Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-24718692-20140322030224/@comment-3146930-20140328191340

Wendy Crescent wrote: When explaining to Jaune what aura is, I believe Pyrrha mentions "all of our tools and equipments are conduits for aura". Just like wands in Harry Potter, it would be a way to center and control aura more easily. If my guess is right, and semblances are indeed linked to auras, it would explain why Weiss cannot use her glyphs as efficiently without Myrtenaster. Even though glyphs do not involve Dust (this is just a speculation), the weapon still helps her.

The problem with that is that Pyrrha was able to use her semblance simply by motioning with her hand; she didn't use her weapon in any way to focus her ability. Weiss on the other hand hasn't been shown using her Glyphs or any special abilities without her sword. This could mean that Weiss' Glyphs rely on Dust in some way or Weiss simply hasn't reached a level where she can use them without something to focus with. Maybe the reason she has all that Dust is to compensate for her lack of Semblance control.