Magic



Magic is a mysterious and powerful element that has existed in Remnant since its creation. The Gods created the world through magic and gave it's people the power to wield it. After Humanity rebelled against the Gods they purged the planet and left. The first humanity used magic but nowadays the knowledge of magic has been lost and only a handful of people still use them.

=Gods=

The Gods of Light and Darkness are two immensely powerful magical beings and the creators of the World of Remnant. They are two brothers, the elder being the God of Light and the younger being the God of Darkness. The God of Light created life, and the God of Darkness created agents of death, including the Creatures of Grimm. At one point, they compromised and created Humans together; the God of Darkness even gifted them magic.

The Gods appear as translucent humanoid beings with featureless faces and horns and antlers. Both also can transform into Dragons. The God of Light is tall, yellow and muscular with deer antlers on his head. His dragon form is a large golden Eastern dragon with a heavenly glow. The God of Darkness is lean, purple and slender and has ram horns on his heads. His dragon form is a large purple Western dragon with skeletal features.

The God of Light lived at the Tree of Life in the Domain of Light and the God of Darkness lived in the Land of Darkness. The God of Light was worshipped, but his brother was feared. After Ozma died, Salem visited the God of Light and asked him to bring her love back to life but was refused. She then decided to ask the God of Darkness and her wish was granted. But the older god took offence to that and killed Ozma again and gave Salem the curse of immortality. Salem convinced Humanity to rebel against the gods, the God of Darkness destroyed them all except Salem, and the two gods abandoned Remnant, shattering the Moon in the process. As Humanity, and now the Faunus, reemerge, this time without magic or the guidance of the gods, the God of Light left behind Relics in hopes that Humanity will make themselves whole again. If the four Relics are collected, the gods will be summoned to the world and judge Humanity.

The gods are nigh-omnipotent entities of immense power and knowledge. The two created Remnant and Humanity together as well as their own individual creations. The two together are basically invincible and have no actual weaknesses besides being fallible and manipulated by certain people. The two also created the Four Relics, which are personifications of Creation, Destruction, Knowledge and Choice, and each Relic is immensely powerful on its own.

The God of Light possesses immense creation and light-based powers, responsible for creating life, animals and the elements. He can use powerful waves of light to incinerate others and can transform into a dragon. He is also capable of erasing others, as shown when he erased Ozma's body after his brother resurrected him. He also can grant other immortality by bathing them in his pool of life, resurrect the dead and can cause one's soul to reincarnate every time they die, as he did with Ozma. When threatened, he transformed into an Eastern dragon.

The God of Darkness possesses immense destruction and darkness-based powers, destroying and erasing his brother's creations and twisted them into nightmarish versions of themselves. He is responsible for creating the creatures of Grimm and the pools they spawn from, allowing him to command and control them as well. He can use dark energy for powerful blasts and waves which can destroy anything they hit or shield others from his brother's powers, shown when he destroyed all of mankind and blasted a hole in the moon. He is also capable of resurrecting the dead, as he did with Ozma. When threatened, he transformed into an Western dragon.

Both brothers are able to manipulate matter and energy, are able to interact with entities through multiple plains of existence including the afterlife and are able to use their abilities with pinpoint precision. The God of Darkness was able to wipe out all of Humanity except for Salem without harming any other form of life on a global scale.

God of Light


The God of Light is one of the Gods who created Remnant and the older brother of the God of Darkness.

In his humanoid form, the God of Light appears as a tall, naked, humanoid male with a crown of antlers upon his head. His complexion is a softly glowing light gold, his build is muscular and his face devoid of features.

In his draconic form, while his complexion remains the same, his horns become whiter, longer, and more streamlined and his voice deepens considerably. His body is long and serpentine, like that of a real-world Eastern traditional dragon. He possesses a long mane of golden hair that runs the length of his body, forming a plume at the tip of his tail as well as rather extensive facial hair that terminates in two feathery tipped whiskers. In this form, his eyes appear to emanate a pure, white glow. This is likely due to him being the originator of the power possessed by the Silver-Eyed Warriors.

