Argus is a port city in the northern region of the Kingdom of Mistral, and acts as the major trading center between the continents of Anima and Solitas. It is among the largest non-capital cities in all of Remnant. It is first seen in "The Grimm Reaper".
The southern edge of Argus is bordered by a stone wall several stories tall with a single large gate allowing for road access. The city has cobblestone streets and has a transit system with streetcar-like hovering vehicles following a groove in the roadway. Most of the buildings are brick, only a few stories in height and bear resemblance to the real-world Victorian style of houses.
The city is built over hilly terrain, with a large natural harbor.
The Kingdom of Atlas has their largest foreign military base on an island just off the coast of Argus, on the other end of a large suspension bridge.
The city is the location of Sanctum Academy one of Mistral's primary Huntsman Academies.
Pyrrha Nikos Memorial Park[]
Argus was the hometown of famous Vale Huntress and Vytal Tournament finalist Pyrrha Nikos, who died the Fall of Beacon. A memorial park was built for her in Argus with her statue.
CCTS Relay Tower[]
Argus has one of the support relay towers of the Cross Continental Transmit System. It is located on the cliff above the city, surrounded by a forest.
City Defenses[]
The city has Hard-Light Dust barriers that activate via towers that emerge from underwater should large Grimm surface and attack the city. The towers create two rings of hard light. The towers, however, are vulnerable to direct attacks and can cause a section of the wall to stop working.
On the opposite side of the city is a large stone wall, about five stories in height, with a single large archway for passage. Both the gateway and the wall itself are seen being manned by Atlesian infantry. [1]
The city's main offensive force are the numerous Manta airships stationed at the Argus Military Base, as well as the Colossus, the giant mech created to fight giant Grimm.
Image Gallery[]
Argus seen from the land
The city seen from the sea
Street with streetcar
Houses of Argus
Pyrrha Nikos Memorial Park
The city
Argus Military Base
The city's defensive wall
Cross Continental Transmit System relay tower
History[]
Argus was originally founded by settlers from Mistral, who struggled with the local climate. An influx of settlers from the kingdom of Atlas resulted in strong trading links between the two kingdoms, with Mantle and later Atlas providing technical support in exchange for local resources unavailable from Solitas.
The city is part of Mistral, but the city is so important to Atlesian commerce that the kingdom keeps a significant military presence to help protect the city. Due to deep water just offshore of Argus, large Grimm such as Leviathans are a common enough threat that the Atlesian military stations a Colossus at its Argus base.
Some point before the events of RWBY, Spider and Lil' Miss Malachite had allied themselves with the Kuchinashi organization, Wave and it's leader, Lemon. Together, they'd perform a heist on an Atlesian shipment in the city of Argus, stealing a newly-created fabric material that adapted to light, making the wearer invisible. Spider stole the entire shipment underneath Wave's nose, thus invisibility cloaks became commonplace amongst their spy network in Mistral.
After the death of Pyrrha Nikos during the Battle of Beacon, a memorial statue was built in her honor in a city park since she graduated from Sanctum.
The people of Argus later receive Ruby Rose's message to Remnant in "Amity" thanks to the Amity Communications Tower. She publicly reveals the existence of Salem and tries to ask for assistance in the Kingdom of Atlas, but the broadcast is cut off before it can finish. In the end though, nobody came to help Atlas as it is destroyed in "The Final Word".
Argus was designed to combine influences of Mistral and Mantle.[2]
Argus' design inspiration was the real-world location of San Francisco, California,[3][4] sharing some of the features that San Francisco is well known for:
Victorian-style houses that are built close together.
A streetcar system.
Hilly terrain.
A very large suspension bridge.
The military base stationed in the city references Alcatraz Island.
Argus or Argos is the name of several figures in Greek mythology.
The floor design of the Pyrrha Nikos Memorial Park is in the design of Akoúo̱, Pyrrha's shield.
Cordovin and the rest of the Atlas personnel stationed in Argus are not meant to be representative of Atlas. Cordovin herself was intentionally stationed in Argus because she was considered a nuisance to the rest of Atlas and it was a job they believed she could do well without bothering anyone.[5]