Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-33287020-20180410162106

We know, from his own mouth, Ozpin made the Choice Relic especially difficult to find. He doesn’t seem very worried about Salem finding it at all, and IMO that’s because he handed the relic off to Taiyang at the beginning of Volume 3, when he dropped Ruby off at Beacon. The mission he was supposed to go on was in fact a cover for him receiving the relic.

Now, you might ask where Taiyang hid the relic, once he came into possession of it. Personally, I think it's buried in the sunflower box by his door. The one he’s seen tending to twice, in V4, and at the end of V5.

I’m sure it sounds ridiculous, but it makes more sense than you might think. Hiding it in something as arbitrary as a flower box is perfect because it’s the last place Salem's lackeys would look, if they even managed to find out Taiyang was hiding it in the first place. They’d think it'd be hidden basically anywhere with a modicum of respect, because of what it is, and definitely not in a dirty flower box.

Another question may also arise: why Taiyang? My answer to that is, why not Taiyang? Sure, he was on Team STRQ, but compared to the rest of them, he’s a normal guy. No silver eye powers, no bird powers. He’s a teacher. Not to mention, the fact that he's on an island, away from mainland Vale, and in the middle of a mountainous forest, just seals the deal. Also, Salem has no reason to care about him. In fact, Salem is convinced the relic is at Beacon (she says verbatim "the relic is at Beacon" in V4), and I think Ozpin knew this, and used it to his advantage.

Another thing: When Oobleck asked him if he was going to go after Ruby in V4, he says "I've got some things to look after", and then glances at Yang's window, leading the audience to assume he was just talking about Yang. I think this was intentional misdirection. He did have to look after Yang, but he also has to stay close to the relic, which is why he stays home when she leaves. The weak excuse of Signal being more important than ever since Beacon's fall is the writers trying to handwave away the question of why Tai wouldn't go with her, especially since Ruby's life was on the line, and Yang wasn't completely better. The true reason he can't leave is because the relic is too important. As much as it bothers him, he has to stay. 