The God of Light created the world that would become Remnant with his younger brother, using the ideals of creation, destruction, choice and knowledge as the foundation. One day, a Human named Salem approached him in the Domain of Light. She begged him to bring her husband Ozma back from the dead, but he denied her, saying he must maintain the balance of life and death. Salem went to the God of Darkness to request the same of him, and the God of Light appeared in his domain after his brother granted Salem her wish. As tensions escalate, the brothers feud in their draconic forms until the Light God said Salem came to his brother only after him denying her request.

The God of Light transports Salem to his domain before she retaliates, where the Fountain of Life grants her immortality. He with his brother said they did so as both punishment and to help her learn the importance of life and death, but she is unmoved. Salem calls people of the world to denounce the gods, finding promise in her immortality. As a response, the God of Darkness harnesses their onslaught of magic and crushes it, killing every Human except for Salem. The God of Light gives a damning farewell to Salem and departs Remnant.

He calls Ozma from the afterlife in an alternate realm between worlds and requests that he return to Remnant to unify the changed world. He leaves behind the four Relics - Creation, Destruction, Choice and Knowledge - to aid Ozma in this goal. Ozma accepts, but the God of Light warns him that Salem is no longer the person he remembers and that he will only find pain with her.

As a being with abilities that transcend multiple plains of existence, the true power of the God of Light has yet to be seen. As a being that represents creation, he is naturally attuned to its forces. He presumably shares his brother's ability to create and resurrect souls from the afterlife, as his refusal to bring back Ozma was a matter of principle over power. He also shares in his brother's powers of teleportation, energy and matter manipulation, shapeshifting, flight in dragon form, immense physical strength and powers of creation.

He is even able to alter the very ability of a person to enter the afterlife, as he was the one who burdened Ozma with the task of redeeming humanity and reincarnating endlessly in order to do so.

He is also a skilled sorcerer, able to create the four Relics, each with a quality that embodies the four gifts of Humanity from the gods. His inanimate creations tend to sport ornate designs yet thus far appear to carry a spark of life all their own, such is the case of Jinn, the spirit that resides within the Relic of Knowledge.

He is believed to be the originator of the Silver Eyes, as he was shown capable of obliterating his brother's Grimm with a similar white light as them.

God of Darkness


The God of Darkness is one of the Gods who created Remnant and the younger brother of the God of Light.

In his humanoid form, the God of Darkness appears as a slim male with curved, segmented horns that arc back over his head and curve upward to a point just over the back of his cranium. His form is a deep purple that seems to draw in surrounding light. Like his brother, the Dark God's face is utterly devoid of features, though humanoid contours are present.

In his draconic form, he appears as a large, real-world Western traditional, four-legged dragon with two wings whose membranes are frayed and dotted with multiple holes in them, and even more ornately spiraled horns. His overall body is skeletal, with a face like a skull with empty eye sockets, and a row of bone-like spines that run the length of his body.

The God of Darkness created the world and the human race with his older brother, the God of Light, using the ideals of creation, destruction, choice and knowledge as the foundation. He also created the Creatures of the Grimm, to serve as his ultimate agents of destruction.

One day, after being turned down by his brother, a human named Salem came to his domain to request his aid in resurrecting her deceased loved one, Ozma. Intrigued and satisfied to finally have what he thought was a follower of his own, he granted Salem's request and resurrected Ozma. However, the God of Light promptly arrived and accused his brother of violating the rules they set up together. Angered by this intrusion, the God of Darkness accused his brother of trying to control him, assuming his draconic form in the process. However, before a fight can break out, the God of Light (in his own draconic form), informed his brother that Salem only came to him because he had first denied her request. After apologizing, the God of Darkness promptly killed Ozma himself. After the God of Light returns Salem to his pool, the God of Darkness stands beside him as they explain their punishment for Salem.

