Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-24994749-20140808215337/@comment-24994749-20140926052140

So, in the new episode, we get another mention about a war, this time with an specific timeline setting its end 80 years before the end of the current arc. We are also told this was a war that faced the 4 kingdoms against each other. And it gives us some of the reasons that caused it:

- "it was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression."

- "about much more than when borders fell or who traded with who."

- "the countless destruction of all forms of art, or expression."

Now, a war facing the 4 kingdoms against each other sounds like it matches the idea of the Great War mentioned by Weiss, particularly because Ozpin says this was "the largest war in recorded history".

Drawing parallels to our own world's history, the 1st World War was called the Great War and, alongside World War 2 gained the title of "World War" because (thought mainly waged among European countries+the USA and Japan) it affected all the world. You would think that in the RWBYverse, a war literally facing the only four existing civilizations against each other would qualify to be then called "Great War".

Now then, this happened only 80 years ago. If this was the Great War, it means Atlas built the CCT only 80 years ago.

Now, the question is, what detonated the war?

The destruction of art forms can have simply been the way the governments of the kingdoms acted to prevent their citizens to oppose the war, since our worlds history shows us that art is the preferable way through which people express and spread ideals. So censorship or art sounds logical.

So I think, that the war was indeed detonated by "greed" or problems of "who traded with who" and maybe kingdoms trying to invade the borders of others to reclaim land (cough)(Atlas)(cough). Surely, to encourage people to support the war, governments might have promoted xenophobia [hence "ignorance"], censorship and oppression of any political or ideological party that wanted peace probably became a thing... and then of course it was the turn of art.