Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-14138255-20160103163552/@comment-26206856-20160106012047

Where to?

@BenRG

I sorta spelled out my thoughts on the rest of the season here.

Worldbuilding (Black Dragon Continent and Grimm)

As for the Black Dragon Continent, we know the only reason the 4 kingdoms have survived are because of their natural barriers. I'ts also very treacherous terrain on it's own (mostly mountains and dense forest) from what I can gather from the map behind Adam in V3Ep7. Keep in mind that humans are not originally from Remnant. They were born from dust, and conquered those (the Grimm) that were already there and tried to suppress them.

Legends. Stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts, of a forgotten past.

[Fairy tales are real, and are recollections of the exploits of heroes and villains. We forget that there are other (possibly god-like) things that far preceed us, and that we are the byproducts of.]

Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful, but he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness — creatures of destruction — the creatures of Grimm - set their sights on man and all of his creations. These forces clashed, and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to the void.

[Man was born from dust (possibly not "Dust", but ash, etc.), and born into a world of terrors - Grimm. (We are the agressors invading their original territory) ]

However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change, and in time, man's passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds. This power was appropriately named "Dust". Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness, and in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life.

[Hope fuels humanity. Using our resourcefullness and cunning, we invented, and created things that eventually led us to find Dust (convenient wordplay) and figure out how to use it. Nature's wrath (elemental powers of dust) in hand, we destroyed the darkness (Grimm) and lit up the cities. Within the safe haven of 'light', we thrive.]

But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone... darkness will return. So you may prepare your guardians, build your monuments to a so-called "free world", but take heed... there will be no victory in strength.

[Hope, light, dust; they are fickle things that can be lost or run out, and when there's nothing left to fuel them (why is Cinder stealing a ton of Dust again?), the darkness consumes (grimm overtake humanity). So, prepare, worship, and enjoy your heros and accomplishments, but know that it's not strength that will win. Time and resources can limit you and push you into a losing battle.]

But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul.

[Ozpin conceeds that power/strength is not the way to go. Instead, there is something that has been long forgotten (chivalry, hah!) and can be pulled from a smaller, honest soul. (Leadership, innocence, hope, or some magical asspull we get down the line from Ruby)

 Mercury's Dad

It's clear Cinder and Em watched a fight from the treeline. Anyone wanna speculate on if Em tricked at least one of them to kick off the fight so Cinder could see who was best? I still say Em asked Ozpin about the 'apprentice' thing, most likely under disguise. Maybe my hearing's just lost or they ran out of voice actors for her to ask the question to. It's clear Em felt that an extra assassin wasn't necessary, or maybe she didn't like the fact that he wasn't wholly loyal to Cinder, and was just looking to get something out of the teamup for himself.

Pyrrah's Metallic Leg and The WF Overrunning the Civil Rights Ceremony

I think the only way Pyrrha will realize anything is up is by the amount of metal something has. She controls polarity, so the only thing she will be able to discern is how much force it takes to move something which is dependent on how much metal there is. More metal should make it harder to manipulate/ easier to move depending on the specifics of the talent. Since it seems she has to touch something to harmonize it with her semblance to get it to move, I imagine it takes some aura to harmonize, and then once it's all set, it's easier to move. In Mercury's case, she may realize theres a lot more metal there, but as someone else mentioned, it could be easily glossed over with the thinking of it's a large metal boot.

To me, it sounds like the Faunus were holding a civil rights protest at a ceremony. The ceremony they were protesting was then attacked by members of the WF who were hiding amongst the protestors. I also wouldn't be surprised if someone like the Schnees or an evildoer paid off some regular faunus to do it and claim they were WF members in order to villainize the WF even more. This would serve as fuel to keep the separation going, to help turn both humans and faunice against the WF since they are no longer peaceful, and also to deter more faunice from joining the WF in the first place.