Through the next decade, the vilage has once more evolved, with the adding of more Faunus that had been given by Shalam's tribe as they 'found' them from other raiding tribes as a sign of peace between the village and tribe.

Well... Shalam's tribe was no more a tribe, it had become a village of it's own. With the people that were sent to become scholars over the years, they became much more refined in their minds and learned a great deal from the village in the waterfall. With their expanded knowledge, they were able to renovate their homes similar to the Faunus village, providing much better accommodations than before.

Each scholar had said the same thing as they returned back to their original homes. "This is not a home to us. This is something we intend to change." When they were in the Faunus village, they were accustomed to sleep in homes that offered security, guards that gave a feeling of safety, food that was on their table, a warm bed to sleep in and materials for them to experiment and write down their findings.

At the end of the ninth year, Orthus succeed the position of village chief from Shalam, and his father focused more in learning to write and read from the books that the Faunus Village gave to them. Other tribes started to see this change in Orthus village and asked if they could also establish trading routes with them. It was there that the language of the divine tongue was then incorporated with the rest of the tribes that traded with each other around the area. His tongue was easy to understand with some practice and much more convenient to use in order to talk with each other.

Many asked the bright scholars where they've attained their knowledge, some more threatening than others. They refused to share where the Village of Knowledge is situated, fearing that they might break the long and respectful oath that they've swore. Still, they were shared between the tribes in order to teach and improve their defenses and homes.

The trade of tools and weapons was still banned from the Faunus Village, more so than ever before. As villages are form and more people join them, more is the need to have tools at their disposal, and more the need is for armaments for the would be guards. Still, they kept a close relationship with Orthus' village, to the point that humans wished to stay in the village.

It was accepted from the Guardian, as long as if they did the oath of silence to not reveal their location. Truly, a hidden village from prying eyes, their population from a measly 7 to 10 families, grew to an astounding of 30 families with many children that have steadily grew with education and training. With humans now in their ranks, they have now 40 families in the village, meaning manual labor had been eased and the number of people to feed increased tremendously. Still, the land was expanded for their convenience, having so a steady supply of farmland to feed the population.

Some humans were drawn to the Faunus, not in indifference, but in a romantic sense. They were shunned for having such thoughts, yet they still carried out their sin and mated with what they called in the past 'animals'. This bloomed a new hybrid, a mix between human and Faunus. This case was apart with Fenrir, where he had come to an age of finding a woman to tie down before his prime started to decay. Luck was on his side as a human woman seemed to take his fancy and in these years that passed, they had made a small female cub, the first of their kind.

From the beginning, the baby was treated poorly. Avoided by humans, and Faunus were disturbed that such a thing could actually be possible. The female cub grew up with being called names from other kids and ignored by adults, making her act as a tomboy to get attention by them.

Except for one being, the Guardian of the village.

"Hey! I'm back!" Delilah yelled from afar, as she ran towards the Guardian. 9 years old and full of energy that she couldn't spend with others, because they were mean with her. So, she turned her attention to the one being that was able to unify both human and Faunus through his actions alone.

He was human looking, but he wasn't mean. He wasn't Faunus, but he had their heart. He was much more than them, yet refused to be that. An open minded individual that didn't care of race or gender, just a gentle giant that wished for the village to be at peace.

The knight saw her, she looked a little roughed up, with her clothes being a bit dirty.

"Did you had another fight?" He asked, knowing that she had fights every now and then.

"N-no! I didn't fought! I simply fell..." She tried to hide it to not worry the giant, again. Yet she had a tell when she lied, she would tap her left foot on the ground while avoiding eye contact.

"Delilah, I know when you're lying. It must be hard for you, young one." He spoke, once more feeling uneasy saying those last two words again. His memories from all those decades were still vividly present in his mind. How that one little girl sacrificed her life to 'save' him from being hurt.

"I'm used to it, Knighty." She giggled at him shaking his head. One day, he said that he was like a Knight from his memory, and such the child of Fenrir started to call him Knighty as a nickname from a very young age, since he never told them his name, nor that he has one, not anymore.

"You truly enjoy to call me as such, don't you Delilah?" He asked as he kept himself in place near his bonfire as he has done so in all these years. She nodded her head with a big smile on her face since talking with him was fun. He told her many stories, ones filled with honor to ones that were sad, but the main point was that he always had a ear open for her to talk her problems.