Sometime later, when Salem returns to the altar of the God of Light with an army, the God of Darkness comes to his brother's aide, and when the humans use their magic against him, he easily negates their attacks and harnesses them for his own. Annoyed by them using his own gift to them against him, the God of Darkness, with a single motion, casts a planetwide spell that wipes out the entirety of humanity.



After Salem regains consciousness, he looms over her, informing her that he destroyed all of humanity in that act to her horror. After his brother leaves, the God of Darkness coldly notes Salem still making demands of them, before flying up off the planet's surface, crashing through the moon in the process.

While the majority of his abilities have yet to be laid bare, the God of Darkness is an unfathomably powerful being whose power transcends the mortal world. As a being of destruction, he is naturally attuned to its forces.

He and his brother seem to possess a set of powers common to entities of their like, such as the ability to shapeshift between a humanoid and draconic form, the power to create sentient life, recall a soul from the afterlife, teleport and unleash massive shock waves of magical energy capable of wiping out all life of a single species on a global scale while leaving all other forms of life utterly untouched. He and his brother also appear to be able to manipulate matter and energy to a great extent, able to create a physical body for Ozma's soul that is identical to the one he originally possessed, complete with clothes.

While in his dragon form, the God of Darkness possesses the power of flight, immense physical strength and the power to breathe a torrent of dark energy from his body. His physical powers are of such magnitude that he was capable of shattering the moon with no discernible care or effort.

Grimm


The Creatures of Grimm, or just Grimm, are the universal antagonists of RWBY, inhabiting various parts of Remnant.

They are described as "creatures of destruction" that lack a soul; hence, they are unable to use Aura. They are also drawn to feelings of negativity - such as envy, sadness, loneliness and hatred - often congregating towards the source of these emotions.

The Grimm have been locked in an existential war with Humanity for as long as can be remembered, seeking to destroy them and all of their creations. The Grimm were created by the God of Darkness in order to destroy his older brother's creations of life. Eventually, the brothers ended their feud and both created Humanity, however, despite the younger god's involvement in creating Humanity, the Grimm were still left to roam Remnant and prey on them.

Grimm spawn from a viscous, tar-like substance. Pools of this substance appear in numbers in the Land of Darkness. The Wyvern also showed the ability to exude the substance from its skin. When droplets of the substance impacted the ground, lesser forms of Grimm, including Creeps, Beowolves and Ursai rose from the black liquid.

Relics


The Relics are four powerful magical objects given to Humanity by The Gods. They are the key factor of Salem and Ozma's plans and are the main driving force of the plot of RWBY.
 * Relic of Knowledge - A lantern object that contains Jinn, a magical being capable of answering any question. She can be summoned by the Relic-holder calling out her name, at which point Jinn can answer three questions every one hundred years.

Jinn
Jinn is a powerful being created by the God of Light, and though the full extent of her powers are unknown, it is clear she is an omniscient keeper of knowledge and secrets. She knows the answer to any question and knows any secret or knowledge that other people possess or have witnessed, such as Oscar being the current incarnation of Ozma.

She also appears to be able to transport others into another dimension which she can freely control and shape at will in order to show her users visions or memories from the past. However, she cannot answer questions about the future - only present or past knowledge. Jinn is also able to sense if a person has a question for her when she is summoned. Upon answering a question, time stops, with the exception of the person asking a question and Jinn herself. She implies she has some degree of control over being summoned, as she alludes to not allowing herself to be "used" unless the user intends to ask a question.

First Humanity
When The Gods decided to create something together they created Humanity and decided to bless them with the ability to use Magic. They have been shown to conjure magical energy and create magical blasts of different colors. The Gods also lived on the planet and Humanity was free to interact with them by giving them tributes or asking them for favors.

After Salem's rebellion the Gods fled the planet and erased the entire population except for Salem, leaving her as the last specimen of the First Humanity on the planet. After new humanity evolved all over again the God of Light reincarnated Ozma in a new body, leaving him as another member of the first Humanity roaming the planet, although in soul only.

