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For the other uses of "Mistral", see Mistral.
There's plenty of places to hide in Mistral. That's why you gotta know where to look.

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Mistral is one of the three (originally four) Kingdoms of Remnant, located on the far eastern continent of Anima.

The notable cities of the Kingdom are its capital, Mistral, and the cites of Argus and Kuchinashi.

Mistral is the primary setting for Volumes 5 and 6, and the setting for Team RNJR and Qrow during Volume 4.

Geography[]

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The locations of the main city (center), Wind Path (north) and Kuchinashi (south)

Mistral is located on the continent of Anima, the second-largest landmass in Remnant. Mistral controls the most territory of all four Kingdoms, encompassing a wide range of ecosystems and many diverse cultures.

Some of the terrain includes steep wind-carved cliffs, where the region was first settled. The area to the west of Mistral is stated by Qrow Branwen to be filled with swamps where small human villages are known to exist, though it can be difficult to traverse due to the presence of Grimm.

Surrounding the main city is the city of Wind Path to its north and Kuchinashi to its south. The major port city of Argus is far to the northwest. Mistral is also home to the Mistral Trade Route, which is featured in a boardgame played by the members of Team RWBY.


History[]

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Mistral's first settlers found shelter in the cliffs

Mistral's first inhabitants found shelter from the Grimm in the high cliffs, and from there came to build towns and cities along the walls. The population grew and began to expand its territory by utilizing the land.

Around eighty years before the beginning of the series, a massive ten-year conflict known as the Great War came to an end. In this war, Mistral allied with Mantle against Vale and Vacuo. Prior to the beginning of this war, Mistral settled a large territory in Anima and established an alliance with Mantle. The two traded frequently, and Mantle taught them how to form settlements in Anima's snowy northern region. One prominent north coast city that takes elements from Atlas and Mistral is Argus which was created at the point where they first started trading with each other.

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Mistral follows Mantle's example, to an extent.

After an incident with the Grimm, Mantle came to believe that, if it controlled its citizens' emotions through the abolishment of the arts and self-expression, it would be safer from Grimm. Despite its strong artistic culture, Mistral followed suit so as not to lose the alliance. However, Mistral only placed the ban in the outer territories, allowing the central powers to continue living as they pleased. This contributed to the list of things Vale disliked about the two allied Kingdoms, among which was the treatment of their own citizens, their use of slavery and their insistence that their way of life was what was best for everyone.

Eventually, Mistral and Vale both set their sights on settling the small islands and peninsulas on the east coast of Sanus. Vale's king decided to share the land with Mistral's settlers, despite the cries of his people. However, a riot broke out between two bands of settlers, which devolved into the first battle of the Great War. Due to their alliance, Mantle quickly came to Mistral's aid, and together, they fought Vale on both Sanus and Anima soil. Having established a presence in Vacuo, the two allied Kingdoms were able to keep Vacuo out of the conflict, and some time into the war, they began pressuring the desert Kingdom to join the war on their side. Fearing that they would conquer Vacuo, should Vale fall, the citizens of Vacuo pushed Mistral and Mantle out of their territory and allied themselves with Vale.

During the war, Grimm attacks increased worldwide, and as a result, Mistral lost many of its settlements to the creatures, some of which were never reclaimed.

The Great War finally came to an end with the deadliest battle in the war's history. Mistral and Mantle attempted to take Vacuo's Dust mines to cut off their enemy's supply. There, they were met with the King of Vale personally leading his army alongside Vacuo. It is said that he laid waste to countless men, but historians claim that this feat was aided by the unusually violent weather and Mantle's inexperience in desert combat.

With the war over, the leaders of the four Kingdoms gathered on neutral ground on Vytal to form a treaty and plan the future of Remnant. There, the four Kingdoms' governments were restructured, their territories were redistributed, slavery was abolished, the tradition of the Vytal Festival was begun and the King of Vale founded the four Huntsman Academies. Mistral's academy, Haven, was secretly given a Relic to safeguard. As a gift from Atlas, a Cross Continental Transmit tower was built on Haven's campus, enabling communication between Mistral and the other three Kingdoms.