"Hey, hey! When do you think I can train with Uncle Lorth? He keeps saying that I'm too young and that I shouldn't need to join, since it was a mans job to do it. Could you maybe... talk it over with him? My dad says that if Uncle Lorth is okay then he's okay."

"Indeed, you are much too young at the moment to train, however once you are of age, I'll speak with him to start training you. Views of gender mean nothing as long as you are useful in anyway you think you can be." He reassured her, making her jump towards his armored left arm and hugging it.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! Knighty!" She said, hopping in place with joy. This scene was adorable to anyone looking from afar. "I'm gonna go tell dad and uncle Lorth what you just said right now! Oh, he's gonna feel so embarrassed! I'll be right back!" With a bubbly personality like hers, running was part of her nature, running from one point to another. Now that she was gone, the guardian of the village was now thinking of more pressing matters.

Despite the better armament of their guards, the Guardian didn't felt too reassured with their current strength. The guards were still in their prime, but if it meant fighting the creatures of darkness, then they would need two to three people at most to fight a single one of them, two at least if they were talented.

Somehow, the people were so much fragile than the ones he has known through the last age. An ominous question loomed over his mind, has this new world made the humans more brittle than before? Dropping them in such a savage place was not unusual for a hollow, but these were truly humans and animal people. There was no certainty that their ability to survive was to this extent.

A thought came into his mind, one where Fenrir was researching as well in all these years, the strange burst of strength that Lorth was able to demonstrate all those years ago. He had noticed a few individuals that were like him although different at the same time, they had the strange aura like his but shone in different colors, with barriers that varied in durability. For a second when they should've gotten damaged, the barrier would activate and when not activated, their wounds seem to heal on their own.

He asked himself the question, where did this strange power came from? He wrapped his head on it with Fenrir for all these years, attempting to unveil such strange occurrence, until it hit him one day.

"What if this strange power, this colorful aura, is actually their soul awakened?" Such a thought in the old world would've been shunned, yet it was not out of the question. If it were that, then that means that they can actually understand and nurture this latent power, then their chances of survival would greatly increase. The question now, is how to unlock such potential from their bodies.

Unlike the effects of Unleash Magic from his time in Drangleic, this strange power seemed permanent for the people that were able to be granted such strength. Even after discussing the topic with the people, mainly those from the 'Disciples of the Sword' that have it unlocked with the Leader of the guards, he only got told that they simply got it one day. As he prodded deeper on the topic, it was revealed that the day that they got it, was when they were in a life or death situation or when Lorth seemed to unlock it while fighting the Knight.

As much as a big clue as that was, he didn't want to put the village people in such a dire state. So in the coming months, the Knight would write down his findings in a notebook that he fashioned, attempting to unveil the secret that they possessed. As if one of his souls, the one seeped with darkness, took a shine at such a prospect to understand such strange occurrence.

It was when he was looking at his flame, the essence that shone within his soul, that it made sense to him. What if the soul of an awakened one, could awaken the other?

He who took the souls of hollows to grow stronger, he who manipulate twisted souls to gather spells and weaponry through the help of others and he understood that to a deep level how magic and the soul were one and the same.

So... how can one coerce the soul of another to awaken? It was a simple answer to a hard solution. A new spell needed to be made, one where no catalyst was needed, one just needed their soul to awaken the other. It had to be one where warriors that have already awakened their soul could use on others. And such, with much effort and many, many theories written down, he had produced it. A spell that that awakened the soul of a person, elevating them to new heights. The catch was... It was no ordinary spell. It was more akin to an oath, a prayer that needed the power of a soul to another to wake up.

The body needs to be tempered, the mind needs to be resolute and the will must be determined for it to work. No matter if the person they want to awaken, they must first be able to have these. Each soul, is different from another, some more powerful than others, which means each person is different to another in their awakening.

However, he had no idea if this oath worked. The Guardian, has yet to test it to anyone, fearing that they might die in his hands. Although, he wants to see if his effort with Fenrir would bear fruits and how well could he restrict the use of such spell. He knew that such power would disrupt this world inhabitants, to give such a thing would be convicting them for more bloodshed, even more so than before.

