Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-4141313-20181127101320

So, something thats been bugging me for a quite some time is the correlation between Ozma's reincarnation and the Maiden Powers.

Now, the connection between them is obvious enough, the Maiden Powers were gifted to the original Maidens, four sisters, by Ozma in his incarnation as the Wizard.

Now, there are plenty of theories that the legend Ozpin told Pyrrha and therefore the World of Remnant episode are fabrications, and that the original four maidens were Ozma and Salem's four daughters, but due to lack of evidence supporting this idea, lets ignore that and instead focus on the World of Remnant.

So, while the Maiden Powers are derived from Ozma's Magic, they seem to be direct offshoots rather than specific aspects

Elements:

Ozma's Abilities originally encompassed the elements, along with both Creation and Destruction, as demonstrated in both his rescuing Salem from the tower, and his clash with Salem later.

The Four Maidens each bask in the ability to use the elements, so far showing the capacity to use Ice, Fire, Lighting, and Wind.

Transfer: They also have a penchant for transferring to someone else upon their users death.

Whenever Ozma died, his abilities would transfer to a "Like Minded" individual, who would also have his soul bound to Ozma's. While Ozma could easily supplant the owner of the Body, as evident by his possessing of the False Gods body, he could just as easily live in harmony with the owner of the host body, as evident by the Father/Inventor, the two shown sharing it.

So how does this correlate to the Maidens? Well, like Ozma, the Maiden powers transfer to someone else upon their current hosts death. Unlike Ozma's powers though, the Maiden power selection is a tad more... specific yet also random. They transfer to whoever the former host last thought of, but they must be female, young in age so roughly younger than 30, and if they don't fulfill either stipulation, the powers head off to someone completely random that does.

So, Why am I pointing out the obvious?

Well, the Maiden powers we know are offshoots of Ozma's powers, and Ozma's powers are bound to his soul due to the deal he made with the God of Light, in that he will endlessly reincarnate until he chooses to summon the Gods back to Remnant. They are finite however, meaning they will eventually run out, his giving the powers to the original Maidens and later letting the Branwen's turn into corvids all but draining him of his magic.

So if Ozma's powers are bound to his soul, wouldn't the Maiden powers also be bound to a soul? A little outlandish, but if they were derived from a source that was bound to a soul, wouldn't they still be bound to a soul later on?

So are you saying they are still bound to Ozma?

No, otherwise Ozma should have been able to reclaim the powers whenever he wanted, and the issue of guarding the Maidens wouldn't be a problem.

No, I'm suggesting that after the Maiden's were gifted the powers, the powers became bound to their souls.

Again, why am I pointing out the obvious? Qrow said so himself back in A Much Needed Talk:

Qrow: Regardless, their souls become combined, in a way.

Well, in that same episode, he told the story of Humanities conception, which thanks to The Lost Fable we know is not the truth, rather what he was simply told by Ozpin. So it stands to reason that the claim of their souls combining is not entirely true either.

Now, yes, their souls are indeed combined with the current holder, as while Ozpin may have only spoke a half-truth, his words combined with the God of Light and Jinn's own support the idea they are merged.

Ozpin: I am the combination of countless men who've spent their lives trying to protect the people of Remnant. With every rebirth, my soul is eventually merged with another and I am changed, but my memories stay with me.

God of Light: Until your task is complete, you will reincarnate, but in a manner that ensures you are never alone.

Ozpin: Believe me, I wish this weren't the case. But as I've told you, our Aura, our souls are combined.

Jinn: And as the centuries went on, Ozma began to learn the importance of living with the souls with which he had been paired. So while the idea of the souls completely merging is false, the notion of them merging isn't. So where am I going with this?

Well, like Ozma, I think the Maiden powers bear the souls of the former wielders.

Why do I think this though? Well, if what Qrow told RNJR was only a half-truth on the part of Ozpin rather than a flat out lie, the Maiden Powers do indeed merge the souls of former and current wielder. If so, and the powers are an offshoot of Ozma's own, which binds his soul to another with each death, wouldn't it make sense that this be the case?

WARNING: We are now entering conspiracy corner, where from a lack of sleep Blizz could possibly be making connections that aren't there. Please take this section with the biggest grain of salt.

