Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-121.217.64.33-20141123100117/@comment-10390252-20150217111813

JayHart wrote: Was that village outside the Kingdom, though, or was it more of an extension of Vale? That wasn't made clear. However, I got the impression from the WoR on the Kingdoms that they are basically single city-states surrounded by protected farmland. So, something that isn't essentially in Vale would be outside the Kingdom. Although still under the protection of the Huntsmen, I imagine even large and nearby settlements don't get any help from the City-States themselves.

I would be interested to know where the borders of Vale City-State lie. Is Beacon (which is surrounded by Grimm-infested forests) within the City or a safe zone within the Wilds? What about Patch Island? Signal Academy seems to be there but, once again, there are an awful lot of Grimm around for it to be within the Kingdom's defences.

I suspect that, as well as the City-States themselves, there are many older, moderately clear and secure towns outside the Walls where the threat from the Creatures of Grimm is at least under control. Although not part of the City of Vale itself, these may look towards Vale for government and the provision of civil services and may even be the centres of largely-secure agricultural areas that supply the cities.

As for the village? I imagine that it is part of the 'third ring' of human settlement. It is newer than the towns but still not as insecure as the nomad settlements. However, it is far from secure and that is why, on occasion, when the locals' resources are overwhelmed, they need the support of the Huntsmen.

I still think that Ren has a personal stake in this mission, BTW. I, personally, think that the guru/sensei who taught him is special moves lives there and the old man/woman (could it be Yue?) will turn out to be a significant figure in the development of both JNPR and, later, RWBY. I also wonder if he/she once had a brilliant student named Cinder Fall. Unfortunately, she gave into her hate...