Dust


 * For the World of Remnant episode of the same name, see RWBY: World of Remnant/Dust.



Dust is a source of energy in the world of RWBY. The physical properties of Dust make it incredibly useful for a variety of purposes, particularly in the weapons of many characters in the series. Dust itself can be seen in a variety of ways, generating from crystals, as serving a purpose to a specific element.

The name "Dust" is implied to be a reference to the primordial state from which mankind was born. As a natural resource, it is sometimes poetically referred to as "Nature's Wrath" or more prosaically as an energy propellant.

Dust comes in four basic elements, Fire, Ice, Lightning and Wind. In episode 2, The Shining Beacon, Weiss Schnee also tells of "Water" and "Energy" dust types.

History


According to ancient legends recounted during the opening narration of "Ruby Rose," mankind was fighting a losing struggle with creatures of darkness known as the Grimm. However, through their resourcefulness and ingenuity, humanity managed to discover and harness a source of power they named "Dust" in order to battle the Grimm.

The advent of Dust became the turning point in the war. It would appear that after mankind drove back the Grimm and built civilizations, Dust became integrated into everyday life within Remnant.

Despite its widespread use and prevalence in society, humanity has yet to understand the origins or the implications of their involvement with Dust.

Description




Dust is known as a naturally occurring energy propellant triggered by the Aura of Humans and Faunus, existing in four basic variations that can be combined both artificially and naturally to form new and stronger types, each with their own unique properties. Different colors of Dust appear to correspond to their different natures or effects.

Dust can be found in two discrete states, crystalline and powdered. Both crystalline and powdered Dust are known to have highly explosive properties. For example, during the Dust store robbery, Roman Torchwick threw a crystal at Ruby Rose's feet and fired at it, causing a sizeable explosion. The powdered form appears to be even more volatile, since something as innocuous as a sneeze is enough to detonate a cloud of Dust.

Uses
Dust serves as a power source for all facets of technology in Remnant, from airships to androids. Technology powered by Dust is also known to glow. However, Dust can still be used without the aid of weapons or machines and unleashed in its raw form, such as lightning. More archaic uses for Dust include weaving it into clothing and fusing it into a living body.

Combat


The discovery of Dust was instrumental to humanity's initial defeat of the Grimm, and Dust continues to be used extensively in combat. Dust can be harnessed in a variety of ways, but when used in its raw form, its full potential requires both an Aura, and the intelligence to use it, meaning Humans, Faunus and artificial beings, such as Penny are the only ones who are able to effectively use it for combat.

Some animals, such as the case with Zwei, are trained as partners in combat, sprayed with Dust in raw form to augment their abilities or shot forward in the standard method used in gun battle.

Dust bullets, however, are much simpler to use. Ruby's weapon, Crescent Rose, has also been mentioned to use rounds containing different kinds of Dust. Torchwick also makes reference to Dust rounds as being amongst the merchandise he stole in the episode Best Day Ever. It is shown that such rounds come in several different sizes and cartridges to be used for any given situation.

This form is often the most common and easiest way to use Dust in battle. Dust can also be used in its raw form, which is described as being "elegant, yet destructive" in nature and requiring a certain level of discipline to maintain control over. More archaic uses for Dust as a weapon include weaving it into clothes or directly implanting it into their bodies. A unique use of Dust is the modification of Semblances through weapons.

One prominent example is Weiss Schnee's Multi-Action Dust Rapier, Myrtenaster, which utilizes numerous colors of Dust to change the effects of Weiss' glyphs, such as the generation of fire and ice. Another example is when Blake Belladonna inserts dust vials into her Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe Gambol Shroud. While normally her Shadow images are simply copies of her, with Dust they take on the properties of an element, such as stone statues, ice sculptures or bombs.

Production and Distribution


The Schnee Dust Company is one of the largest producers of Dust in the world. Dust is mined from the Schnee Quarry, purified, and transported by railway lines or by sea to distributors. Dust is then sold to the public by Dust shops such as From Dust Till Dawn.

Crystalline Dust is apparently safe enough to leave out on display openly, whereas powdered Dust is dispensed from tubes on the wall and stored in portable cylindrical canisters. Other bags seen on the shelves have the same bright hues as the tubes and their Dust, but whether they contain Dust themselves is unknown.

Much like real world resources, Dust was said to be a limited resource in a livestream.

Trivia

 * Since most other elements and characters in RWBY have literary or historical backgrounds, the name "Dust" might be influenced by the strange and mysterious substance also called Dust found in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials novels.
 * Creator Monty Oum has compared Dust to Materia from the Final Fantasy video game series.