Salem


Salem is an extremely mysterious figure from Remnant's forgotten past and the primary antagonist of RWBY.

She is the leader of a cabal of people with malicious plans and she operates out of her castle in the Land of Darkness. Her goals are to find the Maidens, take their powers, take the Relics from the Huntsman Academies and weaken Humanity by snuffing out their hope.

She was a part of the original Humanity, before being cursed with immortality and falling into a Grimm pool. She was married to Ozma before their ideologies tore them apart making them mortal enemies.

Salem, being a member of the first wave of Humanity has access to magic. She is shown to be able to fire blasts of magic from her hands. In addition to her other magic, she appears to be able to project telekinetic force as seen when she crushed a Nevermore and shattered the windows in her council chamber in a fit of uncontrolled rage.

She was also cursed with immortality by the Gods, making it impossible to destroy her. She has lived for thousands of years, during which she acquired extensive knowledge of the nature of Aura and Dust, as well as an understanding of Human nature, society and history.

After the Gods destroyed the first Humanity and left Remnant she jumped into the Grimm Pools in the Land of Darkness which altered her body further and gave her more powers and abilities. Raven Branwen reveals that Salem is the Grimm's master. As such, she can command them to do her bidding. She also possesses the ability to alter the physiology of Grimm and graft Grimm body parts to a Human's body. She causes Beringels to sprout wings in "Our Way" and gives Cinder a Shadow Hand. Salem also has the ability to summon multiple Shadow Hands on command as seen in "So That's How It Is", when she used them to immobilize Hazel. She also possesses knowledge on how to steal the powers of Maidens, a feat of which was never accomplished before according to Ozpin's group. She also possesses some form of superhuman strength, as she easily flips the massive table in her headquarters, all while seated.

Ozma
Ozma, now known as Ozpin, was an ancient warrior and was introduced in "The Lost Fable". He rescued Salem from her imprisonment in a tower, and both eventually fell in love with each other. Eventually, Ozma fell ill and died, and Salem set out to convince the Gods to resurrect her lover. Ozma was revived by the God of Darkness, but killed again by the God of Light soon after. Ozma was eventually given a choice by the God of Light before he abandoned Remnant; he would be able to return to the land of the living to act as a guide for Humanity and would protect Relics, powerful items that once brought together would bring the Gods back to Remnant.

The God of Light gave him the ability to reincarnate after death, joining souls with another like-minded person so that he would never be alone. After returning to the world, Ozma reunited with Salem. The two acted as gods and created a prosperous kingdom while also starting a family, but they turned on each other after Ozma displayed his disagreement with Salem's plans for Humanity. Their children were killed in the ensuing battle and Salem murdered Ozma, who reincarnated again. Thus began the centuries-long feud between the two, with Ozma making it his mission to protect the world from her evil.

At the start of RWBY, Ozma's current incarnation was Professor Ozpin, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy. Following Ozpin's death at the hands of Cinder Fall during the Battle of Beacon, Ozma/Ozpin's soul joined with Oscar Pine.

In his original lifetime, Ozma was a renowned warrior considered to be of legendary prowess. He was able to best large creatures and challenges where many other warriors could not. Over time with his incarnations, Ozma's combat skills became sharper.

Magic
As one of the original Humans during the time of the Gods, Ozma is capable of performing powerful feats of magic. At the time of Humanity's second emergence, his powers were so great that people worshiped him alongside Salem as gods.

Before being defeated and subsequently attaching to Oscar, Ozpin harbored immense physical power as demonstrated in his fight against Cinder after she became the Fall Maiden. He possessed superhuman speed, creating green afterimages as he moved. Furthermore, Ozpin was able to resist attacks of incredible power by creating an energy barrier around himself. Whether any of these abilities were a part of his natural physical ability, Semblance (if he does have one), or his use of magic is unclear.

From what was briefly seen of Ozpin's fighting style in his duel with Cinder, his style emphasizes adaptability, changing from powerful high speed strikes to rapid retreats to solid defense.

