A/N: Usual warnings for my multi-chapter fics. Do NOT expect much from this. I suffer in longer stories and I'm well-aware of that. The initial idea for this fic changed multiple times over the months and even as I was writing it. It's not my best, so I ask you to look past the flaws of the details and try to enjoy the story.

Amazing artwork, including the cover art you see here, is created by my friend adamantred, and can be found on her tumblr under her art tag, or on mine at hanasaku-shijin,tumblr,com/tagged/dragons_curse_au.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

Eternal

Prologue: A Dragon's Wrath

The world was in chaos.

With his supernatural senses, he could hear it, even thousands of miles deep into the core of the earth, tucked away in his cavern.

The creatures of the world were warring again, and it was loud enough to rouse him.

As an Ancient Dragon, and one of the oldest left alive, he had lived for millennia, keeping to himself. He was aware of the world around him, of the new species that breathed to life, of the ones that withered and died off.

And this was not the first time he had been woken by mankind.

In fact, that had been the species to cause the most trouble, to wake him with their trivial wars and senseless acts of killing more than several times in all his existence.

He could understand why pettier dragons would show themselves frequently to the dwellers of the planet on the surface of its tectonic plates; they liked man's opulence, his gold, liked stealing his livestock and his women.

But the few Ancient Dragons left knew that man's treasures were nothing compared to the true vestiges of the earth, the natural gold that shone brightest and in abundance in the darkest caverns - untarnished - where no greedy fingerprints could smudge its beauty. The most delectable sheep roamed freely over mountains man had never dreamed existed, and the fairest of women adorned wings or scales and took residence in secret twilight forests and deep clear oceans.

The Ancient Dragon had dealt with man and his insignificant troubles before, revealing himself every several hundred years or so to keep their rapidly-increasing population in check.

But recently, they had been too boisterous, and their provocation denied the old reptile his much-needed rest.

Lacking the entirety of his better judgement, he crawled up the miles of molten caves until he breached the surface of the earth. The soil parted for him, trees making way for his massive form. He stretched his wiry wings and tail, extending his brawny limbs to their limits.

Man - though far from being a vapid species - was an irksome one, one that had been tainting the planet from whence the Dragon gained sustenance; their pollution clogged his mighty lungs to the point of discomfort.

Therefore, he was somewhat delirious as he took flight for the first time in almost a thousand years.

The wounds of the world were his wounds, and he shared the pain of the planet.

When the earth cried out, he spoke for it with a raucous, bellowing roar, and a flash of fire.

And only the purest of souls lived to see another day.

Please review!