Son of Salem

Son of Salem is a fanfic written by SmugCatWearsHat, and follows Damian Nocturne as he was raised by Salem, and his attendance in Beacon, intending to be used as a spy in Oz's ranks due to his silver eyes, but his loyalty will be tested as he enters Beacon Academy.

## Plot

The story begins in Anima, where a town— which its inhabitants were all Faunus and had silver eyes —appeared to be overrun by Grimm, with the townsfolk trying to fruitlessly curb the Grimm, before one of them used their silver eyes to wipe out half of the Grimm and indirectly attracting Salem herself. After killing the remaining townsfolk, she discovered a baby cot with an owl Faunus newborn. Before she could kill the baby inside it, she considered adopting the baby as a way to strike against Ozpin as she believed that he would not expect a silver-eyed warrior to be a traitor. She then went on with her plan and named the baby *Damian.*

In the Evernight Castle, Damian was trained in the practice hall by his instructors, although Summer appeared and was briefly promised to take him out of the castle. However, she never appeared to take him out, and briefly wondered where everyone went. Eventually, he went over to Salem, who told him that the instructors *"failed in their duties"*.

Later, Tyrian was introduced as one of his instructors, then came along Hazel. Meanwhile, Damian discovered his Semblance, which Hazel helped him to test the limits of it and figure out its reactions to Dust. After a training session, Salem gave Damian a sword/bladed whip, which he gave it a name: *Athame.* He was also given The Dust Launcher — later named *Scourge.*

He was later introduced to Cinder Fall. Salem explained her purpose to him, and Cinder joined the training sessions with him. Eventually, he was briefed at the council room, with Cinder being given the task of acquiring the Fall Maiden while Damian was tasked with gaining a place at Beacon and settling into Vale. Later, Cinder and Damian left the Evernight Castle in a Bullhead, with the journey taking two days with several stops to let the engine rest. The Bullhead stopped several kilometers away from the kingdom of Vale, with Cinder telling Damian that *"At most,* [they] *are acquaintances"* before he took the road to Vale, and entered the city easily with a price of some Lien.

Unable to acquire an apartment immediately, Damian went over to the town hall to get an ID, where he met Aqua, a cat Faunus. He awkwardly went through the ID creation with her, and as he was asked for his full name, he gave himself the surname *Nocturne*. After acquiring the ID, he easily got himself an apartment, and he proceeded to get some food from a stall called *A Simple Wok*, then he went through the information that Aqua provided.

Once he read the information, he discovered the The Changing Seasons Cafe, where he met Neve. Neve offered him a chocolate frappe and a slice of strawberry cake, which Damian enjoyed. Three months later, Cinder arrived at his apartment and greeted Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black — Cinder's pawns.

Later, he arrived at Beacon and did the Huntsman test. He struggled at the combat test, but did better at the written test with his knowledge of Grimm. Several months later, he received a message from Ozpin he'd been accepted. In the following months, he didn't hear very much from Cinder, but Neve helped him to accommodate to the city life. Once he later arrived on the Vale airship bound to Beacon, Cinder, Mercury and Emerald was nowhere to be found, but began to realize something: '*Everyone here was… attractive,'* causing him to be anxious as he felt out of place in the attractive crowd.