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The Fall of the Grimm Reaper

Shortly after the Great War, Maria Calavera rose to notoriety under the alias of the Grimm Reaper, operating in the region of Mistral[2]. The Grimm Reaper would ascend to the status of a legendary Huntress, inspiring many others Huntsmen, such as Qrow Branwen. However, the Huntress disappeared under mysterious circumstances, leaving many to wonder what her fate was. The tragic tale of the Grimm Reaper later became a cautionary one, teaching Huntsmen of the dangers of working alone instead of working alongside teammates.[3] She survived the incident and later went into hiding while getting new prosthetic eyes with the help of Pietro Polendina.

At some point, Leonardo Lionheart became the Headmaster of Haven Academy at the request of Ozpin, due to Mistral being one of the most discriminatory Kingdoms towards the Faunus and wanted his role to help reduce that hatred. He also became a member of Ozpin's Group and learned about the existence of Salem.

Some point before the events of RWBY, Lil' Miss Malachite had become the leader of Spider. Later, they had allied itself with the Kuchinashi organization, Wave and its 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.

Later, a young pickpocket named Roman Torchwick was abandoned by his mother in Wind Path and attempted to become a top criminal. After he stole from one of Lil' Miss Malachite's patron's, she saw potential in him and asked him to join Spider. He accepted and eventually became her second-in-command with him being present for the week-long gang war between Spider and "The Mouse and the Parrot" with Spider winning and watching over Lil' Miss's daughters. However, Roman eventually started becoming ambitious and planned to betray the organization while Lil' Miss eventually tried to assassinate him as he was forced to go to Vale to make a name for himself.

Eventually, Lil' Miss attempted to take over Vale's criminal underworld from the Xiong Family after going back on their promise not to interfere with each other using the help of the spies and assassins from Lady Browning's Preparatory Academy For Girls and started a gang war in Vale. However, while the war resulted in the death of the gang's leader Hei Xiong, Lil' Lisa's plans were ruined when Roman and Neopolitan gave a hardrive containing the truth about Lady Browning's school to Lisa Lavender and the Vale News Network and forced her to return to Mistral.

Ten years before the events of "RWBY", the Spring Maiden decided to abandon her duties and joined the Branwen Tribe. After Raven Branwen tried to train her and later deemed her unable to survive with them, she decided to kill her herself and took her powers while keeping up the act by using a decoy in her place.

At one point, a serial killer throughout Anima named Tyrian Callows is apprehended by F. Pickerel but is taken off his security detail after other Huntsmen don't believe his claims of needing more security. After this, Salem herself attacks the transport carrying Tyrian and killed all of the Huntsmen present and recruited him to her Inner Circle. After this, Pickerel was later found dead in his home.

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Kuroyuri's destruction

Around this time, rich nobles that were sick of how the Mistral council did things left the main city and made their own settlements. They made the town's of Oniyuri and Kuroyuri with people like Li Ren and An Ren supporting the efforts. However, both towns were later destroyed by a Nuckelavee Grimm and all of their residents were killed with the exception of Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie.

At some point, Brunswick Farms was founded by Bartelby. He tried multiple schemes to avoid paying for Huntsmen protection before hemorrhaging funds. Eventually, he learned of a type of Grimm known as the Apathy that could make people lose their emotions and become apathetic. After he trapped two in the waterway, the whole pack follow them and are sealed underneath the settlement the next day by Bartelby. Because of this, the residents all eventually became so apathetic, they lost the will to get out of bed and died in their sleep.

In the past, Abigail Pyre managed to start her own criminal organization guild of thieves and assassins known as "The Hearth" with the help of Asher Mora before she later set him up when the Hana Guild attempts to kill him for it. After this incident, Opal makes a rule prohibiting fighting in The Skillful.

Two years before the events of "RWBY", Team SAFR is sent to investigate strange incidents happening in Kuchinashiy Qrow Branwen and find out that the Wave crime syndicate, a newer criminal organization in Mistral's underworld is behind it. In order to keep it a secret from outsiders, they have hired a Team of Huntsmen to stop people from interfering with their plans. After the Wave takes over the city, Team SAFR joined the resistance led by professor Takaya in order to free the city. During the process, the leader of the Wave Lemon is killed by Abigail Pyre under orders from Vermillion Raddock and Team SAFR defeat her and she ends up getting killed by a Manticore. Later, Lionheart sends Huntsman reinforcements to the city to retake it from the Wave.

At some point in recent history, Professor Lionheart becomes a turncoat for Salem and helps her in order to save himself. He forges documents for Cinder Fall and her followers to allow them to blend in at Beacon Academy as students of Haven Academy.