Ozpin is a capable strategist and leader. He has the ability to persuade even volatile personalities to cooperate with his plans and knows the right balance of firmness and kindness to get the desired results from his subordinates. He is also flexible enough to "bend the rules" if he feels the situation requires it, as shown in "Field Trip".

Reincarnation
In "Unforeseen Complications", it is revealed that Ozpin was cursed by the gods of Remnant when he failed to stop Salem at an undefined point in the past. This curse causes his soul to attach to a new like-minded host when his previous body is destroyed, the two merging memories and abilities over time until only a single soul remains. As of Volume 5, Ozpin's soul is attached to and merging with that of Oscar's. Oscar can grant Ozpin control of his body, enhancing his combat prowess and the strength of his aura, though only for limited periods of time. In addition, he can forcibly take control of Oscar's body, though he seems severely drained, and Oscar relays that Ozpin needs to rest after the fight. However, as shown in "The Lost Fable", Ozpin can keep his soul separate to his current host, living alongside them if he so chooses.

Magic
In "Rest and Resolutions", Ozpin reveals that he himself possesses powerful magic that he used to create the original four Maidens, as well as grant Qrow Branwen and Raven Branwen the ability to shapeshift into corvids. It is stated that the amount of power expended in the creation of the Maidens greatly drained his magic. Ozpin himself admits that his magic powers are dwindling, but does not state the exact reason for it. As revealed in "The Lost Fable", Ozpin as Ozma used to be one of the only humans on the planet with powerful magic that possibly rivaled Salem's own.

Salem and Ozma's Children


Salem and Ozma had four daughters and the oldest showed magical abilities. The result of Salem, that was a part of original humanity, cursed by immortality by the Gods and fell into Grimm pools and Ozma who was a part of original humanity, but died and was cursed with reincarnating in humans after death. It was unknown if they could wield magic, but when the oldest daughter revealed that ability it caused Salem to think of plans to take over the world. When Ozma disagreed with her she blew up their castle, killing the daughters and Ozma.

Maidens


The four Maidens are the hosts of a vast magical power that has existed in Remnant for thousands of years. They are said to be the physical embodiment of the four seasons. They were given their powers by Ozma.

There are four Maidens in existence at any time, each one corresponding to the four seasons - Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.

Powers and Abilities


While the full extent of their abilities is not known, Amber, the previous Fall Maiden, displayed several astounding abilities, being able to levitate, to manipulate lightning and wind and freeze the leaves of trees and use them as projectiles, and to shoot a massive fireball.

When she uses her Maiden powers, her eyes appear surrounded by a fiery glow. Cinder Fall gained the same abilities when she became the Fall Maiden and even after gaining her full powers, preferred to use the pyrokinetic aspect of the power. The current Spring Maiden, Raven Branwen, has been shown to be able to use the same abilities, although to an extent that outclassed Cinder.

When utilizing their magic, Maidens are capable of conjuring weapons comprised of the elements. While they have been shown to use elemental powers, they are capable of using a much wider range of magic.

The Maidens are also each tied to the Vaults hidden under the four main Huntsman Academies. They act as a key to access the Relics, so nobody else can get their hands on it. open the chambers that the Relic is hidden in. Spring can access the Vault in Haven, Fall can access the Vault in Beacon, Summer can access the Vault in Shade and Winter can access the Vault in Atlas.

Succession
The powers of the Maidens pass from host to host upon the death of the current holder in a process that has been continuing for thousands of years. Under normal circumstances, the next Maiden, who is always a young woman, is the last person that the previous Maiden holds in her thoughts before she passes away. However, if the person in the dying Maiden's thoughts is male, too old, or not eligible to receive the power, the next host is chosen seemingly at random. This system apparently ensures that no one person can hold the power forever.

Original Maidens
The original Maidens as well as the origin of their powers has been memorized as The Story of the Seasons, a fairy tale passed down through the cultures of Remnant.

