.”
And as she spoke, Gilda felt the fire within her begin to burn a little brighter than before; her back straightened, and she was not alone in that. Many of the faunus around her seemed a little braver now, and more determined.
“Adam wanted freedom,” Sienna said, her voice becoming a little quieter for a moment. “It was the only thing he wanted: for all of you, for all of us, to be free, to live in freedom and enjoy all the benefits that the humans who oppress us take for granted every day. He wanted us to be free to live our lives, to raise our children, to build homes and new societies, but he recognised that freedom cannot be given by benevolent allies or well-intentioned human do-gooders, for like the lien that the Schnee Dust Company pays with one hand and then takes with the other, what is given can always be taken away. True freedom, the freedom we all long for, can only ever be claimed at the point of the sword.
“The sword that we must now, all of us, take up in Adam’s absence. Adam Taurus is dead, but he lives on in all of our hearts, so long as we remain true to the cause he loved so dearly. In the name of Adam Taurus, who will fight with me until the fight is won?”
“I will!” Gilda cried, and so did many others too; the shout did not spring unanimously from the lips of all the gathered faunus, but enough of them took up the defiant cry and loud enough to give Gilda a little hope for the future of the Vale chapter.
“Who will take up the sword?” Sienna asked. “Who will take up the tattered flag?”
“I will!” More faunus were shouting now; only a few had yet to be swept away by the High Leader’s passion.
“Who will show Atlas, and Vale, and all these proud and arrogant men that the White Fang is not defeated?”
“I WILL!” The roar from every gathered faunus throat struck the clouds up above them and scattered birds out of the nearby trees.
Sienna smiled, her expression both beatific and fierce mingled in a single face, as she descended from the hilltop with her arms held out on either side of her, as though she would embrace them all.
“Then together,” she said, “we will avenge Adam, and all the rest who had fallen on this path to freedom. Be of good heart; soon, our struggle shall begin anew. But not tonight. Tonight, we feast!”
She raised her arms above her head. “I have brought food and drink to salve your weary spirits: suckling pig ripe for the spit and the finest wine from the vineyards of Menagerie. Tonight, we will drink deep and down libations to the memory of all we’ve lost. Tonight … tonight, we drink down sorrow.”
She smiled and motioned with a flick of her hand for them to follow.
“Gilda,” she whispered. “Attend me.”
Gilda bowed her head. “Yes, High Leader.”
Perhaps Sienna wanted nothing more than a chance to berate her or beat her some more, but if that were so, she would submit to it. It was nothing more than she deserved.
And so, while Sienna walked a little beyond the main body of the White Fang — even her guards fell back to give her space — Gilda stayed close behind her, dogging her footsteps as she led the way back to the place where Gilda and her party had met with her not long ago. Her attendants, those whom she had left behind her to pitch her tent and set the camp, had already erected several tents, and as her guards spread out to stand sentry around the camp, Sienna headed without a word to the largest tent in the centre of it.
Gilda followed, ducking inside just behind the High Leader.
Rank has its privileges, Gilda thought as she knelt down within the tent, which was larger than some of the rooms — most of the rooms — in the house that she’d grown up in.
The furniture was sparse and austere, but it was a tent after all, and even that wasn’t much to separate it from Gilda’s childhood home. A low table, low enough that it was at the right height for a kneeling person, sat in the centre of the tent with a map of Vale spread out across it and four candles burning upon the table corners. A brazier full of coals burned beside it, casting the tent in an orange glow as wisps of smoke rose out of the metal can. An open cask of deep red wine sat in one corner of the tent, while a couple of silver goblets stood close by.
Sienna Khan sat down upon a bearskin on one side of the table and gestured for Gilda to sit down opposite. As Gilda did so, Sienna smoothed out her cloak.
“Wine?” Sienna asked.
Gilda folded her wings up behind her. “Thank you, my lady.”