Now, to support this idea, I'd like to point out that the CRWBY have a history of referencing other popular media in the making of RWBY, ranging from Character Concept to certain Scenes. Well, Ozma reincarnating into random individuals brings to mind the Avatar Cycle from Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel ''Legend of Korra. ''The latter went out of its way to expand the lore behind the Cycle and explain its origins. For those of you not aware of the origins, it is essentially this. 10,000 years ago, Wan managed to be the first human capable of bending more than a single element by being blessed by multiple Lion Turtles. After interuppting the battle between the Light God Raava and the Dark God Vaatu, Wan discovered Raava was weakening and sought to help her. After learning all four elements, Vaatu's actions nearly cause humanity and the spirits to wage war. To truly wield all four and stop Vaatu, Raava and Wan merged their energies into one, and when the Harmonic Convergence occured, the two were permantly bound together as the Avatar Spirit, making Wan the first Avatar. With their new power, Wan sealed away Vaatu and closed the northen gate to the Spirit World so no one else could release him, then guided the remaining spirits to the southern gate before sealing it, proclaiming himself to be the bridge between the two worlds, and that he would teach humanity to respect the spirits and bring peace to the world.

Time passed, and Wan found the task of mending the relationship daunting. As he lay dying, he apologized to Raava for failing, but she reasured him that they would always remain together through his various lifetimes, and they wouldn't give up. Wan then passed on, his spirit reincarnating into a new born baby, thus stating the Avatar Cycle. Future Avatar's would continue his mission of trying to bring peace to the world, the most notable being the Fire Avatar Roku as his did battle with his friend Sozin, Air Monk Aang as he sought to stop the Fire Nation's tyranny under Ozai, and Water Avatar Korra as she tried to restore the relations between humanity and the spirits. To do this, the Avatar's would seek guidance from their former lives, communing with the spirits connected to them and conversing. Aang in particular often spoke with Roku, but also communed with Earth Avatar Kyoshi, Water Avatar Kuruk, and fellow Air Monk Yangchen.

Like Wan, Ozma's circumstances are a result of making an agreement with a being of Light in an effort to bring peace to humanity. Unlike Raava however, the God of Light is less benevolent in his approach, and did not bind himself to Ozma. Both Wan's reincarnations and Ozma's hosts share the task of trying to bring peace to humanity, with great difficulty, causing the task to be continued in their next life. Whereas the Avatar's never gave up and saw the task as possible, just needing some time, Ozma has all but given up, content to try and play keep away with Salem and having little faith in humanity. Both tha Avatar and Ozma possess a key factor most humans don't, the Avatar can wield all four aspects of the elements, and Ozma is able to use the lost art of Magic. Both the Avatar and Ozma also have enemies in beings of Darkness that cause destruction, The Avatar in Vaatu, and Ozma in Salem. Whereas Vaatu was already an existing threat before Wan and Raava became the Avatar, Salem is arguably a threat created because of Ozma, albeit inadvertantly, as her descent into madness came as a result of being cursed with Immortality for trying to revive him, and from trying to end her life in a pool belonging to one of her curse givers, their conflict coming as a result of differing ideas on what to do with the humans left behind.

So what the hell does this have to do with the Maidens? Well, look back at the end of my description of the Avatar Cycle.

''To do this, the Avatar's would seek guidance from their former lives, communing with the spirits connected to them and conversing. Aang in particular often spoke with Roku, but also communed with Earth Avatar Kyoshi, Water Avatar Kuruk, and fellow Air Monk Yangchen.''

I believe, unlike Ozma's curse, the souls of the Maiden's are bound to the powers, but have to be consciously communicated with rather than immediately present. Unlike the Avatar Cycle, Ozma is constantly present in his current host, the two constantly communicating and Ozma even having the ability to take control. While the past Avatar's have shown the capacity to temporarily use the current one as a Medium, such as Kyoshi using Aang as one to testify at a trial (long story), they never went as far to override the current Avatar's control. The Maiden's however have exhibited no hints of communicating with their prior owners, otherwise we'd see Cinder talking to Amber or Raven with the former Spring, or either with the first holder. So, similar to the Avatar Cycle, while the new hosts gain access to the powers, they have to consciously seek to speak with the former holders, such as dig into the recesses of their souls.