The story tells of an old hermit that is visited by four sisters who each in their own unique ways show kindness to him. The old man gives the four sisters great powers in return for their kindness, and as the embodiment of the four seasons, they go through Remnant spreading their gifts.

Amber
Amber was the host of the power of the Fall Maiden before Cinder took her powers. According to Qrow Branwen in "A Much Needed Talk" however, Amber was still inexperienced in using her powers.

In her battle against Cinder Fall, Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black, she displays several astounding powers, including the ability to levitate in the air, create enormously powerful gusts of wind, telekinetically move leaves and freeze them solid to create deadly projectiles, manipulate the weather and bring lightning down upon her enemies, as well as shoot deadly fireballs.

Cinder Fall
Cinder Fall is one of the main antagonists of RWBY and a member of Salem's Faction as well as the leader of her own. She is the current host of the Fall Maiden's powers which she stole from Amber using a special Grimm glove. She is also part Grimm with her left arm being replaced by a Shadow Hand after her damage by Ruby Rose's silver eyes at the Fall of Beacon.

Shadow Hand

Shadow Hand


During the Fall of Beacon, Cinder gets hit by Ruby's Silver-eyed power and is crippled. Her left arm is replaced with a Grimm limb known as a "Shadow Hand". Her arm is able to stretch very far and has incredibly sharp claws, which she uses to easily impale Vernal in the stomach. She can also use it to siphon the powers of a Maiden. While it cannot channel Aura, she is still able to channel her Maiden powers through it. It's implied that the arm itself possesses some sort of sentience, as Salem instructed her to make her new limb respect and fear her.

Other
After fully acquiring the Maiden's powers, she is able to utilize more elemental attacks, though she most often chooses fire-based attacks, and gains the ability to fly. Additionally, she is strong enough to withstand great force and uses fire-based power to melt items in her grip. As the Fall Maiden, she has access to the chamber of the Relic of Choice.

Weaknesses
Following an unexpected defeat during the Fall of Beacon at the hands of Ruby, Salem reveals that upon acquiring the powers of a Maiden, she gained a "crippling" weakness to the powers of the silver eyes. However, Salem does not elaborate on the specifics of her vulnerability, or whether it's a unique case due to her usage of a Grimm glove. After getting a Grimm arm grafted into her body, it's innately soulless status prevents Cinder from protecting it with her aura, leaving it vulnerable to other weapons and silver eyes. Upon her first exposure to the silver eyes, Cinder was greatly weakened and significantly injured, and during her second exposure, her weapon dissolved and her arm reacted badly.

Raven Branwen
Raven Branwen is the current leader of the Branwen Tribe and the current Spring Maiden as well as formerly an agent for Ozpin, who gave her the ability to turn into a bird

Without knowing that it was his sister, Qrow Branwen deduces that much of the damage wrought in Shion village was caused by the Spring Maiden, exemplifying her destructive utilization of the Spring Maiden's powers. She is able to generate a lightning strike in "Lighting the Fire", summoning it from the sky like the previous Fall Maiden Amber could. In "A Perfect Storm", she is able to summon strong gusts of wind and turn the sky from clear to cloudy in an instant. In both cases, she was able to disguise her power and make it appear that Vernal was performing the feats.

As the Spring Maiden, her power can be used to open the chamber at Haven Academy, which contains the Relic of Knowledge. Her eyes gain a dark red aura when she demonstrates her powers, which is possibly the reason why she wears her Grimm mask often. In "Downfall", during Raven's fight with Cinder, she makes use of several different elemental powers. She can generate ice, either by condensing it into weaponry, forming ice spikes or freezing from a distance. She can also generate electricity from her hands, using them to supercharge her weaponry, release it in close ranged strikes, and generate fields of electricity around her. Lastly, she demonstrates the ability to fly, which she has been able to use additionally to propel herself at high speeds.



Qrow Branwen
Qrow Branwen is the twin brother of Raven Branwen, former member of the Branwen Tribe and an agent for Ozpin who gave him the magical ability to turn into a bird.