Sienna dipped one goblet into the cask. “When our forefathers first came to Menagerie, they had little experience in growing wine, so it is said. But they could not afford to import it from Mistral, and so … needs must. As the stories go, it was pretty rotten at first. But now, our chardonnay is equal to the best Mistralian, as the Mistralians could find for themselves, if they would only take up the tariffs. Which they will not, of course.” She held out the wine-filled goblet. “See for yourself.”
Gilda took the silver cup in one hand and downed a draught. It was sharp, tasting of spice and pepper; it burned her mouth, but in a way that left her wanting more. “It is good,” she said. “It’s excellent, but … I can’t claim to be an expert.”
Sienna snorted. “Neither can I, although I tasted enough Mistralian wine while I lived in Mistral.” She filled her own goblet and took a small sip. “Very good,” she said softly. “If we could only export this … the wealth of Menagerie would increase several times over. Which is why they’ll never let us export.” She drank a little more. “You have done well to keep what remains of the chapter together.”
Gilda blinked. She wondered if she had perhaps drunk more than she thought she had. “High Leader?”
Sienna Khan smiled in a particularly feline manner. “There is a difference between what goes on in the sight of men and what goes on that cannot be seen. In public, I rebuke you and say that Adam was a great hero of the White Fang, let down by your poor service; in private, I say that … Adam Taurus was a fool, and if what I have heard from the girl Strongheart is true, his folly came close to treason against our cause.”
Gilda stared at her. “But … you—”
“People need heroes,” Sienna said. “They bring hope in dark times, and we have more need of hope than most, and thus, we have more need of heroes. Adam will be one of those heroes, someone to inspire our people and warm their spirits in the cold nights that will surely come.”
Gilda frowned. “Forgive me, High Leader, but are all our fallen heroes … created by you this way?”
“History is written not by the winners but by those who sit down and set pen to paper,” Sienna said. “Ares Claudandus sentenced Antoninus to death in order to appease the humans who thought Antoninus too much a firebrand. His own nephew, and Ares commanded him to be shot by firing squad for the crime of … wanting to go to Menagerie after all. ‘How long must we live with our eyes fixed on Mistral?’ Later, Ares was betrayed by those same humans he had striven so hard, sacrificed so much, to appease; the House of Thrax and Rutulus joined with Crixus to clasp Ares in irons and cast him into a cell where he died, shivering and begging to be allowed to see his wife and children one last time. Yet now … now, they are equal in death, both heroes, both martyrs, both symbols of our cause and the sacrifices that it demands.”
She drank again. “So it was with Adam. He was a great man once.”
“Before Cinder got her claws in him,” Gilda spat.
Sienna nodded gravely. “We must talk about Cinder Fall and what she did. But Adam … he was a fierce warrior, a champion of our race, and it is as that champion that I will see him remembered. Do not mistake me; I grieve for his death. When his heart was brought to me, I wept … but for what he was, not the fool that he became. I am afraid that, in the eyes of the White Fang, you will have to redeem yourself for your actions, but in my eyes, in private … your judgement was sound, and you did well to save as many as you did.”
“I saved their lives,” Gilda said, “but only you could save their souls.”
Sienna smiled thinly. “Leadership is about convincing people that you know the way to success; once you can convince them of that, they will follow you anywhere.” She was silent for a moment. “That said, I hope you understand that you cannot lead the Vale chapter. You would be unacceptable at this point.”
“I couldn’t do it even if I wanted to,” Gilda said. “I can’t … I can’t lead. Those warriors out there were lost until you came.”
“That is why I have come,” Sienna said. “In all of Remnant, I have too few who can lead; Adam was one, and without him … learn from me, and cover yourself in glory before my sight and the sight of your troops, and it may be that when I return to Menagerie, you are well-positioned to lead the chapter.”
Gilda nodded, even as she wasn’t sure that she would ever be ready to lead as the High Leader led. “You’re very generous.”
“I make use of such blades as present themselves to my hand,” Sienna said. “Tell me about Blake Belladonna.”