Its worth noting this trope is not unique to Avatar, I just felt this comparison to be fitting considering the numerous comparisons to Avatar I've come across. If you want another example, I use the Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing from ''High School DxD. ''Both objects are "Sacred Gears", tools created by the Gods, and they in particular house the spirits of the two Heavenly Dragons. However, they also host the spirits of all their prior wielders, the current wielders able to both commune and draw upon the power of, though they also risk the former wielders revolting and trying to take over. While the wielder of the Boosted Gear and main protagonist managed to pacify the spirits in his Sacred Gear, allowing them to work together, his rival and wielder of Divine Dividing instead chose to subjugate and conquer the spirits in his Sacred Gear.

Now, naturally, I doubt Cinder would bother doing that, as not only is too obsessed with Power to care, she'd probably not want to take with the woman she murdered. As for Raven, maybe she already did, at least subconsciously.

Look at Haven's Fate, specifically when she explains how she became Spring.

Raven: She was scared when we found her! Weak. No matter how much training I put her through, she never learned! She wasn't cut out for this world! And with those powers, she would've been hunted her entire life! What I did--

Yang: "Wasn't personal."

Raven: It was mercy!

Yang: Which is it, mom? Are you merciful, or are you a survivor?

She seems... oddly worked up about it. Why would she so adamantly declare it was mercy if she was lying? Plus there's her attacking Cinder the prior episode after Cinder derides the former Spring for trusting her. The matter of the former Spring seems, oddly personal to her.

But why? Why would Raven care so much about a child she considered weak? Why would she take in a child possessing powers she knows would be hunted? Why would she kill her in an attempt for the powers if she knew it would make her a target? It seems out of character... unless you believe the former Spring has never left her thoughts.

I've gone on about how I've thought Raven killing the former Spring really was an act of Mercy that backfired on her, giving her the powers, since doing otherwise would completely contradict both Raven's goals and character, so lets operate on the assumption that Raven did indeed kill the former Spring out of Mercy, to spare her from being hunted but to also derail Ozpin and Salem's plans since they'd have to start from square one in their hunt for Spring. In that scene Yang is severely criticizing her mother, deriding her as a coward. Except from what we've seen, Raven isn't one to normally take those insults to heart. She brushes off Qrow saying they aren't family, and kept her calm only until Spring was brought up. Spring is a sore point for her, that much is certain. The fact she starts breaking down only when that happens though, shows either Raven is a lot more broken up about Spring, years after the fact, or something else is going on.

So picture this scenario. You are Raven, and you've come across Spring. You try to train her to defend herself so you can send her off on her own so the Tribe doesn't get targeted. But she doesn't improve. She's too frightened. She can't manage on her own, but you can't risk your tribe's safety. So you decide to put her out of her misery and spare her the pain by killing her now. Except you then learn that now you are Spring, and you make your tribe a target now, meaning you killed a poor girl for nothing. And you are constantly reminded of that, both whenever you sleep, and when you choose to use the powers, hiding behind a mask to disguise yourself, as her voice constantly whispers in your ear.

I think Spring may be accidentally tormenting Raven, constantly trying to talk to her and failing which instead causes Raven a lot of grief when Spring is brought up, misinterpreting Spring trying to talk to her as a guilty conscience.

So it could very well be possible that the former Maidens are bound to their powers. Why does this matter though? For starters, it gives the opportunity to expand on the original maidens, give them character and see their perspective on their hosts. It also can give for interesting plot routes. If Raven really is being accidentally tormented by Spring, part of her character development could involve oweing up to her mistakes, starting with apologizing to Spring. If any of the former Falls manage to reach Cinder, it could give us insight as to why she is so power hungry, something the FNDM has been wanting so she's fleshed out. You can't hide your feelings from you soul after all.

It would not only give way to introduce characters of the past and gain their perspective, it could give further introspection to the Maiden's of the present.

Now if you excuse me, I need to go and have another cup of coffee so I can stay awake and not fuck up my sleep schedule further. I've been up since Midnight, wasn't able to get back to sleep, and I can't miss my classes today, so I have to stay awake. 