Silver-Eyed Warrior

Back before Huntsmen, before Kingdoms, it was said that those born with silver eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior. You see, the Creatures of Grimm, the most fearsome monsters mankind had ever encountered, were afraid of those Silver-Eyed warriors. They were the best of the best. It was said that even a single look from one of these fighters could strike a Grimm down.

Silver-Eyed Warriors are an ancient lineage of legendary warriors who possessed special abilities through the usage of their eyes.

Background
It is the desire to preserve life which fuels the light inside you. And to make no mistake, it is light. Preservation is an extension of creation, or, at the very least, an enemy of destruction. The Creatures of Grimm were made by the God of Darkness, but your light comes from his brother.Silver-Eyed Warriors are a lineage group whose origins predates the establishment of both Huntsmen and Kingdoms. According to legend, those born with silver eyes are said to be destined to lead the life of a warrior. Silver eyes themselves are a very rare trait in the modern world. Maria Calavera suspects that reason for this rarity is that someone is actively hunting them down.

With most of the information on the Silver Eyes largely rooted in myths and legends, true accounts or knowledge of their powers are rather difficult to find. The most consistent traits among these stories are that the eyes themselves are special and the people who possess them are fighters of unprecedented prowess.

The God of Light was the originator of the Silver Eyes. His dragon form has silver eyes, and he is able to emit a bright light that destroys Grimm.

Powers and Abilities


Silver-Eyed Warriors have powers that are fueled by strong desires to preserve life.

As preservation is considered an extension of creation, Silver Eyes can only work against Grimm, as they are manifestations of destruction. Legend has it that Silver-Eyed Warriors are able to strike down Grimm with a single look. According to Maria, Silver Eyes can turn Grimm to stone, blind them, or vaporize them. In "End of the Beginning", Ruby Rose is told that when she unleashed her power, she "froze" the Wyvern atop Beacon's tower. It is later known that she did so by turning it to stone. Although immobilized, the Wyvern was not killed outright by Ruby's powers, and remains alive, continuing to draw Grimm to the area. In the past, Maria used her eyes on a Nevermore, turning it into stone.

When used against the Apathy, a single flash from Ruby's eyes momentarily broke their power. She also showed a degree of immunity against the Grimm's abilities.

In some cases, these powers can be turned against Human opponents as well, judging by the debilitating injuries Ruby inflicts upon Cinder Fall. It is stated by Salem that Cinder was especially susceptible to her powers because of her attainment of the Fall Maiden powers, but does not elaborate any further on this. The second use of her powers, though not at full effect, are enough to hurt Cinder, who grabs her Grimm arm in pain.

Exactly how the powers manifest is not known beyond the fact that blinding streams of light, almost resembling wings, or a radial flash of light can come from the wielder's eyes. For the first few times, Ruby used her powers when her friends were in potentially fatal situations. But under Maria's guidance, Ruby is able to use her powers with control.

Upon being used, the user is not invulnerable to being hurt or interrupted, as Emerald Sustrai was easily able to knock out Ruby when she used her powers.

According to Maria, the key to using the power of one's silver eyes is to focus on the relationship the wielder has with their loved ones and protecting them. This is consistent with the reactive uses of Ruby's eyes in the past. Because the power can only activate in the presence of Grimm, it is difficult to train to use outside of in the face real danger. However, one can create a state of mind to tap into when the power is needed.

History


The first mention of the eyes comes in "Ruby Rose", when Ozpin comments about the color of Ruby's eyes. According to Qrow Branwen, the abilities of those with silver eyes are not well known outside certain circles.

In "End of the Beginning", after witnessing Pyrrha Nikos' death, Ruby uses her powers for the first time, wounding Cinder and freezing the Wyvern, but she collapses afterward. After she wakes up, Qrow explains to her the legend of the Silver-Eyed Warriors and that, like her mother, Summer Rose, she is descended from them.



Hazel Rainart, a member of Salem's faction, claims that they have successfully "dealt with" Silver-Eyed Warriors before, criticizing Cinder for losing to a novice. Another member, Arthur Watts, agrees, claiming that even without the Maiden's power it should have been easy. However, Salem states that Cinder's attainment of the Fall Maiden's powers gave her a crippling weakness to the Silver-Eyed Warriors' powers, although the nature of this weakness is not stated.

In "The More the Merrier", the fight between Cinder and Jaune Arc causes Ruby's powers to activate once more, unleashing a brief blinding light from her eyes that engulfs the room, but she is knocked out by Emerald almost instantly. The effect, however, is enough to briefly cripple Cinder, causing her to fall down, her weapon to vanish, and grabbing her implanted Grimm arm in pain.



In "Alone in the Woods", upon seeing Blake Belladonna about to be killed by an Apathy, Ruby once again unleashes her powers to push back the Grimm and get Belladonna away. When they attack again, Maria learns of Ruby's silver eyes and tells the girl to focus on the thought of the people who love her and how they make her feel.

Ruby then activates her powers again, this time with more control. The horde are then destroyed, leaving everyone inside stunned. While the group escapes from Brunswick Farms, Maria reveals that she once had such eyes before losing them to Tock, which she retaliated by beheading her moments later.

In "Dead End", Maria teaches Ruby what she knows about the eyes, including the source of their power being the preservation of life. She tells her not to think of her eyes' light as a means to destroy evil, but rather as a means to protect the people of Remnant.

In "Our Way", Ruby decides to use her eyes on the Leviathan approaching Argus. She focuses her thoughts on the people she cares about, as memories flash through her mind. This fails at first due to remembering the deaths of Pyrrha and Penny Polendina, but then she manages to concentrate on the happy memories, the last one be that of her mother, before her eyes activate. She successfully petrifies the Leviathan, however it manages to free its head before it is finished off by the Colossus.

Trivia

 * Silver eyes have small white lines in the iris, which is a detail that no other eyes have. This serves as a good indicator of the difference between silver and gray eyes.
 * The Volume 2 Opening puts great emphasis on Ruby's eyes, foreshadowing the eventual reveal of the Silver-Eyed Warriors.
 * Similarly, the Volume 6 Opening zooms in on both Ruby and Maria's eyes, hinting at their significance.
 * According to Miles Luna, there is no official name for Silver-Eyed Warriors. He did dub them "Sparkly Dazzlers".