During the 40th Vytal Festival, the hosting Kingdom, Vale, was attacked, and Beacon Academy and its Cross Continental Transmit tower was destroyed due to Cinder's actions, cutting off Mistral's communication with the other three Kingdoms. Because of this, many towns in Mistral couldn't contact anyone for help and were destroyed. One of these towns was Shion, which was raided by the Branwen Tribe and later attacked by the Grimm.

After this, Lionheart sent all the students at Haven home while selling out the location of most of Mistral's Huntsmen and the academy staff to Salem's followers Tyrian Callows and Hazel Rainart who end up killing them. After General James Ironwood notices this, he has many of his soldiers like Winter Schnee look into it before later recalling them back to Atlas she he plans to come the borders to the Kingdom. However, the soldiers in Argus aren't recalled due to it having the largest military base outside of Atlas.

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Adam Taurus and the White Fang overthrow and kill Sienna Khan

During this time, Adam Taurus and the rest of the White Fang attempt and succeed in overthrowing and killing Sienna Khan while planning destroy Haven Academy. Hazel was sent by Salem in an attempt to gain her cooperation, but after she refused to help, Adam killed her and took her place as High leader of the White Fang.

During their travels, Qrow Branwen follows Team RNJR, unbeknownst to them, protecting the team from any Grimm along the way. Qrow made himself known to the team when RNJR was attacked by Tyrian, who had been sent to capture Ruby under Salem's order. Qrow defeats Tyrian, but is poisoned by the Faunus' stinger, leading the group to rush to Mistral, stopping to face the Nuckelavee in the abandoned settlement of Kuroyuri, where they were rescued by the Mistral police force.

Following this, the group head to Haven Academy, where they meet Professor Lionheart and plan to ambush the Branwen Tribe to recover the Spring Maiden. However Lionheart along with Arthur Watts, instead tell Salem of this information and she sends Cinder's Faction along with Watts to convince her to hand over the Maiden. They later form an alliance with her and plan to kill Team RNJR along with Qrow while Raven planned to steal the Relic of Knowledge for herself.

Days later, Qrow meets Oscar Pine in a bar, introducing the boy to the group. Oscar explains he is the next incarnation of Ozpin, who reveals himself to his former students.

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Salem kills Lionheart as he tried to run away

One night, Lionheart called everyone to the academy saying he made a breakthrough with the council. However, The group is ambushed by Salem's forces in Haven. In the ensuing battle, the White Fang are cornered and defeated by Blake Belladonna and the Menagerie Faunas militia, while Leo, Emerald, Mercury, and Hazel are forced to retreat by Ruby's Group. Meanwhile at the Vault, Yang discovered Raven was the true Spring Maiden, and convinces her to not take the Relic, preventing the Fall of Haven.

After the Battle ended and Team RWBY were all reunited, Ozpin asked them to deliver the Relic to Atlas for safekeeping. Before they left on the Argus Limited however, Hazel learned of their plans thanks to Lil' Miss Malachite and reported it to Salem. Adam Taurus returned to the White Fang Throne Room, but the organization refused to help him after he left his men at Haven behind and the soldiers present were killed by Adam after one mentioned his loss against Blake. He later decided to stalk her throughout their trip to Argus. Meanwhile, Cinder Fall regains consciousness and asks Lil'Miss about Ruby's intentions. After she lies to see who would want information about her, she later tells Neopolitan and then she and Cinder form an alliance to kill Ruby while going to Atlas themselves.

Two weeks after the Battle of Haven, Lionheart's death is covered up by Ozpin who believes he should be remembered for all of the good he did in his life instead of the things he did in his final years. After the White Fang is stopped thanks to the help of Ghira and the Faunus, the Faunus are seen in a better light by the people of Mistral and Ghira begins his efforts to dismantle the extremist parts of the White Fang while staying in Mistral to help rebuild. The students of Haven also begin to transfer to Shade Academy to finish their curriculum.

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Ruby discovers the Apathy underneath Brunswick Farms

As the group travel by train, they were forced to briefly separate into two groups due to a crash, where RWBY, Qrow, and Oscar were left behind and forced to hike to the city, meeting Maria Calavera in the process. There, the group discovered the truth about Ozpin and Salem through Jinn's recounting of their past, which led to Ozpin sealing himself away deep in Oscar's mind. The group takes shelter from a snowstorm at Brunswick Farms, where they debate going to Atlas, now that they know Salem is immortal. However, after a close encounter with a pack of Apathy, the group continue on their journey.

