A/N:

Before getting started, I wanted to shout out 3 different stories that inspired me to write this fic.

The first is Remnants of an Ancient Code by Twisted Fate MK 2.

The second is The force shall set me free by AllHailTheEmpire

And that last is Prim-Arc by vixvix.

All 3 of these fics are great reads and I would suggest all of you to read them.

"It is all that is left unsaid upon which tragedies are built." - Kreia

Prologue: Chance

Jaune Arc was hungry. He was hungry, tired, and a myriad of other things as he trekked through the forests outside of Ansel. But despite the various ailments currently afflicting him, he chose to carry on. After all, he wanted to be a hero, and what kind of hero would let something as minor as an empty stomach stop him part way through his journey?

Grumble…

Obviously Jaune's stomach didn't feel the same way. He sighed, regretting not raiding his family's pantry for more snacks before leaving. He had chosen to err on the side of stealth and caution as he slipped away in the early morning hours, not wanting to risk alerting his parents with too much noise.

They already didn't think he was fit to be a huntsman, and they would have grounded him for eternity if they caught him stealing Crocea Mors as he snuck out to go join Beacon. Sure they were probably right, as he might have had to forge his transcripts to get in, but darn it he was dedicated to prove them wrong!

It was now somewhere around noon, and Jaune had been walking for several hours already. Normally the trip from Ansel to Vale would take a few hours by car on the highways that drove around Vale's various Eastern mountains. Instead, he was walking a more direct path through, what he was hoping was not-grimm infested forests. Shorter the distance, but at a much slower pace. By the calculations he made the day before he left, he should reach Vale by sunset, where he'll go rent a nice, cheap motel, then fly to Beacon the next day by airship.

Dust, he hoped he wouldn't puke on an airship again. The last time he rode on one was during a family camping trip to Anima, about 6 or 7 years ago. He's sure he must've outgrown his motion sickness by now.

But, that was neither here nor there. Right now he just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other. All he had to do was keep heading West and keep his chip up. Confident! He had to focus on all the things he was going to achieve! Not the fact that he might've lost track of West with the Sun at high noon, the fact that he had no food, no reception on his scroll, and oh Dust and Grimm he was going to die out here.

Nope! Can't think like that. No negative thoughts, no sirree. Gotta stay positive, confident. One foot in front of the oth-

CRACK.

The sound of a branch snapping echoed through the air. Begrudgingly, Jaune looked down. There were no sticks or twigs beneath him. He didn't make that noise.

Growwlll…

Jaune froze as he heard the guttural snarl from behind him. Slowly he turned, cranking his neck as far back as he could, and that's when he saw it out of the corner of his eye. A beowolf, larger than any he'd seen in books, with several white bony spines protruding from its arms.

"Ohhhhh sugar honey iced tea that's a big grimm." Jaune felt his heart sink. His knees became weak, his palms sweaty, he wanted to vomit out the leftover spaghetti he ate for breakfast.

Okay Jaune, think! How do you get out of this? Uhh… movement, right? A grimm's vision is based on movement? At least that's what that one movie about a grimm theme park said. And movies wouldn't lie, right?

The 17 year old boy stood completely still, save for the pounding of his heart. To his surprise, the beowolf seemed to stop as well, tilting its head to side as if confused. However, Jaune's relief then turned to sheer panic as the beowulf instantaneously lunged forward, charging straight for Jaune.

To his credit, while Jaune never actually had any combat training, he at least considered himself reasonably fit. Fit enough that he was able to turn, sprint, and keep a solid distance from the grimm as he ran for his life.

Curse you movies! Why would you lie to me!?

5 minutes. Jaune had been sprinting as fast as he possibly could for the last 5 minutes. His legs burned, lungs hurt, but his body ignored all of it as he was completely overtaken by his flight instincts.

