Dust


 * For the World of Remnant episode of the same name, see RWBY: World of Remnant/Dust.



Dust is a source of energy in Remnant. The physical properties of Dust make it incredibly useful for a variety of purposes, particularly in the weapons of many characters in the series.

The name "Dust" is implied to be a reference to the primordial state from which mankind was born. As a natural resource, it is sometimes poetically referred to as "Nature's Wrath" or more prosaically as an energy propellant.

History


According to ancient legends recounted during the opening narration of "Ruby Rose," mankind was fighting a losing struggle with creatures of darkness known as the Grimm. However, through their resourcefulness and ingenuity, humanity managed to discover and harness a source of power they named "Dust" in order to battle the Grimm.

The advent of Dust became the turning point in the war. It would appear that after mankind drove back the Grimm and built civilizations, Dust became integrated into everyday life within Remnant.

Despite its widespread use and prevalence in society, humanity has yet to understand the origins or the implications of their involvement with Dust.

Description




Dust is known as a naturally occurring energy propellant triggered by the Aura of Humans and Faunus. It exists in four basic variations that can be combined both artificially and naturally to form new and stronger types, each with their own unique properties. In "The Shining Beacon," Weiss Schnee also names Water and Energy as potential Dust types. Different colors of Dust appear to correspond to their different natures or effects.

Dust can be found in two discrete states, crystalline and powdered. Both crystalline and powdered Dust are known to be highly explosive. For example, during the Dust store robbery, Roman Torchwick threw a crystal at Ruby Rose's feet and fired at it, causing a sizable explosion. The powdered form appears to be even more volatile, since something as innocuous as a sneeze is enough to detonate a cloud of Dust.

Colors


Dust comes in numerous colors, such as red, blue, yellow, green, cyan, white, purple, bright orange and dark orange. The four basic colors are red, blue, yellow, and green. Each color has its own unique property.


 * Red = Fire
 * Dark Blue = Ice
 * Yellow = Lightning
 * Green = Wind
 * Bright Orange = Lava

Uses
Dust serves as a power source for all facets of technology in Remnant, from airships to androids. However, Dust can still be used without the aid of weapons or machines and unleashed in its raw form, such as lightning.

Technology powered by Dust is known to glow.

Combat


The discovery of Dust was instrumental to humanity's initial defeat of the Grimm, and Dust continues to be used extensively in combat. Dust can be harnessed in a variety of ways, but when used in its raw form, its full potential requires both an Aura and the intelligence to use it, meaning Humans, Faunus, and certain artificial beings, such as Penny, are the only ones who are able to effectively use it for combat.

Dust bullets, however, are much simpler to use, merely requiring the user to pull the trigger. Ruby's weapon, Crescent Rose, has also been mentioned to use rounds containing different kinds of Dust. Torchwick also makes reference to Dust rounds as being amongst the merchandise he stole, in the episode "Best Day Ever." It is mentioned that such rounds come in several different sizes and cartridges to be used for any given situation.

While this form is the most common and easiest way to use Dust in battle, it can also be used in its raw form, which is described as being "elegant, yet destructive" in nature and requiring a certain level of discipline to maintain control over. More archaic uses for Dust as a weapon include weaving it into clothes or directly implanting it into the wielder's body.

One prominent example of raw Dust usage is Weiss Schnee's Multi-Action Dust Rapier, Myrtenaster, which contains vials of numerous colors of powdered Dust in its revolving chamber. She can allow Dust to flow from an exhaust port onto Myrtenaster's blade to augment her attacks, such as casting fire from her blade. She can also use her glyphs to manipulate how Dust flows and manifests. She has demonstrated this ability numerous times with ice Dust by manipulating what shape the ice would take.

In "Field Trip," it is also speculated by Ironwood that Cinder Fall utilizes Dust, which glows orange, woven into her clothing as a weapon. Cinder's use of dust also seems to allow her to generate dual black glass swords, which can be converted into a bow as well.



Another novel usage of Dust is in the episode "No Brakes," where Blake Belladonna inserts Dust vials into her main weapon, Gambol Shroud, and uses it in conjunction with her Semblance. While normally her Shadow images are simply evanescent copies of her, with Dust they take on the properties of an element, such as stone statues, ice sculptures, or explosive fiery apparitions.

During the combat tournament of the Vytal Festival, Dust crystals are said to be scattered throughout the arena for combatants to use.

Production and Distribution


The Schnee Dust Company is one of the largest producers of Dust in the world. Dust is mined from the Schnee Quarry, purified, and transported by railway lines or by sea to distributors. Dust is then sold to the public by Dust shops such as From Dust Till Dawn.

Crystalline Dust is apparently safe enough to leave out on display openly, whereas powdered Dust is dispensed from tubes on the wall and stored in portable cylindrical canisters. Bags that have been seen on store shelves have the same bright hues as the tubes and their Dust, but whether they contain Dust themselves is unknown.

Much like real world resources, Dust has been said to be a limited resource.

Trivia

 * Since most other elements and characters in RWBY have literary or historical backgrounds, the name "Dust" might be influenced by the strange and mysterious substance also called Dust found in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials novels.
 * Creator Monty Oum has compared Dust to Materia from the Final Fantasy video game series.