Team JNR stayed with Jaune's sister Saphron and her wife while waiting for Team RWBY's group to arrive. The Arc House served as a temporary base for the group while they attempted to find a way to Atlas.

Due to Caroline Cordovin being unwilling to let the group take an airship to Atlas, the group was forced to steal one and fight Cordovin's Colossus while Blake and Yang fought against Adam Taurus. The group manages to defeat both of them and kill Adam, but unfortunately a Leviathan arrives with an army of Grimm to destroy Argus. Ruby, with the assistance of Jinn, is able to stop the Grimm with her Sliver Eyes. As thanks for saving the city, Cordovin allows the group to leave, promising she won’t mention them in her report.

The Kingdom of Mistral later receives Ruby's message to all of Remnant thanks to Amity Communications Tower. She publicly reveals the existence of the Relics, Maidens, and Salem and asks for help with the situation in Atlas, but the broadcast is cut off before she finishes. In the end though, nobody came to help Atlas as it is destroyed in "The Final Word". However, after hearing Ruby’s message, Mistral’s forces arrived in Vacuo to prepare for the upcoming war against Salem.

Culture[]

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The upper classes of Mistral are known for their contributions to the arts

Because it encompasses such a large area, Mistral has a very diverse range of lifestyles and cultures within its borders. The Mistrali have built their culture and technology around the geography and natural resources of the continent. The Mistrali are linked by their common respect for nature, particularly the sea and sky. Notably, Mistral has the most spices of any Kingdom in Remnant.

Argus acts as the major trading center between the continents of Anima and Solitas. It is one of the largest non-capital cities in all of Remnant and has the largest military base outside the Kingdom of Atlas. Due to this, the soldiers stationed were not recalled by James Ironwood before closing the borders.

Mistral's populace is divided into two distinct classes. The Mistrali upper classes are world-renowned for their contributions to high society, such as architecture, theater and fashion. Haven Academy also had luxurious dorm rooms for its students compared to the other academies in Remnant.

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The lower classes are equally well known for other reasons

However, the lower classes are of considerable ill-repute, composed of unsavory characters like thieves and assassins from all across Remnant who have come to Mistral to remain undetected. Mistral is also home to the largest black market in Remnant, where the services of assassins and even corrupt Huntsmen can be bought in the Kingdom if one has the funds to do so.

The large distances involved make outlying settlements like Wind Path and Kuchinashi harder for the council to govern, contributing to this corruption and making these settlements ideal hiding spots for those on the fringes of society.

Prior to the Great War, practices such as slavery and suppression of the arts were allowed in Mistral due to following the example of its ally Mantle. However, the emperor of Mistral still allowed the arts to thrive in the capital only. Following the end of the Great War and the dissolution of the monarchy, these practices were made illegal.

The Mistral Trading Company is a Dust refining company similar to the Schnee Dust Company situated in Mistral that has branches located in Kingdom's like Vacuo. It helped drain the Kingdom of its Natural resources of Dust and has abandoned those refineries located there, one of which was later taken over and used by The Crown as an underground fighting ring.

Another mining company that recently was stationed in Kuchinashi was the Pastel Mining Company, led by a man named Javi Pastel until his death. Pastel became interested in the magical artifacts left throughout the ruins close to the city and planned on becoming rich by selling them. He also transported items from all over Remnant including Sabyrs from Solitas that eventually broke free from his hidden facility under his estate in Kuchinashi. Before he could sell them however, one of the criminal gangs in the city murdered him and planned to take all of his artifacts for themselves.

The White Fang stationed in the Kingdom seems to have the most influence over the other branches throughout Remnant, with the Throne Room for the High leader being located here as well.

Spider is the most powerful crime syndicate known to operate in the city of Mistral, in which they seem to primarily deal in brokering a web of information. Spiders became the new theme for the group, with every member receiving a tattoo of the spider emblem on their bodies and the symbol being used to mark hideouts and territory. Cinder Fall uses the spiders' resources to locate where Ruby's Group are headed after the Battle of Haven, trading information for Lien. Prior to Lionheart's demise, Lil' Miss Malachite was the second most powerful person in the city of Mistral, and has since ascended to the first. They were aligned with Lady Browning's Preparatory Academy For Girls and the Harmony Club, who operated in Vale.

