Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-12443850-20130728193835/@comment-4830106-20130729164209

Ok, screw it. I'm posting my full theory anyway so I can reveal it all without having to do so in multiple comments.

In the beginning the Schnee family was for all appearances normal, and happy. Weiss' father (let's call him "Raureif" for "Frost") genuinely loved her mother ("Diamant" or "Dia" for "Diamond"), which is extremely rare in a political marriage. Raureif himself was a good guy, but he wasn't afraid to make a dirty deal every now and then if it kept his family safe. Although Weiss and Raureif had some issues every now and then, Dia would always be there to mediate. Dia saw musical talent in Weiss at a young age, and worked hard to foster her singing ability. These personal music sessions helped Dia and Weiss become very close.

When Weiss was seven, Dia died of an unknown but extremely virulent disease. Naturally, Dia's passing was devastating to Raureif, who vowed never to remarry. Weiss didn't take it very well either; she abandoned the traditional hairstyle that had been worn by the Schnee heiress, in favor of her current ponytail.

Raureif soon became cold and distant, his morals graudally fading. He had fewer qualms about unethical business procedures than before, his rationale being: "If this is the world that took my wife from me, it is not a place for mercy." Weiss continued singing on her own, as her only form of remembering her mother. Desperately lonely, Weiss quickly formed a strong friendship with her father's head of security, Uhlan. Uhlan had lost his own daughter to a disease similar to the one that killed Dia, and took Weiss under his wing easily. Weiss had already been skilled with the rapier, as it was custom for her social class, but it was Uhlan who taught her how to use Dust.

Inevitably, Raureif noticed the bond between Weiss and Uhlan, and came to the conclusion that it was a problem. Rather than acting immediately, he pretended to be pleased that Weiss had found a combat teacher (and he sort of was, since he only had to pay Uhlan once), all the while biding his time to avoid his daughter's suspicion. When Weiss was eleven, Uhlan died in a 'freak Red Dust malfunction". Weiss was crushed by this second loss, but continued to train with Dust and weapon combat despite her growing depression. Acting quickly, Raureif filled the H of S vacancy with a flamboyant and charismatic young man named Roman Torchwick.

Weiss took an immediate dislike to Roman, as her father had predicted. Over the next few years, Weiss' loneliness and despair began to become overpowering. She lost her former enthusiasm and cheerfulness, and simply repressed all of her negative emotions. Weiss was now taciturn and rebellious, with an angry streak that appeared all too often when speaking with Raureif. She often took her anger out on her servants, and began to come across as arrogant and stuck-up to those who had not known her before. In addition, Weiss lost all concern in the Schnee Company's business, so she was completely ignorant of the growing cloud of controversy surrounding her family.

Meanwhile, Raureif had noticed significant drops in overall profits since his hiring of Roman Torchwick, forcing him to cut back on many of his workers' benefits, tighten security, and employ the local fauna, albeit at extremely reduced wages. Raureif correctly surmised that Roman had been embezzling. Ever the opportunist, however, Raureif made a secret deal with Roman, allowing Roman to continue stealing from the company, only in the persona of a crime lord--the stipulation being that 75% of the stolen Dust went directly to Schnee Company's Board of Directors. Roman, who had very nearly lost his job and been exposed as criminal at the same time, was all too eager to agree. After a large public display of Roman being fired, he lay low for several years, and then resurfaced as the notorious crime lord currently in the series.

Despite his vow never to remarry, Raureif began having affairs with some of his female interns, one of which produced a male child. With this new variable, Raureif began to carefully form a plan that involved eliminating his increasingly problematic daughter, then acknowledging his illegitimate son whom he could then name as the heir. Weiss, fourteen, had by now forged Myrtenaster, and was regarded as a combat prodigy. She continued her singing, but only privately when no one was around to hear her. Weiss began to frequent abandoned areas of the Castle, especially a place called "The Cathedral" that she used to sing or practice fighting without attention. Raureif expressly forbade Weiss to go there, saying only: "Our family has many enemies, and there's a reason no one uses that room anymore."

While developing and discarding strategies to remove Weiss, Raureif came across a lore textbook that was written after one of the first wars against the Grim. The book mentioned a substance called "Smoke", a corrupted form of White Dust which the Grim cultists used to animate artificial constructs. Raureif paid a visit to the overseer of the Red Forest facility (the company's largest and most secure), and discussed in detail the method for producting a suitable quantity of Smoke. After the procedure was successfully developed by the overseer and a few scientists, Raureif appropriated the Smoke and put the overseer's team on a cargo train bound to a different facility--a cargo train that Raureif's underground sources had warned him would be attacked by one "Adam", an infamous Anti-Schnee Company terrorist possibly in the employ of White Fang.

With the Smoke in hand and the evidence presumably erased, Raureif soon went to work on one of the many massive suits of armor in the White Castle, planning to have one ambush--and hopefully--kill Weiss in one of her many visits to the Cathedral. The combination worked, and the next time Weiss entered the Cathedral, she was attacked by an animate set of "Giant Armor". As we know, Weiss defeated the Armor, only suffering a face wound in the process. However, Weiss passed out from blood loss after the fight and came to in the Castle's infirmary. Raureif, privately furious that his plan had been foiled, angrily scolded Weiss for disobeying him and going to the Cathedral. Weiss began to get suspicious about her father's true intentions.

While Weiss was recovering, Raureif explained to her that the Giant Armor attack was orchestrated by White Fang terrorists, using security footage from the cargo train attack as his proof of the family's new enemy. Weiss wasn't sure her father was telling her everything, but she accepted his explanation for the time being. Raureif also used this time to tell Weiss that she was nearly sixteen, and therefore of marriageable age. In order to showcase her to potential suitors, Raureif planned a concert to which all of Vale's upper-class citizenry would be invited, and in which his daughter would be the centerpiece. Weiss was horrified, not only at the prospect of a political marriage arranged by her father, but that her singing--her only link to her happier self--would be defiled in the process. Weiss attempted many times to refuse, but Raureif won out in the end, threatening to melt down Myrtenaster if she did not comply. At the concert, Weiss played her part as the meek and obedient daughter, an experience which traumatized her and caused her to lose even more faith in humanity.

After carefully sabotaging the fourth marriage offer since the concert (and humiliating Raureif), Weiss came up with a foolproof plan to rid herself of her father's schemes: attend the prestigious Beacon Academy and become a Huntress. Weiss informed her father of her plan--after he had seen her acceptance letter come in the mail. Pretending to be outraged, Raureif was inwardly pleased; combat training is inherently dangerous, and it would be all too easy to arrange an "accident" on the grounds or in the arena, given his substantial resources. Raureif eventually relented and allowed Weiss to attend Beacon, but not before sternly reminding her: "You will not disgrace the family name at Beacon. I expect you to carry yourself as per your social standing, and know that I am only providing for you because I expect you to come to your senses and abandon all this 'Huntress' nonsense. I trust you know better than to disappoint me." I'm more than likely completely wrong about this, but this is just my interpretation of how things are going to turn out.