The change of subject threw Gilda for a moment. “Blake?”
“She was there, wasn’t she?” Sienna asked. “In Mountain Glenn?”
Gilda nodded gravely. “She has joined the Atlesians.”
Sienna scowled. “I loved her once. I loved her as dearly as if she were my own daughter. Yet now, she has betrayed us, betrayed me, and joined our greatest enemies.” Her eyes narrowed. “You understand, don’t you? You have a friend with the Atlesian forces yourself.”
Gilda’s jaw tightened. “Y-yes. Yes, I do. She … she was there, too.”
“Would you kill her?” Sienna asked. “Would you repay her treachery with death?”
The thought of Dashie impaled upon her blade would have made Gilda shudder in any other company. “Dash— my friend would say that she isn’t a traitor.”
“She is a traitor to our people by taking up arms to defend the human supremacy,” Sienna said. “But leave that aside; she is an enemy. Would you kill her? Could you?”
Gilda swallowed. “I … I could kill her as easily as she could kill me if our paths crossed.”
Sienna stared at her for a moment. There was something sly about her smile. “A diplomatic answer, Gilda. The truth is … the truth is that if Blake were before me now, I’m not sure that I could strike her down, even after all that she has done against us.”
“Because…” Gilda hesitated, feeling as though she might be on thin ice if she said this. “Because you loved her once.”
Sienna nodded. “And because her parents were dear to me once, also.” She shook her head. “And yet … you are less fortunate than I am.”
Gilda frowned. “I’m sure that’s true, High Leader, but … why?”
“Because they must die,” Sienna said. “Both of them. And you must do it.”
Gilda felt her throat dry up as a chill ran down her spine, making her wings ruffle involuntarily. “They … Blake and … Rainbow Dash?”
“Blake has betrayed us,” Sienna said. “Rainbow Dash has betrayed our people. Both of them take up arms in defence of Atlas, the great enemy. Desertion and treason cannot be tolerated at the best of times, and what is worse…” She paused. “Have you heard the news from Atlas?”
Gilda nodded. “They’ve been busy,” she said, not mentioning that she had put Rainbow Dash on the trail of the kidnappings in Low Town. “What they’ve done … I’m impressed. Rescuing all of those people, busting open that trafficking ring, it’s all … and now this strike in Mantle, if the SDC makes concessions—”
“Do you think they will?” Sienna asked.
“I don’t know, but the press seems to think they’ll have to; apparently, the Vale Council is demanding it, and Mistral too, let alone Atlas itself. This all seems like really great news.”
“It’s terrible news,” Sienna declared.
Gilda blinked. “'Terrible'? High Leader, forgive me, but this could lead to things in Mantle, things for everyone who works for the SDC, getting a whole lot better; plus all the poor souls who were being kept as slaves who have been freed—”
“And all without the White Fang lifting a finger or playing any part in it at all,” Sienna said. “The actions of those two, skillfully promoted by the Atlesian propaganda machine, why … people may start to believe that results can be achieved more swiftly working within the system than outside of it; they may start to question the necessity of the White Fang, they may start to wonder what the point of the White Fang and our long struggle is.”
“And what if they do?” Gilda asked. “If things are getting better, then does it really matter how? Isn’t the condition of our people more important than how people look at the White Fang?”
“Master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house,” Sienna said sharply. “Blake, Rainbow Dash, they may gain one or two small concessions, they may accomplish enough to let General Ironwood point to them and proclaim in a plausible sounding tone of voice that he is not a racist, oh no, there are so many faunus in Atlas, and they’re treated so well, look at them smile.” The High Leader’s face twisted in disgust. “But they will be swallowed up, as all faunus who have tried to walk that path have been swallowed up; the gears will squeeze them, and they will end their days … they will end their days in despair, languishing in middle-rank obscurity, Major Belladonna, passed over for promotion to Colonel again and again, pushing papers across a desk in Atlas; or they will be locked away, as Antonio was when he challenged the established order of things.”
