The Gods

The brothers stood side by side.

The Gods of Light and Darkness are two immensely powerful beings that created Remnant. They are two brothers, the older being the God of Light and the younger being the God of Darkness. The God of Light created forces of life, while the God of Darkness created agents of death, including the Creatures of Grimm. At one point, they compromised to end their brotherly feud and created Humans together.

However, when Salem convinced Humanity to rebel against the gods for refusing to bring her deceased lover Ozma back to life, the God of Darkness destroyed them all except Salem, and the two brothers abandoned Remnant with the younger brother shattering the Moon in the process.

As Humanity, and now the Faunus, reemerge, this time without magic or the guidance of the gods, the God of Light left behind Relics in hopes that Humanity will make themselves whole again. If the four Relics are collected, the gods will be summoned to the world and judge Humanity; if they have learned to live together peacefully then the gods will give them magic and live among them again, yet if mankind remains divided and demanding of their creators, the gods will destroy Remnant, this time for good.

Appearance

The gods in their dragon forms.

The Gods are translucent humanoid beings with featureless faces. Both also can transform into Dragons.

The God of Light is tall, yellow and muscular with deer antlers on his head. His dragon form is a large golden Eastern dragon with a heavenly glow.

The God of Darkness is lean, purple and slender and has ram horns on his heads. His dragon form is a large purple Western dragon with skeletal features.

Personality

Both are wise and powerful beings who believe in a balance and maintaining order, though the two were originally at war with each other, creating and destroying whatever they wished. They eventually came to an agreement and created mankind together as to mark the start of their deal. However, they clearly were not as wise or intelligent as mankind believed as Salem found they could be manipulated into turning against each other and that they didn't seem to realize the chaos and folly that would happen by cursing the grief-stricken and vindictive Salem with immortality.

The God of Light is shown to be humble, soft-spoken yet strict and temperamental. He believes in upholding the balance and will not break said balance under any condition, despite sympathizing with Salem. He is also shown to be passive, not wanting to fight his brother and wanting to resolve things peacefully.

The God of Darkness is a destructive and spiteful being who enjoys destruction and darkness, though longs to be worshiped and praised like his brother even after their agreement was made. He is shown to be a bit gullible as he was fooled by Salem's word and even broke his deal with his brother simply because he believed someone was worshiping him, but he quickly corrected his mistake afterwards.

The two both expressed disappointment when Salem manipulated mankind into rebelling against them and simply let Remnant fall into the hands of Humanity.

Despite their differences, the two brothers are quite loyal to one another, as the God of Light wished for no more conflict between them, and the God of Darkness arrived swiftly at his brother's side during Salem's rebellion.

Powers and Abilities

The gods are nigh-omnipotent entities of immense power and knowledge. The two created Remnant and Humanity together as well as their own individual creations. The two together are basically invincible and have no actual weaknesses besides being fallible and manipulated by certain people. The two also created the Four Relics, which are personifications of Creation, Destruction, Knowledge and Choice, and each Relic is immensely powerful on its own.

The God of Light possesses immense creation and light-based powers, responsible for creating life, animals and the elements. He can use powerful waves of light to incinerate others and can transform into a dragon. He is also capable of erasing others, as shown when he erased Ozma's body after his brother resurrected him. He also can grant others immortality by bathing them in his fountain of life, resurrect the dead and can cause one's soul to reincarnate every time they die, as he did with Ozma. When threatened, he transformed into an Eastern dragon.

The God of Darkness possesses immense destruction and darkness-based powers, destroying and erasing his brother's creations and twisted them into nightmarish versions of themselves. He is responsible for creating the creatures of Grimm and the pools they spawn from, allowing him to command and control them as well. He can use dark energy for powerful blasts and waves which can destroy anything they hit or shield others from his brother's powers, shown when he destroyed all of mankind and blasted a hole in the moon. He is also capable of resurrecting the dead, as he did with Ozma. When threatened, he transformed into an Western dragon.

Both brothers are able to manipulate matter and energy, are able to interact with entities through multiple plains of existence including the afterlife and are able to use their abilities with pinpoint precision. The God of Darkness was able to wipe out all of Humanity except for Salem without harming any other form of life on a global scale.

Trivia

• The Brother Gods and their story were Miles Luna's first big contribution to the planning of RWBY.
• In their dragon forms, the God of Light resembles real-world Eastern dragons while the God of Darkness resembles real-world Western dragons.
  • Coincidentally, Eastern dragons are seen as wise and benevolent, while Western dragons are depicted as malevolent and ruthless.