Soul of a Warrior

The arena brought fond memories to the forefront of Artorias mind. The clashing of steel, the sweat on his brow, and the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he felt the rush of combat. He could hardly contain the smile forming on his face, and looking at his companions, he could tell that they too were eager to test themselves against this worlds warriors. At the height of his anticipation, Professor Goodwitch walked up to them.

"I'm glad that you're all able to join us today. I'll admit I know very little about your styles of combat apart from the equipment you have. Before I begin, I've noticed that while you are strong, you don't have aura in the same way as we do. If you don't mind, I would like to rectify that right now." She walked up to Artorias first, placing one hand on his shoulder and another on his chest, and began to utter the age old incantation. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."

As she finished uttering the phrase, he began to glow brightly, but there was also a faint shadow that he could feel creeping from the depths of his soul. When it was all done, he felt different, somehow as if a part of him had been freed. Which part, however, is what concerned him.

Moving on to do the same for the other three. Gough seemed quite intrigued by the newfound power it brought on.

"Interesting," he stated, "this power greatly resembles the soul arts possessed in our realm."

"Indeed," Ciaran added, "I wonder what we might be capable of now that we have gained such control over our souls."

Once they finished their musings, Professor Goodwitch addressed them again.

"Is there anyone in particular from team RWBY or JNPR that you would like to spar with?" she asked, with an audible strain in her voice.

"Art thou well Lady Goodwitch?" Artorias asked.

"Yes, I'm alright. It's just that unlocking the aura of four people in such a brief span is a bit taxing. I'll be fine though, don't worry."

Deciding to trust her at her word, he turned to his companions, awaiting their answers first, having his own thought in mind as to who he wished to challenge. Gough was the first to speak.

"Doth any of thy students possess great quantities of physical strength?" he asked.

Artorias understood his query. It wouldn't do to have him fight someone if they were unable to hold up to the monstrous strength of his blows.

"Both Ms. Xiao Long and Ms. Valkyrie are physically strong." She responded. "Which would you prefer to fight?"

Taking a moment to think, he gazed over at the two girls in question, recalling their performance in the forest yesterday. While he did recognize that the orange haired girl was quite strong, he remembered the fire burning within the blonde fighter yesterday.

"I shall fight lady Xiao Long if it pleases thee."

Having spoken his piece, Ciaran was next as she recalled someone who possessed a very similar skillset to hers.

"If I may, I wouldst greatly desire single combat with her." She said, pointing at Blake in the stands.

"Ms. Belladonna?" Goodwitch noted. "Very well, you two can go after your friend."

It was Sif's turn to speak up, ever the picture of excitement.

"Oh! Oh! If Gough shall not fight Nora, may I face her then?" she asked, eager to test the skills of someone who was quickly becoming a new friend.

"Yes, young lady, you can go after your friends have fought." Then she turned to Artorias. "Is there anyone in particular you would like to fight?" she asked.

He mulled it over for a moment, his gaze crossing over each of them in turn, before settling on the blonde swordsman. He recalled what Gough had said the day before, an individual with a soul powerful enough to catch his attention. Turning first to Gough, who almost immediately seemed to sense his thoughts, they both nodded and he turned to the blonde professor.

"If I may, I wouldst be most honored to spar with the swordsman, Jaune."

After his request, he noticed the aforementioned student seemed to hear him. Rather than a look of anticipation that he expected however, he saw what looked to be nervousness, perhaps even fear. Strange, if Jaune truly possessed so radiant a soul, he wondered what gave the boy pause.

"Very well, then if you don't mind, we'll begin." She said, turning to face the rest of the students. "Ms. Xiao Long, would you please come down to the stage."

As they stood at opposite ends of the arena, each could sense the others excitement. Yang loved a challenge, and a guy who was able to kill a Nevermore in a single hit. Sure she's punched some Ursai around pretty handily herself, but a Nevermore was a lot stronger than that. She saw that he left his bow in the stands next to his friends. That didn't surprise her, a bow wouldn't do much good in close quarters after all. Waiting for the signal to begin, she began settling into her stance. As it turns out she would not have to wait long.

"Begin!" Professor Goodwitch said firmly.

In moments she was across the arena and engaging him. However, as she delivered her first punch, her arm recoiled from the resistance that she met. Hitting him felt like she was punching concrete. Before she had time to react, he initiated his own strike, a right hook. She was barely able to get her arms up in time to block the strike, and even then it sent her flying to the other end of the arena. When she stood back up she noticed him with a determined look in his eyes.

"Come, warrior. Show me the fire in your soul." He said.

Considering the situation, she figured it would be best to oblige him. Triggering her semblance, her eyes shifting to a blood red, and her glowing mane radiating flames. Gough let himself smile a little as he went to meet her in the middle to exchange blows.

The brawl, for at this point with how close they were engaged it could only be called such, went on for several minutes. They exchanged dozens of blows back and forth, blocking most, while the ones that did get through were somewhat lacking in power. Eventually they broke free of the furious exchange that they were locked in, resuming a circling pace around the middle while facing each other.

Checking the board, they could see that both of them were almost out of aura. Gough was surprised, but still had a grin on his face. He had been right, the fire within this girl's soul burned brightly, and it granted her an abundance of strength. Readying himself, he knew that his victory or defeat would depend on this next strike. Judging by the look on Yang's face, she knew it as well, and without missing a beat, they went at each other for the final strike. His fist collided with hers, and the shockwave sent them both backwards, landing on opposite sides of the arena.

"The match is concluded. Ms. Xiao Long's aura is now in the red, while Mr. Gough has maintained enough aura to be considered the victor." Announced Goodwitch.