“Or they will die at my hands, as you wish,” Gilda muttered. “Forgive me, High Leader, but if they’re fated to fail like that, why do they need to die first? Wouldn’t letting it all come to nothing be a stronger message? It sounds…” She swallowed, aware that she was treading on very, very thin ice here, but … this was Dashie’s life they were talking about, and if Gilda could get out of having to cut off her head, then she would tread on thin ice in order to do it. “It sounds as if you’re worried they won’t fail, and you want them out of the way before they can succeed again.”
Sienna’s eyes narrowed. “Careful, Gilda,” she murmured. “My private perception of you can always adjust to match your public reputation.”
“You must do what you think is best for the White Fang,” Gilda said, bowing her head and looking downwards, “but before that, I will speak the truth, as I did to Adam: I do not see the need for this.”
“Do you not think that treachery should be punished?”
“Rainbow Dash is a lot of things, but not a traitor, High Leader; she has always been loyal to Atlas,” Gilda said. Although maybe if she’d been a little bit more loyal to me, we wouldn’t be in this position. “As for Blake … is it treachery that we are punishing, or success?”
“The people will not see the flame gutter low, will not see it burn at a low ebb, blown upon by indifference and institutional prejudice,” Sienna replied. “They will only see it burn brightly, for as long as it is allowed to do so, and for that reason … we must snuff it out.”
“High Leader,” Gilda murmured. “I … I beg of you, she … she’s my friend.”
“And yet, here you are, and there she is, high in Atlas, soaring amongst the clouds,” Sienna pointed out. “Quite a friend, no?”
“I know,” Gilda murmured. “But … must she die? Must they die?”
“I understand your reluctance,” Sienna said, her voice calm and soft and soothing. “As I said, I loved Blake very much, as my own child was she to me. But now … we must make sacrifices for the cause.”
“I know,” Gilda said. “But this … I am willing to give my life but—”
“Anyone can give their lives for a cause,” Sienna said. “I am asking you to give more, I know: your conscience, your very soul. Can you do that? For our people, for the freedom of all faunuskind, for the good of the White Fang and all who depend on us?”
Gilda closed her eyes. Dashie…
For the good of the faunus. For the good of the White Fang.
If General Ironwood ordered you to take me out, you’d do it, right? You’d blow my head clean off.
You’d do it because you’re a good soldier. And so am I.
Good soldiers on opposite sides, and that means … that means that this day was coming sooner or later.
I hate it, but…
What am I going to tell my parents? What am I going to tell your parents?
I’ll tell them you were brave and did your job to the end. The same thing you’d say in my position.
Which is better than even odds, considering that I’m expected to go up against you and Blake.
Yeah, Blake. Blake was … well, Gilda wasn’t Blake’s old friend in the same way, and she kind of blamed her for letting Adam go off the rails the way he had, but at the same time … it was a pity. It was a pity, and she still wasn’t thrilled about the idea.
The High Leader is right; Atlas is using them, propping them up to weaken the cause overall.
This … this is what has to be done.
Or try to, anyway.
“I will do my best to carry out your orders, High Leader,” Gilda murmured. “But … Rainbow Dash and Blake, I’m not sure that I can—”
“I’m not suggesting that you should do this on your own,” Sienna said. “I have brought a team with me from Menagerie: specialists in infiltration and assassination. You will take command, guide them through Vale, and when the moment is right … strike.”
Gilda swallowed. I’m a good soldier. She bowed her head. “Yes, High Leader.”
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(At the beginning of the chapter) Finally Sienna Khan join the fray , let's just hope that she is wiser than in the show. (After reading the chapter) Yeah finnaly someone within the white fang that has her/his head on their shoulders.
9705139
The initial speech Khan made to the troops made me worry that she was unaware of Adam's true nature and objectives but after seeing that she was aware of his actions it at least good to know that her motives are still beneficial to her people.