Taking a quick peek behind him, he saw that the beowolf alpha was still hot on his tail, rampaging through the forest for its next meal. Jaune swore under his breath. He couldn't keep this up and he knew it. He was getting too tired, and if he didn't change strategies, he was going to die.

Part of him thought about drawing Crocea Mors and trying to take down the grimm, but its sheer size and apparent age shot down that idea quickly. While Jaune wanted to be a hero, he was realistic enough to know when he was outmatched.

He glanced around, looking for anything he could use to get the advantage. That's when he felt a pull to his left. Not a physical, grabbing pull, but something in the back of his mind telling him to look that direction. Deciding to trust this gut instinct, he turned toward the direction and saw a cave. Not a large, gaping hole in a mountain, but a small crack in the stone, tight enough for him to just barely fit while the Grimm would have no chance of entering.

Seeing that was his best chance of survival, Jaune pivoted, dashing for the crag. The beowolf dug its claws into the ground to redirect its momentum and keep pace with the more nimble human.

"AHHH please stop being so smart!" Jaune cried out as he beelined for the cave.

Jaune pushed forward as the grimm gained ground behind him. As the last of Jaune's energy left him, he dove into the crack, ignoring the cuts and scrapes he received as he shoved himself deeper and deeper in. He heard a terrifying crunch behind him as he saw the beowolf had caught up and tried to force its way after him. It continued to slam its skull and claws against the stone, desperately trying to break the mountain open for its next meal.

With a whimper, Jaune kept pushing further and further through the crevice. After several terrifying seconds Jaune squeezed himself out of the fissure and found himself in a much larger cavern. The teenager let out a brief sigh of relief as he was no longer in danger of getting pinned by some rocks and starving to death. And the idea of cutting a limb off to escape like in that one movie 172 Hours really didn't appeal to him. Roars and slams against the stone drew his attention back to the entrance, but they sounded distant and muted enough that he believed he was safe.

Catching his breath, Jaune allowed himself to relax. All he had to do was rest, wait until the grimm lost interest, and he would crawl his way back through the crevice and continue on his journey to Beacon. A little bit of a rough start, he had to admit, but what kind of hero's journey wouldn't start off with a bit action and terror?

Resting his back against the stone wall, Jaune reached into his pack and pulled out his canteen, greedily gulping down some water. Now safe, Jaune took the time to examine his surroundings. The cavern was relatively small, only five, maybe six feet in diameter, with a tunnel on the far end that continued further underground. There were a few low hanging stalactites, but luckily the red lighting of the cavern was bright enough in here he could see them and avoid bashing his head open.

Jaune froze for the second time today. Having been so focused on not dying, he didn't seem to notice that the entire cavern had a red tinge to it, illuminated by an unknown source. Caves were not supposed to be red. Where did all this light come from anyway? Jaune was both annoyed that he no longer had the opportunity to build the torch he wanted, but also scared of unknown source of power.

Curiosity taking the better side of caution, Jaune followed the light, pushing further into the cavern. It only took a short amount of time for Jaune to reach the end of the cave, as it was not very deep. At the end, he found the source of the strange light. It was a strongbox, not unlike ones he'd seen his dad used to store weapons, or those magazines he didn't want his mom to find.

The strongbox itself had some kind of screen or something where the lock would normally be. The screen fizzled in and out, leaving the strongbox unlocked and continually giving off the red hue that tinted the cavern. The box itself was covered with moss and rust. Jaune surmised that this thing must have been here for a long time.

Jaune knelt in front of the box, placing both hands on the lid. The more rational part of his brain screamed at him to stop and walk away, but the curious, adventurous side urged him onward. With a slight motion, Jaune pushed the lid upward, opening the strongbox. With a click followed by a depressurizing hisssss, the lid slowly rose, revealing its contents.

It was a mask. Simple in design, yet pristine in condition. The mask had the appearance of the top half of a human skull. Blood red rectangles marked the areas above the eye sockets, and mask was bisected vertically by a metallic band.