The Hana Guild, or simply the Hana, is a crime family in Mistral located in Kuchinashi, originally known for dealing narcotics. It's an old and powerful family, and their sigil is a flower with blade-like petals. Their leader is a man named Vermillion Raddock, who recently came into charge approximately two years before the start of RWBY. Under his leadership, they have also begun dealing weapons as well.

Another crime organization in the city, the Wave, was known for being a relatively newer organization which dealt in stolen goods, such as high tech Atlas Military developments, and similar merchandise. Their leader was a woman named Lemon until her death. They were rivals to the Hana Guild, and employed corrupt Huntsmen such as Team SMMK for their needs until their destruction. The Wave were allies of Spider.

The Black Sheep are another known crime family, residing in Kuchinashi's Upper Cliffs.

The Skillful is a tavern in Kuchinashi known for being where all the major decisions of the city are made. It also doubles as a stopping point to hire Huntsmen and for Huntsmen to rest, being infamous for being the place to find illegal activities or to hire people to do so.

The Hearth is a guild of thieves and assassins that recently returned to Kuchinashi led by a woman named Abigail Pyre until her death.

The Mouse and Parrot was a criminal organization which rivaled Spider years before the start of the series. It is lead by a man named Paul Parrot, who is the third person to lead his organization, having killed his uncle who'd previously overthrown Paul's grandfather. At one point, the Parrot (as it is shortened) entered war with Spider, and after a week-long feud, found that it'd lost. Members included Badger, a thug who'd been killed during a conflict with Roman Torchwick, and Jack Plum, a rival of Lil' Miss who had connections to corrupt councilman.

The Huntsman Kingdom Accord is an act that protects the Huntsmen of Mistral with some legal support.

Academies[]

Main article: Haven Academy
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Students from Haven Academy, of Mistral

Mistral is the location of Haven Academy, one of the four great Huntsman Academies. Its Headmaster was Leonardo Lionheart before siding with Salem. After his death the school was temporarily closed and Teams SSSN and ABRN transferred to Shade Academy in Vacuo.

Notable students include Sun Wukong, who emigrated from his birth kingdom of Vacuo to Mistral, where he became a student at Haven Academy prior to the events of the series.

Cinder Fall, one of Salem's agents, claimed to hail from Mistral and she, alongside with Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai and Neopolitan fought in the Vytal Tournament as Haven students.

Combat Schools in the Kingdom include Sanctum Academy in Argus, known as the combat school attended by Pyrrha Nikos prior to Beacon Academy, and an unnamed combat school in Kuchinashi.

Mistral is the home of the annual Mistral Regional Tournament, presumed to be a combat tournament for Huntsmen and Huntresses. One of Pyrrha's major accomplishments was her record four consecutive tournament victories.

Notable People[]

Haven Academy[]

Sanctum Academy[]

Argus[]

White Fang Cell[]

Spider[]

Others[]

Trivia[]

  • Mistral may be named after the cold, dry wind that blows from the northwest onto the French Mediterranean coast.
  • Mistral is inspired by Eastern cultures, Greece and the Roman empire.
    • Argus is primarily inspired by both Greece and San Francisco. As such, Pyrrha Nikos is inspired by Greece and Neptune is inspired by Roman aesthetic.
    • In "Family", Port says "Mistral wasn't built in a day", referencing the common phrase "Rome wasn't built in a day".
    • Mistral's architecture, fashion, and names are predominantly referenced to East Asian cultures such as Japan, Korea, and China.[5][6]
    • The visual style of Mistral is inspired by Eastern cultures as well as the city of Ba Sing Se from Avatar: The Last Airbender.[7]
  • Most of the villages in Anima are named after East Asian flowers.[8]
  • As of Volume 3, the Kingdom is represented by the color blue in the World of Remnant episodes. Vytal Festival tournament contestants from Mistral also have Aura monitors with a blue background.
    • The sea and sky are known to be important in Mistral's culture, which may be what the blue color is meant to represent.
  • As seen with Haven and Sanctum, combat schools in Mistral seem to be named after places of privacy, safety and refuge.
  • Mistral's emblem features a stylized lantern, which is a reference to the Relic of Knowledge formerly hidden in the vault underneath its Combat School, Haven.

Image Gallery[]

References[]

Locations
Minor Locations
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