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It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war.

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Crocea Mors[2] is Jaune Arc's signature weapon. Jaune has stated that it was passed down from his great-great-grandfather, who used it in the Great War. It is first seen in the episode "Ruby Rose" of Volume 1.

During "The Final Word", Crocea Mors' blade was shattered by Cinder Fall, after being used to kill Penny Polendina. However, Jaune continues to fight with his broken weapon in Ever After.

Description[]

Both the sword and the shield are shown to be incredibly durable, despite apparently being forged several generations prior to the present day. The sword is sharp enough to decapitate an Ursa Major, and the shield is sturdy enough to withstand several direct blows from an Ursa, a Death Stalker, and The Executioner with no apparent damage.

Sword[]

The sword itself is a simple arming sword[3] with a blue handle and a golden cross-guard.

Sheath/Heater Shield[]

Jaune can transform the sheath into a heater shield for combat. The shield is white with a gold trim, displaying Jaune's emblem in the center. His explanation for a shield's transformation is that when his arm gets tired of carrying it, he can shrink it down. However, when Ruby Rose points out that it would still weigh the same, Jaune sheepishly concedes the point. The shield appears to deploy with significant force, enough for its tips to embed themselves in a wooden doorway in "Jaunedice" or be used as a doorstop as demonstrated in "Dreams Come Rued".

Anima Upgrade[]

The sword now has a heavier and more elaborate cross-guard and hilt. The shield is also accented with gold, including a design similar to Pyrrha's circlet at the point of the shield. The scuffs and scratches on both have also been mended, and the sword's blade has been polished to a new shine.

Due to the modifications, the sheath now possesses the ability to become a wider blade for the sword by extending the sharpened edges of the shield, becoming a longsword. Doing so adds the weight of a shield behind Jaune's blows and allows him to wield it two-handed, increasing the force of his attacks.

Atlas Upgrade[]

When Jaune, along with the other heroes, arrived in Atlas, they received upgrades to their weapons. Jaune's shield has been upgraded with Dust capabilities. Whenever said Dust is activated, the emblem in the center of the shield glows the same color. The first upgrade used was Hard-Light Dust, which extends to the sides, making the shield wider, and thus increasing defensive range. Gravity Dust can also be released from the face of a shield to propel himself in a direction, break falls, blast enemies backwards, and even bounce on it. Combining the two allows Jaune to use his shield as a paraglider of sorts to further slow his fall.

History[]

Jaune has stated that Crocea Mors had been passed down through generations from his great-great-grandfather, who used it in the Great War. Various nicks and scratches could be seen on the blade and a shield, indicating this long time of usage.

In "The Next Step", Crocea Mors and Jaune's armor were upgraded using either the broken remains of Miló and Akoúo̱; the weapons of the late Pyrrha Nikos, her circlet or both. The upgrade was made by the blacksmith of a village in Anima as a form of payment for Team RNJR defeating a Geist.

In "Ace Operatives", a shield was upgraded once more when Jaune arrived in Atlas, granting various Dust usage capabilities.

In "The Final Word", after Jaune kills Penny Polendina at her request in order to keep the Winter Maiden powers away from Cinder Fall, the sword's blade is broken by the latter in retaliation.

After entering the Ever After and accidentally time traveling decades into the past with Jaune, Crocea Mors ends up becoming rusted due to years of use as Jaune waits for Team RWBY to inevitably fall into the Ever After. Interestingly, the Gravity Dust function of the shield still works, but it is unknown if the Hard-Light Dust function would still work or not.

In "Of Solitude and Self", before returning to Remnant, Jaune is reverted back to his youth before coming to the Ever After and Crocea Mors returns to its pre-rusted condition. It's unknown if the blade of the sword is still broken or it is also restored.

Trivia[]

  • Crocea Mors is Latin for 'yellow death' and is also the name of Julius Caesar's sword in some legends. Appropriately, the same legends have it becoming embedded in a shield.
  • Before its name was revealed, Crocea Mors was simply called Sword and Shielth by many RWBY fans, using the words "shield" and "sheath" to make a portmanteau. Jaune's voice actor and writer of RWBY, Miles Luna, acknowledged the name created by the fans and used it during the interviews before Monty Oum decided to reveal the true name of his creation via Facebook.
  • The crown on a shield was first added by layout artist Rachel Doda when creating the storyboards for Volume 4. Kerry Shawcross thought it was a perfect touch and decided to include it in the official design.[4]
  • An old blade had the same design as a sword used by the male Huntsman on the statue in Beacon Academy that features a Huntsman, a Huntress, and a Beowolf.
  • In Amity Arena, Boundless Jaune's Christmas outfit paints it green, colors the hilt like a candy cane, puts gold crystals along the flat of the blade, and places a star on the end.
  • Crocea Mors' blade being shattered in "The Final Word" wasn't originally planned, but Eddy Rivas decided to add it while writing the episode.[5]

References[]

  1. Miles Luna's Cameo
  2. Monty Oum's Facebook
  3. Miles Luna's Cameo
  4. Volume 4 Directors' Commentary Chapter 1
  5. RWBY Volume 8 Directors' and Writers' Commentary Chapter 14
Weapons
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