Forged Destiny [Book 1: Ch. 1, Ch. 5], Coeur Al'Aran: The Professor Arc Forum

With a growl of my own I dropped Crocea Mors, slamming my free hand down on the upper snout of the Grimm trying to tear my limb off. Its eyes narrowed, but as my fingers dipped under its teeth, I started to wrench its jaws apart. The other one was hardly about to ignore an invitation like that and I let out a howl of pain as teeth bit down into my shoulder.

One at a time, that was the way to do it. Methodical and measured, just like forging a blade. With its teeth now prised off my arm I was able to use my freed hand to grab the lower jaw, keeping its mouth open. Had it actually looked like a dog there might have been some sympathy within me, but with red eyes and white mask, there was none as my muscles bulged, pulling swiftly apart. I didn't even perceive the ruined mess I'd made, too focused on the last creature, which was tearing chunks out of my aura.

"Get off me!" My hands settled on the nape of its neck, reaching over my shoulder to nestle in the thick muscle. With a violent heave its teeth were torn free, leaving pierce marks in my armour as it hurtled through the air. It yelped as it landed, bouncing twice before rolling back onto its feet. My fingers kicked up dirt as they slammed into the ground, grasping Crocea Mors once more.

"Let's see how you do when it's one on one!"

It snarled and shook its head, flecks of my own blood shaking off its teeth. My aura was mending the damage, or at least it stopped the bleeding. Aura itself wouldn't recover until I could rest or receive treatment, and if I ran out of that then my life was over.

—Forged Destiny [Book 1: Ch. 3]



"This will be a temporary curse," she explained. "It will cause any damage you inflict to add an additional status effect which simulates the damage you would have received in combat. It will also cause complete paralysis when you reach 40% of your aura reserves, at which point the fight is considered over. In addition, I will be casting a field over the arena to mute the effects of spells. While they will still work, their offensive capabilities will be lessened and I shall imbue a complete null zone over the arena should I believe there is a risk of injury."

"Why don't we just use aura?" Some brave soul in the crowd asked. "Couldn't we just stop at whatever level you tell us to?" Miss Goodwitch didn't seem displeased by the question, and now that I thought about it, this was probably something she had to deal with every year.

"This is an added safety measure," she said. "While it is true that aura, or health as some people like to refer to it, can be used to dictate a fight, there is always a chance that someone might misrepresent their reserves or choose to endanger themselves by fighting on. Your precise aura level is tied to your Constitution and is therefore not something I, or anyone else, can judge at a distance. It would be very easy for someone to drain and kill themselves in what should be a friendly spar. The curse I will apply shall prevent this ever happening, and should there be any injuries our resident Priest, Kitsune, is on hand."

—Forged Destiny [Book 1: Ch. 5]



Aura is a thing, yes - but you could just consider it a word they use to describe HP. Jaune is able to tell his own, as are others with their own and their stats.

—Coeur Al'Aran, The Professor Arc Forum: Arc Royal Discussion: Comment #286
—Source: https://www.fanfiction.net/topic/189701/152955139/10/Forged-Destiny-Discussion
—Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20200515025722/https://www.fanfiction.net/topic/189701/152955139/10/Forged-Destiny-Discussion
—Screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/rGLEOzn.png