SR-X

> “Home, huh? I’m not really sure what to say about it. Until I got here, I thought everyone had the same experience as me.
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> “In a way, though… I’m glad that’s not true.
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> “It’s bittersweet, you know? Knowing that there are worlds out there where not everyone has the same eyes.”
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> Carmine Nikos-Rose

The **Timeline of Salem’s Return (SR-X)** is a notable timeline that is the home of Carmine and Hibiscus Nikos-Rose, Roseo Torchwick, and Chardonnay Liakos-Rhiel. It is primarily notable for its impact on the world state of the Coalescence, as well as for having one of the highest recorded rates of attrition in humanity’s conflict against Salem.

## SR-X

### Notable Residents

* Orlen
* Carmine Nikos-Rose
* Chardonnay Liakos-Rhiel
* Roseo Torchwick

## History

### Ancient Times

At some point after Salem’s Rebellion and before the return of Ozma, a man named Orlen began to search for the origins of the Creatures of Grimm in order to understand their vendetta against mankind, and thus possibly find a solution. Along his travels, he met Salem, who told him of the Gods and their cruel punishment of her. Intrigued and angered by the tale, Orlen nonetheless asked of Salem to stop the Grimm’s attacks on mankind. Salem refused, believing mankind to be a “worthless shadow” of the humanity that had come before, and, enraged by Orlen’s assertions that mankind was nonetheless worthy of life, attempted to kill him.

Fleeing Salem’s company, Orlen became a wanderer for several years before settling in the southwestern portion of Sanus as an ascetic. Meditating on what Salem had told him of the Gods and her life, he came to the conclusion that both had to be removed for Remnant to be safe. He thus began a journey to accrue power, seeking to challenge the gods, though without the Relics, his task was doomed. Nevertheless, along the way, he came into contact with a tiny physical fragment of the Alealamia and became immortal and able to use True Magic as a result.

With no way to challenge the gods, Orlen instead focused his efforts on Salem. The two clashed several times, with each battle inevitably resulting in his loss—though Salem began to view him as something of a kindred spirit for his foolish choice to wilfully take on her curse. Frustrated, Orlen fell into despair and became a wanderer once more.

Some time after, he met a vampire near present-day Vale. With Orlen comforted by the presence of another immortal other than Salem, the two courted one another for a time. After some time, however, he realised that she did not necessarily hold the same view of mankind’s importance as he did. The two sought to understand each other for some time, and while some agreements were made, ultimately became enemies after the vampire attacked a nearby village out of frustration and blood-madness. In response, Orlen, unable to bring himself to kill her, instead cast a spell on her that sealed her away in the valley she resided in.

Saddened (but nonetheless feeling a sense of purpose in protecting humanity), Orlen decided that if he could not stop Salem, the Grimm, or the Gods, he would instead seek to safeguard mankind against those like his former lover—those that would abuse it for their own ends. However, fearing that his virtues and intent would be warped by time, he decided that it was best that humanity be given the power to protect *itself*, rather than becoming its singular protector. To that end, he destroyed his own soul and transformed it into a great font of magical power referred to as “The Flame of Orlen”. He then bestowed this power on a mortal woman, who used the vestiges of his consciousness within the Flame as a guide.

For countless generations after, the Witches of Orlen were a secret lineage of protectors that passed the Flame from one to the next, each dedicated to protecting humanity in its own way.

### Post-Great War

#### Fall of Beacon

Many years later, at the same time that events that would change the world were beginning to unfold, a team of young huntresses known as Team CRTS were attending Beacon Academy. When the Battle of Beacon occurred, their assistance was instrumental in saving the lives of Pyrrha Nikos and many others. In the process, however, their leader, Chartreuse Rhiel, went missing and was presumed dead.

#### Rhual Uprising

*Full article: Rhual Uprising*

Following a period of civil unrest beginning with the closure of Haven Academy after the Battle of Haven, a group known as the Rhual orchestrated a civilian coup of the Mistralian Government with incredible success. For several months, Mistral descended into anarchy, and only the efforts of the Mistrali Reclamation Front, in combination with the remnants of the MBD and CMAF, finally restored peace.

### Post-Atlesian Collapse

*This section will be expanded upon as the events of the Prime Timeline become clearer. For now, assume that only minor divergences were observed.*

### The Second Great War

Roughly twenty years after her defeat at the hands of Ruby Rose, Salem revealed herself once more, having been lying in wait to build an army of Grimm in the intervening time. She did not attempt to turn mankind against one another using coercion, sedition, and espionage, as she had before—instead, she merely focused her efforts on overwhelming mankind through sheer numbers.

What followed was slaughter on an unprecedented scale. For three years, the people of Remnant fought for their lives against Salem, struggling nigh-endlessly against the constant tide of darkness. During this time, the Valean Saviours’ Brigade and many similar bands were founded by those old enough to fight but not old enough to truly be exposed to the worst of the conflict. The fighting finally drew to a close when Ruby and Jaune Arc used the Relics to call the Gods back to Remnant. Final judgement was passed, and Salem was destroyed; however, Ruby disappeared in the ensuing chaos and was never found.

When the dust from the war settled, society had collapsed utterly—over one eighth of Remnant’s population had died, and those that were left behind were left to pick up the pieces. Memorials were constructed, and society was slowly rebuilt in the ensuing ten years.

Shortly after the conflict’s conclusion, it was discovered that small portions of the world’s population could use magic. These “Magisters” would slowly become more common in the ensuing years, with almost all children born after the war’s end being capable of using the power stolen so long before.

## Character Status

As it is pertinent to mention with regards to the timeline’s history, the following characters are deceased in SR-X:

* Ruby Rose
* Both Qrow and Raven Branwen
* Any character that dies in the course of events of the Prime Timeline
* Taiyang Xiao Long
* Most Beacon staff, sans Bartholomew Oobleck
* Weiss Schnee
* All members of Salem’s faction, save Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai

Notably, Pyrrha Nikos and Roman Torchwick survived the Fall of Beacon. As a result, Pyrrha is the present Fall Maiden.