Remnant is burning, under attack by the armies of Grimm. Grimm under control of a dark figure, who had revealed himself to the world shortly after the initial attacks. (Y/N) (L/N) 'The Prince of Grimm' initially the Ace of Spades. Who had previously dethroned Salem in a stunning victory.

Thanks to his efforts, the world of Remnant had assumed that the Grimm threat had finally disappeared for good. Huntsmen had been mostly disarmed and most had retired from duty.

The initial offensive had targeted the most lenient of the four kingdoms. Vacuo. The shut-down academy had been abandoned and was occupied easily, the headmaster killed and fed to the Grimm hordes. The academy was strategically valuable for one specific reason. The relic it housed, (Y/N) was aiming to gain the Relic of Destruction from the vaults.

Vacuo's evacuation was mostly successful, it's civilian population having been airlifted out by both Valean and Atlesian fleets in a joint operation. Those who had been unfortunate enough to have been left behind were either made subjects or consumed by the Grimm.

With Vacuo having fallen, a mighty, international alliance was formed once more between the kingdoms of Vale, Atlas and Mistral. With the prime goal of Vacuo's liberation and reintegration with the civilized world.

The massive offensive by mobilized military, militia and huntsmen teams had failed. Air fleets were attacked by swarms of Nevermore, boarded by various species of Grimm who had rode in on said Nevermore. Ground forces found themselves facing colossal massed charges and being surrounded by massive groups of Grimm on the mostly flat and featureless desert. Even the best of huntsmen eventually ran out of spirit and aura to continue fighting. It was only with the sacrifice of many that pockets of soldiers and huntsmen were able to be relieves and airlifted out of the mess.

Veterans of Operation Thistle were few from initial numbers mustered beforehand, among them was Team RWBY. Who were assigned to aerial defence, they had defended Atlesian Light Cruiser 'Frigid' to the best of their abilities from boarders while they watched armies below them slaughtered en masse. The sight was ultimately demoralizing for them and those who survived.

Among the dead were plenty, Qrow Branwen bravely held against thousands of Grimm to distract them from fleeing troops and fellow huntsmen. Bionic defender Penny Polendina was worn down and annihilated by the swarms of Nevermore. Most of Atlas' best operatives were lost in the offensive, the very name Thistle became associated with complete disaster from then on.

Grimm had never before displayed any signs of tactical intelligence, the massive defeat of Operation Thistle had demoralized the entirety of Remnant. To the point where many people began to call this new group of Grimm. 'The Black Horde' associating them to an actual military entity.

Slowly, cities began to turn into fortresses. Walls had been erected in order to defend against the Black Horde, manned mostly by huntsmen, Atlesian expeditionary corps and volunteers.

The Grimm could almost always be seen stalking at the edges of forests. Probing the defences for any weaknesses, strangely they had not shown any signs of their typical behaviour: attraction to negative emotions. Unbeknownst to the defenders, they were simply waiting for their master's cue.

A year later, things couldn't be in a worse state. Menagerie is currently under a military junta in the form of the newly formed Ebony Claw, a radical anti-human party supported and armed by (Y/N). Mistral is dealing with a costly and heavy siege, supplies from Atlas were dwindling due to the massive Dust shortage thanks to previous efforts made by (Y/N). Vale is mostly under occupation by the Black Horde; save for the walled in city, isolated villages had been either evacuated or overrun. Atlas has remained mostly intact, but even their mighty military is finding themselves stretched thin by the worldwide conflict. The added pressure of having to simultaneously arm and train the Valean and Mistralian militias have strained Atlesian capabilities to it's limit.

General Steelheart of Atlas recently raised Conscription levels to lengths never seen before. To cope with Atlas' increasing manpower problems, which haven't sat well with the population of the rich kingdom.

As of now, (Y/N) (L/N) faces down the entire world, will there be any stopping him?