Although there still the subject of her exclusion of potential allies, in the form of those sympathetic to the cause be they human or not, as this may devolve the argument for equality into a Them vs Us fight.
Also nice to see Gilda getting a boost in character development.
No one I have more vitriol and hate for than CInder Fall.
Question: will Cinder now be demanding the white fang to supply the services of their more experienced warriors for specialized roles, like field commanders for her new "muscle", or will she keep having them do more grunt work?
This is because I think she would try and keep her distance until she finds a member within the organization that is easier to control and then try to replace khan with that member.
9705208
What field commanders? Cinder knows that the White Fang was decimated.
Unless she wants to boss around Gilda, there are no field commanders.
9705188
There is literally no human White Fang sympathisers. All the humans who worked with them in the show did so because either Cinder and or the witched witch forced them to.
9705221
What I mean is that Cinder would want the experienced warriors of other chapters of the white fang organization within the other kingdoms to assist in her schemes and the human sympathizers for the white fang that I meant were those who were genuinely sympathetic to equality and not those who work for Salem and how their help to the white fang's movement is ignored in favor of the belief that true freedom is obtainable through their effort alone.
It's a shame Sienna Khan got so little screen time in the show; this chapter really demonstrates how good of a character she could be.
Called it! I said that whoever would be coming to lead the Vale chapter would be far less willing to work with Cinder! And Sienna Khan absolutely knows better.
She only ever wanted to intimidate humanity into leaving the faunus along. She condemned Adam's so-called 'victory' over Vale because, aside from the innocent lives that were lost, the destruction of Beacon put a vengeful target on the White Fang's back, and the humans would be coming after the Faunus like they were the enemy of the world. Their people would never have peace after that.
I wonder how Sienna will react that Sunset was the who killed Adam, a Faunus herself?
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They lost those when they outright became criminals, and even caused faunus trouble.
And Sienna won't give Cinder that kind of help even if she is pretending to play along because Cinder killed a lot of Faunus with her plan.
Now I am waiting for a meeting between Sienna and Sunset , it would be so funny if Sienna actualy congaruated Sunset for killing Adam , tho it propably isn't going to happen
At first I was worried that she is as blinded as Adam from her hate for humans. Glad she is wiser and recognizes that Adam has gone down the deep end. High Leader indeed.
And I believe that I found an error:
I think it should be “to us”.
Gilda being trained from Sienna herself to get stronger, as a person and with her skill in combat, in to order to become the leader of the Vale chapter, would be amazing.
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Ah, that would explain it. The pitfalls of writing about a series that you haven't finished yet/is still ongoing.
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Because it makes the weapon look cool. And wood is more comfortable to hold than metal.
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True, however, that's only good so long as you have Aura. A weapon that's still strong when your Aura has broken has a chance (admittedly a small one) of saving your life. Which is presumably why everyone on the show makes their weapons out of metal instead of just fighting with sticks and pieces of food.
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I am now imagining pinkie pie weaponizing giant candy cane nunchuck held together with licorice
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We/Us
Based on the guide I linked, I think you're right, but "we" sounds better to me for some reason I can't pin down. "us who" sounds off? It's a complicated arrangement of words. Personally I'd say that, since it's an edge case within dialogue, the character just didn't use completely proper grammar.
Unwitting muscle could mean team SPAR? That was my first thought, that they'll somehow be lead to contribute to Cinder's plans.
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I like her. She's hella evil, but she pulls it off so well.
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I had an idea that Pinkie Pie has activated her aura, and her Semblance is 'Cartoon Physics'.
The rewrite of this particular chapter is one I've been looking forward to for over a year. To see the renewed Sienna Khan, after several chapters regarding her own book and papers before she became more jaded and radicalized. And especially her reaction to the recent news of Blake and Raindbow Dash's accomplishments.