Gough couldn't keep the grin from his face. This fight had been entertaining to him. Before he left the arena however, he had one bit of parting advice for the girl.

"Thou fighteth well, young one. Though thou hast poor control over the flame within thee for a pyromancer."

Yang could only stare confusedly at his statement. "What's a pyromancer?"

With all of the other differences this world had, her lack of knowledge on this matter reminded Gough that not all was as it used to be.

"One who has mastered the art of fire. Thou was able to harness it and use it to strengthen thy blows as I struck thee. Pyromancers are capable of many feats, but yours is one which I have not seen before."

"Heh, well you're full of surprises too. It felt like I was punching a brick wall."

"Indeed? Then my strength has not diminished along with my size."

He seemed to be on a roll for statements which confused the blonde. "What do you mean?"

"Before coming to this world, I was at least twice my current height."

After he said that, one could almost see Yang Xiao Long's eyes popping out of their sockets as they went wide. She found it hard to imagine that he was any bigger than the towering giant that he already was. Before she could ask him more questions, however, they were interrupted.

"Ms. Xiao Long," Professor Goodwitch said, "please set aside your curiosity for later. Ms. Ciaran and Ms. Belladonna require the stage."

Said combatants had already moved to the arena, patiently waiting for their friends to conclude their exchange. Once it was just the two of them left on the stage, they waited in silence, each attempting to gauge the other's ability.

"You may begin." Goodwitch announced.

Not a moment passed after her announcement before each of the combatants disappeared in a blink, clashing blades in the center of the arena. Blake with the blade of Gambol Shroud in her right hand, while Ciaran held the dazzling Gold Tracer in her left. Blake was surprised that someone who leaned more towards a stealthy style like her own would use such a bright and gaudy blade. It was only her sensitive hearing that notified her of the second blade coming around in Ciaran's right hand, and Blake was forced to block with her sheath using her left, leaving her with her arms crossed as she saw the dark serrated blade, Dark Silver Tracer, clashing with her sheath.

This stalemate continued for several moments, until Ciaran took the initiative, kicking out at Blake and using the momentary distraction to strike. Seeing the incoming blow, Blake activated her semblance, leaping back from the blow. The unique sight nearly bewildered the Lord's Blade, just barely blocking the strike that came in her moment of pause. The next few moments would seem to most observers as a clash of blurs, each striking faster than most could eyes could keep up with. Only Professor Goodwitch and Ruby could manage to make out what was happening, the former due to a lifetime of experience, and the latter thanks to her own semblance.

It was a furious exchange of blows, counterblows, dodges, and blocks, neither able to gain the upper hand. This continued for several minutes, a symphony of blades clashing against each other constantly. However, everyone has their limits to endurance, and Blake was swiftly approaching hers. She knew she would lose at the current pace, her opponent still barely showing any signs of exhaustion. It would all come down to one final gambit, taking everything she had left.

She poured the remainder her energy into creating as many clones as she could, attempting to disorient her opponent long enough to land the strike she needed. Going in for the strike, her opponents back open to her, she was unprepared for the very sudden roundhouse kick that was sent her way, causing her to sail through the air to the side of the arena. In that moment all of her clones vanished, and Professor Goodwitch stepped forward.

"That will be enough, Ms. Belladonna's aura is now in the red, and Ms. Ciaran is the victor."

Sheathing her blades, Ciaran approached Blake and offered a hand to her. After accepting it and being raised to her feet, she felt it prudent to indulge her curiosity on a particular matter.

"How did you know which one was me?" Blake asked her.

"Thou created nearly a perfect image of thyself in all of thy replications, but for one detail." She subtly lifted her gaze to Blake's bow. "Thou hath a particular movement in thy bow that was absent from the others. To most it would be unnoticeable, but to one such as I, twas as different to you as my blades to each other."

Blake was taken back at Ciaran's skill. Not many people noticed her bow, and she much preferred it that way. However, there was something she saw in this person that made her feel like a kindred spirit. "That was a good fight all the same. I wouldn't mind a rematch sometime.

Ciaran smiled as she replied, "Nor I."

Before either of them could say anything else, a pair of loud boisterous females spoke up from the audience.

"Nora Valkyrie!" yelled an incredibly eager Sif. "It would appear that it is now our turn to exchange blows. Wouldst thou do the honor of fighting me?"

"You got it!" Nora replied with equal enthusiasm, both of them now making their way to the arena. "Let's get this party started!"

Cue the cliffhanger.

In all seriousness though, sorry for this chapter taking longer. I'm not used to writing fight scenes as much, and I kept going back and forth trying to decide if they should be more powerful or on par. Given the fact that they weren't human before being sucked into the RWBYverse though, I opted for more powerful.

I'm not proud to admit that I forgot to throw in the aura unlocking bit in earlier chapters, as it would have been more eloquent there than the thrown together mess it was here, but it needed to be established, and there was fighting gonna happen, so there we go.

On another note, I should probably clearly establish that while the characters did come from the Dark Souls universe, that is about as far as the connection goes. Yes, their understanding of souls will change things a good bit in the RWBYverse, but I feel like it needs to be stated that they are entirely different universes. Just chalk it up to divine beings having a bit of fun and tossing people from one universe to another. If I decide to deepen the connection, and that's a very big if, it will be much later in the story, after they've had a chance to settle in to Remnant.

Again, I'm glad that people enjoy reading this, and please do not be afraid to offer criticism, be it on the grammar or the lore. I'm trying to keep these characters as close their respective canons as possible, and I always did suck at the minor grammar bits of when to properly use apostrophes and commas. Anyway, thanks again for reading.