Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-14138255-20160103163552/@comment-24994749-20160103231933

Sentry 616 wrote: I agree. It seems to me like the Maidens' powers can be theoretically replicated with enough of the right kinds of Dust and skill. Well, if we look at it that way, then I suppose the thing about wielding unimaginable power could be more in the sense that the average person depends of Dust to hope to survive against the Grimm, aura can keep you up in a pinch but the weponization of Dust has been pointed to be what really put the fight on even terms.

Against this, Maidens don't need Dust and can continue fighting with a depleted Aura. Maybe they were the reason why people survived long enough to discover Dust.