Jaune found the mask haunting, but beautiful in a way. The design was rather morbid, and the coloration reminded him a little too much of the grimm, but something about it drew him in anyway. He wondered if this was supposed to be a grimm mask, like the ones the White Fang used.

That train of thought sent a wave of panic through him. Was this place some kind of White Fang safehouse or cache? Jaune moved to close the container, ready to leave the mask behind. He did not want to get involved with a group of terrorists before his first day of school.

Strangely enough, Jaune found himself unable to leave the mask to its fate. He looked deep into the eyes of the mask. He felt something deep inside. Deep inside… he knew it would be a waste to leave this mask here. He felt compelled to take it, like a voice in the back of his head telling him that he needed it.

After all, looking at the condition the container, this place hadn't been visited in years, maybe decades! Whoever left this mask here obviously didn't need it anymore. So why shouldn't he take it? And if the mask really did turn out to be White Fang, then… then he would just turn it into the police! He would tell them where he found the mask, they'd investigate, and maybe catch some bad guys. That made complete sense! Jaune felt pride welling up inside of him. Not even starting Beacon yet and he was already making plans to catch criminals. Jaune knew that huntsmen needed to trust their guts, and his instincts told him that he should take it. So, Jaune reached into the box and grabbed a hold of the mask.

Almost immediately, Jaune felt a jolt of electricity surge through him. Jaune flinched and closed his eyes, thinking he had sprung some sort of strange trap. Like the ones he'd seen in those movies about the whip-wielding archaeologist that searched for ancient artifacts during the Great War. But instead, he felt nothing but a warm embrace. He opened his eyes, and found himself enveloped by a yellow-white glow. Unbeknownst to him, the mask had awakened Jaune Arc's aura.

"Woah, trippy." was all Jaune could say as he examined the glow of his palm, then the back of his hand, before the light receded. Jaune thought that reaction was weird, but ultimately decided to ignore it. He could investigate what just happened later, when he wasn't in a spooky cave in the middle of a grimm infested forest.

Jaune took one last look at the mask, staring intensely into its eyes, eyes that despite being empty, drew him in deeper and deeper. Jaune shook his head. He thought that his adrenaline must finally be wearing off as he started to feel woozy. Quickly, Jaune opened up his traveling pack and threw the mask inside. Closing it up, he returned to the crevice where he entered the cavern.

Listening carefully, Jaune could no longer hear the grimm outside. Realizing that it must have lost interest, Jaune quietly moused his way through the crag once again. Soon enough he popped out of the fissure, once again able to breathe in the open air and take in the afternoon sun. Jaune scanned the area around him, and saw no signs of the grimm that was chasing him, nor of any others.

Satisfied with the safety of his surroundings, Jaune took a look at his scroll. He only lost about half an hour with this whole debacle. If he power walked instead of taking a leisurely pace, he should be able to make up for lost time relatively quickly.

So with a nod, a smile, and a never ending sense of optimism, Jaune continued to make his way towards Beacon, having unknowingly become the newest owner of the mask of Darth Nihilus.

A/N:

That, ladies and gentlemen is the prologue of Jaune Arc, Lord of Hunger. Just so everyone knows, this story will be drawing on the old EU-now Legends Star Wars universe. And I will also be playing fast and loose with that canon and with the canon of RWBY as well. If you don't like it, then don't read.

And one question for anyone that wants to answer, where does the town of Ansel come from? I've seen it referenced in a few different fics on this site, but found nothing on it on the RWBY wiki. Is there a reference to it in the show that I just don't remember, or did someone just make it up and everyone else just went with it?

Also if you enjoyed reading this, please be sure to check out my other fic, Legion of the Damned as well. It's primary story is Mass Effect, but it draws characters from RWBY, Star Wars, and others as well.

Other than that, thanks for reading, have a safe and happy New Years, and I'll see you in the next one!

1/1/2020 Update: added in a quote and some formatting changes.