Great War

On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself. The Great War, also referred to simply as The War, was a significant conflict that occurred eighty years before the events of RWBY.

The war was a battle between two alliances, the Kingdoms of Vale and Vacuo against the Kingdoms of Mantle and Atlas. It is said to have been driven by ideology, with those opposed to diversity defeated by those who sought to preserve it. It is unknown which alliance fought for individualism and which opposed it.

The Great War preceded the Faunus Rights Revolution, a conflict over racial politics, by several years. However, no specific time frame has been provided.

Background
In "Field Trip", the War is elaborated upon by Professor Ozpin during a speech to an assembly of students from all four kingdoms. The War is stated to have been the largest conflict in recorded history, and was fought for "countless reasons", though chief amongst them was the concept of individualism. The outbreak of war is attributed to the suppression of self-expression and the destruction of art. All four kingdoms were involved in the bloodshed. It is unknown which of the kingdoms sought to either suppress or preserve individuality.

Ultimately, those in favor of the preservation of individualism prevailed, and the four warring Kingdoms met on the small island of Vytal to discuss an end to the war. Today, Remnant enjoys peace and "unity through diversity". This diversity is celebrated in cultural events such as the Vytal Festival, named after the place where the peace was brokered.

Those who opposed the destruction of individualism made it a part of their legacy by naming their children after the fundamental aspect of art, color, to demonstrate that they and future generations would always oppose oppression, a trend that continues into the present era.

The aftermath of the Great War led to the creation of the Huntsman Academies in each of the four Kingdoms; Beacon Academy in Vale, Shade Academy in Vacuo, Haven Academy in Mistral and Atlas Academy in Mantle. The intended purpose of the academies was to train Huntsmen and Huntresses, warriors whose sole purpose would be to fight the Grimm, and whose allegiance would not be tied to the Kingdoms. However, some time after the end of the Great War, Mantle fell and was succeeded by the Kingdom of Atlas, and the government, military and academy were combined.



Jaune Arc reveals in "The Shining Beacon" that his sword and shield, Crocea Mors, were passed down from his great-great-grandfather, who used it to fight in "the War". The simplistic design of Crocea Mors in comparison to other weapons seen in the series may give some clues as to the nature of the weaponry used in the war.

In "A Minor Hiccup", Weiss Schnee explains that in the aftermath of the Great War, the Kingdom of Atlas developed and shared the Cross Continental Transmit System in order to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another more effectively.

Trivia

 * The War provides an in-universe explanation for the "Color Naming Rule" of the RWBY universe. These guidelines, set by Monty Oum, state that all characters and team names in RWBY must have a name that is either a color, sounds like a color, means a color or is otherwise evocative of a color.