(Galway Academy, 09:50 hours)

So, it seems today is the day.

Assistant Headmistress Lilith Astaroth was flipping through yet another batch of potential students. It seems like the recent years have brought in a new influx of talented Huntsmen. It was rather sad that the original academies had fallen after Salem laid waste to the land, but no empire truly lasts. From the ruins of Beacon, Galway Academy was founded.

After denying what felt like 200 applications, Professor Astaroth decided to check up on the current headmaster. She stood up from her desk and walked out of her room, entering the grand, pearl colored hallways. Even though she had helped create the school from the ground up, it still feels weird that she is actually one of the people to run this place for its very first year. After walking for a while, she reaches an oak doorway with the brass inscription labeled "Headmaster". She opened the door to ask the headmaster about his progress.

She was greeted with the sight of the headmaster passed out on the huge pile of student folders, drooling on them as he snores blissfully.

And just like that, the magic was gone.

A vein popped on Professor Astaroth's forehead as she coughed rather loudly into her hand.

Headmaster Theodore Midnight bolted up so fast that he actually threw himself off of his seat with his momentum. Astaroth just stared at the man. His long gray hair was sticking out everywhere as proof of his nap. Seeing the cold look on his deputy's face, just chuckled before speaking.

"My dear deputy, I was merely conserving my energy. Within the next few months, our school will have our newest generation of Huntsmen." Headmaster Midnight stated. Lilith knew this was grimmshit, but she went along with it for the time being. It was way too early to start arguing about this, and she'll be damned before she has another 5 hour argument about school conduct. Well, might as well just explain what she needed to talk about.

"Sir, it seems that this year's selection is rather...lackluster. Most students seem to rely on either false credentials or seem to try and act like they are obligated to be here. I do not think we will have enough students to start the year."

Silence plagued the air. This is a first for the academy. While they did expect a few unacceptable admissions, to hear that only a handful are actually viable was rather surprising.

Before Professor Midnight could say anything, the computer buzzed. Theodore looked at the monitor to see a message from the user "Baker". Theodore's eyes widened.

"Lilith. He has news." Astaroth was caught off guard, but ran over to look at the monitor. When she was standing behind him, Theodore clicked the message. Baker only had 4 words to say to the headmaster.

'AEGIS is now online

~Baker'

The professors just stared at those words, tension flooding the whole atmosphere. Finally, Theodore broke the silence.

"Lilith?"

Professor Astaroth was brought out of her trance. "Huh?"

"I believe we should accept the capable students. I think it is time to revive the accelerated program."

"Yes, Sir."

Lilith's footsteps slowly became fainter and fainter before the door creaked open then clicked shut. Theodore just pinched his nose in exasperation. He thought he'd have more time before it would happen, and under these conditions?

Theodore just sighed. There was nothing he could do about it. All he can do is prepare whoever he can for the coming storm. He went into his pile of folders and opened up one with a promising student. After reading, he made his decision. He brought up his stamp and punched it on the paper.

"Accepted. Welcome to Galway Academy."

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

And that was the prologue to my very first SYOC story. I'm really excited to start this and hopefully learn more about all your creativity. I know there seems to be a fair number of OCs of mine already, but they will be side characters or just potential obstacles.

One last thing before you submit. This is NOT like the RWBY SYOCs you're used to. For one, I will give out not predetermined teams, but that is for a reason. Also, none of the students will be of my design, so you don't have to worry about following a boring Gary Stu/Mary Sue everywhere. Finally, I want diversity within the cast. If you pick something without a lot of spots taken, you'll have a stronger chance of getting in. Here is the counter for submitted characters:

Males: 11

Females: 8

Humans: 12

Faunus: 7

Now before we get into the outline, I'll just get into the basic rules.

No boring Garys or Marys. If I feel there is no real substance behind a character, then I won't really give them a second glance. There is also the chance I'll accept one of them just to kill them off within their debut chapter without any respect towards them. Put thought into an interesting, likeable, preferably flawed characters. It just makes them more fun to write in general.

No silver eyes. I'm personally not a fan of making someone the obviously important and pivotal character. Also, this fic is an ensemble story, meaning all our main characters are going to be weighted equally in screentime and development.

I'm accepting PMs only. This is required of all interested authors. Also, I'd prefer if you title your PM "Galway Admission: (Character Name Here)" for the sake of convenience.

While students are what I'm looking for, I will consider villains and fellow professors of Galway Academy, and maybe submissions will open up later for students of other academies.

Have fun. I'm planning on ending submissions on November 12th at 5:00 Eastern Time, so there's no real rush. I'm planning on accepting 10 students, but I may extend that number if I get a large number of OCs.

Now onto the form!

Name: (fit it with a color)

Nickname (if any):

Age: (16-18)

Gender:

Race: (if Faunus, specify the type)

Aura color:

Appearance:

Everyday Clothing:

Formal wear:

Sleepwear:

Swimwear:

Likes:

Dislikes:

Habits:

Fears:

Personality: (1-2 paragraphs if possible)

Biography: (1-2 paragraphs if possible.)

Weapon Name:

Weapon Description:

Semblance Title:

Semblance Description:

Combat Style:

Symbol:

Quotes: (2 at minimum so I can get a feel for them.)

Character summary: (how do you expect the character to fit into the story? Last chance to give me a good impression of them.)

Other stuff I may have forgotten:

I hope I can give respect to all you creators and I do hope you'll enjoy this story.

Oh, one last thing. I am a fan of interacting with creators, especially about their characters. I will give optional questions at the end of each chapter (thank you for the idea, Fangirls) which, while not required, do help me know how to portray them better. If you ignore these, your character will still be there, but there is the risk that I'll drift away from those characters for characters I just understand a bit better.

Wow that was quite a bit of stuff. I guess the only way to end this off is to welcome you into a world of mystery, adventure, and intrigue. Welcome to Galway Academy.