Sienna Khan was an idealist once like Ghira Belladonna, but became jaded after coming to believe that there was no one on the human side that would extend/accept an olive branch, or at least be able to make change. Today, she sees the existential threat that Blake and Dash's major accomplishment has brought. The White Fang's public bombings, as well as their blatant (and failed) attempt on the city of Vale during the Breach, has already brought support for their cause to an all-time low. And now this massive sign of progress by working within the system. What greater way to defeat an enemy than by disproving them? The White Fang is trapped and Sienna knows it; they are either compelled to lay down their arms and disband... or continue to be the extremist warmongers everyone sees them as.
Even so, Sienna is making a mistake. The very nature of Blake and Dash being a threat to their cause is also why striking at them is foolish. Attacking successful members of their own people, reforming idealists who are only trying to improve things, will just tell everyone that the White Fang only wants war instead of change. Waging war for the sake of their own aims instead of their people. And doing it as a covert assassination won't work either. First of all, Blake and the others have survived worse. Second, whether they disguise it as a frame job for human supremacists or as an accident or even natural causes, the truth would still quickly be brought to light. Sunset has already uncovered several secrets of the world's magic and of Jaune's heritage. Twilight's tech skills can uncover Merlot and even Dr. Watts' schemes. And combined with Ozpin, Ironwood, and Cadence's resources... it is all an exercise in futility.
In the words of T'Challa, "You believe the cure for suffering is more suffering."
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What I like the most of this rewrite is that it explains why all the WF leaders seem to be insanely murderous. Because Sienna wants war and she is using the most brutal fighters as examples to follow, which gets her even more brutal fighters as recruits. It is a vicious cycle.
The WF is a flaming dumpster because Sienna is playing with fire and getting angry that she is burning herself.
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The difference is that Sienna Khan wants resistance and retaliation, but only enough to make the humans think twice. She never wanted war like Adam, she knows they could never win a war with the kingdoms. She condemned his actions as well as Chrysalis as senselessly excessive; unnecessary bloodshed as well as provoking a sleeping giant.
That being said, in the words of Katara, "Congratulations, you've won the 'Not-As-Big-A-Jerk-As-You-Could've-Been' Award!" Sienna Khan is still not a friend. She is dangerous, she is hostile, she is relentless. But worst of all, unlike Adam and Chyrsalis, she is smart. In a number of ways, she's far more dangerous than Adam ever was.
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I agree that Sienna is making a mistake...
But at the same time, I kind of suspect part of her motives for insisting that Gilda aids with the deaths of Rainbow and Blake is to prove her loyalty to the White Fang proper. She was Adam's last real officer and while what evidence Sienna has got about Gilda makes her inclined to like her and understand that she was doing her best to stop the situation from going completely off the rails, she still needs to ensure that if she gives Gilda an order, she will do it. She doesn't have to do so mindlessly or without question, but do it all the same regardless of her personal feelings about it.
It also could be that Sienna, who we see can play politics rather well, is planning to set Gilda adrift after Blake and Dash are dead. After all, in the eyes of the White Fang Gilda is publicly disgraced for her failures and everyone else largely sees her as a remnant of Adam's White Fang. If Sienna publicly disowns Adam and the Vale Chapter under him (and by connection, Gilda), she could try and make the argument that 'The White Fang didn't do this, some Adam loyalists did'.
Then again, Sienna might also have merely fallen into the trap of an extremist mentality of 'If you're not with us, you're against us'.
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Another mistake is that she's targeting the daughter of Ghira and Kali Belladonna, leaders of Menagrie and of significant influence to faunus everywhere. Her parents might forgive it, but they will never forget it.
I actually like this rewrite more from a Gilda angle than from a Sienna one. This helps explain her future actions better as she she's the reality of the high leader as opposed to the ideal that she has held onto for so long. Sienna does care for the cause, but cares more about keeping up appearances for the cause, least she lose the keys to power that she usurped from Ghira. The problem with taking the revolutionary route is that she can't back down from it until her goal is accomplished, or she will lose all clout and influence with the WF. Gilda is starting to see this, now how will she react in the rewrite?