User blog:Noctros/Dust, Aura, and their Synergies

So, almost through Volume 1 of RWBY, and while we've learned a bit about both Dust and Aura, the series hasn't often come right out to tell us what *exactly* either of these things are. There have been times where we learn what Dust or Aura can do, particularly in comments from Weiss and Pyrrha respectively, but I thought it would be good to put down all the observations I've made thus far and try to see if we can suss out exactly what these two things do, both individually and when used together.

First, the most basic explanation we're given of Dust is presented by Weiss. "Dust:  fire, water, lightning, energy!" Given this description, and its demonstrated explosive nature, I think the best way to think of dust is as a form of potential energy storage, just like gasoline or gunpowder store energy in chemical bonds. Given that we've never seen or heard of gasoline or gunpowder in RWBY, it's probably safe to say that most gun-type weapons utilize dust as their propellant, regardless of whether they fire a projectile, like Crescent Rose's bullets and Magnhild's grenades, or an energy burst, such as Ember Celica's flaming shockwaves.

We have a bit more information on Aura at this point, thank's to Pyrrha's explanation to Jaune. Given that it is described as the manifestation of a person's soul, the closest analogue I can think of in anime/martial arts movies in general would be Chi, as some have already mentioned in discussion posts under Aura. I would also have to agree with the current thinking that Semblance is related to Aura; in fact, I would go further to say that Semblance is the unique ways in which a given Aura user is able to channel their Aura into nonspecific effects. I would categorise Aura uses into two broad areas:  Physical augmentation, such as speed, strength, and protection from damage, would be general applications that anyone trained in the use of their Aura can display, although not everyone is capable of these applications to the same degree. Specialized uses of a person's Aura is their Semblance, and while they are not strictly unique to a given person, they would be quite varied, from Pyrrha's manipulation of magnetic force, to Blake's 'shadow double', to Yang's fiery aura when she gets angry.

I know all of this is pretty well spelled out on the respective pages for Aura and Dust, but what I want to draw attention to is that the two, while separate, aren't necessarily used independently. The example I'd point out that demonstrates this best would actually be the various ways in which Yang uses Ember Celica. She can go from the flaming shockwave use to the flaming projectile use without needing to reload or change her weapons configuration, as seen in the battle with the Nevermore in Players and Pieces. While it could be argued she had different shells loaded for the two functions, I would argue that the difference in the use is actually caused by Yang using her Aura to either trigger the burst immediately, or to contain the burst until it impacts on a distant target.

So, enough theorizing out of me for the time being. What do the rest of you think? Which abilities have we seen that you think are purely Dust, purely Aura, or some kind of combination of the two?