"This decision... must I take it now? I am tired, yet I cannot rest. I wish to slumber, yet I am unable to. How... very odd. Perhaps my tasks have become so repetitive that I no longer see what a 'normal' human being experiences... Hmm... mayhaps, I should rinse my body in order to clear my mind before making a decision. That would be for the best for now." He mumbled to himself as he stood up from the bonfire, leaving it alone for now and entered the riverbed as he has done so in the past.

Green Blossoms were spread around the water, they also reached the forest as the land was an extension from their own body. The sound of the waterfall could be heard rather well, it was not thundering, but the sound was strong enough to feel it. The water wasn't chilled to the touch, however it was cold enough for anyone to have second thoughts, since it was so close to the source. The villagers enjoy quite a bit to bathe in the river, specially the children, when they could. Today, it was their Guardians first time, and nobody would be there to see him, not that he would stay there for long.

He began taking off of his helmet, setting it down next to a rock, just at the side of the waterfall. He began taking off his torso armor and gauntlets, his flame retreated onto his left hand, resting in the inner body with the ominous energy to protect it from the water. There with just his torso and head exposed, the Knight had dipped his head onto the falling water, washing away sweat and blood.

His midnight hair fell down from his head thanks to the water. His body, tempered from multiple battles and badly scarred, gleamed as he retracted back. He did so once more, to wash away any lingering thoughts that managed to stay on his mind, scrubbing his face with his own hands. Retracting once more, the warrior took a step back to breathe from his Undead lungs and looked at he scenery once more. It was truly a beautiful place, one where peace was fleeting. He heard the sound of shuffling and when he turned his head, Delilah was there, hiding behind the truck of a small tree, looking at him with a surprised expression.

"W-who might you be, stranger? This land is only permitted by the Guardian." She asked, both afraid and curious about this new being that was indulging at the waterfall next to their village.

"You would recognize me not, young one? I am no surprised, since I've always wore my armor." He spoke a familiar voice to her, his eyes shone a kind expression with amber eyes burning a beautiful bright orange color. The shock on her face spoke volumes, yet she needed to confirm it with this person.

"K-Knighty?" She asked to which he nodded to her. This was a day that nobody expected, especially to the daughter of the village chief. Here, in front of her, she had found out the identity of the Guardian without his dark shell, one where everyone in the village ever dreamed to witness even once, and here he was, for the first time shed from any hard material.

"I suppose this is the first time you've saw me without my armor. Although I wished for nobody to see my shame, one cannot seem to escape such wants in their life." He spoke as he began to put his armor back on. Piece by piece he put together, while Delilah didn't know to respond to such event. "You must've been looking for me, as I usually stay next to my fire, did you not?"

"Y-yes! I knew that you'd probably either be in the village or here. B-but I never expected to see you, l-like that." She said before putting her hands on her face embarrassingly.

"Yes... and now because of that, I have a favor to ask of thee." He put his helmet under his arm and knelt in front of the small Faunus girl, his scarred face was close to hers, just a step or two away from her. "Would you promise to not speak of this to the village?"

"W-why? I bet everyone would be happy to finally see the real you!" She tried to reassure him that everyone would be happy to see his face and such, but he shook his head.

"I am no fool when it comes to the affairs of the village, although in these last 20 years their relationships with humans has steadily become better, they still harbor a distaste to them. I know that this might be foolish on my part, but as I keep myself hidden, then their relationships will continue to prosper. Even if I were to say that I am a human, they'd say that I am much more than that, and if they ever saw the true me, I am certain that their bonds would rupture and all the work that your father has done to break such ideals would be to waste.

Thus, I keep myself hidden. It is a small price, but if this helps, no matter how little, in your fathers golden heart to reach the humans, then it is more than enough to me. But for that to happen, I ask you, keep this a secret from anyone. Just between you and me, okay?" He asked to which Delilah gave a smile, a bittersweet one.

"A secret between Delilah and Knighty? I'm very happy, but why does it feel so..." He couldn't find the words, but didn't like how their Guardian had chosen such a fate. It was for the good of the village, but she didn't like it. She was happy that she could share something with him though. A secret between them... Not many could ever accomplish such a thing.